Sleepless Weekend
24 September 2006
My baby boy turned 4 on Thursday. We did cupcakes and sang to him on Wednesday night in his Rainbow class. When we got home, we let him open presents since daddy was going to be gone at work and school. On Thursday, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday breakfast and he said "pancakes with candles in them". He asked if I could color them for him, so he ended up with "candy apple" pancakes. Green...his faovrite color! The above picture was when Christian and I were singing Happy Birthday to him before he got to eat his cupcake and ice-cream. The picture below is his birthday breakfast.
Everyone in my family has had their sleep routines messed up all weekend. Although I survived my missionettes sleepover, I did not get much sleep. And although I had a migraine and felt sick yesterday morning, I survived it. I'm in no hurry to do it again next year though! But, I did learn some valuable lessons which I will use to plan next years sleepover. Zachary went to sleep about midnight and Eliana went to sleep about 11:30 (was not for a lack of trying). It was a girl party and she wanted to be a part of it. The girls had a lot of fun and that's who I did it for!
Steve didn't get much sleep because I was gone.
Christian spent the night with his good friends, Charlie, Chris & Cody. They stayed up until about 11pm. They had so much fun that yesterday morning when I talked to them, they begged to keep him again and they would bring him to church with them this morning. We went out to pick him up and they begged some more to keep him, but this time, Zachary started in. So, after a lot of talking, a lot of history stuff, show & tell, football game (should have seen me dive for the first down...ruined a pair of good jeans), joking around and a lot of fun, we gave in and let both boys stay the night. They stayed up until 11 or so last night, so I know they are exhausted! Also, we had planned on doing something with Zachary for his birthday yesterday, but because he wanted to play with the boys, Waunita (the boys' mom) made Zachary a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to him. It was so sweet of her to do that for my boy! But, that is how this family is. They are very special people. And it's also nice to know that they are a strong Christian family (not only the parents who walk the walk and talk the talk, but all 3 boys do to...very rare!!) who doesn't allow junk into their homes. So, I know that when my boys are over there, they won't be getting junk that is not allowed in our home as well!
I hope they sleep in tomorrow morning!
So, what did we do with no boys for the night? Went to bed early! Some partyers we are. LOL. We were so tired, we just went to bed and got to sleep in this morning!
Today at church our children's director (she's not a pastor) was talking about servants and before she got into her message, she had me and my friend Tracie come up to the front. She said that we don't have to help in the back, but we're faithful every week to help out with kidz church. We're doing what God has called us to do. And then she presented both of us with a beautiful frame that says "Serving the Lord" with a picture of all my kids in kidz church. It had us teary eyed. It was so sweet and so unexpected! It's definitely something I'll treasure forever!
So, I think that's all for what has been going on for the last few days.
But before I go, I want to leave you with one important announcement...
I'll be the big 3-0 on Friday! Woo-hoo!!!
Building Our Dream Home
My dream some day is to build my own home out in the country. I love the look and feel of a log home. Something about it just screams “country” to me.
When we get to the point where we’re ready to seriously start building, I’ll be checking out this website to help guide us on this adventure. It will answer any question I have about building a log home/cabin and tell me how the planning and financing of a log home differes from buying a traditional stick-built home. It will even help me save money.
After all, when Steve comes home with a deer head, he’s going to need a wall to put it on.
I forgot to mention
20 September 2006
I'm experiencing something brand new with Eliana!
Both the boys went through "separation anxiety", even refusing to go to people they knew, but never at bed time with them.
Well, when I put Eliana to bed last night, she grabbed my neck and used her feet to climb back up. I felt so bad putting her down. She was crying and obviously didn't want to be in there without me. I laid her down, covered her up and she only cried for a mintue, but still, I hate when she cries!
With the boys, they nursed to sleep every night. With her, she nurses and then I lay her down (awake) and normally she does not cry.
I hope this part of the "separation anxiety" doesn't last long.
Payperpost.com
As you can probably tell from the massive amount of posts that I did last night, that I am trying something new.
I'm wanting to start up a business, eventually (we're talking very primitive stages here). Of course, there's a lot of money that goes into getting one started and I figured this could only help me get started. After all, who couldn't use more money?
You too can join in and make some money. It's very simple and if you're already blogging, why not give it a try?! First step is to go to
payperpost.com. It will want some info from you, wait for your blog to get approved and then start picking what you want to write about. It's really that simple!
And if you sign up, use me as a reference (
blessedby3qtz@gmail.com)!
Talker!
My daughter constantly makes us laugh. Last night was no exception. We skipped bedtime last night and stayed up playing Skip-Bo while waiting for daddy to get home. We got done right as Steve pulled in--good timing! The boys got to show daddy what they got during the day and then he was able to put them to bed.
After the boys were successfully in bed, Eliana found a balloon and was crawling around the floor "talking" into the balloon. Steve has done that to her one time, a couple months ago. But, here she was, crawling around, chasing after the balloon and talking into it. She was in her own little world.
And then, she came to me, was standing holding onto my leg and then just let go and took 2 steps! I have yet to get her taking steps on film, but as soon as I do, I'll share.
