Kaden The Big Boy

Life Lately...

2012-01-24T10:21:00.000-08:00

Life lately has been full of adventures...

It's been really good to be a part of a healthy, growing church community. Missio has officially launched this last Sunday to mornings! We meet at 10:30am at Mary Rieke Elementary School. It's been really exciting to watch God move through this community of people to help us love Him more daily and live out his mission in this broken world. Joel has thoroughly enjoyed his new role as a community pastor on staff at Missio. We are still raising support and hoping to move towards more hours and more responsibilities. I am so proud of Joel...he's been more cautious of his health and well being lately... getting workouts in and making healthier eating choices.

I (Lisa) have been growing exponentially... this little baby girl is VERY active! I LOVE IT! (Except maybe at 3am, where I would rather be sleeping... hhaha) She is 27 weeks along and is already well loved. We are praying through a name for this little girl. Right now we are between Addysen or Emery. But we are still throwing other names into the mix.

Addysen means kind, joyful, created by God.
Emery means powerful and brave.

I really need to take some belly pics... I have my glucose test next week... I felt so sick taking that test with Kaden. And then we have another ultra sounds a few weeks after that to check on baby's kidney's. She had what Kaden had with his kidney's... hopefully it will correct itself before she's born, like Kaden's did.

Other than growing a baby inside me... I've been enjoying my time at the Portland Art Museum. I love being able to build relationships with my co-workers and be able to shine Jesus' love to them. I know God is moving there. I am in constant awe.

Kaden is becoming such a big boy... he is very funny, creative and smart. The last few weeks he has become more bold in his writing skills. He can completely write his name by himself and can write almost all his letters and some numbers. He does get bored or a little ADHD and start going off into drawing race tracks instead of letters...hahah! It's been fun to watch him grow physically (had to buy new pants for him since he's growing out of all his hand-me-down clothes) and also grow spiritually... he was so concerned that some of his friends weren't at church a few weeks ago and asked to pray for them to feel better. It's so easy to forget to direct Kaden's heart towards Jesus daily...

We are all trying to get some sort of rhythm and routine in our lives... but most of of we are trying to abide in Jesus daily. It's been an amazing journey... well... I am going to sign off on this beautiful monsoon rainy portland day...

The year of the museum

2012-01-05T17:30:00.001-08:00

Working at the Portland Art Museum we recently got a card called REAP passes that allow us two free tickets to a whole list of museums and attractions in Portland. We can go to the zoo, the children's museum, the aviation museum, OMSI is our science museum and a bunch of other places all for free.

On Tuesday I had a mommy fail and thought Kaden had school but it was teacher in service day. He was excited to go back and I thought it was his turn for "show and tell". We pulled up to an empty parking lot and looked up the school website. So, what did we do instead? We cashed in on my new benefits and headed to the children's museum. It was so weird going there when it wasn't super packed. We've only gone on free days or weekends. We spent a few hours taking our time through the different exhibits. The new one is the Lego exhibit. It was a fun morning. It totally threw off my morning to do list (including a meeting I totally spaced and blogging about all our Christmas activities). Can't wait to take advantage of the card and see some stuff in Portland that I would necessarily pay money for but would like to see. This year has been renamed the year of the museum.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T13:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

It's a GIRL!

2011-12-10T08:46:00.001-08:00

We had our ultra sound yesterday and we are having a little baby GIRL! Kaden predicted this early on. He was calling the baby her and she for awhile. We had many talks about it could be a boy. And he was like "ok" but the look in his eyes was more like "yea right.". Hahaa! I guess siblings have crazy intuitions. Kaden had the biggest smile on his face when the tech told us it is a girl. She wasn't shy to show us she was a girl. She was moving around a lot so it they were able to get a good look at her. Everything looks good except she has one tube out of her kidney that is a little dilated. kaden showed the same thing in his ultra sounds. Pray that it heals so we don't have to have any surgeries when the baby is born. We are not worried. Now to figure out a girl name for this little one in my belly! I'm not a huge pink person but we had to go out and buy a "little sister" shirt to match kaden's "big brother" shirt. We are so blessed to have wonderful friends and family sooooo excited for baby Girl To! Thanks for your love and support.

Half Way!!!

2011-12-03T16:01:00.001-08:00

The baby will be 20 weeks on Monday! Can't believe we are half way there! We find out if it's a baby boy or baby girl on December 9th. We have a lot more girl votes than boy votes... we will see! :) The baby is super active and kicking a ton. Kaden got to feel some of the big kicks last night and he's super excited! I feel great! Sleeping on my side has been a little challenging... but that's a minor complaint! Here's a picture of me and the baby belly...and Joel's baby bump too... silly guy! :)

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-03T14:51:00.001-08:00

You would think we had enough holiday festivities with Thanksgiving... but we wanted to bring in the Advent season! Sunday morning it was a fairly good weather...so, we packed up the warm clothes and mud boots and went Christmas Tree hunting... we found the perfect tree rather quickly. The Labrum's joined in the tree hunt along with Lori, Kyle and Kris. Kaden wore his beaver hat to chomp down his tree. haha! The minute we got the trees loaded up on the car the rain came pouring down!

We took our time decorating the tree to have intermissions to race cars. Kaden is at such a fun age of participating and getting really excited about every ornament that came out of the box. I got to tell him about all the ornaments he's gotten in the past three years and the memories that are attached to them.

We also had some time to play with some Christmas crafts... a felt Christmas tree to practice hanging ornaments...and decorating a gingerbread house.

We hope to continue to point Kaden towards Jesus during this time of year and why He came to this earth, that it's not just about the lights, the sounds, smells, and activities... but it's about the birth of a Savior...

"For to us a child is born,to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-12-03T13:59:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was super low key... we had 11 of us crashing in the To house the entire weekend... two more added to the mix the night after thanksgiving. Throw in a handful of friends that came by for dinner another night...and you have a party weekend! We decorated cupcakes, cooked an entire thanksgiving feast and several other meals thrown into the mix. The kitchen was grooving with dishes and yumminess! The kitchen aid mixer decided to die but was quickly resuscitated by the amazing husband. Food was consumed, laughs were had, shopping was abundant, cars and toys were everywhere, games were played and memories were made. We had a lot to be thankful for this year... health, jobs, kids, family, friends, community and above all Jesus.

Fall Fotos

2011-12-03T13:48:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I set out to take pictures of Kaden to document his growth instead of candid shots of an activity or an event. So... we ventured out to capture a beautiful autumn day in Portland. Leaves were abundant, the sun was shinning...the park was bustling and Kaden was all smiles. He's such a little man now. He even says the most grown up sayings... "Hi Dad, what are you up to?" "Wow, did you see that amazing moon, Momma?" Kaden tells me not to scratch my belly because I will hurt the baby. Well... here is my big boy Kaden at 3 years and 7 months.

Goodbye Jen... A Long Overdue Post...

2011-12-03T13:20:00.001-08:00

This post is long overdue... so, most of you know that I got a new job in July... and left my home at the Alliance Northwest District Office. It was a sad day... it was more sad to say goodbye to my friends that I have made there. Jen then turned in her two week notice shortly after I did to move to Idaho. The staff invited me to her goodbye party... Our boys are around the same age... and played together really well. Jen and Bryan were in our Life Group at Mosaic for a period of time and it was awesome to grow along side of them, becoming parents together, and working together. Going to miss these kiddos too... Much love to the Shoemaker family and your new adventures in Idaho.

Kaden the Puppy

2011-11-05T12:10:00.000-07:00

For Halloween Kaden's preschool had a little fall party where the theme was the farm. So, we had to think of a costume that would be something on the farm. Kaden immediately wanted to be a puppy. He's in a dog phase right now, he pretends he's a dog... it's actually beneficial on our end... we pretend he's a dog and he will do anything... ANYTHING. "Kaden, please get your shoes on..." "No, momma"... "Puppy Kaden, come here. Stay. Sit. Put your shoes on." DONE!

Apparently this society doesn't think a three-year-old can be a puppy. That's reserved for babies under 18 months. We searched high and low for a puppy costume. Finally on Tuesday night (Thursday is his school party) we find a scooby doo costume in a 4T size. A dog is a dog, I guess. We talked about making his costume, but couldn't find a plain white hoodie sweatshirt. We tried the costume on on Wednesday night, and it was TOO SMALL! It was a whole size bigger than what he normally wears... so, what do we do... Joel and I put our heads together and made his costume out of my bathrobe. We turned the pockets into ears, the tie around the waist into the tail. It turned out a lot better than we could have hoped for for a two hour project starting at 11pm.

Kaden woke up and tried on his costume and it fit perfectly! He was a happy little puppy. He was the cutest little doggy in his class... I wish he would have let me paint his face, I would have given him a little black nose and a spot around his eye. My clean OCD child would have no part in that. LOL!

We hit up a harvest festival at my parent's church in Seattle... then on Halloween we went to Multnomah Village (where we hope to one day live) and went around the shops and trick or treated in the afternoon. It was really nice cause Kaden wasn't all scared in year's past with going from door to door. Some houses are too INTO Halloween. We felt a little lame being home by 6pm and chilled. But that's the life of a parent of a three year old. We even got a free Krispy Kreme doughnut for wearing his costume...

This picture is so fitting... Mei Mei and Uncle Zach just sent Kaden a book called, "If You Give a Dog a Doughnut".

One Third of the Way There!

2011-10-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Baby To is 12 weeks and growing... we got to hear the heart beat this week and it's such a fun thing to experience. It makes it really real. I am very thankful that I feel great... tired, but not as tired as the first few weeks. Those first few weeks I could barely sit down without dozing off. I think this tired is just that I am a little restless at night and working some funky hours. Baby is one third of the way cooked... only six more months before we are holding a little itty bitty bundle of joy.

Six more months until Kaden is FOUR! I got a coupon in the mail to celebrate Kaden's half birthday with some free ice cream. (Well, free as in buy one get one free... tricky tricky. hahah!) I can't believe Kaden is three and half. It seriously seems like yesterday I was just pregnant with him. He's SO funny at this age... learning how to joke around, be silly and make us laugh! He's loving school. I think he would go every day if we let him. He enjoys playing with his new "best friends" and learning about everything in sight. I love watching his little mind process the world.... everything is still a race and has to involve his cars in some manner. He loves races...

So, this last weekend we went into downtown to cheer on the Portland Marathon runners. We had some friends and family running the race. Last year Joel and some other friends ran it and so it's very near and dear to our hearts now. It's such a beautiful thing... it's not just a run. There's a lot of stories of hope and challenge and perseverance in the people running it. There's old, young, man, woman, and every race & ethnicity. I think the part that gets me every time is that every runner has a running bib with a number and their name printed on it. Strangers are calling out names, cheering for each individual. How important names are. It gives the runners a boost of energy... it gives them some sense of hope to be called by name. How awesome names are to us. And how much God calls us each by name. How we knows us inside and out, more than we know ourselves. When he calls our names we run a little harder, we go a little farther, we are stretched and grow. He knows we are capable of more. Even at the 26 mile marker when the end is in sight... we start to fade a little but that extra personal touch allows us runners to know that the end is near...to run the race to finish strong. We need help in running the race, the most trained runner still needs a community behind them cheering and loving them through the run. There was even a few people at mile 26 being held up by family and friends to finish the race. Sometimes we have nothing left to give, and God brings people alongside of us to carry us through the rough times... the hard parts of life. That this isn't meant to be done alone. Congrats to our friends and family that ran the marathon this last week... I saw that glimmer in Joel's eyes... I think he might attempt another marathon in his life. Maybe when we are done having kids we will run the next one together.

