01/05/08

It is quite weird writing '08....

Well, my first post for the new year. Sorry for not posting before now. I guess I was a bit "lazy" on my last days off from school and then school began in full force again on Thursday.

My picture is from my in-laws house last spring. They love birds and have many birdhouses and feeders around their yard. Since I have no snow or winter scene pictures I had to pick from ones I haven't shown!

The first day of the year for us was quiet. Steve cut wood while I read a book. I pretty much read all day long. That is something I don't get to do often anymore and I enjoyed it immensly. Plus, in trying to get Wesley and Mikayla to ENJOY reading and not just do it because they have to, I figured this would set an example for them. They kept coming up to me and saying "You read THAT much, Mom??!" I had to laugh. Wesley got the book "The Wind in the Willows" for Christmas and he has really gotten into that. Mikayla has been reading her American Girl Doll books. She just finished one today that she started when we got off from school for Christmas. I am thankful for how well they both are reading now. Two years ago we didn't think we'd get to that point! ha! I finished my second book I had started over my break in around 2 days. I hadn't done that in a long time, either. lol Usually it takes me forever to read a book because I fall asleep in the middle of the page.

My last day off from school was not complicated, either. I wanted to enjoy that last hoorah before the craziness started again. Steve has been after me for a while for us to get a new couch. My thoughts (as the tight one with money) is that our couch now is FINE and still workable. It is only 10 or so years old and in great condition considering two kids have been on it. lol I realize it has some issues with the piping around the edge coming out but that is just from use. PLUS, I brought my babies home to that couch and I have read many a story to them there. You know me.... sentimental as I am. Well, he called me that day and told me to get over to the LazyBoy store and pick out a new couch. lol He had wanted to get one last fall and I kept putting him off but now he is determined. I just hate to spend money....

Anyway, we met him over there and sat on four or five, then narrowed it down to three. I laid on them and kicked back in them to make sure they were supportive yet comfortable. I can't stand a couch where you feel like you can't relax on it because it is so stiff. We finally chose one that was what we felt we wanted. It has a recliner on both ends of the couch (which truly is one of the sole reasons why Steve wanted a new couch....) and it is taupe. It should blend nicely with the other furniture we have. I just hope it looks alright with our taupe walls! It should arrive in four weeks or so and we'll go pick it up. Meanwhile, I am relishing in the last few times I'll be reading to my babies on the old couch. I WILL miss that one... lol

Thursday was back to school for us. Overall, it wasn't bad. It is just hard to get back into all of it when you have been off.

Went to see The Spelling Bee performed on Thursday night with my brother. At first, the play seemed really cute and funny. The farther along it got the more I realized this play was not fit to see, in my opinion. The people were portraying children in a spelling bee.... it went beyond that. I did not appreciate most of it as it went a long and I walked out of there feeling like I had wasted my time. My brother felt the same. We'll not see that again if it comes through. Our next one is in three weeks and we'll be seeing Cats. We have seen that numerous times and I know we'll enjoy that one.

Mikayla had a play date yesterday after school. Unfortunately, she is still not over her crying about leaving me. I am a bit frustrated and don't quite know what to do anymore. I want to comfort her and say it is alright on one hand, but at the same time I know if I do that she will continue this behavior and I don't want her to do that either. I know it is probably a phase. My Mom keeps telling me "Wait till she doesn't want to be with you anymore and then you'll wish for these days." OK, that is true, but I also don't think Mikayla will be that way, either. I had moments as a teenager like any do but I never wanted to purposely be without my family. I just wasn't raised that way. (That was such a rabbit trail, sorry...) SO... Mikayla cried at school throughout the whole day. I had to be "tough love Mom" and tell her she WAS going because she didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings. It broke my heart but at the same time I had to move past it because I knew this was good for her to keep going. She had a pretty good time but was glad to get back home. Thankfully, the parents of her friend understood and didn't take offense!!

I think I have created a "cleaning monster" in Wesley. lol He has been obsessed with that little Shark Vacuum I got from Steve for Christmas. He always wants the house to look "neat and clean" ALL of the time. Now, believe me, I am all for that but I also know when you live in a house it isn't always going to look "perfect." He got upset the other day when we were going to meet Steve because Mikayla was leaving out some of her toys she had been playing with. She was going to play with them again when we got back home. He was NOT happy about that and came to me a couple of times over it. At one point he looked like he was almost in tears! I told him as much as I appreciate his desire to have our house clean that we can't be perfect all of the time. As long as she cleaned up her stuff before she went to bed, I was fine with that. He finally relented and was OK, but still not that happy about it. lol He has used that little vacuum every day since we got it charged. lol I was going to have that as a chore for each of them to take turns in days but he may have an issue if Mikayla does it before him! HA!!!

