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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Father's Day Fun
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Saturday, June 26, 2010
Last Weekend at Annie's
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Thursday, June 24, 2010
Muddy Buddy
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Retreat Challenge #2
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The challenge for 4 Girls and a Dream this time was to make a page using just the basics (cardstock and a pen). It was a little tricky for me because I like to use all of the extra "stuff", but I think it turned out okay. The pictures were from Treven's 6th birthday and without all of the doo-dads, I was able to use more pictures.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Update
We had a really busy week last week. Our wonderful friend and neighbor, Lee had a mild stroke last Tuesday. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance at 5:00 in the morning the previous week and they sent her home two hours later saying she had a urinary tract infection. She just never felt better, though. Gary came home Tuesday night and said he passed Lee and her husband, Woody heading down the hill with their flashers going. Instant sick feeling in the stomach! I stewed and stewed about it and then Woody called and wanted us to check on something at their house so I was able to talk to him a bit. Said she couldn't move her hand so they thought they better go in. (Lee had a pretty bad stroke about 5 years ago so it's nothing they wanted to mess with.) When they got to the hospital, they kept her overnight for observation, but the cat scan showed no second stroke. Well, she had one that night in the hospital. Kathy and I went to see her on Wednesday and she was in good spirits, but quite bored. Her mind is still very sharp, but she has a bit of trouble getting the thoughts in her mind out of her mouth. She gets confused on words and sometimes can't remember quite what she's trying to say. With therapy, this should all be corrected. They kept her a few more days, much to Treven's dismay, but they let her come home Saturday. The kids were so excited to see her home. They have been so worried about her. Even Treven prayed that night she went in. He has asked every day since when she is coming home and is she ok. He was relieved to finally see her. Ellie had to sit on her lap and lay her head down on her chest. I think even she knew something was wrong.
The rest of the week, we spent preparing for Gary's family reunion. We were awfully packed into my poor Yukon. We took two coolers (one for food and one for drinks), 4 sleeping bags, 2 air mattresses, 2 extra comforters, 5 pillows, a tent, an extra box with dry food and snacks, 1 bag per person with clothes and swimsuits, etc, 1 big diaper bag, my camera, my purse, 2 adults, and 4 kids all in one car...not an easy task! Oh yeah, we also strapped 5 lawn chairs to the top of the car. It was nice to tent the whole thing because I didn't have to worry about cleaning anything, but it would have been to have a place when it dumped rain on us. Luckily, I was in Gary's parents trailer cutting up fruit for fruit-ka-bobs when it hit. We crowded 10 people or so in it, but we were crowded. Gary's poor dad was outside cooking dutch oven and he didn't want to leave it so he grabbed a jacket and an umbrella and went right back outside. Keven stayed outside with an umbrella, too. Gary and Treven sat in the car until it was over and all the girls were inside the trailer with me helping cut fruit so we stayed dry. The canopy over the top of our tent blew up, so we had some water-soaked blankets. Later that day, Gary's uncle's stepdaughter was in the pool and had a seizure. That was really scary. His cousin's wife saw it so they had her out of the pool quickly, but it could have been a different story very easily. Later that night while we were in the pool with the kids, one of his cousins came in and said that another cousin's son (about Treven's age) had been bitten by a dog from another camp. There was an RN there and she looked at it and said it needed stitches, but because it was a bite, they wouldn't stitch it anyway. She fixed him up as best as she could. He was off and playing frisbee with the other boys that night. All in all, we had a good time. It was really nice to get away and not worry about work or laundry or anything else. I took my camera, but didn't get a single picture. Life works that way sometimes- too busy living and enjoying instead of documenting everything! Have a great week and I will have some pictures for you tomorrow!
