"One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians"

(Okay, okay this post is long overdue... Story of my life ;)

So, I have never been a huge Halloween fan, but the last few years I have been slowly learning to become one. It all started when we were living with our dear friend AJ. We lived with him for two Halloweens and he was a movie guy so both of these holidays included movies. One year, we ordered  the movie Scream 5 from On Demand.... Yes, everything about that statement seems so wrong. Ordering a $5 movie on your TV and having said $5 movie be one of the Scream movies.... I am a tad bit ashamed to admit it, but hey! It made for a great memory.

The next year we watched the movie of all movies. Troll 2. We still laugh about this. It is absolutely the worst movie ever made, but the sheer "badness" of it makes it pretty entertaining. There isn't even a Troll 1. There is never a troll in the movie, only goblins. The graphics are terrible and the acting is the worst! It's all so bad! It's a great (non-family) halloween movie, however (if you wanna laugh). There was even a documentary made by the star of the movie called Best Worst Movie.. If you so desire, check out the amazingness of Troll 2 here.

We now live on Halloween street in our town. People go all out. Leave work early or even take the day off to decorate. This year I walked down the street and talked to some of the people who were out decorating, one lady said she bought 3500 pieces of candy and that the rest of the neighbors and her had been talking and said that would not be enough because of the nice weather! Wild!! Luckily, we live at the end of the street and this Halloween we only handed out candy to just over 60 kids...

Here's a pic from one of the houses that night.. It is dark, but gives you an idea of how many people were out.. PS this was taken around 8:45pm!

So like I said, I am slowly becoming a Halloween person. Having a daughter now is an even bigger incentive to get more into the spooky spirit (I even "decorated")

Avery Jane was just over 6 months for her first Halloween. She's not even sitting up without some assistance or her Bumbo (we have this one), so naturally she needed to wear a costume. It was really a no brainer what we chose to have her dress up as. She of course took after her momma and dressed up as little Indian baby.

She already had this pair of amazing moccasins that helped inspire the costume. For the rest of the costume, I decided to go simple and just make a tutu and a feather headband to go with the moccasins. Both items were super easy to make.

For the tutu, I just used some elastic that I measured around her waist (minus an inch or so) and sewed the ends together and then knotted the tulle around it. (I bought tulle by the yard – 1/8 of a yard in each color – because I knew I would not need as much as what comes on a roll. I cut it in strips and loop knotted to the elastic band.)

For the headband, I just used a brown baby headband and hot glued a strip of brown felt to it, hot glued the feathers onto that piece of felt and then glued another piece of felt over the top of the bottom of the feathers. Vioala! Avery Jane had a costume (that she wore for approximately 20 minutes). Our cute little indian girl :)

To Stay Home or Not to Stay Home....

Ever since I was a little girl, I have LOVED babies and little kids. I used to just love when the neighbors would call and ask me to "babysit" their kids! The parents were there the whole time and really I was just playing with their kids, but hey! I thought I was babysitting and they were able to get some things done around the house... Brilliant strategy and a definite win-win! I just couldn't wait to have my own babies some day!

From pretty early on, I knew I wanted to be a stay-at-home-mom. What I didn't anticipate was the amount of time it would take to become a mom (you can read the full story here)... I also did not intend to find a job that I absolutely love! A job that I didn't want to leave...

A little history on my "career path":

The University of Montana

I went to school at the University of Montana and graduated with a Bachelor's in Marketing... So, naturally after graduation, I got a job babysitting ;) Again, I just loved it! But after about a year of this, Casey and I decided it was time for me to move on.... But I wasn't sure what to move on too... Then out of what seemed like no where, God opened a door wide for me to walk through... That door was the door to our church, Harvest Church.  I sat in a number of different seats on the Harvest bus, but the Lord eventually gave me the reigns to lead the Kids Ministry program at our Lockwood Campus (the same campus my husband, the worship leader, works).

I instantly fell in love with this job! It was hard, challenging, but oh so rewarding. My first day in this role was on Easter... If you know anything about church work, you know that Christmas and Easter are the two most attended holidays of the year! I can just remember the pure exhilarating exhaustion after that day and craving more! Even though I couldn't pull myself off the couch the next day, I knew that Lord had in store an amazing ride for me and that things were just getting started!

Our campus as a whole has been growing pretty steadily over the last two years and with more adults comes more kids! We grew from around a 70 kid average to around a 115 kid average in just 2 years! We were having an absolute blast! The Lord had assembled a killer team and I mean I have been getting to be part of kids learning who Jesus is.... Goodness that is something to celebrate!

BUT then something changed.... After years of praying, God gave me a baby... A baby of my own! Never in a million years, did I think that deciding to stay home with her would turn out to be such a challenging decision.

You see.... I now know that I was going to stay home with her all along, but as soon as I became pregnant, I was trying to convince myself and the Lord that I could do both... To love and raise this sweet daughter of ours AND lead our Lockwood Kids... But as soon as Sweet Avery Jane landed in my arms, I knew God was releasing me from my responsibilities at Harvest.

