What happened to August?

The rain is here... the trees are changing colors and summer is officially over. I love the autumn! I love my sweaters, my scarfs, my coffee. I don't know what happened to August. I think that's a trend in my life... (I think I blogged about what happened to the month of July too.) :)

August was a month of parades, festivals, family in town, serving and a few road trips.

Kaden found out that parades equal candy! :) Even though he only gets to eat like one or two pieces of what he collects!

All of his favorite things are at parades: fire trucks, police cars, race cars, animals, and candy!

Serving along side Uncle Dominic at Hayhurst Elementary School-community care day.

Missio had a fun day in the park. Here's Kaden and his buddy "My Lillian".

Lisa's work staff on our annual road trip. This year we headed up the gorge to Eastern Washington and Idaho.

There was much more fun pictures to the month of August and lots of random little adventures... but here's a snippet of our month. Happy Fall!

reflections on the summer...

I must have started this post ten times... sometimes it's hard to put into words what someone means to you.

This summer has been a crazy season for us. Yet, very manageable... with LOTS of HELP!! Joel has been away a lot this summer helping his parents out with the family business. They have a "food cart" at small festivals and county fairs. (mostly in Southern Oregon) So, after figuring out Joel's schedule there were two full week long fairs that Joel would be away from home. The first week we solicited help from Mei Mei, Joel's two sisters and Jen, and Amy. Kaden enjoyed his play dates with all of his aunties and many cousins and friends. For the second week that Joel would be gone I asked my cousin, April to come down from Seattle to watch Kaden. It's often the evening duties that the extra hand is more helpful. Kaden LOVES APRIL! And APRIL LOVES KADEN!!!! Here's her blog about her week down here.

Kaden was in tears when April (we call her Kiki) had to leave. And I think she was crying most of the way home too. It was a fun week with her.... learning what it's like to be 15 again. Sometimes words doesn't do justice to how much Kiki means to me and this family. Kristina joined in the fun towards the end of the week from Hawaii... it was definitely a full house around here with family coming from Seattle too. Can't believe that the summer has come and gone. Many nights around the "black hub" ie. the dinning room table. Lots of laughs and lots of growing up and journey with our friends and family. Lots to be thankful for... lots to love and lots to ask Jesus for wisdom and forgiveness. Very thankful for grace for my brokenness and that I hope I can shine some of this love that Jesus has given me to others.

Kaden did so much growing (physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally) this summer. It's fun to hear his language pick up so much. Not to mention his imagination is so fun!!! Time has been hard to come by... so, hopefully with the fall normal routine will return and blogging will be more consistent. There's so much to share of the Adventures of KADEN!!!

Happy One Year Anniversary Housemates!

Happy one year anniversary housemates! (plus or minus a few days)

I think Kaden is one well-rounded kid... he has four adults daily (depends on the day... more or less adults living in this house) speaking into his life. He gets to experience the great outdoors-gardening, canoeing, swimming and hiking. He gets to experience the passion of the sports world... he has one heck of a kick and one heck of a throwing arm... he loves helping in the kitchen... he gets a wide variety of music. Even down to reading the same book to him in four different ways!

It's been an amazing year since Zach and Amanda (we call her Mei Mei) moved into the abode. I think we were each other's saving grace during this time of ups and downs... busy-ness... changes... we often get the questions of "how does it work... do you guys like living with each other..." or the constant confused looks when random people come through and try to figure out our living situation.

We have loved living in the To-Banker house together... it's not all roses all the time, but we make it work. We talk it out. We have figured out each other's quirks and know when to give each other space or know when to push each other to deeper things. It's been awesome to see their love for Kaden grow as Kaden is growing... especially Mei Mei... she always says that "Kaden has weaseled his way into her heart".

Changes are on the horizon... it's inevitable. And I don't look forward to the day we have to say our goodbyes to the Bankers. It's been one year since they moved into our house... and it's been 4 1/2 years since they moved into our lives. We are very grateful for them... and is in constant awe of how God has arranged our lives to meet and become friends....and now family.

Happy Birthday Auntie Lori!!!

Auntie Lori (or Di Di is what Kaden calls her)....

Happy Birthday! May you experience God's love and grace in a way that will rock you! You are an amazing sister, and auntie... we love you more than words can ever describe. We are glad you are home from your trip to Spain and can't wait to hear all about what Jesus has taught you through this trip and that your 22nd year of life will have much joy...love...and laughter!!!

What happened to July???

