Back from Arkansas

I was in Arkansas visiting family for Thanksgiving. I got to see all of my brothers over Thanksgiving week. Plus one set of grandparents, and various nieces and nephews.

It was really nice to be with my family. Stephen is pretty close with my brothers and they spent a lot of time outside building explosives and beating each other up....not in a mad way, but in a hey we are guys and like seeing if we can beat each other up sort of way.

I just love hanging out with my brothers. I never knew we would like each other so much as "grown ups" with as much fighting as we did as kids. I don't even remember the fighting that much, just the good times. Which there were plenty of them also. It is just so cool to be so comfortable around and be such good friends with my siblings. When we get together it is like we were never apart, we get right back to the fun so fast.
I am slightly jealous...well that is not the right word I don't think, but anyways, because Chris and Bill have each other, then Ben and Tommy, and of course the twins. Whereas I am close with all of them, I don't have a sister to hang out with. It was so sweet seeing Ben and Tommy together. Ben got home from work and he and Tommy were all smiles from then on. Laughing, joking, talking and just catching up in general.

Tyrel had a lot of fun playing with Alana, Connor and Nickole. He has never really spent a lot of time with his cousins on my side of the family. A lot of times when we would go visit, they wouldn't be home. So I am glad he got to play with them.

I got out my dad's guitar and practiced some, and he played some also. I have always loved listening to and watching my Daddy play guitar. I have only recently started to play, and can't really even play one song well yet. I have always wanted to play, but was intimidated to start.

So anyways.

We went ice skating at the Jones Center in Springdale. I had never been ice skating before. It was really fun. Tyrel loved it. If we lived near someplace like that we might have signed him up for hockey when he was older.

We also went to visit some friends who live about an hour and a half from my parents. Stephen has known them since he was 13 or 14. They used to live around here. It was great getting to see them. They are building a dome house, so we got to see that. It is really coming along. The kids are already sleeping over in it. The kitchen is/will be beautiful. I hope that Laurie and my Mom can come down for a Motherhood retreat together this coming up February.

While I was there I was thinking about when Stephen and I got engaged. It was about this time of year (November 27th 2004 to be exact) and we lived up there at the time. I still lived at home, and Stephen lived in a little camper trailer park in one of their cabins. So anyways, I was thinking of maybe writing a series of posts on how Stephen and I met. Probably not as interesting as Pioneer Woman and Marlboro Man's story, but I like it. Stephen and I did not do things like I would like our kids to, but it was a lot closer to it than most of my friends from growing up did things. At least we were both still umm "innocent" when we got married. So if you are reading it going, hey wow, that doesn't sound like Becky....I have grown up a lot and learned a lot of things about true purity since then. SO If I get around to it, you can read our love story of the next couple days/ weeks, depending on how long it takes me to get around to it.

Already?

Kimber Ann is a month old already? Where does the time go? How is it that it seems like she just got here, yet in some ways like she has always been here?
She sure has plumped up in this past month. She has started smiling at me the past few days. It is so cute. Just melts my heart :).
She and Tyrel like to tag team it with naps. She is awake for awhile in the mornings, while we get dressed,eat breakfast etc. Then she will nap til we are fixing lunch usually. After lunch is Ty's nap, and she stays awake through most of that. Then when he wakes up, she goes back to sleep for a while.
Hmmm. She still hasn't got to meet her Grumpa, or 4 of her uncles. But she will meet them over Thanksgiving. She, like Tyrel, is a very 'easy' baby. Generally happy, or easy to get happy.
I guess there isn't much else to say. She eats, sleeps, smiles, and lets Tyrel kiss her and hold her hand, and 'burp' her (he thinks patting her, any time, is burping her). He holds her.... with help, and runs and gets me diapers, or throws them away. He has made it his job to empty the bucket I put diapers in over night, every morning. Well, thats about all I can think of for her one month post.

Best Friends....Whether they like it or not.

So can you tell who is who? This is Kimber and Amy. Amy is about 2 weeks younger than Kimber. Her name is Amy Grace, so I call her Amyzing Grace.

Well I have a crying Kimber, so I will not write any more on this right now.

Having Fun With My Kids

I need to start getting more pictures of Stephen with the kids also. I am usually visiting with him when he is home and don't think to take pictures, so you will have to just see me with my cute chillins again. It is such a joy to be a Mama.Kimber and I, while I was cooking supper :)

And again...Tyrel helping me make spaghetti. Kimber wasn't any too happy that I stopped bouncing/swaying long enough to have my picture taken. I just LOVE Tyrel's smile, He really has just started smiling like that really recently. He is almost always happy, just wasn't SMILEY. He has been getting a little more smiley lately though :).See? Sooo adorable. If he wasn't napping, I'd go hug and kiss on him right now just for being so cute in this picture!

See my trailer Mama?

After supper, with 'sketty' still on his face...

I love the way they are looking at each other here. It is going to be so much fun watching them grow up together. Remind me of that Mom, when they are fighting ;)

That smile again....and Kimber's pretty cute too!I finally noticed his face was messy and cleaned him up.

I love how he looks mad and she looks frightened in this picture...I think he was getting tired of me telling him to smile, when all he wanted to do was hold his sister's hand and kiss on her.

Tyrel looks a little goofy in this one, but Kimber is really cute.

Hmmm. More Random Stuff

Pictures from our walk this morning.

Mama and Chillin's

"Timmer A-yen" as Tyrel calls her. :)

Jumping for joy!

Bust a move!

Mama's big helper!
Helping make cookies

And helping clean up!

Random

Just some pictures from my camera. One is even from PreKimber Era.

Kimber Tyrel playing with a goat.

Yes, that goat has duct tape on her head.

Tyrel this morning

Ty and prego me

The view from somewhere on the frontside.

North

East

South

West

It is pretty cool not having to see other people. Ever. Well okay, so I just saw Mr. H drive his tractor by in the field as I typed this. But at least his house isn't on that place.

And one from the other evening of the windmill.

What do you think?

Does she look like me?
Me, 1 month

Kimber, 2 weeks

Kimber

Just some pictures of my little girl.

Pictographs

Ever since I have moved here, I have wanted to go see the Paint Rock Pictographs. I finally got a chance to yesterday. Some local homeschoolers were having a field trip there, so we joined them. I took some of Stephen's younger siblings along as well. It was really neat. Mrs. C was our tour guide and she is a spry 82 years old, as she kept reminding us :). If I remember correctly, her grandfather bought the property the pictographs are on, to keep vandals out. Now she and her husband own, and run the place.

We found out that the paint that the Indians used was healthy for them. It is full of iron. I thought that was interesting, as they used the same paint as war paint. Like maybe they used war paint for more than looking scary. It kept their iron up etc..

I am only posting relatively few pictures. There are a lot of pictographs there. It is really neat.

I have a piece of paper with what they assume the Indians were trying to say with these. But my other arm is falling asleep with a sleeping baby on it. So I'll not put them on here right now.And one for Annie. :)