Thanksgiving

This year we were fortunate enough to have the whole week home in Seattle for Thanksgiving. Matt used some of his vacation time and we made it over the pass just in time, before all of the winter storms hit. While we were in Seattle it snowed several inches, a very unusual occurence! Of course after the first half inch the city turned into a chaotic mess and all of the schools were cancelled. We had a very relaxing week and stayed home most of the time. Thanksgiving was spent at home with my (Ellie's) family and grandparents. Unfortunately Jake and Lindsey weren't able to make it up from San Diego though.

On Black Friday I got up at 2:30 am (I know it's crazy!) and met up with Jennie, one of my best friends to hit some sales. We found some awesome deals so it was worth it! Plus it's kind of a tradition. I also was able to see my other best friend Brittany's brand new baby girl Tessa! When we returned to Spokane after the week was over there was about a foot and a half of snow! Here are some pictures from the week home.

Halloween Weekend in Seattle

For Halloween weekend we drove home to Seattle and on Halloween evening we went to the McDowell's house. As usual their parties are amazing and over the top! There was the best food there! We loved being able to hang out with our friends Jennie and Clint and Brittany and Manuel. It was fun to get Diego (Brittany's little boy) and Blake together. Unfortunately neither of the boys would put on thier costumes, no matter how hard we tried! Oh well.

We also went to the Bellevue Botanical Gardens with my (Ellie's) family to get some fall pictures. We did get a few, however Blake was pretty cranky and ended up falling and scraping his face. Poor guy! Overall it was a great time though.

Secret Getaway

At the beginning of October Matt took me on a secret getaway, a late anniversary celebration since the place wasn't available in August. My parents came to town to watch Blake for three nights while we were away. Matt wouldn't tell me where we were going until we got in the car. It ended up being at a beautiful German cabin on Lake Coeur d' Alene! A very generous family allows Moody staff to use the two cabins that they own. We were so blessed!

The weekend was very relaxing and it was nice to sleep in. They also had a canoe that we could use, so we took a little ride around the inlet. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

I Promise to Tell the Whole Truth....

We have committed to keeping friends and family updated on our family and feel it is important to include the good and the bad. The last couple weeks have been rough to say the least, especially for me (Ellie).

Matt has been working hard trying to replace our roof which was so old that it was starting to disintegrate and pieces of it would come off with the wind or rain. He has been putting in long hours, working full days at work flying and then coming home and getting right to the roof. Luckily we've had some help from friends, which has been such a blessing, but there is still a good portion of the roof to finish. We've been trying to beat the weather but unfortunately it has started to rain and it is not finished.

I have tried to keep Blake happy since he hasn't had much "daddy" time, but it has been a challenge. He has been extremely fussy, throwing tantrum after tantrum, and not sleeping well. He was waking up several times in the night for about a week, crying when we put him down for bed or naps, and only taking 30-45 min naps. Now he's sleeping through the night again though napping is a different story. I'm pretty certain that it is time to drop his morning nap and go to one each day. Honestly I've dreaded the day when he's been ready to do that! I can barely get him to last until his morning nap at 8:30am and now I have to stretch him several more hours! On top of that he has a cold which has made him even more cranky and clingy. When he gets fussy he doesn't just cry and whine (though he does plenty of that). He throws tantrums constantly and has started screaming and throwing tantrums even when I do everyday things like try to put him in his high chair to eat or put him in the stroller. I've had to figure out what to do about discipline b/c he throws toys and has even hit me a couple of times. It's difficult as a mom to tell what is causing this for sure....is it just the stage of life, teething, sickness? Whatever it is, I'm about at my wits end and haven't had much of a break lately because of the roof. I feel drained and exhausted. For those of you who know me well, I do not fare well without my sleep! Today is the first day I'm going to try to stretch Blake and have him take only one nap. I pray that I last through the day! I will add that though I'm painting a pretty nasty picture of Blake right now, this is not the normal. He usually is such a social, smiley, hilarious little boy and he loves to hug and kiss his mommy. He's just going through a tough time.

In addition, I'm sad we aren't able to attend Grandma Scheer's funeral tomorrow. She passed away last Saturday, ending a long battle against cancer. We are the only ones in the family not attending due to work schedules/flight costs. Matt was able to fly there recently and spend some quality time with her before she slipped into a coma, which was a huge blessing. I would have loved to attend her funeral however.

In all this, God has quietly reminded me of His promise..."My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I am so thankful that I have a God that has that kind of power. "For when I am weak, then I am strong."

New MAF Video

Check out this new video from Mission Aviation Fellowship. Makes us excited to be a part of this!

August News

It has been a while since our last post. I have to admit, I (Ellie) don't do extremely well with a packed-out schedule and that has what it has been this last month. On the other hand our schedule has been packed-out with mostly fun things and we have had an awesome summer.

