New Years Meme

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

Mission Trip out of the country! Never ever thought I would do that, but through a series of miracles and God's leading, that is what we did.

Recieved an Awesome side by side refridgerator with ice and water in the door from my Dad and Mom

Recieved a Company Car, drop dead awesome!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I tried really hard and exceeded for a while. And yes I will make more. My motto is NEVER give up.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Mellisa and Ben: Kim and Ben (and no Ben is not the same person....lol)


4. Did anyone close to you die?

My grandfather died.

5. What countries did you visit?

Canada, Ecuador

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

More consistancy, more follow through, more time with my kids that are growing up so fast!

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

May 1st Son Braden gets his Drivers License
June 7th Daughter kiara's 8th Grade graduation
June 28th Left at 3 or 4 am for mission trip to Ecuador
August 28th Daughter Kiara's first day of highschool and Son Braden's Junior year
Surprise Refridgerator from Dad and Mom
December 31st Given a company car to use that is SO AWESOME!


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Making friends again with my kids, as they got to be teens they started pulling a way and I found a way through prayer and reading to connect again

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not being consistant as a mom. I do really good in one area and others suffer, I want to be PERFECT! WAAAAAAAH!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

6 weeks of respiratory illness and severe headache.
Muscle in my hip that rubs on Sciatic nerve causing great pain, especially when I
have to sit for long periods

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I would have to say Christmas presents for my kids. They wanted more expensive things this year so only got a few presents, but they are enjoying them so much.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Mom, Dad, Sister, bro in law, nieces, co workers, friends, church family all who prayed for our little Chihuahua "Squirty" when she ran away while we were in Ecuador and for the nice family that chose to give her back, after she ran in their house after 4 days on the run.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Anyone who does terrible and mean things to children or animals Shame on them!

14. Where did most of your money go?

God (tithe, church budget and other) Christian education, Housing, No car payments thankfully, Oh yes, and to the Mission trip

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I got really really excited about the new fridge, the hot tub and the Company Car! Of course I get overwhelmed with excitement when someone gives me a ball point pen too!

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?

Calling you by Blue October because my teen daughter listened to it so much I know all the words. And Chris Tomlin cause she listens to him a lot too


17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier. I would like to think I get happier with each passing year
b) thinner or fatter? About the same, but hoping and praying for a miracle
c) richer or poorer? Financially better off.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

More helping the less fortunate. I would like to do a little more each year

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Griping about being the only one who does anything, but hey I am getting lots of help now!

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Surprised our extended family in Canada with our arrival. Actually they are my sister's husbands family but they have always treated us like family

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?

Yes. Over and over with the same guy for the last 27 years. (23 of those married) and with these little dogs called Squirty and Little Dude, the big dog Kai and a new kitty who as of now has no name, but is the most lovey cat I have ever had.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

Meer Cat Manor, Orangutan Island, Office, Man vs Wild,

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I try not to hate anyone. I hate some of the things they do however

24. What was the best book you read?

LOVE AND RESPECT. It is a must read for married people

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Connie Talbot. That girl is right on key!

26. What did you want and get?

I wanted to take my family on a mission trip and we did go. We worked for 6 days straight building a church and both kids and hubby want to go on another!

27. What did you want and not get?

Spot bot for pets,,,asking for it for my birthday

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Evan Almighty. So cute, clean and didnt contradict the bible

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

We tried to go to the tulip patch but the weather was not cooperating so we had my birthday in a really cool McDonalds. Afterward, the weather cleared up and we went out to the tulip patch and got our pics. I turned 28 for the 17th time.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

If I could keep my kids young forever....

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

watch a lot of "What Not to Wear" and try to embrace the concepts lol

32. What kept you sane?

Text messaging and praying

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I do not fancy people if I do not know what values they hold. but I have been fascinated with the ones who are adopting from other countries, such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

I dont get stirred by politics

35. Who did you miss?

My kids when they are not home. I would say my hubby, but we do everything together even work.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Jessica. I knew her as an aquaintence but now we are good friends. She is awesome.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.

Just because you think you know the meaning of respect, doesnt mean you know how someone else views respect. Read the Love and Respect book!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

When a problem comes along you must whip it!

39. Favorite quote of the year?
TBA
40. Favorite new blog discovery this year (and how did you discover it)?
TBA

Company Cars are the best!!!!!

