Bringing Christmas to Alan

This has become part of our holiday tradition. It's something I really look forward to. It's so nice my sister is here so her family can do it with us, but I really miss having Chris and his family help who are in CA. See more photos here.

One of the things I have noticed about doing things for my brother are the questions it brings to my children. I know they don't understand death so it has become a great way for them to feel comfortable asking. They want to know when my brother is coming back or when they will see him? I love that I have the answers for them. That we have the gospel in our life. That we can be together forever as a family. I'm so grateful these times have become happy teaching moments instead of sad times.

Merry Christmas! May your holiday be filled with love, joy and of course remembrance of the Savior.

The new Blogger!

Did you see that blogger is now out of Beta. They have their new version available. I am tempted to do it because of the new perks.

1. labeling
2. you can make your blog totally private so the only people that can read it are the ones you give permission. I find this feature to be a major plus. I have no idea who lurks on my blog and to be honest it scares me. So I guess it will weed out the lurkers. I welcome all readers I just would like to know who you are. :)

Hopefully all the problems are out of the new version because I may be switching sooner than later. Anyone else ready to switch?

edited to add
FYI...the word beta means the last software testing phase before a production rollout. So if something is beta they are testing the software for bugs and problems that may occur. If you switched before now then you became their guinea pigs. I think hotmail is in this phase right now, but I opted out of it because I could no longer use link or see photos. Anyway, blogger is out of the testing period and the new version is now available.

Pink Christmas arrived on my door today.

I am having a hard time not opening it. I thought I would just open it right away, but have been convincing myself to wait for Christmas. Now I'm not sure that I should.

Are you waiting until Christmas morning to open your Pink Christmas gift or have you done it already?

ten years

december 19, 1996

It feels like a lifetime (in a good way). In fact it's very difficult for me to remember a time when he wasn't in my life. He is so apart of everything I do and everything I am. He's my best friend and the one I turned to. He comforts me and makes me feel safe. Most importantly he makes me feel loved.

Last night we went to dinner, Bella has a recital tonight, and we reminisced the past ten years together. I was a lot of fun recounting the houses we've lived in, how many cars we've owned, our breakdowns...so on and so forth. It made me utterly grateful for all the good and bad times we experienced together because it has brought us to this place we're at right now. This close safe intimate place.

In honor of 10 years I'll give you 10 reasons why I love this man of mine.

1. He loves me and desires to know the woman I am.
2. He has such a great sense of humor and keeps me laughing.
3. His ability to communicate. He listens. He talks. He wants to know what I'm thinking.
4. He has the ability to see the woman that I can become.
5. His first priority is to his family.
6. He has a love for learning.
7. He has a love for life. To live his life without regrets. To make sure he's doing all that he can to create the life he has dreamed of.
8. He's extremely motivated. He goes after what he wants and he's not afraid to work.
9. He's talented and not just as an artist. He's an amazing teacher and loyal friend.
10. He's deep. He's complicated. He's mind never stops.

Adam, if your reading this, I love. I need. Thank you for talking. For listening. For healing. For being you. For making me laugh. For skipping with me in the parking lot. For learning patience. For loving me. Here's to the last ten years and for 10 more fabulous years ahead.

One of the first & favorite pictures Adam's drawn for me.

photo stamps

Ok tell me is this not the coolest thing you've ever seen? I've seen others do this before and have wanted to personalize me very own stamps, but never wanted to pay the extra price. Well I just couldn't help it. This photo was just screaming to me to be on a stamp. It's even more enjoyable sending out cards now. Anyway, I had them made here. Check them out they are always having deals.

Can you believe Christmas is next weekend? I'm sort of in a panic. Does anyone else feel like they are forgetting something or someone?

Hope everyone is getting a lot done this weekend.

meaning behind the 12 days of Christmas

I found this years ago and thought I would share. I think it's quite interesting. Keep in mind if you are doing the 12 days of Christmas for someone you should be starting tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus

2 turtle doves - represent joining of old and new testaments

3 french hens - represent trinity

4 calling birds - 4 evangelists and their gifts

5 golden rings - represents 5 books of the old testament

6 geese a laying - 6 days of creation of earth

7 swans a swimming - seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (prophecy, service, teaching, encouragement, giving, leadership, and mercy)

8 maids a milking - 8 beatitudes which spell out blessings for the lowly, such as milkmaids. Most familiar beatitude is "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth"

9 ladies dancing - 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control)

10 lords a leaping - ten commandments

11 pipers piping - 11 apostles who were true to Jesus

12 drummers drumming - 12 doctrines of the creed that summarizes the central beliefs of Catholicism

It's a winter wonderland out there

This morning we woke up to tons and tons of snow. It's at least 6 inches, if not more. I would know because I was out for an hour shoveling both driveways. It was so beautiful and surprising warm I didn't mind at all.


