1. After weeks of being sick with one ailment or another, Rhett is finally his usual cheerful self. I cannot express how happy I am to have him back. The bummer of it is, Jay & I are coming down with it. Well, Jay done got it. I, on the other hand, am teetering on the edge of it right now. I love me some spring but I am darn tired of the disgusting little germs that like to rear their ugly heads this time of year.
2. Rhett is on day two of being weaned. I feel both saddened and elated. I am sad because my baby is done nursing. Those days of my life are officially over and with that comes a sense of loss. But on the other hand, I get to eat dairy again. And the ease of being able to leave him is quite nice.
But....my baby is done nursing!
3. We watched the remake of Red Dawn this weekend. I have to say it is one of the better movies I've seen lately. I am having a little bit of a love/hate opinion of it. It sort of scares me...
I think I need to watch the original. Just for kicks.
4. I am officially jealous of my sister-in-law. She told me all about her garden that she started on yesterday. I have been wanting one for years. But my hubby told me that he would make me a couple of raised beds and fence them in while he is on vacation next week. Yay! for my wonderful hubby. And for me getting a garden.
5. I have been walking in the mornings before Jay goes to work and it is lovely. I am always excited when it is finally light enough to go in the early morning. I feel so much more motivated than when I am facing the treadmill.
6. I am not going to make it to ten today. I feel terrible. So time to rest...
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
Sugar Cookie
A couple of weeks ago I ran across a yummy-looking recipe for frosted sugar cookies. So I decided to make them. I enlisted Avril to help me as she is often very bored while the boys are working on their school assignments. She was more than happy to help. So here are the pics of my little "sugar cookie".
She was quite concerned about the fact that the dough was overflowing out of the mixer. She kept trying to push it back in.
Squishing the cookies was her favorite part.
I didn't get any pictures of them frosted but they were almost as yummy as they looked.
The best part was baking with my girl.
She is a very willing helper. Especially in the kitchen.
I am trying to cultivate that.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Good Friday
In honor of Good Friday I am blogging about the things that I think are good right now. I am the queen of randomness so don't expect any different today.
1. Jesus. He was born. He lived. He served. He sinned not. He died. He rose. He lives.
That is very good.
2. My husband. He's good. Actually, the best.
3. My kids. Sometimes. They are good to know. They do not always have good behavior.
4. Coffee. Specifically lattes. My current favorite is sugar-free salted caramel mocha.
5. Spring. Green. Sunshine. Warmth. Spring is good.
6. These cookies are good. Avril & I made them the other day. And that was a good time as well.
1. Jesus. He was born. He lived. He served. He sinned not. He died. He rose. He lives.
That is very good.
2. My husband. He's good. Actually, the best.
3. My kids. Sometimes. They are good to know. They do not always have good behavior.
4. Coffee. Specifically lattes. My current favorite is sugar-free salted caramel mocha.
5. Spring. Green. Sunshine. Warmth. Spring is good.
6. These cookies are good. Avril & I made them the other day. And that was a good time as well.
(pictures coming)
7. Our Good Friday celebration at church. It's tonight at 6:30 and it was really good last year. I have no reason to believe it will be any less this year.
8. This book is good. I just finished reading it and I think it may change my life. I recommend it to anyone who is organizationally challenged like myself. I plan on ordering at least one more of her books.
9. This website is good for hair tutorials. I recently stumbled across it on Pinterest.
10. This shampoo & conditioner is good. And pricey. That's why I got it on Amazon. It's even worse in the store!
11. BareEscentuals makeup is good. I have started buying it on Amazon also.
12. Pinterest is good. Well, for organizing & finding ideas. There are other things about it that are not good. Such as how much of my attention it sucks up and some of the weird stuff on there.
13. The Dashing Dish is good. I found it both inspiring and very helpful. All of the recipes I've tried so far have been good. And the fact that she loves the Lord is very good. Check it out. You might like it too.
