The beginning of the end...

SO!  Yes, it's been a LONG time since I've blogged... my bad.  I've been adjusting to working a part time job, doing a Bible study, volunteering at my kids' school... busy girl, I am.  But since I appear to have plenty of time to play on the addiction that is Facebook.. I should indeed have time to update this thing that no body reads, mainly because I don't tell them that I have it. :)

My first year at Mom's Day Out is nearly ended.  It has been probably one of my most fun  jobs ever.  I have fallen head over heels in love with a few 2-3 year olds who will likely make me cry like a baby on the last day.  They are so trusting and loving and silly.  I DO have my favorites, but they have all made the school year fun

Life on the home front has been busy and altogether good, minus some ER trips for the boy and a very expensive one for the DOG.  Both are no worse for the wear, and I am thankful for that.  Spence will be seeing an allergist at some point (i.e. as soon as we can get an appointment) thanks to our third annual trip to the ER for allergy related breathing issues.  I'm fairly certain he will not appreciate how it will help him as soon as the nurse practitioner mentioned "shots"!  Eek... we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Hannah is doing great.  She has finally conquered the sleeping issues that plagued us for months on end...and for that I thank GOD and my chiropractor, Dr. Heiland, who had some great suggestions to make bedtime a better thing.  She's ready for her school year to be done and have a new classroom of kids, hopefully not nearly as rotten as the class she's had to endure this year.  Her teacher, bless her heart, is retiring!  It was THAT bad.. :)

The Mr. is out at the range right now... having his own therapy session.  He and I have a great understanding of alone time.  Though, I would take another date night any old time.  I love him for that tho.. the fact that we don't guilt each other about having "our own time" is a cool thing, that I don't think many couples are in the practice of.  We are getting ready to celebrate 11 "long" years of marriage.  We have tickets to Brad Paisley and are excited to see him in concert.  I'm hoping to get him to take that Friday off and get a hotel for the night... HONEY... are you reading this? :)  Doesn't hurt to try. :)

Okay, I've officially updated.. now it's time to watch Idol...

New job

So I started a new job this week. I'm teaching, I should say co-teaching a 2 year old class at Mom's Day Out at the church that I grew up in. Only one day down so far, but it was a good first day. I have to say, even though I'm slightly afraid of how busy I'm about to get, I'm also excited about how many snuggles and love and joy I can receive from a room full of little ones.

Time is flying so fast. Hannah is turning eight next week. When did this happen? She is growing crazy fast. She is SO smart, and I'm not just saying that as her mother. Do any of you have an 8yo in your home that yells at you for using hairspray that is damaging the ozone with chlorofluorocarbons? I am probably not even SPELLING it correctly, yet she is on my case about recycling and reading 200 page books in one evening and just generally soaking everything in like a sponge! She pays attention, when I don't want her to, in particular. She is in the gifted program and is learning how to research things. So she is always coming home and looking up weather information and thinks it's funny that there is a hurricane that shares the same name as her right now. Funny, that is, until her little brother told her that "she" killed 60 people in Haiti. Then, she didn't think it was as funny.

And Spencer. Whew. Not quite to the end of the first quarter of Kindergarten and reading books already. It is SO fun to have watched him go from clinging to Dave that first week of school, to being totally stoked to go each morning and ramble on and on about all they did after I pick them up in the afternoon.

Sometimes it's easy for me to get complacent. Too easy, I find myself comparing myself or my circumstances to what I wish they could be or worse, what I'm glad they aren't. And I have to remember and reflect on how much God has blessed me. Blessed me with a husband who loves me and loves to spend time with me, is generous enough to spend money on me and yet, who values our individuality, and who is totally cool if I want to spend a girl's night out with friends, and who knows I'm totally cool with sending him to the range to work out his frustrations of sitting at a desk all day long to bring home our bacon. Blessed me with 2 healthy, happy, very well behaved children. Yes, they are exhausting and try our patience at times, but all I have to do to remember how great I have it there is to turn on SuperNanny and whew, I have it G-O-O-D! Blessed to find a part time job, and work in an uplifting environment where everyone works as a team and have the flexibility to be at school parties and field trips as well.   LIFE IS GOOD!

I wish I could say that I'll update again soon, but as anyone, if anyone can see from my record... I am not consistent whatsoever. But it's an update nonetheless. Until next time...

Should've known better OR My husband is a saint!

So, my mom's been gone for nearly a week to see my sister in San Antonio. My mom is a stay at home grandma to 2 nieces and one nephew...full time...for free. My brother takes the cake in advantage taking. He uses her the most. My sister uses her fairly regularly, but has a much more flexible schedule. So for about the last year, the only time my mom has watched my two kids are when she's asked me if she could. I just feel so bad most of the time to even ask her, because I just feel she needs a break, for crying out loud.