She also was sitting on the floor, looking at Steve and "talking". They held a conversation, not really understandable, except on Steve's end. The boys babbled and made all kinds of sounds and stuff, but she is actually trying to talk. She is already saying a couple things that I didn't think I'd hear out of my 9 month old's mouth.
So, for my friends with girls, is this normal?
I guess I should have expected this since my boys talk to her constantly, even when I want quiet. I have asked them to be quiet, they keep talking so I ask what part of be quiet do you not understand and Steve will say "the q, u, i, e, and t". One day, Chrsitian will be saying that to me!
(Meghan, I can't wait to see Avery & Ellie together! I know Avery has to be talking like her momma (LOL), so it will be interesting to see how 2, one and half year olds talk!)
Shoes for the Whole Family
19 September 2006
With the cooling of the weather comes the time when we must set aside our flip-flops, sandals or desire to go bare-footed and put on the shoes.We have many different shoe needs in my family. My husband has to have special types of shoes with inserts because of the problems he has with his feet. I just don’t like to wear them. If I had a choice, I’d go bare footed all the time. The boys are rough on their shoes, so I need to buy good pairs that aren’t ridiculously expensive; after all, they are young boys and they’re still growing quite a bit. And there’s my daughter, who doesn’t have a need for shoes just yet. She’s taking her first steps, so soon, I’ll be in the market for a good pair of supportive shoes for her.
What better place to shop for all our shoe needs than at a one stop store with a huge inventory that promotes the most reputable stores. With free shipping and free returns, no sales tax to most states, plus many other great advantages, this store is definitely worth checking out!
I know we will be!
Sad
My friend told me about a little girl dying from neurblastoma. Ever since, I've been hooked on
her page. My heart just breaks for this family. Check her out and even if you don't post anything to Angela and Shayne, I know they would covet your prayers!
Picture This For Fun
As my friends and family know, I love taking pictures. But I don’t like settling for just taking pictures, I like doing fun and different things to them. Not everyone can you use Photoshop, but now there’s no need.
Would you like to do something different with your pictures? Why not try out
Pixifun?
Pixifun Photo Kits, With this site, you can choose from many different items. You can make a photo key ring
, photo magnets
, photo sticker album
, photo ID badge, or a CD label.
These kits are as easy as 1, 2, 3. You just import your favorite picture, print them out, and place the printed pieces into whichever project you’re working on. The software, pre-cut photo inlays, and an alignment guide with test sheets for easy printing are all included. These kits are so easy and fun to do that it would make a perfect rainy day project to do with the kids.
And what is even more remarkable about all this…it only cost $4.99 with FREE shipping! You can’t go wrong!
And right now, there is a limited time buy any 4 kits, get 1 free offer that also includes FREE shipping.
With the holidays fast approaching, you can complete these kits and give them as gifts, or you can give the whole kit as a stocking stuffer.
We like to make our own gifts for family, so this just might be something that the boys will enjoy doing!
Phone
I got my new phone today! And although it's not that much different than the other one I had, I have to learn a new phone all over again. I really don't like getting new phones. I wanted to spend some time making bows, but I haven't had a chance.
I know Steve will want to play with it when he gets home from school.
Boys and their toys, even when the "toys" aren't theirs. Maybe I should just let him learn all about it and then tell me what I need to know.
Trick or Treat
We were at Wal-mart today getting a few things for Zachary's birthday "party" for Rainbows tomorrow and everywhere I turned, there were halloween decorations. Now, halloween is not my favorite time, however it happens to be during my favorite season.
I love decorating my house with the different seasons, unfortunately I don't have a lot of fall/autumn decorations anymore. But, searching the web, there's an online store called onlinediscountmart.com that can meet all our needs this season.
Although I won't be rushing to buy the halloween decorations, I do plan on spending some time in the fall "aisle".
Family Update
18 September 2006
Christian is doing great in school. His reading is improving every day. It's still a battle to get him to read because he'd rather be doing math and history. So, I do the stuff he doesn't want to do first, so that it's out of the way. His attitude is changing about it too, so I'm sure that helps. His hand writing is wonderful. Steve tells me that Christian has nicer handwriting (cursive) than a lot of the boys in Steve's ranger class (3rd-5th grade). Makes me proud! He's spending the night with some friends on Friday night. This is the first time he'll actually be spending the night at one of his friends house. He's looking forward to it. He'll also get to go to a football game as well.
And because of the football game, Zachary now does not want to spend the night with me on Friday. But, he's staying with me. He'll get to have a good time and I hope he'll forget the fact that he's not watching football. Zachary is going to be 4 on Thursday, but because Steve is in class on Thursday nights, we're going to celebrate it probably on Saturday. I'll do something special just us during the day, but we're going to do something as a family when we can all be together. He's going back and forth between 2 different ideas, so at this time, I don't know for sure what he wants to do. I'm also going to make him something to share with his Rainbow class on Wednesday night. Knowing him, he'll be very embarassed. He's starting to show a lot more interest in writing and being a part of school. Yesterday afternoon he was playing with alphabet cards/puzzle and he brought some of them to me and I asked him what the letters were, he was able to tell me some of them! I was so excited. I love seeing stuff "click" with them.
