Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everybody.........

sit back and think about how merry we all should be.

I have a wonderful husband and children...

Friends who are traveling to pick up long-awaited children and add them to their family

Friends who are in process of adding children to their families

Family who are gathering together who are all healthy

A home that stands against the Oklahoma winds

Friends gathering together with new little ones in their families

A great church to worship our God

An extended family who always thinks of us no matter where we are in the world

Friends who I may not have seen in a while but think of enough of me to send me a card at Christmas

Today I don't have the Alaska snow, but I have overcast skies :)

My doggy gets to lay by the fire

This list could go on and on

We all have the greatest gift of all......Jesus Christ.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Merry Christmas!

Carb-o-licious

I got a breadmaker!! I got a breadmaker!! Woo hoo!!

Yes, some of you are thinking "who the heck cares that she got a breadmaker". I will still make bread for you! :)

My hands have thanked me for not kneading, not one push on the dough, the 5 loaves of bread I have made since Friday!

I have always been a true fan of bread. Oh how much more I love it warm out of the breadmaker with no work from me except throwing everything in a pan and pressing a button!

So far we have made 2 loaves of cinnamon bread. These loaves were my attempt to replicate Great Harvest's Cinnamon Chip bread. While my version did not exactly look like their round loaf of heavenly goodness, it tasted the same, and that is all that matters to me. I am not too picky about presentation; except when it comes to making the bread for giving. Which leads me to explain 2 more loaves of bread. The first version of cranberry white chocolate did not turn out heavenly, the second did. Or so I heard. I gave it away. It looked great coming out of the pan, and it took a lot of mental and physical discipline to keep my serrated knife in the drawer and walk away.

The fifth loaf was jalapeno cheese bread we ate with chili we made on Friday night. Yummy!

Ok, I have made you suffer enough. I will stifle my over the top excitement of a kitchen appliance. So, act surprised if you are gifted with a loaf of bread! :) After all, I am a southern girl and that's what we like to do - cook good food for those we love!

God's Provision

I LOVE Caleb's preschool, Altus Christian Academy. He is thriving there. The staff is great. His teacher, Ms. Kristy, is precious and wonderful. I wish I could send both of our boys to ACA, but the price is a little too much for our wallets right now.

The school is in the process of expanding and about to move into a new building for the next school year. So, they have been having a lot of events for fund raising and awareness for the community and the parents. Well, in the November newsletter the principal, Mrs. Darby, put in the story of how it became possible. I just had to share.

"It was recently brought to my attention that there are several parents in our school who don’t know the wonderful story of God’s provision and affirmation this past summer. It is a story I LOVE to tell, and I still get chill bumps each time. Around the first week of May, the board of directors signed the contract to purchase the facility at 1220 N. Grady. They knew it would take significant funds to renovate the building, so I contacted a development consultant who had helped Christ Academy in Wichita Falls raise funds to construct a new school building. During the conversation, the consultant told me we would likely need at least one donor to give $100,000. I laughed to myself, thinking that was impossible in a small town, and finished the conversation. Three hours later one of the teachers came to my office and said there was a gentleman who wanted to visit with me. He told me that he had a very strong conviction that God had been leading him to support Christian education, and he thought that meant he needed to start a Christian school in Altus. He didn’t even know ACA existed. He visited with some of the staff at Lawton Christian School who told him there was already a Christian school in Altus. He drove back to Altus, to ACA, and asked what we needed. I normally would have said we needed bugs cleaned from the light fixtures, or boards nailed back down on the porch, but the Holy Spirit took over and instead I told him we needed funding for a new facility. He asked if $100,000 would help. I was speechless. God truly does provide, and often in dramatic fashion. I have to remind myself that I serve the same God who created the universe, parted the Red Sea, asked a man to build a boat in the middle of nowhere, healed the blind/lame/leprous, and resurrected our Savior from the dead. He is a God of incredible miracles and is more than powerful enough to provide the funds we need to renovate our building. It is His work, and He will accomplish His purposes. I pray this story will encourage and embolden you the way it did me. There is something very special happening at ACA, and it is all because of God and for His glory."

Is that not amazing and wonderful?! I feel so blessed that Caleb gets to be a part of this school, even if it is for just a short time.

“GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD. HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER”

1 CHRONICLES 16:34

Completion

I love when things are completed. Here are our Halloween weekend happenings and finally the end of some projects and parties.

