A Little Slice of Heaven

5x7 Folded Card

2011-12-01T22:26:00.001-05:00

Gift Wrapped Christmas Card

Customize your Christmas cards this season at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

What I needed to hear....

2011-03-30T13:59:00.002-04:00

This is what my heart needed to hear as I come upon living without my mother on this earth for 1 year on Thursday, March 31 and what would have been her birthday on Sunday, April 3.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace, or our tight grip of control. -Crazy Love

For the LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.

All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

-Psalm 6

My enemy (stress/sadness) this week will turn back and be put to shame. The Lord has heard my cry, and felt my ache. He has accepted my prayer and will sustain me. He will hide me and cover me cause I know can not do this without Him.

Easter Egg Wreath

2011-03-08T07:00:00.003-05:00

I have always wanted one of those cutesy egg wreaths for my front door. However, every time I am at the craft store they are too pricey for my taste. I am also one of those who gets the great idea to make it myself right before the holiday and never get it put together in time for a lengthy display. I am changing my ways this year. However, I did fail with my Valentine Day wreath, and it will be stored until next year :(.

I could not find a great tute for this wreath, so I am offering my so-so tute for ya. I know that it is kinda easy to do, but I always like references.

So, gather up some supplies:

1. Round wreath form - I just got the cheapest I could find. I did not like using a grapevine wreath for this, but you could if you want.

2. Felt - in varying colors. Again, this is personal preference. I had some scraps to use up so I covered the form in all shades of pink felt. You could also use ribbon for this step.

3. Lots of plastic easter eggs. I saw the pastel speckled ones, I really liked those, but couldn't justify the cost. I went to the dollar tree for the ones I used. I think I used almost 40 eggs.

4. Hot glue and hot glue gun

5. Ribbon - I just used some I had in my stash. This will be to loop around the wreath so it can hang from the door.

Now, here we go!

Cover your wreath form in your felt, fabric, or ribbon. This does not have to be all snazzy cause you barely see it since the eggs will cover almost all of it. Only upon close inspection will you see the felt.
Next, start gluing on the eggs. Be sure the eggs don't pop open! My dollar tree eggs held up well to my high temp glue gun. :) I did not do a pattern or place them all in the same position. I just wanted to cover as much of the form as possible. So, in this process my wreath would look lopsided, so I would just adjust by adding more eggs until the whole thing looked uniformly round.
How cute is this chick??!! I saw him at the craft store and he had to come home with me. I wasn't sure what to do with him until I started this wreath. Now he has found his home!
Here is the finished wreath on the door. I just tied the ribbon in a simple knot at the top and hung it on the door hanger. See the chick? So stinkin' cute!

Here it is in full view. I am very happy with the way it turned out and it only cost about $7. AND Caleb helped me put on the eggs. So, this little wreath has some precious memories in it's making. For example, to choose which color would go next, Caleb decided he was an egg machine that popped out the next egg. You can only imagine the laughs we got out of that one!

I just wanted to add this in. I made this wreath for someone in our family. I didn't think they would like the one that I made for our door so I did this instead. I was happy with the way this came out too. Happy Easter (decorating!)!

What I Was Going To Do Today....

2011-03-07T14:47:00.002-05:00

I was going to clean the house.

I opted instead to take my 3 hours that Caleb is in preschool and visit a widow that goes to our church. She is teaching me to crochet. Even though I know the basics, I sit and enjoy her sweet spirit and patience. She made me rip out my work 3 times! I loved every minute of our conversation. I am going back on Wednesday.

I was going to wash the dishes in my sink.

I went outside with my 4yr old. I am watching him drive his truck through the yard - backwards, ride his bike in the cul de sac, and chase the dog. He is arguing with me now about wearing shorts, but I won't let him cause it is cloudy and chilly. And now he is listening to the birds in the trees and trying to find their nests.

I was going to do the laundry.

Instead, Caleb and I made an Easter Egg Wreath to go on our front door. He handed me just the right egg to be placed in each spot.

I chose to leave the chores today cause sometimes it is necessary to savor what you got. Those things that are not expendable, or could be gone in an instant. That sweet widow will not always be on this earth to teach someone to crochet, and my sweet 4yr old will not always be 4.

I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells. - Psalm 26:8

Celebrate the Boy

2011-03-03T10:38:00.002-05:00

I have boys and I love to craft. Finding cool designs for boys is a little tasking cause sooo much out there is for girls.

So I always look forward to "Celebrate the Boy" month on the crafty blogs.

This is one of my fav websites to check out: MADE

Right now she has this retro duffel bag tute (from Saltwater Kids - another fave website) that would make great gifts for sons, nephews, and in the right colors the girls of the fam too. Have their name embroidered on the side and voila!

Anyway, I love celebrate the boy! Go BOYS!

Monster Tooth Pillow

2011-02-21T21:35:00.003-05:00

I have been looking for a box of some sort for the boys to put their lost teeth, so the tooth fairy could find them easily. Rumor has it our tooth fairy is not very graceful or sly so under the pillow would not be acceptable.

I ran across this little gem of a tute at TheLongThread.com and my search was finally over. Cute, easy to make and I love anything monster-y. YAY!

I love this time especially on all of the crafty blogs because right now is Celebrate the Boy time. Where all things boy are revealed with tutes. As with all things girly, there is plenty of it and the boy always seem to have a small section. So, having a whole month (I think) dedicated to homemade boy things is awesomely awesome.

Indulge me

2011-02-18T21:10:00.002-05:00

Someone please have a baby so I can make these:

Onsie Cupcake

Please let me borrow a dress form to make this:

The Best Dress

A way to get an area rug with the $$$$

Area Rug Tute

Never do this, it looks gross and I will think you are coo-coo

King Cake

There is Nothing Normal about Today

2011-02-17T17:31:00.003-05:00

Just think about everything that must function properly for you to survive. For example, your kidneys. The only people who really think about their kidneys are people whose kidneys don't work correctly.....

What about driving down the road at sixty-five miles per hour, only a few feet away from cars going the opposite direction at the same speed? Someone would only have to jerk his or her arm and you would be dead. I don't think its morbid; I think it's reality.

It's crazy that we think today is just a normal day to do whatever we want with.

-Francis Chan, from Crazy Love

Funny, how we say "it's just a normal day" when a "normal day" is anything but normal.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
Psalm 62

Happy Birthday Caleb

2011-01-18T18:01:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that he is 4. I wish time would slow down.

Here's to you little man! I hope to celebrate many many more blessed days with you!

Things We Can't Control

2011-01-14T13:05:00.002-05:00

1. We can't control when we have to sneeze. It particularly stinks when you have a sneeze come upon you while applying mascara. The damage it renders is enough to make me almost say a bad word!

2. We can't control when little kids have to go potty. More specifically, when they tell you they need to go potty AND the volume at which they tell you. I love it when they tell me at the top of their lungs in Wal-Mart that they need to go poo poo and then proceed to yell "It's coming out!" - also at the top of their lungs - all the way to the restroom door.

3. We can't control customer service telephone ppl who give you the run around. Thanks for the customer service. That was an hour and a half of my life I will never get back!

4. That is all

Moving with ease

2011-01-12T13:59:00.002-05:00

I decided I would be crazy and jump on a bandwagon. I convinced myself that it was good to hop on board, after all, I saw my husband take a ride on this wagon and he was fine. I have been on the wagon for three days, and let me just say.............

WHAT WAS I THINKING???!!!!!

This wagon I jumped on, it would be the one and only P90X wagon. I have finished day three. However, I thought I would be a tough gal and add on 30min-1hr/day of cardio on top of it. Let me just say there is not one muscle that moves/twitches/relaxes without me feeling it!

My abs told me today they had had enough. While in the middle of Ab Ripper they go completely numb. Yes, numb. I could not feel my midsection. I guess the pain was to unbearable that my brain blocked all the nerves and said "NO MORE! YOU CRAZY PERSON!"

Although I feel as though someone has been beating me with a mallet while I sleep, I will not give up. After 90 days I will have Jillian Michael's arms and J. Lo's booty. I will be victorious.

Recommendations

2011-01-07T17:33:00.003-05:00

1. Ever since I read my friend's post about folding and organizing sheets, my bed sheet changing has never been the same! I highly recommend that when a sheet set is folded, slide the set into one of the matching pillow cases and your linen closet will thank you and your mind will thank you when you don't have to tear the closet apart to find the missing matching pillowcase. To read her post for clearer instructions click HERE. This is a life improving tip, trust me.

2. Macadamia Nut Oil Treatment for your hair. Oh my word!!! I could write a book about this stuff. I LOVE it! My stylist used another product like this (Moroccan Oil) on my hair and the smell was way too much for me. Then my hubby's cousin, Sarah, from Hair Thursday actually did a video on these oil treatments and mentioned the Macadamia Oil and how it did not smell as strong. You can see the vid HERE if you like. So, I researched it a little, got some reviews, checked pricing, etc. After one application my hair was like silk. I was a little girl again who wanted to just suck her thumb and twirl her hair! I use heat on my hair almost everyday, plus the use of a flat iron, and I get my hair colored (by the way I had red highlights put in and this has not affected my color at all, and we all know how sensitive red can be!). All that can do some damage no matter how careful you are. This oil, is the bomb. I have seen dramatic improvements in my hair and love it. Now, it is a little on the pricey side. $36 for a 4oz bottle. Ouch, I know! However, I can justify the cost when it takes me like a year to use the bottle! A little goes a long way, trust me. I love the smell, so I added a little (ok a lot) extra to my hair and my hair was as limp as a wet dishcloth (however, not at all greasy). Use just the right amount (about dime size for my middle of my back length hair) and it is just right. If you have short hair, well this could be a lifetime supply for $36 (the price is the same no matter where you look). Worth it, right? I thought so. Go to Ulta now and get some. PS - if you have long hair u will love this - using this oil cuts your drying time in half. Well, maybe not in half, but it does help get it done faster!