And so are the Company owners that give them! the owners of the company my hubby and I work for surprised my hubby today with a brand new hot off the train 2008 fully loaded Ford Edge. They chose everything from the color to all the features. So far we have figured out we can talk through the cars system on our cell phones and even make calls on the computer screen. It has GPS, 6 CD player, Sunroof and separate moonroof, seat warmers, keyless entry, and many other things we havent figured out yet. We have to take it back in once the DVD's (one for each kid) are here and will be installed. We are so excited we cant hardly believe it. To have the best job in the world and then this....it is beyond belief!

Catching up from July

Here are some questions my sis asked me in July! Who knew? Ever since we went to Ecuador on a mission trip I have not blogged or looked at blogs. I have however been a bit distracted by Facebook. I was pressured into it a month or so ago and its fun because you can give a virtual gift and poke a friend with out all the pain of shopping or spending the lack of money. Ok heres the questions that my sis Laughing Mommy asked:.

1. What is your favorite flower? Why? That is extremely hard question becasue if it has a flower on it, I like it! Even weeds. I would say that I love flowers like lilacs, hydrangeas, fuschias and flowers that close up at night the best.

2. What is the nicest thing a guy has ever said to you? The nicest thing would have to be "here let me help you with that" LOL The worst thing? Impying that I am stupid, because of course I am not! LOL

3. What is your favorite food? Pizza. Always has been. When I was little I was determined to let my kids have pizza everyday! We dont have it everyday, but we do have it at least once a week and sometimes 2 to 3 times a week.

4. What is your best memory from grade school? My best memories are of my bestest friend in the whole wide world, Janice. We lost touch after highschool. However I do know she has a boy and a girl just like me and they are each a little older than my kids.

5. What are you the most proud of? I am most proud of my wonderful teens Braden and Kiara. They are a joy to be around, helpful, and fun.

Ok I tag Oregon Trails End and Laughing Mommy with the following questions:

1. What do you feel like was the most life changing event of your life and why?

2. What is your idea of the perfect vacation? and why?

3. What is your idea of the perfect gift and why?

4, What is you love language. (affirmations, physical touch, gifts, quality time or acts of service)

5. Favorite song and why do you like it.

I AM BACK !!!!!

Hopefully. I am insanely busy with work and teen things but I miss the blogging! However, I have a buch of answered prayers to report on so I better get back at it.

Missed opportunities

Last night just before I went to bed I realized I needed a new towel to put in the kennel our littlest Chihuahua "Little Dude" sleeps in. For reasons in many other posts I have put on here he is on "lock up" at night. In case you have not read earlier posts they have to do with the proper area to relieve himself and getting into trash cans, laundry etc. Anyway, every one else was in bed so I made my way to the garage and as I walked in I noticed in my peripheral vision what looked like a creme colored cat. Since we do not have a creme colored cat, I looked that way and found myself staring at a huge possum. She is lucky it did not trigger my scream reflex as it probably would have made him/her faint. Anyway I took a bucket and tried to shew her out the cat door, but she hissed and then finally made his way behind a table and boxes. NOW if I was a good blogger, the moment I saw him I would have said "wait" and I would have run for the camera. But I guess I am still learning.....Maybe next time.

God Rocks: A Weekly Miracle Story

Being a Seventh Day Adventist, I get a a 24 hour "vacation" from all work every week from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. However the activities preparing for this mini vacation can get kinda hectic sometimes. One Friday late afternoon, when the kids were little, the dryer belt broke. We didn't have much money and the church clothes were in the washer. I think I can do anything, so I went and bought a new belt. I struggled with it for an hour before I realized if I didn't get it on soon the sun would be down and we would be out of luck. I prayed that God would not let Satan win and ruin my "sabbath". I called the place I got the belt, and the guy there was so nice he talked me through the entire process. I was also able to get all the clothes dried before sunset so we could have our weekly rest and time to spend with God.

Sometimes my Staurday mornings are hectic and I cant find things I need before church starts. Everytime I pray about it my eye or hand goes almost directly to the thing I need.

Hide and seek

Watch the video of the wedding song below and see if you can tell when Darryl finally spotted me in the balcony of the chapel. If you need a bigger view you can enlarge it at the You Tube site.

The Interview

Fantasagirl interviewed Twisted Cinderella and I asked Twisted Cinderella to interview me. Here are the answers to the questions she asked me....

1) You currently work with your husband. What are some of the benefits and hard parts of working with the man you love?