Remember those paper mache balloons I made? Well, here they are completed and serving their purpose nicely as Power Ranger helmets. The boys loved these costumes! I loved making them cause it reminded me of when mom made my costumes as a little girl. I hope the boys have that nostalgia when they are older.

I made these, cake pops, for Noah's birthday treat for his class. I got the idea from Bakerella. Google it. She is awesome. And while my dipping skills are not in the same class as hers, alas they will eat the same. She was in TX signing her book. I was so close to going, but got distracted by.........

This. This is Kevin's office. He came home and said there was a competition to decorate the different offices for the kid's halloween party. Ok, put up whatever and have a candy bowl. Then he says, if his office wins he gets a day off pass. AN ENTIRE DAY OFF!! I immediately put Caleb in the car and we were off to the craft store. We built the pirate ship, complete with Pumpkin Head Pirate, stringy cob webs, treasure chest of booty and squishy rats. Let's hope he wins!!!!

We decided that it was time to invest in the future of the NBA. Noah shot 6/6 with no assists and had 6 rebounds. He is in LOVE!!! Happy Birthday to Noah!

To go along with the bastketball theme I made Noah a basketball cake. Or this is my interpretation of a basketball. Noah knew what is was and that is all that mattered!

Noah had his birthday party at the bowling alley. It was so much fun! Who knew they gave you a pin for all of your friends to sign?! It was so cool and is proudly displayed in his bedroom. He had lots of friends from school and soccer come out to bowl and share in his happy day! He even had a very special visitor, Mrs. Madl his kindergarten teacher came by for a few mintues! It was such a highlight! Everyone had a great time. Who knew bowling alley parties could be so fun?!!

After all the birthday festivities we were off to our church for fall festival. The boys got to trick or treat, play games, and top off all the birthday cake with halloween cupcakes, sugar cookies, and 2 pieces of trick or treat candy loot! Let's just say I am thankful for the weekend, and am so glad it is over! :)

6 Years Ago

6 years ago Kevin and I were blessed with this sweet boy. Thank you God! Happy Birthday to my boy!

Knee Deep

Wowsa! The fall time has stirred up the Jackson hive and we have been busy bees.

For starters; Here are Noah's latest sayings at soccer:

"I am Awesome! Seriously, I am the best player on this team!" This comes after scoring 13, yes 13, goals in one game. One of his coaches was quite pleased and finds Noah's comments funny. I am not sure how I am feeling about that.

"That tall girl was no match for me" Finally he gets some competition (this girl was g-o-o-d) and blows it off.

Needless to say we have had to have some talks about modesty, bragging, and hurting other's feelings. I kinda feel bad for Noah. He is an almost 6yr old with 3 soccer seasons under his belt, however, all of his team mates are 4yrs or young 5's that are playing for the first time. On the other hand, this situation sets itself up nicely for us to teach him a lot of good moral lessons AND for him to learn more self-control. Today, he expressed both, until the end of the game when he made the comment about the tall girl. Come spring he will be done with soccer and we will try his hand at basketball.

I am knee deep in halloween costume sewing and crafting. The boys chose to be power rangers (Noah orange, Caleb red). So far things have been coming together easily. The main parts of the costume are easy enough; shirts and pants in the colors requested. I made shoe covers that will make their everyday shoes looks like white boots. Today, however, I am trying to make the helmets. Oh my. Let's hope I did not spend two hours paper mache-ing balloons for nothing. Here is the progress so far (see pic). I ran out of the nice store-bought mache pulp from the craft store. So, Caleb's mold is made from newspaper strips dipped in a combo of water and mod podge. Let's hope that works too.

The boys wanted to play in the leaves falling in the yard. I raked them up and it took all of about 3 seconds to blow all the leaves back out in the yard. It was cute. Nice way to spend 5 minutes of this nice fall weather.

Caleb's school had their fall party on Friday. It was cute. The class sang songs, and we saw some of their normal day, and then they were loaded up on sugar (cupcakes, M&M's, gummies) and add in a little carbs (pretzels, cheese crackers) and then released to their mommies to take home.

YAY! So, on Friday Caleb's lunch consisted of those items listed above and half of a banana. The banana was all I could get him to eat when we got home. AND who wants fruit when you just ate a plethora of yummy junk! He got some goody bags and the pic is some of the things he got to bring home! FUNNY GUY!