9 Weeks

2011-09-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

The baby is my belly is 9 weeks along...I feel like I am 14 weeks along... hahaha! My belly definitely grew faster than with Kaden. I don't think I was showing until I was like 16 weeks with Kaden. I need to go shopping for bigger pants already. Has anyone used the belly band? Might be an option to keep my clothes until I HAVE to wear maternity clothes. :)

I feel pretty good, just really tired all the time. Sleep is hard to come by... when I do sleep I have FUNKY dreams all night! I wake up feeling like I just fell asleep and coffee hasn't sounded good to me... I know I can drink a cup a day but it just doesn't sound appealing. So... no coffee and no sleep... makes for a very zombie like Lisa.

Morning sickness hasn't really been a problem... I didn't have much with Kaden either. I get nauseous here and there but I remember I have to eat and then immediately feel better. That's so backwards to me, feeling nauseous makes me NOT want to eat, but I have to force myself to get something down, because I KNOW I will feel better...

My memory is SHOT! I try sooooo hard to remember things... but before I can even grab a piece of paper to write whatever that's important down to remember and reference... I have already forgotten what I was going to write down. :*( I left ice cream out last night and have the most grace-filled husband who just puts it away without making it a big deal. Hahha!

Other than that... I love this growing baby in my belly! Kaden kisses my belly and tells me it's a girl. Do kids have a sixth sense we don't know about??? Hhaha! Either that or he's going to be super disappointed if it's a boy. I am sure he will be excited regardless once he sees the baby. A few people I know had babies this last week and it makes me that much more excited to meet mine in 216ish days. It has a lot of growing to do before that day... and I will wait and I know that the time will aslo fly by sooooo fast.

Sorry no belly pictures... I forgot to upload them to my computer. Happy 9 weeks little grape sized baby inside me!

Missio Community

2011-09-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

To be authentic community that makes Jesus fully known ...so others may fully know Him.

What a weekend... we have been gearing up for this day to come for the last year and some months... Missio Community LAUNCHED! What does that mean? It's our new church community that we have been in the planning stages for the last year and some.... we started out with a group of about 10-15 people gathering in one living room dreaming of this day when we start gathering in multiple living rooms and a Sunday gathering in Southwest Portland. This last year we were meeting on Sundays once a month and adding to twice a month...now that day has come that we are now meeting weekly... there was about 100 adults and 20 kids this last Sunday to kick off our weekly Expressions (gatherings). We know there was a lot of friends and family out to support our first gathering... and there was a lot of "core" that was out of town and traveling or working. Regardless of numbers... Jesus was made fully known on Sunday... he was made known through the love of the children workers, the guest care, the worship team, and the preaching. He was made known through the smiles, the handshakes, the hugs. It was a very exciting day and more exciting days to come... we are here weekly! Joel and I can't wait to get our house sold (or rented) and move to SW so we can be closer to the people we want to reach. It's been a really exciting season in our lives... we would love continued prayers for this community to continue to put Jesus in the center of all the things we do, that you would pray for Joel and support raising and his new role in ministry. If you want to get Joel's monthly ministry updates you can subscribe HERE.

Since April?

2011-09-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

Since April...the last blog post we have had a LOT of happenings in the To family!

Joel turned 35 in April...

We put our house on the market in May....

We went to a LOT of graduations in June...and also celebrated our 7th anniversary!

In July, Lisa turned in her two-week-notice to the office and started a new job at the Portland Arts Museum as an Events Manager....

Joel was gone most of August to help his parents at the fair... and April came down to be our nanny.

September Joel started working on staff at Missio Community...where we have had the privilege to be a part of this church plant and use our gifts and talents that God has given us... Missio will be meeting weekly SEPTEMBER 18!

Kaden started preschool...which he LOVES!

And if that wasn't enough change and transitions... we are PREGNANT! Whoohooo! Baby To #2 will be arriving into our family April 23ish.

So...with all that said...we are definitely in a time that we are learning to lean on Jesus and trust in HIM every day in all aspects of our lives... please pray for us during these next few weeks and months... that our house sells, that Joel raises full support, that Kaden grows and learns more in school, not only academically but spiritually as well, and that Lisa is adjusting to the new job and the growing belly and the baby is growing and healthy. Thanks much! Here's to blogging more often! Cheers!

Need to Blog More...

2011-09-09T09:59:00.001-07:00

I should blog more.

Need to make time.

I always try to and then realize I don't have the right computer that has the pictures on it.

Then, I just forget.

This is my attempt to start again.

:)

Kaden is THREE!!!

2011-04-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

Kaden turned three! He had his three year check up this morning and he's weighing in at 32 lbs and he's 36 inches tall. He got super shy for the doctor and every time she would leave he would talk up a storm again. He's super into CARS (the pixar film) and any other kind of cars, trains, planes... loves Curious George... getting into Pocoyo and Caillou. He is a wonderful helper. Loves to race... he loves to win.... and be Lightning McQueen! Everything is related to the movie, Cars... ask him what colors things are and he will say it's McQueen color (red), Chick Hicks color (green) or King color (blue)... he even goes so far as random other cars in the movie are yellow, orange, etc. We are in the midst of potty training. He's showing some progress... is amazing through the night but when he's home is when we have issues... we just all forget and play and do our thing... he's pretty good out and about. Sometimes he won't go in a bathroom that's not very clean. Kaden loves life... he plays really well by himself or with others. He isn't the greatest sharing with smaller kids... he thinks they are going to eat his toys or mess them up somehow. I don't really blame him... but still teaching him nonetheless. He loves to do all things Dadda does, but is Momma's boy through and through. As long as he's fed and gets a nap... life is wonderful. If those two things don't happen... we have to watch out for our little "emo" guy. :) We can usually change the subject or race our way out of the tantrums. And if all else fails... a "starwars" or everyone else calls them Starbusts usually will help. He has an awesome imagination... the couch at any time could be a boat, a plane, a motorcycle, school, a swimming pool. He likes to make mountains in the middle of the room with all the couch cushions and climb the mountain for hours. He reads books to himself, almost verbatim sometimes. Three years has seriously gone by too fast. Treasuring each day.

March: Transition Month

2011-04-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

Kaden and Momma washing dishes

March was a hard month... it was a busy month... it was the month where EVERYTHING hit us at once. We felt like we were swimming upstream. We set a goal of April 1st as the date we put the house on the market... but we forgot that our housemates are gone and there was a ton of stuff you don't realize until it's (they) are gone. Joel can't just "run out" and grab stuff for the house... there isn't another or two sets of hands to watch kaden, clean, cook, help. It was definitely a month of adjustments on how to live just the three of us. I (lisa) also had a big event happening at the beginning of April...and planning birthday parties, and the conference and trying to get our house on the market. WOW... I am tired just thinking of the month of March. The craziness isn't over... but I think we sort of figured out how to do life with just the three of us... just in time for our friend, Kris to move back in. (What can we say... we like living in community). Kaden especially gets bored of just the two of us... our house is getting there... should be up by mid-May. Praying for a miracle... that someone will fall in love with the house and not ask us to do anything to it and take the price as is. :) It was a miracle that we bought it and we are having faith that it will sell the same way. :) That was March.

The month of love...

2011-02-28T23:49:00.000-08:00

The whirl wind we call the month of February... it seems to be when we think we are going to be able to slow down we get caught in a 99 mph storm that takes us to the next adventure and chapter in our lives. We have been getting more sabbath days in so we aren't going crazy. Some major happenings happened in February...

District Youth Conference (DYC) is my (Lisa's) biggest event of the year. All hands on deck in the office. I realized that this was my tenth DYC. I have been at the office for seven years now and volunteered to staff for three years before my hiring. I love this conference. I love high schooler's lives being changed and challenged. It was especially cool this year because my LYNNWOOD crew got to come down and experience the conference. My prayer for them (and the other students) is that they will be forever changed and learn to continually love God with all their hearts, soul, mind and love their neighbor as themselves.

I turned 31 in February. Thirty is such a milestone... thirty one just makes me feel old. I am IN my thirties. I remember when I turned fifteen and said I was half way to thirty, like it was the end of the world. I love being in my thirties... and celebrating it with 500 high schoolers at DYC is always fun! :) I felt very loved.

We kept pretty busy with DYC prep that it was hard to allow our minds and emotions grieve the loss of our beloved housemates to China. They accepted teaching positions in Beijing and left on Thursday, February 24. We spent some quality time the last few evenings they were in town... we took them to our favorite sushi place that we have raved about but never took them to. We had a family dinner with their closest friends the last night they were in town. I was surprised I held it together all night. But when the last person left, I LOST IT! I think I was holding it in that it had no where to go but sobbing tears and no words. Kaden knew there was something wrong... he was very cuddly that night. Thursday 4 AM came too soon... we packed up the CRV and headed to the airport in the SNOW! I am very thankful it was snowing... it made for a happy 2 1/2 year old, not a grumpy sleepless one at four am. :) It helped take the edge off... and I got the day off due to the snow or promise of snow. It was good to be at home without having to try to be someone productive on the day we lost our housemates.

It hasn't totally sunk in yet that they aren't coming home. The basement is cold and empty... the kiddo is a little bored with just the two of us to play with. The black hub (our dinning room table) is definitely lacking. I think the spring and summer will be especially hard.... no gardening buddies, no outdoor adventures, no impromptu BBQs, no late nights at the black hub doing nothing...

We miss you Uncle Zach and Mei Mei. Kaden keeps asking when you guys are coming home. May your adventures in China be full of love & grace for each other and for those around you... may you remember your past and create beautiful new memories. Thank you for investing so much love into Kaden. He may not remember much of the last two years of his life... but we will forever see the influence of you guys in his character and personality. And for Joel and I... we are grateful for you guys. We love you two much. Thank you. (Done writing... cause I am done crying.) :*(

The new year... rest, races, and reflections.

2011-02-11T22:03:00.000-08:00

Starting off the year at the Oregon Coast is the way to do it... and I have been doing this for the last seven years! My office has our annual Renewal Retreat out at Cannon Beach, Oregon. It's a beautiful way to start the new year off refocused on God... time with Joel... and with 100 amazing pastors and their spouses from our district. I love hearing their stories... seeing them worship... learning from them and the speaker. It was good for the soul.

We also got a visitor at the end of January... Mr. Bob Banker... Zach's dad. Joel had to run to Medford while Bob was here... so, Kaden and I tagged along on one of their adventures: the horse race! Kaden loved the "Lightning McQueen"... or the Red ones. :) hahah!!! My kid associates everything to CARS the movie. It was a fun morning spent watching horses race, kaden cheer, Zach and his dad figure out which to bet on, and hanging with Mei Mei experiencing at all the excitement in the air.

