BLESSED PATH

Building friends and Eight is great!

2011-09-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

This past week was Brooke's 8th Birthday! On her actual birthday, we just had cake at home, but we had special guests from far away join us. My parents and sister and nephew gathered at my parents house and they face timed us to watch Brooke open her gifts!! We all sang Happy Bday and while we had cake, they ate cupcakes. Technology!! Love it.
Today, Brooke had her party with her friends. She wanted her party at Build a Bear. We had been before, but a few years ago. I tell ya, they know how to throw a party. It is the best money you will ever spend, as a mom, no stress, sweat, tears. Awesome. They got to pick out their new special friend and stuff it, add a heart, brush it and dress it. They have so many fun outfits, too cute!!!
While Building thier new friends, they also got to build up friendships with real friends, by playing fun things! Brooke invited 3 new friends from school who are all soo very sweet and caring. God certainly has blessed my kids, by placing wonderful friends in their lives, so quickly. What made it extra special, was Brooke having one very special friend there, Tia, who she has been friends with for many years.
It has been an extra blessing to bring forward this sweet friendship to Florida from Missouri. As many of you know, Tia is the daughter of our great friends, Kelli and Lee who used to be our neighbors in Missouri. They also just moved to florida and we now live a short 10minutes away from eachother. B-L-E-S-S-E-D!
I know on special occasions like this, however, Brooke is missing her old friends. :(
But I always remember the song from Brownies. "Make new friends, but keep the old, One is silver and the others gold".

And then there's brotherly-sisterly love.....

Oh yeah, did you know that 8 is GREAT!!!

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning

2011-09-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

We have been wanting to get over to the beach now for the past few weeks, but one thing after another, kept getting in the way of that plan. So last night, we decided that in the morning, we would get up bright and early and do it!!! So, by 8am we were out the door, and by 8:25 we were on the beach!

This is a state park called Howard park in Tarpon Springs. I didn't get pics, but there are some AMAZING homes all around there!!! Once the kids are out of the house, Mike and I would LOVE to live somewhere like that!

This beach is almost like a private island. Palm trees line the beach, and there were barely any ppl there. While there, we saw some amazing sights. When we first pulled up to the park I immediately said to the kids "THIS is why we live in florida!!!" Chase just rolled his eyes at me :) We saw a group of about 5 dolphins swimming and diving just out in the distance from us. We also saw some cool sea creatures...not sure what they were, but it was a mom and baby.
The water was so unbelievably calm. No waves!
We hereby claim this beach, Rogers Remote Slice of Heaven. Oh yeah, then we had Chick-afal-a for lunch. According to the kids it was the "best day ever". I agree.
What are you all up to this weekend? Do you have a favorite place you claim as "yours"??

My new ride

2011-09-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I mentioned that I got a new bike. Here she is, in all her purple glory.
I had to get one that is easy on my back, so I went with a beach cruiser! Mike and I just got back from over an hour long bike ride. We rode through our subdivision, and past Chase's school to a subdivision we are considering on building in, AFTER of course we find jobs....details, details. Yes, I came home and downed a mini diet pepsi, but as i am sitting here i am also on my second water bottle for the day. :) I also have ice on my back, just to keep things well. I told Mike, the next time we go for that long of a ride I will have to sit on a roll of toilet paper!! I THOUGHT my seat was cusioned, but not so much! Julie, thinking of you, and wondering how your diet is going?!
Here are a couple random pics too. Monday was Chase's picture day at school and I made him model pose before he left.

Here are some of the cool birds that we see daily in our neighborhood. Sometimes, like here, they even come up to our front porch!!

Have a great day everyone!!!!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

2011-09-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Today will be a mish mash of stuff :)

*I am so proud of Chase. Last week I got a call from the asst principal, saying he had Chase with him in his office. "This is a good thing" he cheered. He said they like to call parents when positive things happen! Chase was recognized by his lang arts teacher for being caring, compassionate, and helpful to ohter kids in the class. This earned him a special prize and the cance to win even more prizes. I am proud beyond words at my son. He is amazing me everyday with the way he has handled this move and adapted to new friends, school, etc. Our friends back in StLouis will never be topped, but it warms my hear to know that he is making the transition so well.

*Brooke is becoming quite the little swimmer! It really helps to have our own pool. She wears a mask and wont go ALL the way under yet, but she puts her whole face in and swims all over the pool!!! finally!!

*Mike and I bought some new bikes to get in shape. The area around here just screams for you to ride your bike around, so even though money is tight, we felt it was a wise investmet in our health!

*I broke my toe about a week and a half ago and it is still sore!!

*Mike and I are still looking for that perfect job!!

*We feel like we are working full time, by looking at the computer for jobs alllll day.

*Chase went to a friends house last night and they took part in a dodge ball tournement with over 500 kids at one of the local churches, they made it to the semi-finals. His team consisted of new friends from school - all of them are new to the area, so they called themselves the "new kids on the block". Chase also had his first sleepover here in florida.

*My biggest prayer has been answered...Chase finding new friends easily here!

*Brooke is getting sooo excited for her birthday next week!

*our next door neighbors are wonderful, Christians!

*Dewey needs a haircut!! Oh, yeah, and he DOESN"T like to swim!

*I am trying to keep from stress getting the best of me, but I have been getting headaches the past few days! So, I finally went to a chiro. I also went for some xrays to help with treatment. I will NEVER find as great of a chiro as I had in St louis :(

*Florida has LOVE BUGS, that are numerous right now and fly around mating..ew..

*The BIGGEST news.....I am weaing off of diet soda!!!! I have been drinking a ton of water and have only had 2 mini diet pepsi sodas today. Those of you who know my addiction, know that this is great for me! Also another reason I have a continuous headache!!

*I am gonna go and try out that new bike of mine!

*Have a great weekend everyone!! I miss all of my friends and family so much!!!!

Roller Coaster ride

2011-09-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone (that is, if anyone is still out there in blog land). As many of you know, we recently moved our family to Florida, after several years of visiting the Sunshine State. It most definately has been the biggest, scariest, loopiest, steepest roller coaster ride I have ever been on. We feel like God planted the seed in our hearts about 2 years ago, to move here, and things fell into place over the past couple months, to make it happen! Our house was on the market, and sold in less than one month, we found a perfect rental, awesome schools and I even interviewed and got a job....all in a week's time. Now, that is NOT to say that because God's loving hand has been in all of this, that it has been a bed of roses! For each fabulous, bright day..there has also been an even darker,yuck day. We know that God is still with us and is totally in control, but fear and doubt just keep creeping in at unexpected moments! The kids are adjusting well in their schools, and have even had a few play dates! BUT now my job has turned out to not be what I thought it would be..so..I will continue to search for that job that will help provide for my family, but that I will also like :) We prefaced this move with the idea of living more simply and to work to live! I am comforted by God's word in Isaiah 66:8-14 "..8Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children. 9 Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?" says the Lord. "Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?" says your God.11"For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts;you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance." 13"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you...14When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants..."

We are definately in a time of threshing. We are comforted also in knowing our good friends and old neighbors kelli and Lee have also felt a calling to move to Florida too. We continue to experience a lot of similiar triumps and pitfalls, and are thankful that they are moving close to us soon, when they close on their new home. They will be a short 10min drive from us.

I am excited about what the near future holds for us here in florida. The animal lover in me is daily in awe of the amazing birds, lizards, and other wildlife that call florida home. I promised myself to never let the site of them, the palm trees, the beach,to lose their AWEsomeness!!

Well, Brooke is wanting to go swimming. Guess I will have to oblige ;) Here is a shot of our pool. Yes, we said we want to live more simply, BUT with a pool. Hey, when in rome....

When you know it's coming..

2011-03-08T05:58:00.000-08:00

Yes. It's that glorious time of the year when the buds start to appear on the trees. Little green shoots start to pop out of the once frozen ground. More and more birds start to appear and build nests getting ready for their young. Outside the temperature is starting to rise...the only bad thing is, so is the temperature INSIDE. See, as you all know this is springtime, but also cold & flu season. We knew this day was coming as everyone around us has been getting it. The school nurse even sent home a letter to parents warning it was going around. Somehow, you think, hope, pray it will skip YOUR family. But alas, the flu has hit my sweet Brooke. We just came from the dr and one nose swabbing later...influenza B. My dr said he does not reccomend Tamiflu so Motrin, fluids, rest, and Purell it is. I hope the buck stops there!!! Hoping you all are staying well.

Cake Pops by Koren at Pop Art

2011-02-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

I work with an amazingly talented girl, Koren, whom makes these adoreable cake pops! Check out her blog and all of her POP ART creations here.

I plan to order some of her creations for Brooke's Birthday in a few months!!

Blessed

2011-02-15T08:07:00.000-08:00

What a great Valentine's Day I had with my family. They showered me with sweet gifts of love! Chase was so proud of his gift as he told me it took him THREE weeks to complete!! It was a book of quotes and words from his heart about his mom. Things that seem like a trivial part of the day to me... Mean the world to him. What a great reminder to me of the impact the role of motherhood has in the lives of our children. What a humbling experience to be a mom - my purpose in this life.
I also got to go out on a date with my husband. We ate bread and pasta while laughing with good friends and listening to live 80s music!! I am truly blessed in this life!

Santa is on my "naughty" list

2010-12-21T07:56:00.000-08:00

We have only one "believer" left in our house this year. So, we went to see the big man in red yesterday at the mall. Chase came along, because he still likes to "see" him, but he would not be sitting on his lap this year because "he is a cool middle-schooler now". Brooke was very excited. In the morning yesterday before school, she started to get a little teary eyed though. She said, "mommy, I think I might be on the naughty list!" Why, I said, did you do something that would put you there. (this was gonna be good)- "Well," she said, I was arguing with Chase the other day." I assured her that Santa knew that was normal brother/sister behavior, and that she was a very kind, sweet girl- and is definately on the nice list. That seemed to put her mind at ease, so she was excited to see Santa!
When she got home from school, she changed into her fanciest dress, combed and sprayed her hair, and we were off to the mall. We entered the mall and could see him sitting on his chair, the excitement grew! There was nobody else there, so we went right in. BUT.....you won't be seeing a sweet, priceless picture of this moment of her childhood, that will never again be recaptured. Why??? because you couldn't take your own picture. You would have to pay $18.00 if you wanted a piece of this memory!!!! I asked the "elf" if I could simply take a short video on my camera instead. NO... Mind you this is the same exact Santa and spot that my dear friend Julie visited 3 days ago and got oodles of pics (taken by HER own camera). I was NOT happy. I was dissapointed. I didn't want to make a scene, so I dropped it. AFTER i asked the head elf once more why my friend could take photos and I can't. His reply? I must not have been on duty that day. Great.

Here is the picture I did get... Look real hard, can you see santa WAY in the backround? Nice.
Brooke has been wearing these play glasses around, because some of her friends wear real ones, and she thinks it's pretty cool :)

This pic is in the little tunnel area you walk in before seeing santa.

We did have a great time at the mall though, the kids got a drink at the Bubble Tea house and Subway for dinner. Brooke rode the merry-go-round and we had fun browsing around!

Daily Reminders

2010-12-05T13:08:00.000-08:00

About a year ago I was over at a freind's and saw a really cool picture hanging on her wall. It was her family's last name spelled out with letter art. Soon after that I started to "see" letters all around me in every day things, and started to start a collection of my own. My first attempts were not so pretty. It is a lot harder to do than it looks, but it is fun for me. I recently made some framed art for some friends to buy as gifts for Christmas. It is DEFINATELY more of a challenge when doing it for a paying customer....I want it to be perfect. Here are some of the 'words' I made for them. They serve as great daily reminders of God's love. I also had the challenge of doing a LONG last name. "PRAY"
"BALLARD"
'JOY'
'HOPE'
Sorry for the Blessed path scribbles.....have to protect anything on line :)

We had our Women's Christmas Banquet last evening at church and I got the opportunity with my sister, Kathy, to make little plaques using some of my letters and her crafty skills for table hostess gifts!!
"JESUS"

I don't know if anyone finds these interesting at all, but I would love the opportunity to make something for you....maybe to give as Christmas gifts or for yourself. $5.00 a letter plus frame or you can frame them yourself :) Thanks

Advent tree tradition time

2010-12-02T07:20:00.000-08:00

Last year I started doing an advent tree to help the kids get excited about Christmas (okay, like they really needed help in that department)! Each day they take turns opening the numbered boxes, to discover a small surprise of some sort. It is the very first thing they do when waking up! I put things as simple as gumballs, chocolate gold coins, chapstick, toothbrushes, new christmas socks, make your own card kits and ornament kits, note pads, pens. Most of it comes from the dollar bin at Target (not the candy or toothbrushes (made in china). This year I found some adoreable little pots that look like santa and a snowman, to grow grass hair. I put a note in box #1 for them to 'ask mom' for the gift of the day, since they wouldnt fit into the tiny box. I decided to give them these the first day so they could hopefully have grass 'hair" on them by Christmas. Box 25 is always the same. I tell the kids it is the most "expensive" and biggest gift of all. They open it to find baby Jesus. Then we all go over to the Nativity scene and place Him in the manger.

This year it is a teaching tool in a different way as well. Chase opened #1 so he will be opening all the ODD numbered boxes, so Brooke gets all the even #'s. She has been really learning all her odds and evens, because she wants to know all the ones SHE will get to open! :)
What are you doing with your loved ones to get you in the Christmas mood??

