Our Journey

Menu Monday

2012-01-30T10:27:00.000-08:00

Monday- Roast Chicken, red potatoes, and roast veggies
Tuesday- leftover Chicken salad
Wednesday- Shepard's pie
Thursday- leftovers
Friday- grilled carne asada tacos
Saturday- carne asada salad
Sunday- Super Bowl Party Here !

Weekend in Review

2012-01-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

Quiet, fun weekends seem to be the trend the last couple of weeks, and I am certainly not complaining one bit ! Friday night we went out to dinner for my father in laws birthday. It isn't officially until Feb. 2nd, but they took a vacation to see Michelle, Ray and the kids so that won't be in town to celebrate.
Saturday morning we hung around the house getting a few things. Saturday afternoon, we took Mike's parents to the airport. Since we over in Boise, we decided to hang out there for the rest of the day. We went to the Boise mall to exchange a pair of pants for Emily. Well, it turned into a no jeans, but two dresses, and sweatpants stop :) By the time we were finished there we were starving. We had a gift card to Texas Roadhouse so we headed there. We thought we were going early enough that we wouldn't have to wait long but we ended up waiting 45 mins. Dinner was wonderful and it was fun to sit around and get time to talk to the kids. After dinner we headed to Toys R Us. Since Tucker had to suffer through shopping for girl stuff, we decided to let him check out Toys R Us. Little stinker didn't have his wallet with all his money in it, so he didn't end up getting anything. Just looked and dreamed. Sunday was a lazy day. After church we ate lunch and vegged out. We all watched the X games for awhile. I was busy ironing clothes for the week and getting things cleaned up so the carpet cleaners can come on Monday morning. Thanks to Tucker and Mike moving furniture, I didn't have much to do to this morning. I quick vacuumed over all the floors and just sent Daisy outside which she is not thrilled about at all. Hopefully this will continue to be a good day.

Menu Monday

2012-01-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

Monday: homemade chicken noodle soup
Tuesday: leftover night for Dad while we are at the church banquet
Wednesday: pork chops, rice and a veggie
Thursday: Not to sure as of yet.....working on reorganizing freezer
Friday: Eat From the freezer but haven't decided yet
Saturday: maybe eat out
Sunday: more eating from the freezer

I will update for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday when I clean things out and decide what to fix with it all.

Quiet, Fun Weekend

2012-01-23T08:55:00.000-08:00

We had the best weekend. Not much going on except a lot of family time. Friday night we watched the movie Courageous. Saturday, Mike went to the shop to work on his atv box project, when he came home for dinner we ate meatloaf, bakers and green beans while watching the movie Facing the Giants. Sunday was fun day of church, Costco, home to relax for a bit. Back out to the church to help decorate for the women's ministry tea party on Tuesday. After we got all the decorating done we hit Idaho Pizza in Homedale for some dinner and visiting with friends. This weekend might not have been too productive project wise but it was full of family time spent together and memories made for the kids. We didn't have to spend much money to build those memories either !

Whew !

2012-01-13T12:11:00.000-08:00

Wow, where did this week go? It just flew by. Every time I thought about getting on the computer to post some thing got in the way. This was our first full week back at school and back into the "normal" routine if you could call any routine at our house normal. So I'm going to recap the week and get back on track tomorrow. I have a special post to start the weekend off.

Menu Monday:
Monday: Breakfast for dinner, eggs hash browns and pork chops
Tuesday: beef stroganoff, green beans
Wednesday: rotisserie chicken, broccoli cheese rice and veggie
Thursday: tacos
Friday: Dinner out for Emily's 13th birthday
Saturday: OFFICIAL BIRTHDAY dinner : chicken fried steak,mashed potatoes and gravy and veggie of bday girls choice.
Sunday: Pizza night( all of her friends are spending the night. so it's a junk food night)

So as you can see we are deep in the middle of birthday party madness at our house. This weekend is packed.... with lots of fun and love for our birthday girl !

The week has just been the normal stuff, school, homework, dance classes, cub scouts. Evenings spent watching a little t.v., beyblade battles ( the boys) and just hanging out! So loving that ! Better get off of here and get some more of the party planning done.

Menu Monday

2012-01-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

Monday- homemade turkey burger spaghetti
Tuesday- Pioneer Woman slow cooked pot roast, carrots & potatoes
Wednesday- Christmas with my Dad and Stepmom
Thursday- hash
Friday- Steaks, bakers and veggies
Saturday- Christmas with my Mom and Stepdad
Sunday- BBQ ribs, grilled veggies

Hope.....My word for 2012

2011-12-28T16:11:00.001-08:00

I have read in several blogs about picking a word for the year and my word is HOPE. The bible verses that go along with it are Psalms 62 : 1, 2 and 5.... These are the words that I will meditate daily on over the next year. There is a song recorded by Aaron Shust that totally helped me decide on what my word was going to be for this year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugD0i5Y3cw8&ob=av2n. I cry every time I listen to this song. I will update you frequently about how this word has been a part of my 2012 !+

2011-12-28T13:54:00.001-08:00

I have been trying to change my background today and it won't let me :(

I know, I know

2011-12-28T09:51:00.001-08:00

The New Year is not 2010 but I was trying to fix that and there it stays. Will fix it as soon as I can

Menu Monday

2011-12-26T16:15:00.000-08:00

Monday- Leftovers from Christmas dinner
Tuesday- Mojito lime chicken breasts, leftover potatoe casserole & cranberry salad
Wednesday- Chef Salad
Thursday-Pork Chops, stuffing, peas
Friday- Homemade turkey chili and cornbread
Saturday - New Years Party @ Benedick...taco bar and goodies
Sunday- Late Christmas lunch at Gray's, leftovers for dinner

Christmas Decorations

2011-12-16T09:39:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of our family tree, it has decorations on it from when I was little and ornaments that the we all have gotten through out the years. Many of them have a story about a vacation, or what what the kids just happen to be into that particular year(ie...blues clues, nascar) This years ornaments that I purchased for us were very much like us. Tucker and Mike got Santa riding and atv ornament. Emily's had to do with ballet and I found a couple that actually fit both Em and I. One was shoes and it said" If the shoe fits, buy it in every color" and the other one was a handbag that said" love me, love my handbags " they were so funny and perfect for us!

This year I was so excited about my decorations ! The tree in the living room turned out perfect. I am in the process of doing some redecorating in that room and I love the different shades of teal and the brown. Emily and my mother in law thought I needed to leave the tree up all year round. Not too sure about that, but I really do love how it turned out.

This is my entry way table and tree decorations. I love the trees the most this year. I feel like the table could use a little more something on it, so that's my challenge for next year. I have already ordered another gingerbread house and am on the look out for any other ginger bread related items.

This years decorating was a lot of fun. It certainly helped me get into the spirit this year and didn't take me weeks to do like others decorating I have seen in the blog world.

What's up on Wednesday

2011-12-07T12:20:00.001-08:00

Well, today didn't exactly go the way I had planned it. Tucker was up during the night with a sick tummy so he stayed home today. He seems to be feeling a ton better, so we are hoping it was something he ate considering there was no fever involved. Plus he is getting more active as the day goes on. I had all kinds of plans to go and do some Christmas shopping while I was in Boise for an appointment, but that will have to wait. Instead, I am getting my living room tree up and some cleaning done. Honestly, I think God knew I needed a down day. I have been on the go a lot and was starting to get the Christmas blahs yesterday. Today, and last night has fixed that. I am all about having a great day today even thought I am sleep deprived. Last night we had our Women's ministry banquet to start our Christmas break. It was a lot of fun and fellowship. The kids and I pitched in to help and it was fun spending time with my kiddos outside of home and all the stuff that goes with that. I have a ton more ideas to post, so I am hoping that this will be the first of many posts to come. I'm feeling God really speak to me that I need to keep posting and sharing what's going on.

