Better Late than Never, I always say!

I know...Christmas is over!!! But...while some of you got this a couple of weeks ago, others have it in the mail now, and still others I don't have addresses for, so you're getting it here!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Albins!!!

Hello Family and Friends,

Well, 2008 has come and gone, and I’m not even sure where it went! We are blessed beyond words each and every day, and thank the Lord for all he has, and continues to give us!

As you can all imagine, life is a little crazy around here, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Most of you know that in January 2007 Kevin and I bought Albin’s Plumbing from his parents, allowing them more time for golf, and visits to the family cabin!!! We’re going on our 3rd year as business owners, and definitely starting to get the hang of it. Rod is still around part-time, “just to make sure things run smoothly”, and we really appreciate his help and input!!! In May we tried our hand at “home renovation”, by transforming a house that should have been bulldozed, into quite a nice little rental (if I do say so myself)! Due to the hours and hours spent there, we were only able to take the boat out a couple of times this summer…something we regret, though we understand is just how it goes! We’ve got next summer to make up for it, so Triangle Lake, here we come!

The kids continue to run through life without a care in the world, and keep us smiling every day! Kallen is now 3, and entirely full of curiosity! He’s constantly inquiring about how things work, and why they do, and usually doesn’t give up asking about something until the 8th “how come” or so! Coming up with clever responses, helps keep our brains young! In January he starts attending the Philomath Montessori School, and he is SO excited. He can’t wait to “go to school, and ride the bus.” I try to explain that he won’t be riding the bus for a couple of years, but he just looks at me like I’m crazy…when you go to school, you ride the bus…duh mom! I’m dreading letting my little man “go”, though I’m looking forward to the one on one time I’ll be able to spend with Kynlee!

Speaking of Kynlee…our precious little angel is just that: A precious 1 ½ year old “angel”!!! Okay, did I fool you all? My parents used to tell me “just wait until you have a spit-fire, stubborn little girl, like you were, then you’ll understand.” Well…I got her! Our Kynlee is the most stubborn little thing you’ve ever met, and you just can’t help but smile at her! She knows what she wants, and when she wants it, and if she doesn’t get it…you better look out. Her brother thinks she’s the best things since sliced bread, and we tend to agree. Fiestiness and all, she is the most tenderhearted, loving, cuddly individual, and can light up any room with her “center of attention” act! It’s always about her!!!

I often wake up and pinch myself as a reminder, that no…it isn’t a dream! This is our life, and we couldn’t be happier!!!

So, blessings to you and yours…and have a Wonderful Christmas Season!
Kevin, Kati, Kallen, Kynlee and Kubota!

Blessings,

Count to 10, deep cleansing breath, count to 10...

Imagine this: Only in the post office at 4:00 in the afternoon, 3 days before Christmas, with a line out the door...Kallen is running around acting like this while screaming "I want my daddy, and I want to go home," and Kynlee in my arms kicking, screaming, and smacking me in the head as well...



Good times, Good times!!!

Blessings,

"River-dogg"

Remember our neighbors and good friends, Ellie & River. Well, I've talked a lot about how smitten Kallen is for Ellie, but what I've failed to mention is how much Kynlee adores River as well! The twinkle in her eye when River walks into the room is unmistakable!

Anyways...Today River turns 2, and we just wanted to wish him a very Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday "River-dogg", we love you!

Blessings,

It's fun...and it tastes good too!

Snow is a rare thing in these parts...though like many other places across the country, we were blessed with it's beauty today!

Kevin and I woke up to a quiet little voice whispering in our ears "It snow-ded outside...come see", and sure enough we opened our eyes to a soft little dusting of crisp, white flakes. Those crisp white flakes, soon turned into soft mushy flakes, but that's besides the point. A short drive to "the peak", and we found more!!!

Kallen loved sledding,

and Kynlee loved eating!

...and, by the looks of the continuous snow falling outside...we'll have another fun day in the snow tomorrow!

Blessings,

Permission Granted!

As many of you know, my sister is once again living over seas. They arrived in the beginning of November, and plan to stay through September of '09. Anyways, being oceans away and time zones different, my communications with her are very limited. An email here or there, and phone call now and again, etc, etc.

Anyways...On Thanksgiving I missed her phone call by 5 minutes, informing us all that they are expecting another addition in their family. Yep...baby number 3! So...for those of you who have been calling and emailing me that my "undisclosed" information was indeed the news of our 3rd child, this will now clear the air. I am not pregnant, but my sister is! I'm sad that once again baby E. Will be born oceans away, but so happy and thankful for their growing family!