Anyhow, today, she came home and I'd told my kids that we could stop by and see grandma after school for just a little while. Well, of course, everyone missed grandma, so everyone was there. It was sheer chaos. At one point, I looked at my dad and said, "wanna make a run for it?" So, basically, chaos and I don't get along really well. By the time I left, I just felt totally frazzled. Not helping the issue, is the fact that I feel kinda crappy. The kids have caught their first colds--during the second week of school--and so, yes, now I have a cold as well. Basically, in the state I was in already, I never should have gone over there, if I'd known the chaos would be there. Thus, I should've known better.

Then we came home, and it all just progressed. My darling daughter decided to stretch out on the nasty, dog-haired covered floor, sliding across it on her new back pack... knowing full well, she's not supposed to lay on the nasty, dog-haired covered floor in the first place, much less "ride" her backpack across it....

Then came dinner, which was quite tasty, but that was overlooked by the fact that my sweet son apparently has a drinking problem. Now, let me clarify. He is FIVE. He's been very regularly drinking from a cup without a lid for quite some time, and yet the last few weeks, or months... I've lost track... if he's not complaining about what we are having, he is spilling his drink all over the front of himself and the table. I kid you not, our table will need to be refinished soon. The frustration finally got to me and I yelled at him. And he proceeded to cry. It was fun times. (*sarcasm*)

And as the night went on, we came to tooth brushing time. As sweet son was brushing his teeth... he wasn't doing as well as he used to. And when Daddy tried to tell him to do better... more tears.... lots of drama since school started. So I tried to settle down before we actually prayed with them. Seemed to work a bit.

The last part of my title is dedicated to my sweet man. He is currently working his frustrations out at the gym, of which he fully deserves to tonight, cuz frankly, I'm unsure of who was the bigger basket-case: my kiddos or me. And yet, he came and kissed me tenderly on the lips before he left to go to the gym... actually, he's been gone a while... hope he's coming back...(just kidding Honey!) My point being. He could've just stomped out of here, as I was tempted to do earlier after dinner, and scram like some hubbies would do, but he didn't. He held his cool. And he still loved on me. And that, my friends, is the best gift of all in my book. And I sure do love that man.

So can I get a big : THANK GOD TOMORROW IS FRIDAY? Here's to a better day tomorrow and hopefully the kids and I will be feeling better and even more so, hopefully Daddy won't get it.

Back to school....

So this past Thursday was my kiddos first day back to school. In our district, we run our school on cycles. Each cycle lasts 9 weeks, with a 3 week break in between, save for the summer break, which lasts 6 weeks. This year was my youngest child's first day of Kindergarten. I did pretty good and so did he, until after school...when I picked him up and he was in tears. Seems someone had stolen his lunch. A KINDERGARTNERS LUNCH STOLEN ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I was just devastated that his first day was marred by someone's meanness. So, today the missing lunch box finally showed up, hidden on a bus, empty. We don't ride the bus. So that tells me someone took it. I guess they needed it more than we did.

Sis is in second grade now. She was happy to get the teacher she wanted, though I really think she's struggling with not having her BFF in her class this year, since they shared Kindergarten and 1st grade together. I have worries that something is stirring in Hannah's spirit lately. I am not afraid, per se, but I am having a hard time watching her struggle to grasp onto faith in Jesus, and fight the fears she has. It's a hard thing to grasp, even as an adult sometimes. Poor thing has been worrying herself into having stomach aches and having some horrible night terrors. We've been praying with her each night and I've even been teaching her some scripture about how God never slumbers or sleeps and keeps watch over our comings and goings. I've been reminding her of her VBS verse from last year.. Joshua 1:9..."do not be terrified, do not be discouraged; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." I don't know what else to do. I've just asked as many people that know my child to pray for her.

I have enjoyed my alone time so far. I've done a little stamping, had a few lunches with my hubby and friends. Not as fun, but have done a little cleaning. :) Tonight I met with my friend Kari, who I will be teaching Mom's day out with in September. We managed to plan out our whole year tonight over dinner. Each week is labeled with a theme, so all we have to do is go research stories and craft/game ideas on our subjects and get our own weeks worth of stuff together. I think it will be a great time and I'm glad she is so organized. We'll have kids who have just turned 2, so that will be a challenge for me to keep the crafts simple. But I'm excited.

Here's hoping for a full night's sleep tonight with no little girl waking up with dreams....

