livin' the dream

conflicting emotions

2012-01-17T19:14:00.001-05:00

This past Friday we had a SNOW DAY!!! No school Saturday and Sunday....followed by no school Monday because of Martin Luther King day. WHOO HOO!! For not having to set an alarm 4 days in a row.  When the kids were younger the thought of 4 days off & them all home kinda set me into a state of hives. I love them...but trying to keep them all busy when it's so cold outside is hard. Can I get an Amen?

But as they grow...I find this task easier and easier by the year. Now I welcome Christmas break, for more than just not setting an alarm. They are changing. Or am I?

So Monday morning I got ambitious.  We got the house cleaned up and I decided rather than wait until they are at school...we were going for a grocery and Target run. With all 4.  All but one of the kids were excited~I won't mention any names.

They did so well in Target.  I'm entering a new phase where if they stick together in 2's I will let them be in the store a little without me right in the same isle. The boys can go to the electronics & the girls find the book department or some other girly place to look. It actually was an enjoyable trip. Shocked and pleased.

So after that I decided we should grab some lunch before I spend another hour in a store.

So we went to Wendy's. When we pulled into the parking lot and actually parked, I got some pretty wrinkled eyebrows. WHAT??? We're eating inside the restaurant???? Suzy said, "OH THANK YOU MOM!!!" Oppsie. I guess we're characterized by drive thru's. Sad but true.

I felt like a super hero to be eating in and them excited about it. AND I let them each get their own frosty! Did I mention we splurged and shared a fry?

So we are sitting down with our food, and I notice a grandma with her granddaughter eating their lunch at a nearby table. The little girl had a happy meal and the conversation was about her pre-school and how she likes it. The grandma was really into her little granddaughter.

And then my eyes filled with water.

I think part of it came from longing & some came from just attending my uncle's funeral the day before.

Isabella was sitting across the table from me and said, "mom are your eyes really dry or are those tears?"

I told her, "It's so silly. But I miss my mom~I miss her not knowing how cool you guys are." I thought to myself silly to me~because why have tears NOW in the middle of Wendy's when my heart is so full of these kids who are so fun to be with? So blessed by a great day out on the town with them. So happy to be their mama. How can it hit me like this....when it hasn't for months?? How can you be filled with such conflicting emotions?

And then Isabella's eyes filled and she told me, "Mom! That's not silly at all!"

Oh my goodness. Complete and utter compassion & empathy for my loss. And then she did what any sweet 11 year old would do. She handed me her frosty and offered me some.

At this point all 4 kids were staring at me and I went on to explain to them how much Grandma Faye would've loved being them grandma. I imagine she would've taken them to lunch all by themselves and treated them to some one on one time.

And how much and completely she would've loved them. And I told them that one day they will get to meet her in Heaven.

And then Suzy says, "And what if you get there before I do~then I will see you too." Her and her little 5 year old logic.

Jack pipes up and says, "SUZY! That's saying that mom will die before you.~Don't make her feel worse."

At this point the tears keep rolling with laughing and I desperately just want the tears to stop but they don't. I love these kids. They make me so full. Even when my heart is a little sore.

our wedding

2012-01-03T05:39:00.000-05:00

14 years ago some friends helped us celebrate our Wedding day.

Rebecca & Samantha were are program passer outers.

Joyce & Karen were the guest book attendants.

Kirsten & Karissa were our gift carrier girlies.

My sister Michele, my niece~Sierra, and 2 little friends (Nicholette & Dannette) I used to babysit for were my little flower girls. Brooke my niece was also a little flower girl for us...but she was feeling a little camera shy at the time of the above picture.

Donovan's parents, Glen & Elsie. His brother, Jon. And his brother Wes, with his wife Joann & their daughter Brooke.

The peeps we put in charge of the reception. Uncle Dave & Aunt Gloria and Uncle Jerry & Aunt Ruby.

The friends was asked to serve at the reception~ Chad, Jon, Merle, Jeff, Jeremy, Katie, Teresa, J.B., Carla, & Andrew.

My sisters~Holly, Melissa, & Michele.

Some pretty amazing & talented friends Angie & Lori that wrote a special song for my wedding & preformed it. Along with singing & playing all other music at our candle lit wedding.

Our ushers~Steve, Aaron, Darrin, & Willie

And here we are.....We were 22 & 23 years old! We had no idea everything that marriage meant back then. It's full of ups & downs. Thankfully the ups outway the downs. :) And thankfully I have someone that is committed to God, me, and his children. SO very blessed that I met and married this man.

I was full of excitement that day of everything that was so new. WOW!! Being a wife was something I had been dreaming of since I was a little girl. And along with that day came the white dress, flowers, honeymoon, *blank and blank* (tee hee), and being adopted into his family. Donovan often accuses me of wanting to get married just to start having babies...but I WAS pretty stoked to be getting all the perks of being married to my love, my groom.

It's unblievable to imagine that Jan 3, 1998 was an unseasonably warm day for Southern Michigan~ 45 degrees!! We got married in Sturgis, Michigan (about 30 minutes from where we live now.) It was an evening wedding that started at 6 p.m. and we had made these ice lanterns to line the drive of the church...and they were melting!!! In January!! And now here we are 14 years later in the middle of a snow storm today! With temps in the 20's.

Here are our friends who stood up for us that day

Chris, Sheldon, Kevin, Wes & Jon

Tina, Bobbie, Sherri, Melissa, Michele

Nichollette, Michele, Dannette, & Sierra...Brooke (not pictured) ~who was camera shy again :(

So special to have most of these people still in our lives.

I'm livin the dream to be married to my love. I can't imagine life without him~he makes a better person just by being him. He is the very best friend I've ever had.

I love you my groom.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-02T21:02:00.000-05:00

On New Years Eve we headed over to our friends' Jason & Rose's house....How fun to look forward to a party all week!

So many lovely treats....

And a personal barista...making me a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

The house was decked out with some beautiful candles and treats.

Isabella with all the yummy food

All the cute children...can you believe we let them all stay up till 2 a.m.?

Isabella, Cassie, & Sophia

Suzy with her snacks.

We taught our friends how to play "black 7" ~

So fun to bring in 2012 with some of the people I admire, adore & love.

Hope your New Year is off to a great start....

red bows

2011-12-20T18:37:00.001-05:00

I'll start this post by saying....brand new cars DO NOT make sense to me. Because as soon as you drive off the lot....your value decreases like by 30%. Unless you can totally afford it....that is awesome. I'm happy you've got lots of cash :) :) And Donovan's company supplies him with a brand new van/car every 80,0000 miles. For free. We do not pay one cent...even though we are free to use it for personal as much as we need to. It's one of the perks of his job. + they pay for the gas + insurance + maintenance + car washes. I'll stop there...you get the point.

But the only use that I have had for a vehicle for the past 10 years is the grocery store, Dr. office, taking the kids to school once & a while, and then repeat. For 10 years. But that little van I've used has seen better days. There's many things that need to be addressed and honestly we just don't want to put anymore money into it. And because of this little 9 dot logo:

We have the option to buy the van that Donovan has been driving for the last 1.5 years. You see once his vehicle turns 80,000 we send it back to the leasing company or we have the option to buy it. For a discounted price of wholesale.

So he picked out a new van and it came in yesterday. We got to pick it up today, and then finished up some Christmas shopping, and I got to drive the new one home. Yippee!!!!! I love new car smell....and since the new one will be Donovan's to use for work....I won't get to use it that often. So when I drove into the drive this is what I saw.....

Awwwwwwww....All cleaned up and wrapped with a red bow. His "old" van that is now my new one!!!yippee~!!!!! Sliding doors that work !!! I'm doing a dance over here! Donovan bought some ribbon & uTubed "how to make a bow." SO sweet that man.

So while all along I knew that we were buying it for me to use...the clean & swept out beautiful interior, clean sparkly tires, and bow on top was a quite a treat. I think now I will go sit in it and sing Christmas carols.

Merry Christmas Friends.

Wanna buy a 2001 Town and Country?????? :)

i love snow

2011-11-30T16:50:00.000-05:00

First of all I need to start this off with a big fat

thank you

for all the response to my last post. You humble me with your kind words, thoughtful letters, text messages, fb comments, & comments on this blog. We all experience loss at some point in our lives don't we? So I think we all can relate on some level...and to have you share some of those with me~and others who just honestly haven't went through loss on that level~but still take time to let me know how they related to my story....it means a lot to me. To draw others in to a more personal to Christ, or to inspire a relationship with him & to relate to others on a deeper level is really a cool thing that a blog can do. I had no idea how healing it can be to write when I started this...but it has been. And what a bonus to make friends through this venue.

So just to let you know

YOU ROCK!!

and I appreciate you.

For those of you who do not live around here....last night it started to snow. After it had been raining. All. day. And I don't know about you....but I love me some snow. If it's gonna be cold, and it's gonna be Christmas soon....Let it SNOW. I will have a change of heart come February......but for now....

I love to see their excitement. I love to see everything that turned brown this fall covered with white.

And to top it off...there was a 2 hour DELAY! I LOVE TO SLEEP IN. Don't you? So since we had so much time before school.....we just went out and had a looksie~at all the fluff.

O.k. well there are some negative effects of the snow....there goes this young tree~not sure if it will make it. The snow was SO heavy. And the tree ~~hugger~~ lover that my husband is...was very disappointed about this.

What a view on the way to school this morning. It truly is a winter wonderland.

The only other thing I don't care for is....this long drive that needs to be shoveled. This little lady helped me and I had intentions of shoveling the entire thing...but then decided about 3 minutes into it to just shovel tire tracks. Yeah, I'm an overachiever like that. ha ha ha. (75 feet is a long way to shovel.)

And just one house cleaning thing I'd like to take care of......

To my anonymous comment leaver from the last post~Not sure why you didn't leave your name, but one little quote I'd like to give you.

"Imitation Is The Best Form Of Flattery"

Charles Caleb Colton

a 23 year old note

2011-11-28T12:08:00.000-05:00

This past April just a couple of days before Easter I was felling very lonely for my mom who died when I was 13. I'm not sure what triggered the emptiness but it was strong and I remember laying in bed talking to Donovan about who she was & what she was like. We've talked many times about her, because he never met her. They say that time heals and I think that is very true. But once in a while I ache to talk to her, to ask her why she waited 8 years between her 1st and 2nd babies. How was it to have her 2nd & 3rd thirteen months apart? What was it like to go through nursing school? How did she like being away from home for the first time while in college in Ft. Wayne? I also wondered how on earth she coped when she got the news that she had terminal cancer, and had 3 daughters who would grow up without a mom~and leaving her husband. There are times when I ache so badly to smell her and hear her voice again.

And then on Easter Sunday after we finished lunch at my Aunt Fran & Uncle Paul's (my mom's youngest brother) my aunt came over and stood right in front of me and said, "I have something for you." While holding an envelope. She hesitated and showed me the writing on the envelope. I FROZE. It was my mom's handwriting. In a sealed envelope. She told me that she had had it for a while and didn't want to mail it when she found it weeks earlier. She came across it in some piles of papers that had been stored away.

I could feel myself shake with awe & tear up with emotion to have such a gift.

At first I thought it was a note to open at a certain season of my life...some family members thought she would do that for us girls since she knew that she was going to die. But as I read the words I realized that it must have been written while she was at U of M receiving chemo or some other cancer treatment.

Her words she had written some 20 + years ago seemed so relevant to my very feelings I had been have of missing her the previous days. She wrote "I love you! I miss you. I'm glad your having a good time @ Fran's. ( I must have been spending the week/weekend at my Aunt & Uncles~which I did a lot while she was in the hospital) You are my sweetheart!! I have an IV & another black & blue spot. But they're giving me good pain medication. I slept good last night. Help Fran do some work! Aren't you glad you're not @ Jackie's! I heard about your shopping trip to get groceries!! Love you more than the whole world! Mom"

WOW~Even though it was written so long ago...I like to think that Jesus let me hear from her a little from Heaven. I'm not sure if he operates like that...but it was like salve on an open wound. I love that it said "I miss you." and "I'm glad you're having a good time at Fran's" Which I was...it is always very special to be included in a family Holiday. We often celebrate birthday's and holiday's with my Aunt Fran & Uncle Paul just as I had done grow up as a little girl. So being there on Easter is a tradition and it would be cool to think that maybe she could get a glimpse of me and my husband and children. Maybe, just maybe God let her have a looksie to see us....I like to think she would be glad to see we have a place to be on a special holiday.

I'm not sure what she was talking about when she wrote..."aren't you glad you're not @ Jackies?" :) But the part where she wrote "I love you more than the whole world" reminded me that I was dear to her...and given the chance no matter how deep & wide her love for me....I'm sure she would never

trade Heaven to be on earth.

So if she can see and or read from heaven....I have a little note for her.

Dear Mom, I love you. I miss you!! I have so many unanswered questions and things I can't wait to talk to you about one day in Heaven. I want to thank you for the memories you made for us while we were little. I have vivid remembrances of how you made birthday's and Christmas' so special. I trying to duplicate some of those things for my own children, your grandchildren. I tell them about you....I named our 2nd daughter after you, giving her your name for her middle name. I think you would be proud of her and how she is learning to write and spell "Faye" I can imagine if you were here you would gobble all 4 of your grandchildren up and kiss them as much as I like to. I know you would love Donovan and be proud of the husband he is to me. He is Godly and treats me so well.
I'm thankful that you made Jesus a part of our everyday life when we were little. That is the reason I have peace~when I miss you so badly...because I have the promise of Heaven. I love you mom. I love you more than the whole world. xoxox! Heather

winners!

2011-11-06T19:30:00.000-05:00

This morning I did a little drawing (well not really) I just picked the 2 only eligible winners. :)

I had 2 anonymous comments for the pie....sorry peeps....you gotta give me your names to win.

And 2 that lived to far away to deliver~sorry my long lost ~"you live to far away" friends.

So the 2 left win. Congrats Melissa & Janelle!

Now...there was one little commenter that came in after I did my "Drawing" that really wasn't drawn. And for that cool little blogger comment leaver...I gave a loaf of sour dough bread~as a consolation prize. Because technically I didn't have an end time for the little contest.

So now you know.

The contest is over.

But keep your little eyes open another one is coming up soon!!!

want some pumpkin pie????

2011-11-04T21:16:00.001-04:00

If you would have asked me 20 years ago my favorite way to spend a Friday night....It would not have been to stay home & make pie. Not even close. But tonight was rated as one of my favorites in my fav book thus far. I love me some family time. And I love my kids. I love esp. when I can bake and my hubby cleans up after me. And I love pumpkin pie. And while we're on the subject of love....I wanna share a couple of recipes with you that I l.o.V.e!! perfect timing if I do say myself ~for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday.

