armoire resurrected

It's finally finished! This summer, my Dad and I had a special mission.... to raid Salvation Army and snag an old, white, sponge painted, mess of an armoire! I was in SA randomly searching for cheap picture frames in different sizes to paint and fill our family room wall... when I saw it. I've always wanted one of those armoires. But, the ones I saw in Pottery Barn for a thousand $ were usually the ones that made me drool. I decided $44 was alot for an armoire that looked like that, well... that was until the cashier told me about the 1/2 off sale the next morning. The whole store. Hmmm.. I thought, is it worth it? And will it still be here?

I roped my Dad into coming over with me first thing when they opened. And would you believe it? There were lines of people waiting to get in!!!! You'd think they were handing out free gas for a year! You could tell some of these folks were on a serious mission. Some actually ran to get their hands on an item once the doors were opened! We laughed our way over to the armoire and got it for $22!!! So here it is, resurrected.... it's a miracle! It's amazing what a little black furniture paint, a sample can of red paint, new hinges, and new knobs can do! We love it, and it sits in our living room. Now if we could only decide what should go in it. I am determined to have our stereo fit in it. But it's a bit crooked for now. :)

Thanks, Dad for fixing one of the drawers... and thank you, dear husband for hinging and knobing today.

Thankful

These past couple of weeks I've been overwhelmed when doing things as mundane as the dishes, thinking... I have running water. Amazing. Imagine how thankful a mother in the Amazon jungle or in a village in Africa would be to do my pile of dirty dishes? I have heat. Amazing.

Why me? Why us? Why aren't I trying to be a wife and mother in the midst of poverty, pain, and hunger? Why am I here living an amazing life, with a beautiful family? Why did God choose me? Do you ever wonder the same? I know he holds the answers... but sometimes I wish she, whoever she is, could taste the goodness.

I've taken for granted healthy babies, and safe pregnancies.

I've taken for granted my devoted, doting, loving, serving, amazing husband that chooses to be home with us every second he can.

I've taken for granted being able to own a Bible and read it at my own will. Drew and I had a conversation about China this week, and about our friends who live there, and how they don't experience our same freedom of religion in China.

I've taken for granted a pantry full of food. Lately I've been broken-hearted about Ethiopia in particular and the millions and millions of orphans there. (America has around 130,000 legally free to adopt orphans.) I've read that a famine may be coming that is worse than the 80's.

I've taken for granted my transportation. When others I know walk. Even in our snowy wonderland.

Taken for granted no more! I am so thankful for all of these things and so many, many more.

I know God has me plunked down right in this very spot for a reason, whatever may come my way.

Well, we got a little Martha-y this week.... (stole ideas from Sarah C. and Rachel K.) The other day, we made Thankful Wreaths with the kid's handprints. We wrote on the hands what they are thankful for. Even little Annika let me trace her chubby hand. She thought it was kinda funny!

Some of the things they are thankful for were hilarious and some were beautiful and sweet. I guess that sums up our kids pretty well: funny & sweet!

And here are our Turkey Cookies. We made them tonight to put at each place setting tomorrow. They are super easy to make, the kids had fun jamming the candy corn into the double stuff oreo as feathers. I think the directions are found at Family Fun. Right, Rach?

Usually, I think about these kind of things to do with the kids, then don't get around to getting the right things from the store when we need them... but this time I was determined to make them in time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

precious moments

I love this pic of Drew and Annika. He was doing some reading

for school and Annika didn't want to miss out on the fun.

My almost officially crawling sweetie. Today I had one of those "I never want to forget this" moments. She was up on all fours, ready to crawl and looked so sweet and tiny that I wanted to imprint that moment on my brain forever.

Last night, the kids were into horsey rides and piggyback rides... we only had a few crashes. Only a couple tears. :) I love this pic of Drew's two missing teeth! I explained to him the other day that now he'll be able to sing "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!" He said, "How'd you know that song, Mom?" I laughed thinking that everyone knew that song! But I guess not. We'll have to pass it on. Hmmm... big life lesson to be learned here.

Gavin and my crazy haired Morgan.
The other night when I was shredding some cheese on a cheese grater for dinner, Gavin comes into the kitchen and asks, "Mom, can I try scratching the cheese too?" Ha hahahahaha

"I want to make my cheese sprinkly too!"
I love the things that come out of this 6 year old's mouth!

a visit with Ruth & Rachel

Last week, sisters Ruth & Rachel drove out to the Valley for a visit! They are good friends from our time living in Anchorage. Ruth lives in Anchorage with her hubby and 3 children... her newborn son, Peter is pictured here at 2 weeks old! Rachel lives in California with her hubby, 3 daughters, and her 3 month old son, Jack! 2 summers ago, we were able to stay a couple nights at Rachel's house and have some fun, family time in sunny So. CA. Thanks for the fun visit, you guys...