This leads us to sadly announcing (which everyone already knows)... Uncle Zach and Mei Mei (Amanda) are packing up their basement and heading out to China to teach English for at least a year. The little things are treasured these last two months... nights spent at the black hub (our dinning room table)... our silly adventures... the food that flows out of our kitchen...impromptu soccer games, races and dances that happen in the living room. So many laughs, tears, discussions, hopes, dreams, challenges, laughs, did I say laughs?

Kaden not only will miss them greatly, but Joel and I will have a huge hole in our hearts as well. I think I shall stop writing now... this has been a hard day.

To the motherland...

2011-02-11T21:40:00.000-08:00

How do we blog about our three week vacation without boring or taking up fifty pages of our blog?? This was my (Lisa) second time to Vietnam... we went five years ago: childless. So, this trip was extremely different from the previous time. This trip Joel, Kaden and I went with Joel's sister and their family: Thu, Thanh, Gabby, Nathan and Zachary. We were at the beach a whole lot more, ate at "cleaner" places, had a driver and stayed at people's houses. I loved having the driver... I think we spent a lot of time catching buses and taxis last time... and with a driver we can stop when we want... go farther quicker... and not have cigarette smoke blowing in our faces at all times. It was really good to be gone during the hustle and bustle of the holidays in the US. We weren't worrying about presents, parties, and all the stresses that come along with the holidays. But it was very weird to be in a warm (hot) place and not all bundled up with our coffee. It didn't feel like Christmas even though everywhere was decked out with Christmas trees and snowmen. Which felt soooo wrong. Hahha! It was great to be with Joel's parents and all the extended family in Vietnam. We celebrated Christmas Eve in Can Tho where my grandfather pastored. I never met my grandfather... he passed away the year I was born. But I felt like I knew him from the legacy of the churches that he pastored and planted all along Southern Vietnam. I loved hearing the stories of the simple stories of our parent's and aunties and uncle's childhood... what they liked to eat, where they went, what they did... very nostalgic. The weather was perfect. The food was okay. (we ate way better on the last trip.... cleaner restaurants usually doesn't mean better food). hahaha! Last trip we did more night life stuff... obviously this time with younger kiddos we were in the hotel fairly early. Overall this was an amazing trip to be with family and friends. I love my people. I love the motherland. I hope Kaden can feel like he knows where he comes from... the hardship, the perseverance, the love, the beauty, the pain, the uniqueness... the motherland...Vietnam.

Thanksmas!

2011-02-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

After a crazy beginning of November, I (Lisa) got back to work the week of Thanksgiving. Then only had ten whole work days before we headed off to Vietnam for three weeks. So, it was a crazy two weeks of getting work done, packing for Vietnam, and celebrating Christmas and Thanksgiving all in one. (AND not feeling quite 100% yet!) It was a whirlwind end of November beginning of December.

Something fun the Tran family did was we celebrated Thanksmas! (Thanksgiving+Christmas=Thanksmas) Joel, Kaden and I packed up for an extended weekend in Seattle. We went up Wednesday evening had Thanksgiving on Thursday...picked names that night. Went shopping on Friday with all the big sales, and decorated for Christmas on Saturday. We had Christmas dinner on Saturday and opened presents that night! It was kinda fun to only have one day to shop for one person. We pre-bought the kids' presents. We also had a family photo shoot and helped my brother and sis in law pack up and move into my parent's house. It was fun to hang out with my cousins and family. Seattle weekends are always super busy but this one was extremely busy.

Merry Thanksmas!!! :)

November...

2011-01-31T20:09:00.000-08:00

So we thought after the marathon life would get back to normal around the To-Banker house... and then I got sick. This might be a little repeat from my facebook notes but more reflective three months later. So for those who haven't heard I had an ectopic pregnancy... that is when my fertilized egg doesn't make it to the uterus but gets stuck in my fallopian tube. It caused my fallopian tube to rupture and I had internal bleeding. I thought I just had the stomach flu. My friend, GT, was prompted by God to come check up on me at about 9pm... and took me to urgent care. We had some tests done and a ultra sound.... they gave me some morphine to help with the pain. We went into surgery the next morning. Recovery was hard... it was hard to not be able to hold Kaden, to lift anything... it was even hard to move about and do normal things like showering.

It's so interesting all the stories shared once I shared mine. Lots of miscarriages, heartaches, babies passing away.... how there's such a difference in everyone's stories... yet most had a hope in a savior through it all. Faith that grace is enough. That through the hard times Jesus is sustaining each and every family. I wasn't heartbroken about losing the baby... I was about seven weeks along. We had no idea we were pregnant...actually we thought for sure we weren't. I took a pregnancy test about two weeks before this and it was negative. All that to say... in the same breath we found out we were pregnant we found out the baby wasn't going to make it. I think there was a sadness but more of relief to know that we know what was wrong with me and the pains I was feeling. Everyone tip toes around the question of "is she really okay?" some like Sister Mary at the hospital couldn't take my answer of yes, I was really okay about it... that my soul was okay.... she tried to tell me to name the baby and assign it a gender to be able to heal from this. I thought she was wacky cause for me at that time, I needed her to listen to me and hear that I had an amazing community of friends and family to care for us... and that I wasn't mourning the loss of the baby I knew of for seven whole seconds... who am I to assign it a gender... what if I get to heaven and my baby that I assigned to be a little girl was a boy? Or does gender then even matter? Anyways... I feel sadness because we can't have a baby for another year... I feel sadness because of the joy a baby brings. Not because I lost this baby. I wish I could be in my second trimester and nesting but why do that to myself... I find joy in the things I do have... a beautiful, funny, witty, smart, creative, gentle, kind, crazy, silly, gracious son, Kaden.

Being on sick-leave for three weeks was very hard for me... I am a workaholic. I need to be needed. My soul had to be reminded of where my identity needs to be. I was labeling myself as a wife, a mother, a good worker (I am asian after all). I had nothing to give when I was sick and recovering... yet, I was still loved.... by an amazing husband, by an adorable son, my co-workers, friends and family and best of all by my Jesus. I did nothing and yet was loved unconditionally. :)

October... Marathon Month...

2011-01-31T19:17:00.000-08:00

I started several posts about the Portland Marathon... I couldn't get through writing anything without getting teary-eyed. Therefore making it hard to type. :) So, here I am four months later when the emotions aren't so high. I was so proud of my husband. If you know anything about Joel he's a great starter... not always the best finisher. He finished the marathon... and I heard that he told someone that he could do it again! :) Maybe he was a little delirious when he said that... but he said it nonetheless. Kaden and I walked/drove around the city and had our own marathon. The next few days I was wondering why I was so sore. :) Kaden and I drove Joel down to the starting line at the crack of dawn. Kaden and I cheered at the starting line, mile 3, 6, 12, 20 and the finish. We saw several friends and family members... some that we didn't know were even in town. We were drenched. The rain was relentless that day! Of course it cleared up once the whole thing was over. We almost didn't make it to the finish line... the street we decided to take up to find parking was packed... moving inches at a time...frantically texting those at the finish line to make sure we didn't miss the guys coming in yet. We made it... and tears welled up as they crossed the line... it was beautiful. Kaden did an amazing job galavanting around the Portland. He cheered from his stroller, he napped in the rain, we cheered from the back of our honda fit to protect us from the rain... we ran blocks, hiked hills... OH, I am tired just recounting the day!!! :) We ate snacks along the way... but didn't really have breakfast or lunch (bad planning on momma's part). The adventures we go on! :)

Joel along with several other Missio friends (and family and friends) raced this big race and how fitting it was to watch each run it strong and finish well. We were with other Missio friends who were on the sidelines cheering our leaders on. It was a beautiful picture of the year for us. Journeying with this church plant, Missio... no matter how crazy it sounds to want to sell our house, move to SW, give up a wonderful community we have at Mosaic... to start something new to reach SW Portland or Jesus. We ran the race together.... each of us had a part in it.

I am very thankful that Joel is done with the marathon... life resumed back to normalcy... so we thought. :)

Pick up where we left off...

2011-01-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

Since my last post was really in August... I am attempting one blog at a time... so, here I go...

SEPTEMBER:

This was a hard month for me. (Lisa) I had to say goodbye to a really dear friend, my work wife, Krista. We spent more time together than any other people on staff... God ordained our meeting, her hiring, and her becoming a really good friend. I was the one that convinced her to go to the store to buy pregnancy tests and celebrated with her! We shared struggles, celebrations, and lots of prayers together! I am thankful for what God is doing in her life... and understand her move to Tennessee. I am just a selfish person and wish she was around here! I am glad that she is coming back in a few months for a short visit. Miss you friend!

Where to start?

2011-01-08T21:06:00.000-08:00

Not sure how people have time to blog regularly. I don't even have time to sleep regularly. :) Of course it's not on my priority list so I forget to update it. I think about it and think about what amazing things I want to write and inspire my two readers out there in this cyber world. This might not be one of those amazing inspirational blogs...it's just to catch you up on the life of the To's. So, I will start with one picture... and we will go from there... then maybe I will blog more often this year... maybe.

What happened to August?

2010-09-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-09-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2010-08-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

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???

2010-08-02T23:04:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-06-20T17:15:00.001-07:00

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

Binky and Froggy Update

2010-06-20T16:52:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-14T22:38:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-06-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2010-06-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-30T23:21:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-05-29T00:10:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-05-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-05-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-04-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

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!!!

TWO!!!!

2010-04-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

Happy second birthday Kaden!!! (in an hour) Wow... we have a two year old. Our really good friends, Mike and Liz had their baby this week and that just brought back so many memories of waiting for Kaden to arrive and the first few weeks.... months... and seeing the little baby and looking at my big baby! Kaden has been growing leaps and bounds... he keeps hitting his head on the kitchen counter and tables... his vocabulary has been growing leaps and bounds too. His words are getting more and more clear every day! I do double takes sometimes hearing him use his words. He's been so fun and has a great imagination, especially when he's playing with his cars or trains. He loves books! (or he likes to stall before bed time with books) Just kidding... sometimes we find him in his room reading his book to himself with sound effects and all! :) We have him on "your baby can read" program... yeah...all those informercials-we haven't seen an informercial-but we came across the program and thought it looked interesting... we think it works... Kaden can read a good 10 words... then he becomes silly and just says that all the words we are pointing to is "hi". That's his default!!! :)

It's been such a delight to be Kaden's parents. And are very thankful that there are MANY people in Kaden's world that love him and pray for him and care for him... Tonight when we were praying and I said "Amen" kaden looked at me and said "More Jesus"... so, I prayed some more...that melted my heart! Time sure flies when you have a little one! I am so very grateful for every minute we have with him... the good, the sad, the terrible twos! :) And to answer the famous question now: NO... we are not having another kiddo soon! :) Unless you can find Joel a job! hahahah!!! So, if you love Kaden and want more little Tos running around... find him a job! hehehhe! Alright... here's some pictures of Kaden opening some early birthday presents! (I love his cheesy smile!!! It makes me laugh every time!)

Happy Birthday Kaden... we love you very much! May God show you "more Jesus" every day of your life and that you fall deeply in love with him, like He is with you!

