Sickness...

is making it's way around our house and I am the last to catch it - of course! The boys have all had a cough,runny nose,sore throat,fever and my hubby was the biggest baby of them all with his sad eyes and runny nose - it was hard not to feel sorry for him!!! I am now having all the goodness of the sick plus this horrible headache that keeps coming back - I feel so sorry for people who suffer with migraines I dont know how they function! I had to go lay down today becasue my head hurt so bad!

Maybe it is because the Pickle People were here........

i handed the boys some glass chalk and this is what they did to my kitchen windows! They also did it to the patio doors but I forgot to take a picture of those! This was done to keep the Pickle People from seeing us.....NO idea who the Pickle People(prettyc ertain they are from a cartoon on pbs) are or why they would be watching us but the boys had fun and that is all that matters!!!!

I have been neglecting school,family house and all that stuff to paint these last couple of days and it has been fun! I do have to get back on track after I finish all the goodies for my sister but in the meantime I thought I would show off the signs I made for my sister - upon her request

I am also doing a couple of frames for her that I will be glad to show off when I finish those - in the next day or so!!

PreSchool

I was pestering a friend of mine to put together what she has been doing with her preschooler in a book and sell it to me and she in turn directed me to a site that was recently recomended to her http://www.abcjesuslovesme.com/ So I checked it out. It looks so doable and I love that it is simple and Biblical - I am so gonna do this with Thomas starting next week! I figure he follows me around everywhere I go I may as well take advantage and teach him something while he's back there!!! I am still gonna head over to http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/ and check out what she did and I am also going to use this one http://totallytots.blogspot.com/ which is awesome for the little ones!!! I am excited to do somehting special for Thomas - I am hoping it will get him into the swing of things a little better than I have done with the older 2 but I also think it will be fun to have some Thomas time!!

And the Winner Is.......

Michelle from http://lifewiththree.blogspot.com/ Congrats Michelle! I really hope you will enjoy it!! This was fun but it was hard to pick a winner! Here is what I did because I knew I would peek - I wrote down all the names, put them in a bowl and each boy picked a name. We then put those names in the bowl and Thomas picked the winning name! He carried the name around for a couple hours - he was quite proud of himself!!!
For those of you that didn't win - I would be thrilled to make you a canvas for $20 plus S&H! Any excuse to paint works for me!!!
Thanks to all of you for such nice comments about my work! Those meant a lot to me!

I HATE WINTER....

I have been doing nonstop laundry - thanks to winter and all the layers we must wear!
I have dried a gazillion gloves,hats,and coats to go back outside in the cold,wet snow!
My skin is about to fall off from me itching it all the time and the spots I can't reach..aaarrrggghh!!!
It takes at least - at LEAST - 15 minutes to get 1 child ready to go outside! Times that by 3!!
For them to be outside for all of 10 minutes and come back in becasue it is cold - no duh it is cold!
FREEZING cold Toilet Seats because the heat is turned down so low!!!
Flu,runny nose,coughing,sore throat,fever and Lysol!
I have absolutely,positively no Love for cold weather! I would much rather be in flip flops and tshirts ALL the time!!
Every year I forget - just for a brief moment - what it is like come january and we still have 2 more months of being inside to go!!! I just want to be outside and play - in my flip flops and tshirt!
Calgon - Take Me Away!!!!!

Table Manners Canvas Giveaway!

We have a great canvas hanging in our house that I painted, listing some of our key "manners" that should be observed during our mealtimes.

Should being the operative word.

The Table Rules are:

1. Say the blessing
2. Chew with your mouth closed
3. Say please and thanks
4. Take small bites
5. Don't play with your food
6. Have pleasant conversation
7. Keep your elbows off the table
   

I am giving away one handmade canvas of Table Manners to one of you lucky readers! The canvas is 16x20 in size. To enter your name in the drawing, just leave a comment below - and please be sure that there is a way to contact you. If I can't figure out who you are or how to get ahold of you, I will draw another name. The giveaway is open until Friday night at 8pm (US residents only, please).

This giveaway is part of the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival being hosted over at Bloggy Giveaways. Be sure to visit the carnival headquarters so you can check out the tons and tons of great giveaways going on this week. Just click the graphic below!

Horton hears a Who....

we bought this game yesterday at Target (clearance of course - $5) and it is so stinkin fun! you hide 6 clovers around the room and if you land on a clover on your turn you have 1 minute to find it - everyone hides them together so you all know where they are. first you must put on the Horton mask which has a long nose with velcro attached to the end to pick up the clover with! the hat hurts us big folk becasue it is ridiculously hard plastic but it is so much fun! definately for the younger crowd but fun torture for the older kids since the younger ones always have to play their games!!!