A new tradition

2010-11-30T07:05:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving with family. Ate too much. I still cannot believe it is this time of year already. We went to my brother's house for Thanksgiving. They have graciously hosted it for the past many years. It is always sooo good!! My sis in law makes some great popovers and her desserts are to die for!! Anyway. For the past year or so, my parents have all the grandkids over the day after Turkey day to help decorate their house and tree for Christmas. The kids really enjoy this time with Grandma and Grandpa and of course their cousins. My parents also love the time with all of them, but mostly enjoy all the help putting the ornaments on the tree and setting up their Christmas village. They have decided to make this a new tradition! What kinds of Holiday traditions do you all have with your families or friends??

A sweet friend's room rearrangement

2010-11-15T09:28:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. Hope you are enjoying this week before Thanksgiving. Is anyone else in denial, that it is this time of the year again? I usually start to listen to Christmas music early, however last yr I started wayyy to soon (in October) and grew tired of the songs by this time. One of the local radio stations just started playing Christmas songs this weekend, so they are starting to put a pep in my step and get me excited for the Holidays. I do have my shopping done for the kids :)

Anyway...God really has given me so many opportunities this past month to do what I love to do. My neighbors staging, my parents living and dining room redo, and then my sweet friend from church asked me if I would come over to her house and help her change around her family room. All totally different types of tasks, one to help sell a house, one spending money and repurposing by painting for a whole new look, and then this one, just moving and removing items to make her room more user friendly. This is her room before (yeah!!!! Carol actually remembered to take a before).

I have to say, I have never been to her house before, so have never seen the room until the moment I walked in. It was kind of cool to experience that. My mind just started to process, think, wonder, plan...FUN!!! I started our time together, by first listening to her. What does she DO in this room, where is her favorite spot to be in it, what other functions does this room have. What are the trouble spots or things that just aren't working for her in the room. The biggest thing was there was just too much furniture in the room, making it feel smaller. But, her family gathers there, so we needed to leave much of it in the room. Another issue, there just isn't enough light. Also, a craft table that she uses, has become her "catch all" place. I assured her we ALL have one of these places in our homes, mine is my breakfast bar! We talked and I bounced some ideas off her and then told her I just need to start moving things - it's easier to see if an idea is going to work or not. You can see the before and then after pics to see what all we did. A few things were: removing one of the bookshelves from the room. The other one, we removed the backing of it to let the taupe paint on the walls show through to really highlight her stuff and to update the look. We moved that bookshelf to the back wall and flanked the 2 chairs around it. The chair on the left is her "spot" to read, craft etc. So we shopped the house and brought in a great floor lamp to place behind her chair. We also placed a smaller antique table that was hiding in the corner before, by the othter chair with yet another lamp for that side of the room. We replaced her beautiful (but too big for the space) trunk she was using for a coffee table and again shopped the house and found a smaller one that we left on its side. This takes up less visual space in the room. We changed some artwork around, staged her items on the bookcase and temporarily hung curtain she bought on the existing rod. I think floor length panels actually make your room look bigger than just having a valence. They also make the room look more cozy and current. Well, I am rambling now. Here is the after pic. I had great fun doing this for her and she is happy with how the room turned out. Oh, yeah, about her craft table. I suggested she get her son to make her a fold down table that can mount to the wall with door hinges, it can fold up to do her crafts, but she can drop it down against the wall to hang so it can't be her Catch all place anymore :)It will also free up more space when her family comes over!

My mom & dad's living room redo

2010-11-12T06:19:00.000-08:00

*** okay. I was able to find this pic of my parents living room "before". You get the idea of what it looked like by the curtains and pillows. Please note, unfortunately we CANNOT go back in time and REDO our wedding look. That is all I am gonna say. :) We did keep mom's same couch, but look how different it looks just with new modern pillows and throw.
Mike and I went over to my parents' house yesterday to hang the remaining 2 light fixtures. One was their old brass chandie, turned brushed nickel with black shades. I painted this, but I have to say, it was NOT my best work. Of course when you are trying to do your best work for someone else, you always encounter problems, don't you?! Anyway. It looks pretty good, I took my camera with me yesterday, but did I remember to take pics? NO. I will get pics of the dining room next time I am over there, but here are some pics of the living room. It really feels inviting for a living room. Makes you want to go in there and actually sit. Most people hardly ever use their living rooms, because they look to so, so. My sister picked out the great wall colors!! My parents chose the awesome club chairs. It really was FUN to do this with them. We are almost ready for the Holidays over there. Again, wouldn't a 'before' pic be nice....ugh. Picture tailored floral curtains with shears, mauve and blue plaid wingbacks and all the fixins. It really was a beautiful room in the 90's, but times change :)

This lamp used to be a brass beauty too. Look at that gorgeous artichoke now that it is white. Love the shade too. The candlesticks above were brass too with crystal middles. I just taped off the crystal and used the nickel spray paint. We did the same with many things, it really updates the look of things you love without spending money. :)

Easy Artwork

2010-11-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

I shared in my last blog post how I have been redecorating on a budget by repurposing the things I already own. Well, you know how expensive new artwork can be, so how do you change things up without breaking the bank?? I have a ton of frames. One trick I learned over the years is to buy a big frame, even if your picture is small. It makes soo much more impact on your wall to have an 11x14 frame with a 5x7 or 8x10 pic in it than to simply hang your 5x7 photo in a 5x7 frame. Also, buy (or spray paint :0 ) frames of the same color. Have some old outdated brass pic frames in the basement?? Whip out the ole black, brushed nickel or white spray paint and go to town. You'll be glad ya did!! I had an old framed piece of art from Pier1 that I got over 15yrs ago. I was tired of it. It was in a brass-ish colored frame, so I of course sprayed it black. Then, I took the back off the frame and turned the pic around to reveal a solid cream piece of paper that already fit the frame. Next, I took the matting from another frame and placed it in the middle of the cream paper. Next, go to Joannes or Michaels, armed with your coupons and brouse the hundreds of possibilities in the craft paper/scrap book paper aisle. I have recently fallen in love with fleur d'alis (how DO you spell that). I found several differnt pieces of craft paper for .50 to $100 each. Place it behind your matting or on top of a plain piece of black or cream construction paper so it looks like matting! and Voila..new art. Here is what the finished product looks like. (I have GOT to get better at taking more "before" pics).

Here is another piece I made for the bedroom.
And....the hallway.

And, if there weren't enough fleur d'alis yet....

quiet but not "still"

2010-11-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hello bloggy friends, that is, if I still have bloggy friends out there. I check all of your blogs daily, but haven't been feelin my own lately. I HAVE been busy though. I have found my new passion. I love to watch staging shows and love to help others repurpose, redo and rearrange what they already own. Let's face it, in this tough economy, we still love to redecorate, or just want to freshen things up a bit, but without spending much money. I actually spent an hour and a half at a neighbors house last week staging there home that is on the market. Keep in mind, that I really don't know these ppl all that well. Just in passing and waving and the occasional conversation. But, they invited me in for my 2 cents worth, and ended up getting an hour and a half worth. :) THat was SO MUCH FUN!!!! I also just helped my parents redecorate their dining and living room and bath. We bought some new pieces, pillow, accents, but we also repurposed a ton of stuff with by best friend, spray paint. Again it was a blast!!! Oh, to make a living at this. Unfortunately my own house lacks... mainly because of money. But I try to update and change things with paint. I will take some pics of my parents rooms after we find the last items to complete them. We are having problems finding just the right overhead lighting, but man are the rooms GORGEOUS!!!
I have finished our master bedroom. It is just simply decorated in neutrals to make it look bigger. It is a very small space. We got a new Queen bed ( we downsized from a king) and it has made the room much roomier. I sprayed the curtain rods black for a punch of contrast, hung new curtains, new bedding. I think I may end up painting the tall candlestick lamp post black for more contrast too. What do you think. That lamp was from Goodwill for 8bucks! Oh yeah, I also pulled up the wall to wall old carpet to expose the hardwoods!

I finally painted my old green desk white and found some cute pulls at Marshalls. I like it with the brown walls and other green accents in the room.

I finally painted my kitchen table. It too was green. What was up with me and the dark green?! Anyway it is now black and I love it. I also sold my old kitchen chairs on craigslist and bought "new" ones from the same. They are orig. from Pier1 from a nurse gone stager!! go figure :) This is the only pic I could find of the before. You can see the chairs at least.

The little black table is a score from my new next dr neighbors recent garage sale for 10bucks. It was already black. What have you all been up to???

A promise is a promise

2010-06-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

Months ago, while at Lowe's looking at paint swatches for our bathroom, Brooke decided she wanted to paint her room pink. I put it off for awhile, saying we would do it, but not untill the summer. That bought me a couple of months. But the other day I was hit with the fact, that it is now summer, sooooo. I am not quite ready to unveil the finished product, as "we" (Mike) are putting in new baseboards too so I will post the whole room when it is done. But I HAD to show you this find from Lowes. I came across it while picking up the baseboards....

Look at this lamp!!!! It has a crystal, heavy base. Did you see that original price and the price I actually paid for it. LOVE at first sight. I am trying to offset the headache inducing pink aka Berry Much pink, by making everything else in the room white, so it looks crisp. I have painted her little vanity that was purple and pink and also found a white mirror at goodwill for 8bucks that I put little poms into the holes. We had some white sparkle curtains down in the basement already in her play area, so I moved them to her room. She had some Pottery barn striped curtains, that actually match the pink, but it was just tooooo much!!

It is turning out fun!! Hopefully the baseboards will be done after tonight and i will show the room all put together!
Oh yeah, I was able to buy the new lamp and mirror because I am back on my coupon kick and saved $32.00 in coupons at the grocery store this week :) What projects are you doing this summer??

Tables are highly over-rated

2010-05-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

My husband thinks I've gone crazy! Yesterday as he pulled down the street in his work truck after a long, hot day of back-breaking work, it happened. He spotted me standing in our driveway - with the table that once stood in our family room, adorned with framed family photos - now, lying on its side on the ground. I stood over it with his giant saw in hand....one look at this sight, and he sped up and flew past our house and drove down the street!!! I guess he knew what he was in for!! He eventually came home :) and "we" began our work on the table. This is another project I have been thinking about doing for some time now. I have spent the past few weeks living with the table without anything on it but a lamp, to help spur me on to starting this task. I feel we need more seating in our family room, more than we need a table to display pictures. Pictures that need dusted! So, "we" cut off part of the legs of the table and now have a new bench to sit on. What do you think??? Does it just look like a table that had it's legs cut off, have I completely lost my mind? Was my husband right, to flee down the street?? What crazy idea have you had lately, that may or may not have turned into something you love?

What I've been up to...

2010-05-13T12:24:00.001-07:00

It has been over a month since my last blog post. But that does not mean I haven't been busy. I have been working on things that have been on my to do (some have been on my to RE-do)list!! Ever since I painted my kitchen cabinets 2 yrs ago...i hated the way they turned out. Hence, every single time I walked in the kitchen, which was about 30 times a day, I looked at said cabinets and said outloud, "I need to re-do those someday". That day FINALLY came!! I just had to jump in and do it!
This is the only pic of the kitchen "before" that i could find. Look behind the advent tree.....see the Yellowish cabinets from a staining project gone wrong?? Now, I have just creamy white cabinets...ahhh, much better!!....< Next, I painted our living room from a dark green to a dark brown now. I am loving it too. I wanted a small window seat in front of our wall of windows, so tried to repurpose what I already had. From this.... to this.......

Next on the to-do list is to paint our master bedroom. We have NEVER painted it and we've lived here for almost 9years. I found a great color for just $3.00 at Lowe's on their mistint shelf!!

Discover the Meaning of Easter

2010-04-04T06:04:00.000-07:00

Discover the Meaning of Easter

An EGGcellent day!

2010-04-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

Today is a gorgeous day outside! The trees are all in bloom, bursting with pinks, white, purple, yellow - what a perfect day for an Easter egg hunt! This is the very first year we actually took the kids to my work for an egg hunt. In years past, we would always go to Grandma Jan's work, but she is retired so we decided to give my hospital a chance. It was a great time for the kids and free!!! Chase even found one of the only 6, special eggs, that if found, would give you an extra prize! We figured this would be his last yr to partake in such festivities, so that was great that he found a special egg. Brooke was like an egg machine. She filled her basket to the top! Besides being very windy, it was fun. Mike thought the Easter bunny they had there, looked like it was choking....I guess he was in the right place if he was :).
Today is also the day I married my wonderful, handsome husband,17 years ago. Today would be a gorgeous day for a wedding! My gift to him was that I have lost my voice, so no nagging today, at least not that he can hear:).
Last night was our Good friday service at church. It was such a moving and powerful night of worship, and testimonies. My sister and I watched the Passion yesterday afternoon also. What an emotional, very hard to watch movie. But it serves as a reminder of what Christ went through for US!!
Tomorrow, we will go to church and then head to my parents house for Easter brunch and another egg hunt with all the cousins! I pray that you all have a blessed Easter and that you see new life all around you in the spring blooms and your loved ones.

To paint or not to paint

2010-03-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

Awhile back I finally crossed another thing off of my lengthy to-do list. I sit around my house and look intently at the walls, windows, closets, etc and try to decide how to change things up or make them look better. Lately, I was looking at my fireplace. As you can see from this pic, there has only been a brick "mantle" if you can even call it that.
I have been wanting to add a very simple mantle with the scrap wood in the garage. Here is the finished product.

