Stoecker Family: 2010

Saturday, November 20, 2010

My home is ALMOST complete!

We have been living in our house for just over 6 months now & for some time now I have been feeling disappointed. Mostly because we had the furniture from the 1100 sq. ft condo in a 2100 sq. ft. house & it was NOT what I envisioned our home looking like.
Well, it looks like that NO MORE! A few weeks ago I went to a furniture store, bit the bullet & bought a BEAUTIFUL sectional for our family room & an AWESOME dining table & stools for our dining room. Here is our family room before the new couch:

And here it is now!

We were sporting the same empty look in the dining room (please ignore the various bits of clutter!):

Now, here is our new table! (plenty of room for big dinner parties! YAY!)

It has an internal leaf that adds about 6 or so inches to the length. Also notice the little table behind it. That will be the "star" in a little DIY home improvement project I have planned. SO EXCITED!

We've also been kind of scanty in what could be in our front room & I'm pleased to say that is no longer the case! Here's the front room now:

This isn't EXACTLY what it will ultimately look like (or even what it will look like for long, we had to move a few things so the delivery guys could bring in the new furniture) but I'm happy to have furniture in there! I feel like we actually LIVE here now, not like it's just somewhere we happen to be staying.

Oh the JOYS of home ownership!!!

And one more picture, just because it's awesome:

Katy, chillin' on the new sofa.

Monday, October 25, 2010

The Primary Program

Yesterday was the Primary Program for our ward & since Lizzie is a Sunbeam this year it was the first time we had two kids participating. I've been sick WAY more than usual this fall so we must have been home the Sunday they announced it & passed out parts because I was informed LAST Sunday it was coming up this week! Thankfully we were able to get the kids' parts from their teachers & they got to attend practice on Saturday so they were well prepared.
One funny thing happened. When I heard Lizzie say her part at practice on Saturday it sounded like she said "I know Heavenly Father loves me because He gave me a body & found me a beautiful world." I was pretty sure that wasn't what her line actually was so I made sure I got her script so we could practice it together and she could be more clear on Sunday. Well, practice we did. Lizzie memorized her part (the actual line is "I know Heavenly Father loves me because He gave me a body, a FAMILY and a beautiful world.") and I gave the kids a pep talk as we drove to church. When Lizzie's turn arrived she walked up to the microphone, stuck her face in it & said...something completely different! We think that another child must not have shown up because Lizzie's line wasn't said AT ALL! At first I thought "Well, THAT was a waste of time, practicing her line!". Then I laughed because she didn't seem confused at all when the Primary President "fed" her the different line. Apparently she couldn't tell the difference!
Jalen also got to sing a duet with one of his friends from his class (the kids all sang "Follow the Prophet" and each verse was a solo or duet, it was GREAT!). It was so fun to see him perform so boldly & without any apparent nerves or anything! He had his speaking part memorized too & it was one Mark said we get to remind him of often. He said "Jesus was obedient to Heavenly Father. I can be obedient to my parents." I think Mark may be right, we'll be using this on more than one occasion in the future!
Since we had quite a few loved ones who couldn't attend I took some pictures of my little cuties before we left for church. Here they are!

My big kids, ready for the program

Kate, because she looked so dang cute!

Jalen's Birthday Party

There is this SUPER fun place we found called Jump & Shout and I was smart enough to book it for Jalen's birthday party this past Friday. He invited some friends from school & scouts and we were lucky to have Grandpa Gus, Aunt Stephanie & Uncle Chad on hand as well. Uncle Andy & his girlfriend Alexa also made it and we were so glad to have them. The kids all had fun climbing, sliding & bouncing and the adults had fun letting them! The party included pizza & cupcakes and even balloon animals! We all had a great night & I'm thinking we may have found our "go-to" party place! Here are all the fun pictures from our party adventures.

Jalen in the play structure

Plenty of room to run!

Even Kate could play!

Lizzie contained, we HAD to document that!

Pizza for dinner, what 9 year old WOULDN'T love that?

They really worked up an appetite

See what I mean?

See the 2 bites out of Lizzie's pizza? That was ALL she ate!

Plenty of grown ups got in on the fun

Jalen, thinking of what to wish for

Take off the glasses, add the scar & Jalen IS Anakin!

All the super fun friends who helped us make Jalen's birthday party the best EVER!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Happy Birthday Jalen!

Something strange happened today. I woke up & had a 9 year old where my little boy should be! It seems like not that long ago he was brand new, my little buddy, my baby. Now he is so big!

It's kind of hard to believe that the handsome, smart, funny guy living in my house is the same child that changed my life when he was just a baby. Where did the time go?

So here he is, my beautiful boy, one of the loves of my life. What would I do without this face?!?