SNOW DAY.........

yes - this is how Alex broke his collar bone the First time but he claims it is different because he was standing up when that happened!!!

loving a good deal...

i was in dollar tree today and found these really super cute and super adorable bible figurines. my friend had mentioned the nativity at christmas from tales of glory and i looked at it at the store but never bought it and then it was gone so i was thrilled to see these little play things of david,goliath,noah,moses,mary and jesus at the dollar tree!! they are also by this company called tales of glory. i highly recommend running to your local dollar tree to see if they have them!

i am consumed by painting ideas and projects and it is keeping me awake!!! i havent had this desire so strong in awhile - not since i started homeschooling - and it is seriously keeping me awake and waking me up at night! all these ideas i have come across since blogging have gotten my creative whatnot flowing and i am having a love/hate relationship with it all!!! I do so love to paint and be creative but i do have so much trouble stopping once i start! my hubby is off for 3 straight days and of course i am working but i am also plotting in my head all the painting/projects I can get done and new things I can try my hand at!!!!
I did this for a friend last year.

maybe this is why i shouldnt paint when the kids are awake??? he talked to me the entire time and i mean the entire time i was painting...about 2 hours

we got a lizard today! Fabulous!! can you hear the sarcasm??? this lovely new pet has already cost double the amount the boys thought it was going to cost and now I am all stressed out that the thing is not warm enough because our bulb in the lamp that we can get over his cage is only 20W not 50 or 75W!!!! this will be remedied tomorrow but until then i keep checking him - stupid - I know!!

we are so praying for snow tomorrow! the boys got all hyped up when they saw snow today for all of about 20 minutes and it didnt stick and they were so deflated!

please notice the LACK of snow on the ground last week when it did snow but also notice that it didnt stop my children from sledding! when they went out it was snowing good but it stopped and this is what we were left with! they had a blast!!

notice shiloh in the background.....she loved the snow! alex would throw snowballs at her, she would chase them and eat them and come running back for more!

for Thomas it is all about eating the snow. he ate snow the whole way down every time he sled!

then.....we went to our friends house who had a frozen pond in their backyard - that was so much more fun!! mommy was a little scraed of all the cracking and popping noises the ice kept making but nobody went in so all was well!
stephen actually tried ice skating but quickly went back to boots!

to me this looked like it was the most fun! can you see their faces????

and away they go....to do Boy stuff........way too cute!

the yellow ones....

today as I was headed out to get milk Thomas put in a request for cheerios. I reminded him that we already have cheerios, he looked at me a little funny for a couple seconds and then said 'mommy get the yellow ones'! apparently the 3 year old has figured out the difference between brand name and generic cheerios and the generic ones are no longer satisfactory to his tastes!!

Picture Update....

I have been getting caught up on rearranging things and reorganizing my project room as well as working and homeschooling so I have done a lot more reading of blogs than posting this week!! I do so enjoy to read other peoples blogs but I do get caught up in it! I love knowing that I am not alone in my craziness!!!

I love this time of year because I get to revamp everything and reorganize! I love putting away the christmas decorations so I can reorganize them - OCD!!! My hubby is off this weekend and so am I so I am going to enlist his help for some furniture rearranging and whatnot - especially in my bedroom so we can paint next weekend!! I am so excited to have a bedroom that will look somewhat like a bedroom instead of a catch all for everything that doesnt have a place!

I made this for my sister while she was here. She is going to put it in her bedroom! i think i will definately have to make one for myself once my room redo is all done!

this is the tail end of the rainbow the boys saw the other day - they got so excited to see a rainbow! it was a full rainbow out the back door - beautiful and bright! i love the reminder that rainbows bring of Gods promises and that he will fulfill those promises! such a neat reminder of the truly amazing in the middle of a dreary, rainy day!

So - heres the story.......i bought this gingerbread house on 90% clearance at Target - i think I paid .99 for the thing - for Next Year. It has been sitting in the kitchen waiting to go in a box under the house and the boys started pestering me to make it - so I caved(as usual)! I got home late from work and they had seemed to forget about making it until it was almost time for bed and so I figured we had 30 minutes to kill - why not? I helped them get started with the frame of the house and the icing until......it was time for the season premiere of 24!! I took off up the stairs and left the boys to finish on their own - HA!HA! After they were in bed and 24 was over - 2 hours later - this is what I came downstairs to!! I just started laughing!! I am still not sure if it fell or if the boys just said to heck with it - all we really wanted was to eat the candy so lets just eat the candy! On a side note - I LOVE the TV show 24!!! Not at all appropriate for the little ones but I do enjoy it and so does Alex!

Stephen took this lovely picture of his mother - ain't she something??? I do feel sorry for my husband becasue truly I do look like this more than I look the way I do when I go to work! I was getting stuff together for the yard sale at alex's school and headed out to load the van in my pj's, my big fuzzy snow boots and my favorite hat! I spent the majority of the day in this get-up!!