And don't get me wrong I do love a date night too on a Friday night. But...after working from 10:30 p.m. last night until 8:30 this morning ~ I needed some catch up sleep today and after I got some shut eye...I worked on some pies for a fund raiser for Isabella's school program tomorrow.

And I'm just gonna say...pies have always intimidated me. For like 15 years. I've been buying pie crusts for years now from a bakery. But some time back I tasted my sister-in-laws pie and loved the crust. It has good texture & flavor and holds together so nicely!! And VERY easy to make & it turns out great!! Thanks to Arlene for this!

Here's the recipe:
Makes 3 crusts:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
Mix together with pastry cutter

1 egg beaten
1 tsp. vinegar
1/3 cup cold water
Mix together in separate bowl and then stir into flour mixture with spoon. Just until combined.

And for me it is partly making the crust and partly knowing how to make the edges not look stupid. Well after watching other people for years ~something finally clicked and I got it. I hope I can encourage you if you don't already make your own crusts.

After rolling out~I leave 1 - 1 1/2 inches overhang of pie crust.

Then you pinch it together to make it stand up straight.

Then go back around and with one finger pinch like you're pinching someone just with the tips of your fingers....and with the other hand use just your pointer to push into the pinch. There's many ways to do the edge...but I found this to look uniform and to be the easiest for me to learn.

While I was rolling out the pie crusts....William was spelling his name with bananas. Random I know. And I love that it kept him busy for like 30 minutes. O.k. well maybe not that long...but a good 20. Which is like magic when 6 people are in the kitchen.

While I was still working on crusts~ Isabella was working on the pumpkin pie filling....loving this stage where she is such a big help in the kitchen. She doubled the recipe so we have 5. And William???? ~well he just loves to get into any possible photo op. Nice banana eating face son.

And would you like to know my Aunt's pumpkin pie filling??? Because it is delish! And simple enough...

Here it is.
Fran's Pumpkin Pie
4 eggs beaten
1- (29 oz) pumpkin
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
2 cans evaporated milk (3 cups)
Bake at 425 for 15 min. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes.
The thing I love best about this recipe is the consistency. And the spices are perfect. Not to heavy~but a great flavor with just a little hint of sweet. Yummy! Can not wait until it get's out of the oven!!!!

Suzy & Jack used the left over dough for cinnamon & sugar pie crust "cookies"~one of the things my mom used to let me do. I hardly take the time to let them create. But I love a laid back night when we can all be doing things we love to do. Livin' the dream folks.

And here is the finished product.....

Would you like to try some?? If you are local...I would like to bring you a piece. How about leaving me a comment telling me your favorite Thanksgiving food & 2 random winners will win a piece of pie. Drawing ends Sunday.

Good luck my little blogger friends.

yakking & before & after

2011-09-21T18:17:00.003-04:00

Let me introduce you to our office. This is the closet in the office. It is overstuffed, unorganized, under appreciated, & a bad use of space.

This is one view of one side of the room. I had re purposed a dresser we got at an estate sale 11 years ago. I first painted it white & put a changing pad on top and it was Isabellla & Jack's changing table before we had a changing table built. Then after it's life as a changing table we (and by "we" I mean Donovan) painted it black and it became a craft/gift wrapping area/catch all. But what I was really needing/wanting was a work space/table.

The other side of the room. Donovan's desk.

And here's the after........We (o.k actually Donovan) painted the walls. Not sure if you can tell that. The room went from a light blue to a slate grey. I love the rich tone it now has.

We sold the old dresser, & found this beauty at Ikea a few weeks ago. Donovan had drawn up plans to build a desk/storage work table....but when we found this in the scratch/dent section for less than 1/2 of what it would be to have Donovan build it.....It was sold!

Here's another view of the storage underneath the desk. Love it!

Donovan's desk got some clean up....and he built a shelf to hang above it. He also added some indirect lighting I had picked up at a garage sale. Some Ikea lights still new in box that attach to the underside of the shelf. Thanks Chelsea! :)

The closet got an overhaul as well. Cleaned up some on the shelves. Did some de-crapp-ifying. And painted the back wall. The cool design is an idea I saw from another blog, and found a simular looking stencil at Michael's. With a 50% off coupon. Boo-ya! Also had hubbers build a shelf to have as a cutting table.

Cutting as in a paper cutter. See that cool little organizer underneath the shelf? That holds 12 X 12 paper...a great find at another great garage sale. Thanks Kim! So I have a place all set up to cut....and the scraps go where you ask? In that nifty organizer sitting on the shelf. Again, thanks Kim. And yes, I keep them. If I am making a small square gift tag I hate to throw the rest of the paper away. Don't you?

So there you have it. Joy Joy Joy. I can hardly keep myself from going in there and creating something. However, it's been impossible this week. Jack woke us up with throwing up Monday night, not realizing he had thrown up in his sleep Monday night. He woke up & went to the bathroom to wipe his mouth, "because it tasted funny." We heard him up, and when Donovan went to check on him saw that his back and neck were covered in vomit. He never realized he had thrown up. Poor thing.

Donovan stripped his top bunk & went out back to the patio to hose off the throw up chunks. Me? Let's say I don't do well well with vomit. I worked on a little nest on our bedroom floor, for Jack to sleep in. We got all settled about midnight and Jack asks, "mom & dad, Can you keep talking?? I don't want to fall asleep." What???? Are you kidding??? Welp. He was worried he would throw up again in his sleep. :( About 3 a.m. he started yakking again.....thank Heavens he made IT in the bucket.

By morning he tried a little cream O' wheat....and that came up too. So Tuesday's plans were cancelled. And home we stayed. By evening he seemed to do better. But at the breakfast table this morning he neglected to bring his ice cream bucket to the table...and out came his hot tea. All. Over. The table. After it had been down in his tummy. I might add that this morning started with William coming in saying he had thrown up in the sink. Thank you dear son, for getting to the sink!

My glass 1/2 empty son said, "I bet he didn't really throw up. He's just faking it to get to stay home like me." And to be honest, I saw no evidence of yakking in the sink and had my doubts. But he looked a little green, so on the couch he went. Plans cancelled. Called my boss to say I couldn't be on call today. Which made me sad. Sad to not get to go in and take care of little babies. Sad that the boys were sick. Sad to cancel plans to go into one of my children's classroom today. Sad to be stuck at home. Sad & sorry for myself pretty much sums it up.

So about an hour after Suzy went to school, I had the boys get in the van with their buckets sitting on their laps, to take Isabella to school. And if I had doubts earlier...there was no doubt in my mind as I started to put the van in reverse. Here it came. As we were running late. I had William borrow Jack's bucket while I went to clean out the 3 separate deposits of puke William had in his bucket. While sister bear yells, "WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!!" Sorry little lady. I can NOT smell that all the way to school.

And that's been my day. I've went through 1/2 of a bottle of bleach, working hard to clean cabinets, knobs, light switches, washing sheets, sweeping & moping floors, and an occasional story on the couch......reading to 2 boys that are improving with each passing hour. We're going on 9 hours with no yakking. And for that I am thankful.

shuckers

2011-09-16T11:34:00.001-04:00

So I thought I would have more time to blog once my kids were all in school, turns out while the mice are away the cat likes to play.

And work and earn money.

So, I wanted to recap the what happened around here over the last summer. So if the "cat" does stay home long enough....I may upload my little blog & print a blog book for my coffee table. Gracious~I don't want to forget all the highlights of the summer of twenty-eleven.

So for starters....Open up and say ahhhh.

Jack had to get an expander fall of 2010, because apparently his mouth is NOT big enough. This is a hereditary thing so lucky us, two down, two to go.

It was pretty unhandy esp since the way it is attached to the back teeth, would not allow him to put his teeth together. There was a gap, as you see modeled in the above picture. :( I don't think he thought much of it at first. He was pretty excited to be starting orthodontics. But as time went on he became self conscious and looking back as last years school picture shows he was very embarrassed of his smile that didn't close. :( When I asked why he closed his lips for his school picture he explained he hates how his teeth don't go together. It was also hard for him to pronounce words correctly & harder to eat.

But in February of this last year, the expander came out. Braces went on the bottom and then later this summer braces on the top. Yeah, for expander's that did the job & come out!!!

And we also celebrated another thing with Jack....

He turned 9! on June 15th. We let him invite 2 friends over and they did this:

A 72 foot slip and slide, good ol' dad made for them. With water and baby soap to make sure it was nice and slippery. My cousin scored the construction plastic...so it was FREE to us. It offered several hours of fun for the afternoon.

What a blast (for them)

Some of us caught the view from the porch and pool. :)

After the water and fun....we had one of Jack's favorite lunches. Hot dogs & hamburgers, Doritos, chips and pop. Yep.

After lunch we Donovan made a treasure hunt for them.

The last card invited them to come in for snow cones. And a giant chocolate chip cookie "birthday cake"

I love this boy. He makes our life so much fun. He adds a lot of humor to our family. While he strong will amazes & confuses me I know just where he got it.

And then we end each birthday with a naked measurement. No, not really it was just before bed and I realized that we had not marked his height on our door growth chart....he DOES have shorts on....just not that you can see. Opps. So he's at 4' 8" already he has grown since June! He gained another 1/2 inch since then!!! He's growing so fast.

Quote of the day: Although caution it's rated PG-13 for language.

Suzy loves to say "OH SHUCKERS!" when something doesn't go right.

She adds the "er" to Shucks.

She's tricky like that.

She gets that from me.

So last night she starts starts rhyming things with "Shuckers"

Which was o.k.

Until she replaced the "sh" with an "f"

That pretty much was a show stopper at supper last night. We all stopped and stared at her. Poor thing. So innocent, so sweet.

We were all taken back and just stared at her.

Until Jack pipes up and say, "No no you don't say that...that's a bad word" In a very authoritative voice.

To which she quickly realized it must have been severe that it stopped the world around the supper table last night. She instantly got big tears in her eyes.

Talk about Awkward & Awesome. But mostly just awkward.

after going to school

2011-08-19T10:28:00.000-04:00

I'm gonna have one more current update for this week....and then I'm gonna start the flashbacks of the summer. I've missed blogging about all the things we've went through/done this summer~and I'm gonna blog about them in rewind. Well, not like backwards typing or anything. Like rewinding ~as in ~going back to June.

But today...I'm gonna talk about my lovies and their "after going to school" update. I'm sure your on the edge of your seat.

These are the little honey's that get out of school first. This is their faces as soon as I picked them up, after their first day. When I asked about their days~William said, "It was good." Suzy said', "It was awesome!!!!"

And then later William said he had a little chat in the hall with Mrs. Beachy. Hmmmm???? What for??? Well she told me her middle name is Lane. Hmmmm???? Well why were you in the hall talking to her? Well....I was a little sad, because none of my friends are in my class from last year.

Later after we got home I got a call from his teacher who said he was 45 minutes sad. Missing mom, missing friends from last years class. Maybe missing dad who was away on a business trip. She said it was just in the morning & then the afternoon was fine. Since the teacher obviously has more than just William to take care of in her class, she had other helpers ready to help out. A friend of ours also works at that school was walking through the halls looking for where she could help out on the first day. (Thank you Jesus for that perfect orchestration & timing of events) After talking to Mrs. Beachy (the friend of ours) she said he was sad -as in almost ready to dry heave sad. You know that ugly cry where you can't think of anything else except for what is crushing your heart? So she did some smooth, quick talking about middle names and working at getting his mind off of his anxiety. So amazing to see how God works when we pray. Daddy was praying, mom was praying...and here walks in Mrs. Beachy to answer our prayers for William's breaking heart that morning. She talked him off the cliff....and he did better. Better enough to get back into class, and enjoy his day.

Isn't that cool?

When we got home Daddy called to say he was on his way home. Little pink pants was giddy and so excited about her first day of Kindergarten. Telling her daddy all about it. Singing the songs she learned and making up new songs with only her teachers name as the lyrics in the tune of different miscellaneous songs. Looking forward to already the 2nd day of school.

We then walked down to the bus stop....and waited to get this one off of the bus....

Who also loved his day. Except he was hot and it's such a long day. And the bus seats were hard, it was a long time on the bus etc. My typical "half glass full" kinda response kinda guy. {note the heavy sarcasm}

So I talked to him about the "1/2 full" kind of stuff ...didn't you get to sit with your friend Jonathan (who lives in our neighborhood) on the bus? Well yes, but the bus ride wasn't long enough to get to talk to him. Weren't you in class with your other good friend, Andrew? Well...yes, but we had to listen to the teacher.

I sense an oxymoron here folks with the whole bus ride thing. Which makes me crazy and laugh all at the same time. I'm having the oldest 2 ride the bus, because both of them have like a 20 minute or less ride. The younger 2 have a 50 minute + ride. So they will get picked up. BUT....Jack will be Jack and we'll just pray that we can teach him to use his strong will and bull headed-ness for something really awesome in the future. But for right he make me re-evaluate every attitude I have. He makes me so aware of what I say out loud and my attitude in everything. It's one thing to tell a child what to do and say....it's a completely different thing when you try to model it for them. Can I get an Amen? Or a "what what"? Maybe a high five? Maybe just a comment....to let me know I'm not the only one.?? :) Maybe advise on how you deal with it?

This is 2nd day of school pictures. What???? You don't take 2nd day pictures??? Crazy moms!!!

{O.k. humor me....I'm empty nest during the day here folks.}

2nd day picture for Isabella. WHO starts school 1 hour after her siblings. Which seems crazy to have my oldest home for a full hour after her sister and brothers leave. Which I love.

And call me insane, but I snapped 2 pictures quick of 3rd day this morning. I know...I know....I've got issues. I'm sure NO ONE takes "3rd day of school pictures" And now I feel even more guilty because I didn't get the boys pictures. But before you think I'm partial to my girls and you may be thinking I don't even love my boys....Please let me explain. Girls you primp. I spent extra time on both of their hair at their request this morning. And boys throw on a t-shirt & shorts and they go....if the shirt is a button down-they think it is a "church shirt" But my girls...It does something to their self esteem when you comb them....spend time picking out their outfits, earrings, and matching shoes. And boys like a little of this....but not at the same level the ladies do in this family.

This girl...I told this morning...."how is it to have your own personal chef, hair stylist, barista, and nurse as a mom?" She responded, "pretty awesome!!! With a smile on her pretty freckled face, while I was paining her toe nails and as she was sipping some coffee with Caramel Macchiato delicious creamer in it. {please don't judge me for giving my 11 year old coffee....please. I always said I wouldn't NEVER let my kids drink coffee when I saw my niece drinking joe at a young age....and now I find myself eating my words.}

And really when she asked me to do a little braid in her hair this morning...I was thrilled. I had an hour. To spend with her. Just her. Doing things I usually don't take the time to do. I did a style I saw yesterday on a high- school -looking student at a store ...which I might of banged my cart into the banana display trying to figure out how she did her hair. And this would technically be under the "awkward & awesome" section that I don't do anymore. Thankfully I recovered awkwardly~~but awesomly figured out how she did it.