Kung Fu Kaden

2010-02-20T16:08:00.000-08:00

Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Happy Lunar New Year!!!! We didn't get to be a part of any festivities this year since we were at our big youth conference that weekend... but we did have to snap some pics of Kaden in his Au Dai. He only put it on because we said it was a tae kwon do outfit! :) Thanks uncle John for getting Kaden an authentic au dai from Vietnam. :)

Big Big Bed

2010-02-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

The toddler bed didn't last very long...so, if anyone is interested in purchasing a pretty much brand new cute toddler bed...give us a call. :) We tried to figure out what we could do to get Kaden to sleep in his room. We figured out that he loves the room to roll around, so we took the futon mattress in the spare room and threw it on the floor...the first night he slept almost all night and tried to crawl into bed with us. He sleeps pretty well in there now. Still wakes here and there and tries to come into our room. Or we go lay down with him. But at least he's not taking up our entire bed and all three of us being restless. His milk consumption at night is dwindling too. He's becoming such a big boy with lots of words and phrases. Always asking questions. It's really fun at this age. He's really into trains and cars and making things crash! He's such a boy!!!! :)

Singing and Dancing Freestyle!

2010-02-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

I love when Kaden breaks out in song and dance. During Christmas break in Seattle, I was getting Kaden ready for the day and he found the mirror. He started to tap his feet and do little turns, and then it turned into a half an hour of him dancing and singing to his own beat!!! It was the funniest things. Just when we thought he was done... it went on and on... here's just a snip bit of it... it gets funnier and funnier. But I could also be a little biased, cause he's my boy.

Children's Museum

2010-02-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

Kaden has been soaking up new information/vocabulary like a sponge. We have heard how cool the Children's Museum in Portland is and wanted to take him there. It's a little spendy... but our trusty housemate, who loves a good bargain, found out that the first friday of the month the Children's Museum is FREE!!! The first Tuesday of the month the zoo is only $2... and I thought that was a good deal!!! :) So, after work, Joel and Amanda picked me up from work and Zach took the MAX there... we spent a good two hours exploring new sights and sounds... we played in the Clifford, the dog, exhibit...

went grocery shopping... played in an ambulance... worked on some construction... sculpted some clay... made some music... played with some trains... and hung out with Dadda, Momma, Auntie Amanda, and Uncle Zach. It was a great evening had by all... no melt downs, no fighting with other kids, no whining or anything-Just lots of fun! We would take him back... not sure we would pay full price, but he loved it and he learned new fun things that night!

I'm a big kid now!!!

2010-01-04T22:54:00.001-08:00

So the switch has been made... kaden is officially a toddler with words and phrases coming out of his mouth. Tells us when he needs to pooh in the toilet... and now sleeps in a toddler bed! He hated to be caged up in his crib, wouldn't you??? That's why jails look they way they do... we don't like it. So, we thought he would at least to start off in his cooly decorated room with a sweet lookin' bed... and he does... that doesn't mean he doesn't end up in our bed in the middle of the night...but he's still young and trying to figure out the separation stuff.

Every day he's becoming more and more like a little boy... we catch him pretend talking on the phone or anything that resembles a phone... ie. calculator, ipod, anything shinny. Telling his stuffed animals about his day... ...reading books to himself... making car noises and train sounds everywhere he goes... he's definitely entertaining and so sweet. He still loves to dance and sing... his songs are the best... and tonight... he prayed for dinner... yep... held hands, closed eyes, heard "jesus" then some gibberish and then "amen" that's all we need in a prayer right? :) Only four more months than our little baby is two...every day is a delight to learn from Kaden and teach him new things! He's such a big kid now!!! :)

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2009-12-31T15:55:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to get family pictures taken with the extended family at a studio and of just the three of us outdoors with Lisa's friend, Jamie Neilson. Jamie had us meet in Georgetown, a district a little south of downtown Seattle. We had so much fun... Lisa and Jamie started working at a photography studio 10 years together! The Georgetown area had plans constantly flying overhead and we were right next to a train track... Kaden loved the planes and trains!

It's fun to be figuring out what Kaden is interested in... and at this moment it is anything with wheels, especially trains. We went to Country Village... a little old town plaza type thing near Lisa's parent's house. Many memories were made at Country Village... holiday concerts, field trips, cute little shops and the coolest bead shop. We thought it would be fun to get out of the house a little today and head over to Country Village... we fed the ducks and roosters... we played in the toy store...we walked around and explored the village. Then we saw a sign for a train ride... so, we forked out a few bucks and went on an 8 minute ride around the village. It was so much fun to see how excited Kaden was... but when we pulled back into the little train station and the conductor turned off the engine... Kaden immediately started to cry! Granted to say we had to go straight home. The biggest alligator tears were streaming from Kaden's eyes.

It was sooo sad... but we knew he could stay on the train all day!!! Here's a little video of Kaden riding the train.

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-27T03:05:00.001-08:00

Wow..this year seemed to just fly by... check out how small kaden was last year in this post...as I sit here at 3am (yes, it's late... can't sleep) feelings of thankfulness and love overwhelm me. I can't really explain the joy that I have in my heart. Yes, not everything is a field of daisies in our lives... finances could be better, a job for Joel would be awesome, but sitting back... we have nothing to complain about. We have so many loving friends and family around us. We have a wonderful job for lisa, that is more than a job, it is full of people who love and care for us and our lives in such a deeper way than any employment office should. They pray for us regularly and genuinely. A new community with a church plant who is learning to care deeply for each other in ways that are humbling. A family that loves the three of us in ways we can never express...

This Christmas has been filled with anticipation! I was so excited for the season to start.... Kaden is at such a wonderful age that everything is exciting and new! We awed over lights, music, shimmering ornaments. He danced for joy at all the baking and cooking.

Opening gifts was so much fun... he wanted to play with each thing as we opened them. He didn't realize that there was 50 other gifts under the tree with his name on it with potentially cooler things. :) Joel and I have been buying little things for kaden the last few months and considered those his christmas gifts... but mistake #1: going to target the day before christmas. There were crazy deals!!! So, we got Kaden on thing. And then I saw something else he would c

ompletely love... and I justified it by saying I was going to save it for his birthday present. (Which is 104 days away)... what did I do??? I wrapped both of them! We love giving Kaden good gifts! Seeing the joy in his eyes... it's priceless. We know it's not all about gifts... and I think Kaden would be so content with just the one gift... at this age he wouldn't question "where's my other gifts?" "What about this or that that I wanted????" I think that's the coolest part we just want to give because it brings him joy. Pure joy!

How cool is it to think that's how Christ is??? He loves us sooooo deeply that he wants to bring us pure joy? He wants us to experience HIS gifts... the ones that He knows we need? I think as we get older we start to desire things... may not be even good gifts... but God knows so much better... he knows the things we really need and even want. As I lay here watching my baby sleeping he totally trusts in his parents and knows we have the best in mind for him. And I pray this year that I can peacefully rest in my Savior and know that he has the best things in mind for me. I want to live in the daily joy that Christ has for me. And I want to be able to share that joy to those around me... especially my son... that he may grow up in this beautiful joy that God has for him... that he desires God's gifts. And that we will all continue to live in an anticipation and excitement for the things of God!!! Merry Christmas!!! We are very blessed.

WHY???

2009-12-16T19:52:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of craziness going on in our little world lately... some awesome craziness, and some sad craziness. I (Lisa) have been trying to process the abundance of emotions in our family lately. And thought...where better to process than on our blog! :)

With all the holiday goodness there is a lot of sadness... we got THE call yesterday evening that a couple that went to our life group lost their baby. Their baby boy was born early with many complications, he had to undergo many surgeries and then he was also diagnosed with Downs Syndrome. Through it all the emails updates from the family were heart-renching... yet the hope and faith of the couple through it all was amazing to me. The baby passed away yesterday after a month of life... and all I could think of was WHY?

Another friend of ours is pregnant with their second child...They are experiencing some complications in their pregnancy and still have a few months before the baby is due... it is all unknown... they have a faith in our maker... and I sit back and ask WHY?

Friends that have had miscarriages after miscarriages... the desire to just have a baby... to start a family... and I question God... WHY???

Several other of our friends are pregnant and are experiencing great pregnancies and healthy born babies... and my mind wanders and wonders WHY?

WHY??? Why do I get upset or frustrated at my child... when I should be thankful... thankful that he is alive, healthy, happy...is such a joy! God, why do people who don't want kids or who don't take care of their kids having kids.... yet these people who love God and love children can't have any babies???

Why is such a crazy question... do I need to really know why? I know deep within my soul that Jesus loves us so much that we won't ever understand why he does! I surely don't deserve it... I know he makes himself more evident in times of crisis and pain... and all we can do is cling to the Hope that Jesus brings! I will never understand death.... especially death of a child... a baby... it doesn't make me doubt God or his love... it helps me to see that life is truly short... that every day is a gift whether you are a day old, a month old or 100 years old... and it's a choice to celebrate life, or to complain about it. I am choosing to celebrate it!

Silly Goose!

2009-11-23T21:25:00.000-08:00

When the Monday blues come what makes it all better? A SILLY kid!!! Yep... I wasn't feeling so hot today... it was a busy weekend with not a lot of down time or even time to play with Kaden. He was a little thrown off because we were at church three days in a row. We had a leadership training weekend, which was so good, but so tiring. And no nap kiddo made for an interesting rest of the weekend... but today Kaden got a three hour nap in and so when I got home from work he was a silly happy kiddo! He was helping wash dishes when I came in... and we played and sang and danced. He ate really well and overall was a happy baby. He even went down for bed really easy. Overall Kaden is a great kid, no complaints... but when he's extra good and extra silly... it makes for a fun evening. He's growing so fast, with new words forming every day... his new love is PUMPKIN PIE!!! He devoured a sliver of pie I gave him tonight. I can't wait for the family to come down and see Kaden in his element... they haven't been down for a little while. Happy Thanksgiving blogging world!

Future Worship Leader

2009-11-20T22:54:00.000-08:00

Kaden has always loved worship and music. Even in the womb he was dancing during worship! And now we make sure he's part of the singing worship at church. We pick him up from the nursery early and he's quite the charismatic one! Anyways... Joel got a little video of him rocking out on his guitar! It's pretty cute when he starts to stomp his feet and do the little head bopping thing!!! We love that he enjoys music and that he especially loves worship music.

Dance Party with K-Man

2009-11-11T20:35:00.001-08:00

Kaden has always loved music... it quiets him down when it needs to and pumps him up when he needs it. He dances, sings, claps, worships. He will hear a part of the song and know what it is and starts doing hand motions to it... it's very awesome! We especially love when he's worshiping, he raises his hands, claps and says "Jesus". It's pretty much crazy. Anyways... tonight we had a dance party. He has beat and rhythm... if you watch carefully you will see him actually stop to listen for the beat and get back on it. He has different dance styles too. He brings so much joy to our lives with his all of his dance parties! Hopefully this video brings you a little joy to your day!

ALOHA!