We just returned from being out of town almost a week. Matt, Blake and I drove home to Bellevue last Thursday and Matt flew to Colorado that same day to spend some time with family, specifically his grandmas. Matt was able to spend some valuable time with his grandma Scheer and says she was in pretty good spirits and seemed to love the time with family. They prayed and encouraged her every night before putting her to bed. We continue to pray for peace and relief from the pain she has been having.


They also spent a good deal of time visiting Matt's other grandma Waite, his mom's mom, who has Alzheimer's and is now in a full-time care facility. As difficult as it was, Matt was so grateful to get to see both grandmas and also spend time with his parents before they return to Rwanda, however they did have to postpone their tickets and don't know when that will be yet due to the situation.

While Matt was in Colorado, Blake and I spent the last few days with my family and attended the wedding of Jake's best friend Daniel. They've been friends for as long as I can remember so it was almost like having another little brother just get married! It was also great to see Jake and Lindsey and not surprisingly Jake gave a hilarious toast that had the whole place roaring. Daniel married Katie, who is the sister of an old friend from high school, so it was fun to catch up with everyone. Blake loved the music and was one of the first to dance out on the floor :).


Speaking of Blake, he is now walking! He's been walking about a month now and LOVES being able to get around. He is also mimicking most of the things we do. For example he started mimicking my mom walking with her hands behind her back and he looks absolutely adorable toddling along like that! He had a ball pushing the buttons to make the coffee every morning and loved having his uncles around. One morning Jake was drinking coffee in the recliner and Blake piled all of his toys on him, one by one!

Uncle Jake Loaded with Toys!

Priceless Picture with Grandma

Blake at Medina Beach on Lake Washington

One Last Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Scheer

Yesterday we said goodbye to Matt's parents after a week long visit here in Spokane. They came up one last time before heading back to Rwanda next month. Unfortunately Matt couldn't take any time off work and had an extremely busy week so he didn't get to see them as much as he would have liked, but all together we had a great time. They are so helpful with Blake and love to play with him and I was able to get some time to myself. We went strawberry picking one day at Green Bluff and brought home 24 lbs of strawberries! They just were so good....it was hard to resist! We made jam and strawberry rhubarb pie and froze bags and bags. Yum!
It was hard to say goodbye, but at least we were able to spend some time with them before they leave.

San Diego Vacation

Matt, Blake and I recently returned from an amazing 10 days in San Diego with my (Ellie's) family. My brother Jake and his wife Lindsey are stationed in San Diego through the Navy and we all met up at their place, only two miles from Sea World. My parents drove down as this is part of a month long road trip for them. What an amazing and fun week it was!

We went to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, the fair, and the beach.....though I can't say we had the warmest weather. It was mostly in the sixties and cloudy, though it often cleared up in the afternoons thank goodness. I was a little worried how Blake would do with all of the activity since he is still on a two nap schedule, but he did great and loved all of the attention! He definitely is a social little boy. He had everyone laughing hysterically one night as he got them to clap after him and then he would laugh like crazy and clap again.

We also were able to meet up with our friends Ben and Kami and their little girl Summer. Matt graduated from Moody Aviation with Ben and we haven't seen them since Ben took a job in California. It was awesome to catch up with them and enjoy some time at the beach.

Here are some pictures from the trip. We were able to get some amazing in-action whale pictures with our new camera.

Blake watching the Shamu Show. He loves it!

The family at the San Diego Zoo

Classic Meerkat pose. The Meerkats were my favorite at the Zoo. They are so cute!

Amazing flamingo picture that Matt took.

This monkey was busy grinding something along that rock. He barely noticed all the people looking at him.

The Caspars and the Scheers

Blake and Summer have a great time. Aren't they cute?

Matt and Blake looking out at the ocean.

Blake's first try with a straw.

Sand sand sand!

Dinner Cruise

Last Saturday Matt and I had the priviledge of going on a Couer D' Alene dinner cruise with much of the Moody Aviation and Spokane Turbine Center staff and their spouses, along with this year's graduating class. It was sponsored by a man who funds the Spokane Turbine Center and due to his extreme generosity we were all able to enjoy a special night out and celebrate the recent graduates! The food was amazing and we all had a blast! We were extremely lucky to have my parents come and watch Blake. They drove all the way from Seattle to take care of him so we could have a night out...are they amazing or what?!

Blake turns one!

On Saturday we celebrated the unforgettable day our little Blake was brought into this world one year ago on May 15th. It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone and that he is already one! We had a barbecue with several family and friends present and it was a sunny, beautiful day. The best part was that Blake had a blast and loved all the attention! Here are a couple of videos and some pictures from the day.

Balloon Fun




Cake for the First Time!

First Taste of Cake!

Wow!!!

Mmmmmmmm

I Could Get Used to This!

Blake with Walker

Opening Presents with Daddy

More Presents!

Blake and Costa

Cookie Monster!