I was able to chat with my sister this morning (isn't the Internet an amazing thing), and was given the go-ahead to share the news with you all. So...there you have it. Congratulations Joey, Dani, Josiah and Benson for your soon to be newest addition!

Blessings,

Kynlee Meet Garage Floor

Blessings,

The Short List!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours...Hope you had a "rockin" time!

I know, I know...not the best family picture, but if you can see past the "turkey coma" looks on our faces, and the knuckle deep fingers, so delicately placed...you see our "rockin" shirts...which actually happen to be the main reason for this picture!

Okay, a little blurb about the shirts...While in Texas for the MOPS convention this October, I was really drawn to this cute little gal and her designer T-Shirts! I had the opportunity to talk with her, and was really impressed with the premise behind her shop. She designs shirts for men and women that display a positive image of marriage, and I just couldn't resist coming home with shirts for all of us. She said that she had such a good response from the Men's and women's T-Shirts, that she decided to make kids shirts as well...My shirt says, "My Husband Rocks", Kynlee's says "Daddy Rocks (Mommy's Right), Kevin's says "My Wife Rocks" (Which he wears proudly by the way!!!), and Kallen's says "Mommy Rocks (Daddy's Right), in reference to his daddy's shirt of course! Anyways...I just love these shirts, and I love the reaction we get when we wear them, so I had to get a picture of all of us in them, even if we're half asleep and have fingers in our noses!!! Go get some for yourself... http://www.frommetees.com/.

So...I just wanted to say again, hope you all had a "rockin" thanksgiving!

Also...since it is thanksgiving, I'd like to share my short list (simply because I'd be here all night if I included everything) of thanks!!!

~ My kids, my kids, my kids...I love them so much, and am so thankful for the joy they bring me each and every day!

~ My hubby of course! I mean, how can I not be thankful for the guy who willingly wears the "My Wife Rocks" shirt!!!

~ MOPS...New friends and new ideas, what's not to be thankful for!

ummm...let's see, what else

~Change...and not in the political sense of the newly catch phrased word, but just change in general! Kevin and I have made a lot of changes in our lives, our priorities, our attitudes, and it really feels great!

~ and since I got this cute picture to represent it...I'm thankful for my kids relationship with my grandma, their "Gigi" (you know, for Great Grandma!!!) Kallen absolutely adores her, and instantly lights up the minute she walks into the room, and since Kynlee does anything Kallen does...the adoration for GiGi is definitely being passed down! I am so blessed to still have both sets of my grandparents in my life, and even more blessed that my children get to know them as well! Nothing gets better than this!

~ Oh, and I'm also thankful for the news I'm not quite at liberty to share yet!!!

So...there you have it...my short list of Thanks!

But Kallen wins the short list contest. When asked what he was thankful for this year, he responded with a bold, and definite "Ellie...I thankful for Ellie"!

Blessings,

Smiling in Their Absence

We're less than 24 hours into a weekend without the kids, and we're already missing them.

Good thing I found this picture to keep me laughing while their gone!

Blessings,

"Bullseye"...Well, Almost!

Kevin and I decided that in the true spirit of the season...hunting season that is...we'd take the family on a "gun shooting" outing.

We had a blast, though the puddles in the road after we were done, were almost just as fun for the kiddos as shooting the guns!!!

Blessings,

It Happens...

...our kids get older. People tell you that they don't stay little for long, and to cherish the time when they are young, and we all respond with "uh huh", and go on our merry way of hopping and praying for the day that the whining stops and they become self sufficient.

Well...Kallen turned 3 on Saturday, and the reality of the words I've heard so many times, is finally starting to sink in. 3...are you kidding me! How is he 3 already?

Anyways...it happens, and I'm reminded of it every day!

We celebrated Kal's birthday on Saturday with family and friends, and for the first time, he got it. It was HIS day, and he walked around on cloud 9 all day to be sure! So while the party was a blast, and all day clean-up yesterday was proof, I didn't get many good pictures so...