2009-11-07T17:48:00.001-08:00

Ever since we got back from Hawaii in August we have truly missed the people, the culture, the beaches... so, as we were eating in a Hawaiian restaurant with a friend, the waitress mentioned we could get Malasadas (yummmy donut type dessert) at the Hawaiian Holiday Bazaar in Vancouver. We quickly went home and looked it up and decided we needed to go. So, today in the midst of the down pour we got on our Aloha shirts and slippas and trekked to Vancouver... we ate some tastes of the island and watched some fun hula. The little kids were so cute doing the hula. We now miss the island culture... and trying to get the Tran family to Hawaii for the holidays! :)

Seattle Weekend

2009-11-07T17:41:00.000-08:00

We went to Seattle last weekend because Joel was asked to candidate for an associate pastor position. So, as Joel was leading Bible studies, helping with the Harvest Party and preaching on Sunday... Lisa and Kaden mainly hung out with the family. We sure miss all of our friends and family up there. We aren't sure about the position but it was a great experience to walk through as a family. Please continue to pray for us as we seek where God wants us to serve.

H-A-double L-O-W-double E-N

2009-11-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

There were several festivities we were a part of this year for Halloween. The week before our church, Mosaic, had a Halloween party with lots of games, treats, and cute little kiddos running around. Then we spend the actual Halloween weekend up in Seattle. We did the first trick or treating around Auntie April's neighborhood, then went to Lisa's parents church for a harvest party and then ended the night at Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood for some additional trick or treating... we really only visited the three neighboring houses to say hi to the neighbors that Lisa grew up with.

Kaden was a little freaked out with the scary ghosts and goblins, the flashing lights, and witch cackling. Every other house was a good house with nice pumpkins and the others were met with a crying toddler. Kaden did have a good time seeing other kids running around and he likes candy...oops! He spent the first part of the night with a new friend, Hadriel and ended the night with his buddy, Kaleb! Overall fun weekend...

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

The time has finally come to carve our pumpkins... we went pumpkin hunting a few weeks ago but didn't want to carve them too soon thinking they may rot. Sunday was the day! We had coffee and tea going...garbage bags down... knives out... and away we went! Auntie Amanda by far was the most creative and fast! She carved five in the time Joel or Lisa finished one. It was a blast! Then Lisa made salty and savory pumpkin seeds!!! They are quite addicting! Kaden was a little weirded out by the mess we made... hahaha!!! We have a little neat freak on our hands!!! Autumn is just begun and it is beautiful!!!

Kaden Sleeping while Eating

2009-10-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Kaden has been doing a pretty good job of sleeping at night... nap time is another issue. Today Kaden went to a daycare for the first time. A bunch of Kaden's cousins have been going to this daycare for the last few years and the lady who runs it loves Jesus and takes time to pray with the kids and teach them about God. At the daycare he missed his nap...

We sat down for dinner and towards the end of it we all looked over and here's Kaden with a wonton hanging out of his mouth falling asleep. He has only ever fallen asleep while doing anything (eating, playing, etc) one other time ever, and that was at 7 months.

Here is the video of tonight and for fun we added the one of him at 7 months!

PUMPKINS!!!

2009-10-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

It's officially autumn here in Portland. There was no easing into this season. It went from 90 degree days to 60 degree days overnight. The leaves are changing colors... the beautiful part of it all is that the sun is still out. (A little deceiving... we leave with flip flops on and have to get back into the house and throw shoes and a jacket on).

Anyways... we thought it would be fun to have a family outing to the Pumpkin Patch! (We and every other family in the Portland metro area thought THIS was the perfect weekend). :)

So we searched high and low for the beauties... there were soo many pumpkins to choose from... we were throwing our hands up in the air trying to make the decisions...

got to ride the hay ride to the field and back... and bought yummy apple cider and some corn on the cob from the store...

It was the perfect day for pumpkin hunting...can't wait to carve them!

Sleeping in his own room

2009-10-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

Everyone has different sleep habits with their children and different things work for different people. We have been very fortunate from day one that Kaden has been a great baby.

We had him in our room in a co-sleeper attached to the side of our bed for the first two months and then he moved into the top of a pack in play and then eventually into a crib. But by the morning shift he would always end up in bed with us. (not because he was fussy or anything, it was a lazy, want to cuddle with him sort of deal).

We would feed him when he stirred and started to cry... and he started to ween himself, sort of. He would go from eating every three hours to four or five hour stretches. Even times of six or seven. But then something would happen... teething, sickness, etc and would revert back to every three...or four hours of eating. We tried giving him sippy cups of milk, bottle of water... and he would continue to stir until he got a bottle of milk. He never full on whaled for anything, but just enough whining and stirring to keep us (well...more Lisa than Joel) awake. Since, Lisa was the one working... it was much easier to just make the bottle and have him in bed with us.

He's getting so darn big that he takes over the bed and kicks us to the edges. So...in order to get a full night sleep now... we had to come up with a new game plan. Therefore: Kaden's crib got moved to his room and all his toys are in his room to make it really his room and not a guest room anymore. (Sorry for all you friends that have had the comfort of staying in there).

Friday night was the night so we would have the weekend to recover. We gave Kaden a bath, brushed his teeth, read a bunch of stories in his new Bible and listened to some Cold Play lullaby music. Put him in his crib with his bottle. After he finished his bottle he cried. We went in after 5 minutes, consoled him. Put him back down. He cried some more. This cycle happened for about 35 minutes. And finally silence. Could it be true? It only took less than 45 minutes to get him to bed? Saturday night... we got home from dinner and did the bed time routine and laid him down and he didn't want his bottle but cried instead. We closed the door...and crying for like 5 seconds.... and silence. I was kinda concerned because it was so quick... but checked in after a few minutes and the snoring was louder than the Cold Play lullaby music. Hopefully this is it.

Cheers... to good solid sleep! :)

Flipping the Switch

2009-09-25T00:14:00.000-07:00

Kaden has learned a lot of new "tricks" lately. One of the funnier things he has done recently is turning on and off the hallway light. He will go find the step stool and drag it into the hallway right under the light switch. Then he'll prop himself up and turn on and off the light endlessly.

What's even funnier is that he claps for himself after he is finished.

Kaden in a BOX

2009-09-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

Kaden and in a box.

Kaden and Momma in a box.

Kaden and Charlie in a box...

Uncle Zach in a box?

Auntie April in a box.

Auntie April AND Auntie TD in a box!

Kaden loves his box.

Kaden got a box, and we got a AC unit...two amazing gifts! :)

Kaden the Photographer

2009-08-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

Kaden learned how to turn on the little camera and how to take pictures. Here's the video of him taking pictures...

Here are the actual picture he took... it turned out quite well. :)

Kaden is on his way to becoming a photographer like his momma! :)

Island Boy

2009-08-25T17:26:00.001-07:00

This year we got the blessing of going to Hawai'i for a week! Free air-miles got us to the beautiful island of O'ahu where we were greeted by the Bui family! For a week we ate at all the local joints, swam in the warm, blue ocean, and hung out with fabulous friends and family! When we left we felt like we were leaving home. This trip was a very relaxing and refreshing. We could move there. Our eczema all cleared up while we were over there. The combo of the salt water and the humidity and island breeze all did us good! :)

Kaden loved playing with Kaleb. They are at an age where they are learning to play together and at times we thought they were babbling about the rest of us cause they were taking turns talking and then start giggling! They learned to share food and toys. They did very well with their crazy parents dragging them everywhere.

We are praying about ministry opportunities there and what that may look like. We love the culture and the people. Please pray for this next phase in our life and where the adventure may take us!!! There is way too many pictures to share here on this blog.

Dance Dance Dance

2009-08-04T15:57:00.001-07:00

Kaden danced the night away at Uncle Billy and Auntie Lisa's wedding. He actually started to throw a tantrum when we tried to take him off the dance floor... the lights were going, the DJ playing, people dancing... but it was getting late, and the dark room was not safe for the little guy to be running around in... so, we got him home. But we did get this cute video of him dancing during the reception, but before the after party dancing! :) Our kiddo loves music!!! It's been very fun to watch him enjoy music so much!!!

Sing Sing Sing!!!

2009-08-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

Kaden was testing out his microphone... he's quite the little singer and dancer! :)

Bay Area Road Trip

2009-08-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

The To clan packed up two minivans and headed south! Joel's two sisters and families (minus one dadda) traveled to the bay area and stayed with Joel's cousins for a few days and attended Lisa and Billy's wedding! What a fun trip!!! We all expected the worse, but the kids were actually very good. They watched movies, played video games, ATE LOTS OF SNACKS!!! Kaden got a little restless at points... but overall everyone was very well behaved, even without naps. 10 kids, 7 adults packed into Joel's cousin's house... lots of food, games, laughs, and fun!!!

We took our time traveling down making lots of stops to stretch out legs, go potty, and see Grandma and Grandpa at the fair. We spent five days total hanging out in the bay area in nice mid 70-80 weather, and then returned to record breaking heat wave in Portland of 110!

Lisa and Billy's wedding was beautiful! Lots of fun details and most of all great time to connect with some friends we haven't seen in a while. Congrats Lisa and Billy!!! Love you guys!!!

Water Baby

2009-07-20T00:02:00.001-07:00

Most of you know that Lisa doesn't really like the water much. So, secretly wishing that Kaden wouldn't either... Just kidding... we have a little fish on our hands. Kaden will run towards any hose, sink and bucket looking for water. He isn't quite sure with some bodies of water, but will quickly get over the fear. (unlike his momma) Joel has been taking him into our pool, but Lisa splurged and spend a whole $4.99 on a kiddy pool so that daddy doesn't have to take him into the pool all the time. We were also at a park that has a water feature and he didn't want to leave... so, here's some fun summer time pictures of Kaden and his love for water!

Congratulations!

2009-07-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

Another trip to Seattle this last weekend. It was full of one event after the next. Auntie Gracie was up from Cali to join in all the festivities! It's always fun seeing her!!!! We got to go celebrate Uncle Remy and Auntie Kathy in their wedding celebrations! Kaden wasn't doing too hot... he was getting in FOUR teeth at the same time! His Canines all decided to arrive together! :-( So, starting mid week Kaden got a fever, nose running, lethargic, didn't want to eat. We had many sleepless nights and lots of throw up to clean up... We are glad he only throws up around teething time... and not ALL the time! He was restless and didn't take his naps which made for more of a grumpy child! We were a little concerned that this trip to Seattle would be not very fun for him or for us... but we packed up and headed up! He started to feel better Sunday morning (sleeping in until 11:30 am might have helped too!) We had Chloe's one month party to attend on Sunday and then we took Monday off and hung out with Gracie and my family with yummy pancakes from the Original Pancake House and Salad Rolls for dinner! We had a few BBQs in between all of this...and lots of hanging out with the family! Congrats to Remy and Kathy! Fun weekend, would have been more fun if teething wasn't involved! :)

Father's Day!!!

2009-06-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Dadda,

Words can not express what a great Dad you are to Kaden. Being an at home dadda probably isn't the easiest job in the world, but seeing the way you interact with Kaden and love on him: it is precious. It's amazing to see how involved you are with Kaden's growth, maturity, development and love for Christ. We hope you know that you

are much appreciated & LOVED!!! We would be sad, bored, hungry, and dirty without you. Thank you for caring for both of us when we don't feel well, or are just plain GRUMPY! Thank you for loving us with such sacrificial love. We thank you for directing us both to Jesus daily and accepting us in our brokenness. Thank you for being Kaden's daddy and my hubby! We hope you know we love and respect you with all of us (our head, shoulders, knees and toes!) I love seeing Kaden have your mannerisms and be a little mini-you.

