GoodnessGracious

Bring on the Tooth Fairy!

2009-10-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

Natalie had her first wiggly tooth for what seemed like forever. One fine morning, after 10 minutes of super-drama (from her not me), it fell out in a tissue just before school. If it wasn't for her fear of the impending blood-letting, she would have scored a prize from her Kindergarten teacher.

I had to write the tooth fairy a letter for the tooth back so I could photograph it, as I forgot of course. Second child and all. So here it is. Can you see it? Her tooth is so stinkin' tiny, it's doomed to get lost.

I'm laughing at you squinting to see it.

Momma, Can I Make With You?

2009-10-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

This is Marissa's new passion. She asks "Momma, can I make with you?" It's super cute and surprisingly she does a good job. She patiently follows directions, is careful, and has become a superb egg-cracker. Her favorite thing it to gather the eggs from the coop and prepare scrambled eggs right away.

I'm not oozing with patience (silence the laughter) but teaching my little one to cook is simultaneously teaching me patience. So praise God for my little children and food to cook!

Back to School

2009-10-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

Back to school at a new school with two kids this year. Hayden went off to 2nd grade with no trouble. The night before I asked him if he was nervous (because I was) and he asked me why he would be nervous. Nice.

Natalie started Kindergarten the day after and was beside herself with nerves. Poor baby girl! I held it together until I stepped out her classroom door and she started crying hard. Ugh.

Marissa started daycare twice a week the week after and is still (8 weeks later) maintaining her hatred of it. Sigh.

So goes Back to School . . . . .

Summer Fun ~ aka Taming the Boredom

2009-08-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

"Water sliding" with friends at the church campout. . . .

Free bowling with MOPS friends and an uncountable number of children. . . . .

weekend at the Beach. . . .

Boating and intertubbing. . . . .

Many play dates including a friend's amazing pool, jumpy place, McDonald's. . . .

Back in May, a really good, original thought came to me on how to tame the Summer Boredom.

You know, the sleep in until 9 a.m., lay around the house in pjs, where can we go today, what's for dinner, oops the summer's over Boredom.

Each of my children composed a list of 10 things they wanted to do over the Summer, edited as necessary by mommy, as Natalie quickly shouted out "Go to Palm Springs!" We composed the list together on the computer (teaching them computer skills and Publisher ~ good mommy), choosing their own graphics to design it, printed it out, and hung it.

We've done well doing the fun things off each person's list, but it wasn't all about that exactly. For them it was learning to make a to do list and planning outings. For me it was making sure these 3 months "off" were not wasted. My children's time goes by so quickly, I would so much rather it be filled with events and adventures to treasure for all time.

I'm looking forward to next year's lists....

HAYDEN:
1. Spend the night with Trenton
2. Spend the night with Conner

3. Race remote control cars

4. Go to the beach

5. Play date with Talon

6. Hunt for turtles

7. Sleepover with Kyle & Casey

8. Date with mommy

9. Go to the Pacific Science Center

10. Bowling

NATALIE:

1. Go to the beach

2. Ride horses with Ty

3. Spend the night with Ty

4. Play date with Whitney

5. Go to the zoo

6. Jumpy place

7. Putt putt golfing

8. Date with daddy

9. Children's museum

10. Picnic at the river

MARISSA:

1. Slip n slide with Josie

2. Play date with Josie

3. Play date with Max & Sam

4. Play date with daddy

5. Jumpy place

6. Go to the beach

7. Play outside

8. Camping with Ty & Josie

Garden Harvest!

2009-08-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

So I lied and didn't take more photos of my garden. I just couldn't do it....the weeds are taller than my children. But we have been eating (and canning) so much yummy food! Yes I said canning....that's a little pat on the back for me. Sorry....spicy pickled green beans, pickles, pickled beets, and jams so far.

My mother-in-law said it perfectly when she came over one night. She said she did her time canning but she had to take a peek at my pantry, because she knows how proud you are when you open that door and see all those beautiful jars. Thankx, mom!

I've also spent many hours baking zucchini bread. Look at these giant zucchini! That was just 3 of the 5 giant ones we came home to from being gone camping over the weekend. The sight of my children carrying those humongous things was too funny.

Maybe we should enter them at the fair.....the zucchini not the children.

Howdy Pardner!

2009-08-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

This is Natalie's friend, Ty.

This picture is worth a thousand scary thoughts of her teenage years.

LOVE YOU LIL' COWGIRL! *hugs* Mommy

Brooks And Dunn - Cowgirls Don't Cry lyrics LyricsMode.com

Happy "ish" Hens

2009-07-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

I finally talked Jason into getting out his tool belt and making an addition to the hens' nesting boxes, thinking they would be happier with more private spaces to lay eggs. There were only 5 boxes and now they have 10--10 boxes for 19 chickens. Well it worked for a few days....one day we got 5 eggs. Now we're back to 1 or 2 per day. First it was too cold, then they wanted more grass, then different feed, now it's too hot. I tell ya, these birds are so darn hard to please! Hopefully in the fall when the Rhode Island Reds are a full year old, we'll be getting about 6 per day.....

Growing, Growing....