Did I tell you about the proudest moment of our christmas break?? alex killed a squirrel with his brand new BB Gun. He skinned it, cleaned it, cooked it and ate it! I was mortified and it was very hard for me to be proud but I tried!! He was so excited and proud of himself! Ben thought it was awesome and couldnt wait to try it when alex cooked it - no I didn't try any. I just couldnt do it! I know - Horrible mother!

I wanted to show you some pics from alex's 2 basketball games this week but I realized they are still on the camera and I want to go to bed so I will save those for later! They one 1 and lost 1!

Getting lost in Blog World....

is one of my favorite things to do! I have gotten on so many times to post some of these crazy thoughts that are just circling in my head and I get lost in all the blogs I am following that have posted - especially the crafty ones! I have found so many projects I want to try that I may have to send my kids back to school so I can play - just kidding!!! I will tell you that come Christmas next year every single person that I have ever come in contact with will be getting a gift if I actually play around with all these ideas that are consuming my thoughts!!!

For those of you that live near me you need to head over to my place of employment - family christian store - and check out some of the clearance stuff that I have been putting out!! If you like clearance stuff, that is! It is just a bunch of random items so I can't be specific about aht exactly is on clearance but the prices are out of this world! Almost everything is 75% off and some of the things are 90% off (but marked 75%)!! I did hit the jackpot - as can you - on frames. They are little frames(perfect for frig frames and ornaments) about 2x2 and 2x3 and they are only .50 cents! I have filled an entire box with the ones I want and there are still a ton left over!!! This is the clearance junkie in me coming out - I can't wait to get to work tomorrow to finish opening the boxes and see what else there is on clearance! It is like christmas but you have to pay for it!!!

Another random thought - I love our church! We just recently(this summer) made a decision to leave the church we had been attending since we moved here. It was a hard decision becasue we love the people we met, the teaching and the fellowship at the old church butw e really were feeling a spiritul pull to explore other options. The new church is one we have visited many times over the years we have been here but we had never felt the pull to leave the old church until recently and when we did the new church was the first place we went and we never visited another one! I am amazed at the growth in myself, my husband and the kids since we have been there. I have missed a few weeks - not in a row - but we did miss 2 in a row and boy did I feel the difference in our house. Is it possible that church can have that affect on our lives - yes! yes! yes! The people have been so accepting,open,loving,caring and generous with us and the preaching is beyond amazing! It is even more incredible to see the fruit of the preaching lived out in the lives of the congregation!

I am supposed to be going to bed earlier so that I am a better mommy,wife and person to be around - Good Night!!!

We have been kicked out of Boot Camp.......

We didn't even last 2 days on this hard core boot camp foolishness!! Of course - it is my fault not theirs but..... here is what has happened -
I tried to get myself organzied (i do so love charts,graphs and all that foolishness but i never - ever follow them after I spend hours putting them together) by making new house rules, trying to make sure we stay on track with school, focusing on the character aspect of the boys behavior - in other words staying on top of the rules and discipline, and actually staying at home! Those were the biggest goals of this boot camp for me and the boys!
Monday we got off to a good start - school was long and painful becasue we have been off for so long but I am hoping it was for all of you too -it makes me feel better deep down inside to think that! We did chores which have also fallen to the wayside and mommy was somewhat on top of the boys behavior.
Tuesday - I ended up working all day long and didnt get home until they were all in bed so I had basically no contact with my children all day so whatever went wrong on Tuesday was not my fault!
Today - I didn't get up till almost 930 ( my husband is home on weds mornings and is a sweetheart to let me sleep in) becasue I was up so late last night due to not being able to sleep after working all day. The boys all climbed into our bed for about a half hour (aaahhhh!!!) and I decided to get up to take a shower. In the 15 minutes between the decision and the actual getting in the shower I put both Ben and Stephen to work reading to themselves and had already gotten the bright idea that we would go to the thrift stores to look for skis for the little boys before we went to the Children's Museum for a little bit in the afternoon! This is where I get into trouble all the time - this is how it always starts for me! I decided we would do the rest of school - bible and history and whatnot tonight since daddy works late anyways and we would head out after I got dressed and ready to go. I gave Ben and Stephen this great math game thing we have to practice their addition tables for a few minutes, got dressed and we were out the door until almost 445 tonight! Do you think we did school tonight - NO! We came home watched a movie, ate and went to bed!
We will try to stay on track tomorrow but I am up late again talking to you so that means I will put them infront of PBS to get a few more minutes of sleep in the am!!!

Getting Old or Just too Fat.....