Happy Father's Day!

Momma and Baby

Lets Hear It For Summer

2009-06-20T06:27:00.001-07:00

Kaden has been very active the last few weeks. After learning to walk and his feet really under him he is exploring everything. He is amazingly fast and confident in his new walking abilities.

The other day we went to the park and he wanted to do all the "big boy" stuff: climb the jungle gym, go down the slide, and run across the bridge.

Daddy isn't sure if he is ready for this and mommy is just happy to be behind the camera taking new and exciting action shots of the little toddler.

We're looking forward to all the summer activities this year because the little one will be able to enjoy them in a new way.

This year he will be able to jump in the pool and splash around with the cousins, he can enjoy the 4th of July celebrations, roll around in the grass, (yes, he is over his fear of the grass!) the possibilities are endless.

It will be fun to see this little face light up with every new adventure.

So let's hear it for summer....

Hip Hip Hooray!

Hip Hip Hooray!!

Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

A New Cousin!!!

2009-05-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

The last two weekends we made trips up to Seattle. And both trips we were hoping Lisa's brother and sis in law would have their baby... It's been a busy month: 1st weekend Joel's graduation celebrations, 2nd weekend Mother's day celebrations,

3rd weekend we went to Seattle for a bridal shower celebration and a Mariner's baseball game with some friends from Vancouver, BC,

and 4th weekend for Kaleb's 1st birthday celebrations... and during the whole planning time we hoped that baby Chloe would be born so (selfishly, I know) we wouldn't have to make a 3rd trip up to Seattle back to back to back! And guess what... SHE'S HERE!!! Chloe was born on Friday, May 22nd at 2:04 PM. Weighing in at 7 lbs, 20 inches! She has the cutest cheeks and is very sweet. Congrats Tran Family!!! So, we got to see her every day over Memorial Day weekend... plus a ton of other events that weekend. We went to Green Lake and walked around, to Hoi Dong (Vietnamese District Conference for the C&MA) and Kaleb's 1st birthday at the park. Beautiful weather! Kaleb got a cool wagon that Kaden and Kaleb got pulled around in... they almost look like twins!!! :-)Slowing down this summer??? Doesn't look like it! We have a few weddings to attend, a FIVE year anniversary to celebrate, lots of family and friends around! And a future to try to figure out!!! :-) Kaden is walking like a big boy and doing all sorts of fun things! I will post a video soon of him singing... and then clapping... it's the cutest thing ever!!! Anyways... sorry blog world that our posts are very few and far in between!

Mum's Day!

2009-05-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

We didn't just celebrate mother's day on Sunday... it was an entire weekend celebration! It all started on Friday when we got a text at 6 am from my friend Krista! They were in labor! She joined the mommy club just in time for Mother's Day! Elijah Joseph Donald was born that day 7.7 lbs, 19 inches! What a sweetie! He's so CUTE! Congrats friends!!! Friday evening Kaden and Lisa spent the evening together hanging out, learning to sing "Oh McDonald" and danced and played! It was a fun time!!!

Saturday we woke up and met up with the Miller's to get Waffles at the Waffle Window on Hawthorn! It was heaven to the stomach!!! Then we walked it all off at the Farmer's Market... a tradition for the last three years now! We stocked up on herbs and tomato plants and all sorts of other goodies! We headed home and gardened all afternoon and headed to the Lam's house to feast for Nappy's birthday! Prime Rib, Chili, Ahi Tuna salad and all the sides and chocolate cake!!! Oh man... I was stuffed! Nothing is better than friends and food! ;)

Sunday we got up to go to church... Lisa woke up to a mum's day present... a new camera flash, and a gift certificate to ger her hair done by the coolest hair dresser ever! So, good job daddy and baby! They even kept it a secret for a few days!!! They are pretty bad at giving gifts ASAP... we headed to church and Jonah got dedicated today! Afterwards we feasted! We ate at Pho Ngon. Then naptime... and more gardening... and then to A.T. and Chi Thu's house for clams, steak, grilled veggies and cake made by Annette!!! Great cake Annette!!! ;-) So... that makes very happy tummies... a baby that is worn out by lots of walking and eating and playing with his cousins...

It's been an amazing experience to be a mom... God reveals his love in so many different ways once we become parents. To laugh when Kaden laughs, to cry when he cries... to hurt when he hurts and celebrate when he celebrates! Cheering him on when he tries to do something new! It's such a great experience to know that this journey is just barely starting... I am loving every minute of this thing called being a mom.

Kaden's Birthday Party Part 2

2009-04-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

Alright... so... we headed to Seattle two weeks after Kaden's birthday to celebrate with friends and family that couldn't make down to Portland! So, Kaden's birthday Part 2 was on Sunday, April 26th. We would have had it on Saturday but KT had a birthday party and Lisa's brother & Sis in law had a baby shower...so, we moved our party to Sunday after church. Which worked out great!

It was a packed house with yummy food, sweet treats, lots of laughs, awesome presents (thanks!) and Kaden still doesn't like cake. (We had his smash cake, that i made, and my mom ordered a cake from the person who made our wedding cake...it tasted pretty good... it just wasn't very pleasing to the eyes... toying with the idea of submitting the cake to cakewrecks.blogspot.com but good thing she didn't mess up on our wedding cake 5 years ago.

So, we partied hard on Sunday and slept all the way home. Thank you for all that came out to celebrate Kaden's life! It's been a fun adventure... now he's a walker... life seems like it's going to get more interesting. :-) He's adorable toddling around the house... definitely doesn't look like a little baby any more. Life finally is slowing down for us To's. Joel is done with school and walks this Friday... and Lisa is all done with all the major events for the year at her work. So, time to slow down and figure out what God has in store for this family of three. Please keep praying for us and knowing where God is leading us in this next season. Much Love!!! :-)

Kaden's Birthday Party

2009-04-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

What a fun filled birthday week for Kaden! Auntie Gracie from California was up in Portland for her spring break, she's a school counselor. Auntie Gracie made Kaden's first birthday Dr. Seuss themed cake. It was amazing! Auntie Annette helped with the supplies and the assembly of the masterpiece! Beautiful just beautiful! So the week was spent hanging out with Auntie Gracie and eating a lot of treats... lots of frozen yogurt... cookies...cake... other yummy food! Man... we think we all gained five pounds!

Birthday party day:

Over 50 people came through the To house...lots of fun and laughter was had by all. I am sure everyone was super stuffed and tired by the end of the party! The kids played in the bounce house (thanks Chu Nappy and Co Annette for loaning it to us).

The adults sat close to the food and munched all afternoon! :-) Kaden was so good... even without really napping all week! He loved being around all the people and knew he was very loved!

He loved the balloons, the tissue from the presents, the kids playing... the adults holding him... he loved it all... EXCEPT when it came time to eating his personal sized cake. He didn't the texture of the frosting... he freaked out!!! It was quite adorable.

After all the friends and family went home... Kaden crashed for almost two hours! He napped so hard he didn't even budge from the position we laid him down from.

Happy First Birthday KADEN!!!

2009-04-10T00:24:00.001-07:00

We know you have read this a million times in our blogs, but man... time flies! It's been a year since we started this blog. Thank you for reading it this year... joining in the adventures of being parents and watching Kaden grow along side of us. He's been such a joy this past year... we have experienced the love of God in a new way and are continuing to see Christ in a different light. It's Easter weekend and as we are remembering Christ's death and celebrating his resurrection we see the sacrifice that God the Father gave us when he sent his ONLY son to earth to live and die for US. To be separated from his son... wow... that's huge LOVE to see him being beaten and hung on a cross... we freak out when Kaden falls down and gets a scrape. We are daily thanking God for his son that he sent for our sins... and we thank God for blessing us with a son that brings such joy and love to this family! Happy Birthday Kaden... we love you so much! We love watching you take your first steps... we love seeing you explore things and dislike grass... we love that you care for others... especially other babies when they are crying. We love your hugs and kisses... we love how you sing and dance! We love watching you look out the window and wave hi and bye to people. You are a blessing to us and we hope and pray that we will be a blessing to you too! Hope you can look back to the pictures of this past year and the blogs and stories we have written down and know that you are very loved by many people. But most of all loved by your creator... Happy First Birthday Kaden!

First Full Haircut

2009-04-04T11:05:00.001-07:00

Kaden has gotten a trim from Lisa's hairdresser, Jo Anna... but for his first "official full" haircut we took him to one of those kid shops that have all the cool cars and stuff to sit in. They have movies, toys, bubbles... everything you can think of to entertain kids... it was a little over stimulating actually. Kaden did a great job and now looks like a little boy, not a little baby! How they grow so fast. One more week and he turns ONE!!!

Potty Trained?

2009-03-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This blog contains contents about poop. :-)

Kaden hasn't pooped in a diaper for almost a month now... it's amazing! :-) The boy is pretty regular. He pretty much goes potty every morning when he wakes up, or shortly after he eats breakfast. So, we noticed he would get into his poop stance...

and rush him to the bathroom and set him on the toilet. :) Then he goes and we get him ready for the day! I think he actually doesn't like to poop in his diaper anymore. It's so nice not to have to mess with that... so, first step to potty training! We will take it! :0) I love this pic of him on the toilet... his smile is enough! :-)

Kaden is growing up entirely too fast... he is becoming a little boy now... he took a few steps the other day, but really loves to crawl...or scoot across the floor. It's not really crawling. Anyways, his first birthday is only 16 days away... we can't believe he's almost ONE!!!! WOW!!! He is such a joy... we love the new things he is learning every day. We love that there are no more poopy diapers!!! YEAH!!!

11 Months!

2009-03-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

Kaden is 11 months old! He's one month away from being a year old...that's so crazy to us! He is so much fun right now... picking up things SO fast!!! He spent one morning with Co Amanda and started sticking his tongue out at us that afternoon! We have to really watch what we do now... cause he's watching. We love making him laugh... when he starts giggling all of life's worries and stresses melt away! Kaden is very mobile now... he loves stairs! Going up and then down... then back up and then back down... he entertains himself for ever! Right now he's eating a lot... he loves to feed himself and then pat his head and get all the food into his hair! :-) We aren't sure of Kaden's stats... he's heavy, long, big. :-) Hhehe!! We need to weigh him and measure him. Maybe tomorrow... oh... and the other thing... he likes to crawl under tight spaces... LOL!

Joel is wrapping up school, only one more month left... please pray for him and that he finds time to study and finish papers, study for finals, etc. The balancing act is always difficult.

Lisa is wrapping up the last of four conferences in April. Then hopefully her work world will slow down a little. She finds herself working a lot after she puts Kaden to bed at night.

Please pray for Kaden to continue to be healthy... we are supposed to schedule another test for his kidneys to make sure he's progressing well. We have been procrastinating a little on this test because the ultra sound costs a little more than we have right now... and we think Kaden is doing great! But the doctors wanted to check him before he is one.