3. Ever been to Alaska? No? Book your trip now and if possible could you spare some airmiles for me? Thanks.

4. That is all

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T12:48:00.003-05:00

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

2010-11-15T14:49:00.002-05:00

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

2010-11-08T15:00:00.002-05:00

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

2010-10-29T09:32:00.010-04:00

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

2010-10-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

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

Knee Deep

2010-10-16T17:45:00.011-04:00

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

2010-10-04T15:14:00.007-04:00

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

2010-09-27T22:33:00.005-04:00

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

2010-09-21T11:04:00.002-04:00

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

2010-08-17T09:37:00.006-04:00

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

2010-08-13T10:48:00.002-04:00

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

2010-07-20T00:45:00.002-04:00

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.

Blurry Streak

2010-07-09T12:06:00.002-04:00

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

2010-06-04T15:49:00.004-04:00

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

2010-05-25T16:06:00.003-04:00

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

2010-05-21T02:08:00.002-04:00

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?

2010-05-11T22:46:00.003-04:00

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

2010-05-11T12:43:00.002-04:00

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

2010-05-05T19:45:00.005-04:00

(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

2010-04-29T12:21:00.002-04:00

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

2010-04-24T16:28:00.002-04:00

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

2010-04-20T12:04:00.002-04:00

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:

2010-03-26T01:02:00.008-04:00

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

2010-03-22T21:21:00.002-04:00

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

2010-03-18T11:08:00.001-04:00

Choose & Cruise Sweepstakes:

Use the link above and enter to win a free Disney Cruise! HOLLA! This ends April 2! HURRY!!

"UR chance 2 Choose & Win a Disney Cruise vacation for 4 at - NO PURCHASE/PAYMENT NEEDED. Register today!"

March: Week 2

2010-03-17T20:36:00.005-04:00

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

2010-03-10T13:05:00.008-05:00

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

2010-03-04T19:23:00.003-05:00

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.........

2010-03-02T00:52:00.010-05:00

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!

My Super Cute Goofballs!

2010-02-24T01:14:00.004-05:00

Here they are at some of the finest moments this past week. Caleb, well, I am not real sure what he is - half handy man half robot? A handy robot, maybe? Still, just too cute! Look at that smile!

Noah is doing his thing. Making up some sort of obstacle/sport and making it hard and complicated to test his super human skills. Here he is practicing some very skilled bowling moves. If you look real close you can see the hockey stick in the picture. It has become a regular in my TINY kitchen!

A little Sisterly Love

2010-02-17T18:49:00.006-05:00

My church is having their annual Ladies Retreat this weekend. A couple of weeks ago they put a plea for homemade items for door prizes. I was happy to oblige.

- This tote bag is very close to staying with me. It turned out way better than I thought it would. This has now been added to my "to-do" list for ME!

- The frame: all I can say is I LOVE modpodge and scrapbook paper!

- What girl can say no to a cute little zippered pouch? Especially one that has yummy bath products inside? NOT ME!

My Valentine's Roundup

2010-02-15T00:12:00.008-05:00

Hope you all had such sweetness on V-Day. How great we got to celebrate such a day of love on the Lord's Day. When He is the one with more love for us than anyone or anything.

Here is our Valentine's in my Valentine Day roundup.......

Elephant Toothpaste

2010-02-12T00:56:00.002-05:00

My kids love science and knowing how things work. Noah's preschool teacher loves science too so she and Noah are always into something - she even brought in an old clock radio to let Noah and his mates "take it apart". Well, put some cool piece of electronic equip. in front of boys and say "here ya go!" well, taking apart becomes obliterate the clock radio!

Ms. Angie told us of this website with great science experiments for kids. Most use common household ingredients that you would already have on hand. So use your BFF, google, and check out Steve Spangler.

We chose to do elephant toothpaste. It is a must and we had the best time doing it. The boys were so serious - check out their "safety goggles"!

One Pretty Thing

2010-02-08T00:10:00.001-05:00

So, I love this website. It can almost send you on craft overload, so be cautious.

http://www.oneprettything.com/

N's Valentines

2010-02-07T00:13:00.005-05:00

Here are the pics of the finished Valentines (and the crayon hearts after we baked them), as requested. They turned out sooooo cute. Noah is not finished putting them all together. He has 24 classmates, so 24 valentines to address. We agreed to 8/day for 3 days. There are too many other things a 5yr old must do during the day than sit to address an entire set of 24 valentines. These things must be done in increments.

We have just enough for classmates, so another batch has already been requested by and for the boys themselves.

Valentine's Day

2010-01-31T00:36:00.002-05:00

I am super-dooper excited about Valentine's Day this year. Reason is, is that Noah is all into it too. So, he and I have been planning since early January the Valentine's Day valentines to give to his classmates. We got the candy melts, a cute little mold, sucker sticks, picked the ribbon; oh we were gonna have a "sweet" crafting day! You can only imagine our HUGE sadness when, well let me lay it out.....

- I got Noah's preschool calendar for Feb.

- It stated it was Dental Awareness month; it's usually in March

- The week of Valentine's Day it stated "Please do not bring candy for Valentine's"

WHAT?! Oh we are so sad. So instead, I am going to make the little suckers with the boys - and then let them have one everyday until Valentines!! And of course give some away, cause I think we have enough stuff to make like FIFTY! Yay! Fun times.

So, now I am scrambling to find something cute for Valentine's. Simple store bought ones just are not gonna do! So HERE is what I found. If you have a buh-zillion broken little nubs of crayons like I do - this is gonna be great for you. OH and if you have a child in need of valentines.

Spread the love.....happy crafting!

Handy Items

2010-01-27T18:31:00.002-05:00

Things cross my mind during the day and I say I am gonna blog them and then I don't. However, today I turn a new leaf, so to speak.

-- I never knew much about 20 mule team Borax until I forgot to check a leg pocket on a pair of Noah's cargo pants - from the Gap, handed down, but looked brand new, were gonna last through Caleb -- I pulled them from the washer and found a very deep nasty green stain from a non crayola brand crayon. It was deeply set in. No hope. Until Borax. It got most of it out - this is one tough crayon. Anyway, I decided to use this more in my laundry - especially the more grimy things like dog bedding, the kids blankies, which get trashed beyond belief, and items of that type. I am impressed. It is cheap and may just become a staple in the laundry room. Apparently it has lots of cleaning qualities that can be used around the house, from what I have read on the side of the box. I just haven't went there yet.

-- If you have a kid who is all about reading - like Noah - you must visit www.starfall.com. This website is GREAT for beginning readers. It is rewarding and they can learn more about "the silent e" "sh" and "ch" sounds. Noah LOVES it and I do too. He loves when he can sit and read an entire story.

-- If you love Harry and David's pepper and onion relish as much as I do - but you don't want to pay the price or, in my case, pay the horrendous shipping, go HERE for a recipe on how to make your own. I have prepared this linked recipe, reducing the sugar (of course) by 1.5 cups. Let me just say I don't think you can get any closer to the original from the store! Also, I love the website that posted the recipe. I go there everyday (almost) and find so much inspiration.

Ok this entry has taken longer than it should've. I think two little blessings are to blame for that. Because of my intermittent breaks I have forgotten some things I wanted to blog. Hey, 3 things ain't that bad! Probably a good thing I have forgotten some or you might be here reading, and reading, and reading, and.........

Repurposed old sweater

2010-01-26T19:14:00.004-05:00

My dad came to visit this week and he brought with him a sweater. He decided it was no longer going to be in his wardrobe so he gave it to me. Well, we are not really sweater people so I decided instead of giving it away we could make a little something useful out of it. So, I was able to make 2 neck gators (these are essential when we are sledding, skiing, snow sporting outside), and I think I can make 2 smaller ones for the kids out of the sleeves. I had Noah model one of the adult sized ones. I am sending them home with my dad since it was his sweater after all and he said he could use them while hunting. However, the sleeves will make great gators for the kids!

Lily the Black Bear

2010-01-21T21:34:00.002-05:00

Oh my gosh! This is so cool! Go check out this website!

http://www.bear.org/website/visit-us/lily-den-cam.html

It is showing Lily, a 3yr old black bear in her den. She is due to give birth tomorrow, hopefully. For you outdoor lovers, you'll love this. My kids think it is so cool to see a bear in her sleepy den!

The Birthday present

2010-01-18T16:40:00.008-05:00

I have been wanting to make a quiet book for the boys for quite some time. I had been gathering supplies slowly for about 8 months and then thought; no better time than a birthday to get it done. So this is what I gave CJ this morning.......and the reason the iron is in the pic of his bday breakfast. I was up VERY late finishing this!

I couldn't get it to rotate, so please rotate your head. :)

The very last page is the last of the ABC's. Inside the teepee is a little boy, a campfire, and all the goodies for a camping trip. I can't wait to take this to church!

Happy Birthday CJ!

2010-01-18T16:36:00.003-05:00

Can you believe he is 3 today?!! Our usual birthday breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes. That is the way he does "3"! Happy Birthday CJ!