Today we have been cleaning and he has been his normal little cleaning self. I appreciate it about him, though, and don't want to complain about it. He could be a slob that I would have to get straight!

Since the house is clean and Steve is out cutting more wood I guess I'll try to work on some scrapbook pages today. I finally journaled on all of the ones I had done from last year to August. I now have to start scrapping pictures from August through December. Now that my dining room is cleaned I hate to get it all out in there again but it is the only place I have for it. I'll just have to keep it more in the containers and not spread all over the place.

I also want so badly to get out and photograph something. I have photographed stuff around here so much I am running out of options. I need to go somewhere but not sure of where to go. I'll figure something out. I had thought of photographing the birds on our back deck. They are feeding so fast on the bird feeders and look so cute. I'll see what I can do.

I still miss my Christmas sparkle and lights. Seems so dark around here at night now.

Well, I need to go get busy with the other things I mentioned. Have a wonderful day and love your furniture like I do. lol

12/31/07

Well, Happy New Year's Eve everyone!

I can't believe another year has gone... truly. It seems the older I get the faster life goes before me. It is just like what the Bible says... life is like a vapor. Here one minute and gone the next. May we treasure every day and know how we can use our days to glorify the Lord.

2007 was a good year overall.... The Lord blessed us and kept us. We never went without food, shelter or clothing. Mom continues to get stronger and has stayed relatively healthy compared to two years ago. I survived having my first surgery of the gallbladder removal. lol I also was tickled with myself for losing 28 pounds this year. I don't ever want to go back to what I was. I am so thankful for my friends, old and new, and cherish the times we have together. I am thankful for email, and this blog!, so I can communicate with those I love and miss because I don't get to see them often. I pray my blogs will continue to be numerous. My Father-in-Law gave me "strict" instructions this past weekend to keep them coming. lol I am also thankful that this past year I was able to learn so much more about photography and now have been able to do some "shoots on the side." It is always good to learn something new!

I am thankful this past year for the Lord showing me things through His Word. I know I do not know everything He wants to show me and I am thankful He is patient and understanding when I don't seem to "get" what He is trying to teach me. I have thought a lot about that in the last few months. God is so good!

We are spending New Years Eve with our wonderful friends with which we always celebrate the New Year. We are cooking steaks on the grill, having boiled red potatoes, salad and some grilled onions. It should be a fun night. I took the photo for today earlier. I have our party favors ready and our Sparkling Red Grape Juice for us to toast in 2008. I am sure the kids will do their best to stay up till midnight!

May you sit back tonight and reflect on what the Lord has given you this year. Happy New Year and may God bless all of you in 2008!! I'll be "back next year...." Hee heee

12/30/07

We had GREAT, soaking rain today!! It was wonderful to hear, see, smell, be a part of... I took some photos (imagine that) just so I could enjoy the moment a little more. I took the one of our Christmas tree through the window so that is why it has a bit of a "glow." The others are ones I shot from the front porch. I saw that car going by and saw the spray come up from behind and was glad to see it! We haven't had a good soaking rain like this in a while. It isn't going to take away the drought, but we are thankful for whatever the Lord sends our way!

I thought I would also show a few more pictures from Christmas. They are of Wesley, Mikayla and I making "reindeer food", the kids getting their milk and cookies ready for Santa as well as the note and lack of cookies and milk from Christmas morning!! I would show more but there isn't enough time to upload them all on here. lol

Steve still isn't feeling 100%. He thought he was "over the hump" yesterday but he started having a time again last night. I truly don't know what to make of it. I am just praying he is feeling better soon.

Today was lazy with the rain and all. I haven't gotten too much accomplished, but after all I have done in the past few days, I figure it is a good thing. lol

Off to work on some photographs. Hope everyone has had a wonderful day....

12/28/07

No...it hasn't been icing or snowing here. I don't know what to do with myself not being able to post Christmas pictures anymore. lol I just pulled up some pictures from last winter and "voila"... here ya go.

Have you missed me????? I have been posting so much lately that four days between posts is quite a lot. hee hee I have been one busy chick.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were tons of fun for us. The kids got a train from my aunt and uncle on Christmas Eve and then Santa brought them a "North Pole" Lionel train on Christmas morning!! The Lionel train is a Christmas train so they would only play with it during the Christmas season and it is for under the tree. That train is also a keepsake train that will be handed down to their kids one day. The train they got from my aunt and uncle are more for them to play with all of the time. Santa was a bit bummed that his "thunder" was stolen, but it has worked out alright.