I'll leave you with this...but first let me set the stage: Kevin is outside chattin' with some guys in the neighborhood talking hunting and other "manly" things, when he asks Kallen to go back inside and get him a beer...you know...men, "bs-ing", beer...it all goes together right! Anyways, Kallen came inside, and Kynlee was playing with some of her dress up things, and he decided he wanted to play too. He was so "tickled" by being a ladybug, that he had to wear it outside for daddy to see. So...Kallen in the ladybug outfit, beer in hand, walking over to a bunch of rough and tough "manly" men in deep conversation! Kevin was so proud of his "manly" son, as you can only imagine!!!

Blessings,

A Camoflauged Super Bug...and a few extras!

Here are our little munchkins from Friday! Our little hunter, and ladybug...with their friends Dawson the indian, Ellie the Rodeo Queen, and River...aka Davy Crockett! They had a blast, and are still high on sugar!

Blessings,

Two Kiddos, Two Smiles...finally!

I know...don't all gasp at the same time, but I, queen of a million pictures a month, haven't been taking any pictures lately. Mostly because my children refuse...and yes, I mean refuse to have anything to do with the camera, but also because there doesn't seem to be any time. Anyways, I've tried being sneaky and pulling the camera out at the last minute, I've tried putting things on my head and acting goofy, and I've even tried bribes...but to no avail. I either get screams, or the backs of heads, and after a couple hundred pictures of the backs of their heads, I'm pretty sure I'll remember what a head w/ hair looks like in a few years, and there isn't really a need to get any more of those "precious" shots. So...I've quit for a while. Just plain quit taking pictures.

Well, Sunday we went as a family to the Pumpkin Patch, and even during my photography strike, if you will, I had to take the camera...You've got to get pictures of the pumpkin patch, right! Well, I got Kal, when I told him to turn around and smile (before he knew I had the camera)...

and I got Kynz in her typical, fingers in the mouth, act like I don't hear you pose. All the acting silly, and making funny noises, never fazed her...but the goat looks amused!

So...after finally picking our pumpkins (Kallen wanted a small one he could carry, but they were all bigger than an elephant, so we had to settle on one we could carry together), I picked up the kids, set them on a pumpkin, which amused them long enough to back up, call their names and "shoot"! Ahhhh...how cute are they! Finally...a picture with them both looking, no fingers in Kynlee's mouth, and smiles ta butte! Yes...maybe I won't retire my camera after all!

Blessings,

Minus 2

My cousin Lyndzie and I are a couple of months apart in age, and we've always been very close. We used to say that we would always get married at the same time, and have kids at the same time, just to keep the closeness. Well...the marriages came a couple of years apart, as did our first children, and we now live 4+ hours apart. Not how we would like it at all...but that's life. Anyways...last sunday the kids and I took a "marathon" trip up to Seattle for her sister, my cousin, Aubree's daughter Avree's (follow all that) first birthday. There she is...Yay Avree!

And I got to see Caleb...Lyndzie's son, for the first time since he was a month or so old! I just love his seriuos face, and though I should share it with you all!

So there you have it...my cousin's kiddos, which makes them what??? my "second cousins", or are they my kids second cousins! Huh...Anyways, I love them and they are just too cute!

Also...my grandparents wanted a picture of all their grandkids (minus 2, since Parker and Griffin) weren't able to make the party! So...getting all 8 kiddos to sit and smile after a couple of hours of presents, people and cake...they just weren't havin' it! This is the best I got! From left to right: Benson, Josiah, Sean whose holding Caleb, Mattison whose holding Avree, Kallen and Kynlee!

Blessings,

More Than a "Mom"!

I recently attended the National MOPS convention (if you don't know what MOPS is, go to www.mops.org and check it out), and was fortunate enough to hear Kathy Peal speak. She gave a workshop on "The Busy Mom's Guide to a Happy Organized Home", and it was fantastic! Along with many other things, I came away with a job description that really describes my "job". In fact...it's posted on my refrigerator as we speak, and I recite it every morning with pride. Okay...maybe I don't recite it every morning, but it's not a bad idea I tell ya!

I oversee the most important organization in the world
Where hundreds of decisions are made daily
Where property and resources are managed
Where health and futures are discussed and debated
Where projects are planned and events are arranged
Where transportation and scheduling are critical
Where team building is priority…
I AM A FAMILY MANAGER

Blessings,

What's My Name Again?

Life seems to be a little crazy these days, and I'm pretty sure I'm losing my mind...so while I'm sure I've got some funny story or life changing advice to share with you all...I can't seem to come up with anything. Therefore...pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Blessings,