I ended up working from 930-930 today and I am in pain! My feet hurt,my knees ache, my legs are so very tired from standing all day and I can't figure out if it is because I am getting old or if I am just too fat and really need to lose some weight! I am pretty sure it is both! I have no desire to diet and exercise so fixing that issue is gonna take some time and the whole age issue just sucks! I need sleep.......night!night!

Christmas Break is OVER.....

and it ended with a Bang! Today was a great day for us - we are borrowing an idea from another blog I have checked out - Our Peculiar Life and we are doing some serious get back to the basics around here for the next week! She calls it Boot Camp! This as much - if not more - for Mommy as it is for the boys but we have all been getting away with too much foolishness since mommy went back to work and it just has to stop! It is so hard to be consistent but I am committed to working it out and if that means we spend a lot of time at home then that is what we will do to get ourselves straightened out! I have to admit we do leave the house a lot for stupid things - just to get out since it is winter - which in turn ends up in spending money we don't have and it all just ends in a tailspin of ugliness but I am committed to keeping my behind at home and finding more things to do around here to occupy our time! Now - this may mean I start moving furniture around again and possibly even paint a wall or two again but so be it!

Last night my husband said to me - maybe we don't even need TV(meaning cable). I am dancing a Jig right now for all of you that can't see me!!! The Lord has slowly been working on us in regards to our tv watching and we are finally on the same page - I have been way ahead of my hubby for awhile now - and I am sooo excited!!! I can't wait to get rid of it! I have become convicted that TV is rotten and there is no need for it in our house. If we only have movies and what we choose available to the boys then they won't watch the crap they have been watching! I could go on and on but I won't - I just wanted to share my Joy in this new development around here!!!

Alex and Danny are behind me playing Wii golf and they have been having the best time! Of course - they have been at it for over 2 hours and that part of it makes me crazy but what great bonding time for the two of them! Here is the downside - Alex just showed danny how to play golf with just your wrist so the two of them aren't even getting up to play they are just sitting there......what is that??? Didnt we get the Wii becasue it is supposed to make them more active when they play video games ( not really but I am sure that I heard that somewhere)! We are sooooo getting the outdoor challenge for Ben for his birthday - I can't wait to go log rolling!!!

We were talking about getting a laptop tonight and we started joking about eating spaghetti for a couple months so we could save for a laptop and now Alex won't stop talking about it!!! He is all excited about us getting a laptop because he wants to put this computer in his room - no internet of course! I am going to start researching what we should get because we don't want to spend too much but we don't want to have to replace it in a year either! Any suggestions from any of you???

I am working all day tomorrow after hitting Target first thing for the 90% off christmas stuff!!!and some groceries!

My Sister was here....

to visit us for a couple days! It was unexpected and so much fun! Her and her 2 boys drove here Thursday and the boys have all had so much fun playing together! We didn't do anything but visit and play and it was fun! The cousins really enjoy playing togetehr and get along real well which makes it a lot of fun to be together with them! Aunt Robin brought fireworks left over from their New Years Eve celebration and the boys thought that was awesome! They had to get all bundled up becasue it was so cold outside but they didn't care!

OOOOHHHHH!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!

Today we went to the bottom of the ski slopes so they could play with snow for a little bit! Of course it turned into a snowball fight with tears and all!!

Tomorrow will be spent gearing up to go back to school since Christmas Break is officially over come Monday morning!!! I am excited to get back into the swing of things and settle down to try to establish some more routine around here - it has gotten out of control!!!

I went to a Party tonight...

and it was so much Fun! I haven't been to a Party in such a long, long time and I forgot how fun it is to hang out with other people,play games and have a beer (or 2)!! Okay - maybe I didn't forget how fun it is but I just haven't had any desire to drag my children to someone else's house,cater to their every need while trying to talk and hang out with the adults, deal with their temper tantrums or whining while trying to talk and hang out with the adults all the while secretly wishing I was at home because if I was the kids would be in Bed and I could do whatever I wanted to without their continuous interuptions!! I do so love my children but bedtime is sacred time for mommy in our house!!!
So - it was really fun to go to a party,play games and chat while the kids played and did their thing and only interrupted a few times and when they did - it was okay - I actually even enjoyed it! It is amazing to me year after year all the small things that get easier or better as the kids get older!!
Happy New Year!! Talk to you in 2009 - oh wait it is 2009 becasue as usual here I am at 230 am writing in my blog!!! We are anxiously awaiting all the amazing things God has in store for us this year!!

It's Over...