Bye Bye Bunnies :(

Well, Hannah and Spencer learned one of those hard--life lessons tonight about nature in particular. We had 4 baby bunnies born in a little burrow in our front yard this spring. It's not the first time, but it's the first time my kids were genuinely interested in them. Well, after watching them grow for about a week or so. We sadly realized that a big black ol'crow was also watching them. And he got all four of them in the span of the evening tonight. So, sis was devastated. Spencer was sort of intrigued. And we got to talk about how nature isn't always all soft and fuzzy like baby bunnies. That bunnies feed other animals like snakes, eagles, hawks, and even cats. I know it wasn't fun for them to discover the yucky part of nature, but they'll be fine.

And we were also fortunate enough to thank our kids for their stellar behavior in public tonight. At our local DQ, we stood in line behind a child that was maybe in the 6-8 year old range. She had on new flip flops apparently and thought it would be fun to make them cause a LOUD clicking noise on the DQ floor. We ignored it and got through the line. Well, we sat near them, and as soon as we sat down, she stood up and started doing it all over again, and again, and again, and again... you get the point. So we got up and brought our ice cream home. Thanks be to God for our wonderful children.

Catch up

So, a little catch up is in order. For starters, my sister, Caryn is doing alright. Unfortunately, there is a medical issue, and it's the cause of her miscarriage. However, we are hopeful that, based on the numbers we're seeing so far, that she will recover without any aggressive medical treatments, and be able to try starting their little family within about 6 months to a year.

In other news, we are on a job hunt again. Dave's a contractor, and the company he is contracted to, decided to give him an out date about 3 months earlier than expected. Ok, so we look at new jobs, THEN they decide, never mind, we'll have you stay until the original date. THEN, they kind of, so to speak, guilt trip Dave into maybe staying, since they fought to keep him. Well, in my humble opinion... that's BOLOGNA. You don't tell someone their job is ending in 2 months, then make them feel bad for setting up interviews. Jerks. So, at any rate, Dave had an interview today that we are hopeful will possibly work out to be one of those kinds of jobs that you actually stay at for a LONG time. Like, one you could even see yourself retiring from. So, we'll feel our way through the mystery and trust God to open and close all the right doors.

The kids are great. We are ALL so happy for the nice spring weather. Hannah and Spencer are so happy to be outdoors again. In fact, I think Spencer's favorite new pass time is to swing. He probably played on that swing for 30 minutes straight after school today. They've also figured out how to JUMP off the swings...so I predict we'll have our first broken bone this summer at some point. :)

I've gotten so sub at Mom's Day Out a few times this month. It is a super fun job and I am really looking forward to working there
next year. I love getting snuggles from the kids and some of the things they say are just priceless. And getting paid to play with 4 and 5 year olds for 6 hours a day, 3 days a week, isn't such a bad job, ya know? :)

Okay, I think that sums up a lot that's happening around here. Toodles.

Bad News

While enjoying a lovely girls' day out with my friend, Bethany today, I got one of those phone calls that no one likes to get. Sadly, it was one of those where someone has died. This time though, it was 2 very tiny someones. My little sister, Caryn was pregnant with her first child. She began spotting last night, went straight to the doctor's office first thing this morning, only to find out that not only had her pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, BUT that in fact, she was carrying twins. I'm so devastated for her. And even more frustrating for me is that Caryn and Ken are in San Antonio, TX and the rest of our big family is here in St. Louis, MO. We feel so helpless and want to be there to hug her and be physically there, you know? I'm so glad we were able to see her and Ken just two weeks ago, and that we got to love on them both a whole lot. And I can only hope that all the laughter and hugs we left them will help them not feel so lonely while they sort this out. But, it just totally and completely sucks beyond ALL recognition.

Play along!

WELCOME TO THE 2008 EDITION OF
TO KNOW YOUR FRIENDS.
THE THEORY IS: YOU WILL LEARN A LOT OF
LITTLE THINGS ABOUT YOUR
FRIENDS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN. . .

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING?
6:45

2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS?
diamonds

3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA?
penelope (loved it!)

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW?
men in trees

5. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?
sadly, I don't do breakfast on a regular basis, I know, that's bad...

6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME?
lynn

7. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE?
salmon

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD?
right now, Allison Krauss--A Hundred Miles or More

9. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE?
2005 Chrysler Town and Country (not recommended)

10. FAVORITE SANDWICH?
Alpine Chicken Sammies from Quizzno's

11. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE?
hypocracy

12. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING?
my new LB jeans

13. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
hawaii or jackson hole

15. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING?
venezia

16. WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO?
a cabin in the smokies possibly?

17. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY?
hmmm, my 16th, but only cuz my parent's embarrassed me by putting a picture of me on my cake.

18. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH?
baseball, but only live, not on TV

19. FURTHEST PLACE YOU ARE SENDING THIS TO:
just putting it "out there" on my blog

21. PERSON YOU EXPECT TO ANSWER:
I'll be glad to hear anyone's answers.

22. FAVORITE SAYING?
"sweet niblets: from the Hannah Montana show. :)

23. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY?
september 26th

24. YOU A MORNING OR NIGHT PERSON?
morning

25. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE?
7.5

26. PETS?
big, fatty, black lab with a nubbin tail, Belle, a.k.a. Princess Belle Poops A Lot. hehe

27. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?
I'm going to be an aunt again!

28. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE?
a vet, and a momma

29. HOW ARE YOU TODAY?
I'm great, had a lunch date with my hubby, and got some new stamps with a bonus visit with my friends at RPS!

30. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY?
york peppermint patties or junior mints, cuz you can eat them and smell good too! :)

31. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?
gerbera daisies

32. WHAT IS A DAY ON THE CALENDAR YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO?
tomorrow--cuz I have a haircut/hilite appointment!!! woohoo!

33. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME?
heather lynn stahlschmidt rodecap

34. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
american idol, results show

35. LAST THING YOU ATE?
chicken quesidillas, homemade salsa, and queso dip

36. DO YOU WISH ON STARS?
nah, I don't just ever really think of it

37. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
a bright, vivid pink

38. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW?
today was partly cloudy and quite cool

39. FAVORITE SOFT DRINK?
diet cherry coke

40. FAVORITE RESTAURANT?
frankie tocco's on main street, st. charles...mmmmmm

41. SIBLINGS?
3 younger sisters, 1 younger brother

42. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
probably easter sunday

43. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?
my portable keyboard

44. SUMMER OR WINTER:
summer

46. COFFEE OR TEA?
frozen, shake-like coffee (I know that's not real coffee, is it?)

47. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
dark, creamy chocolate

48. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO COMMENT HERE?
yes,please!

49. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
yesterday morning

50. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED?
junk :)

51. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU'VE HAD THE LONGEST?
kelley

53. FAVORITE SMELL?
vanilla

54. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
losing anyone close to me, especially my hubby or kiddos

55. SALTY OR SWEET?
salty

56. HOW MANY KEYS ON YOUR KEY CHAIN?
5

57. HOW MANY YEARS AT YOUR CURRENT JOB?
I don't currently have one.

58. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK ?
Saturday

59. HOW MANY TOWNS HAVE YOU LIVED IN?
3

60. DO YOU MAKE FRIENDS EASILY?
yes, but not as close as I used too, cuz I've gotten burned too many times...

Julian got his wings

King JuJu got his wings yesterday (1/19). Got the update last night, after Dave and I had a fun night at the movies with our kiddos. Wow, that movie was boring (Pirates Who Don't Do Anything)... but what a fun family night we had. And when you compare to what Mimi and Ken had going on in their little family yesterday, who could ask for anything more that hanging out with my two healthy, happy, sweet kids. I cried tears over this little one who I never knew last night, but I cried more for his momma, and how she must have felt. So torn, knowing Julian is in heaven and is whole again, but not having his little body to hold again, or smell his smell, or see his smile. It was more than I could take. I'll leave you with Mimi's words...and prayers for her that sweet famiy as they navigate through this time of grieving....

267 January 19, 2008 at 06:55 PM CST
Time of Death ,11:22am ... Never thought I would ever hear these words about my 4 1/2 year old son. But this morning , those words got engraved in my mind and my heart forever.
Julian fought until the last painful breath. Again NOTHING peaceful about this process until , until he stopped gasping for air.
Julian looked like a fish out of the water, trying so hard to fill those lungs ,but nothing. You could see the normal breathing motions his body made, but nothing got past his throat.Finally he stopped fighting.
When he started having a hard time breathing I went to get Ken . He stood on one side of the bed and i was on there with Julian . We talked him thru his transition . We told him it would be ok . We told him we were proud of him . I told him to say Hi to Jesus for me. I told him that Cody and Jacob were waiting for him . I told him that we would be ok . I told him he wouldnt hurt anymore. I told him good night. I told him I loved him . I told him to play and run . The nurse took his shirt off and told us to touch him , that he could feel us and we needed to feel him . I put my hand on his chest. I could feel his heart beat. Then it slowed down . Then I could not feel it anymore. I heard his first heartbeat and felt his last one .
I was texting Debra right before , texted her Julian was gone, she called and got in her car and came.
I got Mamie, she told Ju bye.And Papy.
We got the boys and told them . Sam asked if we were sure he was gone. Then he said it was wierd because he didnt feel like crying . Then he asked to hold him . I needed to clean and dress Ju first .
Debra got here, helped me a little, cried a lot... They are not supposed to get attached,how can you not get attached to Ju?
I held Julian . Debra gave him a bed bath , as she had been doing for the past few weeks, put lotion all over him , loved and kissed on him . 1 month ago , she didnt even know him , now she is grieving just as we are . That is what Julian is all about . LOVE, unconditional love... He touched Debra, she touched my heart...
Ken , Debra, Mamie, Sam , Gma and I held Julian. Maybe others did , I am not sure.
Dana and Jessi came.Pastor Kevin and Vicki, Zach and Sam.Diane came by, Pastor Blair and Pat. Vickie and Gerald. Nanny.
It is now 6 something pm. Dana and her family are still here with us . I love those guys! Thank you ...
Funeral home men came to get him this afternoon. Ken carried him to the van , with his blankie (his Christmas blankie he would share with every one) one of his mimis and one of his dinosaurs.
We dont know any details on viewing and funeral yet. We will let you know, just make sure you have your YELLOW SHIRTS HANDY !!!!