I have been thinking ahead to Christmas and Teacher Appreciation gifts (plus I really wanted to make these), and picked up the goodies to make these drink coasters.

I have seen this tutorial and wanted to give it a try. Some turned out great. I think the simpler stamps worked best. Others, the stamp didn't sit just right or the ink is lighter in some spots. Oh well, it wouldn't be homemade if it was perfect and identical. I love them anyway and believe their recipients will too.

I also made some little pocket tissue holders. Sorry, no pic. I was able to make 7 of those little easy gifts in little less than 1.5 hours. If I can do it that quickly, an experienced sewer could prob do it in like 45 min.

Upcoming projects that will be finished before the end of November (I like giving myself deadlines - I find I accomp

lish more with this pressure):

Canvas painting of my kids hands - saw this online too and have to do it.

Tote bag that I bought material for a VERY long time ago. (plus I am on fabric buying restriction until my stash diminishes substantially.)

Knit a poncho (which I bought yarn for so long ago {big surprise} and found a finally trendy cute pattern)

Ok I better stop.

The boys ran The Spirit of Survival Super Hero Kids Marathon. I can't bel

ieve how great they did! The way this works is that the kids are given a log sheet and are supposed to complete 25 miles before the race day. It took us about 3.5 weeks to do this. We would walk/run 1-2miles at a time and have a rest day after a stretch of back to back walk/run days. It was slow going at first, but once the boys got it down, by the end we were running most of our 2 miles. The day of the race every kid participating comes together and runs the last 1.2 miles together all in support of cancer research. We got out there and the boys were so excited. They didn't realize how many kids were going to be there.

Noah got so excited, that he took off and ran the entire 1.2 miles. He only stopped at the aid station half way through. It was amazing. At the last .25 miles to go, I left him and sprinted to the finish so I could get a picture of him coming across the finish line. No sooner had I crossed the finish line, turned around and dropped to one knee and focused my camera, I saw him coming. Unbelievable! He told me he just decided to run and try to stay as close to me as possible. Literally my mouth was on the ground! Caleb soon came across to the announcers shouting "Folks that there is possibly the fastest 3yr old we have ever seen!". They both received medals from Superman. After all, this was a Super Hero marathon. The world had just witnessed Super Orange Man and Super Red Man (requested names by my 2 super heroes) complete their first marathon.

We have fall break, trip to Tennessee to a Titan's game, halloween, Noah's Birthday, Noah's fall festival, all within the next two weeks. Here to keeping our lives full and busy! It's a wonderful life!

A Little Family Time

A couple of weekends ago I got to go to California for one of my good friend's wedding. I got to see some of my besties from Alaska, which was awesome. I love seeing my gals and being able to travel and celebrate with my friends. Living in the lower 48 does have some perks! Here is Lori, Krista, and me at our table.

I must say that I am liking living closer to family. This past weekend we were able to drive down to Abilene for Kevin's cousin's wedding. (It is wedding crazy around here!) It was great seeing our boys getting to play with and know better their cousins too. It was a little difficult to get all the kiddos together in one picture when they were all dressed up, but nonetheless we got a picture with 3 of them together!

Anyway, at this wedding I saw the cutest wedding favor EVER! They were giving out little tiny jars of homemade plum jelly. They had a little set up with a table with a board that said the couple was "plum" tickled their guests could attend. How cute is that? Love it, something homemade (which will win me every time), and usable, and a great play on words. I was in love! I am banking that one for use in the very very very far off future (my boys!!).

Oh, and I guess my flintstone feet were just too much for my cute silver strappy shoes that matched oh so perfectly to my dress, for they broke. A break that was so bad nothing could hold it together for me to fake it for the rest of the reception. I was so saddened and yes, like any southern girl, I took them off and went barefoot. However, I stayed off the dance floor since it was covered in cute heels of cute little 20-somethings. Until, Noah wanted to dance and I really tried talking him out of it, until the last 30 seconds of this one song. Thank goodness the place was packed and my hubby came out for moral support, even if he didn't realize that that is why I thought he was there! And, it was one less thing for me to remember to pack to bring home.

Well, I just had to post this, cause who doesn't know that Bama is like the best college team in the nation?! Roll Tide!

And just look at the pride of my son holding that flag! A true Bama Man in the making!