I know it is just very simple and plain, but it helps the fireplace have a little more prescence in the room. Thank you to Mike, my wonderful hubby, for helping me with this project. Of course I got the usual response at first, the ever popular eye-roll, but I reminded him how much I loved him and flashed him a smile. Now, I need your opinion. Should I paint the fireplace brick white also??? We do build a lot of fires. Please leave me a comment with your vote :) Thanks!!

latest savings

2010-02-22T09:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry if this is torture to some (most) of you, but I find saving money exciting and somewhat a challenge I have now placed on myself. I am learning the tricks of the trade. One big one is KNOW exactly what you are going for, and try not to get anything else extra. Also, you have to enjoy going to a lot of different stores, even if it means getting one or two things at each just to save save save! I went to Walgreens yesterday and bought a few things and this is what I paid for each after using coupons and in-store sales. Crest $2.29 - $1.50 off Walgreens coupon-75Cents manufature coupon...= .54Cents each! Deoderant $4.49 each. Walgreens special buy on get one free, plus $2.00 off when you buy 2 (I had 2 of these) so each deod cost me $1.00. Body spray $4.79..I had a buy one get one free coupon, and a $3.00 off when you buy 2 coupon and they let me use BOTH!! Love Walgreens for that fact. They let you stack coupons. So each spray cost roughly .90cents! Excedrin Migraine on sale for 2 for $5.00 and I had a coupon for $2.00 off and one for $1.00 off. So each box cost a dollar. Have you found any good deals this week?? I always keep extra of daily items on hand (I learned this from my mom years ago) That way you can only buy items when you have coupons AND they are on sale!!

I am in love......with coupons

2010-02-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

I know, i know, this sounds really sad. But I have recently been hooked on coupons and saving money. I have a lot of new favorite blogs and websites that I check daily. They have awesome coupons, free samples, weekly deals, etc. I have recently joined some sites that ask your opinion on products or ask you to take a survey...and you can earn points towards a gift card. Anyway. Today is thursday. Okay. Well, it is one of my favorite days of the week now. It is the day I go to the grocery store, because as many of you local girls know, you save $10 on your $50 purchase at Shop and Save. The thing that I love now, is that the past 4 weeks, they let you do two separate $50 purchases, so you save 20 bucks without trying!!!!! Plus I always look at the weekly ad to see what is on sale and what I also have a coupon for. That equals almost getting some products for free!! It does take doing some homework, but well worth the effort! I also mark a "C" on my shopping list by the item i have a coupon for. I then arrange my coupons to the order the items are in the store. For example, bread is in the first aisle, so my bread coupon is first. It becomes a little cumbersome holding your coupons, pushing the cart, crossing off items from your list, and keeping a running total of money spent, but again well worth the effort! Today, in particular, was a good savings day. With the 2-$10 off automatic savings for spending 50 and 50, plus $34.36 in coupons, and $33.58 SRP (money saved just by shopping at Shop and Save, their daily low or in store sale prices for the week) I saved a grand total of $87.94!!!! I spent $121.40 and our weekly budget is 130.00, so now I am under budget :) I am sure this isn't exciting to anyone else out there, but I was so thrilled, that I had to write it down. Here is the actual receipts to prove my savings :) What good deals did you get this week? or what deals do you know about that you can share with us??

Oh yeah, one tip. If you do go to shop n save and split your order into 2, make sure you save all the items you have coupons for till the 2nd ring, otherwise if you just throw everything up on the line, your cashier may not take the time to sort which items you have coupons for and not. My sweet cashier today, told me "you did a great job" saving with all those coupons, but he also said he'll have to remember me in the future (I guess to avoid me) :)

For more savings fun head on over to SUPER SAVINGS SATURDAY where you can check out lots of other links to great sites where people are saving a ton of money too!!!

WHEW!!

2010-02-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

WHEW!! What a night, day, evening, it was yesterday! I am tired to prove it! I worked the night shift on tuesday. I usually have a period of time where I get pretty tired and long for my bed around 3am at work. But this past night shift had me yearning for rest for a lot of the night. It is almost a feeling that you just want to scream, because your body is crying out to be at rest, but you must walk the long hallway of the hospital yet again to answer a call light, pass a pain pill, help with breastfeeding, check an IV, take a baby to the nursery, help someone who is throwing up, or needs another ice pack, or assess and weigh a baby, or give it a shot, or go answer yet another call light, or get a new admission settled in, or do all your computer charting on all the things you just did......sometimes, it seems endless. I know I was in more of a funk than usual, because the hospital had a 'Winterfest" for us at midnight, yes, midnight. We were like kids litteraly in a candy store. They had fruit with chocolate fountains flowing, so you could drench your healthy bite in lucious chocolate. They had these little dessert parfaits...to ...die..for. Then to top it off they had a Candy Buffet!! Probably about 50 different kinds of candy to choose from. I chose all things I thought the kids would love. So even though i didn't eat from the candy buffet, I DID have 2 choc covered strawberries and 2 mini parfaits.....THAT was what put me in the funk. It made me crabby and tired about an hour after eating it! Oh well. I survived, but just barely, i tell ya :)

Anyway....I got home from work, took the kids to school and then headed off to sleep, until it was time to get up and put a smile on (without much makeup) to run my monthly Club HOPE meeting with 45 young kids. Two words....1. Soda 2. tylenol Luckily, I got a second wind and it went well. We had a guest speaker for part of the meeting and she brought 2 dogs with her to show us some trainig tricks. After the meeting ended at 5:30 I headed straight to Heaven on Earth, I mean McDonalds, and grabbed yet another hugo soda. At this point I just had to keep going. If I sat for even a minute, it would be over. And we had an awesome night at church ahead of us yet. Our church is in the process of possibly having another local church join with us. So we were having a night of worship with the members of that church tonight (last night). All I can say is WOW!!!! It was the pick me up I needed!!! WHAT a night. We sang praise and worship songs for 2 hours!!! It was more like attending a concert, with the amazing band. Members from our worship team and theirs combining their talents. They also played all my favorite songs!!! I am hoping we can do that once a month from now on, it was that amazing!! We got home at 9pm and I got Brooke into jammies and bed, then I was off to the couch...I had to catch up on American Idol....I made it till around 10 after putting Chase to bed....then fell asleep. WHEW!! What a tiring 24 hours that was.

Use whatcha got!

2010-02-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, we have been on a budget around here...really and truly on one for the first time ever!! As a result, that means that one of my favorite hobbies is gone......shopping. I love to go to places like Pier 1, Kirklands, Bed Bath & Beyond...really anywhere...to browse. In the past, the browsing always led to a purchase of some sort. Let's face it. Shopping gives us women a high of sorts, doesn't it?! Well, I can only go to the stores if I NEED something and have a SPECIFIC item in mind, with a coupon too. I know myself too well, and know that I am tempted to buy pretty stuff. So, what's a girl to do?? I now "shop" my own house. I have been sitting in each room of our house, and really taking a long look at how everything is arranged. In turn, I have found a need to change things around, just to "change things up a bit". Really, when you think about it, we love to buy something new, because we are tired of all of our stuff. But when you simply move furniture from one room to another, change out pictures in frames, paint frames a different color, maybe even CUT YOUR DRAPERIES and hang them on a rod you've had in your basement for years (yes, i just did this last week) the first pic is "before", you instantly have something "new" to look at, using your old stuff. I recently simply turned my kitchen table horizontally in the room, from vertically...and I love it that way. I also took the buffet table from the kitchen and moved it behind our desk in the living room. (Our desk faces out like in a real office setting. ) I love the buffet there, and it allowed me to move a lamp from the family room to place on it, instantly giving us a little sitting area to read in. Yesterday, we started the work of adding some scrap wood from our garage, onto our brick "mantle" to make it bigger and give it more of a presence. I have been thinking about doing that for about 6months now, and finally got around to doing it. Tomorrow I will paint it, and then post a pic. Organizing the closets last weekend felt good too. Again....free. What items can you move from room to room to give you a different look in your house? If you don't like it move it back, right?! Use this time inside, during these long winter months, to look around and get some of those things that have been on your mind done, once and for all. I promise, you will feel great!! Plus, once the weather turns warm, your attention will turn to the yard and flowers.....Let me know what you are thinking about moving around and post pics!!

Weekend of accomplishment

2010-02-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

We had a good weekend. Other than church, we didn't actually go anywhere, but it still was a great weekend. On friday, we had our church home group over. We are studying the book Fearless. It is really an easy read, and so relates to our daily lives! Saturday, I got all kinds of wild hairs and decided to organize Brooke's and my closet. I have had the biggest mountain of laundry, that never seems to go anywhere, even after doing loads of it. So, Saturday was the day to conquer it, once and for all!! I also organized my closet in a way that, I can only fit 2loads of dirty laundry in the closet, so it won't happen again!! It feels so good to be better organized, even if you are the only one to appreciate it. Next, it was off to Brooke's closet. I had her old changing table in there for shelves, but after she had friends over to play, things were always a mess and no matter how many times I organized it, it would end up messy, and I would end up mad at her. So, out with the changing table. I planned on putting it to use in my closet, but the wire closet system already in there, made it not able to fit. She is sooo excited about her new closet. She even helped me to put everything away, so she will hopefully take responsibility for her stuff now. We (MIKE) brought up the dresser that i actually used growing up, from the basement, to put in her closet. We categorized the drawers, separated stuff accordingly, and even hung up her play costumes in the little door area. I used to play hide and seek in that little nook of the dresser :). She kept saying the rest of the weekend, "I'm gonna go play with my closet". How cute.

I also, FINALLY painted that darn potato bin! I think it was too cold to be painting outside yesterday, but I am tired of it being on my mind. It is done, for now. I still need to buy some more of the brown bins you see in the pic. Those are from our bathroom, but we will have to wait till the budget allows for more. I feel like i did it very half a&% , but, it looks okay, and Mike is happy to have a table to put his clock radio on. I like the extra lighting in that corner of the room too, it makes it look bigger.

Now, I am thinking of what else I can organize next. What are you up to? Have you done any fun organizational projects lately??

Potato bin nightstand

2010-01-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

Boy, doen't THIS sound riveting??!! Did I spell potato right, or is there an 'e' on the end, I can never remember. Anyway... We have probably the world's smallest master bedroom, AND we own a king size bed. So, needless to say, space is tight! Poor Mike, has always had his alarm clock on the floor next to his side of the bed. But that is about to change! I was over at my mom and dad's house last week and went "shopping" in their basement storage room. There is some good stuff in there! I came across this potatoe (OOH, I think there IS an e) bin, and a great idea came into my mind to transform it into Mike's side table. My mom said sure, my dad said, "what else do you want to take with you", and my sister didn't want to claim it, so it was mine!! Upon arriving home that day, Mike said "what is that potatoe bin for"? I told him, he rolled his eyes at it and me, and I said just wait, let me work some majic on it. So, it has been sitting in the garage for a week now, but I am off all weekend, so am excited to start. I already bought my can of antique white spray paint, that matches the dresser and my side table. I may try to do something with the doors, or I may pull them off altogether and place 3 cute brown bins in each of the spots......What are you working on this weekend, or what are you thinking about working on??

Haiti

2010-01-26T07:34:00.000-08:00

Came across this blog on another friends blog this morning. livesayhaiti.blogspot.com Soo good. You, too, will find yourself reading it for the next hour. They are a family living, and serving in Haiti, before the earthquake. Now they share their daily experiences after the earthquake too. She appears to be an ER doc and has been saving and helping lives over there. Please go check it out.

24 in 48

2010-01-25T07:16:00.000-08:00

I have a bad headache today, so I sit in front of my computer with my sunglasses on to keep the brightness down. Sad, but I have not been on the computer for the past 48hours, and want to catch up with the blog world and emails. I have to work every third weekend as a nurse, and this past weekend was my turn. I love my job big time, but the hours stink!! We have to work 12 hour shifts, so on my weekend I have to work 24 out of the 48 hours!!! If you add in when I actually leave the house to go to work and the time when I get back home, it is a 14 hour day. Two of those in a row = not seeing my family more than an hour total, a headache, and the right to do whatever I feel like on monday :)
Something exciting that did happen this weekend, my sister flew to Houston for a weekend with Beth Moore. She got to hear that amazing woman speak and she got to take a picture with her!! How cool is that! What have you all been up to this weekend? Did I miss anything exciting in your lives??

How's it going so far??

2010-01-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

Well, we are officially 2 weeks into our new budget boxes. It has really been eye-opening and thought provoking, being on this budget. Overall, I have to say we have been succeeding!! The only thing is that Mike didn't work many hours at all the past 2 weeks, so the numbers will be off at the end of the month.
Here is a look "inside" our budget boxes at the 2 week mile marker:
Gas - $30 spent (we budgeted $20/week) so we are under :)
Fun - $13 spent (we go blizzards last week) (we budgeted $20/wk, so we are under)
Grocery $ 315 spent (which includes upfront expenses for my upcoming class food) Yes, we are over in this dept, but since we are not eating out at all, it is more than anticipated. This is our first month doing this, so there are sure to be some adjustments.
Retail -$0 spent!!!!!!! Yeah, (budgeted $30/week) I am staying away from the stores!!
McD, QT, Restraunts - we are sticking to our $20 each per week. We still have a gift certif to one of our favorite Pizza shops in this box to use after we just can't take eating at home anymore :)

Today we will actually spend a few more dollars from the Gas/car box as we MUST get the car washed, it's finally warm enought to get all that yucky salt off!!