Can you believe Christmas is already over? It went way too fast and there was just something not right about it for me this year. I love Christmas - it is my favorite time of the year but it didnt have the same feeling of warm and cozy this year as it has in the past and I really think it is because I was working in a retail store! I haven't worked in at least 6 years and I was and still am shocked at how rude,rushed and annoyed people are at christmas time! Being at home I haven't had to deal with the rush of people during this season and so it has been a much nicer time to spend with family and much more peaceful but working retail it is the busiest time of year and so we worked until 630 on christmas eve and were right back at work the day after christmas - what fun is that??? My husband works retail but we have gotten used to his schedule and we just work around him but I was thrown for a loop myself this year and didn't like it!I am looking forward to a full on christmas next year - with all the tacky lights I can get in the yard(i did miss doing that this year but the electricity bill didn't) and lots and lots of family time!!!

My mom got me a sewing machine and I am soooo excited to sew things!! I have never sewed before - well maybe in home ec in high school - and I decided i wanted to learn how so my mom jumped on board (she is a big sewer) and hooked me up! I have practiced a little and I already have grand ideas running through my head and can't wait to take a trip to JoAnn's - it is an hour away and the local wally world material section just isnt cutting it - so I have to move in slow motion with the whole sewing thing and it is killing me!!! I want to do projects - I do so love projects!!! I am pretty sure we will have all new curtains by february but i am stuck after that about what to sew - any ideas???? not clothes!!!

The boys got a Wii - finally!

even grandma had fun with the Wii - a little golf!!!

I am looking forward to the slowing down of things and being able to try to get back on track with school and schedules. It has gotten crazy around here and I need some order to be reestablished - of course it is my fault there is no order I do struggle with staying on a schedule and routine even though we desperately need it!! Maybe that should be my New Years Resolution????
This was the sunset Christmas Day - isn't God good!!

Life...

I don't know what I want to say - I just know I want to say something!!! My Mom and Dad got here today and I was so excited all day at work to get home and give my mom a hug! We haven't seen them since May and I didn't realize how much I missed them until I knew they were on their way! It is so nice to have "Mommy" around - is this how my kids feel all the time when I am around???

I want to show off some of the things I worked on recently for my house and for christmas - is that okay???

I saw something like this in a magazine about a year ago and I have been holding onto the picture so I could make one for myself and I finally did.....I also made one for my sister!!

I see things that I like and I immediately think - I could do that - so I embark on a mission to do it or I save it for another time but mostly I immediately start trying to do it myself! This is where I get into trouble becasue I get consumed with a project and ignore everything else!! The Lord is helping me to stop this 'project obsession' but it is a slow process and in the meantime I am still getting more ideas added to my list!!

This is another one that I saw in Michael's one day so I bought the letters and paper to do it and this is how it turned out......

each letter has one of our names on it!

These are a couple things I did for christmas....

I made these stick people ornaments for a couple friends and all my sisters in laws and my sister - of their own kids not mine! I love the stick people and think they turned out kindof cute for my first try making them! After I painted the blocks I put a screw hook in the top and tied some ribbon to them to make them into ornaments.

A friend of mine from church asked me to make these for her nieces and nephews for christmas. The ball has the swirly paint inside with the kids name on the outside and a bunch of ribbon on top. I liked the way they turned out - I wasn't sure when I started but I do like the finished ball! I don't think it is something I will do again though - it was kindof a pain to swirl around the paint and wait for it to dry, then redo it again!

I have a few more ideas I have gotten from some blogs that Iw ill share with you as soon as I get them worked on!!! Right now I am going to enjoy my time with my mom and dad. My mom and I will be starting to work on the quilt we are making for my bed - another project!!!

Ready for Christmas

Every year I say I am going to start on all these gifty things earlier and every year I DON"T!!! I have one last gift to make and it is so NOT what I want to do but I just can't bring myself to buy a gift when I make such nice ones and they seem to be appreciated by most! I have learned to not cry anymore when I see something I painted in the local thrift store!! So - here it is 12:37, I got home from work an hour ago and now I am off to work on gifts and the christmas cards I still haven't sent out yet!! Being crafty SUCKS right now!!!

After I check out the sale stuff at Ikea!!! I drove there the other day - about 2 hours - and found some stuff I really want for my bedroom! Which has gotten my brain going on how to redo my room! We have lived here almost 4 years and our room is still the horrible off white it was painted when we moved in and is a hodge podge of furniture and kid stuff! My mom and I are in the process of making a quilt for my bed - lots of reds,oranges and pinks - which is the starting point for everything. I love bright colors but I am learning to tone it down and use the bright colors in smaller areas so the rest of the room will be simpler but the quilt will be bright! I am sooo excited to have a cozy room for me and my hubby! The bed i found is black as well as a black dresser and a red bench with drawers for the foot of the bed! This will all happen slowly and will take awhile but I will be dreaming of its finish.......

Bloody Nose....