Quiet Friday

2011-10-14T19:15:00.001-07:00

Today has been a pretty quiet day around here. The kids were at school all day, while Mike finally took a day off for himself and went atv riding with a couple of friends. Now, it is evening and I'm still in a quiet house. Tucker is playing with friends, Mike is on his way home from riding but won't make it home before 10 pm. Emily is with some of her girlfriends at "Haunted World" for a birthday party. What have I been doing.... three guesses. Errands, laundry,and cleaning. Isn't that what every mom does all the time.
Tomorrow Tucker has his very last football game of the season, and his team party. After that we are going to go and run some errands. What is the likelihood that both our kitchen faucet and the one in the rental will need to be replaced at the same time. Sooo, we are going shopping for faucets and a garbage disposal for the rental. I never thought I would ever actually make a list for Home Depot but I have one started. Besides the faucets, we need red spray paint for Tucker's Halloween costume, and some new lamp cord to fix one of the lamps that Buck ruined when he was still living here. I would sure like to have my lamp back next my spot on the couch. Then we have to figure out how we are going to watch the BSU game. We have the cheap cable tv so we don't have hundreds of channels and the game happens to be on a channel we don't have. It's not the end of the world to not see the game, but I know Tucker would be disappointed.
Hoping the download game highlights from Tuckers last game against some of his really good friends tomorrow. See ya then.

Thoughts on Thursday

2011-10-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

It is still raining and cool. Today ended up being a busy morning even though the kiddos didn't have school. We dropped Tucker off at Gma and Gpa TenHulzen's, so that he and Gma could have a movie date. Emily and I headed off to pick up one of her friends and meet another at the movies. I stuck around town and hit up a couple of stores since it was only going to be a couple hours. They went to see ZOOKEEPER, and you know how teenagers are, I couldn't tell if it was a good movie or not. After dropping Emily's friend back off at her grandma's, we came home. We came home to a cold house. Mike enjoys the chilly weather for sleeping but that just means the house stays that way all day. Emily cuddled up with a blanket to rest and watch some tv before her ballet class. I worked on laundry and cleaning up the house. Neither one of us had a ton of motivation. She and I had stayed up pretty late watching the season finale of a show we just found called "Dance Moms". Yes, it's another reality tv show. I some times like to watch those shows just to prove to myself that I'm not so weird. I can definitely tell you that I am not a " Dance Mom" in the way this tv show paints a picture of them. I love to watch my daughter dance and she does a great job, but the pressure this dance teacher and their moms puts on these girls is ridiculous.
Anyway, it has turned out to be a pretty good movie, hot cocoa kinda day !

Weekend Update

2011-10-02T14:26:00.001-07:00

After having one of those weeks, I would just as soon forget. Our weekend has been a really nice one.
Friday night we bbq-d shish kabobs and just hung out at home. Emily had been home sick since Thursday so she kinda lounged all day.
Saturday was our busy day. Emily went to a dance workshop in Boise that started at 9 and ended at 12:30. Tucker's flag football game was at 11. So I managed to get a couple things done before his game. I left a little early to get to Boise in time to pick Emily up. We ran to the dance supply store for some tights while we were there. Tucker and Mike braved Walmart Saturday afternoon to sell gourmet popcorn for a fundraiser. They neither one were too excited to do that since they would be missing the BSU game while they were there. However, Tucker did awesome and sold about 12 items of popcorn.
Saturday evening we went to celebrate my "baby sisters" 19th birthday. It was fun getting to see my grandparents, meet Hannah's boyfriends parents and visit with my Dad and step-mom.
Today so far, we have gone to church, ate lunch outside on our awesome patio and done a few projects around the house. Mike has been wanting to put locks on all of our yard gates for quite some time and is finally getting that finished up with Tuckers help. Emily is reorganizing/cleaning her room. I'm doing laundry and general clean up to get ready for the week.
I was on jury duty for the month of September( I thankfully was never called in) but it is nice not to wonder every day if your plans are going to be messed up because of being called into the courthouse.
In a couple of hours we are going to spend the evening with Mikes parents and have dinner.
All in all it was a busy but fun and even productive weekend.

New Season for different reasons

2011-09-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

It is now officially on the calendar, fall. That means we are embarking on a new season of changing weather.I love it, this season is my absolute favorite. But,our family is entering this fall season...in a "new" season of our lives. The weather is changing and our family is changing. We are no longer the family of 5 we were navigating anew this time last year. We are now back to our little family of 4. The leaf in the table that made it larger has now been removed and we are back to our little table for the 4 of us. We have an empty bedroom upstairs, and an empty kennel out back. It is sad,it didn't go at all like we wanted. But, God's hand was in it all. We know that this is another season in our ever changing life.Even through the trial, questions and doubts that have happened in the last two or three weeks, we have been blessed. Blessed by the 2 great kiddos that God gave us to take care of. Blessed by the time we have been able to spend together. Blessed by the beautiful weather that He has given us.
Life is changing but we are blessed to know that God has His hand in it all, and that we will all be better, changed for the season we just left. Lord, let this season of life we are entering anew be glorifying to you !

Life's not feeling very fun right now.

2011-09-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

There I said it. Life in the TenHulzen household isn't very fun lately. It really hasn't been fun for a couple of months.I recognized it and Mike and I have talked about it at length. How we are going to deal with it all is still a big mystery. We are in prayer about it, and we are also talking to people we trust about it. This is the time our family needs to step up and make some changes. All of us. That being said that is why we are working on a family contract. I hope within the next few days we can make the big changes that need to happen to make our family function much more smoothly and fun. I am so ready to put the fun back in our family. It is getting to be one of my favorite times of year and I really don't want to ruin this one. I want it to be the perfect "fall" complete with all kinds of family "fun" times. Praying for those "fun" times to get here soon !

Lazy Sunday

2011-08-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today was definately the definition of the day of rest. Our Sunday started with breakfast sandwiches made by Dad. We normal don't get to make a breakfast on Sunday morning, our Sunday school class meets at 9:30, but we haven't been meeting all summer long.It has been several weeks since we have been at church, considering we have camped the month of August away. It was nice to be back. After church we came home and cleaned out the fridge leftovers for lunch. Emily and Tucker spent the afternoon working on their bedrooms and Tyler was hanging out with friends. Mike spent some time researching an 800 mile atv ride that he has been hearing about. While he was working on that I was working on the rough draft of our TenHulzen Family Contract. I put together a potato salad and we had bbq chicken for dinner. After dinner we sat down for some family time. We spent our family time talking about the family contract and some of the things they can expect to change around here. Turned out to be a really nice day. I'm really anxious to see how the family contract turns out and how it will impact our family. What a way to start a busy week but with a nice quiet day.

Family Contract

2011-08-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

Most blogs that I read and love are moms of little ones. I am so not in that category. I have a 17 year old nephew living with us, an almost 13 year old daughter and a little guy who just turned 8. We are out of the terrible twos, the potty training, all the things that come along with little ones. Looking back some times I wish for those stages back. The older the kids get the definitely different the challenges are. They think they know every thing and want to make so many decisions on their own. We are becoming more consultants than the order givers. I have been reading Parenting Teens with Love and Logic and we have been trying to apply that to the kids. We would like to see them be growing people who know how to make decisions and make them wisely. By all means I know we don't have it figured all out but we are trying.
We even had a case of needing to use Love and Logic this morning. We decided to make breakfast before church. Tucker threw away the rest of his egg after we told him that he couldn't have a donut at church if he didn't eat. We arrive at church and the first thing he asks is if he can have a donut. Mike and I explain very calmly to him that he made the choice on his own to not eat his breakfast and thus he decided he really didn't want a donut. He proceeded to get a little upset about it and said he was not going into church. We left him in the truck and walked into the church, after visiting with a couple of friends we went back outside to check on him. We needed to get to worship service but Tucker could not attend his class unless we checked him in. So we gave him the choice to go in with us and be checked into his class or we were going to head to worship and he would have to stay in the truck. He chose to come to class. Crisis averted, no crying, no anger. Felt like a super success.
We have been talking to the youth pastor at our church about dealing with teenagers and he suggested that we think about creating a contract. A contract that makes it pretty clear what we expect from the kids and what they can expect from us. We are in the process of working on it and tweeking it. We will sit the kids down and go over it with them. If there are things that they are not totally happy with we will be willing to compromise or at negociate with them. We want it to be something that we are all happy with and that we will all follow for the long term. We are hoping to sit the kids down before next weekend and @ least start the discussion. I am hoping we can get it in affect soon. I think it will help all of us to not have to get angry, we can just point out very calmly that they signed and agreed to the terms of our contract.
Hopefully this will be just what our family needs for some peace and tranquility in our home. Praying that God is in the middle of this and leading us the way he wants us to go about this.