Back in the saddle

We are slowly getting settled into our home. We still have boxes left to unpack, boxes that need to move out, that have been packed with things that we have outgrown, or just don't need anymore, and still things are not neat and tidy. However, it has only been a little over a month, so I will cut us a little bit of slack.

I have hurt my lower back somehow. I think this is a previous injury I keep aggravating off and on. So, it just comes back worse than the time before. This has slowed down the straightening process of our home. However, sitting on my ice pack every couple of hours has given me some time to catch up on some things like digital scrapbooking and sewing.

I am most excited about a project I have been wanting to complete since last halloween. I found this little slice of craftiness so close to halloween last year, I did not have time to complete it. It has been in the back of my mind off and on for the last year. I finally have all my sewing things unpacked so I spent a couple of hours getting this out of the way before October.

First I need to note that this is not my original idea. I got the inspiration here. I am so excited about these "magic halloween bags". My bags are not as elaborate as Blue Cricket's, however just as functional. I think these little bags are so wonderful, because I can get rid of the leftover candy, easily. The deal at our house goes, you get to pick out 7 pieces. One piece a day for a week. Then the rest usually gets vaccuum sealed and I recycle the candy for halloween the following year. Cheap, yes I know. But at $8/bag of candy. I would rather my $8 stay in my pocket.

I had a little left over material so I also whipped up a little table decor. I did not want a full runner for halloween, so this little rectangle works out nicely.

Yes, I am getting in the fall spirit which has not happened in 3 years. The past 3 years, my fall included snow fall. :) Not complaining, though, cause I miss that snow, as facebook friends report it hitting the mountains already!

Time

My thoughts for this morning and the past few mornings........

So, today I unpacked box 1. Box 1 of just a few that are in a stack in a small corner of my garage. This small corner holds all that is physically left of my mother. Her presence was so big in my life and yet all there is now for me to see and touch is a small corner of things in my garage. I go through these treasures thinking of what she may have said to me while I try to find a special spot for each one. In just a little over a week she will have been absent from my life for 6 months. Time, how is just slips away.

Then I get to thinking about how I don't have much time left with my two blessings that day by day get more independent. Needing me less and less. Every night I think I am so blessed and overwhelmingly in love with two little boys. Each kiss that is, as of now welcomed, will soon be replaced with "aww mom" and "can you give a me a kiss before school, not at school?" How I wish each minute was just 2 seconds longer, so I could have just a little bit more.

Each day I read my Bible and read how the Apostles teach to hurry. Time is ending. Do it now. Learn now, love now. Then I think about a lesson I heard in church that said one incredible deception most of us believe, is that we have time. We can do it tomorrow, we can wait until we are ready. The time is not right yet.

Do we have tomorrow, Friday, next week, next year ? Who can answer that question? Yep, no one.

I hope God can fill me with more than enough love, wisdom, and peace that my time will be fulfilled in Him and anything extra is a blessing to someone in my life.

Picture Updates

Noah, the day before school at "Meet The Teacher"

Caleb and Noah in front of an erupting Old Faithful

The Fam at Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada

Our awesome boys!

The boys and Olley at Destruction Bay, Yukon

Might as well get it out there

So several people have asked and expressed their interest in hearing some of our adventures from our recent trip: driving the Alaskan Highway from Anchorage Alaska all the way to Altus Oklahoma.

So, before my husband gets the chance to pick on his wife, I am going to get it out there first. My husband has loved to tell this story to those we have already spoken to.

