A Fresh Start

Happy 2011!

I hope the new year is off to a wonderful start for you.  Our family is recovering from a stomach bug that hit on Thursday.  Ugh!  Thankfully everyone is feeling better today, but we plan on hanging around the house - just in case!

Do you make New Year Resolution's?  I almost always make the same ones:  Read the bible more, lose weight, be a better wife and mother.  This year I decided to expand on those.  Here is my list:

• Delve more deeply into God's word.  I don't know if that means reading through the Bible this year or an in depth study of a few books of the Bible. 
• Lose some of this baby weight by eating more real foods and not a lot of processed foods.  This should affect the whole family (shh - don't let the kids know!)
• Live with less.  I am so tired of the stuff around here!  Less stuff = less picking up!
• Give more generously to those in need.
• To truly love my husband, children and those around me.
• To blog more regularly (ha) than I did in 2010!

I am sure this list will get edited many times, probably forgotten some days, too.  There is accountability though by typing this list here for all to see. 

Looking forward to a wonderful 2011!  One full of changes, surprises, happiness and more!

Thankful Thoughts

Happiest Thanksgiving to everyone!

Today I am thankful for:

• a super hubby
• great kids
• living in the US
• a warm house
• good friends - old and new
• food to eat
• a new modem so I can stay connected to the internet (!)
• caring neighbors
• most of all - God!

Hope you have had a great day!  Time to hit the hay - Black Friday is calling!

Blessings!

Updates

Sorry - it has been crazy chaotic around here and blogging took a back seat to everything else!

Family updates:

Carson - rolling both ways, delving into solids and playing with his toes!
Bryce - loves playing on PBS kids and going to Mom's Day Out
Lily - loving school and reading chapter books, especially Magic Tree House books
Haley - getting ready for her first concert of the school year with WB Singers
Ross - gearing up for the Halloween dance at the middle school
Rick - working less than he did during the HOT summer (yay!)
Me - started the HCG diet and have lost 17 pounds

The hot topic of conversation daily is Halloween costumes!  Carson is going to be Peas in a Pod - a hand me down from family and Bryce is going to be a robot.  No one else has decided 100% yet.

Reading Updates:

I usually do not read books during the time I am in our women's bible study at church.  I find I spend more time reading my "fun book" and less time reading the Bible and answering my questions.  I have made a few exceptions this Fall.  Here is what I am and have been reading:

                                                                                                                           













52 Simple Ways to Build Your Child's Self-Esteem and Confidence


















The last two are definitely not current hot sellers, but books I have picked up at the thrift shop because they caught my attention. 

I am really excited about the Taste of Home cookbook!  I am looking forward to having ready made meals in the freezer for those times when life gets crazy!  We have really been making an effort to stop eating out as often as we did this summer and I think this will be a great way to help us continue as we enter in the holiday season.  There are a few recipes in the book that are proven winners in our house and many more that I can't wait to try!

Other Stuff:

I am the Room Parent for Lily's 1st grade class.  Since we can't celebrate Halloween, I have chosen the theme of scarecrows.  I have found great coloring sheets and an adorable take home treat so far.  I am considering a "Pin the nose on the Scarecrow" game.  What do you think?

We finally finished redecorating the girls bedroom.  We - Rick, my mom and I - did it while Haley was away at 5th grade camp - she was so excited to see it.  She and Lily have been taking such good care of their "new" room.  They have actually been making their beds WITHOUT a reminder!  Here is what it looks like now:

We have been enjoying our new fire pit.  I love the smell of the fire right then - not so much on our clothes when we come in!  And I don't know how many times I have said "Don't get too close to the fire pit" to one of the kids!

And finally, I have been loving the fall weather - this year!  Last year I was soooo sick with morning sickness that I didn't even pull out the fall decorations!  I sat/laid on the couch wrapped up in a blanket and sucked on pieces of candied ginger!  I love my little Carson, but man I hated that morning sickness!  I also love enjoying it with him and the rest of the family!

Be blessed!

Recovering from the Weekend

Whew - everyone is back to school and work today and we can relax a bit and I can finish recovering from the cold I came down with on Friday!

We had a wonderful three day weekend that began when the hubby ordered pizza for dinner Friday night (yay to not having to cook)!  Saturday was beautiful so we thought we would visit the St. Louis Zoo.  Well, it seemed that pretty much everyone else had the same idea, so we changed plans and went to the St. Louis Science Center instead!  What a great time we had - the crowd was light and the kids had a blast interacting with the exhibits.  But the coolest thing was the Navy Week expo outside in the planetarium's parking lot.  There were 5-6 booths set up with everything Navy, including a dive tank and a flight simulator that Rick and the kids got to ride.  Way cool!

Saturday afternoon the kids and Rick went outside so I could get some rest.  The girls had an impromptu play date that evening with a family from school, and the house was so peaceful.  Actually, the house could have fallen in and I wouldn't have known.  I was feeling so awful by that time that I didn't even know that Rick had gotten all the kids to bed!

Sunday evening we had a friend over for dinner and we had the most awesome pork steaks, grilled to perfection by the hubby!  Topped off by a berry cobbler and ice cream.  Delish!

Monday started with a movie Despicable Me, which we loved, a quick trip around the mall and ended with my parents over for barbecue and homemade ice cream.

It was a wonderful weekend - what did you do?

Things that make me SMILE

My hubby, Rick...

My kids...

Carson - 2 months
Ross - 11
Lily - 6
Haley - 10
Bryce - 4









Fireworks...

and tons of things I don't have pictures of:

cucumbers and yellow squash from my garden

the bunny that likes to escape the heat in my cucumber plants

sidewalk chalk drawing on my driveway

flavored creamer in my coffee

homemade ice cream

rain when the sun is shining

butterfly kisses from my 4 year old son

warm cookies

hand made cards from my kids

clearance plants that are blooming like crazy

a phone call from a friend

nuzzle from my cat, Pearl

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my husband, Rick. My words are simple - Thank you for loving me and creating this family together. We have been blessed with five wonderful (although at times ornery) kids and millions of memories. Thank you for allowing me to stay home and raise our family. Thank you for the example you are to our kids. I love you!

Happy Father's Day to my dad, Bill. I have ALWAYS been a "Daddy's Girl" and probably always will be. Thanks Dad for putting up with me all these years - I know it hasn't always been easy, but you have been there for me! I love you!