HOORAY for Spring!

Fingers crossed... It looks as though winter has finally come to an end! HALLELUJAH! We're heading into a warm week in the upper 60's! We are looking forward to getting outside, shaking the dust off ourselves and getting back into all our favorite warm(er)-weather activities. The boys are already anxious for baseball, and golf and the spiderman pool... And this Mommy is certainly excited to put away the boots, hats and mittens and dig out the flip-flops! Ok, so maybe the spiderman pool and the flip-flops aren't quite ready to be put back into action just yet... but nonetheless, the arrival of Spring is always a very welcome sight! WOO HOO!



In honor of the melting of the snow, the warming of the air, and the lovely sun shining, I thought it fitting to boost the color quotient of the ol' Saari blog page!

More Painting!

So. After an amazingly short (at least for us!!) amount of deliberation, we decided to paint our kitchen RED... Yep. Red. Well, a brickish, rusty red anyway! I was inspired by my favorite kitchen towels. It is a big change, but we're are really enjoying the dramatic difference!

These are a few pictures of our new color... sadly our kitchen is still a disaster zone!

Brady Moments

Here is a short conversation overheard this evening as we were getting ready for dinner....

Brady: "Hey Caleb. Wanna try on my funky hat?"

Caleb: No

Brady: "Why?!! Too funky for ya?"


And one more Brady moment I have to share...

The kids received a Valentine's Day Fun package from Auntie Manda. They are always excited by these boxes of greatness when the show up at our door, as they are usually filled with all kinds of wonderful treats and treasures that Mommy probably wouldn't provide on her own!

Their Valentine box included not only candy treats, but also SLIME, erasers, glittery st. patricks day glasses, AND punch balloons!

Daddy inflated a balloon for each of the boys, and Brady headed out to the living room with his...

Brady to Caleb: "Hey Caleb! Look at this! We can have a punch party with these bad boys!"


Aaah yes. Brady, Brady, Brady!



This is just one small example of the daily humor we receive from Mr. Brady...

Thanks to Manda, and her creative photoshop talents, we now have a fun picture header for the ol' blog page!!! Yay!

Thankful...

I am thankful for my three, beautiful, healthy children. I am thankful for my wonderful, loving husband. I am thankful for our supportive, caring family. I am thankful for our amazing friends.


Today there is so much to be thankful for. Maija's smile. Caleb's determination. Brady's humor. The list continues on and on indefinitely.

When you hear of parents losing a child, it is like a bucket of cold water in the face. It opens your eyes. It wakes you up... Look around and see all the wonderful blessings in your life. Be thankful for them. Hug your children, your spouse, or even just a friend a little bit longer and a little bit tighter next time around...


*Caleb's teacher, Catherine Johnson, and her husband Kip, adopted a newborn baby boy in December. His name was Elijah. Soon after welcoming baby Eli into their family and home, he became very ill. He struggled through several weeks in the hospital. His tiny body suffering through much more than anyone should have to. It was determined that Eli needed a new liver--and was placed on the transplant list. Prayers were answered this past Sunday when a liver became available. Elijah went into surgery on Monday... but didn't make it through...

Even though little Eli's life was much too short, it was overflowing with the love and hope of so many people... even those of us who never got to meet him. His fierce fight to survive, and his new parents' overwhelming journey with him touches my heart. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers...

"Chicken" Nuggets

Here is Caleb and his fellow Nuggets ("like chicken nuggets??!" asked Brady when Caleb told him his team's name...) in action. The team is composed of 3rd/4th grade boys, and is, for the most part, non-competitive. We have been having a blast watching the kids play every Saturday morning. They really do a great job!!! It can be a bit chaotic at times, but they seem to be learning a lot in the process!

December in Pictures

LET THE PAINTING BEGIN!:

I thought this one was just too cute!

Brady was an fantastic helper

with the paint roller!

Maija wanted to be a part of

the painting party too!

Almost there!
It was not fun to have the house
in utter chaos for 3 days... but it was worth it!



Here you can see the two different shades
The lighter is called white scallion
the darker is brown buzz

We love the new color...

It's warm and calming,

and just makes everything a bit more cozy!




CHRISTMAS TREE HUNTING:

Maija all bundled up!

She thought it was so funny to be

outside and all snuggled up in her blanket!

Here it is! The perfect tree!

Daddy wasn't joking around when

he said he wanted a

"really big" tree this year!!!

There goes our tree through the netting machine

Took a while, but we finally got it standing...

and anchored into the wall studs!

The boys couldn't wait to get it decorated!

This shot, although not very clear,

does give a bit of perspective as to

just how large our glorious tree was!

The finished product!

Almost 12 ft. tall from

the floor to the tip of the star!



WELCOME TO THE WORLD

Asher John Tuttle:

He's finally here!

And he's ADORABLE!

Proud Mama and her new little man!

The newly expanded Tuttle Family!!!

Asher gave his Daddy a fun little present,

wrapped up in a Pamper!

She's a walking expert now!

"Hmmm. I think this one looks interesting!"

"Is anybody looking??"

"Whoa! Look at that! My finger

fits just right!"

CHRISTMAS 2009