Wow... July came and went in a blink of an eye!!! Some highlights and lowlights...

Highlight: Went to Central Point, OR to be with Joel's parents and work the fourth of July.

Lowlight: Health of Joel's parents.

Highlight: Celebrated a babyshower for Doug & Anya in the To-Banker backyard!

Lowlight: Joel had to miss it because he was helping his parents with some fairs.

Highlight: Being a part of the Missio Community... loving every event and gathering.

Lowlight: Some stresses with trying to figure out when to move to SW Portland and what to do with our house and what our next move is.

Highlight: Katie coming to intern at my office...and staying with us for a week...

Lowlight: Kaden misses his new friend... he plays in the guest room and tells us he's in "Katie's Room".

Highlight: Celebrating Anh Linh & Chi Hong's Wedding...seeing family and friends...

Lowlight: Mourned a loss of a 12 year old due to brain cancer... (but knowing he's with Jesus!)

It's been a month of thankfulness... growth... dependance on Jesus... trusting in him and trying to discern His will and not our own desires. Kaden is growing rapidly not only physically, but intellectually and spiritually! It's been an amazing journey... in the good times and bad. Can't believe the year is more than half gone... hope you had a good July too!!!

Happy Father's Day!

We love you!!! Thank you for being the bestest Dadda to Kaden!

Binky and Froggy Update

Here's this week's play by play with weaning Kaden off of his pacifier.

Monday: Binky "broke" and he didn't have a nap... and went down for bed pretty easily. He woke up in the middle of the night and SCREAMED for his "ti ti and goggy" and we said it was broken... and then he SCREAMED for his bottle... he didn't get that so, he screamed for "MOMMMA"! All this lasted about two hours... we got him settled down and in the morning he had a raspy voice like he smoked a pack of cigarettes.

Tuesday: Bottle also "broke". We realized that he was crying for his bottle because he knew that would soothe him... but didn't want to replace his binky for something we were already weaning him from. He was getting one bottle at night before bed. So... he was extra mad that it was broken. We got him to bed okay... and again he woke up in the middle of the night screaming MOMMA! That only lasted for one hour... and we got him back to bed.

Wednesday: Everyone said that it should only last three days... so... Kaden stopped asking for his binky or froggy or bottle... again, he went to bed fine... and like clockwork midnight struck and he started to cry. I went in and he fell back asleep almost immediately. We praised God! Third day!!! :) Lots of awesome things happen on the third day!

Thursday: We had a little relapse... but went back down pretty easily.

Friday: Joel left and that night was a little rough to go to bed, but once he fell asleep... he was out for the count.

Saturday: again... took a little coaxing to go to bed, but slept through... he asked for his binky and froggy once during the day... but after he was told it was broken... he didn't ask again. I thought he would want his binky that night cause we hung out with Jonah who has the same binky as Kaden... but he didn't.

So... we thought we were just trying to wean Kaden from just the pacifier...but it turned into the bottle and the froggy too. He doesn't look like a little baby anymore... here's to our big boy! Next: potty training...but I will wait for Joel to be back home to tackle that one!!! :)

Bye Bye Binky

Kaden is a pretty even tempered child... but he also loves his binky and froggy to sooth him when he's sad, upset or tired. We have loved that he took to the pacifier... but now that he's getting to be a big boy we think it's time to wean him off the pacifier.

We got him this book called: bye bye binky and have been reading it to him for a few months now. Every time he sees a balloon he says "bye bye ti ti" (that's what he calls his binky). We are trying ease him into the idea of saying bye to his binky.

This morning Joel noticed that he seemed super attached to his pacifier so he thought better now then later... and cut a slit into the pacifier. Kaden went to put it in his mouth when he got into the car and said: "uh oh dadda... ti ti broken... new one?" That's when Joel said that's the only one. And Kaden was pretty confused and distraught at the idea of his pacifier being broken. Kaden kept asking people to fix his binky and each of us told him we couldn't. He got a little cranky on the way home from my doctor's appointment and throughout dinner out. He was distracted enough through the evening he didn't really think about it... until bed time.