Odd Day

2011-07-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

Today has been a really odd day for me. I haven't had one of these days in a long time it feels like. I woke up all stressed out and with something that resembles an anxiety attack of some sort. Not terribly sure what the deal was. Last week for me was a really busy one and the weekend was no different. I didn't stress out about the house or Mike's party the entire time. Even, yesterday was a good day. I was tired but not at all stressed out. Maybe it just took that kind of time to come down off of all that was going on around here, and today I crashed. I hate feeling like that. As the day has motored on, I'm feeling better about things. I do need to get busy and get things ready for our camping weekend. Yes, I know it is only Tuesday, but I want to be able to enjoy my play day on Thursday with my Mom and sister. I'm sooo excited to go and get pedicures and just spend the day with people I love.

Busy Beaver

2011-07-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

This week I have been a busy beaver. I've been working on getting our house ready for a pretty important party this weekend. The Hubby's 40th birthday. We invited lots for our family and friends to celebrate Sunday night. I have been cleaning, organizing and planning. I also have been watching the neighbor boy while his momma works and grandparents are out of town. That has been nice for Tucker since Emily has been away at camp. We are leaving in a little bit for a break from home. I'm going to take the kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2 and have a little lunch. They have been together since 6:30 this morning so I thought a little outing might make the day go a little bit better.Mostly for the momma though. I've gotten a ton done with such an early start to my day, so I am even ready for a break.
we had fun at lunch and the movies. The kids are doing really well, and it was a nice break even for me. I'm back to laundry, cleaning, organizing. I have even got chicken out for dinner and know exactly what I'm going to do with it.

It;s Been Awhile

2011-07-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

It has been a little while since I have posted. I have several posts in the works but the time to polish them and add pictures has eluded me. We just returned from our big vacation, and now Emily is off at church camp. This week I am planning my husbands 40th birthday party this weekend. Tucker and I enjoyed a day running errands and getting things figured out for the party. This evening, he left me home all alone and went to the Snake River Stampede with a neighborhood friend. The other boys are busy working at the shop. I really should be cleaning or organizing something, but I am feeling pretty laid back tonight. Tomorrow will be another busy day. Going to a friends house to go swimming and doing more around the house to get ready for this weekend. Sorry for the boring post. I will try better.

Fathers Day

2011-06-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day to my two dad's and my wonderful husband! Today was a busy day. We had planned on getting up and going to church, but everyone was pretty tired and we slept in. The kids and I made Mike Belgium waffles, bacon, and eggs for breakfast. After breakfast the kids and Mike vegged on the couch watching the movie A TEAM while I put together a salad and a dessert for our Father's Day meal out at my aunts.
We headed out to the church on our way to Cheryl and Tony's to decorate for VBS this week. With all the help it didn't take very long and then were on the way out to our festivities. My brother and his family have been here from Maryland for about two weeks. Since we have had new babies and all the family was here, we decided to have family pictures taken. I'm very anxious to see how they all turned out. We should get the cd of images in about a week. It went surprisingly well with all the little ones and big ones we had. 33 in all. That's a pretty amazing feat to that many people set up for a picture. I will post pictures when we get the cd. What a great day !

Busy Summer Ahead

2011-06-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

The kids(Tucker and Emily) have officially been on summer vacation for 2 days shy of a month. It has been a a pretty laid back time. Tyler has only been on vacation for about 12 days.He is busy working so he doesn't have much time to be laid back. Not to say he hasn't had his fair share of fun.

Starting this weekend however, we will get busy. My brother and his family are here from Maryland for 2 weeks....so this weekend we are getting family pictures done and having a huge bbq for Fathers Day. Mike and the boys are taking his dad out to the races on Saturday for Fathers Day as well. Next week is VBS at our church during the day and spending more time with family. We will spend time with my Dad's family next week. We will have a one week panic break(mostly for me haha) and then we will be off for a nine day vacation to the Oregon Coast. We are looking forward to that, and I am hoping to take the laptop with us so I can post while we are away. Then the rest of the summer will hopefully full of friends, family and camping trips, and camp for Emily. I'm trying to take the summer one day at a time but that is pretty hard when you have so much that pops up. Here's to the busiest part of our summer yet.

Long Time, no posts :(

2011-06-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

Yes,it's been a long time since I posted on my blog. Life has a way of swallowing me into it and things get forgotten. Things have been pretty great to start out the summer. Tucker has played baseball and the kids have been hanging out at home. The next few weeks will go by in a blur with tons of activity. Hoping to get caught up soon and start posting more regularly again.

Working Out, Tuckers class & tennis

2011-04-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day to try out the new full body workout that I was shown last week by the fitness trainer at our gym. She suggested that I do that workout two days a week and continue walking on the treadmill and doing light weights the rest of the week since I plan on being there 5 days. Our consultation was on Wednesday of last week, I was sooo sore Thursday, Friday and Saturday I could hardly move. I couldn't walk very good but especially up the stairs. So, I didn't do the work out on Friday like I should have. I decided that my full body workout will be on Tuesday's and Thursday. I worked out today, and so far I'm not terribly sore I just can tell that I worked out. Even more impressive is the fact I was able to do the sequence of exercises twice. I thought it would be a couple weeks before I would be able to do that. I'm feeling pretty confident about it and am ready to see what kind of results I will get from it.
Today was also my day to help in Tucker's class at school. It was fun ! The kids are starting to really blossom and show everything that their little brains are learning. Tuckers reading is just taking off and I'm so proud of him.
In short order I will have to leave home to get Tucker from school and run over to Jefferson to check out Emily's tennis matches. She also has an extra dance class today so we will have a busy afternoon.
This time of year always seems to be the busy time. Getting ready for the end of the school year, dance recital rehearsals doubling and tripling up. I wouldn't have it any other way. The kids enjoy their activities and I enjoy watching them participate. Off I go to conquer the afternoon ahead of me....with Joy !

Easter Weekend 2011

2011-04-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

What a fun, busy, tiring weekend we had! Friday was spent at home getting things done. Saturday we went to our churches Eggstravagnza. Susan, Mom, Henry and Payton joined us for singing, a HE is Risen balloon launch and egg hunt. Thank goodness the weather actually cooperated.It waited until today to rain ! After the church fun, we went back to Grandma Wey's for lunch and egg decorating. It was fun watching the kids paint wooden eggs and tie dye, color real eggs. We had a blast !
Sunday brought a full church service and a moving one at that.The music was wonderful and the message was fabulous. After church we all headed back to our house to get ready for dinner. The kids all set about helping peel eggs, and Mike helped to put together the potato casserole for me, while I worked on the dessert pizza's. I definitely had lots of help ! Mike's parents came and so did Brittney's mom and brother. It was nice having a full house! Dinner turned out great and we had the standard fare of ham,potatoes, peas, 3 different fufu salads (as my husband calls them) rolls, and deviled eggs. Lots of food, and lots of leftovers. I didn't get any pictures of our Easter Sunday. I was super busy making sure everything was in order.

Working Out

2011-04-20T15:49:00.001-07:00

This morning I met with the fitness trainer at our gym. Mike thought I needed a fitness assessment and maybe some advice about working out. I mostly did it to humor him and get him off my back about it. What I walked away with was some things I can add to my workout and maybe get some more results. I have been working out pretty faithfully since November by myself. I go, I do weights, I walk on the treadmill and go home. Not terribly exciting. I try to make myself fade into the background. I am certainly not the gal that is there every day in her skin tight workout pants and tank tops,I'm so much the opposite. Yoga pants and t-shirts are my uniform of choice. Haha.
I have kept it up because I feel better. I can honestly say that if I had done the workout the trainer suggested today, 7 months ago. I would have died right there on the floor of the gym. It was an awesome workout and I was able to get through it. Amazing for the non-athletic me.
I think tomorrow will be a new day, I will look at my time at the gym as a different experience instead of a have to, I will look at it as a want to, and for once in my life I'm actually excited about going. Even if there are muscles I never knew I had that are very sore today. My legs feel like jello. Maybe one day I can go into the gym with the confidence of the gal with the cute figure and cute gym clothes, but right now I will just settle for feeling good and making my goals !