It was just two little braids from different spots in the front of the hair line, hair pinned back, and then a pony tail. I realize this is not rocket science, & I'm probably behind the times on cool hair do's for the tween stage. But here I am. Better late then never. And she loved it. Sometimes little 11 year old can try not to hurt my feelings and wrinkle her little nose...when I do something new to her hair.....but this morning brought a big smile. :) Which makes me smile.

And did I mention I was personal chef this morning?? Making her favorite egg, ham, & cheese english muffin sandwiches. I had to start a little early on breakfast...but I figure I got 6 hours to catch up on sleep today. The rest of the kids turned their little noses up a little on the egg sandwich thing....but unless it's baked oatmeal or Lucky Charms I never get a good & excited response for breakfast. It's called broadening your horizons folks. I am mom, hear me roar. It might of helped them to finish their sandwiches [that were sitting on their plates for 15 minutes] which on a school day is like a time bomb ticking, that I announced ~~"anyone who doesn't finish their breakfast will not be getting the 2 Oreo portion of their lunch today. Did I mention they were double stuff's??? Might have been a bribe~I'm not sure.

And the personal nurse thing...that I threw into the mix of my everyday duties. Yeah. Call me nurse. I've got my first aide card to prove it.

Whopps. Did I leave off the AIDE part after my title of "nurse"? My bad.

So that brings you up to speed on our week. Are you still awake?

And if your concerned at all...I'm adjusting very well and fine to having the whole day to myself. Thought I would have a little bit of a hard time coming home to a quiet house....but now I have time to blog, have coffee with a friend, to have lunch with another friend, organize things at home that needed to be. Devotions, de-cluttering my desk, throwing away nick-nack-patty-wack crap that accumulates on my sons desk...etc. But more on that another day.

Shocking how fast these days fill up.

school bell

2011-08-17T13:51:00.000-04:00

Well it's back to school time for us.....this morning this was the view of the early morning start. Dad had to be away on a one night business trip :( But it was all bright eyes and happiness around the table. There was some nervousness~but also some very excited people. Even if the older 2 know it's so uncool to like school~I could sense they were very excited about going back to their friends & getting back into the swing of a routine again.

Got 4 lunches made....with help from all 4 of them.

And on the porch within the hour, dressed, combed, and ready to go. I felt like superwoman really....I'm not gonna lie.

But as soon as I walked into the William & Suzy's school....here came the tears. I know everything in my head {they will be fine, I will be fine, I will have all kinds of time for this & that, etc.} But my heart was breaking. TO. PIECES.

[William starting 2nd grade]

You see the littlest of our family started Kindergarten today. My baby. My little sidekick for the last 2 years. The last one to start school. Leaving an empty nest to me. I have had days I couldn't wait for them to be all in school. I have had days I wondered what it would be like....to finish a task with no interruptions, or to have the day to be creative, to finish thoughts, to blog again. But many of the last 11 years has been livin' my dream....of being a mama. Not that every day didn't present challenges, or frustration....at some point in the day~but this was my dream to be home with them. I have loved being their mom. AND I KNOW (for crying out loud) that I still am. It's just different. I am in a new season....to have them all gone. Insert tears here~for pity sake I am.

But OH the joy on her face...does make it easier. Can you tell Suzy has been waiting for this day for a long time??? Even though she had a little hesitation~she was so very happy to be doing what everyone else around this family has been doing for years.

Every night....she would ask~"How many more days until I start school?" So finally about 2 weeks before school started, I made a paper chain showing how many more sleeps it would be until her big day. Which helped a lot....until she started forgetting if she took a chain off or not....causing some days to get 2 chains off in the same day. So we numbered them according to the day of the month.

At one point last week I asked Donovan if he noticed how short that paper chain is getting and he responded, "YES!! I try to ignore that thing every time I walk in the door."

This one. This guy warmed my heart. Jack is going into 4th grade this year. At a new school that houses 4th & 5th grade. First of all....he appears to be posing in the above picture~which cracks me up. And 2nd of all....On the way to school~just me and him in the van he asks, "Mom what are ya gonna do with all of us gone today?"

Me: "well probably go home and cry.

Jack: "Well I think you should have a girls day out. Maybe go to Target or something."

Awwww...Now I know I must have done something right....He is concerned for my well being. The one I thought the hardest to reach/teach. The one that is the most stubborn~shows me his heart.

Here is my brand new Middle schooler. Isabella is 11~and started 6th grade today. <3 She was so excited. So happy to be starting a new school. So happy about her teachers and her new "pod" group. So anxious to hear about their days....which reminds me to look at the clock!!! WOW~how time flies...It's time to pick up the kindergartener and 2nd grader. WHOO HOO!!!!

Love these people~They are my joy!

Later taters! I'm back on the mom clock!

Raise your hand if you like Target

2011-08-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

Wanna win a $25 gift card to.....

Then go here and this just may be your lucky week!!! BUT...If you win~you must buy me a treat, o.k?

south haven beach...silver beach...i love them all

2011-07-31T22:06:00.001-04:00

For years & years we have been going to the dunes when we wanted to be at lake.....but snap! We have so many more options folks. Let me introduce you to a few more options that are just as close & way more more scenic views!!!

Say Hello to South Haven. We hadn't been there in 10 years. And when we were there we hadn't been to this sweet little beach, with a playground. Also a neat pier that we walked along with a lighthouse. Do you see that in the background?

Our friends Jason & Rose invited us for the 4th of July...It was a little embarrassing that Jason kept flexing and drawing crowds...but still we had lots of fun!

I love the carefree days of the summer.

Do you see the happiness bursting from Jack's face? He's got a pretty cool pal~Micah.

Suzy had Sophia

And we had tons of fun views along the boardwalk to town....boats coming and going...it was amazing!! Are we really in Michigan?? We walked to town for a little taste of the town & ice cream...TOO BAD my camera gave out and I couldn't capture the nostalgia of the little beach town. Well at least I didn't on that 4th of July day....but we went again this past weekend~So I'll put those pictures on another post. L.O.V.E.

The very next weekend....we beached it up @ Silver Beach.......

There is also a very nice play set if your traveling with small ones.

Random little girl with my Suzy and her little friend Ava.

They also have a nice picnic area for lunch. We went with some friends Rob & Marlys, their 3 children, and brought along a friend for Isabella.

Isabella & Ayla were besties the past 2 years in school, and it was fun to see the little t'weens enjoy the day.

There are some fun mini dunes at Silver Beach and we had a fun climb and loved the views from the top.

Lots of walking and exploring around there.....L.O.V.E. Again...hard to believe we were walking in MICHIGAN!

We made a walk towards the pier and then let the kids jump. Yep! It was cold. Yep! It was scary.

Then this little one wanted to try it!!! Amazing! They all jumped!!

After pier jumping we walked down the sidewalk a ways to find this....a really fun and huge splash pad. For fReE! My favorite....this whole day was free! Well except for the food we took~what a awesome day. You gotta check it out!

I will add that there is a $5 parking fee if you park near the beach. But that day we didn't have the cash with us. We were going to stop at an ATM...but our friend Rob loaned us a $20, but when we got up to the booth for them to take the parking fee~she didn't have change for a $20 bill so~she let us in for FrEe! And we returned the unused $20 bill to Rob after we parked. Sorry Rob you were in the van behind us & had the correct change and had to pay :(

Quote of the day:

Suzy: "Oh no mom!!~you got your hair wet, are you just going to re-do it when we get home?"

{Is this bad that this is the norm that mama doesn't get her hair wet?}

Just so you know...some days I do make an exception and brake my rule of washing my hair more than every 2-3 days. Living on the edge. I know.

Honey pie turns 5

2011-07-06T17:39:00.002-04:00

Suzanna Faye turned 5 yesterday...here's a little memory video of her first 5 years.
(feel free to X off the advertisement if there is one...and may want to turn off the music on the sidebar....of my blog so you don't have 2 songs playing at the same time :) )

I have a job folks.

2011-06-22T22:44:00.002-04:00

William's 1st bath

If you know me at all~you know my love of the newborn stage. And babies in general. LOVE LOVE them. Which may explain why I kept having babies.

Suzy's first bath~Don't judge the hair...I was just trying to see my natural color. :)

Ava Noel-just a couple of weeks old

When my friend Marlys had her baby at New Eden 1.5 years ago~I went to the Birthing Center after Ava was born & spent the night to take care of little honey pie while mama slept. I LOVED it. At one point little honey pie wanted some bonding time and I walked the halls with her. While walking I talked to the nurse on duty (Kelly) and she talked about her job at the birthing center telling me how much she loved it, the people she worked with, the flexible hours, and her overall love of the job. Telling me how after her kids all got in school she went back to school to get her nursing degree. I got very inspired that night ~that maybe I should look into school ~ that maybe I could do the same and work somewhere like that. So that when my youngest was in school that I could have a job that I loved during the day.

While Donovan was very excited when I talked to him about the possibility of me going back to school~I quickly lost motivation & determination. The thought overwhelmed me and I put the idea away. Little did I know that night back in December 2009 was just a little seed God had planted.

My new little nephew at baby dedication~November 2010

So, fast forward to 2 weeks ago when I was talking with a friend that I had just met (our son's were in the same class together at school this past year) & Jamie was telling me about her job. At New Eden. Taking care of newborns. She had my full attention and captivated me. She explained that she is a Nurses Aide and they train you on the job at the Birthing Center! Her duties included assisting with the birth if needed, and then taking care of the newborn after the birth. Checking the vitals of the baby, charting the vitals, doing the footprints, making the baby name bands, and giving the first bath. Also cleaning up after the birth, sterilizing instruments after the birth, and doing the laundry.

So....after talking to hubby~I applied on Saturday, June 11th. Waited and prayed. I was so anxious!!! Desperately wanting to have something in place when Suzy starts school in August. Knowing how much of a empty place I will have not having my little pumpkin here with me (after growing used to having just Suzy at home for the last 2 years) In the fall having NO little ones here to take care of for the first time in 11 years. Knowing that this will be a new season of having all 4 kids in school. Wanting a plan~wanting to embrace this new season of my life...but to do so with something to keep me busy. Thus keeping me from crying the entire day until they get home from school. And bonus...maybe earn a little cash.

Kelby or Kegan??? Not sure which nephew twin was getting a bath

It seems unreal and impossible...and actually I was blown out of the water when 5 days later I got a call from the Nursing Manager and she offered me the job. Over the phone. Such a God orchestrated thing! Did I mention I hadn't had any background in nursing? And the fact that I hadn't had a job outside of the home in about 10 years??? Thank you Jesus. So I went in and got all my paperwork done, W4's, and got a TB shot. Found out I will need to take a CPR class at the hospital, which they will pay for. I put some dates down for the following week that I could be available to be "on call" and during those times I need to be ready to go into work for training. If a baby is born, I go in. I could put any hours down, and I chose to pick hours that Donovan was home in the evenings so that I wouldn't need to get childcare, and could spend this summer with the 4 little ones I love, doing all the fun things that go with summer. So 2 nights ago, Monday was my first night on call. And guess what?? I got called! I went in and trained with an amazing CNA that has done this job for over a year. She was so patient and sweet. I loved it. The nurse on duty that night??? The same nurse I had met 1.5 years before, Kelly! Overwhelmed just a tad, by all the duty's and charting~but excited for the opportunity to be doing something that I had a passion for. So this is me....right before I left.....

My kids were praying with me that week before I knew I got the job, and it was so rewarding to see their child-like faith. William said, "I just know you'll win the job mom!" And to see them all whoop and holler when I did get the call giving me a job. I am amazed at this....so thankful for this opportunity.

My first night had a little more than the normal one birth~So I was there a little longer than the "standard 2-3 hours" but I loved it. The time went so fast. I loved doing the first bath. I loved holding the babies. It was interesting to stretch my old brain so much. I learned the procedures, cleaning, and sterilizing instruments, and many many more things. And then when I got home at 3 a.m. this is what was hanging in the garage....

Awww...what a welcome home. So thankful for a supporting husband & family. And to God for giving me all of this.

So this fall, I hope to switch to days and be gone while my little lovies are gone at school. Hopefully this is how it will unfold. For now~I'm enjoying being on call for a couple of days a week doing training until I feel comfortable to be on my own. Then maybe 1-2 days on call until school starts. It's a new season for me folks.

sUmMeR

2011-06-09T17:17:00.000-04:00

Ahhhh...the joy of summer! We've hit some mile-stones this week.....

Suzy learned to ride without training wheels!

I love the contrast in Donovan and Suzy's face. Dad is very worried about little girlie falling, and honey pie is very proud and beaming with excitement!

I had to reflect back over the years...and realizing we just taught the last one how to ride bike. I keep telling myself not to think of "lasts" but with the baby of the family starting school this fall...It's feeling like our life is on fast forward! How did we get here so fast???

Speaking of school.....

It's out! For the summer. William finished up 1st grade. He loved school and loves to please. His teacher was such a good match for him. This past month he received a student of the month award, and it was a big deal for him. I'm excited for William that he has such enthusiasm for learning and to excel.

Jack finished up 3rd grade....(why does it look like he is pulling away here?) I'm guessing he is approaching the stage of not liking his picture with his teacher anymore. Boo! Too bad. I got bloggin' to do boy! Jack also had a teacher that we really appreciated. She had a great sense of humor and kept Jack interested in learning. A challenge, since he usually has other things that seem more important.

Here is a shot that cracks me up!!! As we left the room....Jack got mobbed by his friends that were pretend crying about being separated from each other for the summer. Ha ha ha. I don't think Jack quite knew what to do with the all the attention. But trust me he LOVED it!

And then the lady came. Demanding a hug. And I'll add here....Not one...but 2 little ladies wanted good bye hugs. I think he is turning into a "LADIES" man. Reminds me of his daddy all the way. He knows how to charm. Which is why he loved riding the bus all school year....he had "friends" he liked to catch up with and visit with, and receive little gifts from. He won't admit it...but he does like girls.

And then Isabella. My honey. Mrs. Hawn was such a good match for her too. We were so blessed in this department of teachers this year. So thankful!!! Isabella finished up 5th grade and now moves this fall to Middle School. I yi yi yi!! This little lady received the Presidents Award this year. With a gold pin, certificate signed by her principle and Mr. Obama, and a letter from the White House. All I know is she get's her smarts from her daddy. I had nothing to do with that award.

So now we are in full blown summer mode. For the past few years on the last day of school we make a list of goals for the summer. Isabella penned this years and this is what's on it.....