Tess has been asking the last several weeks, "when are we going to make a snowman?" I kept telling her we're waiting for the right kind of snow. So this morning when she saw that I was outside she immediately got dress with her boots and wanted to come join me. She even asked me if it was the right kind of snow. I told Megan to get ready as well and when I came back in to check on her this is what I found. Sweet little Megan in her dress up cloths. All I could do was laugh.After changing Megan and trying to find their gloves and hats we headed out to make our snowman. As it turns out, it was more challenging than I thought so Mr. Snowman, as they fondly call him, ended up quite small. I couldn't understand it, the snow was perfect for packing, but for some reason we couldn't get the balls big enough without them falling apart. Apparently I'm out of practice. Despite the size of him we had a lot of fun. Well I should say Tess and I did. Megan gave up after a while. I don't blame her as I couldn't find her gloves so I know she was cold. She did come back out to put on the carrot which she was thrilled about. Actually I think Tess' favorite part was looking for the sticks and rocks...she had to find the perfect ones. Winter is not my favorite, but playing in the snow like this totally redeems it. For those of you that got snow, how much did you get? I'm curious what a difference living on the bench is like since it's our first winter here.

it's a gift and everything we choose to make it

I sat down to read some blogs and the first few I visited, Jill's post about being comfortable with who we are and Crystalyn's post about being a happiness maker, really got me thinking about my life, this past year, and what I've been striving for. To be honest I think about this stuff all the time and actually talk about it with Adam a lot. I'm desperate to find the key to being completely happy all the time. Though I think that's a bit crazy, everyone has bad days, but I'm determine to make my life mine and stop wasting this beautiful gift that is life.

I'm, on a whole, a negative person or I should say I tend to see life in a negative light. I believe I have always been this way, but to tell you the truth I have no idea when my thoughts drifted. It's nothing I'm proud of, but the fact still remains the same. I realize the effect it has on me and those that are around me is very damaging. For years I have been desperate to change it, but have found it to be quite a difficult task. Almost to the point where I've felt it to be an impossible feat. I've definitely given up a few times and have, as a result, found myself in a very lonely place. Once again as I began my journey I was determined to make it right, though I knew it was far beyond what I was capable of and I couldn't do it alone. In searching for the right way to overcome my tendencies I came across some very powerful realizations about myself.

Being sad...this sad place I find myself frequently has become very comforting. To the point where I was afraid to let it go. I know that sounds very strange, but when something has been with you for so long it's hard to imagine life without it. I mean really why would I want to be uncomfortable. Silly me, that is what this life is about. Happiness isn't something that is given to us, it's something we attain. It's something we work for everyday of our life. It's uncomfortable. It pushes us to be all we can. It meant everything in the world to me once I realized what I wanted was in my control. I have the power to make my life what I desire. A few weeks ago Michelle quoted from the book "She", which I ordered and still never received, "She designed a life she loved." It struck me so deeply, but so did the word's Heidi Swapp wrote about the quote:

To me, this statement is about choices. It doesn't say anything about her circumstances, her strengths or weaknesses. It doesn't mention her challenges or her triumphs -- only the fact that she made a decision. That her life was HERs and she knew that it was too precious, too short and too wonderful not to LOVE.

I just kept saying to myself. "That's it. It's all up to me and me alone." Sounds simple, doesn't it? I believe the answers always are, it's the execution that becomes difficult. In Jill's Saturday post she gave the perfect quote to explain what I mean,

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. .." --marianne williamson

Once we find out what we are capable of it becomes harder and harder to sit idly by as life goes on without us; however, sometimes we do laze about and that's when we wished we never knew our potential. Ok, some of you may not feel this way, but I can totally relate. It's easier not to expect anything from myself. That's one of the reasons why I find being a SAHM (stay at home mom) difficult. There is no one evaluating you or making you responsible for your day/time. Again, it's up to me.

I have been amazed what going out of my comfort zone really feels like....awkward, uneasy, but always always rewarding in the end. Nothing in life comes without effort. NOTHING! That knowledge alone has given me so much hope and power and to be completely honest fear, because in the end I am responsible for the life I created. Man I have regretted a lot of things in my day, but I am determined not to regret my life. Truly it is a gift.

Done!

2005 card

Finally our Christmas cards are done. Hooray! Ok, I'm not completely done as I still need to pick them up from getting printed and stuff them in the envelops, but the hardest part is done. Adam was going to do them this year, but I played around in Photoshop anyway to create something. You never know what will come up. Turns out once he saw what I did he liked it enough to use them instead. I think he is so busy right now and doesn't need another deadline.