Benefits: Darryl is the Administrator and I am the RN, so although we are both in management, our jobs are very different. We respect each others positions and the one whose job takes presidence gets to make the decision. Such as a choice to move a resident into the facility. Since most all workers work under my license, he screens the residents but leaves the final decision on whether a resident is appropriate for our setting to me. We always treat each other as professionals. We love working together, as we try to build on each others strengths to make it the best place for residents and staff. We have a great reputation in the community and we are both very proud of that. He is a super great administrator and treats all his staff including me with appreciation and respect.

Hard parts: The occasional difference of opinion. I once had to say "I am the nurse and I say NO" which I am sure a nurse who was not his wife would not have challenged him on. However I felt stongly that this was a safety issue for the resident and staff. (Yes he respected my decision)

2) You recently dedicated a wonderful post to your mother, in what ways do you feel that you are like your mother, in what ways are you different?

Like my Mother: I am very much like my mother. We both love our children like mother bears, we both want things to be as fair as possible, we both love flowers, we both dislike the color orange, we both love beautiful scenery, we both love electronics, taking pictures, and chatting on messenger, we are both introverted.

Different than my mother: She doen't like to cook and I love it, she is more shy than I am, I am taller by 2 inches.

3) Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up when you were 5, 10, and 20?

When I was 5 and 10, all I ever wanted to be was a mother. I would watch my own families and others and make plans. I wanted to be the stay at home mom, the room mother at school, the place where all the kids came to hang out. My favorite thing to do was take care of my little sis "Laughing Mommy". She was 8 years younger so was my living "doll". At age 20 I was in college and I wanted to be either a pediatric nurse or pyschiatric nurse. I did do pediatric nursing for a couple years after I graduated. I love it but we moved to a new state and I never did get back into it.

4) What is the best part of parenting teenagers? What is the biggest challenge?

The best part about parenting teens is seeing them grow into individuals and to find out how they are changing, what their thoughts are, where they are headed in life.

The biggest challenge is to stay on top of the discipline. It has to be something that is important to them, and if they are clever it has to go about 4 levels deep.
Meaning if you get a punishment and you dont do it, then this happens and if that doesn't happen, then the next thing happens, etc.

5) You are granted three wishes - what would they be?

1. To never fall away from my love for Jesus and to always want to share that
2. That no one would ever be hungry or cold
3. That every child would be protected and loved as much as I protect and love my kids

If anyone else wants to play along: Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me." I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions. You will update your weblog with the answers to the questions. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. Thanks for playing along, have fun

God Rocks: a weekly miracle story

Here is a wonderful answer to prayer that we witnessed this weekend. We attended a wedding this weekend where my hubby sang. The song was written by a friend of ours who wrote the song about the way the couple got together. Its an incredible story.....The groom was married, had a child and then his wife got cancer and passed away. The groom was so devastated that when he finally did start dating again he dated the girl for 10 years before he finally asked her to marry him. The very week they returned from the honeymoon, this second wife was diagnosed with cancer and within 6 months she also passed away. The groom was beside himself with grief. A friend at work said she would pray for him. She prayed that he would find someone to love him. Now for the miracle...the groom and the girl praying for him fell in love and just got married! The song was all about "How could I have known I was the answer to your prayers". Click on the link below to hear the song.

Braden 16 year birthday letter

I noticed that I never published this. It is now 6 yesrs later but I read it and its worth publishing. 

Braden,

Today you will go and take the test to get your driving license. I cant believe how fast the years have gone by. You have worked very hard towards the goal of getting your license. You have studied hard, persisted in driving even when we freaked out every time you drove,and did drivers ed in a car that you didn't like driving. . I am still not ready for you to grow up and be so independent, but that is the job of a mother, to work hard at putting yourself out of business. I have tried hard to think of every possible situation you might find yourself in and give you tips on how to stay safe. Now my job is almost over and I will have to trust God to keep you safe. Your father and I are very proud of you. We are happy that you work hard at keeping up your grades, you are helpful (once we get through the whining phase), you play sports after school, you were part of the drama team this year, you made us wonderful and useful things in shop class this year. We are really enjoying the entryway coat rack, the organizer box, the shelf with housecoat hooks in our bedroom, the frame, the step stool and the bird/plant hanger.

This year I realized why the last year we had no apples on the apple tree. The neighbor told us it produces the best apples ever, so I started thinking about it and a thought about boys and missiles came to mind. Sure enough, I asked you and you had some fun with a sling shot and almost every single apple.