Of course it was just me (lisa) and Kaden at home alone together. And I prayed my way through the bed time routine. We got a longer bath time... played with some puzzles... calmed down with some dim lights and sound machine noise... we read some books-the bye bye binky book was read several times... (with his name inserted instead of the main character's name) and the cutest/saddest part was as I was reading the book to him he kept glancing over to his pacifier which we carefully put next to all his cars... he asked me to fix his ti ti and I said I couldn't... and we talked about him being a big boy and not needing it any more. He does take only one bottle before bed...so, I think that soothed him enough to fall asleep. He actually went to bed a lot faster than he normally does... but he was also on a shortage of a nap since his binky was broken in the afternoon. We will see what the middle of the night holds... or tomorrow will hold. Kaden's track record has been that the first day of attempting anything "new" has gone well... it's the second day he has a harder time with. We are praying that he's just ready and able to self-soothe. It was actually kinda sad that he didn't even really want his froggy... I think the two go together. Our little guy isn't so little any more. Here's a picture of his first night without his pacifier....

Happy Anniversary!

Joel and I celebrated our sixth anniversary on June 12! This was what we did on our anniversary: We ate and hung out with family! :) Sounds like what we did on our wedding day! :)

1. We had breakfast at a place called Saw Mill Cafe in Mill Creek Plaza

2. We got donuts at Frosts

3. We watched the USA vs Britain soccer/football game at Mulkiteo Lodge with all the cousins

4. We had Tran family dinner at a yummy Korean restaurant

Happy Anniversary to the bestest husband ever! I don't know what I would do without your love, your grace, your patience, your giving heart, your humor.... your cooking! :)

It's been such an amazing six years... I can't believe we have actually been married that long... it feels like we were walking down the aisle at North Seattle Alliance Church yesterday. May we grow old and senile together... may we laugh every day together... may we center our marriage on the love of Jesus daily. To sixty plus years together... love you!

Congrats LORI!!!

This weekend we jaunted up to Seattle for a weekend full of festivities. Lori, my younger sister, graduated from the University of Washington Bothell with a degree from the school of Community Psychology. She is the last of three kids to attend the UW. We are huskies through and through! :) Lori is 8 years younger than me (lisa) and there has been a special bond since the day she came home from the hospital. I was quite the older sister... being that much older, I was sometimes more the mother figure since my parents worked a lot. I know I wasn't the best older sister... but she was a delightful baby... kid... teen and now adult.

We are so proud of the beautiful, talented, loving person Lori is... she loves God and desires to serve him in all she does. She is probably landing in Spain as we write. The day after graduation she jumped on a plane and is spending the next six weeks with the C&MA through Global Ventures. You can follow her blog, hopefully she will have time to update regularly.

Anyways... Lori... thanks for being such a wonderful Auntie to Kaden. He loves you soooo much! Thank you for being an awesome sister to the rest of us... and I know mom and dad are very thankful and proud of you too.

May you experience God's love and grace more abundantly... may you serve people with compassion... may you desire to live and love like Jesus.... may you hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit guide you... may you always remember that you are surrounded by family and friends that care deeply for you and may your faith grow through this awesome experience in Spain....and in this next part of your journey. Blessings Lori... we love you!

Bye Bye Co Kris

Bye Bye Co Kris... it's been a fun journey... It has been a fun three plus years of lots of eating, laughing, missing all things Hawaiian together... congrats on finishing up at Concordia... we will miss ya staying over at the To-Banker abode during breaks and long weekends.
Thanks for loving on Kaden... and watching your guys' love/hate relationship... he really loves ya and will miss seeing you on a regular basis. It's been fun to watch how you guys play together... it's crazy that you have been around since before he was born.
May you experience God's goodness in your daily life, may you live in Jesus' grace and spread it... may you teach students how to love and respect each other and that you will show them Jesus' love through your actions.

We will come visit you on the island or where ever your journey takes you... as long as it's warm and has good food! hahaha!!! Blessings friend. Aloha.

Happy Birthday Chlo-Chlo!

Our niece, Chloe, turned ONE! We headed on an adventure to Seattle to celebrate with her! Too bad she was cutting her first teeth and had a pretty high temperature and wasn't in the best of partying moods. But she was still adorable and all she wanted to do was cuddle! So, being one of the best aunties I got to just hold her so my bro and sis in law could hang with their friends.

It's always so sad to see a baby not themselves. We wanted to see her interact with people who loved her and showered her with presents... we wanted to see her eat her cake and play with her new toys. She was totally out of it for party #1 on Saturday and felt more up for playing and celebrating for party #2 on Sunday. Here's some shots of Kaden and Chloe playing with each other before all the partying commenced. And another fun birthday pics of the beautiful princess!!! We wish we lived closer to be able to be in her day to day life. We love you Chlo-Chlo!

Carnival Excitement!