I love the tradition of send and receiving Christmas cards. I've always enjoyed sending them out and even more than that, I love receiving them. It's just about a "good mail" day everyday in December. I need to pull out all our creations just so I can remember all the cards we've sent the past 10 years. Wow, I can't believe there have been so many.

I think the rest of us our safe

Friday night we all went to sleep like every other night until about 11:58pm when Megan woke up puking all over the place. Adam was the first one to get to her and I followed shortly after. We got her all clean up and laid her back down to sleep with a water and fresh jammies. For all of you who know this flu has been going around in the extended family, so I felt slightly prepared, yet I still wasn't prepared for what happened the rest of the night. Megan proceeded to wake up 17 time puking every time throughout the night. It was literally every 20 minutes on the dot. Adam couldn't get back to sleep after the 3rd time so he ended up watching TV all night and joined me when Megan needed help. I couldn't believe what was happening and after about the 7th time I turned to him and said, "See you in 20 mintues." Finally around 3:20am he begged me to stay in bed and he would take care of her. I must say I hate to get up, but when it comes to my kids needing help I have a hard time letting go. I was however, grateful for his suggestion...I don't remember being so exhausted. I felt so badly for her and was just grateful she was at least able to sleep from 4:40am-10:30am. She did start to feel better once the afternoon came, which I was so grateful for. She was cracking jokes and playing with the girls.

That night around midnight Adam got really sick. He was up all night again dealing with himself. I must say I was very fearful of who would be next. The next few nights when I put the older girls to bed I talked them thru what to do if they felt sick in the night. As it turns out no one else has gotten it. I feel confident that it's out of the house, but you never know. Every night I go to bed I pray that was the last of it and so far so good. I am hoping this will be it for the winter season, but somehow I doubt it.

Have you guys been dealing with sickness in your home?

You would not believe...

That I actually think about posting everyday, but for one reason or another it doesn't always happen. Suffice to say I have some catching up to do...as usual. Here are a few photos from the night we all went to temple square. It was sooo cold I'm not sure we even stayed out there for longer than 30 minutes. Despite the winter chill it's a fun life long tradition that I'm glad I was able to experience again with my family.




My basement has been driving me crazy or I should say the lack of organization for my girl's toys has been driving me crazy. To think that Christmas is on it's way is enough for me to try to do something about this problem. So all day yesterday I put up shelves, bought storage bins, and organized the toys. I found it so satisfying to do and the girls even got way into it. They each took one of the small bins for themselves and demanded a label for it. This started the labeling craze so now all the bins are neatly labeled and in place. It's unbelievable how much stuff you find just by emptying everything out and starting over. I must say when I look at the closet and realize it's completely full, I don't know where the new toys are going to go. We for sure need to have each of the kids give away one big item. It just gets to be too much. Anyone else with me on that? So I mentioned the girls were so excited...Bella said, "we have a new house." and Tess wanted to have a sleepover in the living room. I was glad they were as thrilled with the project as I. Perhaps they will keep it looking like this for more than 24 hours. We'll see I guess, but I'm not counting on it.

Childhood

Yesterday, I hate to admit this, I was just getting around to taking a photo of my pink Christmas gift when I turned around and saw this....Tess and Megan dancing in front of the mirror. They were twirling, giggling, jumping, and having the best time together. Lately Megan has shown an interest in dressing up and Tess has loved having a devoted playmate. They were so cute together I just sat and watched until they noticed I was looking. I couldn't have been happier in that moment seeing how happy they were together.

Can I just say we laughed til it hurt.

Last night we attempted a new Christmas tradition...gingerbread houses. We've never made them before, but thought it would be something fun for us to do since the kids are a bit older. We had this great idea, thanks to Martha Stewart, to make them out of graham crackers. I figured we would copy her model and do a small house, one for each kid, but Adam apparently had something else in mind. He attempted to build a large house. In our defense we decided to do it so early in the season as a trial run. We figured we would do it again. Well I sure hope we do because our first attempt was less than stellar. Not that the house was bad by any means, but we learned gram crackers are not the medium for making these houses. Too crumbly, too soft, and too delicate. Every time I looked over at his creation I laughed. He was even laughing. We decided it wasn't structurally sound for candy and left it bare for now. The girls and I started to make the small houses from the magazine. Not quite what the original looked like, but good enough for us. Megan enjoyed putting candy on the roof so much she just ate it. Tess finished hers and was so proud of it. Bella's fell apart so she sat on the couch and started to read. I suppose even though the end result was not what we thought, we sure had a lot of fun trying to make them.