The last 3 Sundays your father and I have been cleaning up the side yard. We dismantled the fort that no matter how creative was rather messy looking since it was made out of old bunny fence and prunings. We also cleaned up the remains of "Bradentopia" and in the process we found 2 bucket fulls of things you have set on fire. It appears you tried to be safe by putting things inside of cement blocks, but due to the fact we don't want the house to burn down, you have a 100 dollar fine per item burned from this point on. Why a money fine for a boy with just a lawn mowing job? Well you have been motivated by money since we found the only way to potty train you at age 2 was to offer money. I will say when you do get a fine, you ALWAYS pay us. You are very good with your money management and we are proud of you for that.

You love schedules. You like to know exactly when we are leaving. If you know the time, like when we are leaving for school you will give us a countdown so we will be ready on time. You like to plan out your day, it drives you crazy if we want to just go with the flow. Sometimes you want to plan out a weekend several weeks in advance which is really hard with a impromptu guy like `your Dad, but we do our best. You love it when I cook meals for you. It is so nice that you are so appreciative, even when you don't care for what is made.

Your girlfriend is Andrea. You have been dating for 11 months. She is a very pretty, sweet girl and you seemed to be good friends. She lives quite a long ways a way, so when she needs to stay the night you willing go to Grandma and Grandpa's so I can get some sleep:)

The sports you love this year are swimming, and roller hockey. You are very good at all sports but you prefer those two. You swam with a local high school swim team for the second year because your school doesn't have a team. You are one of their best swimmers and we are very proud of you!

We are also proud of how you help out at church. You run the power point for praise and if anybody has a presentation. You also help with the kids when we have meetings. It is obvious that the kids really look up to you. You are a positive role model for them. They are watching you to see what they want to be like when they get older.

Another thing you like to do is to wrestle with your Dad. I am always afraid someone will get hurt, but no one has yet so I guess its okay. You also like to tease me till I am chasing you down or running away screaming. Its all fun, no matter how much I scream. Your Dad and I like to hold you down and tickle you, but you are so strong it is very hard.

We love you very much, we are very proud of you and we pray that you will always keep Jesus as your best friend.

Love,
Mom

Fri Chick update

I contacted the company that makes Fri Chick. They told me that the recipe changed a year ago and if the can was exposed to heat the sauce would separate and congeal. It was totally safe to eat. EWWWWW!!!!!!! But they were concerned that the top 2 inches of the can was empty so would send me a coupon to replace the can. I AM NOT eating that. YUCK!

However I imagine that when we make Fri Chick gravy out of the sauce we will not need to add a thickner anymore. Just heat it up. I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing

Fri Chick: The other white vegetarian meat

What is up with my fri chick? It came out of the can with this gelatinous goo all over it. Needless to say we did not eat it, and beings it was a large can and rather expensive I am contacting the company today.

Calling all Garlic lovers

What is up with Garlic presses? We have broken every brand made including Pampered Chef. I searched my whole town to find this heavy duty one. It lasted longer than the rest, about 9 months. Anybody know a good heavy duty garlic press that withstand repeated use?

God Rocks: a weekly Miracle story

Braden and his girlfriend Andrea

My son has had a reading problem from Kindergarten on up. In Kindergarten the teacher was concerned because usually by the end of the year the students are getting some of the letters of a word right. He got the first letter and sometimes the last letter. The rest made no since at all. I LOVE to read so I read up on what makes a good reader and I had been reading to him and his sister since they were babies. He was put in phonics classes, we were giving copious amounts of reading homework, every summer I would go through a reading program with him. I spend many hours reading assignments to him because nothing worked. The teachers said he knew the phonics so well he would teach the rest of slow readers, yet he couldn't read. This of course affected his grades. Finally in 6th grade I said "Braden, it is going to get harder and harder for you if you cant read, we have tried everything, (He was tested and the results showed he was reading at a 2 nd grade/month 4 level) lets pray about it. So right there in his room, we prayed that God would heal his reading problem so he could get good grades and persue his dream of being an annesthesiologist. At the end of the first semester of 6th grade we had a parent teacher conference. She was slightly concerned because his reading was tested and he was reading at a beginning 6th grade level!!!!!! We thanked the Lord and he improved steadily over the next two years. In 8th grade he got straight A's and now in Highschool the majority of his grades are A's!

Lord of the Dance

This little guy caught my eye on You tube because he has the same name as my son. Then when I saw his Riverdance I was hooked.