So, we were on our way to Yellowstone Nat'l Park. It was a long day of driving through Montana and we were hoping there would still be a campground open in Yellowstone, cause we have been camping our whole trip down from AK. When we arrive all of the campgrounds were full. This, however, was fine with me since there was the escaped convict and his woman on the loose in the park. Yes, I know it is a big park and my chances were probably slim of running into them. However, it would be just my luck that we picked the campground they were in and low and behold I have no story to tell cause I would be DEAD! Thank you Lord for full campgrounds. Anyway, we track back up the road from Yellowstone about 15 miles and find a little campground that will work for the night. The wind is howling and the rain is blowing sideways (kind of reminded me of Homer, AK). We get the tent pitched. Go scavenging for wood..no luck there, all we found were twigs. We collected lots and lots of twigs for our fire that lasted 15 min, thank you very much wind. I go pay for the website and there is a large board beside the pay slot that tells you about the campground and anything going on in the immediate area. So, there is the normal info about bears being in the area - this was nothing new all the campgrounds we camped had and have bears in the immediate area - and rattlesnakes were in the area. I walk around a little bit and deem we are snake free and all is well. Kids are in their sleeping bags all cuddled up, Kevin and I enjoy the last 30 seconds of our wimpy fire and we hit our sleeping bags around 9:30 - it had been a long day and we had another before us, we didn't realize yet how long the next day would actually be. The wind was fierce, flapping our tent and shaking it all night long. I was well into my sleep when at my head I hear "sniff sniff, long breath out, sniff, sniff, sniff" then something walking in the grass around the tent. OH CRAP! I smack Kevin and tell him to get up and get the bear spray. Mind you, it is pitch black. We have not been in darkness since the winter in Alaska. I could not see a thing! I grab the kids and pull them to the center of the tent and we listen. and listen. Then, I hear people talking. Uh, there is possibly a bear out there and people are talking? What time is it, only 11:30? Then I hear it. The people are calling up their dog. Yes, there was a rottweiler camping next to us, and my bear turned out to be a dog. Go ahead, get your laugh.

I was so freaked out after that I could barely sleep (no pun intended!). And you know what happens when you wake up from a good sleep. You have to go pee. I was NOT getting up and walking to the bathroom. No way, and neither was Kevin! So, I was on high alert all night, not getting back into a good sleep. The wind picked up and kept us up even more. Morning came too quickly and we had to breakdown and hit the road. We were exhausted. The coffee we found tasted like dirt. I had toothpicks propping up my eyelids all day. It took us forever to get through Yellowstone and Old Faithful didn't help our time issue any. Our day ended up being 15 hours in the car to make it from the North entrance of Yellowstone to Colorado Springs.

There it is. It's out......

Patient

So, I am limited on internet.

I have emails and messages to send a reply. I am not ignoring you. Promise.

I am gonna be out of pocket until mid Aug.

Pray we do not smell like food to bears while we are camping through Canada and the Northern US.

xo

Blurry Streak

Life is a blurry streak......

We have been:

Camping

Having Family Visits

scheduling movers

preparing for movers

having sick children

nursing a stress fracture

getting N ready for Kindergarten 4300 miles away from his school..

losing important items all around our house

finishing craft projects

I don't want to leave AK

A home in the midwest

Around August 13 you will be able to find us at 904 North Towne Circle, Altus, Oklahoma.

We just got the lease on this little beauty that should fit our family nicely for the next three years.
Hope you can come and visit. We may not be able to take you out to see whales, salmon, bears, and moose; But who needs that when you got The Rattlesnake Roundup to look foward to each year?!

Please Void This Purchase

I refuse to pay $10.23 for 1.28lbs of Rainier Cherries. 10 DOLLARS and 23 CENTS! Seriously people.

I love cherries. We finally have fresh cherries in Alaksa. I love cherries. I will not pay your lovely price.

Only bonus for moving to Oklahoma: We will return to the land of yellow bananas and cheap produce.

Fighting the tears already

Noah is done with preschool. Gulp.

The teachers at his preschool make random observations throughout the year. Usually we are told in passing some of these observations. This year his teacher saved some of the best observation slips for little keepsakes. Here are some of my favorites:

- Noah sees his reflection in the window and says in a nonchalant tone, "Oh, there's my other Noah"

- While climbing on the jungle gym outside Noah noticed the recycling symbol and says, "Hey we can recycle our playground"

- Noah was making a structure on the table and it began to fall over and he yells, "Hey I need help! My "which way" sign keeps falling and it needs to be big so people can see it!"

- Noah had plastic pegs and says "see what I made, it says 2-0-1-0. That is the current year, cause I know you didn't know that"

- Noah was making lava lamps. He watched the blue bubbles move in the bottle. He gets very excited and says, "It's blueberries! That's how you make blueberries!"

I can't believe he is going to be in kindergarten next year. He is going to LOVE it! He is a little sponge who soaks up everything. He loves science and reading. What a great combo.

I almost cried when he gave me his preschool diploma. He is simply amazing. I can't wait to see where he is going!

Hungry?

Ok, seriously! Can you believe this is crochet?!! Wowsa.

Maybe you could put a little liquid smoke on your wrists and away you go!