Sweet Home Alabama

2010-01-08T01:08:00.002-05:00

I think I would have give up one of my children's college funds to be at that game in Pasadena.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Nat'l Champs 2009!!!

BOYS!

2010-01-06T02:18:00.002-05:00

N had a hangnail. So he did what any 5 yr old would do, he pulled it out. Well, this one left a little owie on his finger. Over the past week it has gotten an infection and topical ointments were not working. We saw the doc this morning.

While there, we also spoke to the doc about his stuffed up nose and him having random gushing nosebleeds.

Also, the knot on his head that he got in June from flipping off his bike has not gone away. This knot was bumped over and over again.

The diagnosis:

His stuffed up nose is from possibly allergies. We are trying some things to see if this is allergies. Basically the kid is going on zyrtec until he clears up and then we take him off to see if he gets stuffy again. The allergy thing is no surprise I am married to a man who has finally found allergy relief by living in Alaska where everything is frozen 8 months of the year!

His finger is bad. He has to go on amoxicillin. I could not figure out how his finger got infected so quickly and so badly. We had been treating this finger with alcohol, bacitracin and band-aids.

Then it all became clear.

The owie is on Noah's primary booger picking finger. Yes, that's right. So, finger goes in bacteria laden nose - and voila! Infected finger.

I was a little surprised. Noah is really good about getting a tissue. However, when you are stuffed up and have tons of boogies from your cold/allergies you (being a 5yr old) are not going to get up in the middle of the night and get a tissue. It is much easier to lie in bed, pick it, and I (as mommy who does the cleaning, changing the sheets, etc.) do not want to know what happens to those precious pieces of picked gold. Kevin then mentions how he has seen said incidents happening on our nightly check ins. So 10 days of antibiotics for my precious little nose picker.

AND

The knot is now a permanent fixture. Yes, my son has bumped the knot enough times that the skull bone has become reactive to the bumping and has permanently formed a knot.

Basically I have a booger picking knot head. That is my precious 5yr old.

Such is the life of a God lovin', hockey playin', Alaksa livin', lego obessed boy! AND i LOVE him.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T21:34:00.002-05:00

C and N showing off their New Year style!

Caleb's Bday surprise

2010-01-01T21:11:00.005-05:00

I was meandering around on my crafty sites and linked to a link to a link and found a great little idea - homemade bean bags. Yes, I know this is nothing new. However, what a great "Thanks for coming to my birthday party" gift! The usual "Thank You" bags are full of stuff that usually gets tossed anyway. So today, I made little bean bags for C to give to his friends. I am toying with the idea of how to make a foldup hopscotch board to go with. Don't know if that will happen. Anyway, here they are.

The boys with PoPo

2009-12-30T15:22:00.003-05:00

I don't know why the boys decided to call these "Popo's" but that is what they chose. The pattern called it "Rudy". Anyway, this was the amigurumi friend I made them for Christmas. How cute are they, the boys I mean!

Homemade

2009-12-24T03:13:00.002-05:00

I love things that are handmade. The time, thought, and skill to make things makes them special and when you give something handmade, the giving seems so much more rewarding. I have pictures, which will finally come after Christmas when I get pics of the recipients opening their items! I am so excited!!

Some craftiness I have been up to this Christmas:

- Crocheted dishcloths

- Hot iron cozies

- Amigurumi Friends

- Crayon Rolls - no pics of these they have already been given away but you can find a great tutorial HERE - you can also search for the felt crayon roll tutorial, on this site, which I also made and it holds a little notepad too, really cute!

- Coloring books

- Hooded towels

Things that are coming in the new year:

- Brown Sugar Scrubs

- Little zippered pouches

- Quiet Book (which has actually been in the works since the summer, and I just now have all the page patterns together and supplies gathered!)

- Drink coasters

- Aromatherapy pouches

- Knit Sweater (one for CJ and NJ for Christmas next year!)

- Crochet baby afghan

- Seat covers for the cushions on my dining room chairs -which I already have fabric for I just need time to sit in front of my machine for a LONG time!

Anyway, I love making homemade. I hope soon probably in a year or two to learn to make soap. :) We'll see. So far the reading I have done on making soap seems to scare me with all the precautions needed to not hurt yourself! hA!

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed

Luke 2

Lovin' Etsy

2009-12-03T16:49:00.001-05:00

I was very hesitant about this website - WHY? I don't know. But check out this place. LOVE IT! Etsy.com. All cute cute things and reasonable prices. Bonus, everything is handmade. DOUBLE LOVE IT!

Have fun!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-21T13:07:00.002-05:00

busy busy busy. Can't believe it's that time already.........

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

I am so thankful for grace and where that grace came from - my God. I am thankful for my family and friends who are oh so wonderful and loving. I can never give them enough thanks, love, time. I am thankful for a day where I can really put emphasis on my cup that runs over....

I am ever so thankful. Hope you are too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Why would I ever want to leave?

2009-09-15T20:16:00.000-04:00

Pardon the van - I wanted this view and it just happen to be there. No time for photoshop right now!

Never Stop Exploring

2009-09-15T20:13:00.000-04:00

Growing up way too fast!

2009-09-15T20:12:00.000-04:00

Where did the time go?

2009-09-15T20:11:00.000-04:00

I can't believe he will be 5 in October.

The Sweetest Brothers

2009-09-15T20:08:00.000-04:00

God wanted a turn

2009-09-15T00:10:00.003-04:00

So, back in June we had an earthquake here and it was the first one we (as in myself and Noah) felt. I have some windchimes in the house (the boys always ask for a turn to tap them when going up the stairs to hear them tinkle) and they tinkled, some things fell off the wall upstairs, it was really bizarre when it happened.

Now tonight.......let me set the scene.

Noah is getting out of the shower and is babying his big toe. He stubbed it and it bled a little and Mr. Drama that he is, is acting like the toe is broken and only holding on by a remnant of flesh. So I am giving him the "toughen up", "are you really a hockey player boo hooing over a stubbed toe?" Mind you, that he did not even realize it was bleeding until I said, "Hey Noah whats going on with the toe?" Anywhoo, he begins to go into act 4 and proceeds to tell me that he has to nurse his toe in case an earthquake happens, "You know, like the one that made the windchimes tinkle". Oh yeah, okay. He might feel the earthquake and need to brace his toe just in case it might touch the ground cause right now it is too badly injured to be walked upon. - I swear the kid's eye should be brown - He goes back to telling me again all about the earthquake and that God made the earth move and that really - oohhh this was sooo good - "really God just wanted a turn to make the windchimes tinkle". I love you Noah.

And so it ends.....

2009-09-09T01:10:00.002-04:00

Thanks ladies for the advice on the bread makers. Jillina, I have an extra bag waiting on me at my mom's and it can fit a bread maker nicely (if you happen to find it!)! THANKS!!

Summer is quickly dwindling away........boo hoo! However, we have a billion things on our plate.

We spent Labor Day weekend at Midnight Sun Bible Camp. I have no words to describe this place. It is one of my favorite places on earth and serious discussions have already taken place about bringing the kids back for their annual week of camp. It is very much worth the trip for what the kids get to experience. It is seriously in the top three of the best places on earth.

Noah started hockey tonight. He did so great. He is improving by leaps and bounds. We are so proud! He is also going to preschool 3 days a week AND has swimming two days a week. With all of this on his plate he finally acknowledges that rest is a good thing!

Caleb got his first pair of hockey skates and had his first time on the ice last Friday. He did really well and asks all the time where HIS hockey gear is and WHY isn't he going out on the ice with Noah. It is too CUTE! Tonight we had a little talk about when he gets to go to preschool and that mommy does not want him to grow up too fast.

Time is going by so much faster than I ever realized.

I am up to my ears in craft projects.......don't know why that is so easy to do! Seems like all my free time is either behind the sewing machine or with knitting and crochet needles in my hands!

And my computer is about to kick the bucket. I am really nervous but am going to take the plunge and become a MAC person. We already own one and does it ever kick booty compared to a PC. I am just nervous about getting all my software converted without putting out extra $$$.

God is giving me such a feeling of fulfillment and happiness. Some things I have been praying so hard about have been revealed to me. Isn't it when that happens, there is PEACE. I love that.

God is GREAT and our family is so blessed. Life is wonderful...........hope yours is too.

Breadmakers

2009-08-31T03:21:00.001-04:00

So, I am tired of making bread the good ol' fashioned way and am ready for a machine to help me out.

Anyone got any recommendations for a bread machine????

And They're OFF!

2009-07-16T02:08:00.000-04:00

So, if you noticed a previous post, we have some runners in the family (of course at mommy's urging!). So here are the pictures to go with the newspaper article. Noah and Caleb running their very first Mini Mt Marathon race in Seward Alaska!

A little pep talk by Dad at the starting line. Noah's age is up first.....

Get those feet movin'! GO NOAH GO! I am sure all those around me, while I am waiting at the finish, are now deaf cause Noah's mom packs a loud voice!

Caleb's up! GO CALEB GO! Yes, all you folks will need hearing tests, however my babies need to hear their momma cheering them on! Seriously this was so EXCITING to watch!

Here are the CHAMPIONS! Noah received his ribbon and so did Caleb. I am so very PROUD of my BOYS and those cute red cheeks from RUNNING so HARD!

Space the final frontier

2009-07-16T01:59:00.000-04:00

The boys and I took a little trip to the craft store so mommy could purchase even more little treasures to put in the overflowing craft bins. Upon entering the store, the incessant echos begin......"Mom, can we get a new craft?" "No mom, no more paper or markers, no more paint" "Mom can we get a craft?" "Can we can we can we, PLEEEEAAASSSSEEEE!" "Please mom, NO MORE suncatchers" "Mommy PLLLLUUUUUHHHHEEEAAASSSEEE"
OKAY.........what shall it be. Noah searched and mulled through aisle after aisle, pausing and staring, taking a few steps, pausing and staring and BEHOLD the greatest find EVER! He was SO VERY PROUD of this pick.........a solar system mobile.

He and Caleb worked very diligently following the instructions and pictures to a "T". No mixing colors here. This was going to be done "by the book" so said Noah.

The planets are ready to be aligned. But Mommy had to add sequins to the sun, saturn's ring, and a little to the earth, just for fun!

As soon as the planets were put into orbit, Caleb ran to the playroom and grabbed the shuttle. After all, you can't fly around in space in an airplane!

The first space mission was a success. The shuttle, as you can see, landed on pluto (the little pink planet) and the boys are taking their first space walk! Isn't outer space cool. Oh, and this was complete with swooshing, wooshing, and all kinds of outer space sound effects!

Are we looking at future astronauts?

Little Boy Bliss!

2009-07-16T01:43:00.000-04:00

Doesn't this photo reek of summer!! LOVE IT!

Oh Caleb

2009-07-16T01:38:00.000-04:00

So Caleb got bit on the ear by a mosquito. I did not even think to photograph this ear at its finest hour (the above is first thing in the a.m.). I was too busy freaking out cause he had an ELEPHANT ear by the end of the say. It swelled to 3 times its normal size. Medications and ice packs held nary a candle to this mosquito's venom! At the end of the day Caleb looked like Alfalfa on one side of his head!

Okay, seriously.......I know.........He is the CUTEST boy in the world!

Summer Fun

2009-07-16T01:30:00.002-04:00

The weather has been so great that we are outside EVERYDAY for hours! We get HOT enough to play in the sprinkler regularly. We wish the summer would NEVER end!

Take a look at the 2yr old winners!

2009-07-05T17:36:00.001-04:00

2009 Mini Mt. Marathon Race Results

Sat 4 Jul 2009 - Filed under: Announcement — Kim Reierson
Print Article - Comments (0)

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Mini Mt. Marathon Race Results – July 4, 2009

This year the Mini Mt. Marathon Race had 247 runners.

2 year old boys – 1) Jonah Jasser, Eagle River, AK 2) Kamali Miller, Seward, AK 3) Caleb Jackson, Anchorage, AK

2 year old girls – 1) Hannah Jasser, Eagle River, AK 2) Kylee Ambacher, Seward, AK 3) Ella Boerger, Cordova, AK

3 year old boys – 1) Trevor Ethridge, Wasilla, AK 2) Benson Boudreax, Anchorage, AK 3) Carter Lestina, Eagle River, AK

3 year old girls – 1) Kaitlyn Taylor, Anchorage, AK 2) Makena Gonzalez, Palmer, AK 3) Mia Nappi, Seward, AK

4 year old boys – 1) Ethan Eski, Anchorage, AK 2) Alex Loomis, Anchorage, AK 3) Noah Pack, Seward, AK

4 year old girls – 1) Sydney Leib-Dehart, Anchorage, AK 2) Lauren Sulte, Anchorage, AK 3) Athena Clemdaniel, Anchorage, AK

5 year old boys – 1) Aaron Gasway, Anchorage, AK 2) Joshua Delacruz, Seward, AK 3) Tommy Cronin, Seward, AK

5 year old girls – 1) Cadence Johnston, Eagle River, AK 2) Jessica Dunson, Anchorage, AK 3) Emily Unrein, Seward, AK

6 year old boys – 1) Jacob Lestina, Eagle River, AK 2) Adrian Velasko, Anchorage, AK 3) Mason Dunham, Kenai, AK

Thank you to all the volunteers that help make this event so much fun: Skip and Kim Reierson, Jean Bardarson, Jean Lewis, Kristi Larson, Mark and Barb Kraft, Nina Jones, Larry and Maryellen Dalberg, Jerry and Tina Suellentrop, Julie Spessard, Lindsey and Cody Lathrop, Kathy MacGregor and the Keystone Cops.

Scenes from Alaska

2009-06-24T15:26:00.000-04:00

What a great idea for outgrown puddle boots

Mt Augustine erupting

The view from a favorite coffee shop

Another favorite view

Fishing the Russian River

2009-06-24T15:23:00.000-04:00

Hiking back to the river

I am never in pics - me self portrait!

Combat Fishing

Noah and his BFF's

More Fun!

2009-06-24T15:20:00.000-04:00

Kevin slaying more yummy stuff for the freezer

Beach time

rest stop on the beach

dirty boy camping feet!

Fun Fun

2009-06-24T15:16:00.001-04:00

Noah holding brine shrimp he found in the tidal pool.

My Man!

2009-06-24T15:10:00.000-04:00

Nothing makes a wife more proud than when her man slays the beast and brings it home to eat! That is fresh sockeye salmon going in our freezer! YUMMY!

Look! No Training Wheels!

2009-06-24T15:07:00.000-04:00

GO NOAH GO!!! He was so happy! He is now starting off all on his own too! He is growing up too fast!

Kelly Cup Finals Game 7

2009-06-24T15:05:00.000-04:00

Boomer with a stingray on his stick

Family pic with green lights!

Winter Sunrise

2009-06-04T19:58:00.000-04:00

These were taken last November, actually on election day '08. This was the sun rising behind the mountains. Gorgeous, eh?

Not missing the fun!

2009-06-04T19:55:00.000-04:00

Of course if I have my camera out, Noah is gonna have his picture made. And who can blame him?! This boy has had my camera shoved in his face since the minute I got it in my hands!! At 2, Noah was setting up a tripod and asking folks to say "cheese"! So, at C's 2yr shoot, Noah got in on the fun and did a silly shoot! The last one is going to embarass him when he get married!

Caleb @ 2

2009-06-04T19:50:00.000-04:00

These are just a sampling of Caleb's 2yr portraits. I know he is 2.5 yrs old now, but I am just now finding some time to do this. I did not put out my favorites cause they are going on the wall in the hallway, SO, to see those you need to make a visit. AND, yeah, in that last pic he is shakin' his booty! hee hee! Ain't he the sweetest thing you EVER saw??!!

Tri, Homer, Soccer

2009-05-27T02:13:00.021-04:00

Ok, first the tri pics...

That's me, in the white cap

Ok, so I want you to see all the bikes. Mine is in there somewhere. I am cringing at the thought of posting a pic of myself in a swimsuit......bleh!

I am a TRIATHLETE!!!

So, I had the whole section on our annual Memorial Day weekend trip to Homer Alaska all typed out and blogger totally erased it. BOO! So, now you get it summarized........played in tidal pools, the critter catcher found an eel, big fish in freezer, great weather, good coffee, great friends, campfire, smores, we brought home dirt, shells, rocks, driftwood and stinky clothes. Oh, and there was this festival and the kids made boats. Let your imagination play........OH and enjoy the nice views.............

Caleb fell asleep on the way with a little pizza to wake up to....

Those baby blues are hard to catch in the overcast skies!

Boy did he love touching those fish!

Two happy boys after Maui Waui and Death by Chocolate ice cream!

Best buds....aka The Beachcombers - the critter catcher is the one in the middle!

One of my favorite views

My boys!

Making their sailboats at the Wood and Boat Festival

The finished boats

Krista and her 40lb halibut

Look at my man!!

Along the Kenai River

This was at 11pm, driving home

Tonight Noah had his first soccer game. HOW EXCITING! It was really crazy getting all the details together. His first practice was scheduled for last Tues, but his coach never called. His coach NEVER called. Seriously, this is little league, just call the parents! I get in touch with the director and it was chaos getting info. So, the original coach quit and a couple volunteered tonight to coach at 7pm with the game starting at 8pm. AND who ever has 8pm games for 4yr olds?? Whatever. Noah LOVED it. He ran, jumped, SCORED, did you get that SCORED not one but TWO goals! Go baby go! He was so happy and so were the momma and daddy!

GO NOAH GO!

Look at that kick! WOWSA!

Cheering on the team!

So enjoy the pics, they are finally POSTED! YeeHAww!

And if you can't tell from the pics, my cup runneth over.......I am so blessed!

It Never Hurts To Tri

2009-05-19T13:15:00.003-04:00

The title is the motto of the Anchorage Triathlon Club, of which I am not a member. However, I liked the motto. Good for a blog post.

I think I may have found a true love (athletically, that is. Nothing tops the hubby-bub).......triathlons! Oh, how I love my runs, but WOWSA did I have the BEST time this past Sunday!

For the past 1.5 months I have been conditioning myself to participate in a triathlon. The one I chose to attempt was the Gold Nugget Triathlon. It was 1300 women swimming, biking, running, and cheering one another on. The course was a 300yd swim, 9 mile bike, and 3 mile run. The perfect beginner tri. The atmosphere was great. Young and old alike were competing against one another, cheering for each other, and putting up a little friendly competition.

My initial fear was the swim. I mean, I have always been able to doggie paddle, but who wants to do that for 300yds? Not me! So, in October of 08 I was lucky enough to befriend Quinn, who is an AWESOME athlete. She is runner, swimmer, tri-girl all wrapped up into one. She offered to teach me the freestyle swim stroke. After a couple of lessons, Quinn and her fam were re-stationed to Hawaii. But she got me off to a great start. I then started seeking out master swimmers, picking their brain, and then having Kevin watch me try to put all of it together in the water. The best times, were swimming with my hubby and have him help me along. Anyway, my best time swimming 300 on my own was 7min 15sec. No matter how hard I tried, I was stuck with this time. So, when registration time for the tri came around I was a nervous wreck and knew I would screw it up, so I registered at 7min 30sec. The tri folks need this time to group you with other swimmers with the same time, so going through the swim would be relatively easy since you would be swimming with folks about the same speed in the water. Well the day of the tri, I must have gotten a big shot of adrenalin when I hit that water cause I started swimming past folks right and left. All I could hear was the water I was blowing out and when my ear would lift out of the water I heard 4 voices cheering me on......Kevin, Noah, Caleb, and my best runner friend Lori. I could not feel my legs and I just pushed. When the results posted, I swam 6min 39sec. My best time to date! I am still in shock! Shock, and nothing feels better than when you know you pushed past what you thought was your best.

When I leave the pool bldg, running to my bike - keep in mind you get out of the pool and run. Barefoot. In a bathing suit. Run to your bike. Yeah, you get over your butt jiggling and how you look in a bathing suit. AND if you don't you just run really really fast, like I did! However, when I came out that door I had the best thing happen. There waiting on me was Lori, my BFF. She RAN with me along the chute! Screaming at me the whole time, "GO MARY GO! PUSH! THE HARD PART IS OVER! GO!!! CRANK IT OUT! YOU CAN DO THIS!! GO! GO! GO!!" Want more adrenalin? Have a great friend run just 100ft with you screaming at you, pumping you up, believing in you, being proud of you. That will do it.

On to the bike leg. The gal behind me, her name was America - how cool?! She came up to her bike beside mine. We were preparing - throwing on shorts, shoes, grabbing a drink of h2O, etc. and she said, "Don't let me catch ya on the bike". Oh ho ho ho....you're on. I got out of my spot before her, ran past the line, jumped on my bike and just started cranking it out. The first 4.5 miles were all downhill, the second 4.5 miles were all back up, straight up. All I can think about is that someone is chasing me and I can't let them catch me. I was not looking back, EVER. I did not want to see her on my back tire. I get to the turn around and start preparing for going back up, up, up the hill. I am cranking as hard as I can. In my head I just keep telling myself, push, push, you trained for this, don't get caught. All of a sudden my feet start spinning...too fast. I can't control my cadence. I look down.....NO NO NO. My chain came off. SERIOUSLY! Not now, someone is on my tail and I am NOT going to play catch up. This was the time I really began to regret not taking that bike maintenance class. Finally I catch a break, I just lift up the chain, hook it on a couple of teeth on the gear, and spin the pedals. VOILA! Chain is back on and now I have got to restart my momentum on a complete uphill climb. Everyone who has biked a steep hill, or has taken a spin class knows how bad this is gonna be. So I repeat 9 thousand times, don't get caught, don't let her pass you! GO GO GO!!!

I make it back to transition to park the bike and begin the run. My mouth is so parched cause I let my h2O bottle at my transition spot. Don't say it. I know. I grab some water, throw on a hat and go. I got three miles to run and I am done. America's bike was not in her spot, so I was a little relieved she did not pass me on the hill while I was trying to get my chain back on. Now RUN!

As soon as you cycle really hard and then begin a run, you might experience what I did. It is called "the grip". It is your body trying to adjust from using your quads (for cycling) to hamstrings (for running). While training (in the gym) I had a bike that had pedals where you strap in your shoes. So, the last few minutes of biking in the gym I would pull up on the pedals instead of pushing down, thus engaging hamstrings so when I then would begin my run, my legs would not freak out so badly. Well, yeah, I never got those nice "strap your shoes in" pedals, and therefore changing gears on the legs from quads to hams after a CRAZY bike, well lets just say "the grip" was a firm one. PUSH PUSH PUSH - it's only 3 miles. After about 1/2 a mile down my legs let go and when that happens, your legs feel so good and it makes pounding it out and pushing your best for 3 miles a lot easier. It really feels good when a 31 yr old, ME, passes a 19yr old on the run and beats her to the finish (I know her age cause our ages were written in permanent marker on our calves - so that 19 yr old saw my 31, nice). I know, sick and twisted, I am. Seeing the homestretch all I can think about is my family. For my husband and boys to see their wife and momma finish her first triathlon. That and knowing that when I cross that line I become a triathlete. PUSH!

Coming down the last, the very last 30ft, there is usually an announcer who sees your bib number, looks up your name and says in to a microphone, "Here comes number 948, Mary Jackson". Well, dude, says, "Here comes number 948, uh, uh". Oh NO he is not taking my little bit of glory. I start screaming, "MARY JACKSON, MARY JACKSON!!" Say it, before I cross the line, SAY IT BEFORE I CROSS THE LINE! As I pass him, dude goes, "OH! It's Mary Jackson sprinting it home from Elmendorf AFB". Thank you. My race is complete. Well, almost. I have to get my best son hug ever from Noah. AND after my hug I get, "Mom you're awesome, I am so proud of you". That and knowing how hard my husband was cheering for me. Hearing KJ and the boys say how proud they are, well it makes it sooooo worth it. It takes away all the exhaustion, and I don't know how to say it better, I am blessed with the best family. Thank you God for them. I look forward to the day when the boys get interested in what their momma is doing and we can do our first mom and son tri or 1/2 marathon together. I hope those days come.

I stayed up VERY late last night looking up results of all those I had met and my friends who also competed. I was very sad to see, after I scoured the results up and down 2x, that America, bib number 949, the gal after me, the one who was gonna catch me, well, she did not finish. I was sad to see that. I wish I could tell her she fueled a fire that kept me pushing myself. I can't wait until next year! I have a time to beat!

Oh and if you think you can't do this. You should tell that to my friend Tami. She had not rode a bike in almost 20yrs, just learned to swim in January, and only started running when I ask her to do this with me (somewhere around last December). Seeing her shed tears crossing the finish line........well, I am WAY WAY proud of her. Tami finished with a total time of 1hr 22min and 2sec. My time 1hr 22min flat. So ANYONE can do this. You just gotta believe you can. AND as the blog post title says, It Never Hurts to Tri.

Now, onto the rest of the summer fun. I am doing a 5 mile Women's Run in June. That run I will proudly adorn my jersey with Kevin's aunt's name, Mary Kay. She is a breast cancer survivor and this run is in support of survivors and furthering research and support for breast cancer awareness. Then in August I will attempt The Skinny Raven Half Marathon. This is the same one I did last year. I get a little flip in my stomach every time I think about it. WHEW!

Never in my life did I think that in my 30's I would begin to enjoy running and these organized events. I wish I would have started when I was 20. Before I am fifty I MIGHT try a half-ironman. Big dreams, I know.

Strawberry

2009-05-03T20:47:00.002-04:00

Do you remember Darryl Strawberry? If you don't know who he is, google him. World class baseball star who lost it all.

Well, I was watching Huckabee (what, what? I love this guy!) and he interviewed Strawberry. The last thing I remember about Darryl Strawberry is him constantly being in court or arrested for his cocaine abuse. So, I was quite curious that he was going to be on The Huck. What a powerful message this man sent! He has written a new book, "Straw. Finding My Way". During his interview, well the majority of his interview, was his testimony. The way he spoke about God and becoming and being God's disciple was incredible - even more so that it was not censored, edited, etc. Yes it was Fox news, but c'mon! It really makes me want to buy the book. I think I will! It was great to hear someone, who had all the wordly things most ppl desire - money, fame, etc. - say those things are worth nothing and proclaim that God's purpose for his life and having God made him more happy than putting on his uniform and running onto that baseball field. WOW!

Thoughts from the kitchen

2009-04-23T22:30:00.003-04:00

Usually while I am preparing dinner the kids wander in and out, chat a little, play a little, etc.

This is tonight's happenings..........

Noah is shooting his hockey puck around the floor and I ask, "Are you practicing your stick handling?" Noah's reply, "No, I am playing hockey cause that is like......normal".

Noah shoots the puck and says "Yes! A goal! I win!" Caleb then chimes in, "Yes! A goal! I lose!"

The Case of The Catch-ups Part Deux

2009-04-04T19:10:00.003-04:00

Back to where we left off.........

Saturday was here, the day of the Whenupai Air Show, on none other than March 21 (March 20 in the US), my birthday. It was an early morning, and because NZ is so laid back there is NO WHERE open to get coffee at 5am. Well, except one place. The place I loathe, yet had no choice if I really wanted coffee, we stopped at McDonald's. We purchase the cappuccino's and latte's at the McCafe and were on our way. Oh, corner cafe how I wanted YOUR awesome cappuccino. A little tip, if you are in NZ beware of the Long Black coffee. This is what you get if you just order coffee, black. I normally drink black coffee, and I don't mind it strong. I like European's in the fact they like coffee, strong, and thick. Well, this Long Black knocked my socks OFF! WHEW! I had to break down and add a little water to this stuff. So, Auckland holds the "strongest coffee I have ever tasted" title. The air base is VERY small, but we were in wide-eye shock when we drive up at 530am and there is a line to get on base. This surprised us so because the gates did not open to the general public until 9am! These were all military personnel trying to get on base. It was gonna be a busy day. After watching some of the pilots (Meghan, Todd, and Brett) play teeter totter on the plane's tow bar, I assigned myself a job. See, the squadron sent along t-shirts, glasses, pins, coins, etc for us to sell at the airshow. So, I volunteered to man the table. It gave me something to do while everyone else was busy working the crowd and minding the jet. One pilot, Meghan, became our "super-stahhhh" (Molly Shannon style!). It was Women's History Month in NZ and so she was interviewed by the local news and given mad props for being a female pilot. The entire day of the airshow, folks would ask, "Could you tell me where the female pilot is?" She was signing autographs, posing for pics, and was looked upon all day with eyes of wonder! So, of course much heckling ensued. Thanks for enduring!! The plane was PACKED - all day long! Everyone wanted a turn in the cockpit. So much so, they were waiting 2+ hours in line just to sneek a peek. This only got worse after Kevin flew the demo of the C-17. He totally rocked it in the air and everyone was totally amazed. The entire crowd kept their eyes pegged on the plane even after it had landed and other planes and helicopters were doing their demo's. The crowd was like, "WHO CARES, LETS GET ON THAT C17!" As soon as the barricades were removed the crowd literally RAN onto the plane. It was crazy, people were packing in so tight we could not move. One kid seriously passed out in front of me and Kevin!! So, me not liking being trapped in a mob like, crazed crowd put her pipes God blessed her with to work. Oh yes, controlling crowd control Mary came out in a BIG BOOMING voice! hee hee! "Move to the right side of the plane! Form a queue (what NZ'ers call a line)! Make way for an exit!" Then security got involved and my moment of control was over, MAN! Anyway, 5pm could not get there fast enough. We were all tired and relieved (well that was KJ, he was glad that demo was OVER!). The squadron there prepared a little BBQ for us for afterwards. Let me interject here and just pour out the compliments to the folks that hosted us. Not once did we every want or need anything. Their hospitality was amazing and they knew and had available every resource we needed, from water to food to an awesome party afterwards to hooking us up with local connections, etc, etc. We were even given offers of "If you are ever back in New Zealand for pleasure and need a place to stay, my home is yours". WOWSA! Very cool folks they are. So, we hung out at the base there enjoying the late afternoon BBQ.

One very important bit of info needs to be put in here. This day was my birthday. The entire day long everyone I came in contact with wished me Happy Birthday. I was given hugs and well wishes the ENTIRE day. To end this day, as we enter into the 40 squadron - the sq. hosting us - a cake was brought out (chocolate, I might add) and then everyone in that bldg began singing "Happy Birthday". On the day where my husband had to fly his butt off, he took the time to think of me and arrange this little candle on the cake of the day. How blessed I am to have HIM as my husband. A man who had a million things on his plate the previous couple of days, took time to make my day special and fancy his wife with her favorite birthday delight, chocolate cake. I love you KJ. Now, he has set the standard HIGH since birthday number 3-0 was in Paris, France and now birthday 3-1 was in New Zealand! Just say it, I am SPOILED by my hubby!

This same night we also met the owner of the StonyRidge vineyard we had visited the day before. We completely oozed our love of this place and he then proceeded to offer the ultimate hook-up. He told us, come out on Sunday and I will give you the VIP treatment. WOO HOO! So, our last day in New Zealand was PERFECT! I don't think we could have ended this trip any better. We got up Sunday morning (my birthday in the US, oh yes I milked it for all it was worth!) and got back on the ferry headed to Waiheke Island. This time we splurged a little and got a little convertible jeep cause the sun was shining and heck, it was our last day. Some of our friends rented scooters, which gave us plenty of laughter the entire day! We drive out to the vineyard where we have a table already prepared for us, overlooking the olive orchards, grave vines, and just gorgeous steep hillsides. It was so sweet seeing these little girls in fairy dresses running through the olive trees. TOO CUTE! We ate and relaxed in the sun listening to live music that was primo. The owner then spoils us all on awesome food and a huge discount. None of us wanted to leave, but we forced ourselves. We then headed to the beach. We then lounged some more in the sun and took dips in the water and thought the day had passed way too quickly. We climb back into the car and head back to the harbor to catch the ferry back to Auckland. Kevin and I then met up with some friends who had took Space-A from Hawaii and had dinner at the Sky Tower Restaurant. The Sky Tower is much like the Space Needle in Seattle. The Restaurant rotates to give you the entire view of the city while you dine. It was a nice way to end our time there in NZ. Oh yes, I will go back to NZ one day.

We left very early the next morning. We took the same route back. We landed in Pago Pago for fuel and then landed in Honolulu about 10pm for a night in HI before we made the trek to Alaska. 20 minutes after we landed I am waiting on a taxi to take me downtown when I get a call from KJ, "Mt Redoubt just erupted to 65k feet." My babies are at home without their momma, and MY momma is going to have to do the volcano prep at our home. I call mom, it is midnight in AK. "Mom the volcano erupted, here is what you have to do"...........

The flight home cancelled and we got an extra day in Hawaii. Although, this was very cool, a day in Honolulu to hang out, no kids, me and the hubby and he doesn't have to work......my mind kept wondering about the kids. I kept telling myself that ash wasn't going to Anchorage, but that didn't help. Finally, I found a remedy.....mai tai's! We also found ourselves in the midst of some pick-up beach volleyball games and that helped to take my mind off things. The wind was in our favor the next day and as the volcano erupted we boarded the C17, hopefully to make it home. We now had to go to Seattle and pick up some C17 crews that were leaving their jets in WA to keep them safe from volcano ash. We landed safely at 1am in Anchorage. I didn't want it to end, but it was good to be home.

Now, we are dealing with this bleeping volcano that decides to erupt every other day or every other 2 days. We have been hit with some ash. When this happened the outside smelled like sulphur with a touch of burnt. On top of that the snow then came down on top of the ash. This is good for breathing quality, but bad for getting to play in the snow. Others are letting their kids play, but I just can't let mine. Noah likes to eat the snow WAY too much.

My mom flew back home, THANKS mom for watching the boys! Hope you birthday (Apr 3) was AWESOME!

Now, I have officially signed up for the Gold Nugget Triathlon. I am submerging myself in training despite the fact I possibly have bronchitis. We have bought Noah a new pair of shoes. he got a pair of New Balance cause he thought the "N" on the side was there for his name! :) Caleb has begun to talk like an adult. His pronunciation is out of this WORLD! I don't' have "babies" anymore! sniff sniff! Kevin is busy with a base wide exercise, that is where he is now.

The kids have been interested in seeing the lava from the volcano - which takes a lot of explaining why we are not driving to the volcano to watch it blow. So, last night for family fun night Kevin and I went old school and pulled out the vinegar and baking soda. Of course, doing this in a bottle is not visual enough, so I get the paper mache and VOILA the we and the kids construct our version of Mt Redoubt. We did not have red food coloring so we used blue and green instead. When we went to make the "eruption", Caleb kept his ears covered! He thought there was going to be a BANG! It was too funny to see their excitement over the bubbling! Next time we will have to use diet coke and mentos for a bigger bang! Alright........

I think that catches you all up.

The end.

The Case of the Catch-ups

2009-04-02T14:01:00.002-04:00

Since my last post, Feb 17 to present

Kevin was gone much of Feb because he was flying in an airshow in India. During this time Caleb was sick with croup which he passed on to his brother. Noah is a really tough kid but this croup took him over like no other and Noah made his first visit to the emergency room. He was terrified since his last visit to the hospital he had surgery on his leg. He remembers this vividly so the panic in his eyes could not be relieved until he was back in his car seat on our way home. The kids then passed on their croup to their mother (big surprise) and I battled a cold for 2 weeks. :) During that time we prepared for our trip to Kona Hawaii and prayed the volcano, Mt Redoubt, would not blow until we had left Alaksa!

We were able to get off to Kona safely at the beginning of March. We saw Mt Kilauea but didn't attempt to see an active lava flow. The smells were strong and potentially toxic - enough said. We enjoyed the steam vents that were quite pleasing since it was FRIGID! I thought we were back in Alaska while visiting this volcano. When I pack for Hawaii, I pack shorts and tank tops. Well, that was not good enough. It was in the 50's (gasp!!) at the volcano park, and windy! The kids and I froze our bums off. The steam vents were great. The vents are the huge cracks in the earth where the geothermal heats rises up and a very constant spray of warm steam comes out. It took a lot to pull me away from those vents. The sun also took a vacation while on the big island. It finally returned on our last day. So we made the most of it. We found a great beach, Hapuna Beach, with great boogie boarding waves and great sand. The kids took turns burying Kevin and destroying the sand castles we made together. We also went on this very cool snorkeling trip. They had these boogie boards with a hole cut out of the top. In the cut out circle they inserted a piece of glass and a hood around the glass. So it was like a boogie board with a round face mask. The kids could lay on the boogie boards, put their faces up next to the glass and see all the things that Kevin and I saw, all without having to put their faces underwater. It was so great, Caleb fell asleep on his board! Kevin and I got to see an octopus which was really cool watching it change color to match the bottom of the ocean. We then left Kona to start another adventure.

We arrived home from Kona on the 11th and my mom flew in the night of the 12th. We gave her a crash course in how to drove on icy Alaska roads, directions to all the places she would need to drive to in the city, etc. She flew up to watch our boys so Kevin and I could go to New Zealand! We left for New Zealand on the 16th of March. We spent one night in Honolulu HI, and then flew onto Whenupai (pronounced Fe-nu-pie) Air Base in Auckland New Zealand. Kevin was flying in an air show there so I was able to Space-A along. One the way we stopped for fuel in a little Pacific Island called Pago Pago. It was gorgeous and HOT! It was very remote, but I bet could reveal a lot of adventure if given the chance. So, after a grand total of 10.5 hours in the back of a C-17 we stepped of the plane in NZ.

NZ is a really cool place. The general attitude is laid back and it helps that the language is English mixed with a little "kiwi". The exchange rate was definitely in our favor so shopping was really fun and ordering pricey things on restaurant menu's was FUN! Our first day was spent with Kevin at work (after all he was flying in an airshow) and me pounding the pavement to see the sites. Auckland is set upon a nice harbor so I checked out the harbor side. I also found one of the oldest churches in the world and it was very pretty. One of my favorite things is that NZ had a lot of "take away" places for food. So, I could indulge in a lot of local fare at many different places without using of my limited tourist time or being tied to a table and server. I wish America had more places like this. Well, we do but they are called drive thru's and well, no that doesn't cut it. I frequented the pita pit, pandoro (the mediterranean lamb was great!), and of course we had to find a donner for KJ. One thing I have to avoid in these overseas places is the gassy water. I can not tune my palette to fizzy bubbles in my water! Anyway, after beating the streets all day I met up with KJ that afternoon where we ate dinner at Mosoon Poon. At joint that anything from Thai to Vietnamese. It was really really good. Despite the overly large paintings of a baby picking up a watermelon and another of a baby straddling a large coy. Day 2, KJ managed to wrangle a day free so we walked around a bit, ended up at the harbor, jumped on a ferry and ended at Waiheke (pronounced Wa-hee-key) Island. Ok, by far my favorite place in the world. This island has its own micro climate. So, while it has the gorgeous coastal views it also has these awesome steep mountains which is the perfect place to grow wine grapes. Just about every inch of this island was olive orchard, grape orchard, or has sheep running on it. It was GORGEOUS! We visited a local vineyard, StonyRidge, and then ended up later meeting the owner. Oh, I forgot. Upon arriving on the island, we rented a car. Folks in NZ drive on the left, opposite the US. This was going to be an adventure just being on the left. Well upon driving these rolling hills and sharp curves, the BRAKES, a very necessary part of a car, decide to stop functioning. Yes, we are going down a hill and around a sharp curve with cars on the wrong side of the road, WITHOUT A WAY TO STOP! AHHH! Those 17km were very exciting and my blurry pictures show it! HEE HEE! We take the rental car back and get another, crossing our fingers that this one had brakes. We did manage to maneuver the island successfully. Half of the island has unpaved roads but those are the roads that had the BEST views and we are glad we navigated those roads. Breathtaking. After a long day of island discovery we jump on the ferry back to Auckland and get ready for the airshow the next day.

I will have to pause here. Caleb needs a diaper change and the boys need attention. I'll try to finish this later tonight after the kids are in bed. Wish me luck too, I have another photo shoot today! Yaaaa-Hoooo!

Fartleks

2009-02-17T02:37:00.003-05:00

Tag! You're It!

I was tagged by Shelia. This could be interesting.

Here are the rules:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open to page 56.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 2 to 5 sentences, along with these rules.
5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual book. Pick the CLOSEST!

So here goes...

ooh this is too funny!!!!

"Literally translated fartlek means "speed play". It's a method of training in which there are relatively long-duration, high-intensity periods mixed with low-intensity training (which serve as rest periods), but you still do a continuous workout overall. Fartleks are designed to increase your strength and to help you have fun with your running and keep you interested in your training and activities."

From my latest read - Triathlons For Women by Sally Edwards

As for the tag, how about...

Anyone that wants to just for kicks.

Close but no cigar...

2009-02-11T21:14:00.002-05:00

How sick are you of reading about my attempts to post pics....hee hee hee

So the camera made it upstairs today to sit beside the computer! The card did not get ejected, the card reader did not get plugged in, so as close as I can come right now is that the camera is close to the computer. That is all I got....

So, I need to whine just a little. My husband is gone. It has been to long, for my taste. I don't know when he is coming home because of the volcano that sits idling on the verge of eruption. I can't wait for Friday, cause I finally arranged for a sitter so I can go out with the girls for a couple of hours. C'mon Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know I have no reason to whine when some of my good friends' husbands are preparing to leave for a year. I am seriously hating that for them.

Noah had a Valentine's Day party at his preschool. He asked so sweetly for his mama to be there. After all, he had made his mama a surprise! How could I say no? Well, it almost did not happen. I dropped Noah off at school (which is on base) and leave base to go to the gym. I pull in the gym and realize that my ID to get back on base was at home - my home is on base. Do you see the problem. I can not get to my house to get my ID, which I need to get back on base to go and pick up Noah. Thank goodness for my friends who live off base that have an ID to get me back on base AND for those friends who don't mind me calling very early in the morning in a panicking state, yelling that I can not miss Noah's party! Thanks Krista. The next Starbuck's is on me.

So at Noah's party, they exchange their little valentine's for each other. So cute. They have a little snack together, where they help serve each other. So sweet. Then these two little girls must've let the whole Valentine's Day mojo go to their head. Suddenly, Noah was the target they sent Cupid out to mark. OOOOOhhhhhhh no no no no no no. These girls obviously did not care that mama bear was right there and mama bear is the only one who gets Noah's kisses! These two, Madison and Lindsey, had to be on each side of Noah, be in all the pictures I took of Noah, and gush and gush about they like hanging out and playing with Noah. Ok, little girls, you are cute, but this is my boy. Noah had his head in the clouds and totally dismissed them as if they were toys whose giggle boxes were broken and were trying to work on run-down batteries. That's my boy. Typical boy - no interest at all in these little pig tail princesses. I wanted to take a pic of Noah and his teacher. I tried my best to keep my voice a little on the hushed side to not attract the attention of the honey flies :) But as soon as I raised my camera and halfway depressed the shutter button, and blur rushed by and the cute little pic of Noah and his teacher became a pic of Noah and his herom (sp?)! His teacher giggled and we packed up and left. My boy is so sweet. He made me such a sweet valentine card and was so excited when I got to the party and gave me the best hugs and kisses. I am very blessed.

So, to top of the day of princess and love overload, after lunch, we watch Beauty and the Beast. :)

Following up on the little thief..................I still feel as though I am not satisfied. However I can not fully tell if these feelings are rooted in total revenge or just plain being over dramatic. So I was gonna have a policeman (who is also a friend of a friend) go get the phone for me (I did not need nor want a face to face) and give the boy a good talkin to. Then I was going to ask the family to drop the phone at the police station and I then go pick it up. Then all that went out the window when Kevin's friend Jerry called. Jerry took it out of my hands - which I am thankful for since I am mommy and daddy right now and that keeps my busy and stressed. So, Jerry meets this guy and gets the phone back. Apparently, this kid is a foster kid. The foster parents found the phone and then grilled him about it and the boy fessed up to taking Kevin's money out of his wallet, taking the phone, and helping do it with more kids. The foster dad was totally apologetic and wants Kevin to call when he gets back in town so they can pay back the money taken and just take responsibility for this. So, okay that calmed down my over dramatic revenge kick - but I would like to see the boy face-to-face for an apology. So, case closed. Lesson learned.

Ok, I have another story, however, kids are waking up, dinner timer is beeping, and we have to go to church.

What to do??

2009-02-10T02:11:00.002-05:00

So let me tell a little story........

On Jan 19 we took the kids to the local indoor water park for a day of play. When we ended the day, we went to change out of our swim suits and realized someone had rifled through our bag, took Kevin's pants, which they then had taken to the dressing room, emptied everything in his pockets, stole his iphone, key to our safe, and military id, and then did a bunch more silly things that proved to us that this was just some kids who stole our stuff. So we reported it to the management, Kevin replaced his phone and we recovered.

Now today. Kevin is in India. He received a call today from a man who says he has his iphone, the one that was stolen. Apparently, the kid's dad found the phone and fessed up for his kid. The kid doesn't, however have Kevin's military ID or the key to our safe. I got an email from Kevin about this. So, now we have to decide how to handle this.

A) do we ask the kid and his parents to pay for the new phone we had to buy since his kid took Kevin's

B) Do we say he can shovel our driveway for the rest of the winter season

C) ask a policeman to have a little chat with this kid and make him formally apologize to the waterpark folks

What would you do?

I am battling back and forth because our actions do not go without consequence. However, the kid may be in a heap of trouble from his parents. Is his parents consequences enough? I know my parents would have made me pay for the stupid phone and apologize and I would still have reaped their punishment.

Any thoughts?

Just a smidge...

2009-02-09T02:11:00.004-05:00

This was the boys at Christmas with their "Christmas Hats"!

This is on my Facebook. I think it is one of my all time FAVS!

I don't have the pics of N playing hockey off of my camera yet. So keep watching, but don't hold your breath!

It's almost over...

2009-02-09T01:24:00.002-05:00

I never blog anymore because of one word........

Facebook

I have become, "that girl", "that person"......

Yes, and some of my other bloggy friends have too. I have read your posts. You are not alone.

Am I in Charleston?

2009-02-02T00:06:00.003-05:00

**After I wrote this I rec'd a call from Kev that he made it safely to Hawaii, where he will be lounging for three days before his mission starts. Then that if the stupid volcano doesn't blow by the end of his mission (Feb 17) he will be going to Seattle to sit there until it does blow., at least until March.

I hope he is enjoying the warm sunshine............

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So let me deduce...

If I were in Charleston it would be warm - no it is cold here

If I were in Charleston I could wear flip flops all year - uhm no, I have been wearing boots for months

If I were in Charleston my husband would be home for one day and leave again - this is where I become confused, because we live in ALASKA but we are currently having a CHARLESTON schedule....ggrrrrrrr!