Stephen conked me in the house last night and gave me a bloody nose! I was on my way out the door to a "girls night out" and he jumped up to give me a kiss and I bent down - Smash went my nose! This is by no means the first time this has happened in my house but it definately was the worst!I immediately started crying and he felt soo bad - the look on his face made me want to cry even more but I was in so much pain I could barely say anything to comfort him! I spent the rest of my "girls night" with a horrible headache and an ice pack on my nose - that is no way to watch Mama Mia!!! I barely evn got to drink any wine I was so miserable! My nose still hurts - can you believe that???

Goings On at Our House...

We have been super busy this season...

Another decoration I wanted to share. We have bookshelves in our kitchen that I decorated with frames I have painted and a yearly picture of our family each christmas! We have all walked over to those pics more than once,looked and said....that was me??? Last year is missing(I am working on that) and I will add this year after my parents get here and take a family photo of us!!

School - what is that? asks the Homeschool Mom in this house! We have been doing a lot of Life Learning since I started working with some Math and LA thrown in every once in a while for good measure! After all the chaos of Christmas I won't be working so many hours and our lives can calm down for a week or two until the next thing comes along and hopefully we can get back on track. The boys will be very upset with Mommy when they are doing all this catch up work!!!

Advent....I shared with you the wonderful calendar thing I put together and all my ideas that I put together from a variety of sources and now we are doing NONE of it!! We found this great book called Jotham's Journey that has everything in it!! You read the story - which has Jotham traveling to find his parents - and after each story is scripture and a blurb to read for advent. It is awesome and the boys love it!!! It has all the scriptures in it that relate to the story but it doesn't have some of the fun games and activities I had found so I am still gonna figure out a way to include those into our advent celebration or as part of school! There are also two other books that they are rereleasing that we will snatch up as soon as they come out so we will have 3 books to switch off for each year! I have heard so many people tell me what great books they are and how much their kids have loved them!

Christmas Parade....

Alex's school had a float in our local city parade and the boys couldn't wait to go watch!!! Of course that had a lot to with all the candy they were sure they would get - they did!! Mommy helped a little bit with the float but not as much as she would have liked to because of work!

They were actually in 2 parades - one at night and one during the day. These pics are from the one in the day so you miss out on all the beautiful white lights that were all over the float!! It was awesome and got lots of compliments!!

The Middle School kids walked alongside the float and carried signs that told what programs are offered at the school.

The parade watchers.....

Our Church did a Christmas Play that the younger boys would have Nothing to do with! They went to about 2 or 3 practices and then they were done with that foolishness! Alex did participate as a Stage Hand - he loved that! Can you see him in his hiding spot during the performance.......

There he is..........

He popped out every once in a while to supply props and move stuff around!!

Now it is time to get our Christmas Letter written and get the cards in the mail!!

Great Movie

I have been really sick today so I wasn't able to do all the things we had planned for today but I did have some quiet tonight while all the boys were at our Home Group Christmas party so I rented a movie. Saving Sarah Cain is the name of it and I loved it! It was soo good - I am still crying over the ending - happy of course! What a good chick flick but you do need to watch it and do nothing else while you are watching!! Just wanted to share!

The Tree is Up...

We actually put the tree up before thanksgiving but we didnt get to decorate it until last week!
Thought you might enjoy a looksie.....



It was Ben's turn to put on the star this year....
Grandma made these Huge stockings when mommy and daddy were first married and there was only 1 kid but once we had 3 more Santa said no way am I filling those things anymore!!! So now the boys have found a new use for them!! Getting out the Christmas stuff is so much fun!

This is one of the Christmas presents I made for my sister......

VOTE FOR ME.....

Over at Tip Junkie I was passing along an idea I had done a few years ago and she entered it into her Christmas Card contest so....I need all of you to go over to her site and vote for my I Spy card!! I must admit I am feeling pretty proud that she wanted to put my card in her contest - Fun!!! You can vote on the left hand side bar - go now - the voting has started!!!
While there make sure you check out all the goodies on her site - it is amazing!!!

To Gift or not to Gift...

I just love to be crafty! I want to make things for everyone I know or for anyone I can think of that might need a handmade gift! I know - adding to my level of stress but it is just somehting I really enjoy doing! I had thought I would go dull this year and get some $5 items from my work but I found some blogs with some great ideas and I just couldn't bring myself to BUY a gift!! I can't wait to show you guys what I come up with but in the meantime - check out these blogs to see where i got my ideas!! we are That family I am all over the frame idea with a twist of my own - of course!!! I am very good at using others ideas and expanding on them but I am not good at coming up with my own ideas so I love these blog ladies who are crafty and love to share their ideas!!! This website is Fantastic - executive homemaker - i found some great fun ideas for gifts that are very inexpensive and easy and fun for the recipient - check it out!
i will share what i do when i finally have the time to sit down and do it! First I have to finish painting wine glasses for my sister, making nativity ornaments for the kids in the christmas play, making my christmas cards and then I want to start on the ideas I found tonight!!!! Amongst all that I have to Homeschool, go to work, clean the house(i cleaned our bathroom today and i think it had been at least a month - if not longer since the last time it was done - GROSS!) and hang out with my hubby and kiddos!! Itis a good thing I am a night owl or I would never get anything done!!! I do so love being crafty but boy is it time consuming!!!