1. Pick strawberries. {If you've ever tried to take toddlers or young children to the strawberry patch...you know why I stopped picking several years ago, and ordered them already picked. So this year...I will attempt to take them out & make them earn their jelly:) }
2. Freeze sheepnose applesauce. {There may have been some dispute [between Isabella, me and Donovan] about which apples to buy this year....Apparently she sides with me on this variety since she specified the type to will use and underlined it}
3. Go to the dunes.
4. Camp in the backyard.
5. Go the Beach water park.
6. Bike the Pumpkinvine trail.
7. Host an outdoor movie.
8. Go to the 4 H fair.
9. Go to Indy overnight. {Jack's neurologist appointment. They are hoping for overnight vs. a one day trip}
10. Go to the $ theater.

Ahhh....we've just got about 10 weeks to do all of this....so we better get busy. :) Hope your summer is off to a fun start. What will you do with all your time?

shadows of the girl she used to be

2011-05-26T15:09:00.001-04:00

I don't know where the last month has gone, but it's went fast! We are nearing the end of school and with that comes school programs. The 5th graders had their Spring program Tuesday night and it was so awesome. Their songs and choreography was outstanding! I loved the variety and I loved the songs. :) So fun! Most of all I was bursting with pride for the obstacles my oldest daughter has overcome.

Picture quality is bad...I know BUT if you look really close in the above picture you can see my little 5th grader in the middle in a green shirt. Isabella had been so excited leading up to this night. She wanted to practice how she would do her hair (curly) {uncharacteristic for her} and trying on the outfit she was going to wear, etc. I could tell this was a big deal to this little honey. She also kept saying "you're gonna love it! I can't wait for you to see it!! and...You are going to be so surprised!" I wondered what all the hype was about..but when I got there that night I understood...I saw how much work these students had put into the night. Isabella had so much fun and really enjoyed performing. I was so surprised. Most of all I was surprised by her speaking part that was after their first song, which was preformed as a "flash mob" What? You don't know what that is??? Well pause the sidebar music...and take a little looksie of the video of sweetie pie explaining it.....

Ever since beginning school Isabella has been slowly overcoming her fear of public speaking (even if that speaking is one on one~), fear of being in front of people and overall general breaking out of her shell. Each year she matures into this lady that is just a shadow of the little girl she once was. That night we had no idea she had this speaking part. There were 100's of people in that auditorium that night. And she did it! She spoke clearly, and remembered her lines. All on her own. In retrospect kinda glad I didn't know she was memorizing a speaking part~I might have hovered/reminded her to slow down be calm, yadda yadda yadda... a tad bit. Not that I ever do that....Just hypothetically speaking. I had tears of complete pride for her....so very happy for her to overcome this in her life.

Can you see her proud little mystery grin here? Just before she spoke? :) Love it! The program also included fun songs by Black Eyed Peas, Bruno Mars, and O-zone. The O-zone song was choreographed by their music teacher with some 150 students wearing all black clothes with white gloves, and black lighting. Their hand motions glowed!! It was so tricky & fun!!

So amazing to watch these people grow. I love this stage of them, I'm pleasantly surprised how much I love this stage...since I kept having babies because I LOVED the newborn stage SO MUCH. This new season is just as cool.

Celebrating her job well done...with s'mores on the patio.

Quote of the day:

Listening to the radio in the van today.....

Suzy's question from the backseat was: "What does it mean His love is free?" ♥

positive

2011-04-25T14:22:00.000-04:00

The week that we were gone on vacation....Isabella only went to school one day that week. She had chills, headache, stomach ache, and fever. So Grandma kept her home from school. So when we got home, the next day I took her in to the Dr. The Dr. suspected with the way her lymph nodes were swollen, combined with her other symptoms she may have mono, but possible strep. The Dr. started with the strep test and since that was +~treated her with antibiotic, with instructions to come back if she was not better in 2 days. The next couple days she ran a fever off an on & still had no energy, sore throat, etc. She also missed more school. So on the 3rd day I took her back in, asking if possible it could be mono?? Well the PA (a different one this time) said, "No, it doesn't look like mono" I think we should switch antibiotics to a stronger one. This mama had some intuition that after doing some reading up on Web md that it could possibly be strep and mono. The chances of having both are slim, but possible. And although I do not have any medical training WHAT SO EVER....my gut was telling me to have her checked. Or God. Or both. I ignored the "feeling" thinking that I don't want to come across as pushy, or telling her how to do her job. After all she probably went to school for hmmmm....about 6-8 years, me I had done some internet self training for about 30 minutes??? So all weekend my little 10 year old sat on the couch, not having much energy, not eating much. Not herself. We attended Easter services at church and she wasn't "up" to doing much but sit by my side. Still that afternoon she tried to jump on the trampoline and came in~because she was just so tired. Hmmm????? Last night she started with a temp~only 100.7 but too high to go to school today. So this morning she was up and around and seemed better....but I was tired of her missing so much school with no idea why these antibiotics weren't doing their magic...and why she kept having sore throat, headaches, sore tummy, and off and on fever. I decided to follow my gut on this one, and made a Dr. appointment. So count it people 3rd time to the Dr. IN ONE WEEK. I asked if she could be tested for mono, and just take a lucky guess what the result of the test was??? Yeppers. I hold no animosity. I love my Dr. office and classic symptoms of mono were not there for Isabella. Just some of them and not at all the same times. I just wanted to write to let you mama's & ladies, maybe some men?? To go with your instincts. I think we know our children/family members better than anyone. When we see things that are not the "norm" for them...we should be proactive and getting good answers. To not feel "dumb" for asking them. I'm just sayin' :) So here we'll sit. No school until the fever is gone for 24 hours. Only 1/2 days of school (if fever free) until the Dr. releases her after he sees her in a week, to make sure her white blood count goes down. No trampoline, no gym class, recess, or other sports for about 6 weeks. :( My week just changed (again) dramatically from what I was planning this week. Such is life....right??

free week

2011-04-23T14:56:00.001-04:00

We found out last month that Donovan won a trip through the company he works for Sealed Air. This was a performance based trip on his work from last year! 8 Account Representives (his title) won this in trip in the country. He was one of 8! Overall there were about 75 couples from around the world including Europe, North & South America, & Africa....with various titles in the company. It was an all expense paid trip to West Palm Beach.

The timing was a little off since we had already booked and put a deposit on a condo for a family vacation the first of April....but being the sacrificial little lamb that I am, I put aside the timing issue and decided to enjoy it to the max!!! :) We had been home 3 nights from our Siesta Key vacation, unpacked, re-packed and headed out again. This time without the kids.

When we arrived at the Breakers we were offered an upgraded room as a complimentary courtesy. Which translates to me as "FREE!" bigger room. Why sure. Don't mind if we do.

This sweet suite had a TV in the mirror. Cool! I likey! It also had several "radio" channels with speakers in the ceiling. Shut the door!

As soon as we arrived, checked out our room, we immediately put on our suits and headed down to pool side for some lunch. We had 9 restaurants to choose from...so as you can imagine we had lots of tough decisions everyday. :) Our friends Travis & Kristin also won this trip and we spent lots of fun time with them. Lovely! All lunches, drinks, and ice cream treats could be charged to our room, and Sealed Air picked up the tab. I love FREE so much.

My favorite part of this resort was the grounds....140 acres of absolutely amazing. Lush and beautifully kept. We were right by the sea, and had 5 pools to choose from...or the beach to lay out on.

Also included in our stay (compliments of Sealed Air) was 2 spa treatments per person. So, after some soaking in the sun...I had a kiwi & coconut scrub scheduled for 4:00. For free. For 50 minutes. Delish. While I did no eating during my spa treatment...let me tell you all other senses were havin' a partay! I laid on the table in the above pic and while showers sprayed the lower part of my body, my masseuse rubbed kiwi and coconut scrubs and oils into my uppers, including my under pits. Geesh! I hadn't had that done since I was say....3???? Then switching and rubbing my legs, feet, etc. All the while candles burning, relaxing music playing, and sounds of showers hitting my relaxed body. Dude! I've never been pampered in this way.

After my scrub that left my newly, first ever exfoliated skin feeling soft and relaxed I headed out to the private courtyard to wait for my honey who was getting a Swedish massage.

Views from "The tower"~up 2 flights of stairs looking at of one of the pools.

Views from our walk from the pool to our room

View from our room...the lobster bake they were preparing for us.

Just before our Welcome Reception put on by Sealed Air.

Amazing choices and delicious foods. Lobster, a side of beef that was freshly carved for you, clam chowder, chicken pot pie, and the choices went on & on.....

Some of the wives I got to know....their husbands work with Donovan, so it was pretty cool that I got to put some faces with the people he loves to work with.

Coming back from dinner to our room with a freshly made bed (messed up earlier from our afternoon nap) chocolate treats on the pillow with a menu with our choices for our in-room breakfast dining, curtains pulled, lamps turned on, and freshly cleaned bathroom with clean towels. Ahhhh....Livin' the dream.

The next morning neither one of us could sleep in....6 bells and we were wide eyed. EMBARRASSING!!! The perfect time that we could be lazy in bed and enjoy a lazy morning. I think we must be getting old that we could not sleep in on vacation....but I just kept thinking of all the amazing things I could be doing, or seeing.

On a side note...don't worry folks, I got home and had no problemo sleeping in until 9:30 this morning. All is well again.

Early that morning....taking paths through the pools to get to the beach....

Breakfast in the Circle Dining room.

Views inside the Breakers.

After breakfast we headed up 2 flights of stairs to the private Oceanfront Sanctuary ~for an Alfresco Couples Massage. Listening to the ocean, while being massaged for 110 minutes. For free.

Inside the spa~the ladies private lounge. Fresh fruit, hot tea, lemon or lime flavored water...soft music playing and couches for relaxing until you were called for your massage.

Waiting for Donovan in the spa courtyard....while livin' the dream.

After the massage, more sun, some swimming, picking lunch at one of the 9 restaurants, an afternoon nap, we were cleaned up and ready for the Sealed Air Winning Performers' Awards Banquet.

6:00 Cocktail Reception in the Circle Ballroom

With Dinner served at 7:00 in the Venetian Ballroom.

Our table had flavors from all over the world. Some were from Mexico, another couple from Chile, and another couple from New Jersey. All very sweet, down to earth people.

Fanciness. And delish. One of the four courses served. I savored every single bite.

Walking down the white carpet....kind of prom/graduation style to accept Donovan's award.

Accepting the award from the President/CEO of the Company and the VP of sales. And let me just give you a hug for this trip. Really it's the least I can do.

After the awards were handed out there was a band playing live music~who were taking requests. The dance floor was full...I was enjoying taking in the sites and sounds of such a awesome evening. Then I thought it would be pretty fun if they could sing one of my faves right now by Colbie Caillat. As the song started the dance floor cleared off, we headed out and realized we were the only ones dancing. Geesh! It was like the wedding dance we never had. So Romantic. A tad on the embarrassing side...since we were the only ones dancing. Oh well. Here are the lyrics....

Do you hear me,
I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying
Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Ooohh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Lucky we're in love every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I'm sailing through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music fill the air
I'll put a flower in your hair
Though the breezes through trees
Move so pretty you're all I see
As the world keeps spinning round
You hold me right here right now

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed

Lucky to be coming home someday

Which pretty much sums it for me. Lucky. Blessed. Whichever you prefer. I feel them both.

Breakfast the next morning in our room. Again for free.

The infinity pool

Yummy-ness at lunch.

Donovan did the guided snorkel reef tour. Me? Well...lets just say I was on the fence the whole time whether to go or not....and then when the flag was put out that the "man-of-war" were spawning and if you got stung, "Don't worry we have spray to help with the bites" that pretty much sealed the deal for me NOT to go. Thanks anyways.

After more of the sun and a little napping we headed out that evening at 6:45 and transferred by trolleys to downtown West Palm. We had cocktails, Hors d'oeuvres, dinner, dancing, & live music at the Ragtops Motorcar Museum.

Our next morning we rented bikes and took our tour of the city.

The front view of The Breakers.

The brick drive into the Breakers.

some views from our ride

breakfast later that morning...a custom made omelet

After the day poolside, a french manicure & pedicure, a little napping, and a hair wash and style we went via shuttle to "the City Place" downtown with cash in hand given to us by the company and picked our own restaurant and a little shopping. All for free, free, & free.

Enjoying a little fresh key lime pie delivered room service when we got home that night. for free. (are you getting tired of free yet?) Me either.

Amazing in every little way. The service was out of this world. The staff were professional, courteous, and went over and beyond any expectations we had for the week. So pampered. So refreshed. So in love ~even more than when we left.

So after being home for a week, the french mani has worn off from doing the dishes, laundry, and bathroom cleaning. And you know what??? It's still livin' the dream to me~because my little chillins are here, spring has come~and this all keeps it in perspective for me.

A big thank you to Donovan's parents who moved into our house while we were gone and took over. Despite fevers & funerals. Thank you to the O's and the P's, and Auntie Arlene for babysitting for the babysitters so Gramps and Grams could attend funerals & viewings.

William Lewis

2011-04-22T13:02:00.000-04:00

Seven years ago....I was under the knife.

Having my 3rd c-section.

Awww....I remember when I found out (with ultrasound) I was having a 2nd son...I cried. I wanted a sister for Isabella worse than a brother for Jack. And now...I see ONCE AGAIN how much better God knew what I needed then I knew myself. As soon as William was born I was in LOVE. He was such a content little baby. I remember putting him down for a nap when we got home our first week together and he would fuss just a little bit until I got to the door, and quietly put himself to sleep. WHAT??? Amazing.

Isabella was 3, almost 4....and she sure did love being a mama. It was like a live baby doll for her. Isabella was eager to please, happy to help. My transition to 3 was smooth sailing compared to when we brought #2 home. It seemed like we were always soothing or holding someone who needed attention, two years earlier. So I was shocked to see my days although busy, easy.....since Isabella entertained Jack while I took care of this little honey.

Before I knew it we were building a house, living in a basement apartment and celebrating William's 1st birthday. HOW TIME flew!

The next year we were settled into our house, I was pregnant with #4 and William turned 2!! During that phase he loved tractors.

At 3 William was into monkeys!!

At 4 he loved the Cars movie and I did a race track "4" for him.

Pie for 5.

Oh my goodness....at the time William turned 6 we had moved another 3 times. But were settled in for 4 months. (I'm sinking my roots in here...folks) William was in the middle of his kindergarten year and enjoyed full days of school.