My heart was torn... I felt as if I was letting down a number of people I loved: my boss, my volunteers, my church... But every time I would begin to think that, I would hear myself think, "This is God's church not mine... His ministry not mine." God will take care of His church... He used me for a season, but now it's a new season... A season of motherhood.

So, I told my boss... He was more than supportive and even excited for me... Which made it even more bittersweet. His words to me were, "You have been great, and it will be hard to replace you, but nobody can replace you as Avery’s mom so give her all you’ve got. You have my deepest respect and sincerest gratitude both for your service to Harvest and your commitment to your family."

So, the decision has been made... To stay home with Sweet Avery Jane... He's right nobody can replace me as her mom and I intend to give her all I've got! I know I will NEVER regret this decision!

With heavy, but happy heart I am saying goodbye to my role at Harvest for now and hello to full-time mommyhood!

This last year... With it's ups and downs..

Well... I have officially failed at this blog thing... It's been well over a year since I've last thought about updating this thing... For that I apologize! BUT how exciting to be back together again via the world wide web!! Let me fill you in on the last year... It's been a crazy year.

God decided to bless the world with a beautiful, little creature on April 17th, 2012... Later on June 24th, 2012 he was added to our little family and given the name Little Barry Ellis (named after the man who we bought him from as a joke that our dear friend AJ thought would be so funny...) He now goes by the name Barry or Barrold.. He has been such a joy to our lives and we absolutely adore this little mutt.

Barry comes home with ecstatic mom and not-so-sure dad...
Barry quickly won over Casey's heart!

Barry and his beloved Raccoon...
The raccoon lasted approximately 3 months before it was completely shredded... 

Barry's days at work are sooo difficult...

Barry's first road trip...  

Barry's not the best at cuddling...

Happy first birthday Barry Dog!!!

So, as you can tell... We have become those annoying people that only care about their dog.... We are possibly what you would define as "obsessed." We'll leave that for the psychologists to determine...

What else have you missed out on since I haven't been connected to the blog world... Oh yes... I have a new "role" at the church (which actually isn't so new now... It's been about a year :\)... I am now the Kid's Ministry Director at our Lockwood Campus... This became official the end of July-ish last year... I can say I honestly LOVE my job... Yes, it's very stressful... Yes, some days I get overwhelmed... Yes, sometimes I think "what have I gotten myself into??" But more often than not I am absolutely humbled that God would allow me to have such a big role in His story... I get to have fun with kids and volunteers while loving Jesus... Pretty awesome...

This last March, Casey and I made a big step into adulthood... We bought our first house! We thought it would be a really great idea to gut the kitchen and start over... Some idea.. That turned into basically redoing the main floor! I will post (I really will try to post) an update on the house that has before and after pictures, but below is at least a picture of the front of our cute little home.

Home Sweet Home

In June, Casey and I celebrated 3 years of marriage! How the time has just flown by... We went down to Longmont, CO to see our close friends Mimi and Andy Salonen, went to Six Flags, went hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park AND saw Hillsong United at Redrocks!! It was quite the anniversary trip! Love you husband!

Hillsong United @ Redrocks.

This July, however, has been a complete 180ª for us. You see, one of our very best friends was taken from us last month. On July 16th, 2013 around 10:00am, AJ Blain was tragically killed in a helicopter accident. (It's hard for me to even type this because it makes it that much more real.)

You guys may remember AJ from an earlier post titled C+A is now C+A+Junior.... (If you haven't read that post and would like to know a little bit more about our dear friend and the time we spent with him you can read it here.)

Our hearts are literally crushed. We miss our friend. Simple as that. We know that he is flying high and safely with the Lord right now and that brings some comfort, but there is still a dull (and sometimes intense) ache that may never go away fully until we get to see our sweet friend again.

At the time of AJ's death, he had it all. He really packed more life (and Baja Blast) into 27 years than any 80 year old ever could. He had just married the love of his life, Carly, who he referred to as "Miss Wonderful" on May 18th, 2013... He had cows, he had the sweet helicopter he wanted so bad, he had a house, he had a pile of friends and now he had the girl. We had never seem him so happy.

Why the Lord chose to bring AJ home so early we may never know.... What we do know though, is that AJ loved Jesus with all that he was. He truly talked the talk, but more so he walked the walk. He loved people better than anyone I know. He had close friends from all walks of life (literally... There were over 1300 people at his memorial service to pay respects to him). He was able to bridge the gap between any set of people. Casey and I now have some very great, lifelong friends that would not be in our lives if AJ wouldn't have lived this so well.

In the days and weeks after Junior's passing, Casey and I have had a lot of time to think and pray and question God... We still don't have many answers yet (none really at all actually), but I do know I want to live better. I want to love better. I want to give more generously... I want to be more like AJ. I don't want AJ's death in my life to be in vain... I want it to change me. Most off, I want to be like Christ and if I can be more like AJ, I will be pretty dang close.

Our hearts absolutely ache for his family and his beautiful bride. We are at a loss on how to help, but we will continue to help however we can. AJ would count on us to do so. His family is our family. We love them like our own.

