Monday, December 31, 2007

A belated Christmas card! Or a Happy New Years card?

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A belated Christmas card! Or a Happy New Years card?

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Here's to another year

I've had so many thoughts racing through my head that I wanted to share about the end of this year and the coming of the next but as I sat to type I can't seem to form a sentence. One that says what I want to anyways.

I'm not one to form New Years resolutions but I have had some lifestyle changes I want to make in mind and now seems like as good of a time as any so I think I will write those down. They are more things that I would like to see happen in the next year that require some pro-activeness on my behalf than anything.

Yeah, I'm giving up on the writing for now. Happy New Years everyone!

Oh yeah, Rod and I have started a Photography Blog, there's really nothing there yet. But there will be. Check it out here.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Got this in an email today. Usually I roll my eyes at the forwards but I quite liked this one.




Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I

had cut back on nonessential obligations -- extensive card writing, endless

baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself

exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true

meaning of Christmas.

My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season

for a six-year-old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's

"Winter Pageant."

I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the

production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She

assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All

parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately,

Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise

So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found

a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several

other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students

were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat

cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday

as Christmas, I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial

entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my

son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its

bold title.

Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens,

red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front

row-center stage -- held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of

the song. As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold

up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child

holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."

The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small,

quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down totally

unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W."

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's

mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall,

proudly holding her "W." Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the

laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it

together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant,

we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the

first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.

For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

C H R I S T W A S L O V E



And, I believe, He still is.

Amazed in His presence...

Humbled by His love.



May each of you have a Merry Christmas as you reflect on His amazing love for us.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Haven't been blogging much

I'm still around, just busy busy with the girls and Christmas preparation. Hopefully come the new year I will be more frequent with my posting. For lack of anything interesting coming from me here is a link to a wonderful post by DaMomma about Santa and Christmas Spirit. Really...it's worth a read!

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Happy Birthday!

28years ago today the best husband and father in the world was born. I can't say enough about how blessed I am to have him in my life, I am so excited to get to spend the rest of life with him. I never tire of having him around. We love you!

Happy Birthday Rod!

Sunday, December 02, 2007

The dark side of Christmas

Before I start I want to state that I LOVE Christmas!! I love the lights, the music, the decorations, everything really. It makes me happy. When I became a Christian Christmas became even more significant. I hope to pass on my enthusiasm onto my girls.

That said, Christmas has become very very stressful financially. We knew when we chose to have me stay home with the girls there would be sacrifices. We had debt to pay on top of regular monthly bills that were going to stretch us tight. And they have. Yes we were "helped" into debt in the beginning but somewhere along the way every "emergency" made it ok to dip into the available credit. I hate hate hate where we are financially, it makes me feel inadequate, like I can't take care of myself. I think though that I have to forgive myself for the past, let it go and quit beating up on myself. I send myself into overwhelm when I start the hate on myself.

It seems that even while we can be financially responsible during the year at Christmas everything seems to go out the window. I don't want to deprive my girls of anything. Really though what do you remember from Christmas? What is it that makes you all happy and warm around Christmas? I remember decorating the tree, going for a drive and looking at Christmas lights, decorating sugar cookies, making a gingerbread house, visiting, and feasting. Sure I remember the wonder at waking up Christmas morning to a full stocking and gifts under the tree, but it didn't have to be excess, and it wasn't what it was all about. I am not helping Payton learn about Christmas when I am stressed out and distracted. The damage has been done this year as far as the spending goes and truthfully I really enjoy the giving. The choosing, wrapping, and gifting. But I rarely feel like I can live up to expectations.

Next year, and onward we are not going to be doing expensive gifts, birthdays or Christmas. I am going to get creative with what we have and I'm sure our finances will thank me. For the next couple of years we are going to be playing serious catch up. I will not feel sorry for myself when we can't have or do something because sometimes this is what it feels like to take responsibility. I want to teach my girls responsible spending, living within your means. The only way to do that is to live by example.

I hope everyone out there is enjoying the Christmas season!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Our Church

New Heights updated it's website. It looks GREAT!! Check it out here.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

I should have been cleaning.....

Instead I was doing this. WAY to much fun. I am still laughing.

Boring post about being tired. I know, the title could use some work.....

Well, one thing I've discovered is this self-discovery thing is hard when your tired. And I'm tired. I have realized some things about myself, important things that I hope will help me along the way. But my emotions and thoughts are so fleeting and scattered when I'm tired, I'm so useless. I'm rather surprised that I've functioned as well as I have, but really I have no choice. You do what you have to do as parents.

Is it wrong that this morning I had a fleeting wish not to be a parent? Just long enough to get a couple hours more sleep? I have got to figure out how to help Sam sleep better, for my sanity. We will all be better off with a well rested mama.

And I think the girls have the start of another cold. Sigh.

Oh well, no worries, the world will seem brighter after a cup of coffee and a shower. It always does.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Mind like a load of laundry

You know, waterlogged, spinning around in circles. I feel though that I'm almost done, coming into the spin cycle. When I emerge I'll be fresh, and clean. Maybe still in need of a dryer and iron, but at the very least a work in progress.

Hmmmm....think I got ahead of myself there. Let's start at the beginning shall we?

I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately, mostly inwardly but some outwardly as well because it's all connected. I've been feeling rather dis-jointed lately, and that's a trend in my life. I plod along rather well for awhile then I seem to loose my footing. I think it's rather common and everyone has their seasons yet I feel like I'm missing something, or missing out on something maybe? One thing that has been rather slow in coming to me is that there are important chunks of me missing. No I'm not missing limbs or digits(your welcome for the visual;) ) but there are internal parts of me missing, maybe unexplored is a better term. I have often struggled with self image and self worth. I think in reality I don't really "know" myself. I have gotten wrapped up in what I do instead of WHO I am.

The Christmas season is rapidly approaching, and this seems like a good time to explore me. God made me as I am, he sent his Son to save me. Me as I am, not me how I think or feel I should be. I have often felt I am not worth getting to know, that I'm boring or something equally demoralizing. But if I believe in God(as I do) then I have to accept that I was made without mistakes. I am perfectly as I am supposed to be. If God created me then I have to be worth getting to know.

So I want to surge forth into self-discovery. And I want to share my journey with you, well actually I don't want to but I feel like I should. Over the Christmas season I long to get to know God better, I want to draw close to him and let him show me all that I am, all that he created me to be. I want to thank him, and praise him for sending his Son to us, and celebrate with him that Birthday so long ago that brought us all Hope.


Friday, November 09, 2007

I call this photo fustration

This was at the Apple Barn. They had a flatbed truck set up with pumpkins for photgraphy purposes. I thouht GREAT we can get a shot of the 2 girls together, WRONG! Samara would have no part of sitting. So Rod thought hey we can get her standing in behind. Ha! Well that was fun too. I took many in hopes of getting ONE good one! LoL! I think all-in-all they are better viewed as a series. Happy Viewing.









Add Image





Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Pachelbel Bedtime

LOVE THIS! All parents must watch!!

Making new friends










Sunday, November 04, 2007

Halloween

I'm behind on blogging and posting pics. Been busy and contemplating. So I'm going to throw some Halloween pics up tonight, and later this week I'll get to some others I've been meaning to post. We had a good Halloween, the kids had a blast. Well Sam wasn't quite sure what was going on but enjoyed the ride anyways!


Our Pumpkins. Rod did the big one and I did the smaller two. Payton requested the wolf.

My mom wanted to see the girls in their costumes. So see drove out after work to see them then headed back home! That's lotsa driving!

All ready to go! Payton and Samara with friends Ethan and Lyndon.


My happy Froggy!


The spoils!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Technical Savior strikes again

I was going to tell you about all the things I've cleaned up this morning thanks to a very active girl being in a mischievous mood, but I changed my mind. Instead I'll share with you a huge what was I thinking moment from this weekend.

Have you ever watched a movie or tv show where someones laptop or similar storage device is confiscated. Which of course they have previously deleted whatever incriminating information was on it. Yet miraculously it is retrieved and the person receives whatever just punishment is required. Now I, not being all that computer savvy never really thought about whether or not in the really real world that was actually possible. I just like a happy ending and accept them as they come. I have learned now that it is indeed possible and I am so thankful.

We took a ton of photos sat. When we got home I took out the SD card from the camera and put it into the card reader. Here is where I usually copy them over to the computer then browse through them. For whatever reason I started browsing through them right away from the card reader. Then of course life happened and I was away from the computer. Much later I sit down at the computer think oh, I didn't delete the SD card and proceed to do so. Then take it and put it back in the camera like I usually do. Do you see the step I missed? I DIDN'T ACTUALLY COPY THE PICTURES!!!!

I didn't notice right away, until I went to finish browsing through them and they weren't there. I sat looking at the Oct picture file wondering where are they? I closed the file and re-opened it, still nothing. Then it dawned on me, I didn't actually remembering copying them over. I sat in horror with my hands poised over the keyboard staring at the screen letting the realization of what I did wash over me. 150 pictures, some really cute ones, Samara's first time to the pumpkin patch GONE! When I could speak I said "um....Rod......I think I did something really stupid.....I think I erased the memory card without transferring it." By now it had really sunk in and vocalizing it somehow made it worse and here is where I threw my head into my hands and cried. Rod stayed calm instructing me to "back away from the computer." I think he was afraid that in my hysterics I was going to somehow make it worse! haha! So he checked the computer and the SD card and yes indeed no pictures. Still he's calm, I'm frantically pacing while he's trying to explain to me that it's fine, that the pictures are still on there he just has to find a program to find them. How are they still there when I deleted them? Something about that because I just hit delete and didn't re-format the SD card the actual pictures aren't deleted just the directory to find the pictures are deleted. Then we just re-write over them when we take new pictures. Since we hadn't taken any new pictures they are still there. So my wonderful computer savvy husband not only found a program to find the pictures on the SD card, he found a FREE program. I paced until he had the program running and it started finding pictures, then I sat in front of the computer and watched it transfer pictures one by one to the computer. It found not only the pictures we had lost, but a bunch from the summer, Payton starting preschool, and a ton of MP3's Rod had transferred to give his mom. Phew! Catastrophe diverted!

So yeah, once again Rod: Technical Savior saves the day. I will indeed be able to share those pictures with you as I am once again in possession of them. So if you ever do something stupid like delete a bunch of pictures off your SD card, remember, Don't panic just DO NOT USE IT! Then proceed directly to someone who knows what they are doing with computers and let them help you retrieve your precious memories.

And as for posting pictures that will come soon, this got long and I need to go clean, and play with my Payton.

Happy Monday All!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Today was a good day.

Samara still isn't 100% but it ended up being a really nice day so we bundled her(and Payton) up and headed to the Apple Barn. We jumped, slid(well Payton did), petted animals, fed animals, chased birds, ate hot dogs, went on a very bouncy hay ride, played with lady bugs, picked pumpkins, and of course took many many pictures. Which will come later.

Good Night!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Colds, YUCK

I hate having sick kids. I would much rather be sick myself. Payton I think is almost done hers but Sam is right in the middle. The congested, miserable, I don't want to be away from mom, and definitely not sleep, middle. There was a moment last night(around 2ish I think) when I thought I could grab my keys and go, where would I go you ask? Anywhere there was somewhere I could sleep, uninterrupted sleep. Yeah, then reality hits, darn reality. Hopefully we can all get healthy over the weekend.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

The final product

What a very busy day we had. And it's late, and I'm tired, so tired I'm not even going to photo shop any of the pictures before I share them! The cupcakes are ready to go to Payton's Halloween party tomorrow. I'm very excited to dress her up and see all the other costumes. Very fun! Before I forget I got the idea's for the cupcakes here. I found this blog recently and quite enjoy it.


Baking today started with the cupcakes, Vanilla this time.

Ready to decorate.

Isn't her apron sweet?

When all was said and done.


And the rest.


Close ups of some favorites.




This one makes me giggle every time I see it.


Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Baking

Payton and I made cupcakes today. Chocolate ones, from SCRATCH! I'm very impressed with us. I haven't made cupcakes from scratch ever in my adult life(Sad I know). I did with my mom when I was younger. And they are so much better! Did I mention I was impressed with us? And in actual practice, it wasn't that much more work and the difference in taste is worth it! Yum! We are working on some Halloween creations to take to her Preschool Halloween party on Thurs. There are some Vanilla cupcakes and frosting making on the agenda for tomorrow!




The Chai Latte Incident

I decided after I dropped Payton off at school that today felt like a Chai Latte day(really what day doesn't?). So I stopped and treated myself. Back at the van Samara in one hand Chai in the other, I placed my drink on top of the van and put Sam into the car seat. I go to pick up the Chai and somehow catch the bottom of the cup on the roof rack and loose my grip. So now my drink is not only falling to the ground but spiraling down spewing chai in a circular pattern everywhere. Picture me watching, horrified, screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOO in slow motion. When it finally hits the ground much to my horror it rolls under the truck next to me. Thankfully the lid stayed on but I could no longer see my drink. Now, some of you might have walked away at this point admitting defeat. I was not so inclined as this was a treat and those darn things aren't cheap. So after doing a quick scan to see if anyone is watching I get down on hands and knees to peer under the truck. I see my drink and it seems to be within grasp, but not an easy grasp of course. At this point I don't care if anyone is watching I maneuver so that I can stretch far under the truck and manage to just get enough finger hold to move it towards me. SUCCESS! I get back in the van and go about accessing the damage. After wiping the cup down I am thankful to see that I am only missing about the top inch of my drink, YAY!!. I do however have a nice spray of coffee on my shirt and who knows what on my knees. It was worth it though, they are just SO yummy.

