Pumpkin Patch

We headed to the patch when Rob got home from work yesterday. I was being lame and wanted to get pumpkins at the grocery store. Taylor wasn't having any of that so we ended up at Linder Farms and I am so happy that we did. They have so much to do there. Petting zoo, hay rides, corn maze, food, and of course...pumpkins! It was an absolutely gorgeous day too. We couldn't have asked for anything better. The only downfalls to the day were I got partially stung by a bee, meaning that it stung me but the stinger didn't go all the way in...stupid bee, and Taylor got bit by the camel when he was feeding it. Other than that it was perfect.























Nothing says teenager like a cell phone stuck in your ear while picking pumpkins.

This and That

I watched an episode of the show that goes along with Spain...A Culinary Road Trip. It's on PBS and it was surprisingly funny, entertaining and informative all in one. Now if I could just remember what day and time it was on...

On the note of cooking I am a little annoyed that Rachel Ray's show isn't on anymore. I don't know if they took it off the air or just off channel nine. Either way I don't get to see it anymore. She is annoying to listen to but her recipes are great. I guess I will have to frequent her website more for recipes but it will never be the same.

Rob got all of us together yesterday for a hike in the foothills. It was a beautiful fall day and we actually had a good time once Taylor quit complaining about why we were just walking. I don't think he got the concept of walking without a destination. He eventually caught on and had a good afternoon. They have two huge trees at the start of the trail so on our way back the boys wanted to stop and climb them. Austin came prepared with his backpack full of ropes and caribiners. He was hanging from that tree like he knew what he was doing.

I won $25 to Shutterfly from Bloggy Giveaways. I think I may use it towards Christmas cards. Or a photo book.

BSU won on Friday. I never in my 30 something years would've thought that I would actually care about a football team. Strange, but I do. My dad must be so proud.

Jumpin' and where'd you get that 'tude?

Emily was jumping rope last night and she was crackin me up because she would not close her mouth.

And this kid...

is about to drive me to drink. He turned 13 and developed an attitude overnight. I have never in my 13 years of raising him had to talk to him about his attitude as much as I have this week. Every night he is trying me on something else. And that mouth. Sheesh. I've decided the terrible twos are nothing. We should lose sleep over the terrible teens. And I'm tired already.

Sweet tooth

Just to show you I haven't completely gone healthy I made pretzel hugs today. Yummm. I figured they would be good because I love white chocolate and pretzel together. Not only are they good they are completely dangerous because they are bite size. Don't let that stop you though.

PRETZEL HUGS
1 bag pretzels
1 pkg. M&Ms
1 pkg. Hershey Hugs

Place pretzels on baking sheet. Place a Hug on each pretzel and bake at 200 degrees for about 8 minutes (just watch for the Hugs to melt). Remove from oven and promptly place a couple of M&Ms on each pretzel, pressing into the melted chocolate. Allow to cool before serving. At room temperature, this takes SEVERAL hours. I would recommend making these the day before you plan on eating/delivering. Or you can put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process.

In other happenings...some (insert dirty word here) hacked into my paypal account and tried to do six transactions that amounted to over $1500. And they were all to come out of our checking account. Thankfully I noticed it first thing this morning and was able to take care of it.
**The sad part was I had to close our 13 year old account and open a new one. We got that account when we got married.
**The mad part is I have to go through all of our bills and figure out which ones I paid this month that haven't cleared yet and call them so when our payment doesn't go through they will know why and I have to go to all of our e-bills and change our account information. Such a pain. It also means no debit card for at least a week and new checks. Pretty much an inconvenience all around.

Here's a question for you. The last couple weeks when I blow my nose it feels like air comes out of my right tear duct. Is that weird?

Food for thought

Since we joined jus almost a year ago my whole thought process about food and how it affects our health has changed. I have never been a statistics girl. I always thought they were pointless. I mean who actually comes up with these number and how do they do it. Well I have started paying more attention to them lately and health statistics are staggering, scary and almost completely preventable. Look at these on diabetes alone:


• In 2025, up to 80 percent of Americans will be overweight (body mass
index (BMI) of 26 or greater—meaning at least 26 percent of body weight
is fat) and 50 percent will have progressed to obesity (BMI of 30 or
greater). The lifetime risk of being overweight or obese is higher for
minorities.
• Given the increase in obesity by 2025, the lifetime risk of getting diabetes
for those Americans born in the year 2000 will be over 40 percent,
ranging from 30 percent for white males to 60 percent for Hispanic
females.
• In 2025, the average person with diabetes will die 15 years prematurely
and suffer a disease burden of over 20 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs)
lost. Black females with early onset of diabetes in their 20s will lose 19
years of life and about 30 QALYs.