The kids got lots of clothes and fun stuff. Wesley got new John Deere tractors and trucks that he collects. Mikayla got her American Girl doll named "Nicki" and she is adorable. They both got lots of clothes.

Steve got him some clothes and lights for the sidewalk in the front and back of the house. He has been a bit under the weather since the day after Christmas with a bug of some sort so he hasn't felt like getting out there to put them up. (Sal... does that take you back to two years ago!?? What is it with us, bugs and after Christmas?? lol) He also got the "Bourne" trilogy of movies. We are wanting to start watching them, but, again, he hasn't felt up to it.

I was blessed with some new clothes, a Live Cam for my computer (Anyone have one of those so I could use it with you????... I could have a conversation on the computer and see ya at the same time!) and Steve bought me a battery grip for my camera. I was quite tickled about that. I haven't had a chance to put it on my camera, though. Steve and I received a percolater (sp?) for our coffee from Mom and Dad. I was tickled and it makes REALLY tasty coffee. It is a twelve cupper, so we can actually do more than a couple of cups if we have guests. lol

We had our friends over on Christmas Day night and enjoyed spending time with them.

On Wednesday Steve and I got into the kids closets and purged! It has been needing it for some time now but that is something I can't do unless I am in the right frame of mind. lol We got rid of SO MANY clothes. It felt quite exhilarating. We took the clothes to a lady whose husband had recently lost his job. She has a boy who is five and a girl who is two... the two year old will have to grow into a lot, but I know how I appreciated hand-me-downs so I hope she does, too. The kids now have room in their closets for clothes that actually fit them.

After we dropped those off, I went to pick up Mikayla from my friends house (she had spent the night with their girls) and found my friend in the middle of cleaning out her kitchen. I began to help her and that got me thinking about my own kitchen... and the sad shape some areas of it had become because of the craziness of life. Well, when I left her house about 2 1/2 hours later, I decided to start working on mine. This was the day Steve was beginning to feel poorly so he had no clue what I was doing. ha! I began throwing out things, cleaning out cabinets that hadn't been touched in years and purging that area, too!! BOY, did that feel GOOD! My brother had given us a new set of dishes... cool ones, I might add... and I had to make space for them. (I'll have to take a picture of them and post it!) Anyway, I finally got rid of (and you are going to laugh at some of these...)

1. Plates we have had since we were married that looked like plates you get when you are first married

2. The bottle nipples from allllll of the bottles I used to fix for my babies when they were babies. Yes, I have kept them for seven years. Yes, I am so sentimental...

3. Sippy cups... all sippy cups my children have ever drank out of...

4. Plastic tupperware cups that would make your drink taste funny everytime you used them.

5. Old wall hangings that I haven't used in YEARS and kept for some reason.

6. Placemats that have only been used maybe once or twice. (I just don't use placemats much.)

Oh, the list could go on and on... I was making a serious mess and went through I don't know how many trash bags but it was good. We made a pile of stuff for the Vietnam Vets to come and get. They actually came to get that today. It was nice that we could box the stuff up and set it on the front porch for them to come by and get. :)

Yesterday we took down our Christmas decorations. I was SO bummed about taking them down this year. The tree was still in good condition considering it had been up for over a month. Even though it is nice to get the house back "in order" and not have that hanging over me, I am missing my lights and the sights and sounds of Christmas. It goes by too fast.

Today we finished cleaning in the morning and then headed out to run errands and take back a few things that didn't fit. Steve and I also decided to "bite the bullet" and buy a new stereo system. Ours we have now is fourteen years old. We thought we were SO COOL when we got the "Philco" brand stereo we have now... we were so up-to-date with the double cassette player AND CD player! Woohoo!! Well, it still works, but one speaker doesn't fully work right and the CD's seem to skip. lol We definitely can't complain about how well it has held up for us. And, yes, sentimental me will miss that stereo. It was one of our first Christmas purchases right after we got married. :) We got a Sony today. Steve had actually looked at one for us for Christmas but knew there were other things he wanted to get me. This new one actually plays three CD's instead of just one. lol I know that is old hat to most of you whose stereos can probably play 100 at a time, but we are happy with three. lol I'll have to figure out this new system. I don't do well with change, you know....

Well, when I get a few moments I'll download some of our Christmas pictures so you can see our fun. I can't believe 2008 is right around the corner. Have a blessed day!

