Back On Track

So where did I leave off. Although I haven't been very good at writing it down, I have been very mindful of what I am most thankful for. Day 8 I had groceries to buy. What a blessing is it to be able to buy groceries and to have such a selection! Day 9 I was so grateful to be able to go to the store (without the kids) and start on my Christmas list. Day 10 I woke up feeling pretty terrible. I was very thankful that Scott offered to pick up Brenndan so I could stay in bed and rest. Day 11 I made a long, over-due appointment to see the doctor. I am so thankful that we have good health insurance. And lastly, Day 12, I am thankful for the time I get to spend with my family. Scott is getting the Christmas trees down from the attic for the girls' room, the boys' room, and the loft. I'm looking forward to making some cookies and trimming the trees with the kids.

30 Days of Thankfulness-Day 7

Day 7. Today, I am thankful for laughter. As I had mentioned earlier, it was really windy here last week so I decided to finally clean it all up. I moved the wicker sofa back onto the porch and found my pillows in the bushes. Luckily, Maddie found our flag in the backyard but I could not find the sofa cushion anywhere. I looked all over our backyard, and peeked into my neighbors yards, but it was nowhere to be found. With Christmas right around the corner, the last thing I wanted to spend money on was a seat cushion. After all, money doesn't grow on trees...............
.........................................................but apparently, cushions do!

30 Days of Thankfulness-Days 5 & 6

Day 5. I am so thankful that we got to spend a fun day at that park with my brother-in-law, David. He's a Marine and will be deployed very soon so this will probably be the last time we see him until June. We are so proud of him and the man that he has become. Please keep him and all of our service men and women in your prayers.

It's tough at times to get a good picture of Ethan. Luckily, he was in a much better mood to take pictures after eating some Oreos.
We are so thankful for your sacrifice, David. May God keep you and protect you always!

Day 6. I am thankful that we finally found a church that is close to us. We've been commuting an hour and a half, round-trip, to attend church for almost three years. It's been such a blessing to find a church that is ten minutes away. I love that the Word of God is taught and that there are so many opportunities for service to show Christ's love throughout the world.

30 Days of Thankfulness-Day 4

I absolutely love autumn; it's by far, my favorite season. Unfortunately, it comes pretty late here in southern California. So it's no surprise that I am thankful for the change in season. We were blessed with winds that blew away any haze our the area and then rain to keep our flowers growing. What a beautiful time of year.

30 Days of Thanksfulness-Day 2 & 3

Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity. From daily housekeeping, to homeschooling, to driving our older two to school and back (2 hours round trip twice), to cooking dinner, to Allie's T-ball game, I was exhausted to say the least! And yet amongst the business, I am thankful.

Day Two. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with a husband to go through life with. Scott is a man that fears the Lord and has a desire to please Him. He is the most gentle and kind man that I have ever known and I love him more today than when we got married. He is such a good father; his patience amazes me. He always makes time for the kids and loves them all sacrificially. In fact, after working all day and teaching an afternoon class, he volunteered to coach Allie's T-ball games so they could have an all-girl team. Thank you honey, for being a man of God that leads our family.


Day Three. I am thankful for our children. I am a better person because of them. When I'm tempted to hold onto unforgiveness, I'm reminded by my little ones to quickly let it go. When the natural cynic in me is doubtful, I'm reminded by them to believe and to have a childlike wonder. They have brought laughter into my life and have stretched my heart to love like no others. Their smiling faces sweeten my day. I love you all so very much!

30 Days of Thankfulness-Day One

I stumbled upon a great blog the other day at My Heart's Desire and today starts a month-long celebration of thankfulness. 30 days to chronicle a heart of gratitude; what a great way to get your heart ready for the holiday season!

I use to keep a "thankful journal" where every night I wrote down the top three things I was thankful for that day. To be honest, I don't know why I ever stopped other than I finished the journal and never got around to buying another one. So here it goes...on this first day, I am thankful that I get to have a deep relationship with the Lord. Although I grew up going to church, it wasn't until about three years ago that I went from knowing about the Lord to walking with Him personally. I cherish the time I get to fellowship with Him in prayer and in His Word. He has completely transformed my life and I am truly blessed! This is a very special scripture to me that I meditated on until it got into my heart.

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When

you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not

overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the

flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

-Isaiah 43:1-3

There is no one like our God and I am so thankful to be His.

Happy Halloween

I can't believe it's already Halloween. Honestly, where did the time go? Of course, we made time to visit the pumpkin patch by my mom's house. It's become our annual tradition. This was the closest I could get Brenndan and Maddie for a hug. At least they're smiling!

Allie was trying to show Eden how to balance a pumpkin on her head. Keep trying Eden, you'll get it.