Those statistics tell me that Taylor and Emily, because they were born in and after the year 2000 will have a 30-40% chance of being diagnosed with diabetes and because of that could die 15 years early.

Did you also know that we are raising the first generation of children who will be outlived by their parents? You can google it. There is article after article on the subject. Does that scare you? Because it scares the crap out of me.

Do you know why these statistics are true? As stated in The China Study-
“The answer to the American health crisis is the food that each of us chooses to put in our mouths each day. It is as simple as that.”

Seems like such an easy fix doesn't it. Change what we eat. I was walking through the grocery store a couple weeks ago and kept passing a woman that had four kids with her. Every time I passed her cart I would glance in and I was taken back at the stuff she was putting in there. Chicken nuggets. Taquitos. Boxed meals. Microwave meals. I wanted to stop her and say "Do you know what you are doing to your children's bodies?"

As a mother I would never do anything to intentionally harm my kids. But what am I doing every time I make them something that is full of chemicals, preservatives, sodium and sugar. I am sending them straight down the path to a lifetime of health problems. And why? So I can make the meal that takes 10 minutes instead of taking an hour to make them something that will do their bodies good.

Thankfully I have never been a chicken nuggets or taquitos for dinner kind of gal. I've always tried to be proactive in making my family meals that are healthy. That's not to say we don't eat fast food or I have never made something from a box because I have plenty of times, but I have always tried to be conscious of what I was putting into my kids mouths. It doesn't take a genius to read the side of a box and see the junk that goes into that stuff.

Why am I sounding off on this today? Because it doesn't have to be this way. Our children don't have to live a life full of illness and obesity. We can do things now to change their future. It doesn't take much. Make your meals instead of buying prepackaged. Buy fruit and dehydrate it as a snack for your kids. My kids eat the devil out of dried fruit. Be conscious of what you are buying. Go for the Kashi cereal and put honey on it instead of buying sugared cereal that has nothing of value in it. There are a million little things that will go a long way to insuring the health of your family.

Knowledge is power. Let's use it for good.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my not so little boy. 13! I can hardly stand it.























Rob did a Bible study last year called Quest for Authentic Manhood. One thing it talked about was ceremonializing certain milestones in a young boys life on the way to becoming a man. Rob took that step and Friday Austin stayed home from school so they could go hunting and spend some time together. When they were done they packed up the truck and headed out for a night of camping. For the ceremony part Rob invited men up that have been or will have a direct involvement in Austin's life. They had dinner then they went around the circle and each man either told a life lesson they have learned or gave Austin some encouragement as it relates to growing up and what kind of man they want him to become. Rob said it was the most awesome night. He was so happy to have men show up that truly care about Austin and want to help see him into adulthood. Rob also said God was in the whole thing. Friday was C-O-L-D. Friday evening it was snowing. But not where they were. They were really cold and decided to come home Friday night instead of staying up there. Rob said when they drove home there was snow all around them but not one flake had fallen where they were.



I know this will be a night that Austin will always remember. As he put it "It's night something you could easily forget", and I am so thankful that Rob is taking an active part in raising our boys to be godly men.

Last night we had family over to celebrate. I am so glad we have family close that can celebrate things like this with us. Austin ended up with lots of cash, gift cards, new dirt biking pants and jersey and even a flight with Tim that was given to him by the pilot in the family. He is stoked about that one. He also got a quilt top. Unfortunately, even after the last minute, late night, last ditch effort by my mom, aunt and I that had us cutting, and sewing till much later than I wanted, it took too long quilting Taylor's quilt to get Austin's done too. We plan on going in this week or next to finish the job.