12/24/07

The last couple of days have been super busy going different places. We had Steve's Mom's Christmas on Saturday and enjoyed a good time there. We then went out for my Daddy's birthday at the Angus Barn. Boy, was that wonderful. The first picture is of the tree and the "live elf" they had sitting near the top of it on a "shelf." It was WONDERFUL as always. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there as well as the meal. We actually spent three hours eating but it didn't seem like it!! lol It was late when we got home that night and the kids were so tired.

Yesterday morning we went to church. I have been taking photographs for the directory at church and I took some more yesterday since it was the service right before Christmas. I thought I'd show the shot I liked the most... it is of our pastor standing before everyone in the congregation. I love my church and for what it stands. There are people in our church, therefore it isn't perfect, but it is a solid church based on God's Word. I am so thankful for it.

Last night we went over to some of our best friend's house and had a great meal and time to open presents. We had a wonderful time of relaxing and talking. Usually we would go to Meadow, but since we did that earlier in the month, we had a more relaxing time. Yesterday was a bit rainy (thank the Lord for that!) and muggy. It was around high 60's/low 70's.

Today, Christmas Eve, has been so nice. We didn't have anywhere to go this morning and so the kids and I slept in. I actually slept in a lot later than I should have, but I figured we all needed it. I chose to make this a "lazy" day and we have done pretty much that! The kids have played with some of their toys they got at Steve's Mom's house and I have caught up on some pictures and such for church. I also read to the kids out of our "Little House on the Prairie" series since I haven't been able to read much lately. We then had a reading time together so they could get their school reading minutes in. I enjoyed that as much as they did, I think. It was nice to be able to all sit together and read. We were in our pajamas for most of the day (at least Mikayla and I were!) and just relaxed. Steve worked all day. He just got home and it is after 4:30. We'll be going to my Aunt's house soon for Christmas Eve supper.

Enjoy the other pictures I posted. These are some I wanted to post before Christmas and hadn't gotten around to it yet. It is a hodge podge but part of our wonderful Christmas memories. The stained glass church for my village was one that we got when we were first married. It is one of the first parts of the village I put up every year.

My manger scene is in our dining room. I have been constantly reminded on how I need to keep Christ the focus this season. We love Santa and all the fun that goes with it, but Christ is the true reason for the season. I was reading in my devotions this morning that Christ was probably born around September. It would make sense. I have known for a while that this time of year was probably not when He was actually born, but a wonderful time to celebrate it all. I am so thankful for the gift of God's Son. I can only imagine how Mary felt that day when she gave birth to her Savior as well as mine. Just think: If Christ had been born in a palace, where Herod thought He would be born, no lowly shepherds could have come and worshiped Him. Jesus was laid in a manger for a reason... He came for ALL, not just royalty, but for all walks of life. He is the great Redeemer. Thank and praise the Lord for His birth!

Well, I need to get off of here. Time to do our fun stuff like make Reindeer Food and get ready to go to my aunt's house. The kids are excited about all that Christmas morning will bring.

May you all have a MERRY CHRISTMAS. I will try to post how our fun goes tomorrow. Enjoy this time with your family and friends. Much Love!!!

12/22/07

Today is my Daddy's birthday. We are going to celebrate him tonight when we go out to eat at the Angus Barn. This is our tradition for him so that his birthday is special. Having a birthday near Christmas can "stink" because of the festivities already going on. It will be a FUN time... and I can't wait to eat some steak!

Steve and I wrapped all of our presents on Thursday night. It took around 4 hours! I wanted to get them all done so I could fully clean the house yesterday without having that hanging over me. It was a relief but I must say my "bones" were feeling it. lol I just can't sit on the floor in one position anymore. I used to laugh at people who would get up from sitting on the floor and have "issues".... I should not have done that. lol Now, it is coming back to get me. ha!! I must say I love the picture of the presents around the Christmas tree. It has a warm, cozy feeling to it. I don't think Steve and I have ever had all of our presents wrapped like this before Christmas. If we have then it has been a long time. We usually are wrapping as we go, kind of a thing. :)

Ashes enjoyed the wrapping as much as we did. She cracked us up because she was right in the middle of us all night. Steve would have to call her over to him when I was trying to unroll some paper and I'd have to do the same. Sometimes she didn't care and plopped down on the whole present. I love my kitty and love how she wanted to be near the fun.

Yesterday was a cleaning day. It took us all day long to work on this house. So much had gotten disorganized from Christmas presents from school and the busyness of school/life that I had to work on finding places for the "stuff" before I could actually clean. The kids were great and worked hard on cleaning the office, den and their rooms. It felt SO GOOD to have my house more in order. I truly wish it would stay that way!!!!!!