Ruth & Peter, Rachel & Jack, Annika & I

I think our small, medium, and large babies are pretty cute!

Don't these sleepy cousins look like twins?

Adorable.

my tower

Well, I've never been to Paris, but I love the Eiffel Tower!

I think it is so gorgeous. I stumbled upon this live webcam

of the Eiffel Tower the other day on my new laptop.

I was able to choose from a bunch of different gadgets

to place on my desktop! Now I see the tower in all it's

glory all day/night long! It refreshes it's picture every

ten seconds. And since they are about 10 hrs ahead...

the scenery is very different from here! I gasped last

night when I caught a glimpse of the beautiful sunrise

2 pics below! The kids love waking up and seeing what

"My Tower" looks like. One morning it was foggy, and

at night it is all lit up... then it goes dark in

the middle of the night. How cool is that????

Check it out at www.paris-live.com

Just below is what it looks like now as I type.

Good morning, Paris! Good night, for me!

breathtaking

Still Reading...

And yes, I'm still reading all of the books in my shelf on the sidebar...

They've been there a while, but we're working on them! Jeremy and I are reading Wide Awake together, and it ends up being one chapter a week... gonna take us a while. And Fancy Nancy of course is just for fun... we now own all three as of this week. And Youniquely Woman and my fun, new red leather Bible are mine to read... And the kids and I are reading Sign of the Beaver during school. We love it! I read it as a kid... but don't remember all of it. The shelf will be updated as soon as we move on to something else!

My favorite British films!

My hands-down favorite is Wives and Daughters... a novel Elizabeth Gaskell penned and embarassingly isn't worth the read! I've started it twice and just can't do it. If you've had better luck with it, let me know and maybe I'll try again because I LOVE the story! Molly Gibson is a wonderful character... watch it, you'll love it. Our local Blockbuster has it, if yours doesn't they'll order it for you!

Molly and Roger

Then there is the BBC's new version of Sense and Sensibility. For years I've loved the '95 Hollywood version with Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant, BUT that was until I saw this one! It is longer and more in depth of course and SO good! And none of the actors are Hollywood-ish.

I own it if you want to watch it, and Blockbuster has it.

And then there's the New Vs. Old Pride and Prejudice!

I'm one of the few that likes the new one more!!!

My husband would disagree, he likes the old one... yes, he watches them and loves them right along with me. Thank you to his parents for raising a cultured boy! :)

I love the acting, music, and cinematography of the new one. (I have the soundtrack, it's so nice to listen to during the day) Yes, it's less of the entire story, but well done nonetheless. To those of you (you know who you are) who refuse to watch the new one, you're missing out! We watched it again last night actually. Drew walked out of his room and said, "Mom, you've watched this so many times!"

But how can you beat Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy! It's funny, my kids call him Mr. Dah-cy because that's what they call him in the movie! Funny, funny.

What are your favorite British films?

And which Pride and Prejudice floats your boat?

Happy Birthday to Drew!

Last weekend, we celebrated

Drew's 8th birthday with a

Bibleman party! Happy Birthday, buddy!

playing catch up

It's time to catch this blog up

to speed with our life!

Here are some recent random

shots that show what we've been up to!

This was after a late nite out.

These three ended up on my lap

to cozy up and fall back to sleep
after coming in from the car.

New pets!

After losing one of our Bettas to

a certain death while away on our trip,
we went the the pet store in

search of a new one and came home with

2 new ones and 2 tiny frogs!

They go right in with the Bettas,

but after a week of this,

the reddish one named Violet

started attacking her poor froggy roomie,

so I ended up putting the Bettas

back in by themselves and letting the

frogs room together.

The frogs are so fun to watch...

they're called Dwarf Clawed Frogs,

affectionately named Elastigirl and Dash.

We went with an Incredibles theme this time.

The fish are Violet and Jack-Jack.

Poor Blue is still hanging on the wall,

he missed all the froggy excitement!

Dash hanging out on the marbles with Jack-Jack.

Okay, so no, I haven't sunk to a

new low posting pictures of ground beef.

But I've found such a great use for

all of those formula cans we seem to be

zooming through! That little scoop

that comes in the can is so

perfect for scooping the grease

out of the pan! And the can is lined

with some sort of aluminum and it's

great for holding hot things! Just thought

I'd share my find with you all!

And the pic below is my first attempt

at actually steaming, pureeing,

freezing, and bagging our own baby food!

I'm sure many of you have

done this before, but it was so rewarding!

Not only the price, but the quality of

the food! This time I did Butternut squash

and yams. Annika loves them,

I didn't need to add water or

anything, it is the perfect consistency.

Thanks Mom, for the great food

processor that did all that work!

I've been tagged...

I've been tagged by Janeen and Tasha so here goes...

4 Random Things About Me:
1. I have absolutely no willpower when it comes to sweets... if it's in my house, it's in my belly. That's why the cabinets stay empty of sweets.

2. I dream of someday going to Fiji or someplace similar and staying in one of those over the ocean bunglows where you can see the ocean through a glass floor and walk down stairs into the shallow ocean.
3. I used to be a Sweet Valley Twins fanatic as a girl, I even wrote a book called Triplets of Long Beach when I was 10. I'd love to have my hands on it now. :)
4. I love to rearrange rooms for a change... but my living room can only be moved so many ways!

4 Occupations I'd Love To Do If Talent & Money Were Not Qualifications:
1. Author/Speaker
2. Barista in a sweet-action bookstore/yarn store that I own. (I've always wanted to be one!)
3. Musician... wish I'd kept up with those piano/violin lessons
4. purse/bag/knit item/throw pillow designer... and make big bucks doing it from home.

4 Guilty Pleasures:
1. a latte, carmel macchiato, or frappechino type drink
2. quality truffles
3. shopping for clothes or home decor
4. movies... not so guilty, but I love a good movie

4 Things I Am Drawn To Buy Even When I Don't Need Them:
1. candles

2. fabric
3. yarn
4. notecards

4 Challenges I Face On A Daily/ Weekly Basis:
1. patience when my kids are loud while Annika is snoozing
2. wasting time on things like the internet... Uh like now
3. getting household things done... putting clean clothes away, dishes, dusting
4. being a people pleasing yes-woman

4 Books That Have Helped/Inspired Me This Year:
1. The Bible, I've taken the time to read it each day for the first time in years
2. Youniquely Woman

3. A Thomas Jefferson Education
4. Eating for Energy

4 People I'm Tagging:

my sis Jen

Heather P.

Rachel W.

Maria C.

My gotta have Mommy stuff!

Here are my favorite things to either do with

my kids or have on hand for them to do when I need some space!!!

Board Games! We are a game lovin' family. Above is one of our favorites: Blokus! We also love Gobblet, Monopoly, Chess, Bendominos, Sequence, and Sequence for Kids, Candyland, and many more!

Skippyjon Jones (and sequels) and Knuffle Bunny (and sequel) are our favorite family laugh out-loud books. We just checked out Skippyjon Jones and the Bad Bones at the library last week.... we had yet to read it. They're our favorites... Anita E. got us hooked on these in Mexico last summer on a youth trip. And thanks to the Browns, we added Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too to our gotta have (or check out frequently) kid's books! Check them out, you'll see!




One of our favorite places to go during the week (about every month) is the public library. I guess it ends up that we go almost everytime our books are due. We keep a big basket in our living room with all of the library books in it. They can look at them all they want upstairs, but they aren't allowed out of the living room! That saves us from going on a wild goose chase for missing books around the due date. :)





Legos, legos, and more legos!

A huge hit around here for the past 4 years or so...

Morgan even got a pink set for her birthday!





Our Winter Promise American history curriculum.

We just made this 3D map last week... we're loving it!

Each winter we stock up at Costco on these yummy packets of hot cocoa.

On those days when we're snowed in or just feeling

a tad bored, we break out the hot chocolate and

everything just feels better in my kid's world.

They had a cup today, in fact.

The whole family loves listening to Adventures in Odyssey.

Jeremy grew up with it and I've grown to love it!

It's on 89.3 at 3:30pm each weekday, or you can

listen anytime at http://www.whitsend.org/ also at http://www.oneplace.com/

Pet Bettas! We currently have two.

Snoopy and Blue. One, Twitchy, kicked the bucket while

we were on vacation, so we went and

bought Snoopy last week. They are so much

fun to watch, and the kids feed them.

They're super easy to take care of too.

No special water to deal with.

Go Fish!! And this CD, Snazzy is our personal family favorite.

Never heard 'em? You gotta check them out!

Songs like Get Your Jammies On get you movin'!

My Pampered Chef Apple Wedger is a necessity

around here, I use it pretty much

every day for apples and pears.