We have had some crabby moments from the kids, wanting a happy meal, or something other than what is avail in the pantry, but overall, have enjoyed a yummy, family filled week around the dinner table. There has been laughter for the most part and simple pleasures.
Instead of just going here or there and swiping the old debit card without much thought, our thinking is changing. Rather than thinking "where can we go shop today" we say "where can we avoid going this day and this week to save! Pretty cool. How are you all doing with your new years resolution??

simple fireplace before and after

2010-01-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about my outdated looking fireplace FOREVER. I have grande plans to paint it white someday and to also add a white mantle with some scrap wood and an extra piece of moulding that has been in the garage for sometime now. That will happen one of these days. But for now, I am very pleased with the simple changes we were able to make since Christmas. We got some Christmas money from my parents and from Mike's mom this year, so we finally went out and bought a new fireplace screen. The old one was brass and falling out of the fireplace. We have had our eye on a black wrought iron one for awhile, and found a very reasonable one at Target. ( I love Target). I also have been wanting to add some more low level lighting on the fireplace, but with the very narrow brick mantle that is in place now, you can't put anything wider than 4inches on it. So, I found some pretty candle sconces at Bed Bath & Beyond, that look great, esp at night with the candles lit and a fire roaring behind the new screen. Here is a couple before pics, I usually have a pic hanging above the fireplace, but at Christmas, hang a lighted wreath. These give you a pretty good idea of what the lovely brass screen looked like.

Now, the after. I also took my favorite picture of the kids that I had hanging in the hallway in a smaller frame, and placed it into another larger frame that housed some of Chase's artwork (his art is now in the smaller frame in the hall :) ) I LOVE it. What simple changes have you made lately around your house???

Budget Boxes

2010-01-08T08:52:00.000-08:00

Yikes, I know it has been way to long since my last post, but I do check the blog world out daily. And yes, the Christmas music is FINALLY GONE!! Only now you will have to put up with some 80's music...I am just in that kind of mood. Hope everyone's Christmas and New Years was great!! We really enjoyed time with family and friends over the holidays. That is my favorite part of the season. The new year has grown some "wild hairs" as Mike puts it. We both have begun to watch what we eat...although we are not "dieting" yet per say, we are eating healthier. In part, because we are disgusted with ourselves, for looking the way we do!! Man. We have also put our money on a diet and have started a budget. I came across a show on CNBC called "Till Debt Do Us Part". I have DVR'd it, so I don't even know what day it shows on, but you should check out your tv's guide and tivo it too. It reminds me of Super Nanny, but for grownups and their spending bad habits!! Anyway, from that show, one of the things we have done, is set up budget boxes.

You are supposed to actually put the money you have alloted for each category, into the boxes at the begining of the month, but we chose do do it a little differently. We have been on this system for almost a week now, and I have to say, it makes you stop and THINK before spending a single penny!! Before making up these boxes, I took our bank statement for last month and used different colored pens to highlight the different categories, where our money went. Although December isn't the best month to calculate 'Normal' spending habbits, it was definately eye-opening to see exactly where our money goes!!! So, with that info in mind, along with our average monthly income, (which, with both Mike and I being hourly empoyees, it is definately AVERAGE, esp in the winter months with Mike's job.) we came up with what we thought would be a fair amount for specific categories. Our boxes are labeled with the following: 1 Gas/car - 2 FUN -3 McDonalds/QT/Restraunts - 4grocery - 5 Retail . You may have different labels, according to what YOU spend YOUR money on. Notice number 2 says FUN. She said to definately have a FUN account. We allocated $20 a week for this, and haven't spent any of that yet, so it will spill over to next week, maybe we will save up to go to the movies, or dinner?? Anyway, what methods do YOU use to help with your monthly budgeting? I am looking for all possible ways to make this work!!

Saving money this holiday season

2009-12-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

Don't you find that you spend money without even trying, during this time of year?! Sometimes, I spend money without even leaving the house!! The kids come home with this and that thing to send money in for, from school all the time. It can get overwhelming. Now, factor in Christmas shopping and man, the money flies out of the account!! So... I have been trying to do things like, go to the dollar store more, and going directly to the clearance section in every store. They all have them and you can find some GREAT deals!! you have to go there first and sometimes only go there, skipping the rest of the store. Why pay full price. I have also been studying my grocery circular and circling things i need. I went today to Shop and Save for the thursday save $10 off $50. The cashier actually asked me if I wanted to do 2 separate transactions to save twice...um yeah!! They usually make you leave the store and come back in. I also brought coupons, and only bought things that were on sale or I had a coupon for it. I saved $20 off the bat with the S&S promo, I saved an additional $8 with coupons and saved another $55 by shopping at shop and save and buying the items on sale!!! LOVE it. what a great feeling!!! Both the kids were in dier need for new sneakers, so we went to the mall and headed for the clearance section at a cool store called Jouneys for kids. they have cool skateboarding stuff there, so Chase was all over it! He found the brand he'd been begging me for, which is $59 for a pair of shoes...we found many options to try on at the clearance section for $19.99 same brand!!!! And Brooke found her clearance sneakers for $9.99. Man, this is addicting!! Today I printed off a $5off coupon from herehttp://www.moneywisemoms.com/2009/12/hallmark-gold-crown-5-coupon.html and will couple it with a 40% off coupon on 1item i got in the mail yesterday to get something, for someone for Christmas. Do any of you have any money saving ideas to share with me? It is almost like a game to see how much you can save. Oh yeah, tomorrow, my friend Julie and I are going to a movie for $5 at AMC theatre. They offer movies for only $5 if you go m-f before noon!! I plan on seeing most my movies this way! Don't forget to leave me some more money saving ideas that you have!

Firetruck + horse + Santa = fun!

2009-12-05T13:08:00.000-08:00

Today we took the kids up to a local shopping plaza to see Santa. It was about 30* and windy, so we froze our behinds a little, but it was worth it to see Santa arrive in a big firetruck!! He greeted the crowd and then proceeded to the horse drawn carriage, where each family got a turn to ride with him around the parking lot. This was so much more of an intimate experience for the kids, than just sitting on his lap. They sat on either side of him, and had a sweet conversation as we rode in the big white and red carriage. Brooke told him she wanted a Baby Alive doll and Chase, a snowboard. Santa asked questions about whether they were being good and keeping their rooms clean. He told Brooke to make sure to look under her bed, to see if it was clean (does he know everything or what!!) He asked Chase what he would do, if we didn't get any snow. He said he would just ride his skateboard instead. Fun. The horse was just beautiful, and of course, I felt sorry for him, that he had to pull us all around...After, we went to Starbucks for some hot cocoa -compliments of grandma and grandpa D. Here are some pics. My favorite, is the one where Brooke and Santa are looking at eachother.

Decorations

2009-12-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

Love, love, love this time of the year!! I just adore sitting and looking at the Christmas lights at night. So much, that I have been falling asleep out in the family room the past few nights. That part I don't like, because I have wierd dreams and am not at all comfortable, but for the life of me, cannot get up to go to bed. Sad, huh. Anyway. We usually tend to put the same decorations in the same places every year. This year, we mixed it up a little. Our tree is in the living room in front of the large window, and I have to say, I love it there. You can see it as you drive down the street. We spend a lot of time on the computer, and it is right by our desk, so that is nice. In the family room, we still have plenty of lights with our light up snowman, 2 lighted wreaths, and some lights on the fireplace. The hall bath even gets its own lighted wreath. Our neighborhood has lots of houses with lights too this year. Looks so pretty. What have you done around your house this Christmas season that you are enjoying??

ADVENT TREE

2009-12-01T06:36:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I came upon a really neat idea, from another blog. I have been gathering supplies ever since, to create my very own. It is an Advent tree, that has goodies in marked boxes that the kids will open on the corresponding day in December. This morning's treat wasn't that exciting...they ALL can't be riveting....it was a pack of gum for each. Some days have candy, others, holiday socks, mechanical pencils, chapstick, those washcloths that expand when you add water, or just a note for a free cone at McDonalds. I still have to get stuff for about half the boxes, but today being Dec 1 (YIKES) I had to get it up and going. The kids seem very excited, and they have to search the tree to find the correct number for the day. Chase asked if one is a flat screen tv. Yeah. He did ask which one is the most expensive. I told him it is box #25. It is priceless. His guess was a heart that I kissed - cute. It is actually the baby Jesus from our nativity that they will open on the 25th and place in the manger, since He is the biggest, most important gift. I wonder if they will figure it out by the 25th. I bet Brooke notices that He is missing from the nativity scene..we'll see. Here are some pics of it so far. Excuse my yucky refrig in the backround. I took some brances from the back yard and spray painted them with leftover paint from the bedroom furniture. Then placed florist foam in the bottom of my vase and stuck the branches in. Added some berries, my mom gave me for color and then decorated the boxes and numbered them. Hung them with ribbon. EVERYTHING I bought was from the dollar store!! We used to make chains out of paper and the kids would pull off a chain each day to count down to Christmas day. What do you all do??

Happy Birthday to my Hubby

2009-11-18T06:15:00.000-08:00

Today is my wonderful husbands birthday. I just got off the night shift, and have beeen up for over 24 hours straight, so my mind is dull, but I coulnt let this day go by without wishing him a very happy birthday!! The kids and I made his favorite dessert -do you remember Jello cheesecakes?? He isnt much of a sweet eater, but loves this. If you havent had one in a while, you should revisit it, it is as good as you remember. I am about to stay up just a bit longer in oreder to make another favorite of his, baked mostacolli. I want to have it all mixed together and prepped, so when i wake up and he is home from work, it will be ready to just pop in the oven. Happy Birthday babe, I love you very much!!

Fun Holiday ideas

2009-11-12T07:25:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading today's post over at centsational girl and know what my next project will be! She just made a really cool Advent tree, using branches. Check it out, but come back! I am a branch lover too, and have various branches that I got from around our yard, stuffed in vases around the house. I love the outdoor look indoors. I just so happen to have left-over spray paint from the bedroom furniture project, that will go nicely on some of those branches. My plan is to shop dollar bins, looking for various boxes. I will let the kids decorate each of the boxes - won't that be fun to have over the yrs to come. Then I will fill them with little surprises, that they can open each day of December. The last gift will be baby Jesus, that they can place in the manger after opening, since He is the greatest gift of all. I am really excited to start gathering all the items needed for this, and will post my progress.
My friend Kim, (she doesn't have a blog, well she does, but DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING ON IT AT ALL) has the CUTEST ideas for all kinds of things, from headboards, bows, monogrammed camera straps, shower curtains, and her latest Christmas ornament wreath. She NEEDS to blog about these so you all can see her great work!! She does post her projects on facebook, but, anyway. I also plan on making the ornament wreath and can't wait for that too! What fun things are you working on or planning to do?? Do share!!

Baked French toast Casserole (Paula Deen's recipe)

2009-11-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

Julie, over at Three against one, is having her Tuesday Tasties. She is hosting a Holiday recipie party. Go check it out after you read this YUMMY breakfast casserole from Food networks, Paula Deen. I have my family over every Christmas morning for a brunch, and make this along with some egg casseroles....it is to DIE FOR!!! And it is sooo easy, as you prep it the night before and just pop it in, in the morning, the smell as we open up the kids presents is WONDERFUL!!

1 loaf french bread
8 large eggs
2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
2 tblspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
dash salt

Slice french bread into 20 slices, 1inch each. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9x13 baking dish, in 2 rows, overlapping slices. (I usually just jam them in all over, the more the better). In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half and half, milk sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Beat with a whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Cover with foil and refrig. overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350degrees.

Spread Praline Topping (below) over the bread and bake for 40minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. The recipie states to serve with maple syrup. But I never do, it is delicious on its own.

Praline Topping: (AKA to die for)
1/2 pound (2sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend well.

This is the easiest, most yummiest thing that will ever pass your lips and land on your hips:)

Christmas is in 2 months!!

2009-10-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

Did that title grab your attention, or what. Seriously, less than 2 months and Christmas will be here. I love to shop for presents, but who doesn't. Especially when you could just whip out the ole charge card and shop til you drop. BUT, this year is different. It is the first time in a long time that we can spend only what we have. Yikes. We had the kids start to make out their lists already so I can start to look and plan. Brooke and I actually went to KMart on sunday. It is NOT my favorite place to shop. It is a drab looking store and you cannot find someone to help you for the life of you. However, they do LAYAWAY. I saw the ads for that, and thought, that is what we will do this year. Is anyone else out there old enough to remember what layaway actually is??!! I remember working at Brook's Fashion as a teenager and people would come in all the time to pay on their merchandise in layaway. I am happy to be back in the 80's in that respect. It will feel very freeing to not be bogged down with major credit card bills after the fun of the season is gone. I got ALL of my shopping done for Chase!! And so far, it has only cost me $30.00!! yes, it will be much more after I make all the payments. but, how fun!! Does anyone know of any other stores out there that do layaway. Please let me know. And happy shopping, the clock is ticking.

Burried treasure

2009-10-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

First of all I am FINALLY done with the armoire. It turned out okay. It was harder than the nightstand, I guess because it is so much bigger. We brought it in last night, and once in place and I was able to give it a closer inspection, I see a few spots that I will have to deal with. But oh well, It is done.

Now, for the burried treasure. We had our church small group over last week. We put Dewey in our room, so he wouldn't bug everyone. While in there, he scratched up the carpet by the door and revealed...........beautiful hardwoods! So, that is my next project. Mike wasn't ready to take on the whole thing yet. But I wanted to at least pull up the section where the armoire goes, since we already had it out to paint. There was quite a few staples and nails in the floor, and we will replace the baseboard eventually, but I am gonna love it! Who knows how long it will take for us to rip up the rest of the room, but it is our room, so no one will really see it but us. How exciting to find a treasure like that. The carpet in there is yuck, it was old when we moved in 8years ago!! So, this is great news. Thanks Dewey! Here is a pic of the section of floor I revealed yesterday.

