Still waiting

Well, we are still waiting on the buyer for this house! Prayerfully we will sell by the end of summer and be in our new home when it is time for the new school year.

It is a lovely muggy and partly cloudy Saturday, finding Chris out cutting the grass and Paige out playing in the flowers. (really, just weeding but among the flowers nonetheless!) The kids are just relaxing, it is about time to start packing Caitlyn for her Kansas City trip... we leave Monday to drop her off for two weeks. We are excited, she is a bit nervous too!

CRAZY BUSY

Sorry it has been so long since posting, but we have been so very busy around here. I almost need caffeine to keep up with myself. Last Saturday we had a fabulous birthday party for Matthan with plenty of little men taking over my backyard hunting for dinosaur bones... then we had some friends over for BBQ... then we cleaned up and prepped the house for cleanliness and possible showings on Sunday. (Finishing the shining of everything... all before we left for church that morning!) We spent Sunday afternoon going to a couple of open houses and then back for a 3p showing of our home. Whew. Monday & Tuesday the boys were both sick with runny noses and coughs. Wednesday morning brought two showings in the same day... one at 10:30 am (YIKES) and another at 5 pm. Talk about going crazy cleaning... that's me. Then last night we worked in the basement again, putting doorknobs on and cleaning up trimwork. Today it is relatively quiet around here... the boys are still sick (There is nothing more pitiful than a newborn coughing all night) Which brings me to sleep deprivation... I have not been able to catch more than 3 hours at a time, because poor little Westley keeps waking himself coughing. Matthan also was awakened by the thunder and lightning last night. 2:30-3 am seems to be some kind of regular awakening hour around here, sigh. I don't mean to complain, I don't mind the interruptions in sleep so much, just trying to make sense out of why this posting reads like one large run on sentence! I will post pictures sometime of the birthday bash... right now Westley and I are going to take a nap!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHAN!

Happy Birthday Matthan!

Helping Mommy Ice the Cake!Cleaning the Spatula

Putting the Sprinkles OnFinishing Touches

Great Job, Cake looks Perfect

Blowing out my candlesMatthan's First Bike

Surprise!Very Excited about New Bike

Daddy Showing me how to ride
Note the new matching Go Diego Helmet

Riding like a pro

Gluten Free Mulberry Cobbler

Actual Birthday Over, Celebration with Friends to come on Saturday. Today was a fun day for Matthan. He got his very first big boy bike today. With Matching helmet and knee pads... very cool. He also got a Diego movie and a rescue heroes figure. We baked a marble cake with swirl icing and a gluten free mulberry cobbler for Caitlyn. whew! By the way, the Mulberries are compliments of St. Peters Parks... we went out on Monday and picked them (for free) off some of the various mulberry trees growing in our local parks... Thanks yes, we did sing the song. However, it is actually a stinking very tall tree, not so much a bush. It was lovely weather for berry picking and quite a fruitful effort... pun intended. :)

Happy 4 months old to Westley today!

The Clausen Grandparents visit...

Here are the best photos of Mom and Dad Clausen's visit this past weekend...

Love it all!

On a side note the Dalton grandparents were in this weekend as well and we had a marvelous meal with them at Macaroni Grill, but Paige forgot the camera! Maybe someone will email me some pics to blog from that...

Mom's Magnolia Tree is Blooming

The Scent is Lovely... The Blooms are Beautiful!

The heady fragrance of the blossoms wafting across my garden and into my home.

Love you Mom,
miss you,
XOXO
Steel Magnolia

Oh the pictures I must share with the world...

Caitlyn on WACKY HAIR DAYOBVIOUSLY a MUSIC THEME

That's an "E" guitar string wired in there!

"Sister Golden Hair"

Candid Camera

Westley posing for the camera!Action Jackson
trying to escape the bumbo
or get the Pickle Relish

Matthan belly laughing at Chris's antics with Westley
but notice the chocolate cookie crumbs!
What a Fabulous Face!

Not much today... it was stellar weather. The only outside thing we did was water all the flowers and enjoy the evening on the deck. The kids played outside for a few minutes this afternoon. It was a mellow day. Westley has decided to avoid naps at all costs right now and is back to waking every 4 hours or so. Must be that 3 month growth spurt. The little sturgeon is going to have to cry it out tonight! Mommy needs some sleep. But she now has Dove Dark Chocolates again... THANK YOU WONDERFUL HUSBAND, I LOVE YOU TOO!
Chocolates get WAAAAY more points than flowers around here!

Another Milestone for Sir Westley

Well tonight we moved from cradle to crib. What a big boy he is getting to be. He has been able to roll from front to back for a week or two now. He seemed to be uncomfortable in the cradle at night... crying out and trying to roll over. So, tonight while Chris was playing drums at a gig I put the crib together (Thank you Tracie for loaning it to us! It matches the bedroom perfectly!) So after his last feeding I will move him into it to sleep the rest of the night. Sigh. They get big so fast. Seems like just yesterday he was born.

Welcome Gideon Clayton Dalton

Aunt Paige
so very happy to be holding the little prince!What a handsome little guy!

Pround Papa

Beautiful New Mommy and Baby!

Hiding behind his little hands

We're so glad you're finally here! You handsome little guy!
Love, Aunt Paige & Uncle Chris and cousins Caitlyn, Matthan & Westley.