For all of you with this tradition do you have any advice for us? We want to try it again.

unexpected

It was late Friday when we decided to go out for a home depot run. I had been organizing my closet (i found $300 in the process :O) that day and wanted to get more shelves. While we were out we ended up getting a tree. This was not on my list of things to do, i didn't even have my camera, but Home Depot prices were amazing and they had beautiful trees. When we were loading it in the car I figured we wouldn't start decorating until Saturday because it was so late, but I had to go get the tree stand from the attic anyway so I brought down all the Christmas decorations and we went for it. This was always my favorite part of Christmas...trimming the tree. It makes me so happy to know that I can now share that with my children. The girls love doing it and it's obvious by the mass of ornaments on the bottom. We still have more to decorate in the house, but I have loved having the magical glow of the Christmas tree lighting up our home each night. Why not enjoy every moment while you can.

So have you decorated yet? If not when do you plan to?

Lately...

I haven't had much to say, well that's not entirely true. I've had a ton on my mind, but really nothing you would want to read about and truly nothing I want to share right now. So that's where I've been.

Anyway....

Yesterday I was looking on an old CF card and found this photo of Tess sleeping on our glass table (it was taken way back in May). Finding photos I forgot about is like reaching into a pair of pants and finding $20. It such a thrill. I just thought it was the most interesting and uncomfortable place to fall asleep. Thank goodness for beds.I also wanted to thank Crystalyn for the chocolate package I received in the mail. It certainly did the trick at lifting my spirits.
I know tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'm sure everyone will have a "what I'm grateful for post", but I've especially been thinking about it non stop since yesterday when I participated in a "fast and feast" with the YW/YM. Plus doing one of my G lists always makes me happy.

So here's my short list in no particular order.
1. my family
2. life
3. Savior
4. knowledge of the gospel
5. freedom
6. free agency/opportunity
7. prayer
8. companionship of the Holy Ghost
9. health
10. temple promises/blessings
11. support
12. creativity

I'm sure I'll share more tomorrow because literally this list is endless. What is something you're grateful for today?

creative few days

I've been trying the last few days to finish up layouts I started while scrapbooking with my friends a few weeks ago. Adam's going out of town tomorrow for the weekend and I want to be in the scrapbook mode so I can more easily play while the girls sleep.



Here's also a few photos I took of the girls this morning that made me extremely happy.






What made you happy today?

It went something like this...

Bella: "Tess will you show kindness to me and later I'll show kindness to you. You can show me kindness by giving me a bite of your ice-cream."
Tess: Just looked at her and kept eating.
Bella: (spelling out) P L E A S E
Tess: (spelling out) N O

I took this photo with my first digital back in july 2002. I can totally remember this day. Bella had just read a book to Tess. She loved her just as much then as she does now.

It was quite the conversation to witness. I really had to hold in the laughter. These two are so close, but also big time rivals. When Lori was staying with the girls she thought Tess was really jealous of Bella because so much of the day is centered around her. I don't know that I would call it jealousy. I've noticed Tess from an early age always doing things to bother Bella because you learn quickly that you can easily torment her. For instance Bella will want to have a sleep over and Tess will deny her. Or deliberately not want to watch the movie Bella wants. She knows how to push her buttons and she will from time to time. She does not do this with Megan. I think she knows Megan won't put up with her antics because she doesn't give her any kind of reaction. This frightens me a bit. I try not to stress about it too much and just chalk it up to kids being kids. It's so interesting how you can have 3 girls and them be so different. They really do come preprogrammed.

update

I've had a lot of response about blog help. Way more than I thought. Not that I care it's just been interesting to see who lurks. I wanted to let you know I will get to you all asap. A lot of the questions are time consuming so just be patient.

thanks.

Ok I'm just going to throw this out there.

Lately I've been reading a lot about css and html code. I know not very exciting stuff right? Well actually I really enjoy it. Anyway, my point is this...if you need/want any help with your blog just ask. I've had several inquiries for help so I thought I'd let everyone know in case there is something on your blog you're dying to change. I'm more than happy to help get your blog looking the way you want. Want to get rid of bullets on your links or add/change things or help with banner just let me know. Can't say that I know it all, but I know enough...I think.

Oh and one more thing. If you are using firefox what does my blog look like to you? I've realized on that particular browser my blog is not publishing properly. I suppose if it's still not working you won't see this post to answer it. Oh well. I'll keep trying to figure it out.

So if your interested email me

The charlie brown in our house.