Carnival season is in full bloom in the To household. If you didn't know, Joel's parents have a food cart and sell bento, teriyaki, egg-rolls, all that kinda yumminess! They have been doing it since Joel was 8. The To family are experts in all things cooking and all knowing in the carnival world. They can recite acts they have seen day in and day out at the county fair. They can tell you who owns which booths, which to eat at and what to stay away from. They trade and barter food like their lives depended on it. I (lisa) was lucky enough to marry into this wonderful family. I actually think it's fun to work at the fair...but again, I didn't have to do it since I was 8. It's a lot of hard work and long hours.This week Joel is helping his parents at the Rose Festival. It's their first year there... and you know what comes along with the Rose Festival in Portland is RAIN!!! Yep...it's the joke of the city that it ALWAYS rains for the major events of the festival. So... my brave husband is working in the rain... and the hard work is much harder when there is not a lot of people at the carnival and muddy working conditions.

The To-Banker (plus Kristina) family decided to go down to opening night at the waterfront village to support the family and see Grandma and Daddy. (and for some yummy dinner). We decided to take the Choo Choo MAX down there so we wouldn't have to find parking and pay. BEST IDEA of the week! Kaden loved every minute of being on the light rail. He waved at every other MAX passing by... he said BYE BYE every time we pulled out of the stop... he was adorable.

So, we got down there and walked around a bit, ate some dinner, walked around and awed at the rides that were going FAST FAST! And then walked around a bit downtown looking for some coffee to warm ourselves up...but didn't see any in close radius. So, we got back on the Choo Choo MAX. Kaden was kinda sad cause we passed the MAX station and didn't get on... he moped for a block until we said we were going to get on the MAX and he got a bounce in his step again!

Spring is in the air...

Spring is in the air here in Portland... it's been on and off the last few weeks. The rain has come and made all things green in the rose city! Kaden is fully equipped now... he got some mud boots, a trowel, a ho, a wheel barrow and the latest addition to the gardening/yard work equipment is a LAWN MOWER! Yep... with the bubble feature and all! (Although, all four wheels must be touching the ground at once for the bubbles to blow, and on not even grass.... it's kinda a manufacturing FAIL.) Anyways... he's constantly saying "ZACH MOW MOW" "KADEN MOW MOW"... very cute! He loves getting his hands dirty and grass in his hair (and I found some in his diaper... weird, I know.) The garden is growing and the lawn is mowed. It's going to be a good fruitful crop this year! (Mostly thanks to our housemates, cause Joel and I maybe contribute 10% of our time and energy).

O-S-U... Oregon State: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

Momma had a day off on Friday from all her event craziness and so we packed up the car and headed south! We went to Dadda's school-Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. We heard about all the hang out places, what the food was like, what was the sports stats. I think Kaden is ready for college life... chillin in the lounge with his coffee... :)

We saw LOTS of bikes, trains, buses and everything in between...Kaden was in heaven. Kaden sporting his new OSU shirt and hat... we galavanted around campus. Last stop was Reser Stadium before we packed back into the car to head home. To our surprise the stadium was open and the team was practicing. We got to go all the way down the field.

We saw all of the stars... and Kaden picked up some moves too... here's a little video from our day...

Luau Party

To celebrate Kaden's second birthday we threw him a luau! It seemed fitting since this year was when we went to Hawaii and fell in love with all things Hawaiian, not that we didn't love all things Hawaiian before our trip...we even had grand schemes of digging a hole in the ground to roast a pig... with our financial situation we decided we would just cook it in the oven. :)

It was a great time hanging with friends and family! Thank you for all that came or sent well wishes! 75 people came through our house... couldn't have asked for better weather! Even baby Landin made his first appearance to a To-Banker party!!!

The bounce house was going, the food was flowing, the drinks were consumed, snacks were everywhere...and the laughter was abundant! We partied well into the night even after the birthday boy crashed and fell asleep!

Kaden's day started with his momma and dadda going for a three mile run... Kaden hung out with Uncle Kai and Di Di (Auntie Lori)... they took him to the park, the mall, jamba, lunch and drove around until he fell asleep! All part of the grand plan! He woke up right after the first guest arrived... ready to party! The party started at three and I think Kaden was in the bounce house for the first four hours!!! hahaha!!! He came out of the bounce house to eat mac salad, teriyaki chicken, pulled pork, spam-musibi and some haupia cake! He also reappeared to open present!!!

Overall great weekend full of love and joy! Happy birthday Kaden! You are a precious gift from God to us!!!