FLY HIGH MUNCHKIN ... I love you all the way to China, you are the best ,you know that? I love your smell too baby...

Your mama, your little mama ...

WOW

I have been keeping up with a few blogs lately and I am in complete awe of the strength that God gives to us as humans when we are in the midst of things in life that seem too big and too scary to go through. He can be "enough" if I will only allow him to be.

First, there is the story of little Julian Avery. I learned of Julian through the blog of Dawn, also known as the "ebay mom", whose blog can be seen here: http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/. Julian is a 4 year old with neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. He is only four years old, and as his mom, Mimi says, is just waiting for his wings right now. It could be any day that Julian goes to be with our Dad in heaven. And yet, Mimi is a champion for not only her son, but her God, and however sad she may feel on the inside, He has given her a strength to tell His story while she shares the story of King JuJu with all of us readers. You can visit Julian's World on CarePages.com. You'll have to register, but his page is JuliansWorld (all one word). I defy you not to find encouragement there! God bless Mimi, and Julian and his daddy and brothers.

Secondly, there is the story of Nate, Tricia and baby Gwyneth. Came to know their story through a fellow stamper's blog. Here is the story of a happy couple, Nate and Tricia, and a disease called Cystic Fibrosis. Tricia was beginning to prepare for a double lung transplant, when she and Nate found they were expecting. So, recently at around 24-25 weeks, when Tricia was just struggling too hard to breathe and rest, the docs decided it was time to deliver baby Gwyneth. So into the world she came, just 1 pound and 6 ounces and as tiny and beautiful as ever. She is doing well, according to Nate's blog, which can be seen here: http://www.cfhusband.blogspot.com/. And Tricia is still holding on. She smiles and her heart rate lowers to a more comfortable pace when Nate enters the room to talk to her. We are all believing Dad to heal her completely so that she will wake up, not fight the help with breathing from the machine that is helping her, and that she will grow stronger and stronger and be able to watch their baby grow big and strong too. The catch here is this: Nate sees the reality that this part of his life may all to quickly come to an end, and yet he praises God and gives him glory for all He has accomplished thus far. And even more, Nate has shared that message of a LOVING GOD who is here for us no matter what we are going through.

I pray that I will cling to that strength of my God more and more each day, even in my little trial. I pray the same for you, so that should we be faced with something bigger, we will never doubt WHO is in control of it all. Blessings!

I promise I've been busy....

STAMPING! I know, I should be taking pictures... and I will tomorrow. Promise.

I've been working hard on Christmas cards for 2007, some thank you's as a bartering deal worked out with my fabulous hair stylist, Carey... some ornaments that I've been giving away as fast as I can make them (which is pretty fast with these quickies).
I've been having lots of fun. I've done a lot of paper hoarding over the past few months and I've finally broken down and cut some of it up and used it and gave away what I've made... that's what it's all about, right?

We had a fun family night tonight. We all ate dinner together (which is pretty much an every night thing round our house), then we went to the Mills Mall in Hazelwood...girls to Archiver's/boys to Cabella's next door. :) Everyone's happy. Then we came home and popped some popcorn and popped in a movie. Tonight we watched Evan Almighty. It was really cute, and what was even cuter, was when it was over, I asked my two kiddos... who are 7 and nearly 5..."what was the lesson of this movie? If God asks you to do something....." to which they replied... "DO IT!". Ah, too cute and ouch... too true. Don't wanna learn some lessons the hard way, so I'm going to try to make tomorrow a better "listen to Dad" day.

This weekend we'll host a Thanksgiving dinner with my family along with some extended famly on my dad's side. Then on Wednesday, we'll head northeast to Indiana to spend the holiday with Dave's folks. So, I'm going to attempt to start being more focused on things I am thankful for. Here are just a few:

1. I am so thankful for my husband Dave. He and I have plenty of chances to marvel in how well God has matched us together. Especially when we have seen several of our friends deal with either divorces or just "dead" marriages here lately. Not that we have it "all" together, cuz we don't claim to. But we are serious about this being "it"... we are committed. We are in love... and we know how to laugh and be completely stupid together... and that seems to be the glue that holds us tight. We are also BIG advocates of date nights. Which leads to my other things to be thankful for.