The rest of the week, we spent preparing for Gary's family reunion. We were awfully packed into my poor Yukon. We took two coolers (one for food and one for drinks), 4 sleeping bags, 2 air mattresses, 2 extra comforters, 5 pillows, a tent, an extra box with dry food and snacks, 1 bag per person with clothes and swimsuits, etc, 1 big diaper bag, my camera, my purse, 2 adults, and 4 kids all in one car...not an easy task! Oh yeah, we also strapped 5 lawn chairs to the top of the car. It was nice to tent the whole thing because I didn't have to worry about cleaning anything, but it would have been to have a place when it dumped rain on us. Luckily, I was in Gary's parents trailer cutting up fruit for fruit-ka-bobs when it hit. We crowded 10 people or so in it, but we were crowded. Gary's poor dad was outside cooking dutch oven and he didn't want to leave it so he grabbed a jacket and an umbrella and went right back outside. Keven stayed outside with an umbrella, too. Gary and Treven sat in the car until it was over and all the girls were inside the trailer with me helping cut fruit so we stayed dry. The canopy over the top of our tent blew up, so we had some water-soaked blankets. Later that day, Gary's uncle's stepdaughter was in the pool and had a seizure. That was really scary. His cousin's wife saw it so they had her out of the pool quickly, but it could have been a different story very easily. Later that night while we were in the pool with the kids, one of his cousins came in and said that another cousin's son (about Treven's age) had been bitten by a dog from another camp. There was an RN there and she looked at it and said it needed stitches, but because it was a bite, they wouldn't stitch it anyway. She fixed him up as best as she could. He was off and playing frisbee with the other boys that night. All in all, we had a good time. It was really nice to get away and not worry about work or laundry or anything else. I took my camera, but didn't get a single picture. Life works that way sometimes- too busy living and enjoying instead of documenting everything! Have a great week and I will have some pictures for you tomorrow!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Card a Day #31
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Monday, June 14, 2010
Card a Day #30
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Hope everyone's week is starting out well. I am making a trip to town for groceries and fathers day fixin's. I'm also getting some zucchini plants for the garden. We are going to a family reunion Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so I also have to get my list ready for that...it's going to be a busy week!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The Faces of Ellie
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Card a Day #29
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Card a Day #28
Friday, June 11, 2010
Challenge met
I was reading Stephanie Howell's blog this morning and she has a post about women that blog that make their lives look perfect. I guess there is somewhat of a debate about. She posted some things about her and her life that were not perfect and challenged her readers to do the same. So here goes:
1. Anyone who knows me well knows that my biggest pet peeve is people who don't take care of their kids. Women who take their kids into public places with dirty faces and bed head drive me crazy. Secretly, though, Chelsey almost ruined me on that. It was impossible to keep her hands and face clean. I would pull her out of the tub and by the time I drained the water, she was into something and had a filthy face. Since then, I have relaxed my rules a bit. If you show up at my house, chances are Ellie will have something on her face-most likely she pulled something out of the garbage and ate it. I do still try to have her clean when we go to town.
2. I love to cook, but sometimes I don't have the energy to do it. I don't know if I have fluctuating hormones or what, but there are days that I literally have to drag myself out of bed. If the kids didn't need food, I probably would never cook for myself.
3. I would not say that I am a materialistic person, but sometimes I struggle with greed and wanting more. I want a bigger, newer home even though I absolutely love my home. I want a new car even though my Yukon has served us so well for the past 7 years and is paid for. I want to stay home with my kids, but I also want some of my own "mad money". I want to go on nice vacations, but I know they will never happen. I would also call myself a cluttery person. My house is not messy, but there is too much stuff and not enough storage places.
4. I am not affectionate enough with my kids, husband, or other people in my life. I start out really well when the kids are little. It's easy to hug and kiss them. Then they grow up a bit and it feels really weird to hug and kiss on them. Then they grow more and it embarrasses them when you tell them you love them so I just kind of quit doing it as often as I should. I know that my kids know I love them and would do anything for them, but I also know I should tell them more.