14. Timberdoodle home school curriculum is good. This was our first year using it and we really like it. They just revised their cores for this coming year and they look even better! I think I will customize a little bit more this year to have it fit our needs, but overall we really like it. Including the kids! Make sure you look at their different options though. I think this coming year, all my kids will be doing the same science & history. This will save us time & money. Also, you obviously don't need to buy the fun tools more than once, just save those & the textbooks\audios for your younger children. And some of the workbooks could be reused if you are smarter than me & think ahead so you can copy the worksheets for your younger children.
15. Chipotle avocado chicken salad in a pita is good. Unless you're like my mom & hate avocados.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Goals
These are my goals for this year. This is what I am striving for: to build my relationships with Jesus, Jason, & each of my children.
1. Get in the Word more. I want it. I need it. My soul thirsts for things unworldly & they can't be found without knowing my Saviour intimately.
2. Get my kids in the Word on a regular basis.
3. Get into a routine. And STICK TO IT! I will never be one of those mega-organized people who manage their time with grace and finesse but I do think that I could manage to have a general routine, an ebb & flow, of a morning. Get up at the same time. Do things in a similar order every day. You know, a routine.
4. Take more pictures. I have seriously slacked off!
5. Take more videos. I have never been in the habit.
6. Take 1st day of school pictures.
7. Make handprints of each child at the beginning of each school year. Just on paper. Nothing difficult that will take up a ton of space.
8. Do one science project & one art project each week. It's fun!
9. Go on more alone dates with Jay.
10. Feed my family healthy & lose some weight, without being obsessed.
11. Write more letters to my husband & children.
1. Get in the Word more. I want it. I need it. My soul thirsts for things unworldly & they can't be found without knowing my Saviour intimately.
2. Get my kids in the Word on a regular basis.
3. Get into a routine. And STICK TO IT! I will never be one of those mega-organized people who manage their time with grace and finesse but I do think that I could manage to have a general routine, an ebb & flow, of a morning. Get up at the same time. Do things in a similar order every day. You know, a routine.
4. Take more pictures. I have seriously slacked off!
5. Take more videos. I have never been in the habit.
6. Take 1st day of school pictures.
7. Make handprints of each child at the beginning of each school year. Just on paper. Nothing difficult that will take up a ton of space.
8. Do one science project & one art project each week. It's fun!
9. Go on more alone dates with Jay.
10. Feed my family healthy & lose some weight, without being obsessed.
11. Write more letters to my husband & children.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Well Played
I am so sorry if this seems inappropriate but seriously.
How totally awesome & hilarious is this?
I can't quit giggling about it.
That is pretty intelligent marketing.
Monday, January 28, 2013
How We Met
What you are about to read is (as far as I know) a historical account. Please correct me if you know any of the details to be false.
Travel with me down a little country road in northern Idaho. After about a half a mile, sits a little country church and a Bible camp near a lake. Across the road are the homes of the son of the folks who donated the land for the church & camp, two of his sons homes, and the home of his daughter-in-law's mother. This is where our story begins.
It was August 1999. As I recall the day was warm & sunny. I had spent the night at the home of the daughter-in-law's mother who just so happens to be my grandmother. It was mid-morning and I sat in the family room wearing plaid pajama pants, a navy blue t-shirt, and dripping wet hair. I don't remember exactly what I was doing but I do know I had showered shortly before, was sitting in her big comfy chair by the window, and was likely reading one of Grandma's People magazines that were stashed in the end of the coffee table. Grandma was in the other room.
I was not quite 17 years old and Grandma had asked me to stay the night. I think she was feeling a bit sorry for me as I had been having a hard time of it that summer. My heart had been broken for the first time a couple months before and I was feeling pretty lonely.
As I sat curled up in the chair, I heard footsteps on the porch outside the window & as I looked over my shoulder there came a knock at the door. I saw a young guy, unremarkable to me at the time, all I remember is that he wore a ball cap. Feeling suddenly embarrassed about my appearance, I called to Grandma.
"Hey, Grandma. Some guy is at the door. I didn't want to answer it in my pajamas."
"Oh. Okay. I'll get it."
She answered the door and the young man asked her if she had something. They only spoke a couple of minutes and I hid around the corner in the family room. I watched him retreat down the porch steps and then Grandma came into the family room.
"That was one of those boys from back at Ed & Jan's," she told me.
"Oh. One of those people that live in the bus?" I asked. Ed & Jan were the people whose parents gave the land and they were the other grandparents of my cousin who lived right next door to Grandma. My cousin had told me about the family that lived in a big bus and were parked at her grandparent's house. We referred to them as, the weird people that live in the bus.
"Yeah. Oh they are such nice boys. And can they ever sing."
"Oh really?"
"Oh yes. They travel around and sing and play old cowboy music and they are so good. Grandpa & I went to one of their shows. They are really good. And can their sister ever sing."
"Hm."
And that was it. That was the first time I ever saw him. I don't have any idea what we did the rest of that day. And I never gave that boy another thought. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if i had gone to the door that day, but my vanity and pride got the better of me. Unbeknownst to me, God would bring that same boy back into my life but He would wait a year and a half to do it.
Time went on and I dated another boy and got my heart wrenched out a second time. This time was worse than the first. It was almost exactly a year later and it was at that point that I decided the boy/girl relationships weren't all they were cracked up to be. So began my vendetta against the opposite gender.
It was sometime in July of 2000 when two new guys started coming to church. It was also about this time that the church started a college-age Bible study. My sister & her fiance' were attending and so were the two new guys. Terah told me that they were really nice & that I should meet them. As I recall, my response was something along the lines of,
*snort* "I don't.think.so."
"Why? They're really nice."
"I'm not interested in meeting guys."
"I don't mean you have to date one of them. Just meet them."
"I'm not interested."
"Why?"
"Because they're hicks!"
And that was my honest-to-God opinion. And the subject was dropped.
A month or so later we were at Lyle's parents' house preparing for Lyle & Terah's wedding. Lyle & Ryan were doing some yard work & Terah & I were sanding the barn so it could be repainted. A truck pulled in the driveway and out of it came one of the new guys. I remember looking to see who it was and he was talking to Ryan. Lyle's mom came over and was talking to Terah and me.
"Heidi, don't you have to go talk to Ryan about something?" she hinted.
"Um, no."
"You should go meet that boy. He's cute."
"Uh. No thanks."
"And he's blonde. Kind of."
At that point I rolled my eyes and turned the sander back on. Not happening.
As luck would have it, minutes later Lyle, Terah, & I ended up near Ryan and his "cute, kind of blonde" friend and I sort of hovered in the background trying not to be blatantly rude. Lyle introduced us.
"Oh, hey Matt. This is Terah's sister Heidi."
"Well, it's good to meet you," he said.
"Hi. Nice to meet you."
We stood there, the guys talking, girls listening, for a few more minutes. Lyle invited him to the wedding and he left. I endured a few more comments from people and life carried on.
A couple weeks later Lyle & Terah were married & life changed drastically. I had never spent much time away from my sister in my 18 years and it was a hard adjustment for me.
The months passed, I continued to ignore the opposite gender as much as possible, and December rolled around. I remember feeling particularly sorry for myself that day. I have no friends, I'm going to be alone forever, why are guys such jerks. That sort of thing. It was that day that Lyle's twin invited us to a birthday party for a friend at a house he was house sitting. I didn't want to go. I wanted to stay home and finish my pity-party. But for some reason, I decided to go at the last minute. I did not realize that that one decision was about to alter the course of my life forever.
The house was really nice. It was one of those houses where there were carpet protectors all over the floor. Terah, Shelby, and I got a wild hair to flip them all poky side up and sit and watch people step on them. Matt walked in, walked on one of them, looked down, stepped off, and hardly altered his course. For some reason, it gave us the giggles. We ended up talking to him for a couple minutes and then everybody played games and we did a white elephant gift exchange.
At some point during the evening I was introduced to Matt's brother, Jason. I don't remember who, or when, or how we were introduced, just that we were and he was surprised Terah and I were sisters.
During our games, someone(you know who you are) told a nasty joke and as I looked around horrified at everybody laughing I noticed Matt & Jason covering their faces and blushing. I was in awe that two guys were embarrassed at the joke. I didn't know guys like that. And a tiny piece of my icy heart started to melt.
It came time to go home. I was at the doorway, tieing my shoes when Jason came over to bid us adu.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Heidi."
"It was nice meeting you, too."
"Now I know your name so I can say hi instead of ,'hey you.'"
"Uh. Yeah." I'm known for my witty, intelligent responses.
"Okay. See you guys next Sunday."
"Bye."
And with that, we went out, got in the blazer, and left.
To be continued...................
Travel with me down a little country road in northern Idaho. After about a half a mile, sits a little country church and a Bible camp near a lake. Across the road are the homes of the son of the folks who donated the land for the church & camp, two of his sons homes, and the home of his daughter-in-law's mother. This is where our story begins.
It was August 1999. As I recall the day was warm & sunny. I had spent the night at the home of the daughter-in-law's mother who just so happens to be my grandmother. It was mid-morning and I sat in the family room wearing plaid pajama pants, a navy blue t-shirt, and dripping wet hair. I don't remember exactly what I was doing but I do know I had showered shortly before, was sitting in her big comfy chair by the window, and was likely reading one of Grandma's People magazines that were stashed in the end of the coffee table. Grandma was in the other room.
I was not quite 17 years old and Grandma had asked me to stay the night. I think she was feeling a bit sorry for me as I had been having a hard time of it that summer. My heart had been broken for the first time a couple months before and I was feeling pretty lonely.
As I sat curled up in the chair, I heard footsteps on the porch outside the window & as I looked over my shoulder there came a knock at the door. I saw a young guy, unremarkable to me at the time, all I remember is that he wore a ball cap. Feeling suddenly embarrassed about my appearance, I called to Grandma.
"Hey, Grandma. Some guy is at the door. I didn't want to answer it in my pajamas."
"Oh. Okay. I'll get it."
She answered the door and the young man asked her if she had something. They only spoke a couple of minutes and I hid around the corner in the family room. I watched him retreat down the porch steps and then Grandma came into the family room.
"That was one of those boys from back at Ed & Jan's," she told me.
"Oh. One of those people that live in the bus?" I asked. Ed & Jan were the people whose parents gave the land and they were the other grandparents of my cousin who lived right next door to Grandma. My cousin had told me about the family that lived in a big bus and were parked at her grandparent's house. We referred to them as, the weird people that live in the bus.
"Yeah. Oh they are such nice boys. And can they ever sing."
"Oh really?"
"Oh yes. They travel around and sing and play old cowboy music and they are so good. Grandpa & I went to one of their shows. They are really good. And can their sister ever sing."
"Hm."
And that was it. That was the first time I ever saw him. I don't have any idea what we did the rest of that day. And I never gave that boy another thought. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if i had gone to the door that day, but my vanity and pride got the better of me. Unbeknownst to me, God would bring that same boy back into my life but He would wait a year and a half to do it.
Time went on and I dated another boy and got my heart wrenched out a second time. This time was worse than the first. It was almost exactly a year later and it was at that point that I decided the boy/girl relationships weren't all they were cracked up to be. So began my vendetta against the opposite gender.
It was sometime in July of 2000 when two new guys started coming to church. It was also about this time that the church started a college-age Bible study. My sister & her fiance' were attending and so were the two new guys. Terah told me that they were really nice & that I should meet them. As I recall, my response was something along the lines of,
*snort* "I don't.think.so."
"Why? They're really nice."
"I'm not interested in meeting guys."
"I don't mean you have to date one of them. Just meet them."
"I'm not interested."
"Why?"
"Because they're hicks!"
And that was my honest-to-God opinion. And the subject was dropped.
A month or so later we were at Lyle's parents' house preparing for Lyle & Terah's wedding. Lyle & Ryan were doing some yard work & Terah & I were sanding the barn so it could be repainted. A truck pulled in the driveway and out of it came one of the new guys. I remember looking to see who it was and he was talking to Ryan. Lyle's mom came over and was talking to Terah and me.
"Heidi, don't you have to go talk to Ryan about something?" she hinted.
"Um, no."
"You should go meet that boy. He's cute."
"Uh. No thanks."
"And he's blonde. Kind of."
At that point I rolled my eyes and turned the sander back on. Not happening.
As luck would have it, minutes later Lyle, Terah, & I ended up near Ryan and his "cute, kind of blonde" friend and I sort of hovered in the background trying not to be blatantly rude. Lyle introduced us.
"Oh, hey Matt. This is Terah's sister Heidi."
"Well, it's good to meet you," he said.
"Hi. Nice to meet you."
We stood there, the guys talking, girls listening, for a few more minutes. Lyle invited him to the wedding and he left. I endured a few more comments from people and life carried on.
A couple weeks later Lyle & Terah were married & life changed drastically. I had never spent much time away from my sister in my 18 years and it was a hard adjustment for me.
The months passed, I continued to ignore the opposite gender as much as possible, and December rolled around. I remember feeling particularly sorry for myself that day. I have no friends, I'm going to be alone forever, why are guys such jerks. That sort of thing. It was that day that Lyle's twin invited us to a birthday party for a friend at a house he was house sitting. I didn't want to go. I wanted to stay home and finish my pity-party. But for some reason, I decided to go at the last minute. I did not realize that that one decision was about to alter the course of my life forever.
The house was really nice. It was one of those houses where there were carpet protectors all over the floor. Terah, Shelby, and I got a wild hair to flip them all poky side up and sit and watch people step on them. Matt walked in, walked on one of them, looked down, stepped off, and hardly altered his course. For some reason, it gave us the giggles. We ended up talking to him for a couple minutes and then everybody played games and we did a white elephant gift exchange.
At some point during the evening I was introduced to Matt's brother, Jason. I don't remember who, or when, or how we were introduced, just that we were and he was surprised Terah and I were sisters.
During our games, someone(you know who you are) told a nasty joke and as I looked around horrified at everybody laughing I noticed Matt & Jason covering their faces and blushing. I was in awe that two guys were embarrassed at the joke. I didn't know guys like that. And a tiny piece of my icy heart started to melt.
It came time to go home. I was at the doorway, tieing my shoes when Jason came over to bid us adu.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Heidi."
"It was nice meeting you, too."
"Now I know your name so I can say hi instead of ,'hey you.'"
"Uh. Yeah." I'm known for my witty, intelligent responses.
"Okay. See you guys next Sunday."
"Bye."
And with that, we went out, got in the blazer, and left.
To be continued...................
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Tuesday
1) Life seems to be getting back to a somewhat normal pattern now that the holidays & birthdays are behind us. We have started school again & I find that I am craving simplicity, organization, & routine. It's something that's been seriously lacking the last 3 or 4 years around here.
2) I also find that in order to get to the simplicity part, I must first get the organization & routine part into action. So begins the great organization project of 2013. I have already started on my kitchen. I have pretty much moved & purged everything. However, it probably won't be complete until the end of the week or the middle of next. I have a few purchases to make and I have to wait for paychecks, bills to be paid, clothes to be bought, yada, yada, yada.
I am finding much of my inspiration via Pinterest. Among my favorites are www.abowlfulloflemons.net , good ole Martha, and this lady for the printable part of being organized. It's quite the project and my house looks worse than ever but it's a means to an end.