See more of this little beauty HERE

Attitude and Tolerance

Since I got back home after my mom passing away it has really helped for me to sink myself into my training (I plan on doing a triathlon on Sunday and a half marathon in June). I have found that I have been able to tolerate a lot more physical pain and am able to push through that pain a lot easier.

I am not sure if this is because of my attitude. I have been dead set on accomplishing some things despite what my body may tell me. You know, when I first started running, I could only do 1.5 miles before my mind told me that it was time to walk (now my usual run is 5-6miles). However, my body was capable of more.

I also have been thinking it may be because I have a lack of caring in how much I can tolerate when pushing myself to that next level. I guess I have this attitude of seeing how far I can go before my body fails. I want to see where my body fails. This may seem a little twisted, but really, I want to know how strong I am. Am I really strong enough to push past my mind telling me I can take no more?

When I run I think about how weak a heart can become when mistreated. How a lot of Americans, because they can't literally see their heart, are mistreating their bodies most essential muscle.

Then I think of those folks participating on Biggest Loser. If they can do it, why can't I? Why can't I run 35 sprints - cause that girl just did?

I prepare for my workouts my eating the right things. Fueling up my body to get through what I am going to push it through. However, one time I ran 8 miles on half of a banana and 4 sips of water.

Our physical potential goes way beyond what our mind tells us is our limit. I plan on crossing that finish line on Sunday knowing that I laid it all out. Every time I feel that burn I will not stop until my muscle fails, not my mind telling me to slow down or to stop. My physical potential goes way beyond what my mind tells me it is. Our bodies can tolerate more than our mind can tolerate.

Whatever it is your mind is limiting you to do - can you push past it? Does it take turning myself off in one aspect of my mind (dealing with my mom's passing) to overcome my mind setting limits on another part of my life (my training)? Funny how fickle our minds can be, isn't it?

Remembering my Mom

(This was the last picture I took of her. It was in October of '09)

I am trying to show a smile while being surrounded by commercials, cards, etc., etc. reminding me of my Mom. I have two boys who are eagerly anticipating Mother's Day so they can surprise me, their mommy. However, deep inside me I am screaming STOP! It feels like my heart is being ripped out more and more cause I can't call her and tell her she was a great mom and I love her so very much. As time goes by I am missing her more and more, not less and less.

I miss her...

When I was a little girl, every time her car keys would jingle, I would go running to her asking "where are you going?" Cause, of course, she could not go without me.

Every morning when Caleb awakes he asks, "Where are we going today momma?"

She taught me less is more when it comes to wearing makeup.

I am trying to teach Noah that when it comes to toys!

I remember when she held me while I cried my heart out when me and my high school boyfriend broke up.

I remember hearing Noah cry his heart out when they took him back at the hospital for surgery on his leg, when he was 2.

She always had some sort of old wives tale for whatever ailment or situation.

I am learning that some of her old remedies work great on my boy's boo-boos.

When she was little she would get off the school bus and step into a cotton field to work before going home to do her school work. Thus giving her a good work ethic.

She was not wasteful. She knew the art of canning. Which she passed onto me and I am so thankful. I was able to can several jars of blueberry jam this past summer and was able to give my last two to Noah's teachers this week as part of Teach Appreciation Week.

She got me my first sewing machine and taught me how to use it. I will be finishing a baby quilt for my cousin that she was going to give her as a baby gift.

She taught me the art to yard sailing. :)

I remember one time the transmission went out in the car and she drove our car in reverse all the way home from the grocery store (luckily it was only like a mile!)

When I was packing away her things I found a box and in it were all the cards I have ever made or sent to her, going all the way back to elementary school. I wish I could have them with me this weekend to re-read.

Even though I am 32 years old, when I am sick, nothing makes me feel better than when my momma takes care of me. There is just something about a momma's love

The thing I am most proud of is that she was baptized into Christ on Oct 29, 2008. She had more joy in the last 18 months of her life than any one person I have known. She was one of those Christians who was "on fire" for Christ and she did not fade out, she fanned that flame more and more. The greatest treasure I have is her personal Bible. To go back and read her notes and see her growth. I hang my head in shame. She was more of a Christian in 18months than I have been in my 7 sevens since I was baptized. She was a beautiful person inside and out and I praise God that he gave me her cheekbones, feet, hands, and eyes and praise Him even more that He was patient and I know where my momma is. She is on her way to her mansion filled with all of her yard sailing treasures.