William Lewis, you are pure joy. I love how you love people, love to please, and look for ways to be a help to me and others. I love your enthusasim about life and how you love to jam and dance. You crack us UP!
You have a very tender heart towards Jesus, and I love your questions about God, Jesus, and heaven. You make me think when you ask all your thoughtful questions.
You have been talking about a DSI for over a year, dreaming, making paper DSs' and pretending to play on one for the last few months. You've worked hard and saved all your birthday money (from last year and this year), Christmas gifts of cash, and allowance....making yourself practice so much discipline to not waste it......and today it was very exciting to go with you to Target and split the cost of one with you. I wish I would've thought to take a picture of the pride & excitement on your face inside the store. :) It's so fun to see you share this exciting toy with your brother and to see all your hard work of saving pay off.
I love you William~you are a gift I treasure every day. Love, Mom

Siesta Key

2011-04-12T15:11:00.000-04:00

Last week we were on vacation on Siesta Key. On our last night there, we did an impromptu photo session. And it just so happened that one of my friends, was out on the beach that night. She has a natural gift of photography....and agreed to snap some pictures for us.

I love him.

And I love these little ones too.

Lookie there at her skills. She took all the people walking in the background...out. Like poof. Their gone! I love her skills.

Thanks Cindy! You rock!!!

Awkward & Awesome -Volume 2

2011-03-25T10:17:00.002-04:00

Yes, Yes, I'm one date late on my Awkward/Awesome Wednesday post. But I had very important business to take care of yesterday. As in Target, Meijer, shoe shopping, lunch, & "my van is severely rusting~I need an estimate...stop." It was an awesome day.

Awkward

1. While my oldest is folding laundry she asks, "Mom, why do you have such silky, pretty underwear? It's not like anyone sees them or says 'Hey, Nice UNDERWEAR.'"

So I respond, "Well actually daddy does."

{Come on she was baiting me!}

Her response was, "Uh, sick! I don't think I was supposed to know that." Which was kinda funny & kinda awkward all at the same time.

2. Seeing a friend has a *burger hanging from her nose. But you are not sure if is one, (maybe it was really a large piece of lint or something) and how do you say that with someone you don't know super well. Excuse me, I think you have a burger hanging. AWKWARD!! So I didn't say anything. It seems the longer we talked the more fixated I got on it...and I almost burst out laughing, in the middle of a serious conversation.

*Note* Edit: That was actually a BOOGER hanging from her nose. Not to be confused with an actual HAMBURGER hanging from one's nose. Thank you Amber for finding that error on words! It would be pretty AWKWARD to have any food hanging from your nose.

3. So WHOO HOO...Donovan won a trip from work to the Breakers which is totally AWESOME!!! And when booking a massage for my hubby today, the person taking my call asked if, "Mr. Gingerich has a gender preference on who would give the massage." To which I said, "I don't think so, either is fine. Just make sure if it's a she, she's not to good cute." To which there was silence from the other side of the phone. O.K. Thank you Ms. Breakers. Thank you for making this an awkward moment. I'm a totally confident wife of 13 years...really I am. {well not if she's 20, cute, and very funny. Then I'm not so confident.} Just a little laugh will be good & fine. :)

Awesome
1. William had got a candy treat from school. It was fun dip. After finishing the candy stick, but still had powder left he came up with an idea to mix up a little experiment. Water, fun dip & milk. When I came into the kitchen I hear him telling his daddy, "You know what, while I'm drinking this creation of mine I feel stronger already." Awesome! Milk, it does a body good.

2. The estimate that came back on my rusty Chevrolet - you know the song right??? (O.k. well it's not a Chevy~but funny I had to google what make it was. It's a Chrysler van folks.) And can I just say I love Shapeline Autobody in Elkhart? They are fair, honest, and friendly. And one more plug~anyone need a van come December?...it's still for sale.

3. Seeing a bag full of beach towels, goggles, & swimsuits all packed and ready to go into the van. Beside it? A bag full of snacks for the 22 hour trip. Awesome!

31 tote GiVe-A-wAY!!

2011-03-20T17:16:00.001-04:00

Lookie here little friends...It's a give away. I'm not hosting it but my new friend Erin is. Just click on the pile of laundry up above and you could win!! The prize is a tote from 31!!! So go on over and leave a comment, you could win a little treat. BTW....this is the "Awkward & Awesome" lady I linked on my last blog. Promise you will love her blog....check it out! :)

Awkward & Awesome -Volume 1

2011-03-16T10:48:00.002-04:00

My neighbors, daughters, sister (maybe if you say it out loud it will make sense??? ) has this blog & on Thursday's she does an "Awkward and Awesome" segment. Which I love. She has some seriously hilarious material. So to be totally original here, I'm going to also do Awkward & Awesome only on WEDNESDAY. Wow! Look at me all thinking outside of the box & everything.

So to start this weekly event...I'm starting slow....because I can't think of that many "awkward" moments that my kids won't ~~kill~~ be mad at me for later. So here we go. I'll just give you two each.

Awkward

1. After a very emotional and awesome movie last night Like Dandelion Dust (look my first addition and I overachieve by putting both into one category) and after the movie raised lots of questions from our kids. From Jack: "why can't we just adopt a little black boy?" Then after the others were in bed our oldest, Isabella asks "why did you want to have babies/get pregnant instead of adopting?" I told her I really really was hoping and praying that God would let allow me to be pregnant. I wanted to know what it was like to carry a baby and nurse. (yes, as in breastfeed, using the word "nurse" so that she didn't actually imagine herself suckling)

Then out of my husbands mouth (who up until this moment was silent) says, "I thought that is what I was for?"

He should have honestly remained silent. AWKWARD. Poor thing, my little 10 year old. We are learning everyday what not to do with the other 3 children by practicing our parenting on her.

Yes, it's not so easy anymore to talk over their heads. Her & Jack are almost as tall as us & very very intelligent. Don't judge, unless you have a 10 yr old or older. It's tricky.

2. Usually my husband drops off the kids at school, but one day a couple of weeks ago, I was on duty. While dropping my boys off at their school my oldest got out & did not shut the van door. Apparently Donovan just conveniently pushes the "close the door button" every time and they scurry off to class. So me trying to be the funny mom put down the passenger side window and said, "JACK, buddy this isn't daddy's van...my automatic doors don't work~you'll have to shut it" Thinking that would be something funny & interesting (I know sarcastic/weird funny in retrospect) for the door attendant/school employee to get a kick out of. So Jack comes back to the van and pushes the button for the automatic door. Again, telling him...Uh...honey that doesn't work. ALL THE WHILE THE ENTIRE car pooling~ mom's in their beautiful SUV's and mini van's {with automatic doors that work} wondering what IN THUNDER is taking me so long to pull forward so they can drop their precious children off. Jack looks at me like I've forgotten to put my head on that morning and could not even fathom shutting the door by hand. (He hasn't been in my van in a long time) We would've never made it in the 80's. All the while the door attendant/school employee looking at me, like I had forgotten to have that fixed. AWKWARD. (Don't worry I looked into that honey...It's over $450 for one door motor.) With the other $500 we already put into this van this winter....the door was a no go.

Pretty sure that this is God's plan to keep me humble. On a happier note, with this warm weather the door has been working intermediately.

On another note this van will be for sale come December when we acquire Donovan's company van. It really is a great van, really it is. There is hardly any rust...and uh....wanna a good deal????

Awesome

1. This: got done yesterday.

EEEAAAKKKK!!!! Absolutely love walking into organization! I would've taken a picture of before...but it was very scary!! And by the way....I know that looks like a lot of clothes. It is. Hello, I am Heather and I have a clothes fetish. But I cleaned out & sorted and have 2 gigantic shopping bags of things to sell to you. More details to come on a garage sale this spring.

2. This weather! Are you kidding me with a high of 54 degrees today??? I have 4 lines of laundry on the clothesline today. That is the most awesome of all today. And a high of 62 tomorrow??? I may just get out my swim suit and lay out.

winners

2011-03-05T18:00:00.002-05:00

Winners of the sucker sticks are:

Wanita

Darla

Jewel

Jess

&
Mary

Congrats!!!

Please email me your address and I will mail them out!!

I love you to all my readers, you encouarge and inspire me!!! :)

before and after

2011-03-03T21:47:00.000-05:00

So...I've been caught up with a few things....sorry! You are not forgotten. I'm still here.

On a side note: the contest from the previous post for some exciting Sucker sticks ends Saturday. I will draw the winners that morning and mail them out. I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat.

Speaking of seats.....

We've had these chairs for over 6 years....they were getting a little crusty (as in dirty) around the edges. I would spot clean them on occasion, but with not any really great success.

And for my birthday I got a gift card for Hobby Lobby. Such a hard decision on what exactly to pick when you have free $$$. But I found this great fabric on the sale table for $5/yard. I was so proud of my self for finding the screw driver, figuring out how to get the seats off (actually it was 2 screws~a very easy process) and getting this project off the runway....

I headed out to the work bench in the very cold winter laden garage...(as in full of crap from the summer that we have not been able to use for 5 months) Navigating my way around bikes, flower pots, camping chairs, lawn furniture, well you get the picture.... finally arriving the work bench and found the staple gun! Now normally I would wait for my handy hubby to get home for the next part but because I am such a ~~impatient~~ determined kinda gal.....I thought, Gee, why can't I do this?

I'll tell you why

because I couldn't even figure out how to load the stupid staple gun. Or find the right size staples for that matter.

So look at me with my scotch tape skills.

Now just so you know hubby did arrive home. He did ask me, "why didn't you just wait for me to help you?" and he did complete the project with staples, & they are perfect!

What a difference it makes to see happy clean fabric on my chairs. We now never allow people to sit on them, so they will stay this way.

cupcakes, suckers, and a give away.......

2011-02-23T08:45:00.001-05:00

Not sure if you saw last year's post on Valentine treats...but I made this cookies suckers & because they are so very very simple and easy to make~I thought I would share the idea again (however ! Sorry AFTER Valentines) along with the recipe.

The recipe is actually a copy cat recipe for Oreo cakesters. Only I left out the sandwich making for this project. And put the candy sticks in before baking them.

Here is the details:

2 pkg. Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 cup veg. oil
4 eggs
Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl; mix well. Roll into 1" balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. The cookies will flatten as they cool.
Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
4-5 c. pwd. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese & butter. Add sugar & vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread between the cookies.
(You can also use German chocolate cake mix.)

So here they are after they cool completely....I took a freezer baggie (because it's thicker) snipped off one corner and filled it with melted white chocolate chips. To melt the chocolate chips I put about 1 cup in the microwave with about 1 TBS. of veg. oil, otherwise it get's clumpy. And more than a minute will do that too. So even if the chips do not look melted stir them. It get's smooth. As soon as I "scribble" on the cookie with the white chocolate, I sprinkled some sprinkles. The sooner the better, because that white chocolate dries fast!

wah...laaa!

These little gems I also did the night before Valentines for Jack's party at school. EASY PEASY! Cake mix folks! Then a double batch of decorator frosting and pipe it on top of the cupcake with a #20 tip. PLOP a peanut m & m on top and call it a day. :)

After the kids went to bed....I did some decorating. My mom did little things like this~and I think it got passed down in my genes. :) She loved to make things special while being ~~cheap~~ resourceful. I remember as a child coming down to special birthday's with candles in my toast, or the like. I found some paper doilies at the Dollar store and got like 32 of them (in different sizes) for $1.00! The streamers I had on hand from another project...

Pencils + suckers + container + dollar section from Target=centerpiece. :)

I love when they love things. Ever since before Christmas this little Suzy had been begging for a "pillow pet" ~but it was not under the tree. Then found these littler/cheaper versions and I thought...wow, that's usually more than I would do for a Valentine Treat...but would love for her to be able to use it on our trip to Florida this year. She was so excited, she immediately buried her head in it!

When walking though the store, Suzy found some heart marshmallows which were a perfect addition to all the love.

All my lovies. At. 7:00 A.M. ~a brutal time to have any kind of party in the world...but if you set up everything the night before...it just makes a Monday a whole lot more fun. And let me tell you....they all got dressed pretty quick to come to breakfast! :)

Later that morning. My favorite 4 year old valentine.

Valentines party at the boy's school.....

And then Isabella asked, "WHAT? You're only going to the boys' school?? This is my last year for a party in my class...can't you come?" So I did what any ~~guilt ridden~~ mama would do and left a tad early from the boys' school to get to the girls' party. :) No, I wanted to do both, It was just a little crazy going to 3 in one hour. But glad I did. I think these times are precious...and anytime my child/big girl still wants her mama around with all her pre-teen friends~count me in!

So....here's the "give away" part. The sucker stickers are super, super cheap here at a local Amish store. As in---50 for like less than $1. And I want to share the love! So leave a comment if you want them...and I will pick 5 winners to get a package. :)

Quote of the day:

Jack: "Mom, what should I be when I grow up? An artist or a McDonald's worker?"

re-purposed

2011-02-20T19:56:00.000-05:00

Remember when we went on our Anniversary trip?? I told you then that we found this great color for the boys' room.

Here is the "after".....Come to find out....I have no "before" pictures of the room. All I have to say is this is so much better! We, uh.....ur.... I mean D re-painted the bunk beds back in November from white to black. He had made them 5 years ago and the white was nicked and dull & in need of an overhaul. I also like how black makes the furniture look more grown up.

This was Donovan's childhood desk that used to be in our office.....and it had an overhaul a couple of years ago with fresh paint and a glass top with pictures underneath. I decided the boys would benefit from this way more than the use it was getting in the office. So I put it in here. Only in needed a little help. I didn't like the stuff that sat all over the top making it hard to have a work space for homework or Lego building.

So another inspiration from Ikea in the above picture. Loved those shelves. But...they were kind of expensive. So I took this picture and Donovan worked on a copy cat version.

Before

After.

Cleaned up the underneath of that glass, and stuck with just pictures of the boys. I also moved all the Lego creations on the shelves.

One of my favorite things to do as a stay at home mom, is to re-purpose. I love seeing things that were in one room, moved to another and used in a better way.

I thought that these shelves should hold some books. But how??? We had no bookends. So I found the missionary bank from years ago and filled it with coins to make it heavy enough to support the books.

On the other end I used marbles that were in a tin storage container and put them in a glass canning jar. Re-purposed and FrEE!

What have you re-purposed lately?

Quote of the day:

Suzy: "It's not easy having brothers. Because they fight and say {in-a-puppy-it things}." (inappropriate)

i love snow days

2011-02-02T19:47:00.000-05:00

I love that yesterday was a 2 hour delay! And love that last night they called off school before we went to bed. So we KNEW we could sleep in today.

I love being snowed in and knowing that things in town are also closed, because of all the snow. It almost feels like a holiday.

While I pretty much am tired of winter by now...this snow storm was just fine with me today. Esp. since they have already called a 2 hour delay for tomorrow.

Remember the fabric I snagged at Ikea?? Here is the curtain that came from it, and a snow covered window boxes.

The part I like best about being in a cul-de-sac is the huge piles of snow they plow to the sides of the road. It makes for a great little sledding hill. That beckoned my kids back out side for the 2nd time today. Another perk is that I can see them from my kitchen window~where's it's toasty warm inside.

This little thing had been in the snow for so long her sleeves were frozen wet, pants were wet, and cheeks nice and rosey. She had went face first into a snow drift and decided she was done. I put her in a bubble bath, and she asked me if I would fix her, "Hot chocolate with marshmallows and cool whip." Why I sure can!!!

What did you do today?

tissue paper flowers

2011-01-31T19:44:00.000-05:00

Last week I was at my friend Beth's house for a coffee and treats. I was taking a looksie about her house when I saw these adorable tissue paper flowers hanging from her daughters ceiling in her room. She gave some simple instructions and I came home that night and made them! They are so simple and cheap to make....I took some pictures to give you a step by step on how to do them.

First of all I got 3 packages of tissue paper different colors to match my daughters' room. I took about 8 sheets of one color and fan folded them. Imagine if you are looking at a rectangle...the shorter side is where you start folding, long sides of tissue should be on the sides.

Secured them with a paper clip.

I cut about 4-5 inches off the end and then cut both ends with a V. You could also do a curved end.

Carefully pull apart each individual piece of tissue paper. Making a flower as you go.

I then attached fishing line to the paperclip and hung them up. Literally took me about 12 minutes to make them all, and about $5!!

Quote of the day:

Suzy: "William do you feel sorry for me? Because I have the coughs and a runny nose."

anniversary #13.....all the love that a girl could want

2011-01-24T20:05:00.000-05:00

Two weekends ago we headed out to Chicago to celebrate our 13th Anniversary. We hit all our usual spots starting with Ikea......

This little spot gave me inspiration for my kitchen window....so I found the fabric section and came home and got to work on my little sewing machine. I'll post a picture of how it turned out later. :)

I think I must have the perfect husband (for me) that is....I don't know many other men that enjoy Ikea as much as I do. However in the above picture he trying his best to look mad...because this is the new color I we picked for our boys' room. He knows I'm right...the color was wrong in there, and had to be changed. The black and white accents with the green is very clean & crisp. I will have to take some pictures of the color in the boys' bedroom and post them later. I luuuuvvvvveee how it turned out. I love getting inspired and seeing room layouts. Giddy. Down right GIddY!

Also got an idea for these shelves.....and a cheaper way to make them. Hubby is currently in the basement working on those. I love that he is bored in the winter and enjoys projects.

LoVe that Ikea lists the colors they used. We skipped the Benjamin Moore store and hit Lowes~they match the Benjamin Moore color for Free and it's perfect.

After Ikea we headed over to our "priceline" hotel....was very pleased with our 3 star for 1/2 the cost!

For dinner we ate at Maggianos (little Italy), a place we found over the summer. We loved it then and it was so fun to go back. Yummo!! We shared a meal and still couldn't finish it! Tasty!

Since we had no kids, no time limit, and no agenda we decided a movie would be SWWWWEEETTT....so we headed over to a theater that had 20 shows to pick from. WOW! Awesome! It doesn't take much to make me smile.

Stayed out late, talked until I think I almost ran out of words.....Amazing to have all the time and space and no interruptions. Made me fall in love all over again~with my man. Love him!

I have no other favorite breakfast spot in all the world than Egg'lectic Cafe..... Their delivery is so amazing, the atmosphere is quaint, and the service is outstanding. Again...enjoyed the amazing bliss of it just being us 2, with no rushing though a meal and with hopes no one has to pee during the meal. :) Love those kids~don't misunderstand....Just love being on dates so very, very much! Esp. one that lasts all day & all night

After breakfast we found a "The Container Store", somewhere I always wanted to visit....Walked through every single isle! Found a couple of treasures....But most of all, just loved having the freedom to not be rushed, and to window shop.

Love love. times 13!!!

Pictures of finished projects to come, later.

Kristin Chicken

2011-01-11T18:41:00.000-05:00

Want a supper idea that is super easy??

Here you go....

Kristin Chicken

Take a 9 X 13 pan and fill it with Chicken breasts to make one layer (4-6 breasts). I use the pre-frozen Chicken tender type.

Mix one can of cream of chicken soup and 6 oz. of sour cream. Mix together and put over chicken.

Bake covered for 1 hour at 350.

Topping:
1 cup crushed ritz crackers
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. onion salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Mix. Sprinkle over chicken and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes.

As this bakes it makes a delish gravy type sauce that goes very well over mashed or baked potatoes. Throw in a green veggie~and you've got a comfort meal for this winter. Let me know what you think.

french kisses and other celebrating

2011-01-10T11:03:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend...we did some celebrating. I unpacked my grandma Ida's china and I celebrated Rose. A friend that turned 30 something.?? I love the feeling china gives you. Something delicate and special. I should use it more than every 10 years.

We also celebrated it being FRIDAY night with some friends. Here is the kids table...our kids outnumber the adults...so we put them at the big table and we are at the smaller table. Too bad we didn't get a picture of the mama's and the papa's. :( So anyways after not being around their kids for several YeArS...I've been reminded of what great candidates they are for our own children's spouses. Crystal and I are currently working up some paperwork to arrange them together in marriage. The only problem is one will be left in the cold, since they have 3 children. So looks like William hit the luck and can be our live in care taker in our old age.

Saturday we hit the sledding hills...and with the new dusting of snow...it was perfect. Well except that Donovan and I do not have snow pants or snow boots. That seemed to be kind of a problem. But what we lack in snow gear we made up for in layers.

We met some friends over at the hill, and Jack enjoyed his BFF for a couple of hours.

LoVe HIM!

Saturday night we celebrated our Anniversary with Jon & Arlene. We did not know we were going to be celebrating...they had invited us over for dinner...but then went all out with beautiful table settings and adorable cup bling. Can you see the tissue paper flowers in the above picture??? We even got an inappropriate card that I love. :) :)

The main attraction that night though was the twins....

And William did a little story time. We had a super good time and delicious supper. Thanks Jon & Arlene for a great evening.

Sunday morning greeted us early with a 5:30 a.m. throw up request. Jack. Came all the way through the living room, kitchen, hallway and our room to tell us he had to throw up. Hmmm...I need to remind him again, he can do that in the bathroom right next to his room. So Donovan got up and took William to Sunday school while I kept the girls and Jack at home. Or should I stay Donovan left Isabella home to take care of us?? While Jack and I were in bed, laying around being lazy, and talking....Isabella made cream of wheat, toast, and orange juice on a breakfast in bed tray and brought it in to us.

Jack true to form looking pathetic when he is sick. Milking every ounce of opportunity for sympathy he can. I YI YI YI.....Jack said he couldn't even set up...he was so sick. Somehow when cartoons came on 30 minutes later, he managed just fine.

Back to breakfast....do you see the 2 bowls of cream of wheat?? Do you see the 2 little snack cups?? One is brown sugar and the other white. White for me, Brown for Jack. :) Also...you see plastic cups and the glass cup? She knows I do not enjoy drinking out of plastic...I prefer glass to drink out of. How she remembers all the details bless me tremendously. Heart, heart that girl sure is special.

Then Isabella and Suzy asked if they could bring in their bowls and eat with us. In my mind I thought~this is disaster waiting to happen, but my heart said yes. Here they are sitting on my legs. Creating a one of a kind Sunday morning I will not soon forget. Their smiles totally negate the throw up I cleaned out of the sink earlier.

quote of the day:

Jack" What is a Fench kiss again?"

Donovan: "Well....."

Jack: "Is it where you stick your tongue in someone else's mouth?"

not as bad as I thought.

2011-01-05T13:57:00.000-05:00

I have resolved to work on one room for at least 20 minutes a day/ per day until I have finished. That is unless I find something better to do, or I am gone that day. Or some friend calls up and wants to go to lunch, or shopping, or something very cool. But while I am home & stuck inside, I'm working on cleaning out drawers & de-cluttering. Today was my first session and I have to say I can not believe how fun it was. I mean~throwing away some, giving some away, and then finding an organized idea for other things.

This drawer used to be jammed pack...now look how fresh, beautiful, and spacious it looks. Well except for the aqua toothpaste I noticed after I uploaded the pictures. That's not so fresh looking.

Note to self: When all the crap is unloaded from the drawer, wipe it down.

And then Suzy found me....and decided it would be fun to organize too. I have to say this was a strong bonding moment for me. She was organizing by color, which made my heart pitter patter. I'm thinking of just having her do the rest of the house. I will be on the computer and she can clean. Sounds like an excellent plan to me.

But here is the drawer of doom. How do you organize cut ribbons you put in your girls' hair? I have no idea.

Quote of the day:

Recently we were attending a funeral of my Uncle and we were very unhappy with how our children did ~listening and letting us listen. We have a church bag, but it seemed it was out of control. Asking for this, asking for that, fighting over who got what and for how long....disruptive to us and probably everyone around us. It would've been nice if they would've listened to some of what was being said. So on the home Donovan and I talked and then made a plan. We grounded all those 6 years old & up from using anything during church services. For the month of January. I have to admit this may be punishment for us as well. But on Sunday we put this into action. And you know what? We were PLEASED. I couldn't help but share Jack's comment after the service.

Jack: "I listened, and it wasn't as bad as I thought."

I'm sure Merlin will be happy to know that. :)

13

2011-01-03T12:52:00.003-05:00

13 may seem unlucky to some...but to me it's been everything good. I remember signing papers for my first house purchase on Friday the 13th back in 1996. Another time I noticed when signing papers for a new car that the date was a Friday the 13th in 1993. I usually don't pay attention to numbers so much....I'm starting to scare myself. But anyways....today...is my 13th year of marriage.

I think what I've learned the most in 13 years of marriage is ~that love is not always a feeling.

It is a choice. Those early years of dating made marriage looks so easy, and to be honest the first years seemed very story-book like for me. I was thinking "what's so hard about this??" It's when the disagreements came~ time and again over the same issues that made loving a huge choice (not a feeling). Then there came parenting differences. And let's not forget the money issues. The #1 cause for divorce. So much to fight about, makes me weary just thinking back over the last 13 years.

But I am blessed. I have a man that is just as committed to our marriage and family as I am.

I love the time we've had together.

I love the kids we've made together.

I love how he makes me laugh.

I love how he connects and makes effort to get to know people.

I love when he jumps on board when I want to do another "photo session" even if at first he ~~hates~~ dislikes the idea.

And I really love the way he loves our kids. Working hard all day to come home and work at taking care of them, to give me some time off.

I'd pick him all over.

Happy Anniversary Donovan. I'm looking forward to growing old with you.

seizure free & loving it

2010-12-29T22:20:00.000-05:00

We got to go to Indy! I was so afraid of having to cancel because of illness...but Suzy improved through the day last Sunday, so we hit the road. I will let the pictures tell the highlights of the trip we made.

Of course the reason for the trip was to go to Jack's neurologist appointment. Everything looks good for him, and our Dr. had encouraging things to say. Dr. McGuire is a such a genuine & sincere doctor. She loves her job and kids, you can tell that by how she interacts with Jack and our other kids. I love her sense of humor and her down to earth personality. She told us that statistics show when kids like Jack who have a normal MRI (meaning no masses or cysts on the brain) but an abnormal EEG is abnormal (meaning a tendency towards seizures -with no explanation of why they happen) Usually there is a 50%-60% chance that the child will outgrow them. She also encouraged us by telling us when the seizure happens in the front of the brain, like Jack's~ there is a better chance of outgrowing then. Also his prognoses is good, because he does well at being seizure free on only one medicine and on a low dose of the medicine he takes. All things that remind me how much I have to be thankful for. He has been seizure free for 10 months! Praise God! So for right now he will stay on his current dosage and re-visit the neurologist in 6 months. Jack will need to be seizure free for 2 years before the Dr. will take him off of medicine. So very much to be thankful for this Christmas season. My heart is completely full, for healthy children that are asleep in their beds tonight and seizures that are a distant memory.

While in Indy at Cracker Barrel for breakfast...

William: "Are we going to pray? I know it's going to be embarrassing but we gotta do it."

Donovan: "William it's not embarrassing. This is a Christian nation, lots of people pray."

William: "o.k. well let's do it."

the best-laid plans

2010-12-19T10:19:00.000-05:00

Forgot to mention in last nights post, that we had to cancel our plans yesterday to go to Chicago ON THE train, with friends. A huge disappointment for all of us. So since everyone was on the mend last night....after all we had went 36 hours with no throwing up. We booked a hotel for Indy for Sunday night. Planning to make a day of it, starting with some huge celebrating and going to make a little stop in Ft. Wayne to see a new baby that was born last night. Our friends and cousins who have waited 14 years to experience the miracle of birth. After 3 adoptions, Kevin and Sherri have 1 boy and 2 girls, now God has blessed with a new baby boy. A true God thing! After going to visit them, we had planned to go to breakfast and then head to Indy. We had planned to do some fun things there and then the next day going to the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital for Jack's scheduled 6 month Neurology appointment. However~We have been up with Suzy almost every single hour. Throwing up. The rude awakening at 1:00, by vomit noises coming from the upstairs, her sister calling for us. Cleaning her up, the bedding up, everything, laying in bed wondering what now? Our bags are all packed, baby gifts waiting by the door, the hotel is booked for tonight. Hearing the washer click that it's done with one load and thinking I might as well go and start the next load. Thinking, thinking, thinking. Only to hear my little one starting the cycle all over in the nest beside my bed. So we start the bath, to wash the vomit out of her hair once again, Donovan cleaning up the bedding, and almost falling into perfect rhythm at 1:30 a.m. Him cleaning up the aftermath on carpet and bedding, me cleaning the child. Yes, ladies and gentleman....only 30 minutes after the first episode. Getting back to bed at it happening all over at 3:30. Learning at least ~to put her blonde curly hair in a pony tail so that I don't have to wash her hair once again. Up again at 5:30 and after that it's a blur. I quit looking at the clock. She has probably thrown up 10-12 times. Disappointment has set in, and all though I'm trying to remind myself it could be worse, I'm discouraged. Wondering what to do. We really need to have Jack at his appointment and really can't think of anything worse than cleaning puke out of our mini van. O.k. it could be worse to have a child throw up in a public place on carpet. That would be worse. Or maybe at a restaurant on carpet, with lots of people watching and trying to eat their breakfast. That would totally be worse.

Bless Suzy's heart she has been such a trouper. For 4 years old she sure has been brave. No crying. And even trying to help me clean up her vomit at 1:30 a.m. on our bathroom tile. Thank you Jesus it was on tile.

news and notes

2010-12-18T22:18:00.001-05:00

Just some randomness for your Saturday evening enjoyment.....