Armoire update

2009-10-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

It has officially been 14 days since my last post about my DIY bedroom furniture. What can I say, it is one of the biggest (and probably, ONLY) drawbacks of a DIY project. There have been a few obstacles getting in the way of me completing (starting) the armoire. We had rain, tons of it, for about a week here!! Plus the weather decided to get freezing cold for awhile. And, a girl has to work! Well, yesterday was the first beautiful day in a long while, and I was off work, so I got my behind outside and pulled off the hardware, sanded the drawers, primed them, and spray painted them. Brooke had dance that afternoon, so that is as far as I got. So, now I have finished drawers all over the house. I don't want to put them back in the armoire...um, because IT still needs sanded, primed and painted. Someday. I am hoping this weekend will be the time!!

DIY

2009-10-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

I love to read blogs. I especially love to look at sites that take old yardsale finds or things you already own, and make them new again. I have been wanting to do something to the furniture I've had since leaving home, for a long time now. After looking at countless decorating blogs and watching a lot of HGTV and DIY (which Mike has told me to QUIT WATCHING, because he is somehow dragged into my projects, or at least his strong muscles are:)) I have FINALLY stopped thinking about it, and started to DO it. Now, of course, that I am painting the furniture cream, the cream walls will eventually need to be changed, but that will have to come later. I have finished my nightstand and love it. Next is the armoire. I have cleared out the drawers and taken most of them out to the garage, but the work on that piece will have to wait till thursday. I work tonight, all night, so will have to sleep tomorrow, but can't wait to get started. If you have an old piece of furniture, here are the steps to take.
* First wipe down and clean your piece (after removing hardware)
* next lightly sand the whole thing, so the paint will adhere.
* roll on a primer, and allow to dry for about an hour
* start to apply spray paint. I did this outside in the grass. I placed the nightstand on a big piece of plywood and went to town. I used Rust-oleum satin Heirloon White. I got this color idea from a few of the blogs in my sidebar, Centsational girl and The Lettered Cottage. They both have such FABULOUS ideas, you should check out!! Anyway, I applied 3 coats, about 20 minutes apart. Then allowed to dry for 24hours before moving.
* I sprayed the brass drawer pulls with some leftover spraypaint from my kitchen redo, and I like the way it turned out.

I forgot to take a before pic of the nightstand, so I posted a pic of the matching armoire "before" and will post the after of it later.
I have to say, it is fun and rewarding to redo a piece of furniture. And with budgets being a little tighter these days, it helps save money, and I still get a "new" look! Have any of you redone something?? What did you use?

And then, there were two

2009-09-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Remember just a few days ago, all the drama and trauma that surrounded Brooke and her loose front tooth. Well this morning she lost her other front tooth, and the story was quite different!! The only similiarity to these stories, is the fact that she could wriggle both those teeth, to the point where it even grossed me, the nurse, out!! This tooth, she just wriggled with her tongue and it came out!! She walked into the room with the tooth lying on her tongue, saying, mom, I need your help. She just didn't want to touch it. So, here she is toothless. SO CUTE!!!

My baby is SIX

2009-09-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

****UPDATE: Brooke decided she did not want her ears pierced after all. She keeps apologizing for not doing it??? I kinda thought that might happen when she actually got to the store. Oh well, I told her if and when she is ever ready, I will take her. And yes, she lost her tooth the next day after the original post. That was an ordeal too:)

Today is my sweet little girls 6th Birthday! Where on earth have these past years gone??? I still remember sitting in her room, nursing her in the middle of the night. That was always my favorite time with my babies. She, like her brother, has turned into such a sweet, caring, compassionate child. She is ALL GIRL!! She LOVES shoes, painted nails, hair accessories, jewelry, frilly things, new clothes, makeup - all things feminine! She loves dance class and loves to sing, she loves to talk to her imaginary friends all the time in the bathroom or when alone. She loves to "read" books to us and her stuffed animals. I love the fact that she still sleeps with her blankie and her stuffed pink bear, Pink Tulip. Like all of us girls, she is emotional at times and also loves to sleep in(unlike her brother who sets his alarm at 6:30 am every day to read) -she wants just 5more minutes about 10 times!!

This is what she wore to school today on her birthday. She says she gets to wear a pink paper crown all day and sit in the special chair in class today. She brought special sprinkle cookies for snack. Afterwards, we are going to the mall with Grandma Deemer, Grandma Jan and Aunt Kathy (we wish with all our hearts, that you were here too Grandma Paula, you KNOW you will be in Brooke's heart). Brooke is getting her ears pierced (so far) and then we are going to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Happy Birthday my sweet girl, you are my angel. Daddy and I love you sooooooo much!

hanging by a thread

2009-09-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

Brooke has lost about 4 teeth so far. Right now she is dealing with one of her front big teeth being extremely loose. She has been showing us, and wiggling that tooth for about the last month! Well, last night it became sooooo loose, it is hanging lower than the other front tooth, starting to turn grey at the top and litterally, hanging by a thread. She cried for an hour last night before bed, wanting it out so bad, yet so afraid to make it happen. I even gave her a piece of bread to bite into so it will just pop out. Poor thing held that bread, put it to her lips a dozen times, but couldn't quite muster up the courage to bite it. Mike, Chase, and I, all offered to pull it for her, she did not want any part of that. So her and I lay in bed together and prayed for courage and strength. Then she asked the tooth Fariy to pull it for her while she slept. She said it loud enough so that she could hear her...since she was waiting just outside her window (Brooke said this). So cute! So, began the fun for Mike and I. We waited 2 hours till she was in deep sleep. I was up first. I had tissue in hand. Crept (how DO you spell that word) into her room, and began to tickle her lips to get her to open her mouth. A few times she opened her eyes, but I could tell she was out of it. Then she would roll over. Hey, this is harder than it might seem!! So , I left, defeated. and told Mike he was up. He went in and tried to simply, gently, pull her lips apart. Needless to say, neither of us had any luck. We chickened out! I DID leave her new toothbrush, a dollar from Chase (how sweet) and some hello Kitty bracelets I got from the dollar bin at Target, under her pillow anyway. WHY you ask, well the tooth fairy told me she did that because SHE was unable to open Brooke's mouth last night to pull it, and she KNEW that if she left the stuff, Brooke was be brave enough to pull it sometime today. We tried to be brave this am before school. No luck. She said she wanted her teacher to pull it at school today. So, off she went with that tooth STILL hanging by a thread. Bless her heart!!

And just to update you all on my back. Things are slowly improving day by day. The morning hours seem to be the worst for some reason. Dr. K has been coming daily. I thank you all for your prayers. I am going a little stir crazy, as I like to go somewhere daily and the only thing that I've done this whole week, is go for a short car ride to..you guessed it McDonalds. Gotta have my diet coke!!

Oh, my aching back!

2009-09-15T06:06:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that a few weeks ago, I got back on the diet bandwagon and also started to do my walking again. I was feeling so energized and could start to see small differences in my legs. I would go for my long power walk and then swing by the house to pick up Dewey and take him once around the block at a slower pace. Well, last wed and thurs I decided to start taking Dewey with me on the whole walk, (he's on a diet too). On thursday I also tried to keep his leash shorter and to try and get him to heal with me, instead of always pulling. He is already a 65pound dog, and little did I realize at the time of our walk, that I was doing damage to my low back. On friday, I got the kids off to school and ran some errands, and it was then, that my low back really began to ache. By the evening it was killing me, and I had to teach 6 couples how to give birth the next am, so I HAD to get some relief. So, I called the best chiropractor in the world, Dr.K, and she dropped everything and came to my rescue. By the next morning I was still sore, but able to go teach class.....unfortunately, my back didn't think that was so great, and by Sunday am at 5:00 I was in such misery. It was pain worse than giving birth in my book!!! So here I am today, tuesday, still battling the on and off muscle wrenching pain in my back. Dr. K is coming everyday this week to see if we can get it under control for good. I tell ya, I have some great moments where I think, Hey, this is really improving, then litterally the next hour I am bent over in pain. I just want to get back to normal again!!
I do feel very blessed right now, even with the pain. My friends and family have been GREAT!! I have gotten 2 FABULOUS meals from Julie and Kathaleen, which is spoiling us all!! YUM YUM YUM is all i can say. Thank you guys again. You are so sweet. Also a HUGE TY to Julie, for always calling to see if i am in need of my McDonald's diet coke, and bringing it to my door. WOW, what a friend and neigbor:) Thank you to mom and dad, for taking Brooke to play and lunch, and then to her dance class. What would I do without you two AGAIN!!! They also brought me a huge diet coke yesterday too. Sad, huh that everyone knows that's what gets me through the days! Well, my back has had enough time in this position I am in right now, so I will end this long post! Please pray that my back will be "back" to normal SOON. Thank you.

There are no coincidences

2009-09-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today was a day like any other day. UNTIL. Our sweet dog Dewey almost got hit by a car. I just recieved an email earlier today about living each moment, because you never know what will happen in a year, a month, a day, a minute, a second. Boy is that the truth!! In a split second, I stood in my driveway, eyes focused on my Dewey running out to meet the oncoming car. All I could think to do was drop the mail I was holding and scream a blood curdling scream of "D-E-W-E-Y!!!! I saw the whole thing happen in slow motion. And the only explanation I have for him not getting injured is God sending His angels to intervene. Because where I stood, it looked like his back leg was going to be totally mangled by the cars back wheel. When in fact, all that happened, is he got a huge black mark from the tire rubbing up against him!! Nothing else but dirty fur! Praise God. We learned tonight in Bible study that there are NO coincidences in life. Only God intervening in certain times of our lives. He IS there when we call out to Him in our greatest times of need, and for that I am so grateful. I don't know what I would've done if something terrible happened to our baby. Thank you God for protecting our 4-legged baby!

"PAY" attention in school

2009-09-10T06:55:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else out there feel overwhelmed when school starts?? Yes, it is nice to have some time to myself and all. But from the minute they enter home after that very first day, the papers, rules, folders, fundraisers, on and on, keep coming home with them. NOW this year, I have it all times two!! Pages have litteraly been flying off of our checkbook. It is only the third week of school and our Fall fundraiser has begun and ended! Me, feeling guilty, wanting my kids to partake in the big celebration party, complete with bounce houses, if you sell a certain amount of items, had to make up the difference for both their order forms, to get them to that magic number. OOH, that was just the biggest run on sentence, sorry. Anyway. then I bought an Entertainment book, Chase needed to rent a violin for his strings group, we signed up for our Club HOPE - that I help lead, Brooke's dance is starting back up $, money for school lunches and milk, adventure club fees, AHHHHHHHH. Next, Halloween costumes, then CHRISTMAS WILL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!! Stop the world, I want to get off! Are any of you feeling the same way? Or is something else on your mind about the new school year starting? Do share.

DARE delivered

2009-09-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

This post is in response of a DARE from my friend Kelli, who blogged about the funniest website, Awkward family photos. In it there is a picture of a girl with her cabbage patch doll. The girl is also sporting the ever popular, bi-level haircut. Yes, I admitted to having such "do" back in the day, and she dared me to post a pic from that era......so here it is. While I was at it I found one of me with the bi-level cut that also proves that, yes, once upon a time I WAS thin in this life!! I cut off my friend Susie who is in the pic with me, in one of the photos...she, also, was sportin the "do", but she was not dared, so I will spare her the public humility!! Does anyone else have any pics of themselves with the bi-level cut or some other trendy delight???? DO SHARE!!

Back in the groove of things after our fling

2009-08-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a whirlwind it has been here. We just got in last night from a fabulous getaway to Florida. We had been thinking about a trip all summer, and were so undecided if we should or not, and finally booked our flights a few weeks ago. We left on tuesday and headed to sunny Orlando, where Grandma and Grandpa Rogers live!! The flight was great (esp with a little Xanax on board) :) The kids were soooo excited to see their G & G!! On Wednesday, we spent the day with Grandpa at The Holy Land experience. All I can say is WOW! They re-inact the crucifiction of Christ......right in front of you. I know they are all just actors, but you really felt as if it was Jesus himself in front of you. You truly could feel God's presence over that place. Cool. Then, the next morning we got in Grandmas car and headed down to Ft Meyers for a few days. We got to stay at Mike's boss' condo, went to a couple beaches and swam a lot at the condo pool!! We headed back to Orlando on Sunday am, and got to spend more time with G&G and uncle matt and his girlfriend, who is visiting the USA for the first time!!! So cool. Thank you sooooo much again, Frank and Paula for EVERYTHING!!! We love you guys and miss you already!!

But, we had to get back home, as the kids had meet the teacher last night and the first day of school today. Nothin like cuttin it close. Today is my baby's first day of Kindergarten!!! It helps to know that Chase is there with her, as the BIG 5th grader!! He had to look just "so" today. He told me that "how you look today, will determine your nickname for the rest of the year"....So, dressed in our new duds, with our hair product in, and deoderant and body spray on, we were ready to conquer the school...yikes. Brooke, was in one of her fav new outfits too, with her new Hannah Montanna book bag. It was cute. All the parents (dads too) stayed home till the kids got on the bus. It was a full bus stop this year. FUN!!