Please keep us in your prayers as Joel is done with school, we are unsure of next steps. (Especially with the state of the economy) We would love for Joel to be able to find a full time paid ministry position in the Portland area... but are holding things loosely and making sure we are using our gifts and talents where God wants us to. Sorry the blogs are rare these days... but we really are glad you are reading and praying for us!!!

DYC 2009

2009-02-25T22:56:00.000-08:00

Last year at District Youth Conference I was about 7 months pregnant... and this year there's a 10 month old crawling around! Kaden was so good at the conference.

But prior to DYC Kaden had his first slumber party! He stayed at Co/Duong 3 house (Thanh and Thu's) Thursday afternoon until Friday afternoon. So that Joel and I could concentrate on setting up for the conference. (especially since I was overseeing the whole thing). Kaden did very well playing with his cousins and hanging out with Auntie and Uncle.

Auntie Lori, Uncle Kai and Co Christine came down from Lynnwood to staff DYC this year! It was amazing to have them around. And everyone down here fell in love with the three of them!!! :-) Yeah!!! Go LYNNWOOD!!! :-) Kaden loved having his aunties and uncle around!!! What a great event... there were almost 800 high school students, staff and youth pastors/leaders there. Very high energy and an amazing speaker! You can check out pics and blogs on pnwdyc.com

Kaden was great! He would play and go to anyone. And would sleep in the MOBY (I love my MOBY)!!! We would put him under the information table to sleep during evening sessions! Hehehe!!! He's growing so fast... in the past few weeks he's mastered talking on the phone-he will hold the phone up to his ear... it's very cute! He loves giving me (lisa) kisses... but will turn away from Joel... we think it's the facial hair! :-) He learned the vietnamese clapping song... with the movements! And explores everything!!! What a joy he is to our lives! Sorry blogging hasn't been very active lately. Life has been filled with much activity! :-)

Kaden 10 Months!!!

2009-02-11T22:51:00.000-08:00

Kaden is 10 months old!!! Only 59 more days until his first birthday!!! Wow!

25 Random Facts about Kaden:

1. Weighs 21 pounds

2. 29 inches tall

3. Loves his froggy

4. Favorite toy is his music table thing Auntie Lori and Uncle Kai bought him for Christmas

5. Takes 10 oz of formula at night... 8 oz during the day!

6. Will not hold his own bottle

7. Sings himself to bed (hums)

8. Has pooped on the toilet 4 or 5 times... we put him on there every morning

9. Has six teeth... two came in on his 10th month birthday!

10. loves to eat "puffs" and hates cheerios

11. Dances when there's music on

12. ALWAYS does his "tricks" when people look away

13. Thinks webcam is the greatest thing!

14. Will jet off crawling when he's naked... he likes to be naked!

15. Loves brushing his own teeth

16. Has gotten used to taking showers with us, but prefers playing in the tub

17. Plays peek a boo, even if it's just with himself and a blanket

18. loves to play chase and will tease and call for us until we chase him

19. does amazingly well on car rides/trips

20. calls out for "dadda" when he's bored

21. Calls out for "momma" when he's hungry or when dadda is changing him

22. likes to wake up to eat in the middle of the night, but it's getting better

23. enjoys pushing anything that will hold him up across the room

24. tries to put on random things on his head like hats

25. loves to go to church and play with his buddies in the nursery!

Happy 10 months to Kaden!!!!

Urban Hiking

2009-02-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

We are not very out-door-sy people... we love the city though! So today the sun was out and we wanted to take a walk... so, normal people would go to the park... but we packed up the boy and headed towards the city to walk around downtown! There's so much people watching to do down in Portland! We love it!!! Kaden loves to people watch... he actually stares! It is embarrassing sometimes... cause people don't know how to respond to his staring! You can definitely tell who are baby people and who don't know what to do! :-) Anyways... it's interesting! I feel that we get more comments from strangers now in passing than we ever did before! I think if we had a dog it would even be twice as much!!! Hhaha!!! Kaden loves the comments and the smiles. He smiles back and stares!!! At least he isn't talking yet and says random things to strangers! I think that will be entertaining! So... here are some pictures of our little urban boy! Anyone wants to pay us to have Kaden as a model??? :-) Hhehee!!!

Peek A BOO!!!

2009-01-24T21:05:00.000-08:00

Kaden started to play peek a boo! He is so funny and will go forever!!! Usually we are the ones hiding under the blanket... but he just learned how to cover his own face with the blanket!!! SO Stinkin' cute!

Inauguration Day-OBAMA!

2009-01-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

Kaden, Joel and Zach were glued to the TV on Tuesday, January 20th to watch Obama be sworn into office as our 44th president of the USA. Lisa watched from work on the internet... technology is beautiful! We pray that as Kaden grows up he can look back into history and say he was alive when the first African American president took office and that Obama helped mold history in amazing ways! We know that Obama isn't the "savior" like some may think he is... we are just excited to see what may come of our new president!

Renewal Retreat

2009-01-24T20:21:00.000-08:00

Every year in January Lisa's work goes out to the coast and retreats with about 100 pastors and spouses. There's a speaker and worship and time to relax. So the To Family packed up and headed to Cannon Beach for three days! Kaden was so good for the entire retreat! He loved worship and all the people that gave him attention. We walked the beach, cruised through the little shops and took baths in the largest bathtub Kaden has been in!

9 MONTHS!!!

2009-01-11T23:21:00.000-08:00

Kaden is 9 Months OLD!!! Wow... he's officially been outside the womb longer than being inside of it! ;-) He has slowed down on his weight gain due to being so stinkin' mobile! (he lost some weight when he was sick for a month too) He crawls everywhere! He tries to get to places faster that he does the Hunch Back of Notre Dame scoot across the room! Someone asked once if there was something wrong with his leg!!! He's still 20 lbs! 28 1/2 inches long! He is wearing 12 month clothes. He eats almost all veggies and fruit (nothing citrus yet). He has started baby yogurt and loves to feed himself anything he can like crackers, puff snacks, veggies, bread, etc. He loves to chatter to himself and make lots of music with anything he can find: boxes, bags, clapping, etc. He can wave, high five, clap, dance, sing... we think he can say "all done"... and throws his hands in the air! :-) He loves to call out for his dadda! He stands and walks around while holding onto things... he loves when we hold his hands and he can walk around. He observes things, you can see his eyes processing how things work... what people are doing... how he can get any sort of expression or reaction from people. It's getting kind of embarrassing when he full on stares at people in restaurants, at the mall, or where ever we may be. He loves the camera! :-) His mommy has taught him well! He has four teeth now... and we think a few more coming in! He chews on everything. Kaden has such personality and we love watching him learn new things daily! This is such a fun age of exploring and learning how things work! We hope that we can direct him towards Jesus and the things of God! Thanks for praying for us and with us these last 9 months... please continue to keep us in your prayers, that we can keep parenting according to how God has called us to parent. That we will love God, love each other, love Kaden and love others. Happy 9 months of life Kaden!!!

Brush, Bath, Book, Bottle, Binkie, Bed

2009-01-09T21:55:00.000-08:00

Bedtime routine is apparently supposed to help a baby learn to sleep through the night: Bath, Book, Bottle, Bed is usually the case (I added Brush and Binkie).

Kaden got his first toothbrush and so we tried it out tonight... he loved it!

So, then he took a bath...he's a little fish!

Book... Bottle...Binkie

and tonight he fell fast fast asleep!

I wish we could have said the same yesterday... he barely slept a wink! We think he's teething... so, tonight he got some teething tablets to ease the pain. And I think it did the trick!

Mommy and Dadda are running on low sleep this week... we hope that with these new teething tablets we will be a little bit more rested. Plus this was the first week back after three weeks of sleeping when we wanted and for as long as we wanted! So, back in the groove of things... Kaden is 9 Months tomorrow! Hopefully he will let us take 9 month pictures!!! ;-) I wanted to leave you with this sleeping picture... Like father, like son...

Who Knows Best?

2009-01-06T22:51:00.000-08:00

Kaden is becoming the little man... he for the most part is a very good kid... he has his moments where he is testing the waters to see if and when we will give in. Lately he's been fighting us at bedtime. We have tried the bedtime routine thing... bath, book, bottle, bed. But he screams at the bottle part. He's hungry and restless but doesn't want to take the bottle. He will take it at all other hours of the day... but at night he wants to nurse... but we are trying to wean him from nursing... so, the first shift is the bottle.

As I was in the midst of this power struggle with him... and when he finally took the bottle, devoured it and fell fast asleep... I was praying for him and for me and my patience and parenting... God helped me to see how many times I have been restless and needing to be fed...but I would fight it and fight it and when I finally gave in... I could finally rest in my father's arms. As a parent we know what's best for our kids...Kaden doesn't know that he is fussing cause he's sitting in a diaper of crap... but knows he's uncomfortable. He will cry and cry when we go to change his diaper...but is all better when we are done changing it.

I pray that I will learn to surrender to my Father in Heaven... and that he knows what's best for me. That he will take the crap out of my life and fills me with his food that is good for my soul. That I will not fight him but allow him into my life daily... this year brings a lot of unknowns... Joel is finishing school by April. Lisa has a busy work quarter in front of her... Kaden will be one in no time... we don't know what's next. But we do know that we must surrender any plans we have to God and allow him to show us what's best for our family!

Happy New Years!

2009-01-05T22:11:00.001-08:00

Happy New Years!!! Yes, Kaden was up to ring in the new year... but he woke up only moments before the bell struck midnight! So... no worries!!! We aren't awful parents!!! :-)

First Sickness

2009-01-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

Kaden has been a pretty healthy baby considering all of the "tests" he has had done to make sure his kidneys are okay. But with colds and stuff he has been as healthy as healthy could be. So, when he woke up with a cough... we were a little concerned... and the cough got worse... and made for a grumpy baby... but not really. Kaden's grumpy is pretty mild. He was more lethargic than anything. Well... we took him to the doctors first thing monday morning and he was diagnosed with RSV... a week being on a nebulizer he is all better at his check up appointment today! Yeah! He has a little bit of a cough left... but no more contagious virus... so, we can be around other babies! :) He did lose almost a pound from being sick... his appetite is coming back... so, hopefully all will be well over 20 pounds again! ;-)

Kaden's First Christmas

2008-12-30T12:09:00.000-08:00

Kaden had a very eventful first Christmas! We had a white Christmas! The snow came pouring down on December 14th and was on and off until December 28th. So our Christmas break started earlier than we had planned. The snow kept us from going to work that first week. And almost kept us from going to Seattle for Christmas! We went up on Friday before the second storm came in... which was the best decision we made all year! :-) We got snowed in with Lisa's cousins and family... played cards, watched movies, ate a lot, and laughed liked crazy! Kaden got some fun stuff for Christmas... a lot of things that make music and help him learn and grow! He also got some mula! We need to get him some more clothes... he is growing so fast! A whole 20 lbs! The best present of all is all the time we were able to spend with family and friends. We were in Seattle for 9 days and was definitely ready to be back to Portland.

Kaden wasn't feeling well the day we left Seattle... and we took him to the doctor's on Monday morning. The doc said that he got a virus cough thing... in adults is appears as a common cold...for kids under two it is a form of bronchiolitis. It is so sad to see him sick for the first time... coughing, running nose, really tired...but restless. We have him on a nebulizer thingy. Please pray for him and that he gets better soon...