Stats: 8 lbs 12.5 oz 21.5 inches born today at 7:41 AM

The latest at Hausen of Clausen

This is Mom's Magnolia Tree... about to bloom!
Caitlyn's last day of 7th grade

Matthan in the early morning light

Check out the "halo" Matthan gave to Westley!Just finished planting and mulching this bed

I spent all morning Thursday putting in
Purple Vinca and Yellow Marigolds (to keep away the bunnies)
and then I mulched it all!

We are certainly busy around here. Getting this house in order to sell is one tall order. We have been working and cleaning non-stop. When did we accumulate so much junk?! The basement room might be completed tonight, that's pretty exciting! The kids are playing in the new rec room now, we really just have to paint the doors and trim in order to be finished. Please keep praying for God's will in the sale of this house and the finding of the new home. So far it has been slow foot traffic, but I imagine it will pick up this weekend. For any who don't yet know, we have put our wonderful house on the market and are looking for a new place in South County, closer to Church, work and HOP (our entire lives seem to take place down south!) It is pretty slim pickins in the school district we want in our price range.

How long since we posted last...

Well it has been awhile since I posted. Sorry bout that.

Summer is in full swing around here... meaning: sleeping late (for us anyway) lots of outdoor play and plenty of picnicing in the parks. It also means cutting the grass, weeding and mulching the flowerbeds, watering things outdoors etc. With all the yardwork, we are quite busy in our spare time. Never mind the basement project! The kids are just getting bigger by the minute and getting in each others space quite regularly since they are not used to being home so much together. I will be glad when the almost finished rec room is completely free to be a playroom all the time.

We went over to friends house on Sunday after church and had a BBQ. It was fabulous. So nice to hang out with like minded people. Matthan had a great time playing with his friend Doug.

Things are in transition at church and HOP with new buildings and moving going on. That should keep us busy for the next two weeks!

We are all looking forward to next weekend when Grandma & Grandpa Clausen are coming in from Iowa for a visit!

Clausen Children on a Silly Saturday

Just Hanging Out Aren't we so cute ...

We just had a silly Saturday. Not much happening... Chris mowed before it rained... then painted or rather primed the basement walls. (yes we are still working on the room downstairs!) Paige cleaned and cooked. The kids played most of the day, then we had a family movie night with popcorn and marshmallows... Yum!

Friday's Freedoms

Well, it is nice to hit Friday this week. For the first and probably only time in the next ten years, we are home on a Friday night because the HOP is closed for a wedding. Otherwise you can find us at HOP on any other Friday night. I just want to say how wonderful it was to put kids to bed on time and sit on the couch with my husband and enjoy a nice glass of wine. Here are a couple of cute pics of the Westley man... enjoy your memorial day weekend!

On a different note, Matthan saw Dr. Otis thursday and both his hips are looking good. He is completely grown off the pins from the January 07 surgery. Dr. O said no concern, but no contact sports for the little man... like I was gonna let that happen HA! No football for my guys, sorry Dad.

Tuesday Tuesday

Well it is Tuesday... Paige stained the deck surface today (she had a friend helping!) The surface of the deck was peeling or peeled off during that ice storm we had this past winter. It only took all morning to prep it and then only an hour to actually re-stain it. We also have been doing some painting in the basement and plan to finish that job up this week. It is spring cleaning fever around here, Paige is planning on cleaning all the windows tomorrow. Plus we have to go through the basement (now that the room is finally finished!) the subdivision garage sale is next weekend (31st) and we have a few items we have been hanging onto for far too long (like the bachelor couch) Busy Busy Busy :)

The kiddos are finishing up their school years and we are busy with award ceremonies, concerts etc. It will be nice to move into the slower pace of summer... Fishing, picnicing, park and zoo visits.

Gorgeous Weekend

Matthan explains his Art to MommySculpting was after painting (wonder who he takes after!)

The next night we moved into photography
Matthan took this shot of Westley

and this shot of Daddy

All while Daddy was trying to get this shot of Caity!

Wednesday was outside fun day at Matthan's school, so Mommy went and played outside with him. Kind of like a class party, it was a lot of fun. Thursday night was Caitlyn's last choir concert. We all headed over for the perfomance. She sang well. She is growing up so quickly.

Well, it was fabulously sunny and beautiful all weekend. The Clausen clan kept busy... Friday night found Chris leading worship at the HOP... Gateway House of Prayer.

Saturday we went to Lucas's 1st birthday... Esther and Marc cooked some amazing burgers (yes, they served meat and Esther joined in eating it, though Marc continued down his vegetarian road!). They had some incredible yummy food out for all of us, even presented with paper and plastic (and styrofoam oops!) with a recycle bin nearby. Love YOU Esther. Sir Lucas had a great time hanging out with with friends and family for his birthday... yes, I'm sure he enjoyed the presents too! It was nice to be a part of the celebration of Lucas's life, he is a super little guy. We kinda like Mom & Dad too! Ha.

We got a fabulous blessing this weekend. Paige got a visit from the tooth fairy! Who knew that when you get your last remaining upper molar extracted, the tooth fairy visits in a big way?! Bless God for all He gives us.

Sunday we went to church and had worship, an impartation session and more. Our pastors Tom and Mary just got back Friday night from Lakeland, Florida . There is an incredible move of God happening in the form of a healing revival that is spreading by way of impartation to other parts of our country and across the globe. Go to www.Freshfire.ca if you want some! The healings are amazing and there are so many miracles happening, it is hard to comprehend them all. They have it live on God TV every night.

After church today we came home for lunch and yardwork and then moved on through dinner, kiddo baths and kiddo bedtimes. We are exhausted and happy that everyone is healthy and off in dreamland.