So, with BOTH kids at school in the morning (Brooke is half day), I have NO EXCUSE but to start my walking... and that is exactly what I did already this am!!! It felt so good. I am tired of being tired and slug-like. I hope I can committ and keep it up!!

Tax Free.......YIPEE!!

2009-08-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the annual tax free, back to school shopping event here in Missouri. (Is it happening everywhere??) My good friend JULIE called me up Friday am and asked the kids and I to join her and the girls, on a shopping adventure. I was indeed up to the challenge!! I remember growing up, how we always went shopping in August for some new duds for school. It always helps to give that little bit of extra confidence, as you start the new school year!! The Carters store at the Mills is having a 50% off sale, and then Julie gave me a 20% off coupon, PLUS no sales tax = one, great, day, of, shopping!!!!! Here are a few of the new outfits for Brooke and Chase. FUN FUN FUN!! hope you all are having a great weekend....are you tax free too???

word wednesday

2009-08-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

2009-07-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

YES, JULIE I am alive over here, it's just that everytime I sit down to blog, I quickly get out of the mood to post anything. I feel like everything is boring that i blog lately, and NO ONE EVER comments......so. But, I did actually have exciting plans last night with my good friends and neighbors, JULIE and KELLI. I was looking forward to our night out all week. We went to dinner at Old Spaghetti factory and then headed to see Harry Potter. They have both read all the books, but I, on the other hand have only seen all the movies. Those that know me well, know that I am not a big reader. But after last nights movie, and some inspiration from the girls, I may actually read the next book. I can't wait to find out what happens next! By the time I finish it though, the next movie will probably be out!!
Today was a gorgeous day, so I thought and thought, what would be fun for me and the kids to do. We decided to go to Grants Farm. I haven't been there yet this summer. It is usually a low key fun thing to do, verses the Zoo. BUT NOT today. The line just to get IN the place took about an hour, then we had to wait another 20minutes or so to get on the tram to get to the attractions. Brooke told me half way through the first line that she had to go potty BAD.....we waited as long as we could, and our grp would have been the next to enter the park, we finally had to just butt ahead a few ppl, or she would have wet herself....I tell ya! We ended up having a great time, just me and the kids. Again the weather was great! We also saw Kelli and her crew there as well. Oh, great minds... Here are some pics of the day. Enjoy the weekend! I will be at work all day and Mike will be playing in a golf tournament. The kids get to spend the day with their grandma Jan!!!

random thoughts

2009-07-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't felt like blogging lately...I love reading everyone elses, and check them all obsessively....haven't even been a big commenter lately. Thought of a few random thoughts to blog today, so here they are. A couple blog friends shared some things lately, that I will expand on. (will someone PLEASE tell me how to successfully add a word with the link on it??!! I can never do it right, so won't even attempt here) Anyway, Kelli did a WHY blog yesterday. Here is mine: Why are my kids inside watching tv when it is sooooo gorgeous out today, in the 70's. And they have been outside playing every day in the heat and humidity, go figure! Why is it EVERY time I sit down to blog, my kids huddle around me??? Like right now!!! Why, does B whine about everything lately???? Like right now! Why, when I work nights and try to sleep the next day, the phone rings off the hook, and the door bell rings (which it never does,usually)? Why, once I start blogging something, do I hate what I am typing and want to erase the whole entry? Like right now!!

On to more amazing things... My friend Becke blogged a few days ago about asking the Lord to Delight us. I did this last night as I took Dewey out to go potty. It was pitch black out, and asked Him to delight me....I looked up at the stars, waiting for something magical to appear...nothing...then my eye went to an extra bright star, and I thought oh, that must be it, thank you Lord, how pretty.....but no, I looked to the tree right next to that shining star, and was amazed to see about a dozen fireflies twinkling like Christmas lights in that tree! I have never seen such a sight. It taught me to look more closely at everything He has created for our enjoyment. How often I simply let the dog out, and just ignore all the beauty around me. I plan on asking God to delight me often, and hope you do the same!!

What is your favorite?

2009-07-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it is hard to believe that summer is more than half over!! We have had a busy summer, and have done a ton of fun things, but can't help feeling like we've hit a slump! In many ways, I am ready for school to begin. This will be Brooke's first official yr of elementary school and sadly, Chase's last yr of elementary. That's a whole other blog entry for later! I would LOVE to hear from you all.....what has been the best thing you did this summer? How bout name the best place you went, and the best activity you did at home. I could use some great ideas!!!! Please leave me your comments, I sure appreciate them! Can't wait for your ideas.

Fourth of July family fun

2009-07-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

A yearly tradition of pyro

2009-07-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again. Today after work, Mike took the kids to the "local" fireworks stand in town, to purchase this years festivities. The kids so look forward to this time with their dad on the driveway. I love to watch the show too. Now, this is not a big, fancy firework display, it is just a lot of smoke bombs, snakes, sparklers, things that spin and light up, crack, pop, and sometimes shoot in the air! It is our Fourth of July weekend tradition!! I hope you all spend your 4th celebrating in your own special way. Have fun!!!

Do you remember the time...

2009-06-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

I remember when my sister and I were watching MTV, that very first night the Thriller music video was on. They played it over and over again, and we tried to learn all the moves!!! It really was a big deal back then, for all you young thangs that don't know. It was the talk of the town. I actually loved growing up in the
80's. I think it had some of the best music, to this day!! Yes, I still get my 80s music fix from my tv, but now it is from the satellite tv station! I miss the old music videos. We spent many hours just watching MTV, when they ACTUALLY showed music videos! Anyway, I miss the old Michael Jackson, and consider it a big loss in this world that he is gone. You can pop out my music player and listen to some of his best songs, if you want. Or not:) Anyway, just thought his death was blog worthy.

Sweet playmates

2009-06-23T06:19:00.000-07:00

My friend Kelli is out of town, with her mom on an amazing journey to see where her grandparents started a missionary, in the Turks islands. Today, we have her oldest kids, Sloan and Tia over to play. The kids are loving having them over to play. I thought Kelli would enjoy "seeing" her sweeties today, so wanted to post some pics of them playing today. Hope everyone is staying cool today....it is gonna be 100 degrees today!!!

Weekend recap

2009-06-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Happy belated Father's Day to all the fathers in our lives!! You are all such wonderful men, and I hope you enjoyed your special day doing whatever makes you happy!! The dad in this house, had a full weekend!! Chase had a game friday night, and got the game ball, for being hit 2 times with wild pitches, one right in the left kidney....and he took them like a man:) He also had a game saturday afternoon. Mike is one of the assistant coaches, so he got to spend time doing one of his favorite things, being on a ball field. As many of you know, he got to play college ball all four years, and was really really good. I have spent many a days sitting on bleachers, watching him play in HS and college, then as we have aged, he switched to softball. Now he coaches. Sunday after church, we headed to Six Flags for the day. It was pretty hot, but we had a great time. Chase and Mike were brave and rode the Batman rollercoaster and Evil kinevil.....Brooke and I watched proudly:) We all enjoyed the log flume a few times, and thunder river the best, as they cooled us down!!! Hope you all had a great weekend. What did you all do to celebrate the dad in your house???

Rainy day fun

2009-06-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today, it POURED down rain!! So the kids and I decided to make use of a coupon that Chase received from school. It allows each of us to bowl one free game a day, if we like, the whole summer. I love doing things when there are no crowds, so this was such fun, as we were 3 of about 20 ppl there! We only had to pay for shoe rental! We bowled for about an hour and then decided to go to Burger King for lunch. Our lunch actually cost more than the bowling. After we ate the kids played outside (yes the rain stopped) on the slides and stuff at BK. Then we were off to Joanns to look for Father's day items that we need to complete our gifts. We really had a good day filled with laughter and low stress!! We will definately take advantage of the free bowling again soon, and often, this summer!!

Refreshed

2009-06-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

I got back last evening from our church's annual, womens' retreat. I have to say, this yearly getaway, although very short, is such a charge to my spiritual, emotional, physical, mental battery!! The weekend starts off with the ride down with my sister, Kathy. We get to share a room together down there also and it is nice to remminis(sp) on childhood memories. We always have a guest speaker, sing songs of worship, eat, laugh, craft, pray, laugh some more and do whatever we want....whenever we want. The things i chose to do were all the above and, walk around the lake there on the property, which had a dock and paddle boats. I also painted my nails while sitting outside listening to nature, sat in the sun, read the paper in bed, and all without worrying about who needed my attention. Our speaker, whom is also a fellow church member, shared her soul with us, and showed us how God was with her as she walked through breast cancer, and the cancer and ultimate death of her 20yr old son. Puts so much into perspective. We ALL need to be reminded of God's faithfulness to us. He IS there with us at all times, and has a plan for each of our lives, even though, at times we wonder why we must endure some of the challenges in life we face. I hope that you all get a chance each yr, in some small way, to escape it all and find some quiet time to get in touch with your soul and be reminded of what is truly important in this life. Hope you had a great weekend.

mishmash Thursday thoughts

2009-06-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

I worked all night last night and just woke up from sleeping for a little while. My parents so wonderfuly took the kids for me, so that I could get some much needed sleep. They are at the movie right now, so I am just looking at blogs. My brain function isn't the best and I have a headache, so thought I would just list a few things on my mind today....
~I love to crawl into my bed after working all night, knowing I can just sleep.....ahh, what a good feeling (even though the quality of said sleep is not the best)
~We bundled, and switched to Directv, so now have a DVR for the first time ever. WOW how cool is that!!!! WHO invented that, you can pause tv while watching it and record it. Just too much for the mind to handle!! I know, all the rest of you have had DVRs or TIVO for yrs, but this is new stuff for us!! LOVE IT
~I get to go on my yearly woman's retreat tomorrow. We only stay away for a day and a half, but I get to room with my sister and have some girl time with her, like the good ole days!! It is fun to take care of only yourself for a change, although I am scared, cause last yr, I endede up sick in my bed the whole retreat, and am afraid that history will repeat itself......pray for me please.
~Brooke cried yesterday before I went to work. She didn't want me to go to work again!! I am part time now, so have to work 2 twelve hr shifts in a row on my weekend and that is just too much time away!! I told her, I would mainly be gone just while she sleeped this time. How sweet, but now am feeling guilty for leaving on my retreat tomorrow too. Oh well.
~Chase has been saving up for an electric guitar and is over half way there. I am so proud of him. This is the boy who can't usually stand to have money burning a whole in his pocket, and MUST go to Target anytime he gets money to buy something! He takes regular guitar lessons now, and is getting really great at it!! How I would love to be able to pick up an instrument and just play......
~I am LOVING our new computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~I bought my first Itunes card at target last week to download some songs to my ipod for when I walk. I haven't done it yet, but am excited to do it for the first time.
~I ate a big ole mexican smashed potatoe for "dinner" last night at 1am at work. Man, food tastes soo good at that hour. Your stomach releases something when you are up late that makes you sooooooo hungry. NOT good for the diet. But I don't eat much the day following a night shift.
~Mike's work has been very busy, so much in fact that they have had to turn work away this week.....thank you Lord for your faithfullness to us!!
~I don't know how Mike does it, working out in the heat alllllll day long, everyday in the summer. He goes through 3 and 4 shirts a day from sweat!! He really has a physically challenging job, and I appreciate how hard he works for us, his family:)
~Chase got a tv back in his room. (all you moms out there, release your breath now) Don't worry, we are setting the parental controls and limiting the times to watch....it is kinda fun to watch Chase and Brooke snuggle together back on his bed and watch together. It is a go for the summertime, but we will re eval after that:)
~Brooke had her sleepover with Grandma D 2 days ago.....fun, fun, fun was had!!! She brought her whole room over with her, and they had a tea party with real china and hot cocoa, among other things:)
~I still really miss Spanky:(
~I really love Dewey, he is such a good (big)boy!!! we are trusting him more and more outside without a leash!! He listens very well!! I find that he is doing some things that I thought was very unique to Spanky...He loves to get up on the back of the couch and sit and sleep just like Spanky. He also whines like Spanky sometimes. He also sleeps with me if I am sick or worked nights, which is something I really missed about Spanky. He is a big sweetie!!!!!!!
~I have no idea how long this post is, how boring it is, or even what I am typing at this point, being short on sleep. So I am off to that glorious place....McDonalds for my daily fix before the kids return. I hope and pray I am not a crabby mom and wife tonight!!!! Bye, and have a good day all!!

The long awaited.........

2009-06-09T06:16:00.001-07:00

Last night was finally, Brooke's much anticipated, dance recital! It was kinda crazy, but fun. All the moms pretty much missed out on the whole show because we had to stay and help the girls get dressed and then WAIT for our turn in a small, crowded room. It was nice however, that they had a big movie screen showing the performance that was going on in the big auditorium. They even had good speakers in the room, so the music was nice and loud. As a mom, you are glad to be there with your daughter before she takes the stage, but it's kind of ironic that the men are watching the entire show live.....and they could care less, except of course to watch THEIR baby girl:) oh well, it was an experience!! A friend and myself kept saying all night, "HOW do the parents that do the beauty pagents with their little girls do this time and time again" and HOW do the little girls endure all that! YIKES. Anyway, Brooke did great!!!! Her first dance, she was the only one that remembered the whole routine and did great:) The second routine, was her favorite. Banana Smoothie, we walked around the house singing "cut up a banana, put it in the blender and shake it all up" almost the whole week, it was so embeded in our brains! I was soooo proud of my little girl, she really shined up there and dance is her element, for sure!! Grandma and Grandpa D came to watch her and even brought her some cograts flowers....she LOVED them!