Homebound

2011-04-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

Today didn't exactly turn out how I had planned it. I had my to-do list written out last night and on it, I didn't include,stay at home with my yucky feeling tman. He isn't terribly sick but he has been having some tummy troubles for the last couple of days, along with a stuffy/runny nose. No fever so I'm hoping my self diagnosis of allergies is correct. He hasn't done much but sit around watching movies and hanging with the dog. So, I changed my plan for the day and went with the flow. I worked on more organization in the bonus room and got some of my finds that I want to spray paint ready to go. Might try and get a couple spray painted before I have to start dinner.I continued the climb up the laundry mountain. Some days it feeling like a super tall mountain, other days it feels like a little hill. Today it is somewhere in between. It's been pretty nice just having the little guy at home just to myself, even though he's been sicky feeling.He's such a sweet boy and even at 7 still likes to cuddle with momma. I'm enjoying every moment he wants to cuddle because he will soon be too big & won't want to cuddle at all. So very thankful for the blessing of being a parent, even in the sick times !

No Finish It Friday

2011-03-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

As you noticed I didn't post a entry about Finish It Friday,like I have for a couple weeks now. Well I thought I would just see what the weekend brought me. I really tried hard not to have a bunch of house work to do. Mike was pretty adamant that he wanted the house to be cleaned up before the weekend...so I tried really hard to get that accomplished. Plus it is my birthday on Saturday & I just wanted to be free to do what ever came up or do nothing if that is what happens.
Have a great weekend !

Snow in March

2011-03-08T10:03:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting at my desk, cleaning out emails and daydreaming about the changes I want to make in here and watching it SNOW outside. That is two days now that it has snowed.Yesterdays was more significant but....still it is snowing in March. I'm not liking that too much. I was hoping for warmer weather so we could be outside for my birthday. I don't think that is going to happen...insert sad, pouty face here. More to come later...insert smiley face here.

Menu Monday

2011-03-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

Monday: chicken spaghetti leftovers (good night since the tman has bball)
Tuesday: tacos
Wednesday: chef salad
Thursday: "not really sure yet" (I know bad planning...but I was running out of ideas when I went to make my plan)
Friday: "boys are going to the monster truck show, Emily and I might just hang out at home and watch movies."
Saturday: "not cooking....it's my day. haha "
Sunday:

not a good week for me planning wise... but oh well there's always next week !

Monday Morning Check in

2011-03-07T10:07:00.000-08:00

Play List:
Tucker's First basketball game... WHAT A FUN GAME! TUCKER IS LEARNING A LOT AND REALLY ENJOYING IT.

spend Saturday afternoon @ my sisters (making baby shower invites & cuddling the new baby) INVITES DONE ! GETTING READY NOW FOR A FUN ST. PATRICKS DAY BABY SHOWER IN TWO WEEKS. DIDN'T GET TO CUDDLE BABY HENRY THANKS TO NOT FEELING SO HOT...NOT TO SURE IF IT WAS A COLD OR ALLERGIES. IT IS STILL HANGING ON....:(

To finish list:
Everything..... Just joking, there is a lot I could do & I couldn't decide what to pick. I guess we will see what I'm motivated to do.

WELL BESIDES WORKING ON INVITES, I HELPED TYLER WITH A SCHOOL SCRAPBOOK PROJECT AND ORGANIZED SOME OF MY SCRAPBOOK GOODIES WHILE I WAS AT IT. DID SOME CLEANING, LAUNDRY, YOU KNOW THE BASICS !

I need to get better at working on a to-do list all the time. I was able to get things done this weekend, but not terribly productive. I guess everyone has to have those kind of weekends.

Finish It Friday

2011-03-04T09:05:00.001-08:00

This weekend is a pretty mellow one, and I'm pretty excited about that.

Play List:
Tucker's First basketball game
spend Saturday afternoon @ my sisters (making baby shower invites & cuddling the new baby)

To finish list:
Everything..... Just joking, there is a lot I could do & I couldn't decide what to pick. I guess we will see what I'm motivated to do.

Monday Morning Check in & Menu Monday

2011-02-28T08:12:00.000-08:00

Play List(the fun stuff we have planned for the weekend)

1. dinner with In-laws (Friday night)
CHECK! NICE QUIET EVENING JUST TO VISIT
2. dinner for family Jan/Feb/Mar birthdays (Saturday night)
CHECK! WAS MADE EVEN MORE SPECIAL SINCE MY SISTER HAD BABY HENRY THAT DAY !
3. lunch with Grandparents ( Sunday after church)
FUN TIME VISITING WITH THE GRANDPARENTS,PLUS ALYSSIA AND NOAH. WE MISSED RYAN WHO WAS IN GA FINISHING UP AN EMT INTERNSHIP.

To Finish List:

1. plan menus/make grocery list CHECK!
2. go to grocery store CHECK! WHAT A TASK,ME AND THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS AT COSTCO AND WINCO
3. finish cleaning the house GOT A LOT DONE, JUST NOT AS MUCH AS I HAD THOUGHT. MIKE AND EMILY HELPED ME THOUGH.
4. keep laundry caught up for the weekend DECIDED THAT TODAY WILL BE LAUNDRY DAY !

MENU MONDAY:
Monday: pork chops, cornbread apple stuffing, veggie
Tuesday: Beef stroganoff
Wednesday:kids choice night
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: steak, shrimp,salad, bread
Saturday: beef stew
Sunday: chicken spagetti,salad,bread

Tucker started basketball practice last Wednesday,so this week we are starting to be gone a lot of nights during the week again. It's hard to plan meals when we are so busy, but I'm going to give it a try. Well, I guess it's off to do laundry. wish me luck !

Finish It Friday

2011-02-25T09:39:00.000-08:00

Aby Garvey @ Simplify 101 always posts a Finish it Friday list for the weekend. Sooo I thought I might try it and see if it helps me stay accountable to all the things I need to do.

Play List(the fun stuff we have planned for the weekend)

1. dinner with In-laws (Friday night)
2. dinner for family Jan/Feb/Mar birthdays (Saturday night)
3. lunch with Grandparents ( Sunday after church)

To Finish List:

1. plan menus/make grocery list
2. go to grocery store
3. finish cleaning the house
4. keep laundry caught up for the weekend
5. declutter one more shelf of pantry

Tenth Avenue North - You Are More

2011-02-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

This song has touched my heart and made me realize just how important I am to God !

What's Up for Wednesday

2011-02-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

Today is my stay at home day & I have big plans.

work out at the gym check
catch up on some blogging check
work on Valentine goodies
run a couple errands before I get the kids from school
clean bathrooms
clean off my desk in the office check (all red checks done before 11 am !)

It looks to me like I really have a lot of work cut out for me! I guess I better get started...... To be continued, haha !

The sun is shining and that is making it so much easier for me to feel energized to get some things done around here. I don't realize in the midst of it how drained I feel when we are socked in by fog and smog.

Menu Monday

2011-02-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

Monday: Marlboro Man sandwiches, steak fries, green beans (Pioneer Woman recipe from my new cookbook :)

Tuesday:Honey Teriyaki Chicken, rice and pineapple (Racheal Ray cookbook that I love)
Wednesday: Leftover Day
Thursday:Taco Salad
Friday: beef stew, biscuits
Saturday: "date night for Valentine's Day" (not sure when we really plan on going out :)
Sunday: ham, hash-brown casserole. veggie

I'm so excited to really start getting back on track with Menu Monday's......

Babysitting

2011-02-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

My Monday and Tuesday was very full. I babysat some of my favorite girls. Monday's are always what I can Payton day's but this week we added two more. My girlfriends daughters E and M. I love all three of these girls bunch's so to have them all together was a blast. They played lots of dolls!

Refreshed and Renewed

2011-02-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

Mike and I just returned from our church's annual couples retreat at Camp Cascade. This is the second year that we have attended. What a blessing to us ! In the last few years things have been a lot of work, much has gone on in our marriage and family. God is blessing us by restoring our marriage and I am so thankful. We have discovered a lot about each other......Things are so good here that I am relishing that and focusing on that. Sooo a lot of things have been put on the back burner. Lets just say that as far as I'm concerned 2011 might be a new beginning for me, my marriage and my family. I'm so excited !

