A fun pay it forward activity, who doesn't like free gifts, especially during Mr. Recession?
Here's how it works-
the first 5 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade or homemade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise!
The catch is that you must participate as well-before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift!
Remember that only the first 5 comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. It'll be done this year
3. You will have no clue what it is going to be.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Love is in the Air
I usually try to do something special for those boys in my life on Valentines day. I had not even thought of what I was going to do this year until Brayden asked me about a week before. He also reminded me that last year they all received treasure maps when they got home from school and they had to search the house until they found their loot. Those maps took a long time to do plus I even burned the edges to make it look old. So not only did it take a lot of time but it also made my house stink. This year I decided to do another treasure hunt. But all of their loot was together and they had puzzle pieces with clues on them. Once they found all the pieces of the puzzle they had to put it together and find where the treasure chest was hiding. I thought it would be a lot of fun and they would have to work together to solve this mystery. Leave it up to my boys to turn it into a competition and start arguing with one another. I quickly reminded them was this whole adventure was about. They started organizing the puzzle pieces together and before no time they had found their treasure. A lot of holidays anymore are about the gifts and how big they are. I want to create memories for my kids where money was not the issue. I don't believe in creating some of these holidays like Christmas and I don't want my kids to either. They loved their adventure and finding their bag of valentines candy. Even Brayden came up and thanked me for everything afterwards, a rare moment I know. But one that I will treasure for many years to come.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Happy Birthday Dad
Today is my Dad's Birthday! He is on a mission for his church so we were not able to celebrate with him. My Dad is one of my hero's. He has always been able to fix or make anything I can think of. I love him more than words can say. He is such an example to me and my family. I remember when I was younger he was really upset with his boss and the worst name he could come up with for his boss was jerk. I could not ask for a better Dad. I have been told that I am a lot like him. Of course I take that as a compliment. He is never afraid to try new things and when he does he is usually successful. We miss him dearly and can't wait till October when they return home. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD & GRANDPA!! We Love You!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
So if any of you know Brayden you know that when he sets his mind to something he usually accomplishes it. Our conversation went something like this:
B: Mom I want a baby sister.
Me: You know that there is no guarantee we would have a girl.
B: I know I just want a baby.
Me: You don't help out enough around the house for me to even consider it. I've already got enough on my hands.
B: Just wait till Tyler leaves the house and then have a baby.
Me: You would almost be out of the house then. That wouldn't be very fair to the baby to be all by themselves.
B: OK then wait 2 years.
Kaleb joined the conversation saying he also wants a baby sister. Rylee then came to the rescue and said he doesn't want any baby. Then Brayden proceeding in trying to convince Rylee he does. The rest of the evening Brayden spent cleaning up the house. I like that. Maybe I won't dash his hopes yet so I can get my whole house cleaned. I do love his determination though. They all make me laugh especially with some of our conversations! Never a dull moment.
B: Mom I want a baby sister.
Me: You know that there is no guarantee we would have a girl.
B: I know I just want a baby.
Me: You don't help out enough around the house for me to even consider it. I've already got enough on my hands.
B: Just wait till Tyler leaves the house and then have a baby.
Me: You would almost be out of the house then. That wouldn't be very fair to the baby to be all by themselves.
B: OK then wait 2 years.
Kaleb joined the conversation saying he also wants a baby sister. Rylee then came to the rescue and said he doesn't want any baby. Then Brayden proceeding in trying to convince Rylee he does. The rest of the evening Brayden spent cleaning up the house. I like that. Maybe I won't dash his hopes yet so I can get my whole house cleaned. I do love his determination though. They all make me laugh especially with some of our conversations! Never a dull moment.
Monday, February 2, 2009
SUPER BOWL
As a family we decided we would have a Super Bowl party. I have never really been into the Super Bowl besides the commercials but I heard someone say that as a family you should have parties for many different reasons. So, I decided to start. With the coffee table filled with many fattening snacks and treats we started. Not too soon after most of us had left the room and were not watching the show until halftime. Then again most scattered. For some strange reason the last 5 minutes of the game we all came back to watch. It was a lot of fun to spend those few moments cheering for whatever team you wanted and spending the time together. I used to love the commercials but I was very disappointed to sit there with my husband and 4 boys to see some of the filth. Now I am questioning how can I teach my kids to live in the world but not of the world. I also do not want to put a bubble around them so when they do go out in the real world they have no concept of real life. I know I have a big challenge ahead of me, Bring it on!
