My computer has gone away for repairs, so I am unable to read my email right now.

Spa Night!

Hey all you ladies out there, I'm hosting a spa party at my place this friday. If you'd like to come out and be pampered please let me know and I'll get the details to you.

woohoo!!

Three years ago we purchased our digital camera and for the past 3 years we have been storing ALL our photos on our computer. A couple weeks ago I decided it was time to get the five hundred or so pics developed. Sooo....I just sent in the last order and am now completely up to date! Yay!! Lee and I have been srapbooking again and I only have 6 years of photos to get into my albums :) I think I'm going to be busy for awhile.

Busy weekend again. Friday night we had a wedding rehearsal for Gary's nephew (we were the candle lighters). Saturday was wedding day, it was a beautiful wedding. Sunday we went to the Apple Barn with Lee and family. It was their busiest day ever. We got ourselves some very large pumpkins and a bag of apples.

I so enjoy mondays. I've managed to get all the laundry done and bake some cookies. Mmm....chocolate chip. Better go grab the last batch out of the oven.

the new pink room...

 

Welcome back frizzy hair season! When I left the house this morning my hair was somewhat flat and straight with a nice healthy shine. I went and put gas in the car and bought some laundry detergent and now I'm dull & frizzy. Sigh.

I'm going to post some pics of Gracie's 2nd birthday and one of her room but I'm having some picture posting issues. I gotta put a call in to my techie girl (hehe). I'm sure I'll have them up shortly.

happy b-day to the littlest in the family

My baby girl is 2 today. I took her to the dollar store this morning to pick out a little something since her party isn't till the weekend. She went straight for a little white satin purse with a flower on it. She put it over her arm and proceeded to walk around like she was the prettiest thing in the store. It was so cute. She also picked out the wrapping paper for the "real" gift I have yet to wrap for her. She picked the one that is covered with rainbows and ponies of course!

Happy birthday sweet pea!!

I just painted my little girl's room pink for her birthday. I love it! Her things have been packed away since we moved in April, I can't wait to open the boxes tomorrow and start decorating. It's finally starting to feel like home around here.

it was a great weekend

My time away with Gary was wonderful. Our room was up on the 20th floor, it took both of us a bit to adjust to the height but once we did the view of the city was spectacular. We are thankful that we had a 24 hour break just for us. I am thankful for a great husband. Sorry Lee, I forgot the camera so there are no pics to post :( We spent saturday shopping, got some new clothes and a birthday present for my little princess (she's turning 2 in a couple days!) I have never really fully appreciated walking slowly and leisurely through stores till now, what a treat! We have decided that this really needs to happen once a year.

The rest of the weekend was full of family and turkey. We did the in-law thing on sunday and my family yesterday. Being surrounded by family is such a wonderful thing. Angela challenged all of us to write down what we are thankful for. Every year I do this and every year I feel more thankful than the last. So here it goes.........

Watching Gary and the boys sitting around the table while working on their car models. I love watching them hanging out together just being boys. I'm thankful for my boys.

Gracie's smile, her eyes, her beauty. She is beautiful.

A home that is ours. It is warm and cozy.

Friends......so many great friends.

My marriage, I'm thankful for a lifetime of love. A love that covers me.

The activity and noise in my home. My house is full.

Quiet times spent with God. Forgiveness, grace and mercy.


There is so much more but I will stop there. Happy Thanksgiving all.

so long overdue

Well, I just booked a night away for my hubby and I. It has been.....hmm......probably 4 or 5 years since we've had a night away just for us. It's only for one night but I'm so excited to just hang out with Gary, he is my favorite person to be with. Thank you Carolyn for agreeing to parent 4 kids for the night, you have no idea how much this means to us!

A very nice surprise

I opened the hydro bill today to discover that I don't owe a single penny this month. In fact, I have a $40 credit. I guess overpaid on the last bill. Nice.

Time for some new clothes :)

ok i'll play

8 things about me......

1. I hate peaches just the thought of them make me gag.

2. I enjoy almost every type of music. I have been to see Celine Dion & Def Lepard (and all types in between)

3. I LOVE to sing

4. My feet are always freezing (even in the summer)

5. Gary and I got engaged 3 months after we met and have been married now for 12 years.

6. I really don't like these games....I gave in to the peer pressure! :)

7. I have a horrible fear of flying - the last time we flew down to Texas I was sick for 3 days from the anxiety.

8. I had a pony when I was a kid. Yes, isn't that every little girl's dream? My pony wasn't very nice.



Now I tag the following people....