God Rocks: A Weekly Miracle Story

When My hubby told me one day that he needed me to be his nurse at the Dementia Faciltiy, I was excited. Then I found they had just had a State survey and I had to fix the problems for the Resurvey. Couple that with it being a "Residential Care Facility" with very different rules than the other places I have worked. I prayed daily that God would show me what we needed to work on to give the best care possible and to be able to show that to the surveyors. When the State resurveyed they sent one guy. We showed him all the changes we had made and about a half hour into the session he said "They told me I was crazy to come back myself, that I would need at least 2 surveyors and 2 days" "I am done, but I will spend a little longer because they will never believe me that it was that easy" Within 2 hours he was gone and had cleared us of all the deficiencies that were present when we arrived. Praise God for showing us how to give good care and good documentation!

My American Idol: Praisedude

Sundays Festivus

This week my grievances are teens and hard boiled eggs.

There is a funny story that happened a long time ago when Darryl and I were first married. We had been at my parents house for Easter and we had our Black Lab Duchess with us. Home was 9 hours away. As we got to the pass through the mountains it got really cold there was still a lot of snow on the ground. Suddenly the worst smell imaginable. There was no choice but to open the windows and freeze till the smell went away. As soon as we got the car aired out and closed the windows we were assaulted again. Pretty much the whole rest of the way home. We couldn't figure out what happened till we found out later that my sister and her husband fed Duchess a whole buch of hard boiled eggs just before we left.

So naturally my teens thought it would be funny to repeat this trick. Problem is Labradors stomachs are not as sensitive as Chihuahua's so we have had all sorts of messes, hurling etc this week. Our Chocolate Lab did okay except one hurl but our 2 Chihuahua's are all messed up.

What are your grievances this week? Put them on your site and leave a link here.

Saturdays Hope

Todays verse is my Dad's favorite and it kept me out of a lot of trouble.

Numbers 32:23

"But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.


So if you find yourself doing something that you know is wrong, remember that sins have a way of revealing themselves. Pray for forgiveness and do the right thing!

Photo Friday

Tulip Festival 2007



Hubby and I



Hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil



Hubby and Kiara hiding in the tulips

For more great tulips pics visit my sister's blog Laughing Mommy

Thursday Thirteen ED 21

My beautiful mother

Thirteen Things about my mother

1 She is loves all her children and grandchildren like a mother bear.

Mom, Dad, Kiara, Braden and myself at the Christmas Tree Farm

2. She is very giving when she finds out you need something
3. She is a great worker. She stayed at home and babysat till I was twelve then went to school to become a medical assistant. She has worked in doctors offices ever since.
4. She loves beautiful things in nature
5. She loves taking pictures and video's and helps me find the pictures I need on many occasions, even staying up late past her bedtime to help me.
6. She loves the ocean and will even go to the ocean to take pictures of it all by herself

My Mom as a baby

7. She taught us to respect others mail and purses. I still cant even peek at the insides of another persons purse or mail.
8. She taught us to try as much as possible to be fair. She always counted the presents at Christmas time to make sure we all got the same amount. I still do that for my kids.
9. She hates having her picture taken

At the Pumpkin Patch they have this little cabin we get pics at.
10. She loves her country. 4th of July is a special holiday for her, and we wont even be here to celebrate as we will be on a mission trip this year :(
11. She will come and sit with you in the emergency room or hospital room to keep you company

My Mom with my daughter when she was small

12. Even though she didn't care for cooking she found several dishes we all liked and those have become our favorite dishes. I really admire her for that as I know a lot of women who won't even try. She even makes strawberry jam for my dad and used to make pies. Pretty good when thats not her thing.
13. She worries about us. She worries that she worries too much, but isn't nice when you have someone to worry about you? I think so....Love you MOM!




Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Works for me Wednesday: Car Edition

A week late but as Shannon of Rocks in my Dryer said. "take a break" What works for me in the car.....hmmmmmm. The teens trash the car almost as much as when they were toddlers. I take several bags with me. Toys, books, hair care items and clothing in one bag and trash in the other. We would sort the "junk" when we had to wait for a family member or were parked somewhere. then at home would put all the "junk" away in the appropriate spot. Also helps to have a trash bag ready and ask for the trash as they get done eating. Otherwise you may find cups and wrappers stuffed in places you never knew were in a car. I also made (you can buy them too) seat back organizers. They were the size of the back of the seat and various sizes of pockets to put things in. When the kids started really bugging each other we would pile blankets and pillows between them and that is where the DVD player would sit.