I am Normal Again
After having my blood drawn 4 times, bruises, CT Scan plus dye & months of confusion and wonder I finally got back my last test results. They now say my liver levels are down and we will test in another year. I'm happy at these latest results but still a little confused why they were ever high and I had to go through all of that. My doctor seemed a little baffled through the whole ordeal. Maybe someday I will discover why I had to go through all of that. In the meantime I am delighted that my arms will look normal for awhile.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
CARIBBEAN
Gotta love those muster drills.
Joe and I just got back from a 7 day Southern Caribbean cruise. We had a blast! It was nice to get away just the two of us and get a break from reality.
On Friday we flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico. After spending the night there we left in the afternoon to catch our boat. Before leaving the Hotel and boarding our shuttle bus the entertainment show started. While waiting to board the bus there was a homeless man, supposedly, that kept approaching people in our group for money or trying to sell other items, if you know what I mean. The Taxi drivers told him to stop hassling us. When he did not and continued to remain there one of the taxi drivers decided to take it into his own hands and punched him. He hit him so hard he fell to the ground.
I thought that would be enough for the man to leave. Whatever he was high on overcame him and he kept trying to go after the taxi driver. Even taking it to the extreme and grabbing a beer bottle out of the garbage can. He then proceeded to go after the taxi driver with the bottle. That is when all the other fellow drivers stepped in to protect the one and the guy decided he had had enough and staggered down the street. It was quite the way to start out our vacation.
Our first stop was St. Thomas where we took a taxi, then a water taxi and last another taxi to get to St. John's. We went to a beach called trunk bay. They have a marked snorkel trail around a little island in the ocean. It was a relaxing day to just snorkel and lay on the beach. There were a few small rain storms and they moved out as quickly as the moved in.
Second was St. Maarten and we took a taxi over to Orient Bayon the French side. You have to understand that there are 3 dress codes on this beach. One end is fully clothed, the middle is partial clothes and the other end is completely naked. Of course we went to the fully clothed side. But, it did not matter there were still lots of topless women and men to be seen. Upon arriving at the beach we witnessed an elderly couple only wearing sandals and thongs. Their thongs were more like strings. When they say you are going sight seeing that is not what I had in mind.
Third day we spent in Antigua. Beautiful island to bad we didn't have more money. We spent the day walking around the island. We even found the Branch office for the church.
Fourth day was St. Lucia. Again beautiful but did not get to see much. We slept in and then took a taxi to a beach. There were lots of sand crabs & garbage to be found. The beach was not very clean so we crossed over some rocks into a cleaner one. To find out it was an exclusive beach for the sandals resort. One of the locals on the beach told us if we wanted to get a drink to go sit at the bar and order. With it being an all inclusive resort they would think you were one of their guests.
Fifth and final island was Barbados. This island was the cleanest of all of them and the beach was amazing. The sand is pink and it is so fine it is like flour. It was my favorite out of all of them. The only downside is that I got a really bad sunburn even though I applied sunscreen. I wasn't the only one. There were a lot of people that got burned that day. We heard someone say that the sun was a lot more intense on that day.
Last day was a day at sea and I spent most of the day recovering from the sun, applying lotion to my sunburn and trying to walk without too much pain.
Saturday we arrived back in San Juan and since our flight did not leave till later that afternoon we went and toured the Old San Juan fort. It was amazing to see how large it was and to think it was built that long ago. I could not imagine those soldiers keeping watch so that pirates would not invade.
After 9 hours in the air we arrived safely home late Saturday night. It was a great week and I miss the warm weather already.
Joe and I just got back from a 7 day Southern Caribbean cruise. We had a blast! It was nice to get away just the two of us and get a break from reality. On Friday we flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico. After spending the night there we left in the afternoon to catch our boat. Before leaving the Hotel and boarding our shuttle bus the entertainment show started. While waiting to board the bus there was a homeless man, supposedly, that kept approaching people in our group for money or trying to sell other items, if you know what I mean. The Taxi drivers told him to stop hassling us. When he did not and continued to remain there one of the taxi drivers decided to take it into his own hands and punched him. He hit him so hard he fell to the ground.
I thought that would be enough for the man to leave. Whatever he was high on overcame him and he kept trying to go after the taxi driver. Even taking it to the extreme and grabbing a beer bottle out of the garbage can. He then proceeded to go after the taxi driver with the bottle. That is when all the other fellow drivers stepped in to protect the one and the guy decided he had had enough and staggered down the street. It was quite the way to start out our vacation.
Our first stop was St. Thomas where we took a taxi, then a water taxi and last another taxi to get to St. John's. We went to a beach called trunk bay. They have a marked snorkel trail around a little island in the ocean. It was a relaxing day to just snorkel and lay on the beach. There were a few small rain storms and they moved out as quickly as the moved in.
Second was St. Maarten and we took a taxi over to Orient Bayon the French side. You have to understand that there are 3 dress codes on this beach. One end is fully clothed, the middle is partial clothes and the other end is completely naked. Of course we went to the fully clothed side. But, it did not matter there were still lots of topless women and men to be seen. Upon arriving at the beach we witnessed an elderly couple only wearing sandals and thongs. Their thongs were more like strings. When they say you are going sight seeing that is not what I had in mind.
Third day we spent in Antigua. Beautiful island to bad we didn't have more money. We spent the day walking around the island. We even found the Branch office for the church.
Fourth day was St. Lucia. Again beautiful but did not get to see much. We slept in and then took a taxi to a beach. There were lots of sand crabs & garbage to be found. The beach was not very clean so we crossed over some rocks into a cleaner one. To find out it was an exclusive beach for the sandals resort. One of the locals on the beach told us if we wanted to get a drink to go sit at the bar and order. With it being an all inclusive resort they would think you were one of their guests.
Fifth and final island was Barbados. This island was the cleanest of all of them and the beach was amazing. The sand is pink and it is so fine it is like flour. It was my favorite out of all of them. The only downside is that I got a really bad sunburn even though I applied sunscreen. I wasn't the only one. There were a lot of people that got burned that day. We heard someone say that the sun was a lot more intense on that day.
Last day was a day at sea and I spent most of the day recovering from the sun, applying lotion to my sunburn and trying to walk without too much pain.
Saturday we arrived back in San Juan and since our flight did not leave till later that afternoon we went and toured the Old San Juan fort. It was amazing to see how large it was and to think it was built that long ago. I could not imagine those soldiers keeping watch so that pirates would not invade.
After 9 hours in the air we arrived safely home late Saturday night. It was a great week and I miss the warm weather already.
AMERICAN IDOL 2008
Watch out American Idol I have some of the next winners. Rylee loves to get his microphone, did I mention it doesn't work, and belt out anything he can. He likes to have music playing in the background but he doesn't follow it. I finally caught him with 2 of his brothers singing Sponge Bob. I don't know how they know the song because we don't have cable and never watch the show. It just goes to show you kids will do and say what they want!
HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS
Christmas morning started around 7:30 for us. My kids have never been ones to get up real early on Christmas and I thank them for that. Santa did come to our house although I think a few of my kids probably deserved coal. I guess all children deserve something. Tyler had an orange Christmas. He received an orange chair, watch, tie, shirt and even a chocolate orange. Can anyone guess his favorite color?
Brayden received a science kit, Legos, books, rolling pin (yes he loves to help me in the kitchen) & too many others to mention.
Kaleb received a monster bank to store all his many riches in, a blanket & some really cool building magnets.
Last but not least Rylee received blankets, books, trucks (his favorite) & a phone he carries with him everywhere. I think he is trying to be like his Dad.
As for Joe and I we had a great Christmas and tried to keep it simple. We loved seeing the joy and excitement on our kids faces Christmas morning. I hope all of you had a great Christmas as well.
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