2. I am thankful for parents on both of our sides who genuinely WANT to spend time with our kids. I have so many friends who either have family that is far away and not accessible, or family who lives right here in town, but just don't give a rip. I've got a grandma who doesn't give a rip, so I know how that feels and I'm blessed that my children never have had to experience that. I'm thankful that my kids are loved and spoiled shamelessly by our parents.

3. Which brings me to my kids... I love those little stinkers. Hannah and Spencer are so full of life and so full of "other" stuff sometimes too. :) But they bring so much to my life. I cannot imagine it without them. When they are gone to Dave's folks for a week, I start to go literally crazy missing them. But I'm thankful that they are adventurous in a safe way. They like to push the line, but they are pretty responsible. Sometimes they are overly responsible, like tonight when Hannah was going on and on and on about "intruder alerts" at school (which is just sad to begin with), but let me tell you ... that 7 year old of mine--she's got a plan for whatever room she is in...on the other hand, she got her brother ALL wigged out about intruders now. Oy... she's too smart for her own good, but it sure keeps us on our toes. They are so kind to each other and just really good playmates. I so love them.

I know I'll add more to my thankful list. But I need to pace myself. :) That, and my fingers are cramping...

Tomorrow will be cleaning day to prepare for company on Sunday and probably laundry day too. A mom's work is truly never done. NEVER! Good night!

Bargain finds!

Thanks to the enablers at Splitcoast, I was given a tip that Michael's had some Martha Stewart goodies on clearance. Namely some 8pk note cards, for A DOLLAR!!!! And the 40% coupons are able to be used on Martha stuff now too. That used to not be the case. I also used my coupon for a cute little acrylic stamp set that consisted of a little floral frame with about 7 or 8 Scripture verses. I thought that this could help me make some more Christmas gifts for teachers and my Mother in law.

I earned a little fun money tonight and plan to sneak back to Mike's tomorrow morning to see if there are any other colors at the store on the other side of town. Never know, right? :)

My folks are taking a plane ride to San Antonio on Thursday to visit my sister and brother-in-law. So I took my kids over tonight for some grandparent time, while Dave and I went our for a few hours of NON-parenting time. Had some yummy breakfast for dinner at IHOP and it was nice to just have some quiet.

Also worked on school "black and orange" party crafts. We have lots of foam crafts for the first grade class my daughter is in. We're also playing a balloon popping game, in which a little toy or candy will be inside the balloon and the kids have to pop it to find out what's inside. And finally, cookie decorating. Should be fun. There is only an hour to have the party, which is hilarious to me, but I understand. Just makes it crazy to organize 21 kids who are craving sugar in an hour's time :).

Well, I'm about off to bed. The silly dog was up twice last night. I'm getting too old for all this waking up during the night busness. Sometimes it feels like we will never sleep thru the night ever again. *sigh* Better luck tonight.

More stamping samples.

I had lots of fun doing some more stamping. Took out a few of my older sets and tried to make them feel new again. I am excited about all the ramblings I'm hearing about Stampin Up being a little less restrictive on where we can sell things made with their stamps. I'm hoping it will be possible to fund my habit by making stuff with my addiction. We shall see. Thanks for looking! All the details for my cards are on splitcoast, which is linked to the right of my page. My ID on there is hhroady.

Been busy stamping.

I've finally had a stamping streak! YAHOO! I'm going to attempt to post pictures. All of these are already posted on Splitcoast, which is linked on the right side of this page. My name on Splicoast is hhroady, so all of the details of these cards can be found on there. Enjoy!

Camping is not for wimps.

So my mom tells me today while we were shopping, "It's funny that you will catch frogs, hold snakes, and shoot guns, but you don't like camping." I laughed. It sounds weird, doesn't it? It's not exactly that I don't like camping. It's just that for starters, it's a lot of work! I have to spend much more time preparing, setting up, and taking down, that if I "camped" in a hotel. Secondly, it was HOT! It was miserable August weather hot in OCTOBER! Thirdly, our lovely Town and Country, that has been a pill since we purchased it 2 years ago, was a super pill this weekend in the middle of nowhere. So, I wouldn't exactly say that I don't enjoy camping, tho give me a snake over spiders and ticks any ol' day, but I didn't necessarily enjoy this camping trip... not all of it anyhow.

Now that we're home, I did run around like a chicken with my head cut off today. I scored some area rugs at Old Time Pottery today... four of them, to the tune of $16 bucks! Can you beat that? I got 3 for my kitchen, on at the back door, for Belle to get dirty, instead of my floor, and one in front of the sink and the oven, where I frequently stand. The fourth is in the entry way. All of them nice looking and CHEAP! So if they get destroyed in the wash or whatnot, I'm only out 16 bucks.