2009-07-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

Another few weeks and everything just took off. Of course, I wanted to photograph my garden with the least weeds possible......Impossible! I had to give up that OCD dream. I cannot keep up with the weeding no matter how hard I try. Jason tries to help, he gets a jump at it with a rotortiller, we encourage the kids to help.......Oh well. There's better things to do than weed, right?

But when I get to heaven, I'm having a serious talk with Eve.

Marissa's 3rd Birthday

2009-07-31T15:50:00.001-07:00

Thank you everyone for making my baby feel so loved and special!

A girl's dream cake....pink, sparkly, with tractors....

Chocolate crayons from Auntie....

and a new bike from Papa & Grandma!

Marissa's birthday was so fun. Just the family over for home-made cake, presents for the birthday princess, and lots of love for her. PERFECT!

The Garden's Beginning to Show!

2009-07-09T22:40:00.000-07:00

One trellis of peas growing nicely

My favorite garden helper

We have 4 rows of corn, coming up!

A glimpse of the beets and romaine lettuce rows
(potatoes in the background)

Natalie (ok her hand) picking strawberries

It's time to garden again! YES! A favorite thing of mine is growing food for my family. I know a lot of people do it, but producing food from seed provides so much enjoyment and fulfillment. I remember one dinner last year we had steak, potatoes, veggies, and salad. Jason said "Is this all from our garden?" Yes it was, including the beef. We raise cows for beef and this year we have chickens too!

When is it officially a farm? Do I have to wear overalls?

It always seems like to much work to get started, mulch, compost, tilling the ground which my hubby faithfully does several times before planting time comes around. This year we added sturdy trellises made from leftover posts and fencing wire. I love to recycle junk.... I'm working on making a bed from a metal antique bed frame, and we're finding the right spot for an old bathtub Jason found in the cow pasture last year. He knew I'd love it....

The kids and I planted most of the seeds on Memorial Day, a late start but I think it was a good thing to wait because we ended up with a few late frosts just up until the week before. These photos are from the end of June. I promise to take some new photos tomorrow to show you how our garden is progressing....

God's Gift to Me

2009-07-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

Boy am I blessed! Hubby hates it when I brag about my children but I just can't help it. They're such beautiful creatures from my great and loving God!

1st Camping Trip of the Season

2009-07-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

Our first camping trip of the season was to Rife Lake. We were joined by some friends this time! Yahoo! The kids had so much stinkin' fun (literally---that's their favorite thing about camping and my least). Cooked meals outside on the camp stove, stayed up late around the fire, went for a jaunt out on the boat and a few brave souls jumped in the icy water, played lots of silly games, and practice softball of course!

We just relaxed and enjoyed doing nothing.

When's the next trip?

Deep Thoughts by Little Ones. . . .

2009-06-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

My children quite often surprise me by their deep thoughts and questions. Here is the conversation between the girls in the car on the way to Bible study Thursday morning:

Peanut (she's almost 3 years old): When we get to heaven, we get to see Charolette and God. (Charolette was our cat.)

Princess: And Grandpa Parker. I miss Grandpa Parker.

Me: Speechless with instant tears in my eyes. . . . There's just nothing better than that--faith of a child.

Mark 10:13-15
13. People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

Who would eat a chicken?

2009-06-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here's what's been occupying most of our time lately. . . .

A few months back, we headed to a farm auction in Enumclaw. We had been working on our coop for several months and were ready enough for some birds. So we came home with 4 hens, 5 pullets, and 21 chicks---go big or go home---and already had 4 ducklings (yes ducklings) purchased at the feed store just a week prior. I mean the chicks and ducklings are so cute, how can you say no? Well, the average person can say no or rather the average person probably doesn't even think "I would like to have some chickens and ducks of my own."

I'm not going to lie.....having all those chicks was a lot of work. The hens and pullets were easy---food and water and a place to rest and walk---but those chicks! The chicks were only a day old when we got them and boy do they need lots of care for the first few months. I learned the hard way (cover your eyes for those of you faint at heart) that chicks cannot be near standing water and lost 3 right away, and last week we lost another 4 from another water incident.

So our farm has grown by 5 hens, 5 pullets, 14 chicks, and 4 ducks, which are all living happily together in a big chicken run. We don't have any fresh eggs but hopefully they'll get to laying soon. The children are totally loving this experience and love to care for them. We've recently watched the movie "Home on the Range" a bunch, and we love to quote to our chickens "Who would eat a chicken?" and giggle with delight.

Hard Lesson Learned

2009-03-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

My car window was smashed and my purse stolen on Friday, February 27th. Within two hours, the man and woman had racked up over $3,000 in purchases at 3 stores, including payment of their cell phone bill. All three stores have them on video surviellance and payment of a cell phone bill seems like easy access to their name, address etc. for the police to obtain and make an arrest.

Here's what I've learned:

#1. NEVER leave your purse, wallet, electronics etc. in your vehicle. Locked or not locked, thieves don't mind doing some serious damage to get what they want.

#2. DO NOT CARRY your social security card, check book, or any other significant identification in your purse/wallet (passport, birth certificates).

#3. ROBBERY is on the rise. Our economic situation is forcing people to live as criminals. I was at Safeway on Monday and watched the store manager chase down a man and woman who fled the store out seperate doors....on foot. They were both caught....with a roast and soda.