Aint she a beaut?!

2009-06-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

Drum roll please............Mike and I are the PROUD owners of a new computer!! After a year of debate, back and forth on whether to bite the bullet and buy a new computer, we FINALLY did it!!! We have endured day after day of frustration, as the old computer shut down unexpectedly, anytime it felt. There was no rhyme or reason to WHY this happened. We considered it a good day when it only shut down 5 times, sad. We HAVE already had issues with the new computer. This is actually our SECOND monitor. After only 2 hours the first one went crazy. WHY don't things work??? Poor Mike had to box everything back up and race back to Sams (which closed in 30minutes) to exchange it. Today was spent getting the internet set up. I have to say I AM still waiting for something to go wrong.......I pray it never does,but our past experiences are not good ones, and it will take us time to trust again. Yikes, sounds like a relationship gone bad, and I guess, you could say it was. We rely on our computers like we rely on our cars. Anyway. Sorry to go on and on.. Here is a pic of our new addition to the family:)

*** UPDATE. She's been running just fine all day long, and even goes into powersave mode all by herself!! We are so proud:)

Old fashioned summer fun

2009-06-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful day, and it felt like summer break had finally arrived! We decided to get the sprinkler out and have some good ole fasioned summertime fun! This was Dewey's first sprinkler experience and he LOVED it!! He ran all around, and through it and was going in and out of all the bushes like a wild man. The kids had a blast getting eachother wet and I enjoyed sitting in the sun. We also had a picnic lunch on the driveway. Fun times!!

Happy Birthday MOM!

2009-05-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Whew, what a busy time of the year!! Yesterday, as you know, was Chase's birthday, and today is my mom's!! We celebrated with her at the Macaroni Grill for lunch...yum! Mom, I just want to wish you Happy Birthday again!! I love you very much, and am so blessed that you are my mother. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Plus the finale of American Idol is on tonight just for your special day:)!!

Life Milestone

2009-05-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY CHASE!!!!! I cannot believe you have reached double digits, a decade, one of life's many milestones. How did this happen soooo quickly?? Just a few words from your mother on this 19th day of May. You were born at 9:35am. And I can say without a doubt that that day was and will always be one of the BEST days of my life. The first time I held you and looked into your sweet little face......and kissed your face....Life doesn't get any better than moments like that! You have been such a blessing to dad and I. Your curiosity that started from such an early age, as to HOW things worked. You had a ton of transformers that you could change so fast, right out of the box. You have always asked so many questions on how things work, or why things are. You are so intelligent, school comes so easy to you. And I love the fact that you set your alarm every morning for 6:30, get up on your own, get dressed, and READ!!!!! WOW. You are a lover of books just like your Grandpa Deemer. You are such a caring and compassionate young man. You are always looking out for the younger kids, as well as Brooke. Making sure, everyone is safe and won't get hurt. Please never lose that compassion in life!! I love that you love to go to church and worship. I love that you love the guitar. I am amazed how quick you are on the computer!! I love that you still love your favorite stuffed animal, Cheetah, and sleep with him, since you got him at age 3. Chase, we love you so very much. and wish you a Happy 10th Birthday. We are so proud you are our son, and are so thankful that God chose US to be YOUR parents!!

Master Bath done

2009-05-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I am FINALLY done with - what was supposed to be a minor, quick,facelift - of our master bath. I use the term MASTER bath quite loosely, because there really is nothing master about it. It is probably even smaller than our hall bath. But, after being sick for 2 weeks, during the facelift, and then having "tacky" problems with my paint......it is done!! Again, I just painted the vanity and the cabinet over the toilet, a chocolate brown and put new hardware on. I also got a new mirror and made a window mistreatment from a shower curtain I found on clearance and some wide brown ribbons. Mike was a little nervous when I called and told him I found the perfect window covering.....but it was a shower curtain. I told him just to go with it. I am pleased how it turned out. You can check out more cool ideas for decorating on nestingplacenc.blogspot.com

Long Meadow Rescue Ranch

2009-05-04T09:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, the kids and I had the priveledge of spending the day at the Humane Society of Missouri's Long Meadow Rescue Ranch, which is a big farm where many of animals can call a safe haven. Many of them ended up there for many reasons, the biggest one being, neglect by past owners. They have about 50 horses, goats, donkeys, ducks, roosters,cows, and even a giant pig named Snortin Nortin!! Many of the horses from the Hwy 44 accident a few months back ended up there for rehab and many are now adopted to loving homes. One horse from that accident they named Will for his will to live. While another never would have lived if it wasnt for the humane society, who saved his mom and her unborn baby...now a Beautiful brown and white horse!! If you don't know about the accident, it involved a huge tractor trailer hauling hundreds of horses, that were to be illegally sold for glue, etc. Luckily, the truck was involved in a minor accident, which (I believe, Devinely) happened so that the shadey practice was uncovered!! Now, those horses are living out their full lives, happy, bc of the efforts of the MO Humane Society and The Long Meadow rescue Ranch. The ranch is open to the public every Saturday from 11-3. So take your family out there this summer, you will love the peace and serenity out there. It is located in Union Missouri. Oh, and by the way, did I mention, that if I ever come into a huge amount of money, I am going to have a horse!!! Dream a little dream with me....

The EYES have it

2009-05-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the annunal Carnival at Chase's school. It is always a fun, family time. Brooke and Chase's favorite things were, the blow up giant slide and the cross bow target shooting. These lovely glasses that our whole family is wearing, were the prize for the later event!! Fun times!!

on the mend

2009-04-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would write a quick post, to let you all know, that I am finally starting to feel like myself again. I still cannot hear fully, and do not have much energy, BUT I did get out of the mangey clothes I had been wearing since SUNDAY NIGHT!! I actually showered and washed my hair today, deoderized and put some makeup on. This picture is late in the day after a nap, but hopefully there is SOME improvement!! Can't wait to get back to the bathroom, but it won't be tonight!!

How I'm feelin'

2009-04-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

I think this LOVELY picture says it all!! Needless to say the masterbath remodel has been placed on hold. Since it is 4:27pm and this is what I look like, and have looked like since sunday night. Hopefully I will be up and running soon. I HATE being sick!!!!!

Here I go again!

2009-04-24T12:40:00.001-07:00

Okay. The first time I went into our "master bath" after finishing the hall bath remodel, I said outloud "ooh." Mike quickly yelled back, "just forget about it, we are NOT doing anything in THAT bathroom too". Well......today I picked up paint for the cabinets. I am just keeping it low-key. I am going to paint the existing vanity and cabinet over the toilet, and put new hardware on. Oh, and I am gonna paint the walls. We already have nice tile floor. I will also paint the mirror. We do not need a new counter top and the faucet is "okay" so we will keep that for now??? I'll keep you posted on my progress. I have a major headache right now, but have already taped, wiped walls down. So I guess I will start to paint now. Bye

All the comforts of home (NOT)

2009-04-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Last night I worked the night shift at the hospital, something that is now a part of my weekly routine. Since I am only part time, I can get by with just a little sleep, now and then. The last time I worked nights, I didn't sleep at all the next day, because of our bathroom remodel and the plumber visit. But this morning I was T-i-r-e-d with a capital T. I needed to drop the kids at school, and to optimize my sleep time, I took my pillow and blanket from home, and decided I would just stay in the parking lot and sleep in my car for 2 hours. I was sitting in the drop off line, already dozing, while waiting for them to come collect the kids........i could not wait to take my nap!! Let me tell you, it was not as restful as I had hoped. I had 2 wake-up calls coming at 11:30 (thank you Kathy and mom), so all I needed to do was close my eyes and enter sleep heaven. I kept waking up every couple minutes to check see if anyone was around me and looking at me. I couldn't get comfortable (HOW do ppl LIVE in their cars???) God Bless them!! I felt cramped and confined, but it did feel great to refresh my body a little! No wonder people who work the night shift full time all their lives, live 10yrs less than the average person. I will so look forward to my king size bed tonight and all the comforts of home!

What's your secret??

2009-04-20T15:18:00.001-07:00

I started walking again today. Things have totally gotten out of control with my weight. I am so tired of being a yo-yo!! I know the key is to change your lifestyle. I do that, and think I finally have the tools and mind set to keep that new lifestyle going, I even vow NEVER to get back to a certain weight...but here I am back at that weight and above!!! I wondered what you all have as your "secret" to keeping the weight off, or just to losing it. Please do share!! Thank you, I apprecieate any advice you can give:)

Name game (from my friend Julie)

2009-04-17T13:12:00.001-07:00

Here's a little friday game, my friend Julie came up with on her blog. Your answers must start with the first letter of your last name!

1. Your last name: Rogers

2. A four letter word: road,ripe, rude

3. A Boys name: Ralph

4. A Girls name: Rachel

5. An Occupation: Registered nurse

6. A Color: Red

7. Something you wear: ring

8. A Beverage: root beer

9. A Food: Ravioli

10. Something found in the bathroom: razor

11. A place: Rio de Jinaro (how do you spell that???)

12. A Reason for being late: ringing phone

13. Something you shout: Ready!!

Just a little Friday fun, if you do it on your blog leave me a comment so I can check out what you came up with.

Thanks Julie, that was fun!!

Bathroom complete (well almost)

2009-04-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

I am SO excited to unveil our completed bathroom remodel. We just have some floor trim work to do and some caulking...but other than that......ah, done!! I really like the floor I "settled" on for durability reasons. Let me know what you think!

A love/hate time

2009-04-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

This is the time of the year that I absolutely LOVE. With all the spring blooms and beautiful colors. New growth from the buds on the trees, flowers and perinials. But it also means new little, helpless lives are all around in the yard. We have been watching a sweet little bird family right outside our window all this past weekend. I think they are some kind of quails?? The baby hangs out in the mulch area in front of our living rm window, walking around bobbing its little head, and every once in awhile the mom and dad bring it food back. We are so close, we can actually see the mom putting her beak into the baby's mouth, feeding it. So cool, but today, I came home and saw the baby bird all alone in the grass further out in the yard with its wings spread out, trying to walk. I watched it for awhile, and have not seen the parents at all!! Where the heck are they?! I placed gloves on and got the dust pan from the garage and gently lifted it over back to the mulch area under a tree, hopefully safe from preditors. Now, I have to keep looking out the window and checking on it....I hate this part of it....worry. On line, I did some research, and they said to put it under a tree -done - and leave it there. It is better for a predator to get it (yikes) than for a human to bring it in, and TRY to care for it, but only giving it a slow, drawn out death, by not caring for it properly. Oh, man!! I hope and pray the parents show up soon!! It is cold out today, and I am sure it is hungry. I had Brooke say a sweet little prayer to God for it:) I'll keep you posted.
Oh, and by the way, the bathroom remodel is at a standstill. The floor is down, but we are awaiting a plumber....seems we have some work that must be done before we finish. I will post a pic once it is all complete!!
*** Oh, I just went out to take a pic of the baby bird...I don't think he is alive, I wonder what happened to him, dear little thing:(

EGGciting day!

2009-04-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Today was our egg decorating day, as I'm sure it was for many of you!! The kids always enjoy EGGspressing their artistic abilities, while doing this fun, traditional activity! Mike is busy working on the bathroom:} Tomorrow, we look forward to church, where we will celebrate Jesus' resurrection!! And then we will head over to my parents for an Easter brunch and egg hunt! Happy Easter weekend to everyone!!

Check it out!

2009-04-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

I am so excited, my awesome pastor, now has his own blog! The way he is using it is pretty cool! Check it out if you like at http://holyread.blogspot.com

Bathroom redo Day 1

2009-04-08T05:46:00.000-07:00

When we moved in I painted our hall bath the next lighter shade of green, that I used in my living room. Unfortunately I have never been crazy with the outcome!! Plus the vanity is close to original and so is the sink, and I hate the faucet....so, after THINKING about doing some changes for, oh, a few years now!!! I have taken the plunge... When Mike removed the old vanity we found that lovely whole in the wall... today I am doing the last of the prep work and will start to paint hopefully later today, as well??? I have my paint, new vanity and sink and faucet and almost am ready to committ to the new floor. I have one that i like a lot that is more kid and dog friendly...then there is the one I LOVE. I think we are leaning to the practical one. Oh, well. Whatever it is, will be such an improvement over pink tiles with old burbur carpet over it!!! I'll keep you all updated on my progress!!

What a Feeling!!!!

2009-03-31T15:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, Okay, I am back!! Again thank you, for checking on my blog.....sorry AGAIN, it's been slim pickins over here lately in blog world! Anyway, I just HAD to blog today, because.......I feel like shouting from the rooftop that our computer is FIXED!!!!!!!!!!!!! There aren't enough exclamation marks in the world to capture my excitement. We have had the same, painfully annoying, problem with our computer since day one. It would shut down without any notice what-so-ever, multiple times a day, hour, even minutes!! You would be in the middle of typing, listening to music, whatever, sometimes you could just walk by the computer and it shut down, seriously, no lie!! Sorry if i am going on and on, but like Irene Cara in Flashdance, I am singin What a Fellin today!!!! As I type and listen to my music on my playlist right now, I still have that "fear" that it will shut down, ahhh, but all is well. You really do take simple things in life for granted.
Enough of that topic. Spring is in the air, like my friend Julie blogged about today too. I am soo ready for the warm weather to hang around. My new weeping cherry tree is starting to pop and all my perineals are coming in nicely. I always kick myself every spring for not planting tulip bulbs in the fall. Tulips are my all time favorite flower, but it seems like in the fall, I just don't feel like hasseling with them. There is a little birds nest in our evergreen bush too, That should be exciting, yet I kinda dread knowing it is there too, because now I will have to worry about a baby falling out of the nest, etc. This post is really starting to ramble, so I will end it. But how can I STOP typing, knowing the computer is good to go:) Happy Spring to you all!! What is exciting in your yard today?