Can I get an Amen for remote care starters??

In my garage-less freezing cold world, this thing rocks!

And lastly, we just started these chore charts today! The kids were so excited to wake up this morning and see what their chores were! The boys were out in the living room starting chores at 6:45 am!!! Ugh. After a night of Miss Morgan throwing up, it wasn't exactly what I was hoping to wake up to. After waking up at 1am, and every 15 min. after that until 3am with her, then 5ish, then 6:45 with the boys clinking around in the bathroom for their toothbrush when their sick sister was asleep on the bathroom floor! So.... anyways we had a great day with it. It's a fun little system, and it sure beat saying, "Did you brush your teeth? Can you go wet down your hair? Did you clear your plate?" It was heavenly! Hopefully it will last! They get tokens for each chore completed at the correct time.. all the yellow ones need to be completed by 9am when we start school, etc... or no tokens! Tokens can be turned in at anytime for rewards... some worth 250 tokens!

Well, that's the last on my list of "Mommy Gotta Haves"...

These are a few of my favorite things...

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

I thought I would share just a few of my favorite things...

they are in no particular order. Earlier in the year,

I shared my favorite things as a Mom of a newborn...

And today? My favorites as a woman. Tommorow?

My favorite things as a Mom of kiddos. Enjoy!

Who knows? Maybe I'll make this a month of favorites!

Movies, books, magazines, games, verses, etc...

Gerbera Daisies

I love, love, love these flowers.

And yes, my husband knows it. :)

They are so cheery and bright.

I also love regular daisies too.

"Don't you think daisies are the

friendliest flower?" ~ You've Got Mail

Lindt Milk Chocolate Lindor Truffles

Mmmmm... Mmm.. and Mmmmmmm!

These melt in your mouth and have

been a favorite of mine since I was

a little girl. They haven't changed a bit.

You can get them at any

grocery store. I've checked.

Burt's Bees Lemon Poppy Seed

Facial Cleanser

I love this because it works

really well, of course, but it has

the best lemon-y scent and feeling

AND it has poppy seeds

to do a bit of scrubbing. I wanna eat it.

Mother's Taffy Cookies
aka: Cookie Crack

My Mom always bought these

for Jen and I growing up.

If you've never had them,

go grab a bag!! Jeremy and

I bought some yesterday and

it just felt like home in my mouth.

Now I've got my kid's hooked too.

Too bad it's been a couple

years since I'd had them! Finger Lickin'.

Michael Buble ~ It's Time CD
This is my: working in the kitchen,

relaxing middle of the day when

the house is semi-quiet, nostalgic CD.

Anita E. introduced me to this

CD like 5 years ago at at youth

group retreat... we listened to it in our

cabin. It's one of his old CDs, but it's a goody!

Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm

My favorite everyday lip balm.

It's not the original Burt's lip balm

that burns your lips off...

it's so yummy and sweet.

Plus, I love honey everything.

Sante Pressed Powder

My new favorite makeup product!

I've been looking for a couple months

at changing over all of my makeup

to natural products...

and I finally found the perfect powder.

(In my humble opinion)

It's from a natural foods store, and you

apply it with a brush.

I wear Transleucent...

gotta love that. My skin is so fair,

that they call it see thru! :)

But as I've always been told,

I'll have less wrinkles when I get older.

I'm clingin' to that one.





Starbucks Cinnamon Dolche Latte

Heaven in a cup. A year or two ago,

I switched from Mochas to Lattes whenever

I was out and got a treat.

I figured I'd save a few (a ton)

calories by dumping the chocolate

and I've never looked back.

This drink is so yummy... I'm also quite

partial to the seasonal Pumpkin Spice

Latte and Honey Latte. I don't care if

it's caffeinated or not, I just love the taste.

Addi Turbo Knitting Needle
This is the needle I use for all of my

hats in a 16" size 7. It is the best!

I've had it for about 4 years. It is well used.

If you wanna learn, let me know!

Alba Moisturizing Shave Cream

I stumbled upon this recently and love it.

It's a thin, lotion-like cream to shave

with and it is great! And natural too.

I have it in Cocoa Butter.

The Best of Passion (so far) CD

I got this CD last month on my last

night in Tennesee with my sister.

It's a 2 disk set, with all of our favorite

worship songs on it. I think they're

all live too. Good stuff.

Well, if you're a blogger, why don't

you post your favorite things??

But to make it fun, add pics!

I Google searched and found them all.

It's super easy. Maybe you'll try some

of my faves and find some new ones of your own!