Eliana continues to grow, despite my protests and my talks with her. She's becoming more confident on her feet and now when she's cruising, she's letting go of whatever it is she's cruising along and taking a step or two by herself. Her vocabulary now consists of mama, dada, bubba, cat, dog, meow (her version), uh-oh (one of her personal favorites) and the many "signs" that she has mastered. I'm so glad the boys love signing with her; makes it much easier for her to pick up on them. She has 4 teeth now (the 4th one came in this morning) and is handling it very well! The close up of her is one of her favorite faces to make and one that invokes a great deal of laughter from all of us, no matter how often she does it.
As for me, well to say that I have a lot going on is an understatement. Some things I'm not going to share, but others well, not that you'll care, but here it is. This Friday is the Missionettes sleepover and it's a nation wide (big deal) thing. So, I've got decorating to do, goody bags, crafts, games, devotions, dinner, breakfast and snacks, awards, advertising. Add that to bow making, homeschooling, homeschooling co-ops, paying attention to my children, cleaning the house...oh sheesh, the list goes on. No need for all of us to have a headache! I do however need to get as much done as I can by Thursday night because come 9pm, the children WILL be in bed and I will be laying back on my bed for the season opener of my show. I survived the summer without it, but I'm ready for my Thursday "date" night with my tv!!
Steve figured out how much time he spends on the road (Monday through Friday)..12 hours. It's even more depressing how many hours I see and even more depressing than that is how many hours the children see him. No need to share the depressing number, but I can tell you that when he puts the boys to bed on Sunday night, if I didn't take them out to meet him at our rendezvous point, they wouldn't see him until Wednesday evening, for a short few minutes before we're walking out the door to go to church. It's the sacrifices we have to make to do what God has told us to do and He never promised us that it would be easy, but it sure does SUCK!!! He went hunting with our pastor on Friday and although he saw a couple doe, heard a deer under his tree stand (sounded like a big one) and almost got attacked by a squirrel (like 8 inches away...Jen, you're the squirrel expert, do they "protect" their trees?) he did not catch a deer. They are making plans to go out again, when it's actually cooler and the deer move a bit more.
That's all folks.
Tune in next time when you get to find out if I survived the night with 30-40 girls!
9-11
11 September 2006
All about the Princess
08 September 2006
So, the day got better. After lunch, everything seemed to mellow out. I'm sure a lot of my problem is the fact I'm still so tired from my weekend in Oklahoma and the major lack of sleep that has been going on for the last week!
After lunch, the boys and I took apart their bunk bed. It was much easier to take down then it was for Steve, Josh and I to make it a few years ago. Tomorrow, the new bed will takes its place in its new room. Also, this is the beginning of "Operation Camouflage". No details now, but pictures will be uploaded during the process.
And today, Eliana took another step to me, but this time with much more confidence then the first time she did (or the few other times she's taken them with Steve). I must admit that I still would love to keep my baby a baby, but I was excited to see this change in her.
This picture is of her standing in the middle of the living room floor. She loves being on her feet! A few other pictures have been uploaded on flickr. One of them has a really good shot of her first tooth and the 2nd one that has just broken through! Hopefully this time it will stay out instead of the gums swelling back over it like last time.
Also, her word of the day...UH-OH. SOOOOOO stinking cute!
One of those days
Have you ever had "one of those days"? The kind where you either want to strangle everyone that talks you or you have to get away from civilization for your the sake of your sanity.
Well, I am and both of those apply to me.
Maybe the hummingbird sitting outside my window will help me.
Nope it didn't work. But if I was by myself, sitting outside, it would.
Flickr
07 September 2006
Alright, I opened a flickr account and until I can figure out how to add flickr to my page, I'll just have to add the link and you can mosy on over to flickr and check out the rest of the pics. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rfamily/236801960/
Birthday's galore
06 September 2006
We spent the weekend at my parents house. My nephew turned 1 on Saturday so we went to celebrate with him. I took (literally) hundreds of pictures. I'm working on making him a book. While I was there, my sister asked me to scan and make copies of her pictures and now I get to photoshop her wedding pictures!!
Steve's birthday was yesterday and since he had to work and go to school, I threw him a surprise party on Monday. What I would do without Sheila, I hate to think of that!!! The party was over at Chris and Sheila's and they were awesome! I really should say that she threw the party. I just bought the food and picked up the all chocolate ice-cream cake (YUMMY!). She did everything else. Steve had no clue about any of it. He just thought he was going to hang out with Chris for a while since he was getting ready to be consumed with school and won't have much time for socializing.
Zachary's birthday is up next and he'll be 4. 2 days later is my brother's birthday and then 6 days later I'll be the big 3-oh!!! It'll be a nice quiet evening at home since Steve will not have school that night. Hopefully he wont' have much homework either.
I have pictures to share, but not the time to upload them. I might just have to jump on the bandwagon and get a flickr account.
