Matthew Turns 1!!!!!

So, I am sick of the state of the union address and thought it would be a good time to do something constructive and write a blog post of what we have been up to lately.  Life  continues to be better than we could have ever expected.  Sure there are some ups and downs, but we are really enjoying just having these two boys in the house and being able to watch them grow.

Matthew is really getting bigger and loves to take baths.  He has taken a couple of nose dives in the tub ending up with a mouth full of water, but generally come up smiling and laughing.

Sometimes this kid is so cute I can hardly stand it.  Give him a bottle and then the little puppy dog and he goes to bed very quickly and easily.

I, of course, had a killer 'stache going and was loving every minute of it.  I actually was getting a lot of compliments on it from people at Church and work.  It only posed a problem when trying to engage in interpersonal mouth to mouth speech training with ones spouse.

So off it finally came.  I was a bit sad to see it go, but the wife was happy.  James noticed it right away and asked where it went?  I told him I had to cut it off.  He then pointed to my lip and started making chainsaw noises saying "saw saw"...so darn cute sometimes.

It has been pretty mild this winter up here with very little snow to date, but to get out the other weekend we decided to take the sled out on Liberty Lake and walk across the lake.  Initially we were a bit hesitant, but out on the lake the ice appears to be about 10" thick so we made it all the way across.

Brenda walked most of the way, but when I tried to spin the sled around and Matt flew out and bonked his head on the Ice, she figure it was tine for her to get a ride and hold Matthew as well.

Notice Matthew's shirt?

That's right, he turned one last week.  We actually got him up and measured him as we do with both boys at regular intervals and although he was 1/4" shorter than James at 8 months, he is now over a 1/4" taller than he was at a year.  He is standing and hanging onto things, but still not walking.  Such a cute kid and a joy to be around that enough cannot be said.  Matt, we love you so much and have really treasured this last year we have got a chance to know you.  We look forward to what God has in store for you and know you are going to touch so many lives.

Last night I had enough.  It was time to get a new kitchen sink.  Our old one was badly damaged from some cleaner the previous owner used and it was time to get one we could actually clean.  Of course Home Depot is completely worthless and did not have the color of sink we wanted although they said they did.  It was so convoluted over there they could not even order it in and had no idea why they could not find the color we wanted.  Utter incompetence. 

 

So it was off to Lowes...the other waste of time.  After finding a sink we liked we notice the sink was on the top shelf and we were going to need help.  A guy came buy and called for assistance...5 minutes later he came back to say the guy who was supposed to be there was on break and someone else was coming.  To make a long story short...no one ever came.  I got so fed up and sick after 10 minutes I got the huge stair thing with the chain and sign saying "Employees Only...Do Not Touch" and wheeled it over to where I could climb up it and pull the 50lb sink down.  Those worthless employees in that store never even noticed or offered assistance.  Good thing I actually know what I am doing.  God forbid I be at the mercy of these "helpful sales associates".

The old sink came out easy enough and we had to do a little work to get the new one to fit the spot.  James was all over me every time I got to work and really wants to help out.  He was in charge of the drill for this task.

And ...viola.  it only took about 2 hours to switch out and get it all cleaned up.

Pretty nice sink and it made Brenda very happy so that is what really counts.

I think I heard Obama say at some point in time that "this is America, and if you work hard, you can get ahead".  Although I certainly agree with this statement it seems as though his administration has thought that if you do get ahead, you should be taxed and penalized because of that and drug back down.  Obviously I am not one of the top even 10% in America, but his administration and their strong arm tactics have started a class warfare where the middle and lower class have started to feel that the system is rigged and no one has a chance to get ahead.  Since they cannot get ahead, they need government to get involved and make the playing field more even.  What a bunch of BS malarkey from some socialist fear mongers.  This is still America, and if you work hard you can...AND SHOULD....get ahead without being dragged down by the overbearing and over reaching government I would add.

Christmas 2013

 

Christmas time was great at our house and I now know how hard it is not to buy every toy you see for your kids.  Every time I would go to the store I would see things that I knew James would love and it was all I could do to keep myself from buying it all for him.  This is the time of year when we have a chance to catch up with friends and family as well through Christmas cards.  This is probably Brenda's favorite thing about this time of year.'

When we were in CA earlier this year this picture was taken by a friend of ours.  Lucy is only one day younger than James.  If arranging marriages was a possibility I think we would jump at the chance.  These two had a great time together and were so cute. We just received this pic from her parents with their Christmas card.