Mom
Rachel
Kori
Annette
Lori
Rose (if you're still out there!)

I was reminded again this morning of how blessed I am to have Gary. I know I tend to post quite a bit about how happy/blessed I feel but hey......it's just how I feel (and it's my blog) And you know what?? Gary is a good man (which most of you know but I just needed to say it again)

Thank goodness for the quiet times. As much as I love being with people I also love quiet times. They are few and far between but right now I'm enjoying one of those times. Sometimes plain old silence is beautiful.

some thoughts on God's goodness for today

Have you ever had something happen to you that immediatly brings you to your knees in complete thankfulness? It happened to me this morning. I opened my email and there it was. A friend of mine (someone I know but not all that well) had sent a list of things that came to her mind when she thought of Gary and I. A list of commpliments I supose. It was so encourging that it immediatly brought me to my knees.

It has been an interesting week for me. Some amazing highs and some horrible lows. I struggle with the same old thing, you know self worth...low self-esteem...rejection etc. We were privileged this week to have a great group of people into our home saturday night. We ate, visited and sang together. We talked about many things but one thought spoke to me. Learning to just say thank you when given a compliment. Seems simple but it can be so hard to do. If any of you are like me in any way then you probably find that most of the time seeing any good in ourselves is almost impossible. We tend to offset compliments with a negative reply. In my case I find I say thank you but inside I'm thinking "ya whatever". So I'm putting that question out there for you. How do you respond to a compliment? Can we learn to take the positive and believe it? Do we have enough faith in God to believe how much He loves us ? I know I want to get to that place.... strong and confident in who God made me. I was so stunned by God's response to me this morning through my friend. He heard me struggling in my heart this week over what I could possibly have to offer to the church and to others. He answered it in the form of a list of compliments.

And so my friend I'm just saying thank you.

Get this......

I'm actually enjoying doing the laundry today! Wierd.

Time for a change! Now I just need to figure out how to add my links again and a new picture......hmm.

Ok, ok..... I have a couple minutes right now, baby is sleeping.

Jen, to rest you curious mind, I had a wonderful day yesterday doing things for me. I had some uplifting visits with good friends and a great kick-off to the ladies group I'm leading this year. It was just one of those days when you stop, breathe, relax and enjoy the small things. It felt great......and to top it all off I came home last night to a clean house! Yesterday was also filled with it's share of struggles (as is everyday!) but God was faithful to help me find a way through them.

And for all those curious as to what's been kicking around in my brain lately here it goes. I was listening to the radio a few days back while driving ALL the way back home and the lady that was speaking quoted a verse that spoke to me. All I can remember is that she said it was in proverbs but I'm not sure where. The verse went something like this.....A wise woman builds her house , a foolish woman tears it down. I'm not sure why it spoke so deeply to me but it reminded me that there are so many ways we can tear down our homes, our families.....through actions, words and attitudes. I desire to be a strong, godly woman who builds her home & her family and I have found myself over the past couple of days paying attention my attitudes and words. My constant prayer being that God will help me to re-build where there has been destruction. It sure gave me pause to think earlier this week. Funny how a simple verse can speak volumes sometimes.

Seriously too tired to post....but I made a promise to a friend to post something! There is more in my head but it will have to wait till tomorrow when I'm awake. Today was a good day....best I've had in a long time. Goodnight!

Still here.....still alive, just super busy!!

Ok, so here's a quick update for all you who still check in on me.

Our holiday was enjoyable and relaxing, it was a much needed break from all the reno work going on at our place. The kids fished and fished and fished...........and then fished some more. No catches this year, well Mikail had one but it escaped when he got it up to the dock. He wants a fly rod for christmas this year. I loved being with my family, the cabin we stayed in was so cozy! When we pulled out of Johnson lake heading for home there was a bear right in front of the van! The kids thought that was pretty cool, it was super close and just kinda stood there looking at us.

As for the reno work, I was just saying to Gary the other day that I feel like ants getting ready for winter......working from sun up till sun down. We've been working like crazy to get all the exterior work done before the rain hits. The place is coming together, slowly. I started painting and hanging pictures (finally!!). I've been doing "a wall a day" 'cause that's all I can get done while Gracie naps.

Hopefully I'll get around to putting up some pictures soon. I just realized today that I need to get my butt in gear and get my kids ready for back to school.......man, summer flew by this year.

Ok....back to work.

"The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17 NIV