Then I grabbed a check from the consignment shop for nearly $30 bucks, which was cool. I used my 50% Michaels coupon on nothing exciting (blade refills for my paper cutter). Woohoo. I know, boring, but you can't NOT use a 50% coupon. :)

Now I have to run a package to the post office. And decide what to make for dinner that is easy and not too unhealthy. Is that possible? :)

Tomorrow I have only one kid instead of 2. Spencer has mom's day out again. So maybe tomorrow will be less crazy, I hope.
On the upside... STAMP CLASS IS TOMORROW at my pal Lisa's. She's got 2 weeks in a row of classes. Yeah for me! :)

A new season of GREY'S ANATOMY--yeah!

Finally, Grey's is back on! What the heck is going on this season? Will George split with Callie and stick with Izzy? What's up with Burke? I know he was leaving the show, but will it end like this? No real "end" to he and Christina? And will Derek and Meredith just be idiots with the on again/off again business? It will be interesting and thanks to Tivo... I'll have my butt glued to the couch each Thursday night.

In other news, I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off for the whole week it seems. Cycle break this time around seems to be dragging on forever and I cannot find enough htings to keep Hannah busy. :-) I think she misses school too. Today we did open play time at Pump It Up. Then we got some pizza, ate real quick and did some more running! We scooted out to my pal Heather's, she is on the down hill slide of her chemo treatments...she is doing AWESOME! And she had a little birthday gift for me. It's a really pretty necklace with a sterling and abalone pendant. It's very versatile and I just felt so loved for such a special gift.

Lastly, we swung thru the super wally world for some camping gear as we are heading to southern Indiana to camp with Dave's folks. I initially was excited, til I heard it will be in the freaking 90s all weekend! It will likely be warmer this weekend in OCTOBER when we camp than it was in JULY when we last camped! Ridiculous! As Dave's great aunt Teenie would say, "it's all because of that El Camino..." teehee... El Nino? El Camino? Gotta love old people.

So, we'll finish up packing in the A.M. and drop the grand-dog off at my parents' house and hit the road. With any luck, the mosquitoes will know we have the DEET packed and steer clear of us!

Everyone, have a great weekend!

Long time, no blog, part 2 :-)

Since I last blogged, let's see what's gone on? Nothing much. My oldest baby turned 7, that's the biggest news I suppose. She got her first quarter report card, which was absolutely perfect, even earning a personal note from her principal. We are so proud of her. She just adores school. She's not a happy camper when she is sick and cannot go. Today is her last day for the quarter. Cycle break begins tomorrow and lasts for three weeks. We are in a year round school system, which I am loving. She goes 9 weeks and is off three. We took a trip to Hilton Head Island at the end of September last year and it was incredible. No crowds, pool to ourselves most days, and just plain relaxing! We plan to do that next year again.

Today, my youngest has his best buddy from pre-school over for their first play date at our house. Spencer talks about Alex ALL the time. I know they will have a blast today.

I plan to stamp some thank you notes for Hannah to send for all the cool gifts she got for her birthday last week. Lots to make! I'll try to post some pics of my cards from now on. I realize I've never done it, except to post on Splitcoaststampers.com and I don't do that often enough, so I should get on the ball and share my work like everyone else does. :-)

BBQ Chicken quesedillas are on the menu for tonight. I just cook the chicken and BBQ sauce in the crock, and then assemble with whole grain tortillas, and cheese...then melt it all together in the oven for a few minutes. MMM, good and super simple. Serve with some fiesta rice or a side salad. Yummo.

Only one more day til the weekend, YAHOO!

Alison Krauss concert and other happenings.

Yesterday was a busy day. Got the kids up and Hannah off to school. She, by the way seems to be enjoying 1st grade very much. No homework yet, but this is our first full week of school.

Then Spencer and I ran a few errands. We stopped and got some pedicre implements to treat my friend Heather to a pedi. We also stopped and got her some flowers, some cran-apple juice, and also some candles. See, Heather is in the middle of a battle with breast cancer. She's just finished her 2nd out of 4 chemo treatments, and her hair started falling out the other day, so I went over and cut it much shorter to make it more manageable while it falls, and her little 6 year old, Levi, well, I shaved him bald. :-) He looks adorable! She looks great, and tho she feels a bit drunk/dizzy from all the meds, I have to hope with all the hope I can muster that she will be fine in the end. I know realistically tho, that a lot of things can happen, so I'm doing my best to think positively. I also sat her down and treated her to a pedicure, since she cannot risk going out and getting into the germy nail places. I enjoyed doing that for her and plan to go back in about 2 weeks to do it again. :-)

On a lighter note, Dave and I hate a super fun date last night to the Alison Krauss and Union Station concert last night at the Scottrade Center/savvis center/kiel opera house, WHATEVER they call it these days. :-) Her voice just gives me the goosebumps and she makes me want to take some fiddle/violin lessons. I just love her style of music. Not only that, but she is really goofy. Seriously goofy. She makes me laugh and they all seem to get on really well together. Some of her band has played with her for more that 18 years now. She seems so young, but she started very young, so that's not surprising.