Yes, we have two Charlie Browns living in our home. First one was Bella and now Megan has developed these same "uhh" sounds while drooping her head and shoulders down toward the ground. Every time I see it I laugh and the "CB song", we all know so well, always plays in my head. Of course Megan, like with all things, has taken it a step further and started to fake cry. It's really hard not to laugh at this because it's so obvious. Anyway, on this particular night Megan, who had only picked the craisins out of her salad, declared she was ready for a cookie. When I gave her the "I'll be happy to get you one as soon as you're done with dinner" routine, she turned to Adam and asked the same question. To her surprise she got the same response. Apparently it was too much for her because the next thing she did was throw herself down on the counter in pure frustration. Adam and I seriously had to hold it in. So glad my camera was an arms length away. Too funny.

Has anyone ever heard of children mellowing before they become teenagers? I fear this one.

what I'm up to...

I have so enjoyed the weather the last few days. This morning was so warm the girls and I worked outside for several hours putting away lawn furniture and racking leaves. I just love it when I feel like I've accomplished so much while involving the kids.

Another fun task I've done with Tess today is scan her art. Since school started she has really shown improvement in the art department. There have been pictures she's brought home that I've actually questioned whether or not she drew them. I know she did though. She's more creative these days. In fact yesterday dinner was taking more time than planned so the family sat down and watched "Everyday Italian" together (now Megan asks for it), but Tess chose to draw instead. I've been meaning to scan her projects so I can have a digital copy, plus I am working on a layout for her. She loved helping me do this.

I've also been going through tons of old cloths in search of warm weather clothing for Tess and Megan. I've bought them a few things, but knew I had a bunch of stuff in boxes so I wanted to go through them before I bought anything else. Well, apparently Tess doesn't need any pants. I turned up about 12 pairs of pants just for her. I was actually really surprised that most of them fit. She has such a small body but needs the length of the bigger size so the adjustable waist has saved us; however, back in the day they didn't have adjustable waist so I was afraid most things wouldn't fit. I guess it pays to have all girls and a sister with two who spent $ on nice durable pants. (Shirts are a different story and most the time I end up buying new tees every year.) Both Megan and Tess got a kick out of looking through all the cloths and never complained once when I asked them to try something on. Why would they, they change their cloths several time throughout the day. I think I have some fashion lovers on my hands.

Yesterday I spent a lot of time completing my monthly goal of going through all my photos from the month and getting prints made. I remember Jill telling me one of the reasons that kept her from going digital was you never have any prints. It's so true. If you don't stay on top of it you end up with a lot of photos in a file just sitting on your computer instead of the usual stack of prints. So I made a goal that ever month I would go through my photos, upload them, and get them printed out. I have done this for about the last 6 months and have loved it. Now I have photos to scrapbook and a pile to enjoy flipping through. I just sent in an order to shutterfly yesterday and I'm so excited to get them back. Adam is going out of town this week so I am hoping to spend more time being creative than worrying about dinner and house stuff. Here are just a few photos I took from our outing to the "pumpkin patch" a few weeks ago. I had not looked at them before yesterday. In fact I sort of forgot about them. I wonder how long they would have gone unnoticed without my monthly goal.

What are you up to this week?
Don't forget to vote!

It was one of those phone calls that you dread

You know the ones that start of with "Bella was at recess..." I was fearing the worst, but got better news than I was expecting...so I thought. This all happened yesterday when Bella fell off the monkey bars. In her words, "It's just that I was trying to start out on the second bar like everyone else, but I missed". Her fall caused her to hurt her back and wrist. She was really upset when I spoke to her on the phone so I picked her up from school early. I didn't think much about it since her wrist wasn't swollen at all and she could move it. So this morning when I noticed she wasn't doing so good I took her to the doctor to find out if there was something wrong. I really thought they would take an x-ray and we'd be on our way...I mean I was just being cautious by taking her in. It turns out she has a "bracket fracture". It's where the bone compresses and bulges out. I could see from the x-ray what the doctor was talking about, though I've never heard of this. The bluge is actually quite small. Apparently it happens to children since their bones are softer. Even with this news I thought no big deal, she'll heal up in a few weeks. Apparently not, you still need a cast for this sort of fracture. I was way bummed. She has to have it on for 6 weeks. Luckily it's her left hand, but sadly I don't think she will be able to play her violin. That sort of stresses me out because all this work she's putting into playing will go out the drain in 6 weeks. Arrgh! Oh well. No worries. I am just so grateful she wasn't hurt worse and that I actually went in. The doctor said we were lucky to catch it.

While I was taking pictures of Bella's cast she said, "make sure to put this on your blog so that Whitney knows." Too funny. I didn't even know she had any idea about my blog. So Jill make sure to show Whitney.

Oh and here is another layout I did from the other night that I just finished up really quickly this afternoon by putting on the title and journaling.

Have a great weekend.

Lighthouse tour Day 2

I'm under the impression blogger hates me. It's not allowing me to post photos so if you want to get a visual just click on the links provided. I will keep trying.