That is what has worked for me. GO to Rocks in my Dryer for more great car idea's. You will be glad you did.

Transformation Tuesday

A weekly journey into the transformation of our yard and garden. I have delusions of having a yard that looks like Heathers, so don't pop my bubble. I don't have a lot of resources so I will have to be creative. Besides the thought of taking a pic to blog will keep me motivated.

Here is the first mess we made this spring doing a heavy pruning of our apple tree.


And here is what it looks like now....



Here is my progress on the garden. Nothing has come up yet on day 9. I have carrots, radishes, herbs, broccoli......




Here is a picture of my side yard called "no mans land". Last year when my hubby was building the shed/deck thing





All the scrap building materials were thrown into "no mans land" This by the way is after 2 Sundays of working on it. Imagine how it looked before!



Here is the shed/deck that is like a blank slate for flowers, grape vines etc. This shed is used to house the riding lawn mower and just last week hubby build shelves by the windows so I could grow starts for the garden! I am so excited. I LOVE LOVE LOVE growing things.

God Rocks: A Weekly Miracle Story

Bills. This week I am thankful for how God provides. I was thinking I would have to fit my part time hours into 4 days during the week, so I could go get another part time job to help pay for the months bills. I had prayed about this for months. However I was talking seriously about the second job this last week. It would be very hard as my current part time job takes full time hours to do it properly. The very day after I mentioned it to a friend, my husband had his yearly review and a raise and they spoke of a raise for myself as well. It might seem to you as if this is just a yearly occurrence, but the bible says "all good things come from God" It is exactly the amount we need so I do not have to get another job. Isn't God great!

Sunday's Festivus ED 14

This week has been SO much better! Very few ants, plunging but no overflow, bookcases stayed in upright positions. So what to have a grievance about?........

Pain, grumpiness, and sleepiness.

I injured my piraformis muscle last Fall, and it is acting up again. It is a muscle deep in your hip that sits next to the sciatic nerve. When it gets irritated it rubs on that sciatic nerve. That causes pain down into the leg. My pain is going down into my calf. I am now on muscle relaxers, anti inflammatory's, and pain meds. This makes me tired and I do not like being tired. I have little energy as it is. However these medicines are important because of grumpiness.

Grumpiness. I can handle pain for a while then I get extremely grumpy and downright mean. I said some very mean things this week. Such as "I believe that makes you look as if your IQ just dropped 100 points" That is really MEAN for me as I am usually sweet. I was grumpy with my children. Thats when I decided to go get the meds.....But now I am sleepy.

Sleepiness. I fell asleep at my parents today in the middle of Easter festivities. Then I went home and slept for 7 hours. I am now ready for bed again. TOO MUCH SLEEP!

What are your grievances? Post a message on your blog and link here. Also leave a message in comments! Have a super day!

Bloggity mistakes and Busy as a bee

My bloggity mistake is not remembering to take pictures! I had the nicest boys ring my door bell the other day. They wanted to pull weeds. So I asked them how much they charged, to which they responded 3 dollars. So I showed them the plants I definitely wanted to keep and let them go at it. They worked for an hour straight. And although it doesn't look like an adult did it, it does look 100 percent better. I paid them more than 3 dollars too. After they left I realized I should have gotten a picture. If they come back again (I hope they do) I will get a pic of them and before and after pics of the yard. I am learning!

I have been so busy! I haven't even had time to get on here! It seems like every time I go to sit down there is something else I need to do. I have a feeling this busyness will last through the summer as gardens, yards and fund raising for a mission trip takes up a lot of my time!

Any one have any short cuts that will leave me with more computer time?

Happy Birthday Jordan!

Hope your birthday is one of the best yet!


Love Aunt Pam, Uncle Darryl, Braden and Kiara

Straight A's!!!!!!!!

Kiara has straight A's this quarter. She says that was her goal, and she did it!!!! I am so proud of you Kiara!!!!!!

God Rocks: A weekly miracle story.

This Christmas we did the 12 days of Christmas for a single mom in our church and during that time we found out her car was broken down a lot, and she even had to push it to get it started. So I told a few other ladies in the church to pray that this mother would be able to get her car fixed or get a new one. We even stepped out in faith and told her we wanted to get her car fixed. At church the next sabbath, my hubby told the church members that there ws a single mom who needed her car fixed and would everyone please give money for the repair on their way out. The total raised was 750.00 and the cost?........740.00. Isn't God Great!

Sunday's Festivus ED 13

A day to air your grievances about the situations you find yourself in during the week....