Last night I made pizza~and I have to say it was better than any delivery or otherwise. I got the recipe from my friend Jen, and when I started this supper I was worried it wouldn't be as good as hers. But it was! Loved it. We were trying to cheer ourselves up since we had to stay home with a sick boy and miss our Christmas Party with our age group from church. Did I mention my sister was planning on coming to spend the night so we could stay out as late as we wanted?? Anyways....I didn't get supper in the oven until a little late in the evening, & I cracked up at William's anticipation of our meal. {See above photo.} We let him and Isabella put their own toppings on, which only added to his enthusiasm of it! While Jack was busy on the couch with the flu and Suzy was playing with dolls.
Here is the recipe......

Jen's Pizza Dough
1 T. yeast
1 1/4 c. warm water
1 T. sugar
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. oil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let set for 5-10 min. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Knead for 5 min. and let rise until double. Spray pizza pan with cooking spray, then sprinkle with cornmeal. Roll out (with rolling pin) and place on pizza pan. Let rise 15-20 minutes. Pre-bake at 400 for 7-10 min. Top with desired toppings and finish baking until done.

In other news and notes...hubby spent today doing this. Something I've been ~~whining~~ suggesting for about for a year to have done. An outlet in our kitchen island. Now I can flip pancakes with out actually leaving my seat at breakfast, & free up some counter space when I've got a crock pot brewing. Ahhh...the things that bring me joy. Disturbing I realize.

And I spent the day doing this. For a friend. Actually the one who makes the awesome pizza. :)

Also finished up buying & wrapping Christmas gifts with the help of Isabella. And now I shall fall into bed into a deep sleep ~appreciating the fact that no one has thrown up for a good 36 hours now.

pain in my cheeks

2010-12-18T18:04:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday night our small group went out to The Bonefish Grill for a Christmas dinner. We missed 3 who couldn't make it....but tried to still have fun :) I love this group so much!

I wasn't sure who Norm liked hugging more...his wife or....

Jake??? But I do love Carol's laugh and looking at the left side of this picture you can almost hear that laughter.

There is Al and his little smirk at the end of the table. Jason proved to be very difficult as usual when it came to picture taking. Nothing of him besides the back of his head. If you notice the group picture, he did the same exact thing. When I want to take a picture he turns. Sorry Rose, I'm not sure how to get a cute couple picture, when your other 1/2 keeps messing around. Maybe I can borrow one of your pics??

Ed and Julie. What can I say??? His refusal to cooperate and smile for this picture...is just typical. However he did give Julie and I a great belly laugh when he displayed his new boots up on the table, Donovan noticing his new pants and then him proceding to get a great rise out of us all.

Pain....

pain in my cheeks from laughing so hard and a great belly laugh. It made my night complete.

Yummy food, sweet friends, and my favorite time of year. I love you small group.

clean & dry

2010-12-09T22:13:00.002-05:00

After 10 years of laundry with kids, I think I have something figured out what works at least for our family. I wanted to show you my system, in hopes to make this daily, never ending chore maybe a little easier.

I have a darks and lights basket. This is sorting right from the git go. The kids are doing it. We have a laundry basket in the girls room and ours~that needs to be brought over to the laundry room, but all others come in the laundry to sort their own. When the basket is full...I know that's a load. After it's washed and dried. I have a basket where all socks, hand-towels, washcloth's, & underwear go into. Which is more than 1/2 of our loads. That basket waits by the washer for children to come home from school. I have learned not to be so picky with nice and tidy stacks. This was hard to let go of at first. In the beginning I had eager helpers, who felt validated, cheerful and excited to help. After a while~it becomes a chore and sloppy sets in. I think there is a big difference between sloppy and "I'm doing the best I can" kinda thing. Attitude is a huge part. So right now Suzy sorts socks, can fold them and put them into cubbies. Sometimes I have William work on that and fold wash cloths but not often. Isabella does the rest of the folding. Although I really should be teaching the boys to do this independently. They require far more patience on mama hen...so lets move on.

I might add that we pay for this chore. Not all chores are paid on to have them done. Some jobs the kids do because they are part of the family. period. Some things we pay for~when done with a good attitude. Bad tude-no pay. This was Isabella's basket today before she got home to fold it. I usually give 25 cents a load. But wow~this was 2 loads and was full and running over with socks. I had her do it all, because the other kids were working on other chores, and paid her $1. Don't tell her but I think this is a steal.

O.k. So there's the laundry that the Isabella and Suzy can sort and fold then I do the bigger things like jeans and bath towels. Every family member has a cubbie and I put the persons laundry right into their slot. The towels go up on the shelf until I'm going that direction. I used to set folded items on the washer and that would really cramp my style when folding on top of the washer & drier...so Donovan made the shelf that you see on the above picture. Have loved it! The basket on the top of the washer is tomorrow's laundry for Isabella :) I literally spend about 10 minutes total on laundry per day which is amazing! I would encourage you if you have younger kids...start small. Like this week you can teach folding socks. When that becomes a breeze add wash cloths, etc. I started young with Isabella and she enjoyed getting privileges (like watching a movie, etc.) after her "job" was done.

The top shelves on the left and right are clothes that the kids have outgrown waiting for me to take the piles down to basement storage or to the resale. Then it's 6 cubicles for each member of our tribe, one cubical with a basket for mis-matched socks, one for extra boxes of Kleenex and paper towels, storage for clothespins and bleach, and the last cubical with the bucket is for trash. Donovan built these shelves about 5 years ago, but if you are limited on space or handyman capabilities you could easy use a plastic version or storage crates.

I take the shirts and usually put them over the ironing board if they are dry. That is Jack's job to hang them up. But today's laundry shirts all went on hangers to dry or on the drying rack.

And then there is a handy closet that is in the laundry room that has a girl section, one for the boys, and on the top and to the right is me and Donovan's clothes. Clean, dry and ready to take to the rooms. This usually happens when it's jammed pack and there is no more room. I also wait until the kids are home from school to do this. If you do not have a closet in the laundry I think a free standing rack would be a great addition to a laundry room.

O.k. So the last part of the post was done while in and out of the bathroom, bedroom, and (shock) the laundry room. So I hope it made sense. William was projectile vomiting, as in--- the walls, top bunk, sheets, & comforter all had to be washed. SICK! He now is in a little floor nest on our floor, in our room. Had no idea he was sick. He said his tummy hurt before bed, but that's a given in our family when it rolls around to 7:30/8:00. It translates to "I really want to stay up and snuggle so I'm just going to have a tummy ache" which doesn't work...I'm not sure why they keep trying that line. I guess this time he wasn't crying wolf! :( Kinda makes me feel bad for making him finish his supper. Sure hope he doesn't "toss the poor mans steak" on my carpet next.

Quote of the day:

Suzy last night at supper. She was pointing to the pop bottle and asking what the words said. We read "Caffeine Free Diet Coke".

Suzy: "Dad, Can I have some more caffeine?"

Donovan: "yes."

Suzy: "Because it is free!"

do you smell what i smell?

2010-12-09T20:29:00.001-05:00

I found this recipe in a magazine for "Christmas Scent" And I must say I do love it. So when the kids ~~constantly~~ say they are hungry ~~especially my youngest~~ I tell them they can have a clementine. I have them peel it right into the pan.

Here is the recipe....

5 cinnamon sticks

1 Tbs. cloves

1 Tbs. allspice

2 rinds of orange

3 bay leaves

Simmer on stove. Mmmm...I smell Christmas coming.

another book I love

2010-12-04T16:30:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you've heard about this book....but I know the author and the subject matter of the book personality, So I bought it. It is a very adorable and sweet story. Lynette wrote the book about her brother Marlin Stutzman. I went to school with them, for a short time to church with them, and enjoyed spending time at their family farm. The book is a great book to read to your little ones. In Lynette's words, "A great way to remind parents and children the importance of loving and respecting your siblings. It also encourages kids to dream about what they will be when they grow up." I couldn't agree with her more. Even if you don't know the Stutzman's, you will enjoy this book and it's humor.

And today they had a book signing in Shipshewana. So cool to reconnect with them both. It's been years since I've seen Marlin and have only been in contact with Lynette through the great facebook world. So here we are in real live person. Nothing has changed with Marlin. Even being a senator and all....he is still a sweet brother-like friend. Enjoyed a nice chat with him, learning more about his family and the time they will split between Washington and Indiana. And Lynette ~even being a published author and all.....is still a fun loving, energetic, and easy to make laugh kinda gal. :) (I love her laugh!)

Donovan wanted a whole family shot~Since he is super supportive of Mr. Stutzman. We both are~we love his values, we love what he stands for. We love that he started his life like many of us and worked hard to get where he is now, doing what he is passionate about. You can read more about Marlin here. So proud of both of these Stutzman "kids".

Even got my copy of the book personally signed.

And not sure if you can read what Lynette wrote~but let me quote it up for you....."I love Livin' the Dream" for that shout out....I've got this one right back for you.

Here is were you can buy the book. :)

A time to be thankful and a time to freeze your buns off

2010-11-27T21:11:00.002-05:00

As a guest writer for my wife's blog I come to you faithful readers with humility, gratitude, meekness, appreciation and a keen sense of the monumental task at hand. My lovely better half mentioned that she had selected a few pictures of the festivities over the last couple of days and that having a guest writer step in and commentate on the visual display would be a treat. I'm all about treating the wife so I agreed. Insert hisses and boos here.
This year we hosted Thanksgiving lunch for the first time ever.
To make the day more exciting our power went out at approximately 10 am and the guests were set to arrive at 12 noon. We called everyone and postponed lunch until 1 o'clock to give the power company enough time to correct the situation and they came through. We had power by 11:30ish and the festive mood returned.
Below you can witness the spread before we sat down to eat just enough so that we wouldn't walk away hungry.

Here's my Mom enjoying a lovely beverage...

There wasn't enough room at the main table so the kiddos had their own feast at the other end of the kitchen.

My younger brother knows how to fill a plate and here he is showing off his food placement skills.

There was plenty of frivolity and laughter at our table between bites of turkey, potatoes, gravy, baked corn, stuffing, french green beans, and of course the pies and pumpkin rolls. In this picture I'm sure we are calling my older brother out on some indiscretions of his youth.

Here the new (week old) twins make their appearance. My wife is a real sucker for babies as you can clearly see by the longing look in her eyes.

Brooke is the oldest cousin and little Suzy loves her attention.

Here's Ma and Pa G with all 10 of the grandkids.

More baby adoration...

Jack and Cale enjoying some marble action...

All in all it was a great day with time spent with those that we love making memories and traditions to enjoy for years to come. We are extremely thankful for our family and extended family and hope that you had a joyous Thanksgiving Day with much to celebrate as well.

The next day didn't start out so leisurely as the wife and I got up at the crack of the crack of dawn as you can see in the official time picture below. That's correct, the clock said 1:47 on the way to the 2 hour waiting line.

There were some hard-to-pass-up deals to be had so we headed out to join the masses in weather that was less than stellar. Here you can see me braving the 5 degree wind chill factor in pursuit of some decent bargains at the local retailer. I will mention that the kiddos stayed firmly in bed while the pretty one and myself ventured out in the frozen tundra. Usually I draw the short straw and get to go it alone but this year the green-eyed one decided that going along sounded like fun. Isabella is 10 and enjoys the responsibility of "baby-sitting" for short spells of time on occasion so we took the opportunity.
I'll just say that the lines were long, the weather was uncooperative, the frostbite nearly turned me into a quitter but the deals that we came home with warmed the heart.

Some other mind-numbed shoppers with similar intentions.

We returned home with time enough to crawl back into bed for 2 more hours before the rest of the house woke up and started the day. Thank you all for reading. May your toes never be frostbitten and may your leftover turkey be gone within a week.

Congratulations are in order.....

2010-11-19T17:30:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Donovan's younger brother & wife made a trip to the hospital. They went from 3 to 5 in one day! So excited for them for safe delivery for their twins, even though they are 2.5 weeks early.

Kegan Hayes 5 lbs. 8 oz.

and Kelby Myles 4 lbs. 15 oz.

The fun thing about twins, is we didn't have to wait as long to hold a baby. :)

Such tiny, little, sweet boys! How very very little and fun to hold 2 at a time. I wonder how long I will be able to do that?

Cale~your whole world is about to change! But I think it's all for the good. What a gift that God gave you~to have 2 brothers. I'm sure in a couple of years you will see how much fun they will be. Until then you may need to learn how to change diapers. :)

Choosing to See

2010-11-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

I heard about this book on our local radio station, and it peaked my interest. I'm not really one to buy books that I will read once~So I asked our library since they didn't have it if they could request it via an inter-library loan (borrow it from another library) But our library actually bought it! I got to be the 2nd one to break it in. I felt so privileged. This book is categorized as a "Memoir/Inspirational". I have not read many books in that category. And if I had started one~usually not really motivated to finish it. This book was totally different.

Could NOT put it down. I took it with me to a hair appt., and actually read it over the new copy of "People" sitting there. It's just that good. After my hair color I stopped to pick up some bread sticks from Pizza Hut and just sat there in the van reading. I couldn't wait for her to reveal the next step in her adoption story. As pathetic as I felt reading while eating, with the reading light in my mini van, in a parking lot....I knew when I got home I would not have that kind of uninterrupted bliss. Totally lost track of time and got a call from Donovan to make sure I was "o.k." Awww...I love when he's concerned. I told him~Yep! Just reading. He told me to take my time....just was concerned. :) Another collective Awwwww...inserted here.

Anways...I expected it to be sad. I expected it to be something totally different. It was very amusing and found myself relating to Mary Beth in many ways although I had never adopted or lost a child. Some of her interesting chapter titles are...."When the puppy Eats your Birth Control Pills", "Crying in the Bathroom at Chuck E. Cheese", "My friend Prozac", and "Rambo Goes to China". Who doesn't want to read to see how she finishes those sentences?? :) Very, Very good read for this winter for you. Highly recommend it. No wonder it has been on the New York Times Bestseller list for 5 consecutive weeks!!

Here are some of the reviews written by others who have read it:

"Mary Beth makes the deepest places of our being easier to embrace and grasp. I felt like I was looking at my own heart exposed on the pates of this book." Denise Jonas, mother of the Jonas Brothers

"Every now and then a book comes along that is not only great. It is a gift. An extravagant gift. This is one of those books." Beth Moore

"Mary Beth has opened the doors of her stories to us so that our deepest fears may be overcome with hope. And so that we can all walk in a deeper trust that God is good....all the time. " Toby (TobyMac) and Amanda McKeehan

"Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman are living their story in a way that brings glory to God and real, practical help to the body of Christ. You won't be able to put this book down until you've wept, laughed, and relished every page." Chuck Colson

Quote of the day:

While I was snuggling in the recliner with Jack....

Jack: "I hope the fan doesn't fall on us."