We have a busy beginning of 2009... Joel is going back to George Fox Seminary to finish his last term to get his Masters in Christian Ministries... Lisa has many events she's overseeing in the first few months for work... and Kaden will be busy learning to walk and grow and become a little boy. Only 100 more days of Kaden being a baby... then he will be ONE YEAR OLD!!!

We hope you had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Snow Suit

2008-12-21T10:56:00.000-08:00

So... after the first arctic blast...Joel got cabin fever and so we had to venture to the mall. Good thing we did go because we found a steal of a deal!!! A snow suit for Kaden for only $15 at the children's place. Original price was like $45. :-) YEAH!!! So, now Kaden will be all bundled up! We were going to venture up to Seattle for Christmas starting Saturday night due to a prior commitment we had until Saturday evening. But after hearing ALL the news reports of the next huge storm to come in Saturday we called in some favors and left Friday afternoon. Which was the BEST idea ever!!! We arrived in Seattle with no traffic and clear roads... but then it HIT! The snow fell and fell and fell!!! It didn't stop falling for almost 12 hours!!! And what do we have!?! A house full of family, food, and fun!!! We stayed up and watched the snow and played cards and other games until 2 am or so. (Kaden of course didn't stay up that late...) He went to bed at a ripe time of 7:30 PM. :-) Being snowed in with cousins and siblings and grandparents who change Kaden's dirty diapers... what else could one ask for??? :-) So... we are in Seattle... we will see how long we are here for! :-) Merry Christmas to all!!!

Arctic Blast '08

2008-12-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

Like most Portlanders we laugh at the local news and how crazy they get when the weather changes here. Everything is so extreme and it's always the end of the world as we know it. So when the news reported that we would have an "Arctic Blast!" we just thought there would be a few snow flurries and then it would clear up.

Well we woke up to a good dusting of snow this morning and it continued to come down. We under estimated the road conditions and were hoping to get to church so we got ready and packed up Kaden (oh yeah his first snow!). By the time we hopped in the car the streets had gotten a lot worse then we thought. We pulled out of the drive way drove about three houses down and turned around to come back.

Joel didn't feel safe driving in the little FIT. You know what they say, "Better safe then sorry!"

Now we get to stay home today and watch the "blizzard like conditions..." Oh the joy of living in the N.W.

Kaden loved the snow but we didn't keep him out in it long.

Kaden 8 Months Old!!!

2008-12-10T20:33:00.000-08:00

Kaden is 8 months old!!! Time has sure gone by so fast!!!

Kaden is now about 20lbs. Not sure how tall... moves too much to measure. He crawls, pulls himself up on things, lets go... but doesn't last very long...he loves for us to hold his hands and walk with us. He claps his hands... says momma and dadda... shakes his head when he doesn't want to keep eating. He knows how to "pound" it...or explosion! (fist to fist) he can high five. He still loves his froggy. He is constantly exploring and trying to figure out how things work. You can see it in his eyes that he's studying whatever it is. He would rather play with boxes and paper and bottles than real toys. He enjoys story time... and takes frequent trips to the library with daddy. He still only has two bottom teeth... he eats a lot of things... mostly homemade. He loves anything he can pick up and feed himself. He's such a big boy now... he's learning new things daily and it's fun to watch and teach him. He has the biggest personality and loves being around people!!! We couldn't ask for anything more! Thank you Jesus for our 8 month old, Kaden!

Oh Christmas Tree...Oh Christmas Tree...

2008-12-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

So, tradition for the past three years has been to go out to a tree farm with some of our closest friends and cut down a beauty and make a day out of it! We planned and planned this year and found a date that worked for most of us. Saturday was out...so, Sunday it was! Saturday was BEAUTIFUL! Sunday wasn't so much. I know this is hard to believe but Kaden was super grumpy due to a weekend of no naps and lots of activities going on. So, when the rain came and grumpy child... we felt SOOO BAD! But for our sanity we HAD to cancel. So, as we sat there and pouted... (okay... Lisa pouted... since she wanted to get decorations up last week) Joel decided to load us up into Joel's dad's truck and take us to one of those precut places to pick out a tree. We thought it would be way easier than hiking through a tree farm in the cold. We did NOT realize that the cost of a tree would be triple what we would pay for at a tree farm. YIKES! So... we drove onto the next lot of trees... it was at a tree farm with some precut trees. We were just going to grab one of those but nothing looked nice...so, right next to the precut ones...there was this beauty of a tree... so, poor Joel had to cut it down! Good thing it wasn't too thick of a trunk! We threw it in the truck and went home! It wasn't near as fun as going with friends... but it was fast... and no cold baby! No grumpy momma and dadda... and now our house is decorated for Christmas! Kaden woke up this morning to a decorated tree with lights and smiled and clapped! :-)

Kaden's Food Coma!

2008-11-30T18:36:00.000-08:00

After a four day weekend with lots of family and friends to celebrate with, we think it all caught up with our baby Kaden!

Our activities started Wednesday night when Kaden's grandparents (Ong, Ba Ngoai), auntie Lori (Di Ut) and uncle kyle (Cau Kai) made their way down from Seattle to celebrate with the To family. We stayed up way too late. I think Kaden knew his grandma and grandpa were coming so he wouldn't go to bed. They got in around 10:30pm and so we didn't get to bed until about midnight.

Thursday was a morning of playing really hard with everyone, making food for dinner and then heading to Joel's sister and brother in law's house (Di, Duong Ba) for dinner at 4pm. The festivities lasted until about 9pm. Eating, playing cards, scrabble, eating, watching Kung Fu Panda and looking through the paper for next day sales!

Friday: Grandma and Auntie Lori went shopping with Joel in the morning, the guys then went to play basketball and then Lisa took Kaden and grandma and auntie lori to the asian market and to Old Navy for some more shopping. Kaden's grandma CAN SHOP!!! Hhaha!!!

Saturday: More shopping... we went to Woodburn Outlet Mall and had to drag grandma home. Then off to watch the Civil War Game (OSU vs. U of O). Don't ask who won...Joel is not a happy camper! Kaden played with his cousins and cheered and booed with the rest of them!

Sunday: we went to church and had an amazing lunch with some friends at our house. Kaden played and laughed so hard this weekend and we think it all caught up to him. He was eating dinner at 6:15 (normally he goes to bed around 7:30pm.) And all of sudden mid bite, Kaden fell asleep. He has NEVER done that before. He's never just fallen asleep playing or crawling or anything. He's always let us know he's tired, we hold him and he falls asleep. We were laughing pretty hard and he didn't even budge. We think it all caught up with him and he decided he needed to rest! That, or he had TOO much TURKEY!!! Hhaha!!! :-)

Hope you had a great thanksgiving! We are constantly in awe of this little child God has blessed us with and how much joy he brings us! Hope you enjoy this little video of him falling asleep while eating!!! We are still laughing at how funny he was! Happy Thanksgiving!!! (belated!)

Home Made Baby Food

2008-11-23T22:06:00.001-08:00

One thing that mommy and daddy like to do together is make baby's food. ;^)

Some of the advantages of making your own baby food is:

You Know What's In It
It's Cost Effective
It's Fresh
It's Organic
More Variety
It's Fun

On the menu tonight were peas, (they were neon green) yam, and sweet potatoes. In the past we have made pears, apples, yams, green beans, carrots, and avocados. So far Kaden's favorite seems to be the yams avocados, and pears.

We will cook up the veggies and then blend them up. We have a Braun Wand food processor and we use the attachment to puree the veggies into nice baby food consistency. Then we take the mixture and plop it into ice cube trays most of the trays we used were Rubbermaid. Drop those in the freezer then when they are frozen pop the little cubes into nicely labeled "Ziplock" bags. (wow we should put adds on the side of this blog for all the product placement going on in this entry.)

When baby is ready to eat we take out some frozen treat and put them in a bowl. Microwave for a few seconds to melt it and then add a little hot water. Then we add some cereal in to thicken it up.

Kaden has been eating so much lately. The other day he ate two cubes of green beans and two cubes of pears. When we started a month ago he barely finished one cube. The transition from milk to solids has also brought on the same transitions in the diapers if you know what we mean. ;^P

So this concludes Joel and Lisa's baby cooking segment, we are glad you joined us and hope you come again for more adventures in parenting.

If you have a chance check out Joel's new blog RaisingDaddy. We'll leave you with a cute video of the effects of eating too many solids for Kaden.

Silent Night... Holy Night...

2008-11-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

As many of you know Kaden is very advanced in a lot of areas. Hitting his "milestones" earlier than what the books say. EXCEPT for sleeping through the night. We have so many friends' kids that have been sleeping through the night since they were three months old. The books say that a child SHOULD be sleeping through the night by six months. We tried every trick... and nothing seemed to get him out of his waking every three hours thinking he's STARVING! Hehhee!!!

Last night was a good sign! Kaden "slept" through the night. He went six hours straight sleep from 8 pm-2 am. Woke up to eat and I put him back in his crib...and he woke up. We usually pick him back up cause he cries and get him back to sleep. BUT this time around... he sat up in his crib, stood up, sat down... talked talked talked. Then laid down and fell asleep! He has NEVER put himself to sleep like that before. I wish we had one of those night vision cameras set up. Then the boy didn't wake up until 7 AM! I think he might have slept longer than that if we didn't get up and were getting ready for the day. This is a very good sign... and hopefully it keeps up! :-)

7 Months!!!

2008-11-18T23:30:00.000-08:00

Kaden is now seven months old! Joel has been working on some video stuff for our keepsakes and he started with us in the hospital and Kaden's birth. It's wild to see pictures of him that small. Every day Kaden's personality comes out more and more. It's fun to explore things with him, new tastes, smells, touches, sights. He loves boxes and bags: the sounds they make when he does different things to them. He loves food: he's definitely a To. He eats everything-peas, green beans, carrots, yams, avocados, pears, apples, bananas, all types of baby cereals. He's learning how to use his pincher fingers to pick up snacks. Our favorite time right now is when he wakes up in the morning and is in such a playful mood. We lay in bed and play peek a boo with the covers...and he just laughs and laughs and laughs! It's so fun! (Especially when momma gets to stay in bed for a long time and not have to get up and go to work). This happens in the morning and right before bed time. Kaden gets the giggles and it's just so fun to play with him at this age. He's pretty technologically savvy... we have been video chatting with aunties, uncles, grandmas and friends... he loves to see himself on the computer!!! He's kinda weary of the phone still... I think he likes the fact that he can see someone through the computer and can't see them on through the phone. :-) Some fun seven month facts: Crawling, pulling himself up on things, taking a few steps holding on to stuff, eating solids, weighs over 18lbs, length of more than 26 inches, nicknames: chubbahwub, chubbabah, bubbah. Says dada and some other nonsense... loves his froggy! Loves you!

Kaden Says His 1st Words!!! "Dadda"

2008-11-16T22:49:00.000-08:00

Once again the boy amazes us with his tricks.

Today Kaden clearly said Dadda many times.

Pretty soon he will be able to chat with his older

cousins, who can gab with the best of them.