I have a few so sit down and grab a hot drink. (or if you live where its hot, an iced drink)

This week my grievances include: single girls on a mission, broken washers, ants, overflows and cheap bookcases.

Single girls on a mission: This is not the kind of mission that your church goes on! Girls who are fully aware that a guy is married and relentlessly flirt, send private messages and try to plan meetings are on my list as TOP OFFENDERS. Here's a tip. Once you find out a guy is married....hmmmm.....FIND YOUR OWN GUY. Even if he is good looking, nice, and funny. It is commandment number 10 "do not covet your neighbors spouse" (neighbor meaning anyone, not just someone who lives next to you. In bible times there was no way to know someone who hadn't actually come close enough to be your neighbor) Now there are tons of girls who flirt with my hubby. Most of it you can tell is innocent, however every few months there is one who goes over the top with hugs, batting eyes, inching me out of the way, calling on the pretense of business, or if they live far away like the current one does just leaving flirty messages and hinting about meeting.

Broken washers: If you find yourself depressed about your piles of laundry then think about your washer smelling liked burned rubber and not able to finish a cycle. A whole week of no laundry being washed. All of a sudden instead of a chore, the washing machine felt like "my best friend" had left. So what to do.......Since we are going on a mission trip to Ecudaor and needed to save the tax return to help pay for it, I read up on the symptoms, got a part from the appliance store, downloaded instructions, and put hubby to work. Once we got inside and saw how complicated it was, we decided it was beyond us. We went back to the appliance store and low and behold they had a used set that was almost exactly like mine. It was a fairly good price so we had it delivered that very day. I was so happy! I had my laundry all ready. But when I dried my first load it came out sort of damp after 60 minutes. Each subsequent load I had to dry for 90 minutes, and some clothes were still damp. SO back to the appliance store. We bought new this time. However when the technition installed the dryer it was making this weird thump thump sound. It was my lucky day as he was a dryer repair man as well. He took the entire thing apart, adjusted a rubber wheeel thing, and put it back together. It has worked great ever since. The washer is wonderful as well. I have two new best friends "Mrs washer and Mr dryer" (and no I am not flirting with Shannon Dryers husband over at Rocks in my Dryer LOL)

Thank you to my mom and Dad who have been washing towels continuously since THursday, except for during the "Sabbath", to help me catch up on laundry.

Being Seventh Day Adventists we try to get our houses fully clean by Friday at sunset time for our weekly "Friday sunset to Saturday sunset" vacation. During this time we do No work. I look forward to it each and every week. But the preparation for this day, I do not look forward to as much. Funny thing is, it seems all the disasters happen on Friday's when I have most of the house clean. Here's what happened this week.

Ants: for the past 6 weeks I see a stray ant here and there during the week and I put out the "Revenge" treat. However on Friday, I wake up to a counter full of ants. And lately they are not interested in the Revenge. This time they were hiding under the kitchen towel. This was a clean towel that might have been a little damp. The only thing I can think of is that they were looking for water. This is especially annoying because we have guests a lot on Saturday's, and have limited counter space. You cant really serve food on a counter with ants!


A single ant that was left. Notice he is not interested in the poison cocktail I left for him. I freak when I see small moving things so I forget to get a picture of the "swarm" earlier.

Another weekly event at our house that seems to only be happening on Friday or Saturday Morning's is the OVERFLOW. Toilet overflow that is. This week was especially bad. I was holding the insides of the toilet to stop the water flow, plunging, and yelling for help. no one could hear me as the rather loud fan in the other bathroom was on. The flood was inching toward the carpet in the hallway as my hubby came by and ran to get the carpet cleaner that sucks up liquid. Thanks hubby for saving me from the Flood!



This was a fully cleaned company ready bathroom before the "flood"


Bookcases: We recently got two bookcases for my books which seem to be everywhere. I LOVE books and refer back to them frequently. A few years ago I gave a whole trunk loadful to the church, but the remaining books seem to multiply when we aren't looking. The bookcases were inexpensive basic ones and when we put them up they leaned forward a bit. There was a strap to attach them to the wall, but that hasn't happened yet. We are also storing computer monitors in our living room to sell and make money for our mission trip (no they aren't stolen-they were purchased to help make money for the trip) I assumed everything would be okay. No kids bouncing around to knock them over. Well as you guessed it we heard a loud crash early Friday morning and found the bookcase laying on top of the monitors, and books, plants, dirt everywhere.