#4. Unfortunately our police force is too overwhelmed to be able to help everyone, and I've discovered countless instances such as this from nearly every friend I have spoken with. Sad.

BE ON ALERT!
Protect yourselves and your property....
Lock your cars at home even if they're in your garage....
Lock the doors to your houses at all times....

Insurance agent's tip:
My insurance agent phoned me the day after this incident and gave me a homeowner's tip which I want to share. Water leaks in houses is a very common occurance, that in most cases, cause extensive damage (we've had 5 water leaks in our 2 houses....). REPLACE the hoses to your toilets, dishwasher, washing machine, and refridgerator. These hoses and connections wear out and will break without warning.....

Where is Spring?

2009-03-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

I thought if I changed my background, it might coax Spring to come. I don't know about you, but this late snowfall, however beautiful it truly is, is just getting annoying. I was just about to start digging into the gardens with some new trees and a few berries for the garden, when we were showered with a few more inches of snow. ? Isn't it March? ? ?

I can see why the Millers are eagerly counting down 'til Disneyland. . . .

BBC Book List

2009-02-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

This came to me from Facebook, and it makes me want to run to the library and make more time to read! Apparently the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books on this list Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien X
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte X
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee X
6 The Bible X
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte X
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens X
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott X
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare X
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien X
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger X
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald X
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy X
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh *
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck X
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens X
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis X
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis X
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery X
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding X
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens X
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold X
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville X
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens X
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett X
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zol
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Alborn X
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle X
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I Am From. . . .

2009-02-18T10:38:00.001-08:00

This journaling poem of sorts was copied from a friend's blog.
I found it to be very thought-provoking. . . .

I am from a big small town of fried chicken, Top Ramen, and grilled cheese.

I am from the big first home that my daddy built, with a big yard; to the tiny city house with a postage stamp-sized yard, where we became a close family.

I am from the Evergreen tree and rhodedendron bush, to the salty ocean air and breeze.

I am from Sunday School, Lifesaver candies, Certs, humor, and hard work, from Grandpa Ward, and my parents, and many aunts and uncles too!

I am from the God loving and revering, loving, stubborn, born leaders, quick-witted, good with crafts, organized, generous, family-driven Tom and Debby.

From "because I said so" and "wait until your father gets home" and "clean your plate--there's starving children in Africa."

I am from a Christian home, saved by the grace of God, raised in church, sheltered and discipled in a Christian school, given a good Biblical foundation in which to be a light in this world and to teach my children.

I'm from sunny California, born into a blessed family of about 60, from fresh baked bread and apple pies, crispy, golden, holiday turkey, and creamy silk chocolate pie.

From the hard-working mother who taught me how to keep house, to sew, and make a happy family, and the family-man father who taught me to learn everything I can, work first and play later, how to garden, keep the yard, and keep my sense of humor.

I am from a house filled with family photos old and new, big photo albums and boxes somewhat dis-organized but fantastic at telling the stories, a giant antique Bible on the coffee table, lots of collectibles that tell of things we love and wish for, and file boxes of old school papers and projects that are treasures to this day, that have taught me that to treasure these little things.

I Never Thought I Would Say. . . .

2009-01-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

I've been jotting down a few things I catch myself saying that I myself cannot believe. With three children I guess I was bound to say these things at some point:

"Please don't throw the horse head down the stairs."

"Will you please let your sister out of the refridgerator."

"Um, you really need to stop riding your brother. He's not a horse. Ok or a bull. Whatever."

"Hey! Get your head out of the toilet!"

You know you have also said some PRETTY wierd things to your kids, once you stop and listen to what just came out of your mouth. Share some of yours with me!

Christmas Vacation

2009-01-13T20:57:00.001-08:00

I don't care what you say, my kids are the CUTEST kids God has ever created!

The popsicle gang in Palm Springs in Mimi's pool :)

Peanut jumping with daddy!

Oh yeah baby! Princess can swim and jump with the best of 'em!

Of course the man can do that too! WITHOUT water wings!

Christmas Vacation is not only our FAVORITEST movie of all times but really our most treasured time of the year. We have always taken a vacation, it's usually a sunny local, it's packed full of memories, and me and my hubby's favorite holiday (New Years) is so much fun!

We loaded up the family wagon and headed south like birds, with a babysitter and the Jacob's clan to Palm Springs sunshine. The drive was even fun....blessings to my hubby who's patience astounds me day by day. Our kids travel like seasoned rock stars on tour, my hubby takes no notice of the car-chaos, and I praise the Lord we were able to have our babysitter come on this trip with us. THANK YOU KALIE!

7 days of 70-ish degrees, sunshine, pool in the backyard, and no-where to go. The kids' fav was the pool, I was so relaxed with help from Kalie with 3 kids in a pool at the same time, no accidents, good shopping, warm sunshine, family, friends.........Livin' the good life.

Then we came home. Now I'm not disrespecting my home. Don't get me wrong, I love Washington. Even the rain. But for the 1st time in my ~-a-hhhhemm ~ 34 year old life I GET IT. I get the need for sunshine. I get the reason so many people move to the sunny states. The sunshine draws me out of bed. Makes me want to get up and move and exercise and get out of bed. It made me happy. I get it finally.

Dear Mom & Dad ~

I won't be upset if you move back to Arizona or somewhere warm. I GET IT.

Sorry it took me so long.

I will just visit A LOT so get a big house :)

LOVE YOU!

Kristina

4th week of Christmas

2009-01-13T20:38:00.000-08:00

Let is snow let it snow let it snow! More snow! I cannot remember when we had this much snow around here. Now for those of you who are used to plenty of the beautiful white stuff, 6.5 inches is nothing, but us western Washintonians are NOT used to this. It snowed and stuck, froze, snowed, stuck, froze.... Super fun really. I also don't remember having this much fun in the snow since I was little growing up in Spokane..... ah the memories!

We live down a sloping road, which made for a fabulous sled run. Not fun for driving up and down, and we didn't get our milk or packages because of it, but GREAT sledding!

I whipped out some Christmas cards in my procratinating fashion with some fabulous scrap supplies that have been winking at me for oooohhh about a year now (I bought them last Christmas for our cards which never were made....50 photos printed from Costco but never sent....). I must say, they turned out really cute ;) The inside, which I forgot to photograph but do have a copy of for the book, is a mini newsletter with another 6 random photos of the fam. Man do I have cute kids! LOL

Christmas was wonderful. Christmas eve with J's family for breakfast, gifts, naps, dinner, more family, more gifts. Christmas day at our house with my fam. More gifts, special to me because my parent were with us this year, and great food (home-raised prime rib....you betcha baby!)

Hope your Christmas was very merry.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Thank you for your gift!

3rd Week of Christmas

2008-12-22T12:08:00.001-08:00

Snow friends!

Me and the girls sledding...the view from the back....

Our country snowman

Our country snowman 2 hours later

Fun with friends having dinner and making snowman cupcakes
WAY more marshmellows and candies got eaten than onto a cupcake!

Not exciting to you, I know, I'm sorry. But really I'm cataloguing it for my brain and for the future scrapping I need to do!

Dec. 15th~
2 hours late to school by choice because of icy roads
Dec. 16th~
The Lord answered my prayers and MOPS is on! The theme was "The Lost & Found". Our pastor's wife, Virginia Tiefenthaler spoke on the gift of Forgiveness. She was talking to me and I cried the whole day long. Great message! Thank you Lord for speaking to me today.
Dec. 17th~
School cancelled. Shopping errands with the kids. Pumpkin broke out in hives on his face, went to doctors, got a shot. Ouch. AWANA cancelled.
Dec. 18th~
School cancelled although I had snowflake popcorn snacks ready! Made pancakes shaped with cookie cutters and snowed with powdered sugar and whip cream! Sledding and made a big country snowman. Jacob's came over for dinner and snowmen cupcakes!
Dec. 19th~
Cancelled everything. More snow! More sledding!
Dec. 20th~
More snow! More sledding! Dick drove the "chair lift" taking all the kids to the top of the hill over and over, while Hubby and I sipped hot tatties (sp?) with the neighbors. LOL
Dec. 21st~
Hubby off to the Seahawks game. Good luck driving! Off to the mall with the kiddos. Dinner at the new Ram. TONS OF SNOW!

I just don't remember this much snow here ever before. I'm taking lots of photos....

2nd Week of Christmas

2008-12-22T11:53:00.001-08:00

I guess I should title it "Week of December" but anyways. . . .

Dec. 8th~
School 2 hours late by our choice because of icy roads
Dec. 9th~
MOPS Leadership meeting. We played a hilarious Christmas carol pictionary game. I LOVE games
Dec. 10th~
Preschool and nothing exciting....
Dec. 11th~
School, preschool, Pumpkin's Christmas program, then Dairy Queen of course!
Dec. 12th~
Daddy and pumpkin off for a hunting trip (skipping school)
Dec. 13th~
Peanut to grandma's, Princess and I to the Nutcracker Ballet at the Pantages Theater with friends. Then home to meet the babysitter and off with Kelsy to the Olive Garden and to see "4 Christmas." (hilarious)
Dec. 14th~
Church with the girls, baked molasses cookies and snowballs, daddy and pumpkin made it home safely through the thick snow and ice from Eastern Washington, annual family cookie exchange at grandma's

First Week of Christmas

2008-12-13T13:40:00.000-08:00

I thought about how much we do in the month of December (and the last week of November) and how interesting it would be to document it all. Just for fun, ya know. Ok really because I have THE worst memory on the planet. My sister once gave me a magnet that says "If it's not in the scrapbook, it didn't happen." That just spells it out for me....

So here it is, our December in a nutshell (is it just me or when you say that phrase do you also think of Mike Meyers saying it too?). . . .

Dec. 1st ~
Mother in law's birthday, payroll at the office, errands, and preparing & setting up for MOPS
Dec. 2nd ~
Preschool, MOPS....The theme was "The Hobby Hall" and we did a Christmas frame craft, purchase Christmas tree
Dec. 3rd ~
Preschool, shopping, errands, begin decorating the house
Dec. 4th ~
Bible study, preschool, keep decorating the house
Dec. 5th ~
Work day, Zoo Lights with grandpa & grandma, Frisco Freeze dinner!
Dec. 6th ~
Put up tree, finish decorating, Christmas parade, pizza & late night games with friends
Dec. 7th ~
Seahawks game (we went down onto the field through kickoff), shopping

Official Christmas Card Photo

2008-12-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time deciding which of these should be our official Christmas card photo.

Please vote for your favorite. . . . .

I'm partial to the first one.
We could start the new year off with a buzz. . . . .
We'd have something to talk about besides the economy. . . . .

Cabin Retreat!

2008-12-09T17:31:00.000-08:00

Playing doctor of course

Late night movies!

Me & Kelsy

The little girls have kisses for Josh

We were so priviledged to spend the weeked after Thanksgiving at our friend's cabin. There was plenty of relaxing to be done, games to play, and 4-wheelin' fun! Our kids and theirs play so well together, in fact we're suspicious both our 2-year old girls might be twins. . . . .

Black Friday

2008-12-09T14:13:00.001-08:00

I've never shopped on Black Friday, with good reason, right? This year my friend Kelsy talked me into it, so Thanksgiving night I gathered all the ads and made my plan of attack. We met at Wal-Mart at 4:30 a.m. and clutching our freezing shopping carts and huge Starbucks, entered the store along with hundreds of others to position ourselves closest to our most desired item. For me, it was a pink ride-on Jeep for Peanut, which was stacked at the very far corner of the store, with too many people already lined up waiting for the clock to strike 5 a.m.

Now mind you, I'm using the term "lined-up" very losely, as there was a posse of 5 already formed there, so never you mind the rest of us who ridiculously wished of getting our hands on a Jeep. And the posse wasn't ashamed of giving the run down of which box was going to whom and how long they've been standing there and there is obviously too few boxes and too many people.

This is when I began to get a little shaky. I blame the coffee. Secretly I thought this would actually become ugly. Over a Jeep. A toy. At Christmas. Seriously? And so I just stood there "in line" chatting with another mom dreaming of getting 2 Jeeps, while we stared nervously at the posse and the clock.

At 4:45 the Wal-Mart bouncers arrived, cut the black plastic covering all the pallets of loss-leaders in the entire store, and positioned themselves for the rioting. At 5 a.m. the Jeeps (and EVERYTHING else in the entire store) were grabbed and loaded into carts in less than 60 seconds. I'm happy to report Peanut will be getting one for Christmas! (Ok with help from a friend who happened to be standing there also and could see that I was about to get trampled and have my box stolen.)

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

2008-12-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was spent with our families, which is such a blessing. I have a hard time imagining people who don't have family around, especially during the holidays. God has most certainly richly blessed us in that aspect of our lives. But this year, we mixed it up a bit. . . . .

We had breakfast with my family, which would have turned out to be much better time spent had we ourselves not run out of propane. Taking showers at her house consumed most of our time, we ate a delicious breakfast, then they headed out to do a service project, while we went home to put our kids down for naps. . . . .

BREAKFAST EVERYONE!

Then we were off to my sister-in-laws home for dinner. Thanksgiving is always at my mother-in-laws, same time, same food, same company, so I can't lie -- it was different. Not in a bad way, just different.

Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law making REAL whipped cream!

The Thanksgiving journal was presented to both families but didn't seem to go over too well, (although the entry from my husband's parents made me cry). Maybe I didn't present it right or give everyone enough time, but I'll bring it out next year and the next and the next, and we'll gather some memories for prosperity along the way. . . . .

2008-11-24T20:28:00.000-08:00

With gratitude to Sarah Giampapa, I found the encouragement to actually complete Thanksgiving journal in time for this year's festivities. She made and posted her beautiful books she gave to her MOPS moms, and I thought to myself for the last time, I can do that! So I did it.

With so much going on in life, and I don't just mean now, it's important to be thankful to God for all His blessings big and small; to praise His name always; and to celebrate thanksgiving with others.

What a wonderful memory this little notebook of thanks will become. I look forward to the notebook growing and maturing.....

FRONT COVER

INSIDE COVER

BACK COVER

INSIDE BACK COVER

Cheese Fingers

2008-11-24T17:54:00.000-08:00

This post is out of order, I know, and it kills me to do so. But these string cheese fingers I made for the family harvest party are too cute not to show you. My sister-in-law sent me the idea as my contribution to the party, so I can't take the credit for the idea, but I will take the credit for how stinking cute mine are!

String Cheese Sticks (I cut mine in half, so i got two fingers per stick)

Green pepper pieces for the fingernails

Adhere the fingernails on with a smidgen of cream cheese

Using a knife, cut out finger creases at the top and for the knuckle

Cookie Sheet Advent Calendar

2008-11-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

Have you seen these adorable advent calendars made from a cookie sheet? My friend, Heather, saw one (purchased from a craft fair), told me about it, and asked if I would host a craft day at my house. So last Sunday Heather, Leslie, and Yelena came over and we got crafty!

There are so many blogs and crafts sites that have photos and directions for this project, but in reality, they're very self-explanatory, but I'll include instructions for your convenience.

I've only had mine completed for a week and my kids are nuts about it! They just simply cannot wait to countdown to Christmas. I'm hoping to come up with some kind of treat, written on a piece of paper, to put underneath each magnet too.

Supplies:

Cookie Sheet

Sanding paper

Paint

25 Magnets

Modge Podge or ATG Adhesive

Scrapbook papers

Embellishments

24" Ribbon

I used an 11 x 17 cookie sheet, purchased from Wal-Mart for about $4.50.

Sand off as much of the non-stick surface from the back of the sheet as you can.

If you want to paint the edges, you will need to sand that part too.

(I chose not to paint this one)

Drill two holes on the top edge for the ribbon hanger (I used my Crop-a-Dile).

Measure and cut your papers for the top and bottom sections.

Either adhere your papers with Modge Podge or with strong adhesive (I used ATG tape).

Paint the edges of your cookie sheet, if you chose to do so.

Let dry completely.

Using a ruler and marker, make a 25 square grid for your days before Christmas.

(My 2 friends' papers were small enough to run through my printer, but my paper was 10"x10", so I drew my grid with a black fine-tip marker.)

Adhere your calendar paper to your cookie sheet.

Make your 25 magnets to your liking.

Embellish your calendar with whatever you fancy.

I challenge those of you who would love to make this to only use what you have in your stash. The only items I had to purchase were the cookie sheet ($4.50) and the magnets ($2.50).

Create yours and link me a photo! I would love to see it! Happy crafting!

This Should Make You Laugh.....

2008-11-20T20:47:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I was cleaning like a housewife gone mad. Raving mad. Washing-ALL-the-woodwork-then-oiling-it-mad. Wood blinds included. No I'm not pregnant ~ for sure ~ this just really needed to be done.

A loud cry comes from the family room, where it seems my daredevil Peanut has been at her high-flying tricks again. This time a couch jumping stunt, off the end of the couch, trying to clear a coffee table onto the carpet. She doesn't make it and hurts her foot and cannot walk the entire day (this happened about 10:30 am). At bed time, she's still not using it and insists it hurts a lot. I figure I'll see how she is in the morning~maybe it's nothing and she'll wake up and, you know, forget about it and it'll be fine, right?

This morning she's using it but hobbling badly and cries when I put on her shoe. Off to pre-school and Bible study we go anyways, and after Bible study to meet with a couple MOPS leaders for a church speech on Sunday. During this meeting, I am also trying to keep an eye on my 2 girls, another boy, and a set of 2-year twins in the nursery at the same time. Yeah right. Peanut gets her fingers slammed in a nursery gate and they're looking pretty bad. It's at this moment that I realize.....it's not going to be a good day.

As my tears are rising, I load the girls in the car and decide to head to the doctors to take a look at Peanut's foot, well and while we're here, I ask the nurse, can the doctor check her cough and her fingers too? Cough is fine, probably just a virus (I could have diagnosed that), fingers are fine (awesome), better get x-rays of her foot (uh, okay).

Across the parking lot to the next building for x-rays with 45 minutes to spare before we have to pick up the boys from school. Will we complete our mission? Not a chance. Abort x-ray mission to get lunch (yes it's now 2:30 and we haven't eaten lunch), pick up school kids, drop off one at his home, to return for x-rays.

Uh oh, diaper is feeling quite full. No I don't have a spare with me or in the car. Ask one of the women at the front desk. Nope. Right then, we get called to the back. Lay Peanut on the table, hold her adorable leg still for 6 photos, while Princess and Pumpkin wait behind the wall eating someone's cashews that were left on the desk. ? Exactly what I was thinking. ?

Back to the waiting area to wait for films and then it happens.....
Peanut has a huge movement in her diaper.....and it's leaking through her pants. Super. Into the car with screaming stinking 2-year old and the others in tow, drive up the street to Walgreens for diapers, wipes, possibly pants, snacks, and drinks for the rest of goodness knows how long we'll be before we complete this mission. Into the bathroom with unpurchased products, but wait, there's no Diaper Depot. Who doesn't have those? These days they're even in men's rooms! Seriously?

So, I cart over to the pharmacy corner, take off my sweater, lay Peanut ON THE FLOOR and proceed to change her messy diaper right there in Walgreens. Sweating, gagging, sanitize my hands of course, purchase everything, and back to the x-ray office.

The end of the story is mission accomplished without any injury. She's fine.

P.S. While I was in Walgreens, a friend called and asked me how I was doing, and as I proceeded to tell her this story, she succumed to hysterics. It really is funny when I say it out loud.

Oh Right, the Kids at Halloween

2008-11-12T15:32:00.000-08:00

I got distracted about my hubby in a dress. You want to see the kids Halloween costumes and stuff, not us grown ups being silly. Sorry about that. Kindof like now that we have kids, our parents just come over to see the kids, not us anymore.

We all enjoyed Halloween. We had a Clone Trooper in a tightie whitie suit (too small ~ oops), a Fairy friend of Tinkerbell's, and a Barbie Cheerleader (also too small but only $7.50). We went to our church Carnival Extravaganza!, then to Auntie's house to trick or treat on her block, and the next day to Grandpa and Grandma's for the annual harvest party.

Loads of fun +

Too much candy =
Perfect Halloween

We Both Wore Dresses

2008-11-12T00:24:00.000-08:00

We went to a really fun Halloween party this year, which was actually our first adult costume party post children. To my amazement, my hubby agreed to dress up.