I got an Award.....

Wow! How cool is that?? I forgot to mention it before because I was wallowing in my self pity! Thanks by the way for all the encouragement - it is so nice to know I am not alone in my struggles and that I can share and you all don't think I am crazy! God is good.....
Back to the award.....Read about it at Our Peculiar life
Even though it was a couple days ago - I still feel special!!

Why?????

Why do I continue to make the same mistakes over and over and over ???? Why does God continue to forgive me - guide me back to the right path and then off i go again on my own - into the wilderness??? There have been some big changes in this house - spiritually - and it has been and is going to be an amazing ride to follow this new path He is guiding us on. My husband is a new man and what an awesome man he is! You can see Jesus in his face, in his actions and reactions, in his words and in his life and it is truly incredible to see and experience - I can only imagine how my hubby feels on his side of these changes! But ME -I am still doing the same dumb things - not setting/following priorities, going off on project after project and ignoring the kids, the house and the relationship I have with my Lord Jesus Christ, feeling sorry for myself and wallowing in my pity party. Why can't I stay on track - maybe because I am not making my relationship with the Lord my priority - which is what I say to myself over and over but I still keep jumping off into my own little world and getting caught up in all the things I think I am supposed to be doing! I am not supposed to be doing anything extra(other than homeschooling and now work) this year but it is sooooo hard to not offer to help so I am in it up to my eyeballs - AGAIN!!! I am doing painting projects for my christmas presents, my sisters christmas presents, gifts for the kids in the church play. I have been working 20 plus hours each week. I did some signs and a few other things to help CCS with the float in the christmas parade - does that seem like nothing to you???
The Lord has been showing me that I need to be focused in on my family right now - this is the season we are in- and I am struggling with letting go of the other "stuff" that I think I am doing for the good but I am really doing it for myself - for the praise, the feeling of accomplishment and for the satisfaction of helping others plus the fact that i REALLY have trouble saying NO!
I am slowly getting on board with His plan and maybe one of these days I will ride the train all the way to the station but for now I am jumping off and on and struggling but I know I will get through it - with a lot of prayer and blogging!!!! I am rambling...it is late....gotta get some sleep....

Advent Calendars

I am frustrated with this whole idea of advent calendars! I have been doing a little research - reading a bunch of books I have stockpiled from thrift stores on the subject of advent and advent ideas,etc.. - and figured out how I wanted to do this whole advent thing and then it came time to make the necessary stuff! I am not a store bought kindof girl - my first thought is always "how can I make that at home?" So - I did more research online to get ideas for the wreath and the calendar and I was confused....It is my understanding that advent is started on the 4th sunday before christmas so you would have 4 sundays and the weeks following each sunday up until christmas day. so - why is every advent calendar a countdown to christmas with dates from 1-25 on it?? it is a countdown calendar not an advent calendar!! how are you supposed to figure in the sundays when the first sunday of advent is almost always in Nov and that date is not on your countdown calendar??? does my confusion make sense to anyone else??


so - this is what i did......and i am already unhappy with the calendar and am going to redo it so I am not going to put up a picture for you to see until i redo it!!! but here is the wreath....

I know that the traditional candles are purple and 1 pink so I bought those colors but when I read in one of my trusty books that someone else had used red I immediately threw away those candles and bought red ones to use! Red is my favorite color and I am not going for traditional anyways so i can adjust things to my liking and pick and choose what I want to use!!! I also read about some symbolisms for the different things in the wreath - the circle is a symbol of God's neverending love, the evergreens are a symbol of everlasting life, the holly symbolizes the crown of thorns and the berries symbolize the blood He shed for us - so that is how I put the wreath together - the pinecones are those cinnamon smelling ones and I just thought they added a nice touch and they smell really good!

Here is the plan I have put together for the 4 sundays and each of the days of the week. I have combined a bunch of ideas from different books I have. They all have some good ideas and some I didnt really care for so I pulled out the ideas I liked, tried to do the scriptures in order of how it happened and I am hoping that our first Advent will be a success!! We also will be reading a book called Jotham's Journey that has been recommended by a friend and all the other Christmas books I have stored away for this month!!!!