What are your grievances this week? Leave a Mr Linky to link to your site and don't forget to leave a comment. It will help me feel better....I promise. You can also leave a comment if you are not participating in Sunday Festivus.

Happy Birthday Jazmine

Happy Happy Birthday "Jazmander"

We are so happy to be your friends. Here is the way you looked when we first met you...


Here is you and Kiara being silly....


Here is a pic of Charlee, Kiara and you on a train ride.


And here is Kiara and you when you came over a while ago.


We hope your 14th Birthday is one of the BEST EVER!

Saturday's Hope

Another verse that gives me HOPE

Phillipians 4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

I was reminded of this verse with all the minor trials I have been through this week. Tune in tomorrow for a Sunday's Festivus of all situations I have found myself in this week

Photo Friday

Us on a pontoon. An annual "get away for the day" with my side of the family.

Thursday Thirteen: A Tribute to My Dad

Thirteen Things about A Tribute to My Dad

1. My Dad is a great Christian. He lives by the golden rule, studies his bible everyday and is a great example to everyone



My Dad and I in Arizona.

2. My Dad follows the good health habits. He doesn't eat between meals, eats breakfast regularly, maintains a proper weight, gets regular exercise through his daily activities, does not drink or smoke and tries to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep at night



My Dad playing college basketball at Andrews University. He is number 9.


3. My Dad has great work habits. He put 200 percent into his 40 plus years as a church school teacher. Church schools teachers do not get paid extra for camping trips, evening activites or sports events. He did them all willingly. His motto was "If a job is worth doing, then it is worth doing right".



My Dad at his Masters in Education ceremony. He is the second one in a gown.

4. My Dad has a good balance between work and play. His motto was always work before play, but somehow we were always riding the motor cycle, down at the beach or on a family vacation.



My Dad and I on his motorcycle. He said I used to fall asleep so he would hold onto my back with one arm, and drive with the other.

5. My Dad took us on fun vacations. Like I said before, Church School teachers are not paid the best, but my dad managed to save money and take us on vacations across the US, visiting all the special places like Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, Grand Canyon etc, to ultimately end up visiting family. We also went on a lot of camping trips.



My dad on a mule for the trip down the Grand Canyon this last summer. He is 70 years old!

6. My Dad instilled self esteem in us, by introducing us as if we were the Queen of England's children. You could "feel" how proud he was even if our hair was messy and our clothes dirty from playing. Th other day we went to the grocery store and he very proudly told the cashier that I was his daughter. How special is that?



My Dad and I in my favorite car.

7. My Dad is the King of money management. He saves up for all the major appliances, car repairs and home repairs that will be needed in the future, saves for vacations and even paid money every month for 3 years, till he owned a grandfather clock, that he gave my mother for their wedding anniversary. He didn't bring it home and then make payments. He just took the money down to the store till it was all paid off then brought the clock home.




My Dad and Mom the year they got Married 1960

8. My Dad has great time management. You can tell what time it is by when he eats, brushes his teeth, and goes to bed. He is ALWAYS early for an appointment.



My Dad camping. He even kept up his routines in the wilderness.

9. My Dad will drop everything to help his children out. Need a large piece of furniture brought home? He is picking up the trailer and there in 10 minutes flat. Need a ride somewhere? He's the guy. Need help with something in the yard or with the house? He's your handyman. Someday when the teens are gone and the schedule is more free I hope to be as fast to respond to what he needs.



My Dad and I waiting for our turn to parasail in Hawaii 2003

10. My Dad is president of "National Bank of Dad". I owe him enough to keep him in a dough a year or two.



My Dad, brother and I in 1969. My sister Laughing Mommy was not born yet.

11. My Dad changed history. Not the book type of history, but family history. Families tend to make the same mistakes down through the generations. My Dad changed all that so we could grow up with a Mom and Dad, always had food, love, medical, dental, orthodontia, vacations, and even asked the dentist to do a procedure which at that time had not been tried yet. I had big white spots on my two front teeth and when my braces came off I cried and cried so my Dad convinced the orthodontist to to resurface them. Which looked great!


12. My Dad worked hard to give us kids a Christian education. He was a teacher but in the summers he would work doing landscaping so we would have enough money for school the next year.



My Dad teaching.

13. Final but a very important thing....and a continuing joke in the family.....When Dad is with you....NEVER FORGET THE SANDWICHES!

Thank you Mom for helping me find all the pictures! Remind Dad to visit my blog tomorrow morning!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants