Now that we're settled in our new home I finally took the time to drag out and unpack my scrapbooking stuff. I only started scrapbooking about 6 months ago and enjoy it more that I thought I would. It's been wonderful going back over Noah's life and recording all the little things I don't want to forget. I still haven't completed his first year album but am getting closer and closer with each crop.

Here are some of my favorite and most recent pages...

Tahoe Family Encampment

IT'S ABOUT TIME! We took our first week long family vacation since our Honeymoon (3-1/2 years ago) last week. We camped and attended Tahoe Family Encampment, a week long Christian seminar at Lake Tahoe. We feel so blessed to have been able to spend quality family time together and also be filled up spiritually. Noah loved playing with all the kids at camp and attending Bible class in the morning. Scott and I participated in some incredible Bible classes on marriage and family that we will never forget.

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the trip.

Noah and his buddy Ezekiel at the beach.

Noah's "Lober"

Waiting in line for ice cream.

Enjoying some "i-cream"

The bunk bed in the camper worked great except the first night he sat up in his sleep a few times and bonked his head on the ceiling. Life lesson I suppose.

We had a couple bouts of hail in the afternoon. Noah was trying to show the camera the hail.

Ride em' cowboy!

Enjoying his "Tot-Spot" chair during our evening campfire.

"Here Mommy...a flower." What a sweet boy!

What makes a home?

If home is where the heart is, What distinguishes it from a house? While one can spin a thousand tales, The other merely serves as shelter. A home is filled with life and vitality, While a house is but a structure. The latter, built with boards and nails, Repels all of nature’s trauma. A home, much different indeed, is full of kin. Love, pulsing through a home, Is but the essence of its being. Cement, holding steadfast a house, Is but a common hardened mixture. Absorbed with the tradition of a lifetime, A home is where you thrive. Pounded with nails of steel, A house is where you reside. What makes a home a home? What makes a house a house? The simple matters in life, Delved from our inner soul, Can answer these pressing question. Home is where the heart is, The heart makes a home a home. Praise the LORD! Our house on Lenwood finally closed and we've moved. I can't even express the relief and sense of peace we feel now that we are somewhere more affordable. I struggled with leaving the memories of Lenwood but thanks to my dear friend Theresa and her words of wisdom I now realize that our house doesn't make our family, we do.

Sensory overload!

I never imagined that experiencing things such as Sesame Street Live with my son would bring tears to my eye. We feel blessed to be able to take Noah to something he enjoys so much. We talked about it for a few days and Noah knew he was going to see Elmo but he had no idea what was in store. The first 15 minutes of the show he just sat there, with his mouth open, not smiling, not clapping, saying nothing, just attempting to take it all in. Eventually he adjusted and had a blast! Thanks Grandma Becki for the tickets!

What happened to April?

Upon signing in this morning to catch up on everyones news I realized I didn't post the ENTIRE month of April. Not for the lack of interesting and adorable things happening...but for a lack of time and planning. One of these days I'll adjust to "Mommyhood" and get on top of things.

So, a quick catchup on all the happenings in the Boutcher household....

Janelle Cooke (Winburn) visited with her adorable new son Caleb. Janelle and I have been friends my ENTIRE life and her friendship has meant the world to me. We've shared childhood, young adulthood (living in DC), marriage to our fantastic husbands, and now motherhood together. Looking forward to many more years of memories and experiences.


We drove to Sacramento 2 weeks ago and visited the Sacramento Zoo. Unfortunately, my camera battery died so we have few pictures but many memories. I took Noah to the Portland Zoo when he was a year old but he didn't really get it. This time he had a blast. You would think his favorite part would have been the animals...but no...it was the train. He's still talking about it.

We had an Egg-cellent Easter! After church we went to my Grandmother's home with family and our friends, the Claysons. The kids had a blast hunting Easter eggs and eating A LOT of candy.

We're still in escrow on the house. My dear friend Tracy once told me while I was in another unrelated life transition, "Sarah, you're in God's waiting room...get a magazine." Well, I think about that a lot right now. We're at a time in our life that is trying, unsure and scary but I know that someday looking back I will see the positive in this trial and "count it all joy" (see James chapter 1).

Oh No, Not "One More Thing"

Why is it that when a Mother (or anyone for that matter) can't handle "one more thing" on their plate or they'll just scream "one more thing" ALWAYS hits?

Well, "one more thing" hit last week with a vengeance. Not only do we have 20 days and counting until we have to be completely packed and moved, but Scott came down with a HORRIBLE cold last Monday, followed by Noah on Thursday. They've been miserable! Noah has never been the kind of child who runs fevers even with ear infections. Therefore, when he started running 103.6 degree fever these last few days I was FREAKING out. Thank the Lord for Motrin! I kept on thinking about those poor children and mothers in the olden' days that didn't have our modern conveniences and medicine. What a horrible feeling that must have been to have a screaming hot child with nothing to give them to ease their pain. Boy, and I thankful it's 2009. Scott turned the corner Friday and is feeling much better. Noah's on the way to recovery now.

Please pray for me that I don't get it. I just can't handle "one more thing." Whoops, I jinxed myself. Hello cold, here I come!

Boutcher Big News x Three

Big News #1

So, I've been a BIG blog slacker. I never imagined that blogging would be such a daunting task but as life have become extremely busy recently I didn't know how to catch up. So, here's a factual and brief update on the latest in our household.

Big News #2

Big Celebrations! We celebrated Noah's 2nd birthday on January 20th. A day never goes by when I don't thank God for this wonderful little man! He is such a joy to be around and even during our most challenging times I count it a blessing to be able to spend everyday with him. We had a small but great party for him with our family and closest friends. He had a blast will all his favorite people( Grandma, Uncle Chris, Papa, Lala, GG, Uncle J, Kyle, Alex, Vada, Robert, & Miranda) , favorite food (spaghetti & cake), and presents (Elmo). He was so excited to blow out his candles we had to move it away so we could sing to him.

The next day Scott and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday that we were married, and then other times I can't remember what it was like to be without him. God sure did know what he was doing when he brought the two of us together!

Big News #3

When our dear friends, the Rushings, came and visited us in January they introduced us to the book The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. After they left we both poured ourselves into the book because finances have been extremely tight in our household since we cut down to one income when Noah was born. After reading it we knew that we had to make some big sacrifices in order to contine to raise our child the way we know God intended for us to. After much prayer, discussion, and the occasional tear we decided the best way for us to do this is to sell our home. It's just too expensive for us and we needed to make a big change. We listed it with a really talented local realtor on Tuesday, March 3rd thinking that in today's market it would take months to sell. Well, someone is looking out for us upstairs because we received an offer just four days later on the 7th. The buyers want to do a 30 day escrow so as long as everything works out well we will be moving out of our home on April 13th.

We've been scrambling to find a new place to live since we weren't planning on the house selling so quickly. My family still has my Grandfathers house so we'll be moving in there after the current tenants move out the end of May. In the meantime, we'll be living with Mom and Dad during the transition time.

Well, that's all I have time for now as it's 11:30pm and I should have been asleep hours ago. Please keep our family in all of your prayers and we face this new and exciting chapter in our life.