There has got to be a way to make something comparable at home. I think I'm going to have to experiment a little with that!

On another topic, I am a little annoyed with Payton's Preschool. She loves it, and over all I'm really happy with it. We both like her teacher, and the program. So where is the annoyance you ask? Well her Teacher is leaving, she is going to be managing the Musikids Day Care as of Nov 1st. She was already gone once for a couple weeks because she got married(which is understandable) but it took Pay awhile to get used to her replacement, then of course her teacher was back and she had to re-adjust again. Now She's going to have to re-adjust again. Sigh. I hope her new teacher is good and this will be it for the changes, all this inconsistency isn't good for the kids. There is also going to be 3 more kids in her class starting Thurs, as in the M-W-F Preschool class there is only 3 kids so they are changing to T-W-T and joining Payton's for T-T. Which is good because that brings Payton's class from 9 kids to 12 which means her teacher will get a helper. So the student teacher ratio is going to be better. But Waaaaaah......I really like Miss Sam. :(

Monday, October 22, 2007

Monday

My regularly scheduled Monday was interrupted. Interrupted in the best possible way. Rod took today off to give me a break and give us a family day since he was away at Men's Retreat this weekend. He's going to work 4-10 hour shifts to make up for it. Isn't it nice his boss gave him that option? And I feel so blessed to be married to such a considerate man.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

And I'm sure I'll say it again

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, I have so much respect for single parents. That's a tough job, probably the hardest one I can think of. I feel so blessed to have Rod helping me navigate through parenting.

Rod is at men's retreat this weekend, I know I think they are crazy too! Camping in the wet & cold of October is not my idea of a good time. Maybe that's because well...I'm not a man! That would be why our ladies retreats include real beds and running water. I sure hope they are having a good time though.

Last night was hairy. Payton coughed until she threw up. At the time I wasn't sure what came first the cough or the vomit. I was so worried she had a flu. But she wasn't hot and after whatever flem was lodged where it wasn't supposed to be worked it's way loose she was fine. I cleaned and changed her and watched her like a hawk for awhile but she was fine. Thank goodness. Meanwhile Sam had already been up a handful of times and started screaming heartily again while I was occupied with Payton. I was starting to feel a little frazzled at that point. Eventually everything calmed down and I heaved a great sigh of relief. Said a little prayer of thanks, and was once again in awe of what single parents do 24/7.

The girls and I are off to have a sleep over at my Mom's. We haven't been for awhile and are very excited. So I better get back to packing. Have a good weekend all!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

A little thrift store luv

It's been awhile! Truth is I've been humming and hawing about whether or not I want to continue blogging. There's been a lot going on within me and around me and I wasn't sure to what extent I felt "safe" sharing with the world. I'm still not sure but what I do know is that I've missed blogging. Therefor I am going to surge ahead and see what happens.

I've been feeling a great desire to create lately. So I've decided I am going to reacquaint myself with my sewing machine. I'm so excited! There are so many things I want to try my hand at! I have to remind myself to start small and go from there. I tend to overwhelm myself with the big ideas I get and never actually do anything. I dug through my fabric stash the other day, I found a few pieces of promising flannel. I have been wanting a new nightgown for Payton and have found that they are really hard to find. I think I have enough flannel for one, and maybe enough of the others for some jammy pants. And what do you think I found at MCC today for 10 cents? A nightgown pattern! I was so excited!



This is my little pile of thrift store treasures I found today. The whole bunch cost me $2.35.


I just love these little shoes! I fear they are a little boyish but I am going to put them on Sam anyways. They are real leather and so soft.

Guess how much? $1!


Turn them over and guess what? Old School Buster Browns! Gotta love that!


These are the flannels awaiting a makeover. The white(it looks yellowish here, sorry bad lighting) is the one I think I have enough of for a Nightgown for Pay. Then the clouds and bunnies for pants. I have enough of the clouds set aside for jammy pants for me. So who knows? Pay and I may be matchy-matchy in the future.