3) I have birthday posts of the boys just waiting to be completed and published. And Christmas cards to be mailed. I got sick right before Christmas and one or another of us has been coming down with it ever since! I think we are finally all well today!
4) Rhett is 8 months old today! I will be taking pictures of him and posting them as well. He has grown! There is so much he can do now.
5) Avril is way into helping with everything these days. I am trying to nurture it as much as possible. I haven't done well with the boys on that. And it's starting to show. A lot. Which brings me to number 6.
6) I bought this book. And I am really loving it. This is so happening at our house.
7) Our poor couches are coming to the end of their life. It's a little sad since we bought them right after returning from our honeymoon. They were one of the few things we bought brand new. They are still usable but looking pretty shabby. I predict we will be purchasing others within the year.
8) I climbed Mt. Everest! In my living room. I believe that this is the biggest pile of laundry I've ever had in my living room and I finally got it folded. Now I just have to put it away!
9) Womens Ministry meeting tonight. Woo-hoo! I think it's been about three months since I last went to one and I've been missing church due to illnesses so I've missed those church ladies. It's always refreshing and great fellowship. Plus it's nice to hear what's on the agenda for the year at our little church.
10) Saturday is a youth fellowship concert at a church in town. It's a fundraiser for the basketball teams. And it's featuring the worship team from our church. That means Jay will be singing. I'm already thinking about copping out. I know I'm terrible but standing and singing for an hour is not entertaining to four young children and Jay won't be able to help me contain them. I don't know if any of you all know my kids very well, but my kids + boredom = very naughty, loud, & downright evil. And all of that + loud music + me = very crabby & unsociable.
2) I also find that in order to get to the simplicity part, I must first get the organization & routine part into action. So begins the great organization project of 2013. I have already started on my kitchen. I have pretty much moved & purged everything. However, it probably won't be complete until the end of the week or the middle of next. I have a few purchases to make and I have to wait for paychecks, bills to be paid, clothes to be bought, yada, yada, yada.
I am finding much of my inspiration via Pinterest. Among my favorites are www.abowlfulloflemons.net , good ole Martha, and this lady for the printable part of being organized. It's quite the project and my house looks worse than ever but it's a means to an end.
3) I have birthday posts of the boys just waiting to be completed and published. And Christmas cards to be mailed. I got sick right before Christmas and one or another of us has been coming down with it ever since! I think we are finally all well today!
4) Rhett is 8 months old today! I will be taking pictures of him and posting them as well. He has grown! There is so much he can do now.
5) Avril is way into helping with everything these days. I am trying to nurture it as much as possible. I haven't done well with the boys on that. And it's starting to show. A lot. Which brings me to number 6.
6) I bought this book. And I am really loving it. This is so happening at our house.
7) Our poor couches are coming to the end of their life. It's a little sad since we bought them right after returning from our honeymoon. They were one of the few things we bought brand new. They are still usable but looking pretty shabby. I predict we will be purchasing others within the year.
8) I climbed Mt. Everest! In my living room. I believe that this is the biggest pile of laundry I've ever had in my living room and I finally got it folded. Now I just have to put it away!
9) Womens Ministry meeting tonight. Woo-hoo! I think it's been about three months since I last went to one and I've been missing church due to illnesses so I've missed those church ladies. It's always refreshing and great fellowship. Plus it's nice to hear what's on the agenda for the year at our little church.
10) Saturday is a youth fellowship concert at a church in town. It's a fundraiser for the basketball teams. And it's featuring the worship team from our church. That means Jay will be singing. I'm already thinking about copping out. I know I'm terrible but standing and singing for an hour is not entertaining to four young children and Jay won't be able to help me contain them. I don't know if any of you all know my kids very well, but my kids + boredom = very naughty, loud, & downright evil. And all of that + loud music + me = very crabby & unsociable.
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