So, if you like bluegrass/country/folk.... check her out.... she has worked on many soundtracks, like Cold Mountain, which is probably one of my favorite movies of late.

Can't stand the bad news anymore.

I'm about to have to give up on the news. It's just too hard and hits too close to home now-a-days. Cases in point: A mother and her three children are found shot to death in their family car just a few hours from Chicago. This was not just a stranger to me, it was someone I graduated from high school with. Her name is Kimberly Vaughn (nee Phillips) and she is a twin to Jennifer. They were classmates of mine. I just can't wrap my head around the mystery of the whole thing. Her husband is not considered a suspect, tho he was shot only in the thigh. You can see the story here:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/premium/printedition/Friday/chi-suvdeaths_15jun15,0,2505416.story

Then this morning I hear of the nine firemen who lost their lives in the line of duty. I can't imagine the grief that is flooding that town in SC. It's enough to bear the loss of one loved one, but multiple deaths like these overwhelm me with emotion.

I can't imagine what my friend's family is feeling. What her twin is feeling. How it must ache so very much.

So, I think I'll be skipping the news for a while. I need to concentrate on all of the blessings I have, and as I've learned since we lost my brother in law Jeremy, to make the most of every day and tell everyone you love them as much as you can. It's all you can do. Life has to go on, and I have to go on with it. I'm so thankful for my husband and children and our parents and siblings and nieces and nephew. So much love to pour out on so many people while the sun still shines for me.

So even though it's kind of a blah blog tonight. I'm going to savor the moment I curl up beside my sweet husband, on the night before our 9th wedding anniversary and thank GOD that he is alive and well, and that we are madly and deeply in love. We have two beautiful, healthy children who love us very much and bring so much joy to us (nevermind when they are button pushing). :-) I have my health and my home and my dog and much to be thankful for. A new church to grow into and be encouraged and loved on... So much to be delighting in and not dwelling on what cannot be changed.

So, let this not make you feel down after reading, but let it open your eyes to what you have to be thankful for. Each breath you take, each sunrise, each bird you hear singing in the trees, each detail of your day and your family. Hug someone, share a smile, and high five someone just for fun! Focus on what's right ( I know it's hard some days, but try!). Peace!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY SWEETIE!

First things first. It's Father's Day and I have to say, I feel like I didn't do a good job of it this weekend. I tried. I made Saturday a do-nothing day, tho he mowed the lawn...but I also made his favorite meal and we just had a nice relaxing day. This morning tho, just seemed like we couldn't do anything right. Our checking account prevented us from going out for breakfast this morning, then at church, we listened to a message about Heaven and that sort of a set a mood for missing Jeremy, on top of which my poor husband misses his parents so much right now too, cuz we've not seen them since February. Then we had to go sit in the heat for my niece's birthday party, which didn't go so badly, just not what I would like to do for Dave on his day, you know? I tried to tell him it was okay to go shoot in lieu of the party, but thankfully, he wanted to be with us. Anyhow, though none of the hassles of the weekend were really bad, it just felt like nothing I did was right. We all have those times, and he did keep re-assuring me that it wasn't me, but I felt like it was some me.

So sweetie, if you read this, here's my Father's day tribute to you.

You are the love of my life, you know that. I am so blessed to be your wife. In good times and bad (some REALLY bad, even), we have thrived and fallen more in love. You helped me make two of the cutest kids in the WHOLE world, and challenging as they are sometimes, they are a constant reflection of how much we love each other. We are all well fed, and comfortably sheltered each night because of how hard you work at your job. Even the jobs you've been miserable with, you've plugged along just to know you were taking care of us. For that we are ever so thankful.

Most of all though sweetheart, is that I love how you show our kids how much you love me. I know you think you don't show them much sometimes (cuz sometimes everything we say goes in one ear and out the other, without sinking in), but I know every time you hug me, kiss me, hold my hand, slap me on the hind end, any number of million ways you show me affection will have a GINORMOUS effect on them. Trust me, I missed that a lot, and you know that I still wonder about my parents sometimes. Thank you for that HUGE life lesson that you show them every day without even thinking about it. Thank you for loving me the way you do. I love you so much. Hannah and Spencer love you so much too. Thank you for being our hero and taking such good care of us. Hugs and kisses!