Other than that we don't have much going on. I took a two hour nap on Saturday which is totally out of the ordinary for me. I hate naps. I take maybe two a year and they only happen if I lay down and just happen to fall asleep. I usually wake up feeling worse than I did before I laid down and I just think there is way too much good stuff to do in life besides sleeping it away. Rob was watching a game on the bed and I came in and got so sleepy all of a sudden. Before I knew it it was two hours later. I must have really needed it. It couldn't be because last week Rob was out of town and every time I went to turn the TV off I would hear a noise and decide I would leave it on a little while longer. I ended up not going to sleep until 1:00. 2 Timothy 1:7 says "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." My mind was definitely unsound that night. He is going to be gone again so I may need to tape that to the ceiling above my bed. I usually don't have a problem staying alone but at our meal exchange the conversation went to being home alone and things that have happened to some of the girls and I just got freaked out. Great timing. It's going to be a long three nights if I don't get it under control.

Tonight is Bunko night. Steph and I are hosting. Wish me luck.

Tag...I'm it

Erin tagged me and even though I really should be working on The Quilt I am going to do this anyway. 6 things about moi.

1-I cannot and/or will not drink leftover milk from my cereal. By the time I'm done eating it is a little too warm for me and the thought of drinking it makes me want to gag.

2-The toilet paper has to come over the top of the roll. It's so hard to find it when it comes from the bottom. There are those(mom) who would strongly disagree, but in my house that's the way it is.

3-If I ever won the lottery, and I mean the big time lottery, I would buy myself an island in the Caribbean to sun bathe, swim and sail my life away.

4-I. Love. Disneyland. I know it's commercial and there are too many whiny kids and it's expensive but get past all that and it is a magical place. I hadn't been in about 10 years when Rob and I took the kids two years ago. I had forgotten how great it was and why I loved it so much but get a few steps inside those gates and it hits you. Magic.

5-My grandma and grandpa gave me my great great grandmothers wedding band when I got married. The inscription inside says "Albert to Minnie Oct. 8/'98". 1898. It is 110 years old. I love the history of it. I love that she wrote out the story of the two of them and even how they both died. I love that ring.

and finally
6-I hate hotel beds. Why o why do they have to tuck the stinkin sheets in so tight?! I lay there and it makes me so mad that I have to physically get up and untuck the sheets just so my feet can move. So annoying.

Just for kicks and grins I tag Kelly, Jen and Alisha.

So this week...

I have to make Austin's birthday quilt. Yep, I procrastinated and left myself seven days to finish an entire quilt. I think I can get the top done with three full days of work. That leaves one day to do the letters and borders and then try to get it machine quilted sometime Friday or Saturday. Hopefully. That's how it goes in my head. We'll see if it pans out in real life.

We finally did our meal exchange last night. My freezer is stocked and I am stoked. Five of us hung out afterwards for coffee and conversation. It always makes me happy to hang out with women who are in the same place as me. Stephanie said it best. "I love being a girl".

Austin has become a killing machine. Rob took the boys out on Saturday for some pheasant hunting and as he put it "There was one bird, he had one shot and he got it". Of course then Taylor chimes in that Dad had to twist its neck because it was twitching. What made it funnier was when they showed me the bird its head was just hanging there. By a feather you might say. I'm not sure what Rob is planning on doing with all that meat. We have baggies full of dove, quail and now pheasant. I guess he'll have to have a hunting guys night and invite people that will eat it to come and partake. I won't be there.

Oh, and remember the story I told you about the guy that wrote me a poem in high school about how beautiful I was(and I'm paraphrasing here), well there was an article about him in the Statesman yesterday and he is now appearing on Heroes. If he could just win an Emmy then maybe I could get some money for that masterpiece.

Tis the season **ETA PICTURES**

To break out these babies.







I had me some Pumpkin Spice this morning. Mmm Mmm. I would have to say that flavored creamers are the only reason I drink coffee. I can't quite fathom why people drink it black. Just don't get it.





Austin gets his braces today. Poor fella. He will only have to wear them for 18 months though. That beats the four years that I had to wear them. And my teeth weren't that bad. Plus he's getting it over with at a young age. He'll have beautiful teeth by the time he enters high school. No that he needs any help. I don't mean to brag but look at the kid. He's pretty easy on the eyes.





I'll be back later today with a before and after.





















Before and after of our little brace face :o)























He was being a bit of a twit when we got home so this is the best picture I got. He looks so grown up with them on. 18 months and counting...

Getting back in the groove

It's always hard after being gone. I always have a great time when we are out of town but getting back in the groove is hard. There is always a huge pile of laundry, unpacking and catching up with the kids. Lots of things to do but I am wading through them slowly. The laundry is almost caught up, the bags are unpacked(even though the suitcases are still out) and the kids haven't stopped talking since we got home.

Since the kids don't have school today or tomorrow they were farmed out all over town. Austin is at Taylor's, Emily is at my parents and Tay is with me. He was such a good sport to tag along with me to the grocery store. I am doing another meal exchange so I had to get the rest of my ingredients. To make it up to him we went to Sonic for lunch and got a couple movies at Redbox. That seemed to do the trick. We came home and ate and then I spent the next couple hours working on my first meal. Corn chowder. It is the perfect cold weather dish but after making eight meals worth I don't want to eat it for a while.

I wrenched my back yesterday. Chrisanna and I took down a white board at church and carried it to storage. I must be really out of shape because when I got home the left side of it hurt. I went to Fred Meyer and at one point didn't think I would be able to make it back to the car. because it hurt so much to pick up my left leg. Seriously. How lame is that. I did make it to my car but it hurt all night and a little today. I can feel the pain just trying to come back. Goody.

While I was at Fred Meyer I picked up some hair color so Steph and I could play salon. I have only had Abby color my hair (minus the one time I got it cut and colored in Florida and had to have several inches cut off my hair to fix it) so I was a little nervous. But lo and behold it turned out great. It's definitely not a salon job but for $3.49 plus tax it couldn't have turned out better. So that's what's happening here. What's going on with you?

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

Well most of it anyway. There are a few things I am allowed to share.

*The drive down. Who doesn't want to spend all day in a car driving through the desert. As Steph put it..."I thought I was done with road trips when I left college". Think again girlfriend. Fortunately there was some road construction and we were able to get out for five minutes and stretch.


















*Rich got a speeding ticket. 85 in a 70. The officer was nice and only gave him one for 75 in a 70.

*This was the view from our window. Not bad eh?
























*Saturday Steph and I went to Sephora and had the best time. We went looking for Pink Sugar perfume that I smelled on Beth and got so much more. They had makeup artists that were advertising for a line called Too Faced. This one cute gal kept talking to us about different makeup and finally asked us if we wanted our makeup done. Steph was a little concerned with her hot pink eyeshadow and glitter eye liner so she told me to go first. We got to talking and she said she has done makeup for Ashley and Jessica Simpson, Avril Lavigne and Gwen Stefani. Not only were those hands touching my face but she did an amazing job. My eyes were incredible. Smoky eyes and nude lips. Stunning. And I didn't take one picture of them. But believe me they were so, so good.

*Meeting Erin, who I went to high school with. She is married to one of the founders brothers. We weren't friends in high school. She was a cheerleader and I was the shy girl. She also knew Steph through middle school. Anyway, I recognized her immediately and when Steph brought her over she recognized me too. Minus the large high school glasses. She is the sweetest person have met in a long time and I am so glad I got to get reacquainted with her over the weekend.

*4 a.m. You know who you are. That's all I'm sayin.



















*Making Stephanie walk to New York New York thinking that it wasn't that far. It was. She had heels on. Not good.

*Learning a lot of good stuff about the business.

*Meeting a lot of great people.

*Modeling in a runway show. Sounds so posh right? Rob and I got roped into showing off the new Jus athletic gear. I wasn't entirely happy about it BUT we got to keep what we were wearing so it made the public humiliation worth it. And what made it even better is it was the outfit that I wanted to buy the first day we were there. Rich tried to take picture but the lighting made it really hard so if you look at Erin's blog it is the green and grey one in the top picture. If you scroll down you will also see the only picture of us dressed up. Sad, I know.

*The fountains at Bellagio. This video does not do it justice. If you are ever in Vegas you have to take in this attraction.


























*Taking part in the Boyle Family Hand Hold.

*Hanging out with these two.

























*Not getting nearly enough sleep. Nine hours in two days. Not good at all.

*Having a great weekend with friends. One that I will not forget soon and looking forward to more like them in the future.

Thank you to both of our parents for taking care of the kids. We couldn't have done it without you!

His first kill.

Busy busy

We had a great weekend. We went to Rich and Steph's to watch the BSU game on Saturday. It was quite the game especially at the end. It felt a little like the Fiesta Bowl with all the whoopin' and hollerin'. Thankfully our guys pulled it off.

Sunday we slept in and went to late service. It feels so good to be able to wake up whenever, drink a cup of coffee, read the paper and casually get ready for church. We haven't been able to do that for a long time and we were so used to getting up early that we just continued to do it. Not anymore.

This week we are getting ready to head to Vegas for Jus Momentum 2008. We are driving down with the other Smith's. Should be quite the road trip.

Lovin it

It is pouring outside.

Pouring.

I love it.

Looks like the atelier for the day calls for sweats.

Gotta love that.

Pride at its finest

We went to the Gunfighter Skies 2008 this past Sunday. We have taken the kids for four years and I love going. Just being at Mountain Home Air Force Base makes me so thankful. We have great men and women that serve our country and I would really love to have gone up to every one of them there and tell them thank you. But since there would be a great likeliness that they would throw the crazy lady out we simply walk around looking at all the planes.

Phil and Nicole were there with their kids and they had a nice spot right by the runway so we parked ourselves by them. Rich and Steph soon joined us and there we sat waiting for the show to start. In the heat. I am all about summer but this was a little much. I was sweating and I think the heat made Rob go mad because he spent $8 on two snow cones. We watched a few plane demonstrations and they were all amazing. People do things in planes that should not be possible. Even though those planes were cool, everyone there was waiting for the real stars to take to the skies.

The Thunderbirds.

What is it about those red, white and blue jets that makes me so proud? Why is it that they take off and my chest swells? The Lord has given us such a great country and every time I see those jets I am reminded of that once again.

So they finally head to their planes and, yes, it is a huge ordeal. From the time they start out there to the time they take off is about 20-30 minutes. But so worth it. As soon as they take off and you hear the roar of those engines all the waiting pays off.












There are four that stay together most of the time, and two solo pilots. One solo pilot is a woman.
And guess which one.
Yep...the one that's upside down. Doesn't that make it so much cooler?



I love this picture. I just happened to look around and saw everyone around me trying to block the sun.
We ended up having a great day. We got to see some cool aerial acrobatics, a really cool old WWII jet that was flown in the Doolittle raid, (If you saw Pearl Harbor you understand more), and we got buzzed by a jet. I think everyone there wet themselves a little. Now I know why Maverick got in so much trouble.(pardon the language at the end)

One of 'those' posts

Today has been a busy Saturday. Rich and Steph came over for breakfast which is something we never think about doing. I made a fabulous Rachael Ray dish...blueberry scones with melted peaches. Yum. We also had breakfast pizzas. I made some yesterday and added eggs, a few mushrooms and even a sprinkling of milled flax seed for good measure and they tasted just as good as they do without that stuff. And they were a little healthier than just sausage and processed cheese. After they left I cleaned our bathroom because it was disgusting and then headed to a sewing bee put on by Kelly and Andrea.

I was a little nervous about going since

#1-I don't know Kelly or Andrea very well

#2-I didn't know anyone else going

and

#3-It was someplace I've never been

All that said I was so glad I went. I made these towels and I love them. They were so easy. I did have a little trouble finding everyone but once i did all was good. They put so much time into the bee and I want to say a huge thank you to both of them. They made cute door prizes, like this pincushion, that I was lucky enough to receive and I also walked away with a Sonic gift card and a full tummy. I cannot wait to do another one.

Tonight Rob wanted to host a tailgate party for the BSU game so he spent the afternoon getting stuff ready. Finally a party that I don't have to plan.

I ordered three scrabble pendants from etsy a couple weeks ago. lOvE tHeM! I saw them on Andrea's blog and knew I had to have some.

Cute huh? And they are every bit as cute in person as they are in the pictures.
Etsy has the coolest stuff.

I started bunko again last Monday. There were only eight of us that showed up so we only played two tables. But boy was it fun. I would be in the -rarely to never win- category but I just love getting together every month to visit with those women.

I posted this picture a couple weeks ago. They are the colors I want to do in Em's room. I really want to do the pink on her walls but don't know exactly how. She has a chair rail about 1/3 of the way up her walls so do I do the dark pink on the bottom and another coordinating color on top OR do the pink on the top? I wish I was good at this.

Steph and I got together and made salsa this week. That's our new thing. Making stuff to can. I never knew storing stuff away could be so much fun. We made the Hines' hot hiney salsa. Apparently if you eat too much that's what you get.