We woke up this morning and had breakfast at the bed and breakfast we stayed at. I have never actually stay for the breakfast when I stay at B&Bs. In fact I always thought they gave out pastries instead of a full meal. It was by far the best breakfast of the trip. Shirley, the woman running the B&B, knows how to cook and host. She was very funny and had interesting stories to tells us about her famous, yes famous, seagull named Baby. Apparently he had a broken leg and she feed him back to health. He found a mate who also had a bad leg and they lived happily by the B&B until she broke her other leg and then ended up dying. Apparently Baby wouldn't eat and almost died (I was teary at this point). He eventually found the will to live and found himself another woman. Apparently he lives at his woman's place these days, but I saw his celebrity first hand in a golf magazine. Too funny.

After breakfast we headed out of town to our second lighthouse of the trip, Cape Arago. It was only viewable from a distance. It was quite small where we were, but through my lens you got a decent view. It was a bit out of the way from highway 101, but such a gorgeous drive. At some point we were driving amids the tree in a fog. It was very cool. Here we are with the lighthouse at a distance...you can't even make it out.

As we headed out of this small town we saw a place called "Fun center" with the word "adult" circled at the top. Why am I telling you this...because it was located across from a school. Unbelievable.

Next on our list was Cape Umpqua. This was the first one we were able to tour. We waited for a while for the tour to start and spent time in the small museum and gift shop. Our tour guide was Bob and he liked to talk. He gave us some interesting info that really helped me for the rest of the trip, but my goodness he talked a lot. I thought it was really funny at the end when he said he always wanted to be a History teacher, but ended up being a chemist. I was happy to see him retired and doing what he always wanted. Very cool to see someone living their dream.

Back on highway 101 we headed to my favorite Lighthouse of the trip, Heceta Head. It was in an amazing spot. The drive, the hike up to it, and the surrounding area...just stunning. It was located just above a calm cove with rocks and of course tons of trees. The hike to the lighthouse was needless to say beautiful. Most of the way was lined with raspberry bushes so I can only imagine what it would look like in the summer. We actually got there just in time to take the last tour. It actually looked a lot like Cape Umpqua, but enjoyed it just as much. We spent a lot of time at the lighthouse and the surrounding area. It was just so beautifully overcast and the weather was delightful...plus there was a ton of sea life to see.

Next we head to our last location, Newport. We got there pretty late so just headed to our hotel and then out to dinner. We ate at a restaurant down by the water. It was a scary looking place, but actually had great food. From our room I could actually see one of the lighthouses on our list from the hotel window. It made me very happy to see the lighthouse signature.

All and all it was a perfect day. As the afternoon came in it began to get cloudy, but perfect temperature. I can't say the same for day 3. Coming soon.

from me and my chicken

Happy Hallween!

sharing.

I didn't really say anything about the other night I scrapbooked. I had an excellent time and don't know why it doesn't happen more often. When I get back in the creating groove I feel so much better about life. I don't know what it is, but it's definitely a comfort. I have said this before, but I am committing to myself to really try to make a better effort to creating more.

I was only able to get about 5 layouts partially done, I seriously talked way to much without moving my hands. Mostly all I have to do is add the journaling and a few embellishments that are too bulky to go through my printer. I am hoping to finish them sometime this week or weekend depending on what's going on. Honestly I haven't thought past Halloween.


This layout is the only one I actually completed 100%. It's because it doesn't have journaling. Hold the show, I know this seems so unlike me since journaling is so key...it's why I started scrapbooking in the first place, but on layouts I do this way I always add my thoughts on the back. It's a personal note that I hope one day they will discover. I think I may frame this and put it in Tess' room. I just love this photo of her so much.

How many of you scrapbook and how often do you do it?

Her courage

Megan and I decided at the beginning of last week that today was the day she would throw away her binkies. I have wanted to do it for weeks, but knew she wasn't quite ready. So this morning she woke me up racking a back scratcher across my face. Not the best of wake ups but I love to she her cute little face saying, "Mommy wake up!" I gave her a big smile and said, "Are you ready to throw your binkies today?" She said "yes" with a joyful voice and ran out to find them. We all helped her search, but was only able to come up with 3. I know this sounds bad, but I know there are at least 3 more roaming around...hopefully they will stay hidden. As we were searching she popped one in her mouth and you could see her will was crumbling. It broke my heart to think she won't have it anymore, but we're doing it on her terms not mine so I don't feel like a mean mom. When I realized this was all we were going to find we headed out to garbage can outside because it gets pick up tomorrow. She sat in Adam's arms over the trash and just looked over at me and said, "Mommy, I can't do it." It broke my heart to see her struggle and I wanted to say ok lets go in and put them all away, but I held strong. I decided to give her a choice she could put it in the garbage we could put it in a box and take them away. She choose the box. She was actually pretty excited about that alternative. Then we went inside and continued with our morning. She told everyone at church that would listen that she "put her binkies in a box and threw them away". They all praised her and said what a big girl she was. She seemed to be so excited about the attention. She went down for her nap fine although she didn't sleep as long as she usually does. I have no idea if that has something do with the time change or not. Sunday's are sort of weird for naps anyway. We went to my parents for dinner tonight and she was so excited to tell her grandparents and Chris and Amy. She is really proud of herself. So this evening as I was walking out of her room after getting everything situated with all her stuff she sleeps with she called me back in her room and said, "my binky." I reminder where her binkies were and she said "Ok."