1st Sunday – Prophecy Candle
Reminding us that Jesus’ coming was prophesied hundreds of years before he was born.
Isaiah 9:1-7//Isaiah 7:14
Monday
What would it have been like to be alive during the 700 years between Isaiah’s prophecy and the Birth of Christ? Would you have given up hope or would you have clung to God’s promise?
Tuesday
Make a prayer chain of family/friends far away from us during this season. Hang a ribbon w/pictures or names of each family and/or family members. We will take turns praying for them throughout the next weeks.
Wednesday
Read: Luke 1:1-25
Pretend to be Zechariah and Do Not Speak for 3 minutes. Other family members can ask questions to try to make Zechariah laugh or speak! When the time is up – Switch!
Thursday
Read: Luke 1:26-38
Friday
Watch ‘The Nativity Story’
Saturday
Make a Treasure Box of Memories
Decorate an empty box with wrapping paper. Find pictures, draw pictures, write memories to put inside. Add to it each year.

2nd Sunday – Bethlehem Candle
Read: Micah 5:2
Sing or Listen to ’O Little Town of Bethlehem’.
Look on the map at the distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem.
Monday
Talk about what it would have been like riding the donkey all that way and the different ways we would have gotten there. What would they have packed for their Journey?

Tuesday
Read: Luke 1:39-56
Wednesday
Read: Matthew 1:18-25
Thursday
Read: Luke 2:1-5
What is a census?
Friday
Watch Christmas Movie
Saturday
Pretzels were originally made to represent people with their hands folded in prayer. Hang a pretzel on the tree with a ribbon to remind us to Pray and to Thank God for his Gift of Grace.

3rd Sunday – Shepherd’s Candle
Read: Luke 2:8-14
Make Angel light-draw the outline of an angel on a white paper bag. Make wings and glue to back of bag. Put bag over a flashlight & fasten with a rubber band.
Monday
Read: Luke 2:15-20
Shepherds Cane is like a Candy Cane
Tuesday
Read: Matthew 2: 6-9
Wise men Treasure Hunt – cut out stars to write clues on. The final clue is The Greatest Treasure of All – baby Jesus in the Nativity
Wednesday
Read: Matthew 2:1-5
Drive around to look at Christmas Lights
Thursday
Read: Matthew 2:10-11
Matthew 2:12/16
Friday
Watch Christmas Movie
Saturday
Make cookies to tell Story – Angels brought the Good News of Christ’s birth; Star for the Wise men to follow; Candy Cane for the shepherds who watched over their sheep; Gingerbread person as Mary/Joseph, Shepherds & Wise men; Bells to ring out the Message.

4th Sunday – Angels Candle
Read: Luke 1:30-33
Play ‘Spread the News’ – sit in a circle and one person starts by whispering a message about the birth of Jesus into the ear of the person next to them. Each person passes the message until it gets back to the person who started. They then say it out loud and tell how different or similar it is to what they started with!
Monday
Read: Matthew 2:13-17
Tuesday
Read: Matthew 2:19-23
Make a Birthday Card for Jesus
Wednesday
Christmas Eve Service
Christmas Day
Read: John 8:12
Light the middle candle as a symbol of God’s Love

Okay - here is the calendar I made.It is not a very good picture but I think you can get the idea! I made little paper pockets for each day of the week and then typed up what we are going to do for each day on a business card and stuck it in the pocket to be pulled out that day! You can't read the days of the week but other than that it is cute and will work! Even though I am not completely happy with it and another idea is already forming in my mind to change it and I still might but right now I have WAY too many other things to do!!!

Well - it is off to bed for me! I have had a busy night and I am done!! I am very excited that I do not have to go to work tomorrow and I get to psend the whole day with the boys watching Prince Caspian(excellent movie by the way)!!!

I hate having to go to work....

I got teary eyed at least 4 times this morning before I left for work! You would think I would be thrilled to leave the house for a few hours and get away from all the chaos -but crazily enough I don't want to go!!! When I was leaving Ben gave me a BIG hug and wouldn't let go - I almost lost it! Then when I got home Thomas gave me a really HUGE hug and told me "Momma - I really like you". My heart broke again! Stephen was too busy playing video games both when I left and when I got home to notice but he does cling extra tight to mommy when I am home now!
It is so nice to feel loved..but I still miss them!
My hubby and I have really started to have some good conversations (he is not much of a talker and is quiet - unlike me) so this is a big thing for our relationship and now we never see each other because I am always at work!! I am only working 4 & 5 hour shifts but it feels like I am gone all day because it takes 20 minutes to get there and another 20 to get home!!
It is only for another couple months!! I think God is trying to waken me up to what I really have here at home and open my eyes to the task he has given me of being a mom, teacher, encourager, wife, lover, friend,etc..... to all the boys/man in this house!
Enough complaining - today was just a hard day for some reason and I needed to vent - thanks for listening!!!! Now - off to bed so I can get up early to take my oldest to school - make some posters for his school's float in the parade and then go to work myself.........It is a good thing that "His mercies are new every morning"