Dressing up just isn't his thing but it's really fun for me, so there begins the struggle, so it shocked me when hubby chose a gladiator costume, because of all things, it was a dress.

As it turned out, he was a hunk in it.
So we both wore dresses.
Seriously fun party.
We're already planning for next years......

Pumpkin Carving, of course

2008-10-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

Let me start with a confession: I don't like pumpking carving. It's not that I don't like to carve pumpkins myself, in fact I LOVE to do them myself ~ that's the artsy side of me ~ it's the mess. Watching my 3 children cut, scrape, play with the innards, and wipe the pumpkin goo all over whatever spot in the kitchen or themselves is not already slimy, makes my left eye twitch. {And just so we're clear, I'm admitting this only so all the other anti-playdough anti-paint moms can feel better about themselves.} However, I will participate in this activity every year because it's tradition, because it makes my children very happy, and because I actually will enjoy it once I get into the goo. The result of the activity is always delight for everyone. Me included.

Last night, after the children had asked at least 35 times if we were EVER going to carve our pumpkins ~ which we grew ourselves by the way--oh yeah I can do dirt with the children :) ~ Hubby talked me into it. I gotta say, there was no eye-twitching mess. Pumpkin carved 3 crosses for Jesus into his pumpkin, and Princess's "mommy's gotta carve me a horse idea" turned into a "let's make yours polka-dotted" idea from daddy carved with a drill. She's super happy ~ it's a cheetah pumpkin! And Peanut was perfectly happy doing her "homework" with the pumpkin "paint" and lining up the drilled out pumpkin parts, which she said were the little ones ready to go to MOPS. Awwww what a sweetie! But then she all-too-happily chucked each little MOPS person into the garbage.

So tonight we're going to our church Carnival Extravaganza, so I'll post our little trick-or-treaters later! Happy Halloween!

P.S. I'm posting a photo of the spider who greeted me at the front door last night. EEECK!

So, I've made "A Mother's Confession" to you, tell me something your children or family love to do that makes your eye twitch.....

Evidence of a Good Day

2008-10-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I'm not the only parent that wants to know what goes on at school each day. When I pick up Pumpkin from school, I want to drill him with questions ~ What did you do today? Who did you play with? What did you learn? However, I learned during the first year of pre-school that Spanish Inquisition style questionning does not work. So I try different tactics in order to get a glimpse into his little world away from mommy.

Today's format began with:

Name 5 things that happened today that
were fun, and verbatum he answered:

#1 Football

#2 Art

#3 Another game of football

#4 Playing Star Wars characters

#5 Not having the bully pick on me at recess

I laughed out loud at the innocence of the answers regarding recess, was happy about comment #5 as the situation seems to be improving, and continue to wonder ~ with a giggle ~ when his answers will contain anything to do with actual schooling.

Actually what struck me more than his cute answers for love of football, were his jeans. Seriously? I'm quite sure he brought home more dirt today than he left on the playing field. But aside from being a laundry nightmare, his jeans were evidence of a good day. A fun day. The best kind of day I can hope for my little boy.

And as any good scrapbooker would do, upon entering our house, I sat him down to photograph the evidence.

I love you Pumpkin! You can come home with seriously dirty jeans any day.

Friday's are my day off.....

2008-10-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

I think I need to make Friday's my official day off during the week. No doing MOPS, no doing work-work, no making tons of phone calls. A day for being lazy in jammies. Of course, that's never gonna actually happen, but if I think of Fridays that way, maybe it'll be a bright spot in my busy week! hee hee

Don't get me wrong. My busy week is of my own doing and I truly love it. I cannot just sit down or sit still. I'm a freak multi-tasker. So really my Fridays are going to be Floor Fridays---meaning scrub the floors on Fridays---so they might actually get done once a week. I say might because I know myself better than that. Just because it's on the list does not mean I'm gonna do it. I'll find something else to do instead.

I recently joined Facebook, so there's something else to do instead. It's really cool to be connected with old friends and faces. I was talked into it by my friend Andi, and I think she's secretly in a contest to see how many friends we have. Don't tell her I'm winning! LOL Ah the life of a busy yet bored mother, right!

I'm happy to be home from Texas and can't get enough of my kids' hugs and kisses. They're my pride and joy I tell ya! Maybe I need to follow that up with some cute new pics, huh? I'll get right on that, right after I finish my hair, finish scrubbing the floors, fix the toilet paper holder, fold the girls' clothes, wash the rugs, get going on my bookkeeping work, pick up kids from school in 29 minutes. . . . .

While I'm here in Texas......

2008-10-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks-ish since my last update on the family. I'm currently in Dallas, Texas at the MOPS Convention, so it'll be just a quick one today.

The kids are doing well, or so I've heard through Hubby and the babysitter since Tuesday. It's so wierd how badly I need to and want to get away, but then when I have the chance, I spend the entire time not only missing them all but wishing I was with them. Aaaahhh. I'll be home on Sunday for kisses and stories and maybe we can all sleep together Sunday night. Hey now, I know I'm not the only one.....

Last night and this morning I and my friends from my group, Andi and Heather, along with the 4,000+ other MOPS women here at convention, worshipped with Kim Hill, Jaci Valesquez, and Nic Gonzales. Unbelievable! We also got to get funky with a FABULOUS kid's music group, Go Fish (http://www.gofishkids.net/cms/). If you haven't heard of them, you need to get their CD's. Their motto is to make kids' music with Bible teachings that won't make parents go insane. It's great music! Their new album is called "Party Like a Preschooler." You gotta get it.....

Updates on our family & friends:
Hubby's grandma is doing well. Liz is taking full-time care of her and they are taking it day by day right now with therapy and recovery.

Nico went home after about a week post surgery. The scans show all the brain tumor was removed successfully, Praise the Lord! The tumor is malignant so he's preparing for chemo and radiation.

Hubby's cousin had her surgery yesterday and she's doing well. Her tumor was successfully removed doesn't require further treatment. Huge answer to prayer!

My cousins's baby also had her surgery on the 29th. The tumor and her tailbone were removed, and they're waiting for results and for her recovery.

Our first MOPS meeting is on Tuesday. We hope we're ready! hee hee We know we're ready but you know....all those details.....Our tables are full and we do have 10 MOPPETTS workers for Tuesday most of whom--maybe all--where's that list?--have volunteered to help full time.

My schedule doesn't seem so hectic (or at least it didn't last week when I was "using" it.) That's a great answer to my prayers.

At a class this morning, I was again reminded of
1 Thess. 5:17 to "Pray without ceasing." Amazing.

I miss my husband and kids......

Rejoice evermore and Pray without ceasing

2008-09-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

We're both employed

We're all healthy

We have a wonderful home

We're very happily married

It's still sunny and warm

GOD IS SO GOOD!

Pumpkin's back in school in 1st grade, loves his teacher, and is excited to be back. He says he doesn't learn anything but loves playing football at recess every day. He plays quarterback, 3-on-3, 1st and 2nd grade football, but he doesn't throw the ball. He said he likes to fake it and then run for a touchdown like they do in the pros. What team is he watching?

Princess started preschool on Tuesday and she's doing wonderfully. She knows a bunch of the kids in her class that are also in her Sunday school, AWANA, and MOPPETS class this year and also were with her last year. Her teacher's comment after the second day was that she was as smart as her brother (that's good) which was so nice for her mommy to hear and that she has great shoes (hello! love it!).

That leaves the Peanut, who's been to the ER twice in about 5 weeks for stitches--one in the back of her head from a pajama accident; and 3 in her leg and 5 in her arm from a glass jar accident. On the days I have 2 kids in school, I'm enjoying the quiet time with just Peanut (ok not it's never quiet). It will go by too quickly.

This week has been quite emotional. From the big. . . . .

Hubby's grandma fell and broke her hip last weekend but is recovering well from the surgery.

Hubby's friend lost his father to cancer yesterday.

My friend's son was diagnosed with a brain tumor on Wednesday and is having surgery today.

My cousin's baby is finished with her chemo and is scheduled for surgery.

My hubby's cousin is awaiting her surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in early October.

To the little. . . . .

Coordinating MOPS is a bit stressful---ok really stressful.

We need childcare workers desperately.

I'm waiting for all my Things To Do every week fall into an orderly "list" (I know school has only been in session for two weeks---it'll work).

The weeds in my gardens are taller than my children.

These are the verses I'm reminded of today:

I Thessalonias 5:16-18

Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Just Another Manic Monday

2008-09-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

We had friends over for dinner and games last night, for the second Sunday in a row. Late night for all the kids for sure but such great company! I hope it continues for a long time. It reminds me of my parents playing Uno with the same friends every Sunday night when I was a kid. Anyways, late to bed, late to rise, rush Pumpkin out the door for school. With Kelsy and Rebecca's encouragement from last night, I decide to attend an exercise class this morning. So I pulled on some workout wear (that used to fit a lot cuter), was late arriving (surprise) and I was dead after only 10 minutes. I am hoping Hubby will be kind enough to shove me out of bed in the morning so I can get out of it. I know my legs will not be working tomorrow. Maybe it's not such a good idea to take 3 years off of exercise---unless you count lifting grocery bags and cleaning the house. I WAS counting that.

I ran a few errands after working out, rushed home to put the girls to bed, work work work fast and furious, but Peanut won't stay in bed and then Princess wet the bed. Super. Done working for now and get ready to head to the fair! Yeah! We'll go again on school day, so tonight being $1 ride night, we just did the kiddie rides.

Ok then. Still not sure how to post photos but I'll figure it out some day soon I hope. It's Princess's first day of preschool tomorrow and we have a MOPS leader's meeting in the morning, so I suppose I should get some sleep.

Testing 1 2 3

2008-08-27T00:13:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog posting, so I'm doing a test run.
I subbed for a Bunco group tonight, my second subbing in as many weeks, at which I think everyone but me talked about their blogs. I don't have one or didn't until I think I figured it out at 12:13 a.m.

By the way, I won the top Bunco prize, and am wondering if there's maybe a career in Bunco subbing. Check for my job posting on Craig's List.

Anyways, I hope to become fluent with this blogging thing and keep everyone who cares or maybe doesn't care up to date with my blessed fast-paced family life.

We'll see how this goes.........Off to bed for tonight. Going to play at Jessica's in the morning.