I miss her.....

She loved my boys and I love her and will have a smile on my face when my little treasures love on me this weekend.

Comfort

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God

II Corinthians 1:3,4

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, endurance, and perseverance.

James 1:2,3

Fee

This song has really been in my head. I have been singing it all the time, for obvious reasons. It's just so true.

Everything Falls by Fee

you said
you'd never leave or foresake me
when you said,
this life is gonna shake me
you said
this world is gonna bring trouble on my soul
this i know

when everything falls apart
your arms hold me together
when everything falls apart
your the only hope for this heart
when everything falls apart
and my strength is gone
i find you mighty and strong
you keep holding on

when i see
the darkness all around me
when i see
the tragedy has found me
i still believe
your faithful arms will never let me go
and still i know

when everything falls apart
your arms hold me together
when everything falls apart
your the only hope for this heart
when everything falls apart
and my strength is gone
i find you mighty and strong
you keep holding on

sorrow willl last for the night
but hope is rising with the sun
(its rising with the sun)
there will be storms in this life
but i know you will overcome

you have overcome

when everything falls apart
your arms hold me together
when everything falls apart
your the only hope for this heart
when everything falls apart
and my strength is gone
i find you mighty and strong
you keep holding on

I wish my mom could have seen what I saw this morning while running on the coastal trail. Beautiful sunshine, awesome snow capped mountain bathed in sun, the city sitting below the mountains, the water so shiny. Then I have to remember how of this world my thoughts are and how she is bathed in the most radiant light of all. She is among the most beautiful sights and sounds that our primitive brains can't fathom.

So, to help myself get off the sorrowful thoughts that seem to consume my brain day after day, I decided to focus on something mom and I loved to do - make crafty stuff.

Teacher Appreciation week is just around the corner, so if you have a child in preschool or "everyday school" as we call it - I hope you are preparing to love on your child's teacher for they are huge influences in their lives.

So, Noah and I made some aromatherapy bath fizzies (also called bath bombs). Throw them in a warm bath and they fizz all around in the bath and give off a yummy smell and if you add oil in the recipe, can make your bath great! The boys tried out a couple of left overs from our makings and they loved them. I really like the smell too - lavender peppermint. You can find recipes to make them all over the internet. They were easy and quick.

We then got cute little jars. We found some cute patterned tape (in the dollar aisle!!) at Michaels that make quick work of vamping of the jars. Print out a cute tag that gives ingredients and instructions, slap it on. I also found these eye masks at Michaels for $1. Pair it up and VOILA! One awesome teacher gift that is handmade and cheap.

Ok. That took enough out of me to type all of that. I am trying to make my posts more cheery - just might take a little more time... :(

Substitutes

So I have been told, that when I need my mom most, God will send me someone to help me. It may be a number of different people.

I don't want a substitute.

I guess God is going to change my mind about that.

You may find me kicking and screaming. You WILL find me kicking and screaming.

I don't want a substitute.

March Week 3:

We made these plastic balloons. It was neat - put a glob of goo on the end of a straw, blow real hard (kids did not have enough breath, so momma stepped in), and out comes this big bubble looking thing, that on the package says is supposed to be a balloon. Of course the kids popped them and squished all the blown plastic together making little balls (Noah is squishing in the pic above). Be forewarned - this plastic goo gives off some strong fumes, much like that of epoxy. Fun idea, I hope the package is true is stating that it is non-toxic...hmmmmm
I also grew up a year this week in March - here is my bday cake. Individual Angel Food Cakes with blueberries, strawberries, and kiwi. Cool whip is optional....

Our skiing trip to Girdwood, Alaska and stay at the Alyeska Hotel

After a great day of skiing together at Alyeska!

Here is KJ, working his moves. Future X-Games?

Librarian in the Light

Have you ever wondered what is ok for your child to read? I am getting more into this predicament as Noah is getting older and wanting to read, and me read with him age appropriate books. We are nowhere near the likes of Harry Potter, etc. I was skeptical of reading Magic Treehouse books with Noah. By the way, which we love and would reccommend to any parent. We have only read one - Magic Treehouse #28, High Tide in Hawaii - but Noah loved it! It has chapters which is very rewarding for him to be able to read or me read with him a chapter. Today we read the last three chapters and it was great finishing it together! I think we both were so excited at finishing and being able to go pick out another together!