Church and Jump Creek

2011-01-23T15:39:00.000-08:00

God blessed us with an absolutely wonderful Sunday !The weather might have been foggy to start out the day but it finished with beautiful sunshine. We headed out to Sunday school and worship service. Both of which were wonderful ! I love to spend time with people in the same season of life as we are. We all learned from God's word and are ready to apply it to our lives this week.
After church we had planned on going out to Jump Creek. Tyler's friend B and Tucker's friend J came along with us for the day. We went to get a Subway for lunch and then headed out to do some exploring. What a fun time! We climbed rocks, and the kids explored a couple different caves. I took a bunch of pictures ! We even brought Buck along for the fun. He loved being out doors and exploring. He would have only loved it better if we would have let him off the leash. We won't be doing that anytime soon. He is a runner and I don't think any of us could catch him. Ha ! The only minor thing that could have been better was the mud. It was pretty wet and muddy, but that didn't stop us from having a great time.
We had such a great Sunday, I hope that our week is much like the day we had today !

Tucker's Tuesday's

2011-01-18T18:19:00.001-08:00

What have I been up to today? Well, pretty much the same thing that I do most Tuesday's. I usually spend a couple hours in the morning helping out in Tucker's 1st grade class. Today I stayed for several hours and I really enjoyed it. I help with all kinds of things. Some of it is just class prep to help the teacher(make copies, fill homework folders with work for the week....) The rest of the time I spend helping the kids. The first part of the day, I help with reading. Mostly we work on sight words and their reader rabbits. It's fun to see the kids progress each week and how excited they get to advance to the next reader. Today I was able to play a game with some of the kids. This definitely fills my heart with joy ! I have always loved kids and this is a way of spending time with my "little man" while helping other kids too!

Catch Up

2011-01-18T17:01:00.001-08:00

I really need to start working on my New years goal of not procrastinating. That means that I'm going to try and either get caught up or start from scratch today and make a goal of posting 3-4 times a week.
There has been so much going on since Christmas. Believe it or not we just finished our Christmas's last Saturday !
Tyler and Emily have both had birthday's. Tucker has started basketball camp. Tyler took and passed all of his testing to get his drivers license.

So be on the look out for more posts today and through out this week !

Menu Monday

2010-12-06T09:24:00.001-08:00

This week will be a mellow one for us and that is just great with me. Maybe I can get some baking done along with my shopping. So I am trying to not have to think much about meals.

Sunday- we cleaned up leftovers
Monday-enchilada casserole
Tuesday-chicken sandwiches, noodles, veggie
Wednesday- Roast beef, potatoes, carrots
Thursday-hash from leftover roast
Friday- pork chops, potatoes, veggie

Menu Monday

2010-12-06T09:18:00.000-08:00

Menu monday kinda flew out the window. It was very hard to stay on track with it being that we were getting ready to go out of town. Back on track today though

Menu Monday Nov. 15-22

2010-11-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

The menu for this week is also going to include the first couple of days for that next week. We are heading to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving so there will be several days that I won't need to meal plan. I'm liking the idea of a little break from cooking. Since December ends up being a big month for meals.

Monday: Chicken pot pie
Tuesday: Pasta e Fagioli al Forno (new recipe, I will post if we like it)
Wednesday: Stir fry with rice
Thursday: Taco salad
Friday: Pork Roast, veggies w/Couscous(another recipe that is new)
Saturday: sausage, hashbrown, eggs. Leftovers for dinner
Monday (22nd): Cubed steak, potatoes, gravy & veggie
Tuesday: clean out the fridge night ( this will be the night we clean up what might spoil while we are gone over Thanksgiving)

Menu Monday

2010-11-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

In an effort to get better organized in the meal planning department. I thought I would start Menu Monday, where I log everything we are going to eat and maybe add the recipe if it is something new I have tried. Dinner time has always been a challenge for us. I am hoping that through doing menu Monday, I can help others with ideas, as well as get other people feedback on some meals that work for their busy lifestyles.

Monday: french dip sandwiches, veggie tray
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Tyler cooks Elk burgers, fries, salad
Thursday: crock pot taco soup, cornbread muffins
Friday: swiss steak, potatoes, veggie
Saturday: Nachos
Sunday: biscuits and gravy, leftover soup for dinner

The start of my week

2010-11-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I must say that all in all my weekend was picture perfect. The weather was rainy but it was welcomed. The kids all got a long as well as they can. I did a ton around the house a little at a time, not worrying about being in a hurry. Church Sunday, was the recharge I needed. They held Baptisms in church and talked about how our childhoods do not define us. That we are merely a rough draft that can be changed to fit God's plan for our life, if we will allow Him to do it. We even had a great discussion in our Sunday school class about the book we are studying.
I am looking forward to starting this week on an awesome note. Kids were all pretty tired, even though they all went to bed at a good time. For some reason everyone (but me and Tucker) have a hard time falling asleep.
Payton will be here in a little bit to spend the day with me. She is such a doll baby. Here's to an awesome day !

Nice Quiet November Weekend

2010-11-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend (so far) has been a nice quiet enjoyable weekend. Friday Tyler and Mike both were off from school and work, they used that time to work on the old orange truck so that Tyler will have something to drive in a couple months when he can get his license. Friday evening, we went out as a family to dinner at Famous Dave's. It seems like there are not many nights when we are home all together, with work and all the other activities the kids are involved in. Today was just as relaxing, at least for me. The boys went and worked on the truck again today. While the boys were gone, Emily and I went to do a little Christmas shopping. I am bound and determined not to procrastinate this year, unlike all the other years we have been married. This evening while Tyler was at work, Tucker and Mike are working on truck wheels and I am ironing laundry while Emily is drawing and watching tv. Pretty nice mellow weekend so far. Tomorrow the plan is church, Tyler going to work for a few hours, and Tucker going to Christmas program practice. Can't believe it is already time to think about rehearsals for the program. I am kinda looking forward to not having to worry about program planning and prep this year.

I will leave you with a random photo from all the weeks I have missed blogging. This is Cowboy Tucker and Eeyore (aka Payton) from this years Walk through the Bible. Emily wasn't dressed up this year. Instead she decided she was going to help out.

Once again it has been awhile.

2010-09-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, here we go again. Lots of time between posts. We have all had the crud around here, but I seem to have gotten it the worst. I have been "sick" for 2 weeks. I might feel better for a little while but then it gets me again. I have finally had enough so I will see the doctor on Monday. Today we went for an atv ride to Leslie Gultch. It was fun, hot and tiring. Emily rode her on atv by herself for 50 miles. She did a great job. Mike took some pics, but I didn't feel like getting the camera out. I am kinda moody like that some days :0) I am going to close for now, as I am extremely tired and worn out. Be back soon.

There's a stink in my laundry room

2010-08-27T10:03:00.001-07:00

Yes, that seems like a really wierd title but it is the truth and it is a little weird. Last night Mike found the stink, thinking it was something wet, smelling things up, I washed a load of towels. Well....... The stink didn't go away at all, even over night. Sooooo, I ran a load of bleach and whites through the washer. Pulled the washer out of his little place and wiped it all down. The floor needed wiped down, but I couldn't move the washer since it was full of water and clothes. Going to get to that after all the laundry is done washing. The stink is still there. I think it is a mouse dead in there some where. Mike however does not .Soooo, it is almost afternoon and I still haven't found the source of the stink and my laundry room is all torn up, but on the bright side I am all caught up on all the laundry that was piling up in the laundry room. Geesh, I wish I would hurry up and find that mouse so that the stink would go away. Mike is coming home early and certainly do not want to here about the " not mouse" stink in the laundry area. Maybe I will find the mouse right before Mike gets home,so he can take care of it. For those of you who don't know, mice creep me out. I hate the thought of them, let alone the sight of them. I certainly will discourage my children from ever wanting a mouse as a pet. YUCK !

Big Changes

2010-08-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

So, I have been MIA for awhile. Both on email and my blooging. All of that stems from the big changes happening at our house. On July 21, our 16 year old nephew Tyler, moved in with us. We are so glad that he is here. We all know that it will take some time to get used to the new "family". So far things have gone pretty well. We have stayed very busy during that time. We have rearranged the upstairs to give him, his own space. My scrapbook stuff is now in the bonus room. I am working hard to get all of it put away and things organized. We have gone on a camping trip for Mike's brithday, and the Canyon County fair. This weekend the "big boys" are on an atv camping trip. The kids and I have had some time here at home. Tucker had a sleepover with his buddy Jayden and tonight Emily is headed to a sleepover birthday party for a friend as well. Tman gets to go with his gpa TenHulzen to the car races tonight. Soooo, I will get some alone time to get some projects finished before the guys get home.

So much for every day !

2010-07-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can tell. I'm not blogging every day like I had hoped. Life is moving at the speed of light. I blink and a new day is here. New memories to make and hopefully record.
The last couple of weeks have been a huge whirlwind...... This week has been slow and steady. Emily is enjoying a week away from us at church camp. I know she is having a fabulous time, but we miss her a ton. While she has been away, we have kept ourselves busy. Hanging out at home, lunch date with Dad, movies with Grandma Wey, playing with neighborhood friends. I have been trying to get things done around the house but my motivation has been slim. I have such a large to-do list as well as a want to list. I guess I better get off of here and get something on that list accomplished. Hope all is well with all of you, and here's to trying to blog regular again.
I think we are going to the zoo tomorrow, hopefully we can get some great pictures to put up on the blog.

Our God - Chris Tomlin - Passion 2010

2010-07-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

PJ Pants and Playdates

2010-07-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today was sewing class day. Emily and her friend Kimberly attended a sewing class this afternoon. They were the only ones in the class. I think that was great because they were able to get a lot more help from the instructor. Emily's pant's were black with bright colored abstract circles. Kimberly's pants were pink with kittens on them. So cute ! I am waiting for my camera to come with Mike from work and then I will post a picture of Emily in them.
While Emily was at the sewing class, Tucker was able to have a last minure play date with Jayden. They played in the Mitchells pool for a little while, played on the swingset, and then proceed to go inside to play. They were very busy little boys ! What did I do while all this was going on. I ran a couple of errands, and worked on some laundry. Tonight, I finally made Tuckers dinner request. Creamed cucumbers..... He was so happy and so will my hubby when he finally is able to get home from his busy day at work. Off to spend some more time working on laundry and watching a little t.v. with the kids.
Hope your day was as fun as ours !

God and Country ......

2010-06-30T15:03:00.001-07:00

Today was a fun day. We rushed around and ran Tucker to a birthday party for one of his church buddies first thing this morning. While he was there, Emily and I were able to spend some girl time together.We went to JoAnns Fabrics to pick out fabric for her pj pant sewing class she will attend tomorrow. During which I will hopefully get Mommy/Son time(if he doesn't chose his friends over time me). We came home and worked on bedrooms. Then we headed to pick up Mike at work.
We were headed to the God and Country Family Festival. It was a night of music, fireworks, and honor our servicemen and women who have fought for our freedom. We didn't realize it until til we got there that we would be able to see my step-brother Taylor be sworn into the Marines again. I am so glad that we were there for that. Meredith Andrews and NeedtoBreathe performed right before an awesome fireworks display. I think it was the best one I have ever seen. We usually watch the Caldwell City fireworks on the 4th, but these were just awesome. They were set to music that KTSY provided. At one point the song " All because of Jesus I'm Alive" came on and everyone of the fireworks that exploded were red. I am not sure if it was planned that way, but I felt there was such symbolism in that !
I wanted to bring my camera and get some pictures but I didn't think we could take it into the stadium and plus Mike had taken it to work for something so it got left in the truck. I may have to go and get it from him tomorrow.
What a fun family night for us! We will definately have to do it again !

The Definition of your Life....

2010-06-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

When people ask what we are up to, I always say we are busy...... I don't know how else to describe it. I guess I could say we are "livin life". When you look at our calendar whether it is summer or not, we have many days where there is something planned. I used to say "things are busy" because things were busy, but it wasn't a good busy. I wasn't happy with the way my life was. I wanted "fun, lovin it busy". I didn't have that. Ever since January when I gave up my job, I am learning about a new busy. I am learning how to navigate a " Fun, Lovin it, busy ! " I have learned so much about myself these last few months. I'm learning that "busy" is not an excuse for my life, but the truth of it. We are busy making memorie that will last a lifetime. Camping trips, VBS, dance classes and recitals. Tball games and the occasional play date. It is all fun and it makes the summer fly by sooo fast. As well as the school year too!
I am really learning to love my life more then I have, in forever. The kids grow so fast and they will really be with us for a short while. That doesn't mean that I won't complain every once in awhile about them or the summer angst that happens on occasion, it just means that I won't complain so much and enjoy it so much more. How do you define your life?????? Give me suggestions on how I can tell people how things are in my life without over using the word busy!

Every intention

2010-06-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

I had every intention of posting every day and keeping my goal. As you can see, I didn't quite make it this week.

Summer Errands

2010-06-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days I dread. Running errands with the kids. I drug them a long with the promise that if they were good, we could stop at the library.
We hit the dollar store, Lemon Tree and Micheals all in the search for 4th of July decorations. The theme for VBS this year is "One Nation Under God" so we need to decorate the 5th grade girls room accordingly. Up to this point the kids were on a roll and being pretty good.
Then we did our Costco trip, ate pizza for lunch and then grabbed all the things we were going to need for our end of t-ball potluck. A.M.E is supplying all the place settings and hotdogs/buns for the meal. The kids were getting a little worse by the time we left there.
Emily insisted that she needed to go into Target to see about a swimsuite. Insert mom's cranky face here. Needless to say, the library was an absolute "no go" today. Maybe they will realize that I mean business. I am however going to work on not taking them with me at all next time. Any-hoo I guess errands aren't as fun as sitting and vegitating in front of the t.v. or playing with the neighborhood crew.

Tucker the T-Ball Man and hanging out at home.

2010-06-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

The majority of our day was spent at home. The kids did a couple chores, and then played outside with friends. I, washed sheets and cleaned bathrooms. Exciting, right ?

Tonight was Tuckers second to last t-ball game of the season. He is loving it and doing a great job at it. Every year he gets the hang of it more. He scored several runs and got 2 outs on second base. The grin on his face is priceless when he hears "his fan club" cheering for him.

Summer Anxiety

2010-06-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

Today I have had my first taste of summer anxiety. Our summer started out super busy and fun with family coming to visit. This week should be the start of a summer routine. Well, my kids really struggle with me trying to get a handle on waking up in a timely manner, chores, keeping up with reading, etc. Plus managing the time they spend with their neighborhood pals. I feel like the summer scrooge and my stomach and nerves feel it too. Trust me when I say I want my kids to have fun. I just don't know how to handle it without the anxiety. After I left my job at the church I promised myself that I would have a great summer. Full of all the things I want it to be as well as a lot of fun. So far I really haven't found it. I know we aren't that far in, but I want to get a grip on it now before the summer turns into a bust. Any suggestions?

Soooooo.......

2010-06-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

So, I bet you are wondering where I have been for so many months. Well, I guess living life is the simpliest answer I can give you.
Summer is here on the calendar, but not so much in weather department. We haven't had many NICE days, but we have had fun days. I will try my best to keep you up to date on all the things were are encountering over this summer.....
Here's hoping for a fun, warm summer !

This touched me today

2010-02-24T09:16:00.000-08:00

God has a purpose for you that is held in His heart.
God has a path for you that is paved with ...
HIS GRACE !

Tucker !

2010-02-19T09:17:00.000-08:00

Tucker has faced a couple of new milestones. He is tying his shoes on his own ! He is also wrestling for the 2nd time.

Tucker has struggled with wanting to learn to tie his shoes. He is the type, that if he can't do it right the first time,why even try. We have been working a lot with him on the state of mind,and he is working his way to conquer it and is now really tying his shoes. He is really feeling a great sense of independence from it.

Tucker started his 2nd year of wrestling. Last year at the beginning was hard for him. He cried during the first couple of practices and was really shy about getting out there with the other guys. He was getting used to it about the time the season was over. What a difference a year makes. He walked into practice,changed into his wrestling shoes and went for it. I was sooo proud of him. We haven't had one tear and he is actually learning a ton. I am soo anxious to see how he does in his tournaments. They will start the first week in March.

By the way, I can't believe that we are on the down hill slide into March. Where has the time gone.

Santa Claus is Coming !!!

2009-12-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

Emily participated in her Christmas dance "party" tonight. She was a very busy girl with costume changes and hurrying to get from one dance to another. As usual it was a very fun night watching all that the girls have learned. I will add pictures later. Much to do this weekend. Just trying to get the basics done will be a challenge.

Yipee !!!

2009-11-23T16:16:00.007-08:00

My desktop computer is fixed !! I am soo excited. I didn't realize just how much I depended on it. Now, I think I can get all caught up on the things I had to let go. Just in time for Thanksgiving.

Toasted Computer

2009-11-20T08:39:00.000-08:00

Turns out that our computer is probably toasted. Thank goodness for off site computer memory storage. I learned my lesson last time. I am hoping that we will be able to get something figured out soon. Doesn't it figure that when I need my computer the most (during Christmas program time) that it would do this to me. Like I said, at least this time I have all of my stuff saved and can retrieve it.

Much going on

2009-11-18T13:41:00.000-08:00

There is much going around our neck of the woods. The least of which is our desktop computer that has bitten the dust. It is right now with the computer guy and we are hoping to get it back in shape soon. Needless to say I am using the ancient (2003) laptop that came from Mike's office. I am not excited to download pictures on to the laptop, only to want them on my desktop when I get it back. So, I will updating things with out pictures until my computer is back in commission. Don't you love it that it happened at the busy time of the year.

Tucker lost his 1st tooth !

2009-11-11T13:45:00.000-08:00

Tucker lost his first tooth tonight. It has been wiggly since Monday and we were finally able to convince him that it needed to come out. It was hard to eat for him. If you know Tucker, then you know that he needs to eat all the food he can get. He and Daddy wiggled on it all evening until Tucker was confident enough that he helped Daddy pull it out !
Trust me, he looks really cute with a missing tooth and I will add pictures when I can.

The Best Day

2009-11-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

If you can't tell, I really like to listen to Taylor Swift. I added a new song to my playlist today. Take a listen to it and see how it touches you. I couldn't help but cry listening to it. That is my wish for my role as a parent. To be there NO matter what...

Rain and sick kiddo

2009-10-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

Today has been one of those days. It has rained off and on all afternoon. I enjoy a good rain every once an awhile. Emily is sick with the crud. Sore throat, cough and a low grade fever. Today the fever is gone. Now she just sounds like she has a frog in her throat. Hopefully she will get to go back to school tomorrow. Off to finish up my crock pot roast beef dinner. On a cold day like this, it sure sounds comforting.

Moppet Togs and Hayrides

2009-10-12T15:32:00.001-07:00

This last week/weekend has been a blur of activity. I spent several days working a booth at the Moppet togs consignment sale. It was tiring and fun. My friend Pam, her sister Katie and Briana( a friend and fellow Scentsy gal) were all there too. We spent lots of time shopping the sale and laughing, besides working. It was fun. The kids did there normal life stuff with the help of Daddy and our neighbor. Sunday we had our teacher appreciation hayride/ chili feed. It was a a lot of fun and we got some really good looking pumpkins. I am not sure if we are going to carve them, but they sure look fallish on our front porch.

Now today is catch up day. I am getting things done, even with a little girl who stayed home with a cough. Hopefully she will feel good enough to back to school tomorrow. I am really not looking forward to this winter if the sickness keeps up. I am still working on our Oregon posts. Check them out.

The trouble with Multi-tasking

2009-10-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

I always thought I was a pretty good multi-tasker. Today, I am trying to prove myself wrong. I have spent the day doing lots of different little things on my "finish it" list. I am also trying to get ready for a big vendor show that I will be doing this weekend. I was also hoping to actually "cook" a meal today. Sooooo, I am working on loading my stuff for the show, and trying to keep an eye on my homemade spagetti sauce. I went to check on the sauce and I think I saved it just in time from being a burnt mess. I salvaged it and so far it is tasting pretty good. I know a watched pot never boils, but one that isn't being tended very well can boil over :) Lets hope that tonight isn't the first time in my married life that something I make for dinner isn't edible. Stay tuned and check out my entry's below this one for pictures of our Oregon trip. I am still trying to get those posted, too !!!

We're Back !!!!!

2009-10-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

We are back from our little journey to the Oregon Coast. What fun it was!!!! We were all not ready to come home. Tucker even asked if they could skip school to stay gone longer. God provided perfect weather, after we thought it was going to be pretty stormy and ugly. Make sure to check below for a day by day catch up of our trip !!

Day 2 continued.....

2009-10-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday after OMSI we headed to McMinneville to check out the Evergreen Aviation Museum. The Spruce Goose and it's story was really cool.

We have a ton more great pictures but you can't get very many on a blog post. After the air museum we headed to Lincoln City. We arrived there in enough time to go to the beach at sunset. The kids were so excited. They loved it.

It was amazing to the kids to see God's awesome power in those waves.

Day 2

2009-10-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning, we headed to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. It was a huge hands-on place for the kids to explore.

The kids thought it was fun to be weather people.

I think we all really liked the science experiements that we were able to do. Tucker thought the firework one was the best.

Day 1

2009-09-30T15:51:00.000-07:00

On our way to the coast we made a few stops. We stopped at the Bonneville Dam. Checked out Herman the sturgeon, the trout ponds and the salmon runs. It was pretty cool to see the 10 ft, 70 year old fish they had in the tank. They aren't the prettiest things but they still are cool.

We also stopped at Multonomah Falls. Mike and I had been there 13 years ago on our honeymoon and it was fun to be able to show the kids.

This was just the first day. But it was full of adventure. We left at 7:30 am, made it to Baker City by 9:30 and had breakfast at the Sumpter Junction restaurant. After breakfast we discovered one of the trailer tires was very flat. So 4 tires and an hour later we were on our way. We made it to Portland by dinner time.

We are outta here !!!!

2009-09-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

The kids have 3 days off from school this week. So we are getting out of here. Headed to the Oregon coast. We are going to have a GREAT time. Come back next week to see what we did while we were MIA..........

Busy weekend!

2009-09-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

We had ourselves one busy weekend.

1. kept Payton all day Friday. She was lot of fun. She is really getting around now that she can crawl.

2.picked up Mikes "new to him " toy Friday night. My camera battery bit the dust, so I will add a picture tomorrow when it is charged.

3. Had pictures taken of all my neices and the kids on Saturday afternoon.

4. Emily had her BFF over for a sleepover Saturday evening.

5. Church Sunday AM, whole family work day. Worked at putting rock on the front flowerbeds.

Dinner with my Dad and Kelley in the PM.

All in all a great weekend. Lots of fun stuff and a little productive work thrown in for good measure.

Now I am looking head to a normal week for us around here. There might even be some thrown in through out the week too. Heres to hoping you have a fabulous week.

I am off to watch the ABC family extended version of Dirty Dancing. What a really good way to end my weekend with one of my favorite movies.

Contribute 2009 : Big Help for Small Business

2009-09-18T10:13:00.001-07:00

Contribute 2009 : Big Help for Small Business

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Busy

2009-09-16T21:58:00.001-07:00

Things have been busy here. Not only has my Scentsy business picked up since I went to convention a few weeks ago, we are starting back into the regular Fall routine at church. The kids will be back totally back to routine, once Awana's starts for Tucker next week. I have been wanting to get some pictures of our adventures from the summer on here. But, my camera is having issues. Mike has all of his pictures from some of the excitement on his computer at work, but he doesn't share well.

I am starting to think that blogging might not be my fortay. We shall see if I continue it.

Question of the night.

2009-09-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

Question of the night.... Why do I let other peoples' hang ups and judgements dictate how my day will go and my mood? Why do I care what others might think? I have enough to worry about.

A Quote for Today !

2009-09-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

Don't Let someone become a priority in your life when you are an option in theirs.

Fall

2009-09-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

I realize that some of you might not be ready for fall and my new blog background doesn't help that. I am trying out new backgrounds,so this might not stay around very long. I just want something new and fresh. Kind of like the school year and FALL.

Meet the Teacher

2009-08-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy day. Emily had her haircut, we did some Scentsy work. Then we did a little school shopping. We had a pretty fun day. In the evening we went to meet the kids' teachers. Tucker is going to be in afternoon kindergarten in Mrs. Losee's class. She is the same teacher that Emily had in kindergarten. He was very nervous about meeting her. He told me on the way to dinner that she was a lot different then he thought she was going to be. Not sure yet what he ment by that.
Emily already knew who she was having for a teacher since she is in the ALP program. Mrs. Rodwell seems like a very nice teacher. I always wonder every year what things will be like and this is no exception. I can't believe I have a kindergartener and a 5th grader. Time is flying too fast. One more full day of summer before the kids hit the books. We will see what fun we can come up with for tomorrow.

What can I say ?

2009-08-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

What can I say. This summer has been CRAZY with a capitol "C". I have neglected my blog to have fun with my kids during their all too short summer. If I get around to it , I will update with pictures of what we have been doing. If not, trust me it has been a summer to remember. I am all for a fresh start now that school is getting ready to start.
What's up for this week:

Monday: hang at home and clean day
Tuesday: haircut for Emily, last minute school shopping, meet the teacher
Wednesday: something fun for the kids last day of summer
Thursday: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Friday: Wedding rehearsal for my cousin Erin's wedding
Saturday: Wedding Day !!!!
Sunday: Recoup from the busyness :)

Babysitting

2009-07-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy, but fun day ! My friend Pam's little girls Emma and Macy came to spend the day with us. We played hard, and had a lot of fun. Tucker and Emma explored all the toys in Tuckers room. All three big kids played play dough while Macy had her morning nap. We were all able to get in a rest time when Macy and Emma took naps in the afternoon.
Thank goodness for big girls because Emily was the best help with Macy. She fed her breakfast, played with her, gave her bottles and played some more. I took care of the diapers though :0)
What a fun day !!!!!

It's almost done!

2009-07-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

Emily's room is ALMOST done. As of tonight, I just have a few things to hang on the wall. I am still at a loss as to what to do for a couple of the walls, but my plan is to have her room completed this next week. Mike did a great job on the furniture. The project took us a lot longer then we had planned but so far, it has turned out great.

I will put up more pictures when I have all of her wall hangings up.

Roaring Springs

2009-07-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

How would you beat the 100 degree heat? We decided the best way to do it was to go to Roaring Springs. We took Cameron and the kids and headed to the water park with everyone else in the Valley. By the time we got there it was pretty late in the afternoon, so the crowds weren't that bad, but the lines did get pretty long on some rides.

This year was a ton of fun, for all of us because Tucker and I were able to join Mike, Cameron and Emily on most of the rides ( no more kiddie pool for him). That means that I didn't take any pictures of the kids on the slides because I was able to ride and not just watch. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed spending time with Cameron. I think he had a great time too !

Where have I been ?????

2009-07-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

Where have I been? Well, where do I start. It has been a extremely crazy few weeks and I have much to catch up on. I am working on numerous posts that will back track through the last few weeks and let you know what's been going on. Right now, I am knee deep in a "tweens" redecorating project. Emily is headed to camp on Monday and I am going to paint her room and also her dresser and nightstand, while she is gone. I plan on posting pictures of the completed room. I hope she will be excited when she gets home and sees it. She knows it is happening (because she has had to help me completely empty her room. What a great opportunity to purge a lot of junk that has accumulated.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun !

2009-06-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

Update: It was a long night. The girls didn't sleep much and I kept waking up to laughing and tried to get them to go to bed. They will probably need a nap today. They are having fun though.

Tonight I am sitting here listening to two very giggly girls talk about everything under the sun. Emily is having her best buddy Kimberly over to stay the night,while Tucker is sleeping over at Jaydens house. I hope the boys are having as much fun and the girls are. They haven't even thought about getting settled in their sleeping bags to watch a movie at it is already 10:30 pm. It might be a looooong night.

What's up with us this week

2009-06-17T18:09:00.000-07:00

We are up to a bunch of things this week.

* cooking camp for Emily(Mon- Thurs)
* boy party for Tucker at a church friends house(Tues.)
*hanging with my BFF Rachel, her sister Candi, Sam and Anna(Wed.)
*running errands for VBS next week(a couple times this week)
*working on VBS craft prep(a little every day)
*T-ball games(Tues, Thurs)
* running errands to get Mike ready for another ATV adventure

We are busy, but this too shall pass and instead of hearing "can't we sleep in." I will be hearing"I'm Bored!" I don't know which one is better to hear. I will try and get caught up this weekend with posts since Mike will be gone and I won't be sleeping very well.

Cooking Camp

2009-06-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

Today Emily went to her first day of cooking camp. I think she really enjoyed herself, because she came home and cooked all of us dinner. She made from scratch chicken fingers, potatoe wedges and cooked carrots. Tomorrows menu sounds really good too. I am sure she will be cooking more as the week goes on. I wasn't able to get any pictures of her cooking, because I used the time she was cooking to get some other things done around the house. I am excited that Emily enjoys cooking and that she likes to cook for the family. It helps me out a lot !

Our Days with Payton !

2009-05-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

Payton came to our house this week a couple of days so that Mommy and Daddy could work. Tuesday, Tucker was excited to show her to all the kids in his preschool class. She enjoyed watching the kids play outside on the swings.

On the last day of school I picked Payton up from Grandma at lunch time. We had some time to Wait until Emily was out of school. So, we took Payton to the park. Tucker loves to hold her and she thinks Tuckers pretty cool too. She had a buddy in the back seat and she liked the company.

Isn't she just adorable!! I am so glad that she got to come and spend a few days at Aunt Amy's house!

Tuckers Last Day of Preschool !

2009-05-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

Today was Tuckers last day of preschool. They read stories.

They practiced for their end of the year program.

After the summer birthday party, ice cream sundaes. The kids played outside and enjoyed the last day they had together.

Mrs. Brandi and Mrs. Jenifer did a great job. Tucker loved being in their school and will definately miss them.

4th Grade Field Trip

2009-05-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

I was able to go on the 4th Grade field trip today with Emily. I almost thought I was going to miss it. Tucker woke up with red eyes and I immediately thought pink eye(because it had been going around Tuckers and Emily's schools). When I called my mother-in-law to watch him all day(since he should be going to school if he has pink eye). I found out that she was sick with the flu. By the time we needed to leave. Tuckers eyes looked better. It end up being pink eye after all. Tucker went to school and then got to spend the rest of the afternoon at Daddy's office. I hear was a good boy and the girls in the office enjoyed having him there :)

First off, we headed to the Idaho History Museum. I had not been there since I was in school on our field trip there. It really hadn't changed much, but it was fun to see. Emily enjoyed seeing all the exhibits. We had to hurry though. Our time had been cut short because of the traffic getting there.

Before lunch we were able to walk over the the Anne Frank memorial. That was very cool. I had not been there yet. It was beautifully done. Waterfalls, and large stone structures with wonderful quotes on them. Here is a picture of Emily with her friend Kimberly. After lunch we went to the zoo, it wasn't much different then the trip a few days earlier with Tucker except for the fact that the lion decided to sit right next to the window and stare us all down. It was a pretty fun day ! I can't believe Emily is almost done with the 4th grade.

What a difference a year makes

2009-05-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Tucker's first t-ball game of the season. He has improved soo much from last year. He is pretty confident that he knows what is going on now. I didn't get any pictures because my camera battery was dead from all the stuff we have had going on in the last few days. It should be up and running on Thursday when Tucker has his next game. I will post pictures of Thursday's game.

Dance Recital 2009

2009-05-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

We just attended the best dance recital I think I have ever experienced. I can't say it's the best I have ever seen, unless you count seeing little bits and pieces back stage. Emily was in 8 dances this year. She was one busy girl. So was I. I helped back stage getting girls ready during quick changes. At one point Emily only had one song to change and get back on stage.

Emily took a more technical ballet class this year and she loved it, she looked so grown up dancing on her toes so straight and tall.

This a crazy back stage photo right before the curtain went up on the recital.

I wish I had a really good picture of Emily dancing in the the recital finale. The Can Can has been a goal of Emily's for years. This year she was able to have all the elements down. She worked really hard. She looked so confident up there. She smiled and danced her little heart out. I was on the verge of tears watching my "little girl" grow up right before my eyes. Dance takes a lot of running around and time, but she loves it and does such a great job. Her dad and I are so proud of the wonderful dancer she has become.

T-ball Opening Ceremony

2009-05-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

Today is a very busy day. This morning we went to Tucker's opening ceremonies for his base ball season

Mike'e company generously agreed to sponsor Tucker's team. He is pretty proud that he is on the A.M.E Electric Diamond Backs.

After the little parade around the park and the awards they gave out, the kids had team pictures and a free hot dog lunch. Tucker is so anxious for his first game on the 19th.