I also went last week and bought a half bushel of peaches from a local garden. I came home and proceeded to spend the next two hours peeling and bagging peaches to freeze. I got 10 bags full which doesn't sound like a lot but they each have a quart of peaches. That equals 40 cups of peaches. It was a bit of a task but being able to grab some peaches out of the freezer last night for breakfast today was so worth it. I am thinking about getting some more before they are out of season. Maybe apples too.

Is this not the greatest idea from the fabulous Joanna Bolick. They bought a whiskey barrel and let their rain gutters run into it. They have a spigot on it so they can hook up a hose and use it for watering plants.

Love this idea. I want three of them. One at each spout.

I guess that is about all I have for now.

Mr. and Mrs. Church

We had a short but fAnTaStIc visit to Oklahoma to celebrate the wedding of Renee and Jeremy. Some of my memories are...

--introducing my dad to an ipod. he loved it and it entertained him on more than one occasion this trip.

--renee's personal shower. I was so glad we were able to be there. we had so much fun. all of us girls laughing at some of the stuff she got, then trying to talk the theater owner to give us a special showing of mamma mia.
























--getting a tour of some of the area in town taken out by the tornado. when it first touched down it was about 1/2 a mile from my aunt and uncle's house. it missed their house by one block but hit their office where my uncle was down in the cellar. he only had five pictures left on his camera but he got three amazing ones of it.

--having nine people crammed into a two bedroom, one bath house. good times.

-rearranging said house so we could fit all of us in there.

--not having a bathtub or bathroom sink for the first night and morning. did i mention it's an old house?

--trying to go down in to the storm cellar. i made it to the bottom of the stairs then looked up and saw spiders on the ceiling and couldn't go any further.

--decorating most of the day on friday.

--the rehearsal dinner and rehearsal on friday night.

--my mom, aunt and cousin teaching me the cotton eyed joe in the living room. it was one of the songs they had on their reception play list. sadly after all that practice it was never played. we had some laughs though.
**that video is the closest thing i could find to what they were teaching me. sorry about the dorky guys :o)**

--the big day.

--meeting jared. hi jared! he said he reads my blog :o)

--her something blue. how fabulous is that?




















--dancing with the groom. the story goes...we were sitting in the brides room after the ceremony. they were eating and becca and i were waiting to tell the deejay they were ready to come out. they did a dance where they dance for about 30 seconds then each of them would go pick someone to dance with. jeremy said "who am i supposed to pick?" and renee said "pick jenny". I replied "no no no noooo. that's quite alright. pick somebody else." he said "no, i'll pick you" to which i replied again "no no no noooo". i was hoping that when the time came he would pass me by, and he did for the first change up but come the second one he came right up to me. I went out there and said "i can't dance". he said "sure you can. it's two steps forward and one step back." ok, i guess i can do that. and it wasn't that bad.

--doing the cupid shuffle. even my mom got out there.

--my mom dancing to "i'm too sexy".

--boogiein' the night away.
























--hanging out with becca.




















--cleaning up after the wedding. there was a bottle of champagne on the cake table and did a napoleon dynamite with it not thinking that it would come spewing out my mouth. it did. what a laugh.

--eating at zio's. yum yum!

--shopping at the mall for a few hours till we had to head to the airport. picking up several good deals at dillards.

--a very late flight home.

real quick

emily and i are flying to oklahoma tomorrow for my cousins wedding. i have to do the following things before we get to the airport at 6 am:

*finish a love album

*print out the wedding programs

yes, for those of you jay leno fans, it is the 'church-bell' wedding.

*try to finish a power point video. not sure that is going to happen.

*make a pot pie so the boys don't starve

*finish at least 5 loads of laundry

*pack for both of us

*pick up the house

*color my hair. steph is going to do it for me today. yikes! never done an at home job before.

*finish the guest book.

i'm sure there's more so i better get off the computer and get to it.

She does it again.

I am blown away by her talent. I got our pictures back yesterday and am going to post some. I will do it at the bottom of this post so if you don't want to see them I will tell you when to stop reading. K?

Rob went backpacking with my brother and a guy from work this weekend. Austin spent the night at my parents so it was just Taylor, Emily and I last night. We did a puzzle, watched The Pursuit of Happyness and I stayed up watching TV way too late.

Today the kids and I went to the memorial service for Ethan and Kimberly's baby. I can't even imagine what they have gone through. My heart breaks for them. Although it is hard to see someone go through this what a blessing it is to know that they will see him again. Jeff shared a thought from Becky today and it was this: Isaac never knew anything but love in his life. He only knew the love of his mother when he was in her womb and when he opened his eyes for the first time and saw Jesus' face there was only love from his heavenly father. What a precious thought and such a comfort to know that he is at peace in Jesus' arms.