I hope all parents pre-read books for their children. I feel like if I don't know what the book is about, thoroughly, I don't want Noah to know until I do. The book may sound great on the cover - but what language or content is within those pages that is not hinted at on the cover? Especially secular books.

Voila! Here is help for us parents wondering the aisles of bookstores, adding children's books to the piles of books we ourselves would like to read!

My friend Elizabeth has known since the age of 9 (I think that is right) that she has wanted to be a librarian. She grew up, went to college and is a local librarian here in Alaska. She travels all over the country attending library and reading conferences. Not only is she a librarian, her speciality is that of childhood. Whenever I see a movie based on a children's book - I ask her. A new child's book comes out that I might like to get for the kids - I ask her opinion. She is a christian woman trying to shed some light on secular books for us parents who have children who are avid readers and would like to protect our children from some of the more mature content that is becoming more prevelant in books approved for younger ages. She provides an overview of a book, the age(s) it is intended for, and more. I have a lot of respect for Elizabeth's opinion and believe her reviews are great for Christian parents.

I hope you visit her site. She is just starting up so if a particular book is not listed I am sure you can email her - and also get some great ideas for books from her already reviewed books. Click HERE or check out my blog roll. Tell your friends - this is not limited to toddler reading!!!

Free Disney Cruise

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March: Week 2

The second Saturday of the month we welcomed back home Kevin! He had spent the last three weeks in Thailand. Here to welcome him home was about 2-2.5ft of new snow! The snow banks to the side of our driveway are now taller than me!

Noah sitting almost atop of one of the snow banks beside the drive way. Yes that is my van beside the snow bank. They are so high that it makes for great fun to dig snow tunnels!
Or, try to snowboard down them!
This is Caleb, eh uhm, I mean this is the grumpy dragon guarding the entrance to the snow fort that me and the boys (no really just me) dug out in our front yard. However, because it does not have a roof Noah got bored very quickly and moved on.
No longer a grumpy dragon, Caleb has become a football player and is leaving the locker room (the big hole I dug a the end of the pathway) through the tunnel (the pathway) to head to the football field! Notice the pathway walls are as tall as Caleb and he is standing at a solid 35in without snowboots!
This snow came right in time for the first part of our week three happenings! YAY!

March: Week 1

First we start with hockey in the kitchen. This is a recurring theme here in Alaska and my tee-tiny kitchen seems to be the rink of choice.

The first week of March was also Dr Seuss' birthday. We celebrated with homemade Dr Seuss hats!

Iditarod Start 2010! This was so much fun to watch!

As of late we have gotten a great abundance of snow. What should we do with all that snow? Eat it of course! Nothing is better than snow topped with chocolate syrup with a side of hot chocolate! YUM!

Alice in Wonderland

This is awesome. You can get a FREE audio download of the book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"! Just click HERE - then look on the right side of the screen for the download.

This would be great for a long drive (which we have one coming up in Aug!).

My kids loved listening to the CS Lewis Narnia Chronicles in the car and I can't wait for this!

Oh and I downloaded the MP3 version then just imported it right into my itunes. So, I can burn it onto CD or put it right onto my ipod. YAY!!

This offer is only good until March 16. HURRY!

So long February.........

Well, for most of you March is marking the start of spring. Warmer temps, flowers blooming, time to ease back into sandals and out of boots. Well, good for you! We are going to go out in the 6ft of snow, speed down the hills on skis, slide through woods on those groomed trails, and slice the ice on the frozen ponds. The olympics just fanned the dimming flames of our love of winter sports!

So, while March is emerging I am posting the rest of our February happenings.........

I made a cover for my kitchen-aid mixer. I wake up, walk in my kitchen and smile happily!

Krista and I ran with the reindeer. Yes we ran while a group of reindeer ran through our run. I did it cause it happens, here in Alaska. And by no means is this comparable to the running with the bulls in Spain...........no way comparable.

Yes, my children will fall asleep in a sled, let us pull them around on a frozen pond and then wake up and be so happy! Wait, did I say children, I meant Caleb!

Then, we introduced our kids to P90X. We are going to have the rippest kids on the block! Seriously, the kids do not do P90X, but they like to play on the pull up bar while mommy and daddy do some P90X!