Ethan was so happy to pick out pumpkins. The white one was his favorite.

We also celebrated Eden and Zachy's 5th birthday party. My sister, Marci, loves Halloween and throws a great party each year for the kids. I made the costumes this year so I was really happy to get so much wear out of them.

Brenndan didn't want me to make his costume, he put this together himself. Can you tell who he is?

The girls had so much fun!

Brenndan and Ethan were partners for the doughnut eating contest. I loved the way Ethan put his hands inside of the train to keep from cheating, what a cutie!

We just got back home from trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. I can't believe how much chocolate the kids got. Allie was the first one to get tired. After about an hour, she just wanted to go home and eat some candy instead of collecting it. Something tells me, we won't have our stash of candy for long. Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Fall Has Fallen

Autumn is my favorite season of the year. I love everything about it, the cooler temperatures, pumpkin spice lattes (yummy), pumpkins, and of course, the decorating. Can you tell? I finally got the lights up over the door, so welcome in.

Here's a wreath I made a few years ago and it's still going strong despite the strong winds we get all season.
Every year, I buy mums and every year, before the season is over, I kill them. So this year, I headed over to Michael's and picked up a few things. Everything was 50% off so I was able to make this arrangement for about $12. I already had the branches, lights and pot.
Here's a shot of the front room.
This is the fireplace in the family room. You can't tell by the picture, but I have lights strung throughout the garland.
Here's one of the cabinets in the kitchen area. It still needs a bit of tweaking though. We really need to hit the pumpkin patch. I want to add some of those little pumpkins in front of the dishes.
This is the kitchen table. I love these pumpkin bowls. I got them a few years back at Kirkland's. Yes, we really use them. I love to fill them up with my fall favorites like chili, potato chowder, or tortilla soup.
Hope you enjoyed this little tour. I'm still working in the dining room and loft. I'm hoping to finish it off this weekend. I'm linking up to Kristen's, Becca's, and Sherry's. Happy fall ya'll!

Take me out to the ballgame...

...take me out to the crowd. I am so glad that Allie is enjoying t-ball. It is so much fun watching her practice and going to her games.

Here she is in action. She hits really well and is doing great now that she knows she needs to run after hitting the ball.
I love the way she "prances" around the bases, so girly! Scott's having a good time too. He's amazing! He works so hard all week and signed up to coach on top of everything else. Allie's a hoot! She ran over to me the other day and said, "Coach said we need to have a water break." I had to think for a minute, "You mean, Dad?" She's so cute.
I know this isn't the best picture, but she was a really good catcher. She took her position very seriously.
Great game!
Her loyal fans.
Here's to a great winter ball season. Go ladybugs!

Brenndan vs. Food Birthday Party

We celebrated Brenndan's 16th Birthday over the weekend. For his birthday he had one request, "Mom, no themes!" So what's a mom to do? He loves food and foodie shows so he wanted to do a food challenge. Just look at that platter... sixteen sliders in 30 minutes!

Going strong at first. I think he downed half the platter in the first 10 minutes.

Towards the end, we were all cheering him on but he couldn't quite finish. To be honest, I thought it was way too much food for him to eat, even though he has the biggest appetite of anyone I've ever met. The little kids got the biggest kick watching him eat all that food. I love Ethan's face here.

This time, food won, but a brilliant try. We had to get Zacky off of him before he got sick right there and then. It was a lot of fun. Of course, there's always room for cake, right Bren?

We love you, happy Sweet Sixteen!

Desi's Baby Shower

Wow, two post in one day after I've been M.I.A. for so long. As you can see, it's a baby shower for my little sis, Desi.

Here's a picture of the happy parents. This is going to be baby number 4!

A dear family friend made the diaper cake. It is was so cute. Here's close-up of it.

Jane did an amazing job orchestrating the games. For one, she bought several white onesies and each of us decorated our own for the baby with fabric paints and glitter. She's a coupon queen so she had the best assortment of gifts I've ever seen. You rock, Jane!Presents....too cute!

We love you Desi and we're praying for you and baby Elijah Malakai.

Kindergarten

It's official, Allie is a kindergartner. It seemed like only yesterday, we were bringing her home from the hospital. What a blessing she has been for our family!

For now, she is attending a virtual academy at home. We cleared out our guest room and converted it into a schoolroom for her over the summer.
Scott built this bookcase in the closet for extra storage. The room is small so I love being able to close the closet doors and everything is out of sight.

Our version of circle time.

Kindergarten has really changed since I was in school. I remember snacks, crafts, and the occasional taste of glue. Allie has math, language arts, phonics, handwriting, history, science, art, and music, oh my! Also, we just signed her up for T-ball and she's so excited. I'm really looking forward to watching her learn and grow this year.