Moustache is coming in nicely.  When we Skyped with my sister a week ago or so she insisted it be removed before her wedding in March.  I am not going to be in the ceremony so not sure why it matters.  I am pretty sure I should keep it so as to not outshine the groom.

James was ready for Christmas eve gift opening but he had a few days to wait.

My sister made this for Brenda and I lest we forget when we were married.  It will be good to hang on the wall so when I look at it on 6-27-14 I can be reminded that I need to go out and get a pair of socks for Brenda. 

It did snow here mid December as well, but was mostly melted by Christmas.

James helped me with "mowing" the walk.

 

I don't have a lot of pictures of the Christmas gift opening but a lot of videos.

Christmas morning James awoke to this beauty under the tree.

He thought he was O so cool in his truck in full uniform.

He also got to put out a few fires.  This car was given to him by my parents, but it was pretty banged up when I got it.  After a little work by Jim and myself we got it fixed, dents removed, and marker taken off the paint job.  Mr. Clean magic erasers are really magic.  They took the permanent marker off without even marking the paint.

Matthew really liked James's drill and other toys.  They also got a Nativity set for Christmas so they played and played with it all the time.

Matthew is right on the edge of walking and is being oh so cute.

We got a chance to go to CDA and see the bald eagles there.  The Kokanee had spawned and were all over the shoreline dead which is easy picking for the many bald eagles in the area.

Of course a lot of fun was had just hanging out around the house as well.  Note the scale BMW on thee table that Matthew got for Christmas.  It is really fun to play with, but strictly for Matthew of course

 

After Christmas we got a chance to go to Bozeman and see my parents.  The kids had a great time and Brenda and I got to go out to a movie while mom and dad watched the kiddos (their idea...but we did not let them think about it long).

Tickling the ivories with grandma.

 

While out there I got a chance to go fishing in the bear trap.  The temperature was only about 24-30 and cold, but the fish were biting so it kind of warmed us up.  You know it is cold when occasionally you have to de-ice the eyes of your rod in order to get the line to move.

My dad got this nice brown after hunting him for over a hour.  Perseverance wins every time.

 

All in all it was a great Christmas and we are indeed thankful for Gods grace race and the gift of salvation for all who accept it.

Thanksgiving has come and gone

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  I now have time to recap the hectic fun that we had with nine people visiting us.  First on the list was Brenda’s sister and family who came to visit for Thanksgiving.  The arrived on Monday and we had a great time hanging out with them right before Thanksgiving.  My parents then arrived on Wednesday during the day and the Brenda’s parents Wednesday night.  Brenda’s parents did not know Paula and Family were going to be here so we had a great time surprising them.  I wish I could have got a picture of the look on their faces when Brenda answered the door holding Colin and not Matthew.  They had a heck of time figuring out what was going on, but lots of laughs were had all around and everyone had a great time.

 

Matthew with his thumb in his mouth 90% of the time.  It is so easy to tell when he is tired and kind of exciting when you see the telltale signs of thumb sucking, blank stares and ear/eye rubbing.

That train has provided lots of fun and entertainment

Colin is younger than Matthew, but quite  a bit bigger.  the "My First Thanksgiving" shirts are 2T....now figure that one out.

So many people were here for Thanksgiving I had to bring in a folding table so everyone can eat in the same place. We had a traditional thanksgiving dinner with a 22lb bird. The turkey was the best turkey I have made or ever had to date. Not sure what I did different this time, but it was so juicy and good I even loved the white meat.

Lots of skin and cuteness.

Colin is a  seriously big kid.

Kevin and Landon came too, but did not make it in this picture I guess

Sooo happy to see the cousins.

 

The cousins had a great time playing downstairs and they really missed each other when it was all over.  Every night during nighly prayers James now makes sure we pray for Colin and he seems to think every picture of a baby is either Colin or Matthew.

Lindsey with the Thankfulness tree where you write what you are thankful for on the leaves of it.

 

To accommodate all of the people in the house and everyone have a bed,  it required that Brenda and I sleep on the floor in Matthews room.  It was actually not that bad and we slept well because we were so tired, but it was nice to get our own bed.

 

James got a new Pillowcase from my parents and loves the cat in the hat animals on it.