Can you tell that I have become very spoiled at this assignment!

Ok, just a little bit

2009-01-30T02:15:00.002-05:00

I am writing this, but want to go to bed, so consider yourselves lucky! :)

I am going to do this from recent to past so bear with.....

I finished my first sewing project today. I made a hooded bath towel for a friends baby shower. Yes I took pics and no I am not posting them now, but I will lie to you, and say pics are coming soon. ;)

This project was so easy that I am thinking I might go on a towel making binge and completely outfit my children with so many hoodies it will look like a rainbow in the bathroom.

I am also going to attempt a zippered pouch. I found a very simple pattern, and I really really love zippered pouches!

Caleb has been sick all week. It always happens when Kevin is gone. Poor guy has had a fever, croup, and just lies around. I am hoping tomorrow will bring a new day. I feel bad for the orthotic guy today. We had an appt and could not miss it, so asking a 2yr old to try on the new shoes on his brace was like asking the sky to change from blue to purple. Plus Noah was schooling the guy on all the characters in Toy Story 2 and their role in the movie. Whew, was I glad that 30min was over!

Noah has been busy with school and hockey. He is so awesome. He is really pushing off on his ice skates and is gliding! His main objective is to go "super speed". This has always been Noah's objective ever since he learned to walk, uhm no, ever since he learned to stop crawling and start running. So, if he pushes a net frame (imagine a small hockey goal frame with no net attached) he can fly across the ice. He loves it! However, the goal is to skate without assistance so he can go on to the next step, stick handling, better skating control, etc. So, when he is skating unassisted, he is still going fast, but not to his level of "super speed". I can't believe how quickly he caught on, and his determination. Caleb loves watching. He now says, "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, hockey today". We go to hockey on Tues. nights. He cheers on Noah and usually checks the bag, "helmet, yep, skates, yep, pads, yep". It is too much to handle.

Kevin is at arctic survival in Fairbanks. He spent 2 days learning how survive in extreme subzero temps and has spent the last two nights, surviving. I will finally hear from him tomorrow night, when he gets home. Yay! I am hoping that when he leaves again next week, we can all stay healthy and schedules can be smooth and unchanged cause these past 2 weeks have killed me!

I have not been to the gym since last Wednesday and I have some crazy version of cabin fever. I have a lot of energy and no way to let it out! Between church obligations and sick children, I have missed my gym time. I have my fingers crossed that tomorrow I will get to sweat it out. I am doing an indoor tri a the YMCA and need lots, o lots of training for my tri sprint in May. What I really need is Jillian to walk into the Y tomorrow and scream at me, sit on the machines as I lift and just seriously kick my booty! My good friend is schooling right now to be a personal trainer. I think I might become her first client. She is really good at calling me out and making me push it out. I was reading about eating clean. I think I am gonna give this a try.

I got a new point and shoot. Yes, another one. Kevin has threatened that if this one gets broken I am just up the creek. So, I got one with a neck strap instead of a wrist strap. It was way cheap. It isn't the greatest, but I have broken the better ones and can't afford to keep doing that.

We have a volcano that is likely to erupt. Look it up. Mt Redoubt. Let's hope that it calms itself down.

We had like 3 weeks of -30 degree weather. Then for 3-4 days it warmed up to like 45. Bad news, cause all that snow melted, then it refroze into a nice 3-4 inch layer of ice. Then it dropped back down into the middle teens and is snowing. Whooopppeee.

So, this snow covered ice was to blame for my first fall. Luckily I had Caleb on my hip. Now before you say, "Lucky?", and give the crazy face, having Caleb on my hip caused me to fall more sideways that straight down on my bottom. Thus saving my tailbone from another blow, and my hips are padded enough to take it. Caleb was ok. He just looked at me and said, "ok mommy?"

ok. that 's it.

Copy and Paste to Play

2009-01-08T21:51:00.002-05:00

I copied this from another blog...some numbers are missing...play if you want! BOLD the ones you've done...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland (I think Disney World counts, too!)
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept in an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run/walk a marathon (I have run a 1/2 marathon)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (solar)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason ( I bought them...it doesn't say "received" flowers!)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
94a. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit (class action, not personal)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Time, Time, Oh Where Do You Go?

2009-01-03T00:44:00.005-05:00

So, life is chaos and as usual my blog has become the thing I think of, well lets face it, I think of it never. I keep on telling myself, as I read the updates on other's blogs, that I need to get back in the game. So prepare yourself, this might be quite long.

Christmas was awesome. Kevin and I both had our mother's in town. Nothing like 20 inches of snow and -17 temp to welcome family! They both were troopers. They both bundled up in many o' layers and braved the arctic winter. Yes, we had a moose encounter and my parking in the middle of the road to get pics was worth it. The boys were treated by Santa who brought things like hockey skates, light sabres and a tricycle. They were totally satisfied with Santa's generosity. Caleb had no interest in discovering the treasures that waited underneath the shimmering wrapping paper. He physically opened only one present. He was totally mesmerized by a hockey stick and ball Santa had put in his stocking. Noah had the pleasure of not only his own surprises, but helping his little brother discover his.

It has been quite cold here is AK. For the first time in my life (and hopefully the last) I heard the meteorologist say, "At these temps flesh will begin to freeze". I don't know about you, but that makes me want to go to Hawaii even more!

I have been continuing my training for this triathlon I am going to attempt. As of late, my training has slacked off due to holidays and a recent injury. I sprained my ankle really good while snowboarding before Christmas. Running has not been possible, or cycling, so I have been in the pool, which still bothers it some. I am hopefully going to get on the treadmill this week. That might be a big maybe since I do not want to injure it further. Recovering longer is better and more efficient than training injured. My pool work has greatly improved. I have successfully been swimming a continuous 500m in 15min. I need to improve that time and really work on my running. I get on the treadmill and I wonder how in the world I ever ran a 1/2marathon last year cause I can barely squeak out 3miles! This must change soon if I am gonna attempt another 1/2 this summer. Maybe 2, I haven't decided yet.

Noah is so not a little boy anymore. He is all boy. He is mostly self sufficient and is has become quite the thinker. On Tuesday he will begin his first hockey lessons. (BTW he ate Christmas morning breakfast with his hockey helmet on and maneuvered food through the cage, he loved it so much!) It will be very basic at first. Just, learn to skate. He had his first experience on the ice today. He attended a friend's bday party and the first 1.5hours was going to be ice skating. Well, it is FRIGID, or as I was told today, it is just stupid cold here. So we lasted all of 20-25min. By this time, Noah, Kevin, nor I could feel our toes. So, we surrendered to the cold and left to retreat in the warmth of Lori's home (Lori is the mom of Noah's friend, and a very good friend of mine). It was so cold I had to hold my toes in the car cause they were hurting so badly!! Anyway, Noah did great! He was able to stand on his skates fairly well. He shuffled across the ice, this way and that, with the use of Mom and Dad's hands. I think when we get in the arena on Tuesday he is gonna have way more fun cause it won't be so COLD! He also starts back to school on Monday which is a bummer, for me, cause I like having him home. We have really been enjoying sleeping in. :) Can you believe he is on his way to being 5 YEARS OLD??!!

Where do I even begin with Caleb?! Besides having a vocab the size of the Webster's dictionary, he is a busy little bee! You can only guess where he gets his nonstop talking from??!! I am going to attempt to get him into hockey lessons as well. Every chance he can he gets Noah's skates and helmet, puts them on (helmet on backwards, of course), and walks around saying, "Go outside, play hockey". How cute! He has a cold right now, poor baby. Tonight was the first time I saw him walking up the stairs, not crawling up them. He was also doing most of the weight bearing on his right leg. The right leg is the one that was clubbed. The doctors said that it was highly likely that there would be noticeable muscle imbalance between his right and left calf muscles and that his right and left feet would be different sizes. Guess what..........God said otherwise and his feet are the same size and his right leg seems to be his stronger side. How cool is that! I can't believe he will be 2years old in just over 2 weeks! That means only 2 more years of wearing the brace at night (we are at the halfway mark!!!) YAAAHHHHHHOOOOOO! I think we might just have a "Bury the Brace" party when he finally doesn't have to wear it anymore.

Kevin is busy right now preparing to do an airshow in India. I wish we could hop on that jet and go with him. He is also preparing to attack the arctic winter during his Arctic Survival School at the end of this month. This takes place in Fairbanks, AK. Lately the temps in Fairbanks have been subzero as the high! It is probably close to -50/60 at night. BbbbbbUUURRRRRRR! He has been trying to pass by the long winter months by occasionally playing basketball, and getting in as much snowboarding as possible.

And yes, I have avoided the post office long enough and will finally mail the rest of the Christmas presents I have yet to mail. Just think of them as New Year presents! A little something to perk you up after the Christmas chaos has become a blur! :)
I have several post office stories, I won't rehash them, but just know that one certain postman's face will be etched in my memory forever and if I could I would nominate him for the worst, most inconsiderate, and most unhelpful postman for life! GRRRRRR!!!

For the past week I have been going back and forth on keeping them up or taking them down. Sadly, tomorrow the Christmas decorations will begin to come down. *sniff *sniff.

I look forward to 2009. Lord willing, we will have a great summer of camping and more Alaskan adventures to encounter, my husband and I will be married another year longer, and we all enjoy more birthdays. Possibly, we will see our last Alaskan winter (the winter after the current), we will see our children grow up even more, we will get more time with family, and we will grow more in our walk with God.

I will end with my usual valediction: I'll post pics later.... :)