Since I heard about Isaac I have thinking about this video. If you haven't seen it you must watch it.



He always understands. I love that.

OK...now onto the pictures. I was going to upload them here but thought it would be easier to upload them to an album so click here if you want to see them.

Chrisanna is going to love this. ETA...

When we were in the Philippines I had serious sleep issues.

Serious. Sleep. Issues.

We'll call them SSI for short.

I don't think poor Chrisanna got a full nights sleep the whole time we were there. Almost every night in my SSI stupor I would do one of the following:

--wake up laughing really loud

--talk in my sleep really loud

-or-

--get up out of bed and push the curtains in our room back like I was trying to see something or escape. I don't know which one. Mind you we were on the 10th floor and there were no screens or bars on the windows.

We had many a laugh about my SSI, which by the way, I have never had issues with before. My last episode happened two nights before we left. Chrisanna said I got out of bed and went over to the curtains. I was in a corner where the curtains meet the wall and she said I was trying to push them out of the way. She was laughing and asked me what I was doing. That must have woke me up because I remember standing there trying to act like I knew exactly what I was doing. I finally said "I have no idea" and started walking back to the bed. I don't know if the room was really dark or if I had my eyes closed but I remember not being able to see anything. I got to the bed and remember hitting the edge of it and falling on the floor. I hit my elbow and by that time we were both laughing hysterically. I mean how lame must I have looked. It's the middle of the night and I am on the floor of our hotel room. We then proceeded to laugh for I don't know how long and even the next night when we were writing in our journals we couldn't contain ourselves.

Fast forward a few weeks and I am in bed when I hear Rob say "what are you doing?". I wake up and I am at the end of our bed. I didn't want to look like a fool so I said "going to get a drink". Yeah. I always crawl to the end of the bed when I need a drink. Sadly my SSI had returned.

Rewind to last night and I give you this rather unflattering picture but it's one that you must see.

I woke up last night and Rob sounded like he was in a panic. He kept asking me if I was OK and he was grabbing at me. I finally realize that I am standing up in or kneeling in bed and I am grabbing at the wall.

As you can see, and I am sorry to subject you to this kind of poor house keeping(don't judge me!) the dust on the mirror shows where I was clawing at it. Also if you'll notice there is supposed to be a plant between the frames too. Where is it? I knocked it off in all the commotion. Probably onto my poor sleeping husband.

When Rob finally let me go and made sure that I was indeed OK I said that my chin hurt. I don't know if I hit that shelf or my headboard but I hit something. I didn't want to turn on the light and look at it so I figured I would wait till the morning. The first picture didn't do it justice so I took another.

There is a scab and a bruise on my chin!

What was I doing?!

**I finally figured out how I got the bruise. I kept trying to think of how I could've hit something so hard that it would leave a mark like that. When Rob got home we were talking about my 'episode' and I asked him what I was doing. He said that when he woke up out of a sound sleep I was climbing the wall and he thought that someone was in the room trying to grab me so he grabbed my legs and pulled me down onto him. So in reality the bruise came from Rob :o) HA!

Things around here

Everything has been running very smoothly since school started. I have been making the boys lunches every night so that's one less thing to do in the morning. We have also been picking out clothes and making sure that all of their bags etc are by the door so there is no looking for things when it's time to leave.



Emily is loving school and she is excited that Hailey finally got a spot at her school. Now they get to ride the bus all the way to school instead of just part way together.



I am thinking about painting Emily's room. She's had the same colors in her room since she was two months old and they are feeling a little babyish to me. I would like a change and something a little older for her. These are the colors that I am contemplating. I love the dark pink and am trying to figure out how it could work in her room.

There is an old abandoned house across the street and we have gone through it a couple of times simply because I love old houses. Kids have come in and trashed most of it but there is a back door is still in pretty good condition. I have been thinking about what I could do with it and even though I haven't made up my mind yet I asked Rob if he'd go get it for me. If you have any great ideas let me know.

Steph and I are going to make homemade spaghetti sauce tomorrow. Rodger and Terry have tons of tomatoes and we thought it would be fun to put them to good use. We are using a Giada recipe that she found. I hope it's good.