 

I like getting breakfast out and eating with James.  He loves to read the back of the box and then drink him milk like daddy.

 

It also was time for the annual Griswold family tradition of going into the woods and finding a tree.  We went with friends again and 5 kiddos 4 and under with a high of the day of 10F made for a less than awesome trip.  We still had fun, but just not as much as we had hoped.

Matthew wearing a hat that a co-worker gave me a long time ago for James.  At one point I had Matthew in the backpack, and was holding James, a saw, and a tree walking through the foot of snow on a very steep slope.

 

Here is the tree once we got it decorated

Couple of pictures in front of it.

I assure you I did not let him eat the ornament, but he did break it.

 

We also have been down at Brenda's parents house a lot in the past month.  It is always nice to be on the road and be able to see your wife and kids at the end of the day.  This is normally how James hugs his brother for pictures...Notice Matthew gasping for air.

 

We are stoked for Christmas and the celebration of Christ's birth.  The Christmas season is very different now that we have kids.  We have even a better appreciate for the gift of a Savior as well as a responsibility to teach our children about the free gift of grace.

Long time between posts= long posts

Seeing as it is fall and I have a ton of leaves to rake I thought I would compost some of them into the pumpkin patch.  I love running the rototiller which was handed down from my father and from his father-in-law.  This old thing is a beast a really can tear up the ground and now hold an even more special place to me since my grandfather passed away last week.  Every time I use it I can think of all the times he used it and really will enjoy it even more.  I have been having some issues with it and finally it stopped working half way through the job.  After lots and lots of carburetor troubleshooting I finally ran a compression and found the compression was much too low, so I was forced to tear into it and see what was the problem.  Right away I noticed this head gasket looked a little worn.  After a couple day I got off my butt and finally got a replacement from the guy around the corner (less than $3) and put the engine back together.  The thing started right up and really has some power now.  It was dark when I finally got it running but I had to try it out, so I donned the headlamp and went to work.  Tilling the soil is great therapy.

 

Pretty obvious where the air was escaping.

 

Last week I had a job about 10 miles from the in-laws so we headed out early and spent the week at their house.  It is so nice being able to see your kids at the end of the day and I know they had a blast a grandma and grandpa’s as well.

The boys love to play the piano.

James just let one and was letting us know in this picture.  Auntie Paula's glasses were a lot of fun to play with.

Seriously cute.  The sliding glass door was licked clean by the time we left.

Having fun with grandpa petting the cat.

Again on the Piano

and with the Cats....again

Since work does not have to pay for me to stay in a hotel and I also have a food allowance I could  go out to eat with the whole family at a nice place and it did not cost me a dime.  So nice to have a good meal and say thanks to the in laws for housing me in such a practical way.  James liked the ribeye bone.

James got these car tracks a while ago and has been having a great time playing with them.  Mom and him set this one up and I was really impressed with Brenda's building skills on this.

 

Brenda had some MOPS get together game night last weekend so I got to take the boys to the mall and the play area there.  Since it gets so dark so early it is kind of hard to play outside.  I detest the Mall normally, but this one here is not busy so it is actually tolerable.

Playland time

I thought I had posted this picture before, but guess I forgot.  My mustache is much bigger now.

 

Two weeks ago we also got the opportunity to have a couple of my co-workers from San Jose who now live in Helena over.  It was a blast catching up with them and having our kids play with each other.  We had the other people we worked with in CA that are up in Spokane on a job over for dinner as well and it was so much fun catching up and seeing people from the past.  It is really amazing the people you run into at various parts of your life and you never know when you are going to run into them again.  It really is a small world.

That little girl is so cute.

James is unaware that this train is actually broken.  We got it and it never worked so he just sits on it and pushes it around.  He loves to push his brother and goes around about 100 times without stopping.  I have no idea what I would do if I had that energy.

Brothers having fun.

James is getting more and more daring.  He loves to wrestle and jump off things.

Not always a smooth landing, but fun to watch.

The boys again...and yes I realize this is now a kiddo blog.

Brenda just hanging out and being herself.  Sunglasses inside is probably not needed, but when you look this good who cares.

 

While down in Sunnyside I got a chance to ride in Jims new speedster and actually got to drive it.  There is a lot of fun to be had driving old model T’s and they each really seem to have a personality.  Each one of the rides a little different and all of them turn heads wherever they go.  James had a blast riding it as well.

I will spare you my political rants this time.