***update*** OH NO!!! WHAT?? The computer SHUT DOWN 2 times last night...back to the drawing board. S*%%&$#!!

Spring Break in St.Louis

2009-03-19T04:21:00.000-07:00

As soon as the weather began to turn warmer, I was SOOOOOO wishing we could be spending this years Spring break in Florida again. We LOVE to visit with Grandma and Grandpa R, and see the Orlado sites and visit the ocean!! BUT, the economy being what it is, just didn't lend us a trip this year. As it turns out, the weather here in St. Louis is BEAUTIFUL!!! I decided early on, that the kids and I would just enjoy a simple, at home spring break. And although a few fleeting moments of motherly guilt crept in (about not going to the zoo, grant's farm, etc). I have to say, we are having such a relaxing, stress-free week. The kids have been enjoying simple pleasures this week, like, staying up late and then SLEEPING in til 9am(heavenly choir singing), playing outside together, stopping at Mcdonalds for a shamrock shake, taking a walk around the neighborhood with Dewey and just taking in the spring sights and sounds.....oh yeah, and yesterday we went to the dentist!!! Nothing says spring break fun, like the dentist!!! Seriously though, both kids were way overdue (Brooke had never even been before!) It was one of those things I was putting off until work slowed down and money sped up:) We talked up the whole experience, and Brooke actually enjoyed it! She sat for all 4 xrays (they were only going to attempt 2, but she did so well that they took them all, what a good girl). Chase went first, so that Brooke could see what was next for her, which couldv'e been good or bad, luckily it was good. Chase was sooo brave and didn't even vulcan-sp grip the chair!! He, unfortunately inherited Mike's, not so strong, teeth and has to go back for some sealants to cover some weak teeth that are coming in. NO cavaties for either though!! They loved picking out stickers, new toothpaste, toothbrush, floss and a toothbrush holder! And of course, we HAD to celebrate with a Mcflurry from our fav place, afterwards!!
The BEST thing about this week for me has been little to no stress!! Which has been glorious!! It truly has been nice to just "BE" with my family. I also am lovin all the perinneals popping up and the buds on the trees!! What a beautiful time of year! Hope you all are enjoying your week, What have YOU been up to???

I know it's been awhile......

2009-03-04T08:29:00.000-08:00

Hello all!! And let me begin by saying sorry. I KNOW it has been about a year since my last post.....Hey, I've been workin here! Anyway. Thanks to everyone who has been checking all the time to see if i have posted yet. I broke a thousand visitors this week, wahoo!!! I visited this one girls blog who, get this, has over 2 MILLION visitors. Man, would that be awesome!!!
I was thinking about what to blog today, because I actually have the morning off, so i knew I'd better blog something. It seems we have been sooo busy over here, yet there has been nothing Blog-worthy. The first thing that came to mind was church on last Sunday. First, I have a multiple choice question for you: What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about going to church?
1. I don't go to church
2. I HAVE to go to church, so I go.
3. I choose to go to church, but am bored while there and don't get much from it.
4. I love church, and can't wait to go each Sunday.

I have personally answered every "choice" throughout the 40years of my life. But, am soo glad to say, that #4 is my answer now!! We LOVE our church and GET to go every Sunday. One of my favorite parts is Worship, which is standing and singing before the Lord. The first 3 songs playing on my playlist are the songs we sang this past Sunday....and they are my favorite!! We have a worship team that consists of electric guitars, bass guitars, drums, piano, regular guitar and sometimes harmonica. Let me tell you, they can jam with the best of them. So many times you feel like you are at a concert! I love music and LOVE this part of our service! We are also blessed with an AWESOME pastor and the people all make you feel at home. You can check it out here www.westspringschurch.com

Accomplishments

2009-02-20T12:43:00.000-08:00

This has certainly been a very busy, past few weeks for Brooke. She has made some of life's milestones and I am proud to share them with you! A few weeks ago she lost her second tooth and her new 2 front bottom teeth are coming in nicely. Shortly after loosing that second bottom one, she learned to whistle!!! This is something she has been trying for some time now, and I guess the extra space in her mouth made it possible!! Brooke also learned to blow bubbles with gum last week! Chase is now jealous, as he still can't grasp this maneuver!! Her latest accomplishment this past week is jumping rope!! You should see how she focuses with the rope held behind her head as she preps herself to swing the rope over her head. She can only do it one jump at a time, but she is off to a great start. My baby IS growing up too fast!!! I am so proud.
Chase has been taking guitar lessons for the past 2 months and is really doing great!! He can play the begining of lots of songs...smoke on the water, James Bond theme song, When september ends, Sunshine of your love, stairway to heaven. He is currently saving up for an electric guitar!! we'll see how that goes!!
Hopefully one day SOON, I will have an accomplishment myself......weight loss. As of now, not so much!!!!! Have a good day all!

Appropriately named

2009-02-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

As you all know, our new, sweetie pie of a dog is named Dewey. This came after narrowing down all the options that Mike, the kids and I had. Dewey is after one of Brooke's favorite places to eat, Deweys pizza. We all thought it was the cutest name, and therefore the winner! Well, today, Mike and the kids were out and about, since I had to work nights at the hospital last night, and was sleeping. They decided to take Dewey shopping with them at a local pet store. While there, they discovered they were giving nail trims with buffing for $5.00. Mike decided to have this done, as Dewey has never had his nails trimmed before. (My parents recently bought us a Pedipaw, nail groomer, but it is a gradual process when you first use it, as you have to introduce it a few times without doing anything and offering a treat, then eventually do only 1 nail, then 1 paw, etc). ANYWAY..........He needed all his nails done now. Well, the ladies at the pet store thought Dewey was the cutest thing - can't argue with them:) - they also said he is a very RARE dog. WHY?? you ask??!! He has a DEW claw on his BACK paws. Which is very uncommon??? All dogs have them on their front paws, to help hold things, but NOT on there back. Those of you out there can check out your dogs back paws and let me know if this is, indeed, true or not! So long story, short.....Dewey turns out to be a great choice for his name, because of his unique dew claws on his back paws. Who'd a thunk it!!

Oh RATS!!

2009-02-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, was our monthly Club HOPE mtg at Chase's school. HOPE stands for helping our pets and environment. I am co-leader, with my good friend Chris, and I have to say, we have been challenged. This is our first year having this club at the school, and we have 45 kids! For the most part, they are all super kids, that are really excited to learn about animals and how to be humane and care for them. There are those constant "few" who drive us crazy each mtg, but I think we are getting used to them. Anyway....yesterday, we had another guest speaker. Her name was Ginger (she looked a lot like the actress Joan Cusak!) Well, she brought her pets and little friends...............RATS!!!! [Kelli, I am sure you and Lee are wishing you could have been there]. They actually were quite cute. One of them is a hairless rat - never knew there was such a thing - and it did resemble one of those hairless chinese dogs. So ugly it was cute. I thought i would share a few pics from our meeting for your viewing pleasure. And for those of you with kids, check and see if your school offers such a club, and if not, why not start one yourself?! You will be helping to educate our little ones about all the animals in our world, and that they matter too!

encouragement

2009-02-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

As we all know, this is one of the worst economic times, since the Depression era. We keep hearing how dismal things are, and will continue to be. Why is it then, that when I drive around and run errands, it looks like business as usual??? Is it just living in West county, USA, that makes it appear like all is the same?? Are others in the area being impacted like we are in our home?? Many of you know that Mike builds foundations for big homes.....so, as you can imagine, things have changed for our household. I know that some of you followers of this blog are in the same boat, and I just wanted to share some words of encouragement. Things here have gotten pretty dismal (to use a word of the times) at times, lately. But this I know, my continued faith in the Lord and His unending intercession, on our behalf, has kept us afloat. There have been some tears shed, anxiety felt, doubt, doubt and more doubt. But, with continued faith He has once again, given us all that we need and then some. I am working part time now at the hospital, Mike has been getting about half his normal hours, but we are excited about ANY hours he gets!! My classes for the next 2 months are FULL and we are continually blessed with the love and support of family and friends!! I am here to exclaim "God is GOOD". If you know Him already, don't forget to TRUST IN HIM, He loves and wants the best for those whom He calls his own!!! Are there more dismal days ahead, Oh, I'm quite sure there are, but with God on our side, whom or what shall we fear!!!!

no comment

2009-02-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

We have all been going stir crazy lately. We just got done with another cold snap, and it was freezing outside up until yesterday. Here are some pics from our indoor "fun", i have no comments for them.....only that we are strange at times. Sorry it's been so long since my last post and this still really isn't even a REAL post, but it's a start.

More snow!

2009-01-28T05:22:00.000-08:00

Well, Chase's wish came true AGAIN. We got probably 5 more inches overnight, so school is closed. Looks like we will be puttin on the layers once again, and heading out to play later. Note: as a mom, I really don't like winter fun, after it's done, because it is a pain to undress everyone. They are cold, wet, and crabby by the time we come in. We have a collection of hats, gloves, boots, pants, coats, scarves, etc by the heating vents, drying out and there is a slushy mess on the wood floors! Oh, well, it IS fun to play in the snow and to see thier joy, so it's worth it! Hope everyone has fun in the snow today (if you got some). And take the time to sled down a hill if you haven't done it in years....it is as fun as you remember!!

snow day fun!

2009-01-27T18:48:00.000-08:00

The kids had a snow day off from school today. Even though it has been a freezing winter, this is really the first good snowfall of the season. So, we headed out to play in the snow and go sledding in our backyard with some of our neighbors. Chase loves to go time after time down the hill. But Brooke didn't even go once. She likes to go down on a tarp of Mikes, but this snow was too powdery, and the tarp would not slide at all. So she just stood by and played. Dewey LOVED the snow. It is his first ever snow experience and he ran down the hill after Chase each time and played with his bud Killian, our neighbors awesome dog! They were cute together. Chase is hoping and praying for another day off tomorrow. It IS still snowing out right now at 9pm, so who knows!!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent pics of Dewey. He is 3 months old now and getting long and tall!!!

A day of making history

2009-01-20T16:05:00.000-08:00

Well, we all know what a special day in history it is today. And even though I did not vote for our newly elected President Obama, I feel it is necessary to blog about today's festivities. It has been one of those days, where we as Americans, feel connected to eachother. I worked nigts last night and could only allow myself an hour to sleep today, I just felt I needed to watch the whole day unfold on tv with the rest of the world. I liked watching every part of the day......over and over. What an amazing day.....the first black president! I will remember this day. Just like Americans remember the day when JFK was shot, where you were when you heard Elvis was dead, and When the Twin Towers were attacked. A day in history was made today. Chase got to watch the inauguration on tv at school today for over an hour. I think he will remember where he was also, on this day. Pretty cool. I even had to leave to pick up Brooke from school at 11:30, so tuned in on the radio, as to not miss a moment. Though I am about to drop from exhaustion, I plan on watching the Balls tonight on tv too. I know one thing, as soon as my head hits my pillow, I will be OUT!! Hope everyone had fun today too. Oh, yeah, and Kelli, I saw the back side of your head on the news:) You looked great (hee-hee)

Freezing Friday

2009-01-16T10:51:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else freezing.....even in your house??? It has been negative temperatures here the past 2 days, and very grey outside. YUCK....For as much as I love Christmas time and snow flurries....i HATE this fridged cold!!! Mike can't work, and we can't play outside....which is something we do often. Do any of you have any favorite indoor things to do, that aren't costly?? Stay warm!!! Have a good weekend.

Touching video

2009-01-13T21:20:00.001-08:00

Sweet Audrey-Girl from angie smith on Vimeo. This is a video compilation from Angie Smith, a strong, couragous woman, who lost her baby just 2 hours after she was born.

Welcome facebook friends

2009-01-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome to all my facebook friends, whom MAY be reading my blog now. I just recently realized (thank you Julie) that you can put this website on your facebook info. I'm glad to welcome any and all of you to my blog! It isn't the prettiest blog, but I do try and post some pics or fun stories of our daily lives here in St.louis. I L-O-V-E comments......so PLEASE let me know you stopped by and leave a comment. Also, let me know if any of you have a blog. I would love to read yours.

Up for the challenge

2009-01-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my first official day of my diet. It went very well. I worked which helped keep snacks to a minimum. I find it helpful to eat every couple of hours, with healthy foods. Anyway, last night the biggest loser was on, which gave me some incentive. after that I flipped to Discovery health channel and watched Their National Body Challenge. This morning i went online and signed up at Discovery health.com to join the Body challenge myself. You have to put in all your measurements, weight age, etc and then they give you a chance to set your first weight loss goal. Mine is to lose 16 pounds in the next 8 weeks. they give you meal plans, and how much cardio you should do each day. Also, they give you FREE access to all kinds of mini workout videos online. There are warmup videos, beginner, intermed, etc. I am excited, and hope to make my DAILY exercise a priority and part of my routine. You may ask,"Carol, its 1pm, have you done it yet today??" Well, thank you for asking, NO - not yet. It's been a crazy busy day and I have to jump in the shower and head off to work. It is gonna be a challenge. But I am hoping that joining the free club it will give me incentives.. OH YEAH, you also get a FREE 30 day pass to Bali, pretty cool. http://discoveryhealth.com