No Lip Service!

I know it's been almost a week! But Jeremy was getting ready to leave for three weeks and I wasn't about to spend any of my time here when I was squeezing every last second of time in with him!!!!! So anyway what did we do this week? We went on a couple of family adventures. We have discovered a new family hobby called letterboxing. Look it up you might get addicted! Here are a couple of pictures:




Wednesday my mom came over and watched the girls and Jeremy took me to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! Amazingly awesome movie!!! I cannot wait for the double shot of the final chapter! All I can say is I hope Hollywood can do justice to the book. Oh and Quest's Kodiak has a new paint color! I want one of these bad boys:

Yesterday we just kind of hung out as a family. We did a little shopping for Jeremy so he didn't have to eat nasty MREs the whole time he was gone. Then we came home and made chocolate chip cookies, helped him pack, and made sure we had at least one air conditioner in so the girls and I don't roast while he's gone.
Today we got up so early and drove Jeremy down to Post Falls. Then we spent the day running errands for him and making sure he had everything he needed to be gone. We got to see him for dinner and then we drove home. Here are a couple of pictures from today:


So as you can see we had a very busy week which ended in a very sad see ya later (we don't do goodbyes). Alyssa cried from the time we left Post Falls until we got to the other side of Rathdrum (about 20 minutes). She is so sure she won't survive the next 21 days without daddy! I'm sure we'll make the time pass quickly, at least I hope so for the girls' sake! Well it's almost midnight here and I have been up for 19 hours running on 3 hours of sleep. I am emotionally drained without my best friend here. I have waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much homework to do tomorrow so I think I will head for bed. Until next time... God Bless!

What happened???

To the week that is! I woke up Monday morning with a whole week ahead of me and then I blinked and now it's Saturday!!!! Well I am in the middle of my single parent weekend for July, I really despise drill weekends! This one even more so because we didn't have an FRG (family readiness group) meeting so the girls and I stayed home. Jeremy is in Post Falls and we are here. So to make the best of it we went and rented movies last night and had McDonald's for dinner. We also got ice cream too!! Not sure what we are going to do today. I do have some homework that I should work on. I have the scrapbook that I am working on for the school (will post pics of the finished project). I am also in the middle of crocheting prayer blankets for all my neices and nephews (12 total!). Now I just have to figure out something for the girls to do to keep them out of my hair. Sure would have been nice to have the pool up! But with Jeremy being sick at the beginning of the week and it rained in the evenings the rest of the week we didn't get to it. Hopefully we will be able to finish it before he leaves for AT (annual training). If not I may as well put the stupid pool in storage, or sell it! Well just a short update today, no new pictures since Monday. I'll get the camera out and take pictures of the kiddos this weekend while we are having girls time and post on Monday! Until next time... God Bless!

Ya, Ya, I know

I missed on Friday, and yesterday. To my defense, I wasn't home at all on Friday and Saturday. We were up at my parents for the 4th. Yesterday was clean the house day and Jeremy was down with food poisoning! So I am back on track today. Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July holiday. We had so much fun. Jeremy, the girls, my brother, Dan, and myself went down to the reservation on Friday and bought $400 worth of the good fireworks and had a great time lighting them all off for two days! Here are a couple of fireworks pictures (I'll have to get the rest from my mom):
Aaron lighting mortars:

Abby Helping Daddy light bottle rockets:

Alyssa holding Ainsley's ears:


Then as I was searching for these I discovered that Abby got a hold of mommy's camera. The little twerp has quite the eye!! She took about two dozen pictures. Thank goodness we have a digital camera! I might actually print these out and start a little portfolio for her. Maybe this is her natural talent! Speaking of the little booger:


The girls' first day of Vacation Bible School (VBS) was today. Jeremy picked them up and said they had a great time. When I asked Abby what they learned about she said, "God". When I asked her what God does she said, "Makes soup"! I laughed water out my nose!!! Kids say the greatest things.
Well don't know what else to tell you today. Guess I will go start making some memories to write about on Wednesday.
OH!! I almost forgot. The principal at Alyssa's school has asked me to creat a scrapbook for the school. It's something she will use to take around to area businesses to try and get donation support for the school. This means A LOT of people will soon be seeing my work!! Hopefully this will mean some customized scrapbook business coming my way. I think I am going to make us some business cards to go in a pocket in the back of the scrapbook. How awesome would it be if this took off??? Pray for me! Who knows what God has in store.
Until next time...God Bless!!!

Ha Ha! Betcha thought I'd forget!

Well here is day two of my promise. I bet you all were thinking I wouldn't get it done. Well I did, it's a bit late but here it is. The day was long. Started at 7:30 which for me is a stretch in the summer because summers are for sleeping in!! I got up cleaned my kitchen top to bottom except for mopping because I was out of clorox (added that to my shopping list). Sat and had "coffee" with a friend from church and had a great conversation about the rapture and the tribulation.
Then I dunked the girls in the tub and took Alyssa to the doctor for her annual physical. She is growing like a weed! 46 pounds and 46 inches tall!! She was so happy that she didn't have to get shots! Then we went to lunch with daddy, a favorite of the girls. After we sent him back to work we did the grocery shopping.
Have I ever mentioned how much I detest shopping on the first? It is like the worst possible day to shop. Everyone gets their government checks (including us, VA not welfare!) and rushes to the store and then act like complete cows! I mean really how herd oriented are some people? You try to walk down an asile and hello, it's just like driving, go one direction on either side and if you need to stop get the heck out of everyone's way! But no not on the first, everyone goes what ever the heck direction they want and stops wherever they want, and who cares who is trying to get past you. Then once you have spent twice as long as any other day doing your grocery shopping you have to attempt to check out. That process is a nightmare with two small children anyway but then you add the stupidity of the first to it all and it is just a nightmare.
Anyway, I am home. My groceries are put away, mostly, the cans are still sitting on the floor waiting to be organized and put away. Oh and we also worked on the yard some more this evening. We finally went and got the bricks only to find out we still have some leveling and packing of sand to do. There was also something about a retaining wall needing to be built. AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! I just want to swim in my pool darn it!!!
But I did promise to show you all some of my work so here are a few of the layouts I have been working on the past couple of months. These are ones I will be entering into the fair in August.
This is one of my beautiful niece:


This is one of my AWESOME new nephew:


This is a two pager of my dad, the journaling will have to come later:



Last one for now, of Jeremy and Alyssa (she was 3 months old):


I have a few others but I need to take pictures of them so I can upload them and show you all. Well it's almost 10pm and I have another long day tomorrow so I am gonna say hasta for tonight and I'll see ya'll in a couple of days! Until next time...God Bless!

So I'm not the best!

I always say I am going to do better at posting and then I let almost a whole year go by! Well here it is, I am adding this to my every other day to do list. My goal is to post every other day. Now I'm only human so you can't stone me if I miss a day!!!

So what has been going on you ask? A whole heap! My girls are now 6 and 3!!!

Here is my beautiful Alyssa back in March:


And again graduating from Kindergarten:


Alyssa grew and learned so much over the past year and I am kicking myself for not writing it all down. (The major motivator for the every other day posting). I was a smart mommy and caught it all on film though so at least I will have the pictures to jog my memory. Alyssa is very much her own person and in her own little world most of the time. She has a very active imagination and is not afraid to use it. She has not outgrown her drama queen status and has become very much the diva princess. We have been cultivating her tough side though. This year she played T-ball and learned there is NO crying in baseball!

And now for Miss Be:


At her sister's last T-ball game:


Abby has turned into such an explorative little one! She is very inquisitive and watches her sister like a hawk. If Alyssa isn't careful Abby is quick to point out her downfall. But unlike her big sister she is always on the look out for her. Abby takes on the role of sister's keeper. She is always aware of where sissy is and if she is missing. Abby also will never ask for something unless there is some for sissy too!

Jeremy and I will be celebrating our 8 year anniversary tomorrow! It is hard to believe that we have been married that long and all that has happened in that short amount of time. I am more in love with him now than I was then. And that love continues to grow more and more everyday. Here is the love of my life:


Our latest project has been landscaping the yard. We are putting in a pool patio and fixing the flower beds that were here when we moved in. I also put in a bed of my own and we got the girl's swing set anchored and mulched in. Here is part of what we got done this weekend:



The girls were even helpful:



I have also been going to school during all of this. I have 14 more months until I will have my BA degree in Christian Ministry. Then I am going to get my teaching certificate. Eventually when I decide I have recovered from being school for the last 26 years I will go back and get my MA in Education but that's a ways off. In my "spare" (hahahahaha!!!!) time I am still scrapbooking. Maybe on Wednesday's post I'll put up some of my recent work.

So you can see we have been busy busy busy for the past few months. It is simply amazing what God has challenged us to and brought us through. I cannot wait to see what is in store. And I will be blogging it better, I promise!

One last parting picture:


Until next time...God Bless!!

I really need to post more

Okay so I know I always have an excuse but at least I am trying! The past couple of months did not slow down as I had hoped. It doesn't look to be slowing in the near future either. Alyssa started Kindergarten about a month ago. We got her into a really nice Christian School and she LOVES it there. Abby also enjoys a little mommy and me time in the morning while sissy is at school. Alyssa is still in dance, doing soccer again this fall, participating in the chuch children's Christmas musical, and involved in Girl Scouts. Which means I have turned into Mom's Taxi Service. I can't complain though I love to be busy. Not only to I work part time at the school as the cleaning lady (this pays Alyssa's tuition) I also volunteer in the classroom. I have also taken on being the Daisy Scout Leader. I am also the secretary of the Family Readiness Group (FRG) for Jeremy's National Guard Unit. Not to mention still doing Worship Team and Impact at our church. Oh and did I mention I start school again in three weeks. Call me crazy but I am loving life right now. God continues to work and bless my life in ways I cannot explain. Jeremy is doing great, he loves his job and being a soldier again. He is also going to school. Abby, she's just Abby plugging along with whatever comes her way. Life is great right now and I am loving it! THANK-YOU LORD!!!! So until next time... God Bless!!

P.S. The pics are the family pictures we just had done:

Where does the time go?

Wow it seems like just yesterday I was buried under snow and now here I am getting ready to set up the swimming pool. So much has happened in the last six months. Alyssa turned five, she is so excited to get to start school this fall. She has also been keeping up with ballet and started soccer this spring. Abby turned two and is as busy as can be. We enrolled her in a gymnastics tumbling class that allows her to burn off some energy. In March I had my appendix removed, that was an adventure. Then we did Relay for Life again. Now we are just settling down from the Fourth and back into a normal life swing for a while. I had set aside my scrapping for a while because I was just so busy. But I have geared back up to get ready for the County Fair in August. Oh another big thing, I started volunteering with the Youth Group at our church back in March. I have been having a ton of fun with the teens and not only do I get to teach them about God and His plans for us but they teach me so much as well. So other than all of that and worship team, being a wife and mom, and well anything else I add to season our life not much has been going on! So I'll let ya run. Until next time... God Bless!!