The Perrys

Yup, we're still here. We have been laying low the last few months. I was hospitalized d/t Pneumonia at the beginning of February for a few days and haven't done much since then.

Jake is still on the search for a job. We're hoping and praying every day that this will be the week. Any prayers on our behalf are greatly appreciated. With renewed faith we hope that we get an answer to our prayers soon.

In lighter news we have an OWL living in the tree behind our house. It has inhabited an old nest in one of our large trees. We can hear it Hoot at night and wonder if there are eggs in that nest. It sits up there all day long. Pretty cool. Snapped a picture of it one day, hopefully you can make out that cat-like silhouette through the trees. I'll try to get a better picture of it soon!

Some fun pictures!

Jordan is doing AWESOME at school. He is reading far better than I had ever imagined by this point. He easily reads most common words and sounds out many more. I tease him and tell him to stop reading and it motivates him to read more!

Braden is also doing well. I can't believe that he'll be 3 soon. It is amazing how fast time flies. He talks super well, and even talks back sometimes. He can't wait till he can go to preschool. I love my sweet little guys.

Who's that girl?

My Jacob! He is sporting one of my favorite shirts (probably because I bought it for him). Anyways....

Hopefully we'll have some good news soon. We'll keep you posted!

What in the world have we been up to?

Silly Haircuts!

Thanksgiving with family!

My mother-in-law and me!

Trika and Me

Tara's Wedding

My sister, Cari, came and did her hair early that morning!

Jordan and Cari's son, Korbyn

The happy couple!

Jordan and Braden making bird feeders with mommy!

Now we're making a gingerbread house~!

Dad even got roped into helping to make Christmas goodies!

My personal favorite - Grandma's Danish Pastry!

Just mom and the boys by the Christmas Tree

(ignore the date, i forgot to reset it!)

Daddy Jdawg

Jordan and Braden opening their Christmas present!

It's a play kitchen!

You can always count on Jake to have some fun with his facial hair! We love him!

Happy New Year to all!

Halloween Fun!

Hangin' in their cool shades!

Carvin' pumpkins!

Then painting pumpkins!

The finished result!

My little beasts!

So ferocious! I barely snapped this picture before they attacked!

I was so scared!

So was Jake!

Spirit week at Sunrise!

Jake and I on the way to KOOZA by Cirque du Soleil---it was Excellent!

Jordan and Braden on Hawaiian Shirt day. My mom bought these for the boys when they were in Hawaii a while back. They really came in handy!

Crazy Clothes/Hair day. Jordan did GREAT and loved his hair. His clothes totally didn't match and his hair was pretty crazy!

Adventures in Squashland

For anyone who knows me well knows that I am not afraid to try new recipes. I actually do it quite frequently. I like almost everything, especially if it is a fruit or a vegetable. Needless to say, tonight was a disaster. I acquired a butternut squash and a spaghetti squash last week and was eager to try a few new recipes. I LOVE yellow squash and banana squash, so I thought this wouldn't be much different. I chose a creamy butternut squash soup and spaghetti squash with tomato and basil. They were both easy and safe. As I completed my presentation it actually looked pretty good, but I had a feeling deep inside me that serving this to my family was wrong on so many levels.

I learned a lot at this meal. I sat down and we had prayer and then I did a lot of observing. Jordan dug right into the soup without question. I told him also what was in the other dish and he said, "Yummy." Braden dipped his spoon into the soup and carefully licked it off. He also liked it. Jake went for the Spaghetti squash dish first. Traditionally Jake is not a fan of ANYTHING from the squash family unless it is a dessert made with pumpkin. But here he was, my sweet husband, eating the meal I had prepared him -without question or complaining.

I started with the soup, which was WAY too peppery, but otherwise was okay...for a few bites. I quickly moved on to the spaghetti squash. I glanced over to Jake whose plate was half empty and tried my first bite. I quickly fought back my most simple of reflexes--the gag--with a gulp of milk. While the flavor was tolerable the texture was not. It wasn't long and before everyone was moving the food around with spoons and forks rather than actual eating going on. I only mustered the strength to take a few more bites before I exclaimed to the family....

Does anyone want PIZZA ROLLS?

If you followed our meal for tonight-- it went from the refrigerator to the stove and then to the garbage disposal. I will definitely continue to try new recipes, but I think I'm done with butternut and spaghetti squash. Still, several hours later, I feel as though I must swallow harder than usual.

After dinner while we were cleaning up Jake asked the rhetorical question, "Why is squash even on the earth?".....I'm not quite sure.

For anyone who would like to try these recipes you can find them in my recycling bin.

My "Fruitful" Shopping Trip

Today I went to a place where you pay a nominal fee and get and astronomical amount of food. I think the food is donated by many grocery stores and the money collected is used to help the poor and needy. It was a GREAT experience, and I got so much food that I had to share some of the produce with my neighbor. I had to take two pictures to show everything, because there was just too much for one. Let me know if you want any information about this place.

PS - They also provide child care. What a wonderful non-profit organization!

My little school boy!

My little Jordan is in Kindergarten!

Here he is before we left!
His new school, Sunrise Elementary!

Jordan with his excited, and a little emotional, mommy.

In line, ready to go into school. The girl he is standing next to is Gabby, our neighbor across the street.

Jordan with his teacher, Mrs. Gast.

So far Jordan LOVES Kindergarten. He has had a cough for a few days and today I said that maybe he shouldn't go to school. He said, "That would be sad, mommy. I need to go to Kindergarten". So I didn't argue any further.