5. My house is not as clean as I like it. With 5 kids and a husband I really shouldn't expect perfection, but there is so much more that I should be doing. There are usually at least a few dishes in the sink and garbage that needs taken out. There are always full laundry hampers and there is probably some kind of leftovers in my fridge growing mold. I've learned to live with this, but when people come over, all I think about is the things that haven't been done.
Well, there you have it. All of the secret things about me that I am not so proud of. My life is so not perfect. I am very blessed and I live a good life, but it is not perfect. I think that's the point of self evaluation, though. Identify your weak areas and fix them. No one else can make you happy, you have to make yourself happy! Life is about learning and growing and using your current circumstances to help you make your future better.
1. Anyone who knows me well knows that my biggest pet peeve is people who don't take care of their kids. Women who take their kids into public places with dirty faces and bed head drive me crazy. Secretly, though, Chelsey almost ruined me on that. It was impossible to keep her hands and face clean. I would pull her out of the tub and by the time I drained the water, she was into something and had a filthy face. Since then, I have relaxed my rules a bit. If you show up at my house, chances are Ellie will have something on her face-most likely she pulled something out of the garbage and ate it. I do still try to have her clean when we go to town.
2. I love to cook, but sometimes I don't have the energy to do it. I don't know if I have fluctuating hormones or what, but there are days that I literally have to drag myself out of bed. If the kids didn't need food, I probably would never cook for myself.
3. I would not say that I am a materialistic person, but sometimes I struggle with greed and wanting more. I want a bigger, newer home even though I absolutely love my home. I want a new car even though my Yukon has served us so well for the past 7 years and is paid for. I want to stay home with my kids, but I also want some of my own "mad money". I want to go on nice vacations, but I know they will never happen. I would also call myself a cluttery person. My house is not messy, but there is too much stuff and not enough storage places.
4. I am not affectionate enough with my kids, husband, or other people in my life. I start out really well when the kids are little. It's easy to hug and kiss them. Then they grow up a bit and it feels really weird to hug and kiss on them. Then they grow more and it embarrasses them when you tell them you love them so I just kind of quit doing it as often as I should. I know that my kids know I love them and would do anything for them, but I also know I should tell them more.
5. My house is not as clean as I like it. With 5 kids and a husband I really shouldn't expect perfection, but there is so much more that I should be doing. There are usually at least a few dishes in the sink and garbage that needs taken out. There are always full laundry hampers and there is probably some kind of leftovers in my fridge growing mold. I've learned to live with this, but when people come over, all I think about is the things that haven't been done.
Well, there you have it. All of the secret things about me that I am not so proud of. My life is so not perfect. I am very blessed and I live a good life, but it is not perfect. I think that's the point of self evaluation, though. Identify your weak areas and fix them. No one else can make you happy, you have to make yourself happy! Life is about learning and growing and using your current circumstances to help you make your future better.
Card a Day #27
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Card a Day #26
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Retreat Challenge #1
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Retreat time is coming up again and we have started listing challenges! Each of the challenges will have something to do with our retreat theme. The first challenge was to list a tip/technique. We will be doing something fun with all of the tips a little later so I'm hoping that a lot of the ladies will submit theirs. My tip was to reuse strawberry containers (vamped up of course!) and turn them into boxes for homemade treats. I cut a piece of scrap paper to fit the top of the lid, then I added the flower front, then some kind of treat (fudge, caramel popcorn, etc) goes inside, then it all gets tied up with a big bow. Really fun and really cheap. My second tip was to stop comparing your artistic abilities with others. I look at other peoples pages and mine just never seem to compare. I have learned, though, that it's ok. My kids are happy with what I put together and the pictures and story have a home in their books forever- not in a shoebox or stuffed under the bed. It has taken so much pressure off me to figure this out and I enjoy scrapbooking so much more now. Which is the point, really-to enjoy the hobby!!!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The last of the graduation pics
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Graduation Pics #3 & 4
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Graduation Pics #1 & 2
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