My words don't do justice to the man AJ was... If you didn't know him how I wish you could have! He was extraordinary. Truly the light of the world. Please read a beautiful description of his life that his sister and family put together here.

Here are some pictures of one of our best pal.

Jr doing what he absolutely loved. Flying.

Casey and AJ at our wedding.

AJ was so sad to lose his friend, Casey, to me... Little did he know he was actually just gaining ME!

Christmas 2011 at the combined Blain/Ramage household.

His infamous grin.

What a guy.

Junior and his best friend #61.

"Deals never sleep."

He certainly had a way with outdoors equipment... And breaking it.

Happiest day of his life.

Him and his Mrs. Wonderful. The love just radiated off them.

Our hearts are hurting. We are confused. We will continue to put one foot in front of the other. We will honor the life you lived. We loved and love you more than you will know and we are so eternally grateful for your friendship.

Junior, we miss you pal.

Trip down memory lane...

Ok.... So, it's been too long since I've updated this... Probably why I will never make a living as a blogger!  Let me try to fill you all in on the past few months...

First off I'd like to thank all of you who said you'd pray for my mom!! What a gift that was from you guys... So, thank you... I'd also like to tell you she celebrated both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and even seemed joyful during it. God is so good.

Christmas and New years were great... Super busy, but so wonderful! All Ramage siblings were reunited and home for Christmas, which was such a blessing... We spent a lot of time laughing at things of the past.... Childhood "couldn't live without's" mainly:

The Beloved Teddy Ruxpin

The All Consuming Sega Genesis

Okay, Okay.... I was a terrible house wife this year and didn't get our Christmas cards out.... I hope you can all forgive me... But if not here is one just for you!

Merry Christmas from the Blain/Ramage household!

Casey and I had a week off between Christmas and New years and had the chance to go visit our great friends Mimi, Andy and Franky Salonen.... Which so happen to live in Longmont, CO where Casey grew up.... We got to tour all of his old stomping grounds and had such a fun, busy, semi-relaxing, much-needed away time! Thanks for hosting us Salonens.... But now that we're thinking of old stomping grounds, I'd like us all to travel back to where it all began.....

So, I told my father-in-law a long time ago I would include this in here.... (So, this is for you Aaron)... A few weeks after Thanksgiving, the in-laws, the husband, and myself piled into the mini van and headed towards Miles City to celebrate my grandmother-in-law's birthday. Being a new part of this family, I have heard a lot about this infamous little town, but had never gotten the chance to experience it myself. This tiny town holds so many memories for the Ramage family and we planned to take a stroll down "memory lane"... Or where "everything all began."  You see, my in-laws have one of those high school sweetheart's, fairytale type of stories that you think only happens in the movies... One that kind of makes you furious because they rarely happen in "real life"... Yes.... This is their story...

 Let me take you down Ramage memory lane for a minute...

There once was a young blonde beauty that all the boys adored, but one boy in particular had his eye on her. He was determined to make her his girl, but there was slight problem... He was a high school jock like all the girls wanted, but not the kind of jock you're thinking of... He was strong as all get out, but was not a football player... He was even a complete handyman, able to fix a number of car problems by his high school years... But there was that one small detail that couldn't be forgotten.... He was a male gymnast...

 He knew he was a total catch, but he had to convince the beautiful blonde that he was. So, the chase began.  Cruisin' around the tiny town of Miles City in his sweet ride hoping she'd view him as more than just a friend, stopping in at the local DQ where she worked to get a blizzard (not cuz he loves ice cream, but just to catch a glimpse of her), and even hanging by the city lake in the summer to impress her with his water skiing skills. (Sounds like a scene right out of Grease).

Finally, he was able to win her over, she was able to put aside the fact that he was a male gymnast ;) and she let him take her out on a date... By this time they lived literrally right across the street from each other. So, he'd hop in his car, flip a U at the end of the block, pull up in front of her house to pick her up and off they went.... The young man thought the chase was over and that he won her heart, but then there was the water balloon [said in a slow motion type of effect]....

One sunny day, him and his cronies were out causing trouble, cruising around the town, and tossing water balloons whenever the time felt right. He saw his blonde babe driving towards them and his "boy brain" automatically switched to "impress girl" mode... So, she drove by him, she waved, and he tossed the balloon ever-so-perfectly.... And immediately he began to panic... It was a hot summer day, so of course her window was down enjoying the breeze... Next thing they knew she was smacked in the face, and soaking wet, with shock and anger all over her face.... Surely his chances with her were over after such a juvenile mistake like that...

But some how she forgave him and he won the battle and got the girl... They married, had 3 beautiful babies, and bought a video camera... The rest of the story can be found in the Ramage's basement in boxes full of home videos... literrally tons and tons of hours of footage! I'm not sure if they ever turned the thing off!! But I sure am grateful for that and getting to relive experiences and memories with them.

It was such a blast to see "where it all began" over 30 years ago. To hear them reminisce, and laugh at old, but never forgotten times in their lives. What a great story of boy meets girl, and then drenches her with a water balloon, but still manages to win her over!! Thanks for sharing Aaron and Noni!!

The Gymnast and his Blonde Beauty