Sam...

Well, since I haven't properly introduced our newest edition, allow me to now:

This is America Samuel Danzig Norris, more commonly known as "Sam."

This is Sam at 3 weeks old.
Sam is a South African Mastiff, also known as a Boerboel.

4 weeks old...

6 weeks old...

8 weeks old... our first meeting!

Certainly love at first sight, that's for sure.

He was calm and confident right from the beginning.

He immediately took to Rick. He knew right way who Daddy was.

We flew down to LA to pick him up. There are not many reputable breeders in the US, and the one we chose was in California. So we flew out EARLY Friday morning, picked him up at 11 am, and headed to Hermosa Beach for a few hours of bonding time. As you can see, there was not issues with bonding at all!
He seems SO small in Rick's arms. When we brought him home, he was around 18 pounds at 8 weeks old.

Yes, he actually used to fit in Rick's lap

9 weeks old... and helping me with my homework

Sam went to Ski to Sea with us, and met an English Mastiff along the way. He was right at home with him!

10 weeks old...

12 weeks old...

13 weeks old... He loves the kids and they love him... if you can't tell

16 weeks old... first time out on the boat!

17 weeks old... loves to play with Rick!

18 weeks old...

19 weeks old...

He is already 56 pounds!!

Well... that is our boy! We love him... I am sure there are going to be more posts on him. I certainly have enough pictures of him :-)

4th of July Boating

We took the boat our for it's (second) maiden voyage this weekend for the 4th of July. We headed out to Sucia Island in the San Juans. It is a beautiful island right on the US/Canadian border. We had SUCH a great time! Rick and I loved being out there with our family. The kids were especially excited about being on the boat! Jim and Joanne joined us for the weekend. We can't wait to go again!

Here are some of the pictures from our weekend:









Click here to view more photos from the weekend! Thank you, husband, for the wonderful weekend. Can't wait for the next...

Graduation

Well, I did it.

I finally finished Nursing School. It is no secret that it hasn't been an easy two years (four if you count the prereqs). Going to school when you have a husband AND kids is a HUGE task! On top of all that, our church closed, we moved, and life happened.

But after all of that was said and done, I still graduated. And I am glad. Glad to have accomplished this, glad it's over, glad my family walked along side with me, glad we are all better for it.

I am so thankful to everyone who supported me throughout this whole process. We would NEVER have made it without all of your love and support.
Here are the girls I lovingly call the nurses... I truly would not have finished school if it weren't for your encouragement, support, late night study sessions and dance parties, fun weekends "off", and shoulders to cry on. Thank you ladies. (Chelsea wasn't in the picture, darn it!).
Jennay... I love you! You are my person. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.




To Momma and Poppa, Dad, Jim and Joanne, Christine and Mike, Lisa and Chris... thank you is not enough. Through my ups and downs, laughter and tears, you stood by me when I needed you the most. We can NEVER thank you enough, but we'll say thank you anyway and we love you.


To Maddie and Taylor, thank you for understanding that mommy had to study, couldn't watch movies all the time or color whenever you wanted, thank you for loving me despite my grumpiness and frustration. Thank you for all your hugs, kisses, and prayers. They worked miracles. I hope that my endurance and perseverance showed you how hard work can really pay off. I love you both.

To my wonderful husband... You ran, walked, and crawled this journey with me. I know God has truly blessed us for walking thorough this together. I cannot imagine my world without you, and I am so thankful to have you in my life. I am so excited about the next chapter in our life. Boating... no studying... spontaneity... time together. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for us. Thank you... I love you. Oh, and I won't tell anyone that you got choked up with tears in your eyes as you pinned me... that just wouldn't be cool :-)

Father's Day/Weekend...

Well, better late than never!

This year, we celebrated Father's Day with 3 of the 4 fathers in our lives ~ my dad (Eric) was up from California, my dad (Gary) was up from Olympia, and Rick. Rick's dad (Jim) was out of town, unfortunately. We missed you, Jim.

We had a lot of fun with my dads while they were here! The kids were SO excited to have their grandpas here.


On Father's Day, we spent the day with just the six of us... Rick, Me, Maddie, Taylor, Cede, and Sam. We started with chocolate chip pancakes (made my Maddie), picnic lunch (courtesy of Wendy's) at Cornwall Park, then filet mignon (grilled by Taylor, sort of) and garlic mashed potatoes for dinner, and DQ ice cream for dessert. It was the perfect day. Rick was so happy to be able to relax the ENTIRE day... Here is a little snapshot of what his day consisted of:
Wonderful day.

Thank you to all the dads who love and care for us. We love you!

Playing with the Cousins

Spencer, Mason, and Slade are here for an overnighter! Here is how WE like to have fun!

Little too close, Maddie...

Slade made quick friends with Sam.

Sam was helping to keep an eye on Slade. Very helpful little puppy...

Taylor begged to help feed Slade. He's a good helper too.

A little DS time doesn't hurt anyone...
Well... it might make them a little crazy!

Here is Sam being the protective cousin... actually, since Sam is from South Africa and Slade is from Ethiopia, then they are African Brothers!!

SYTYCD

So... my favorite show is So You Think You Can Dance. Hands down. Amazing talent! I DREAM of being as good a dancer as those kids... ah... it's nice to dream.

While watching this week's elimination episode, Taylor asked if he could hang out with me and watch too. Me being the artist I am was happy to enrich his mind and open him to the world of dance. Here is some of his commentary:

(During the tango) "Mommy, is one of those people a man? I can't tell which one!" (me) "He's the one with the ponytail." (Taylor) "Really?"

(watching Tony the hiphop dancer) "Now THAT is dancing."

(during Asuka's routine) "She's cute." (I completely disagree.. she is not my fav)

(during Jonathan's routine) "That was WOW WOW."

Take that Nigel Lythgoe.

Missing in Action

Hi everyone. I realized it has been six months (or more) since I last posted... well NO MORE of that! It is time to celebrate. I graduate from nursing school in one week! So, there is time on my horizon... I promise to catch you up on the year so far...

Until then, here are a few pictures that I love that mark 2009 :

Winter Weather

We are bracing for a storm this week... the weatherman says it is supposed to be the coldest weather the county has had in 20 years. It is so windy that this is what we walked out to this afternoon:
Looks like we need a chainsaw!

A chapter closing...

It has been a very difficult time for us lately... we closed our church at the beginning of December. Rick and I started it almost 10 years ago with some friends. Over the last couple years, it has been slowly dwindling in numbers. The Spirit was still very much alive, but we were not growing. God pruned us until we felt like we could be pruned no more. So, we threw out a fleece to God asking Him to bring a couple specific things to us as a "sign," if you will, that we were to stay open. Nothing happened. So we prayed hard, and decided that we felt the Lord was asking us to give it over to Him. So we feel like this was sort of an Abraham & Issac story... we offered the sacrifice. We raised the dagger. We prayed he would stop us from plunging, but knew if He didn't, it was His will. Unfortunately, we had to plunge.

We are incredibly sad and overwhelmed with having to find a new direction. Rick was faced with having to look for a new career. This is a horrible time to be looking for work, but we are confident God will provide everything we need. Of that I am sure. Our prayers were answered only one week after the church closed with a job in the Title Insurance industry as the business Rick worked for before full time ministry. What a blessing. We are so thankful for God's provision. We are uncertain of what the future holds as this position is temporary, but we know God is in control, and we look forward to seeing Him reveal His plan daily.
Thank you for your prayers. They are deeply appreciated. Please continue to pray for us and for our church family.

What if...

Thank you, Diana, for posting this on your blog. It was just what I needed to see this morning...