I get teary just thinking about it. She's my baby and I'm not sure I'm ready to see her all grown up. She made a huge step today. My stubborn little girl gave away one of the things she loves most. I'm very proud of her for having the courage to do it.

I have no business blogging...

I have a lot I want to accomplish today, but wanted to drop one of my quick random posts if nothing more than for me to remember.

Round two of carving pumpkins took place last night. It wasn't as big a deal this time. I mean the girls were excited, but not as participant. Tess pretty much was Adam's helper as usual, Bella made Halloween books, and Megan was clinging to me since she didn't feel well.

• Today I'm trying to get ready for a scrapbook crop tonight with some of my friends. I'm really excited about this and for a couple of weeks thought I was unable to go so now I am even more excited. It has been so long since I've done this and I so enjoying getting together creating, talking, eating, and being with other woman. Enter side story...While in the airport I saw two woman carrying luggage that screamed "scrapbookers". I was in line behind them so I asked them if they were going to a convention or something. They told me they were meeting a few friends for a week of scrapbooking. I must say I was a little jealous. A full week of this...I would love that. Back to present...I do find it very hard to pack up what I want since these days I am not planning pages like I use to. Plus I find it hard to be away from the computer since I do most of my journaling this way. Perhaps tonight I will do more journaling by hand. Yikes...I'm not a fan of my handwriting. Anyone else have issues with that?
• This morning Bella had her school Halloween parade. I always find this to be a very fun activity for me and the kids, but hate that our school does it on a Friday (their short day) no matter what. I have heard the teachers have complained that Halloween ends up a wasted day so they want to do it on the short day of the week. I say, make Halloween the short day then. For some reason it just bothers me. As if the kids are going to come to school on Halloween and focus. What are they thinking? Anyway, Bella was so cute and her costume fits perfect. Luckily because we didn't even try it on until last night. If you can't tell she is a Snow Angel and a cute one at that. Tess wore her costume and she keeps telling people she is "Bella" because it's Bella's old costume from 2 yrs ago. I find it funny to see the perplexed look on the adults face. It's too funny to correct so I don't. Megan would not wear her costume so hopefully she will for Halloween night.
• Bella is invited to a party today of a little boy who Tess is also friends with. Tess was there when we bought the gift and she kept asking me why she couldn't go. She was so disappointed and I felt so bad for her. She continues to tell Bella to make sure and tell the birthday boy the gift is from her as well. Poor Tess.
• Does anyone else feel like all they do is laundry?
• Speaking of laundry...I spoke to Lori while I was in OR and she said she was having a hard time getting Megan dressed because she could find anything warm. I was confused because I've bought her 3 pairs of pants for the winter. I just figured they were in the load of laundry I left drying, but apparently they aren't. I wasn't too concerned though felt bad Lori was struggling with cloths. So now that I'm back I can't find them anywhere. I cannot for the life of think of where they could be. Certainly they can't just vanish. Things like this always seem to happen to me. The only places she has worn them overnight are to her Nana's and Jill's, but I know if they had them they would already know. I am just confused as to where they could be. It's drving me nuts.
• Let the festivities continue...tomorrow we're going on our annual pumpkin patch outing . We probably would have done it earlier in the month had it not been for our trip. This is usually when we get the second dose of pumpkins. We won't be carving these ones, but will have out as decor for the big night. Can you tell we love pumpkins. Doing this is probably more fun for me than trick or treating.

I'm off. Enjoy your day and weekend.

Apparently I'm living in the wrong city.

I saw this on Lori's blog so I had to give it a try. I love things like this.

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city girl with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

Give it a try I would love to know what city you belong to.