I want to say "HELLO" to Mary-Claudia... a friend of mine. She wrote in her Christmas card that she reads my blog every day. I am so glad she still knows the crazy happenings of our life. I MISS YOU and hope to hear from you soon!!

Last night we got together with some friends at church and went out to eat Mexican for our "Feliz Navidad Fiesta"... we had a great time together. After they left I got in my pajamas and passed out on the couch by the fire. Boy, there is just NOTHING like that. I truly hate to get off of the couch when I go to sleep like that. That is some good sleeping.

Today we are going to Steve's Mom's for Christmas with her and Steve's brother and sister's families. It is cloudy and cold so it should feel Christmasy. I hate it when it is hot at Christmas. I know it will be a good time!

I included a few more ornament pictures. I realized today that I still had lots to show and I don't have a lot of time left to show them. That is quite unfortunate that this month has already gone by so quickly. We have had our tree up now for a month and it doesn't seem like it. I'm not ready to think about taking it down...

Enjoy the moments God has given you this Christmas season. May you share them with family and friends and make wonderful and cherished memories!

12/19/07

Lots and lots of pictures today. It has been a busy couple of days since I posted last... but a good busy. :)

School is officially out for a couple of weeks and I am thrilled. We all need a break! I still have some shopping to do but will work on that tomorrow. Then, I'll have to work on wrapping all of it because I haven't done ANY of that yet!

On Monday night we went to see Santa. Wesley and Mikayla cracked us up because they were rolling out the "list" of what they wanted. It was quite sweet. I got one shot of them on Santa's knee. Good memories for us...

Yesterday we had Wesley and Mikayla's little Christmas program at school. They made these snowmen on their sweatshirts with their feet. They were the cutest things. I was SO PROUD of Wesley as he performed. In the past, he has not always focused during a performance of any kind. This time, his eyes were on his teacher all of the time (except when he was seeing us) and he did all songs and motions. He's coming along, y'all.... Their program was really cute and afterwards we had their Christmas party. I was able to stay for all of that but then had to go back upstairs to tend to my own students. Steve took the kids "shopping" for a bit and then they came back to school to get me.

We then went to the Imax Theatre in downtown and saw Polar Express in 3D!! Notice how awesome we look in our 3D glasses. :) There wasn't supposed to be any photography there but who can resist us looking like that. We took the pics quickly before the show started. We had seen it that way a couple of years ago and it was SO good again. We enjoyed every minute of it. Steve wants to start the tradition of seeing it that way every year. I am not sure if they play it every year but it would be great if they did.

After we finished the movie, we came home and the kids put on their pajamas and Steve and I put on comfy clothes and we set off to see Christmas lights. I must say, there were some "Bah-humbug" people out there but then we saw some doozies. lol We enjoyed the time together as a family. When we got home the kids were definitely ready for bed. One of the houses we went to had their lights blinking to the music that was playing in their yard. I think that was my favorite. That is the one that is pictured here. You also see our "family pic" of us traveling around in the van. What a lovely moment that was. lol

With today being the last day of school we had our party. It was a crazy day but a good one. I was glad to be able to walk out of there and go see one of my friends. It is my friend Kathryn that I don't get to see very often but every time I do it feels like coming home. Mikayla had gone home with my best friend and her daughter to do a cookie bake-off. More on that in a minute. So, it was just Wesley and myself traveling to Kathryn's house to enjoy a bit of time together. They were so sweet and invited us to have lunch with them. I just love my moments there. She had more fruit on her table (remember the blueberry/cherry/banana picture from this past summer I took there???) Well, I had to break out my camera and capture the fruit of the season. These are pomegranates, lemons and oranges. I loved photographing it. Kathryn just laughed at me. We have decided it is now a tradition for me to photograph fruit when I go to her house. lol What do you think? I can't decide which view of them I like more... horizontal or vertical. I was so in my element. Our time with them was too short but such is life in the busyness of the holidays. I just cherished the time we had today. (Love you, Kathryn!!)

After we left there it was off to help my friend with her cookie bake-off. She said I could come over anytime and hang out. I figured that would be a fun way to spend the afternoon. :) I helped her with the kids as they made their sugar cookies. It was quite humorous to watch them decorating. They all put flour on their faces to show they had "worked hard" at the baking. We had a fun time playing around with the flour and sprinkles. Can you tell by the look of those cookies????

We are off to church in a few minutes. We have our Christmas party with the Awana kids. I am not eating supper because I have nibbled on so many things today! I know I'll eat more tonight as well. Just nibbling, though... :)

Have a wonderful evening as we continue to celebrate the birth of God's Son! Enjoy it with those you love.... I surely did the last two days. :)