Isabella: "Jack don't be a drama king"

Jack: "I'm not I'm just exaggerating."

eggs

2010-11-05T14:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had some errands in town and one of them was stopping off at Highway 35 to get some Amish grown eggs. I usually buy a flat of 2 1/2 dozen. When we pulled into the garage I totally forgot about the eggs in the back, on the floor. Suzy was in her car seat collecting her backpack (full of misc. toys to keep her busy while we were the Chiropractor earlier) a dry erase board, and 2 baby dolls. I thought nothing of it when I went in the house and got busy in the kitchen that she was making several trips from the garage to the mud room and then back out again. Then she walked into the kitchen with the flat of eggs I had forgotten in the van~ I nearly screamed.

WHAT!? Amazed, proud, and panicked that I would be cleaning that 2 1/2 dozen off the floor. Little 4 year old had gotten the eggs out of the van, set the eggs on the garage floor while she shut the van door, set them down again to open the garage door into the house and made it into the kitchen with out cracking one shell. Utter disbelief. Complete surprise. And a tad proud of her!

I'm sure if I would've asked her to bring in the eggs~we would've had a scrambled mess on the floor. I love surprises of not cleaning up a mess.

Quote of the day:

While putting dishes away, dropped a glass bowl.

Suzy: "Thank God that didn't break."

Donovan: "you can say that again."

fall party

2010-11-03T15:15:00.002-04:00

Last Saturday we had our Sunday School here for a little fall festivities. It went together smoothly with the planning and it was so fun to keep getting calls with RSVP's and have such a great turn out. 53 all together!!

There were 3 of us that each made a different soup and 2 loaves of homemade bread. I had said I would do chicken noodle. I should have known better. My chicken noodle is made without a recipe and always hit or miss. Either uck or really good. The soup I did for that night needed to be a big batch, I started by having Isabella cut up potatoes and Jack cut up carrots. Started well~until I put a bag of noodles into the boiling broth. Someone had once told me once that you will get more flavor into your noodles if you turn off the burner and just let the noodles sit into the boiling hot liquid. Hmm...I missed a step somewhere~because when I went to check on how the noodle soup was doing--it was a starchy mess. Absolutely disgusting. And our party was starting in 45 minutes.

Hmmmm...Didn't actually have time to send Donovan to the store~I needed him getting the garage ready. So I scoured through the cupboards to see what could be made with what I had. I ended up doing a double batch of Cheeseburger soup. Isabella cut up another round of potatoes and Jack started more carrots. While I finished up the soup~Isabella got clothes out for Suzy to change into...some friends from our class started showing up and helped me finish up the soup, make coffee, warm up hot water for hot chocolate, set the food out, etc....My mind was in about 100 different directions.

Thankfully the cheeseburger soup turned out well. It was completely gone by the end of supper.

We also had a couple of people bring salads, desserts, plates, cups and all the plastic wear. Some others brought~cheese & crackers, pumpkin bars, apple pie, donuts, apple cider, and other treats.

We did some games after supper, and then carved some pumpkins...several adults said this was their first time!!!

I think Brian is grossed out by the seeds. Or what is that face??

Way to cut it up Marlys!

There were also sharpie markers if some kids wanted to just color their pumpkins...good thinking on the markers~Jen.

Ben, Jen, and Jacob

Their boys scoopin' it out.

Isabella deciding what pumpkin face she wanted.

Laura helping her daughter Claire.

Stan making a train on his son's pumpkin.

Rose's son Wes was just enjoying putting the rubber gloves on and off. Good idea to bring the gloves~Jen!

Donovan was thinking of an easier way to cut these pumpkin faces up....

and made a smiley face for Kiera.

Because I ~~hate the smell and feel of the inside of the pumpkin~~ was documenting the evening with pictures....And Donovan was helping Isabella and Jack carve....Richard helped William cut, clean out, and make a face on his pumpkin. What a guy! William had drawn a happy face that was too small for Richard to carve, so Richard made a "sample" for William to proof~before he carved. So very, very nice of him.

Ben & Jen also brought a popcorn popper and corn....WOW! It was a hit. Brooke hung out there all night in interesting poses.

Patient Richard with William

Thanks to Marlys for the hot chocolate and marshmallows! Great idea!

One of the pumpkins had way to much candy that night.

What a fun, fun night!

hotel pools, eating in bed, and t.v......just a few of my childrens favorite things.

2010-10-15T11:44:00.001-04:00

Six years ago we loaded up our little family and took a road trip. Isabella was 4 years old, Jack was 2 years old.......

and William was 6 months old. And we headed up north to Mackinaw Island.

We had so much fun with them. Looking at the pictures made me miss them at that age a little bit. But then also made me think.....WOW that was a lot of work to take 3 such little kids. It was all we knew, and to us as the years went by the work load got easier.

Biking them around the Island might have been more then we bargained for. It's 8 miles people!!!! But once we started ~we had to finish. And let me tell you, that might have been a smile on my face, but it was probably pretty early in the 8 miles. :)

Back then we stayed on the main land, and in the evening a double stroller was our saving grace. We walked to supper and did a little site seeing. That is a very little bit of site seeing...before people needed their blankies, bottles, and beds.

Last weekend......

we did this trip again. WOW! Was it easier! This stage is really fun to take a road trip with. How ironic that last time we went to Mackinaw our oldest was 4 and now this time our youngest was 4~! They are all potty trained, all sleep through the night, and all of them feed themselves! I'm not bragging~I'm just stating the facts. :)

Everything was a novelty to them. It was fun to feel their excitement about every little thing. The ferry ride was a huge highlight for them.

We did an amazing amount of walking. Probably could have used a stroller some of the time for Suzy. But how cool everyone else could keep up, and most of the time had to ask the 3 oldest to slow down.

On the island we were amazed at all the color. Flowers are still going crazy and the fall colors are out of control there right now! This was a little bed & breakfast right off the Main street, that looked pretty quaint.

On our way up to the Fort.

Here is "us", good ol' mom and dad~with the map and ~~taking our time up the hill~~ enjoying the view as we went. The kids were already firing off cannons by the time we caught up with them.

We are missing one from the picture....she was running across the grass screaming and crying saying she's not taking a picture with those guys. So uncharacteristic of her. We had a little talk, maybe a spanking and then later Suzy told me she was scared they would shoot her. We had just watched the cannon being shot, and these were the 2 that did the firing.

While there, we got some pictures of what we had done 6 years ago....amazing how much changes in six little years.

And if you are thinking they do that on their own you are ~~crazy~~ wrong. But they did cooperate for one picture. I don't think deep down they didn't mind it at all.

Funny how Isabella can remember all of the fort and the places we went while there. I hope her sister will too.

After the fort, we hiked in the State Park that is on the Island. Until last weekend~ I didn't even know it was there! There were some amazing views along that trail. It actually was the very first State Park!

Arch Rock is one of the scenic spots that we hadn't seen last time we had went.

After all that hiking we found an awesome pizza spot right on Main St.! Loved it!

Then we headed here, to rent some bikes.

Breathtaking views, you just can't do them justice with pictures. But what cool memories!

Most of the 8 miles around the Island, we again reminded the 2 oldest to wait on us. Donovan had William on a tandem and I had Suzy in a bike seat. Funny how 6 years ago we were cursing ourselves for even wanting to bike around the Island, now our oldest can out-bike us. :)

We stopped for just a while to check out the beach and skip some rocks.

Jack wanted to take some pictures...while we waited for Donovan to check the bikes back into the rental store. The picture above was one that turned out well.

And then Isabella wanted to take some.....:)

The last ferry left the Island at 5 p.m. so we had one more stop before we got on the boat. I think this was the first time my kids had tried fudge.

That evening after supper, we drove the bridge. Of course the kids had a one track mind since our hotel had a pool. So after the bridge, a bite to eat, we let them live the dream~of hotel pools and eating snacks while on the hotel bed, watching some t.v. My dream would've been to walk the bridge, maybe a nice sit down meal, and then a magazine ~~or kissing my hubby~~ while snuggled into bed. But I've seen how fast 6 years can go...and I've plenty of time for those things when I'm gray. (No offense to the gray haired people.)

Quote of the day:

Jack: "What is a french kiss again?"

Donovan: "Well........."

Jack: "Is it where you stick your tongue in someone else's mouth?"

sauce it up

2010-10-03T18:23:00.002-04:00

After reading my cousin's post about apple day it reminded me that I had never posted our apple day pictures. SO here it goes.

For the last 9 or so years~we have always called in the troops for apple sauce day. Including parents, grandparents, and sometimes aunts. In 2003 we did 5 bushel and begged for anyone and everyone who would donate their time. At that time Isabella was 3, Jack was 1 and I was pregnant with William. We went through a ton of sauce. So we made a lot of it, and used it often for a "filler." A cheap alternative for buying a lot of baby food.

Last year we did 4 bushel and while we used it a lot in lunches and at meals we still had close to 40 jars left. So this year we scaled back and did only 1 1/2 bushel. The kids have always been so disappointed that applesauce day in the last couple years have happened while they were at school. So this year~it was us. Just the 6 of us. On a rainy Saturday morning~makin' sauce.

It was such a shock to me how they worked together. How each had a job, enjoyed it, and felt so important. Funny how usually doing dishes, dusting, and sweeping does not bring the same results.

Some played more than others, and needed more "encouragement" to stay focused on the task.

But overall they were a big help, and enjoyed the process.

Isabella at her age is the most diligent. She enjoys seeing a task until the end. She worked on filling the jars, and labeling. And any other job that she could squeeze in while waiting for more jars to fill. She reminds me of her dad more and more every day. :)

Quote of the day:

Jack: "I don't feel "right" about sleeping in my room tonight"

Donovan: "Well change your "feeling" about it."

and the winner is......

2010-10-01T09:45:00.000-04:00

For those of you that left a comment on my last post....your name went on a little piece of paper & into a coffee mug this morning.

Because I had such a good response from this post and because I love you all so much for leaving comments we picked 2 names.....

So~Nicole and Jewel....If you will facebook~inbox me your addresses I will mail out your goodies tomorrow. :)

amazingly easy grape juice......my secret recipe

2010-09-23T18:28:00.006-04:00

Last week we went to Corey Lake Orchard and picked some grapes.....

..... o.k. actually A LOT of grapes. A little over 200 lbs. of grapes. It took Donovan and I about an hour and 15 minutes to pick. It was a perfect morning for picking & it sure was nice to have his help.
Interesting fact I learned on Corey Lake's web site...their orchard is one of the many that Welch's comes to ~to make their juice.

We took Suzy with us. And yes, she helped pick to. For about 5 1/2 minutes, flat. Then she took over the photography. Which was fine with me, since we only had 2 pair of snippers and she is a little on the small side for reaching the top of the vines.

It was interesting to me to see things from her angle. This kept her entertained for a good 30 minutes.

So I thought I'd tell you how exactly I make the grapes into juice. It's a super easy process people. So this is the steamer in the above picture. I bought mine at a local Amish store, but I found out a friend of mine bought her juicer cheaper on Amazon.com.

Wash the grapes.

Put water in the bottom pan of the steamer. Put on stove.

Seriously-step by step people.

Set the next part of the steamer on top of the previous part. This is the container that holds the juice as it is steamed out of the grapes.

Put the washed grapes into the last container that fits right into the previous part of the steamer. And put the lid on.

And seriously if you can put this together:

You can handle this steamer.

So as the steam rises from the boiling water in the bottom container, it "juices" the grapes. It comes out the tube in the front of the steamer. You simply let the clamp lose and the finished product~Grape Juice comes out of the tube/steamer. It is boiling hot so I fill the jar and put the canning lid on. The lids I have soaking in warm water to soften the seal. And “Voila"......

Grape juice concentrate. When I open the jar I simply add an equal amount of water and 1 cup of sugar. More or less depending on your ~~sweet tooth~~ taste buds. It averaged out to about 30 cents a jar~which would be 2 quarts of juice. A very inexpensive and delish treat. Last year we put up 80 quart and were completely out by April! This year we got 95 quarts. Which if we ration this out better this year, it will hopefully last us all year. So leave me a comment & let me know if you'd like to try some. I will pick a random winner October 1st & mail you a jar along with some popcorn for your next movie night. :)

Quote of the day:

Me: "What did you do at recess today?"

Side note: I usually ask "What is your favorite part of your day?"...but inevitably the answer is always recess. So now I cut to the chase.

Isabella: "Play football. Well not really playing football just throwing the ball back in forth with my friends."

Jack: "spin people off the merry-go-round. Isabella, if you try it you would find it amusing."

And an apology to you~ if your child goes to school with mine.

special people in my life.

2010-09-09T18:24:00.005-04:00

How we spent part of yesterday.

And today we got dolled up....

and went to spend some time with my favorite 89 year old ~Aunt Esther. She's been ill, and it was so very nice to see her smile with/at Suzy. While there she gave Suzy 2 little figurines that years and years ago my mom (Aunt Esther's sister) gave to her. Now she gave them to Suzy who was as pleased as punch.
Funny how you set out to bless someone~and they bless you even more with their gentle spirit & tenderness towards you and your child.

I love you Aunt Esther.

And on our way home today...the most heartbreaking call came. My sweet cousin Joyce who had her baby girl born to her this morning~Quinn Ruthie, her little newborn died just hours later. My soul aches for her. Can not imagine her intense pain right now. If you know Joyce & Jason please lift them up in prayer.

I love you Joyce & Jason. My deepest sympathy to you tonight~as you learn to live with this hole in your heart.

livin' the dream

conflicting emotions

our wedding

New Year's Eve

red bows

i love snow

a 23 year old note

winners!

want some pumpkin pie????

yakking & before & after

shuckers

after going to school

school bell

Raise your hand if you like Target

south haven beach...silver beach...i love them all

Honey pie turns 5

I have a job folks.

sUmMeR

shadows of the girl she used to be

Listening to the radio in the van today.....

Suzy's question from the backseat was: "What does it mean His love is free?" ♥

positive

free week

William Lewis

Siesta Key

Awkward & Awesome -Volume 2

31 tote *GiVe-A-wAY!!*

Awkward & Awesome -Volume 1

winners

before and after

cupcakes, suckers, and a give away.......

re-purposed

i love snow days

tissue paper flowers

anniversary #13.....all the love that a girl could want

Kristin Chicken

french kisses and other celebrating

not as bad as I thought.

13

seizure free & loving it

the best-laid plans

news and notes

pain in my cheeks

clean & dry

do you smell what i smell?

another book I love

A time to be thankful and a time to freeze your buns off

Congratulations are in order.....

Choosing to See

eggs

fall party

hotel pools, eating in bed, and t.v......just a few of my childrens favorite things.

sauce it up

and the winner is......

amazingly easy grape juice......my secret recipe

special people in my life.

31 tote GiVe-A-wAY!!