The tooth fairy will be visiting our house for the first time tonight

Bella woke up in the middle of the night to tell me she had pulled out her tooth. Lucky for me I was on my computer so she didn't wake me up...I guess something good does come from staying up late. Her tooth was more than ready to come out and I'm glad she waited until we got home so I could participate in the tooth fairy tradition. She is very excited about this and has apparently talked to all her friends at school. I have been told by Bella "If you loose your tooth at school you get $10 and if you loose your tooth at home you get $2". Ok so it's safe to say I'm glad it was at home.

Anyway, this is my first time. I was wondering what are some of your traditions? I wanted to do something a little different for the first tooth, but haven't completely decided what. She wants to take her tooth to school and show her class, apparently it's fine with her teacher, so that leaves me another day to think of something. If anyone has anything please share .

Oh and btw is it snowing for any of you? It is here....I'm not ready for winter.

Day One of the Lighthouse Tour

I don't know what business I have staying up late. It was 11:30ish when I came downstairs to download my photos onto my computer. It seemed to take about 1/2 hour. I guess that's what happens when you take over 800 pictures. Anyway I should be going to bed, I know I'm going to regret this tomorrow, but I wanted to at least look through the first day and post a few photos.

First just let me say it was such an amazing trip. Oregon is absolutely the most beautiful coast I've seen. The steep cliffs, rocky terrain, and wooded landscape are to die for. Seriously loved ever minute of the traveling.

The first day we got off the plane and headed out to our first little town, Bandon. I don't think I realized how small the towns are that dot the Oregon coast. "Tiny ones" as Megan would say. Though small, they were quaint and very inviting. We definitely took our time traveling and even stopped at a very cool cemetery along the way. I know what your thinking, pretty crazy for someone like me, but I loved how old the graves were and that it was nestled along a woody forest...what's not in Oregon?

When we got to Bandon we headed straight for the Coquille River Lighthouse. We were hoping to make it in time to go in, but sadly it closed an hour earlier than expected. Not to worry, we walked along the lighthouse and surrounding rocky area which included the jette where we were splashed more than once by the crashing waves. It was amazing. We took a short walk along the beach when we found this incredibly long seaweed Adam started throwing around like a whip as if he were Indian Jones...I will spare you the photos. Anyway, he got creative and spelled out his nickname for me. I just love that man.

We quickly headed to our bed & breakfast that overlooked the Lighthouse. The lady who ran the place, Shirley, wanted everyone to check in by 6pm because she goes down to her room to get ready for bed at that time since she gets up at 4am. Crazy. She was the funniest lady. I really enjoyed her company in the morning over breakfast. Might I just add her breakfast was the best breakfast I had the entire trip. It came with interesting stories that had me teary eyed. For that you'll have to wait for my next installment. I need to get to bed.

Blogger hates me and is not letting me download more than one photo. Go here to see more from the first day. I will be updating this as I go through photos. I really only chose a few to tell my story.

Catching up

I'm back and just trying to catch up with everything....mail, school, laundry, house etc. I actually enjoy doing these things after vacation. I'm always ready to jump back into life. It was really great seeing my girls again. I certainly missed them. It's always so strange how much bigger they look. Thank you to Lori, my mom, nana, Jill and all those who helped with my girls or Lori with them. It was also fun to come home to good mail. So thank you Jenn the Halloween package.

I am hoping to look through some of my photos of the trip and share some today. Don't know if that will happen since it's at the bottom of the list, but will do it asap.

So I'm off.

I can't believe we are really doing this. It seems like such a long time coming and really I only had to wait a little over a week. Nice. Don't get me wrong I'm so excited about this, but I will be more excited once I get the whole plane ride over (not really a huge fan these days).

I think I will have access to wireless so I'll probably check in a few days. But honestly I can already tell you the highlights, driving up the coast with Adam, taking pictures, the amazing lighthouses, good food, and just savoring the quality time.

So for now I will leave you with these photos that reminds me why I love home so much. I will certainly miss my girls. It's always hard for me to leave, but it's so great coming home to them. I hope they have the best time they could possibly have without us. And of course my daily view of the mountains. I am always so impressed when I fly into the valley and see just how massive they really are.

Have a great week.

It's been a PINK day...so far

This morning I knew that I wouldn't be going out of the house since my niece is over playing so I started working on my "Pink Christmas" gift. I am not done as I still need to get a few more things, but I am more than half way there. I am getting excited about this. I can't wait to give my gift and hope she likes it.

















So why is today such a "pink" day? Well, there are five girls in my house, four of which are wearing pink. I am wearing the coziest pink socks ever (one of my better purchases at Costco). I have been knee deep in "Pink Christmas". And in the mail today I got pink wind chimes from Kristy. Thank you so much. I love them and can't wait to add them to my collection. No wonder Tess is afraid of the wind...when it blows you should hear the sound. I just love it.

What is pink in your life today?