This year we have been having a grand time doing things for others!  Now that we are living in town, it is much easier to participate in service projects!  The kids and I have had so much fun doing things!  First of all, the boys Boy Scout troop sent boxes of goodies over to a Unit in Iraq.  Each family brought stuff, and when all was said and done, there were 18 boxes!  There was everything from tissues, soap, snacks, pens, writing paper, jerky, drink mixes, soups, and even a little Christmas tree that the Scoutmaster’s wife made.  The boys also made Christmas cards for each member of the unit…80 cards!  Each boy made about 5 each.  We missed the meeting where they made the cards, so my boys made theirs at home.  They put a lot of effort and thought into them, thanking them for their service, for putting their lives in danger, and for protecting us.

The next thing we did was make some baskets/boxes of goodies for people that we have in our church or that we have been praying for in our church.  We are mailing 4 boxes, and delivering 6 baskets.  I got on a roll making crafts, and was thereby nominated to be the craft coordinator each month at our Ladies Luncheon.  We figured that if we worked on a project each month, we would have quite a bit of things ready for next Christmas’s baskets and boxes!  I went perusing on the internet and have already come up with a few easy but cute ideas.  It’s kind of fun!  I told dh last night, "Somebody STOP ME!!"  (If you have ever watched those older Jim Carrey movies, you’ll know what I am quoting, although I’m not even sure which one it comes from.)

We also helped out with the Secret Santa program.  The older four children and I went to a big warehouse where they had collected all kinds of toys, winter gear, games, blankets, books, crafty items, bath items, jewelry, etc. and volunteered for 3 hours.  We were given a wish list written by the mother for each of her children, gathered several items off of the list, as well as some stocking stuffers, hats and gloves, and wooden cars made by local prisoners, put them in a big black garbage bag, and took them out to the big garage area that was FULL of black bags!  We were able to select presents for 11 children, ages 1-16.  The kids had such a great time picking things for the kids.  It was really neat to see their eyes light up and say, "He/she would LOVE this!"  the kids didn’t want to stop, but since Daddy was at home trying to work with the two little ones, I had to drag them away.  Even on Christmas morning a couple of the kids mentioned that they wondered how the kids liked their gifts.  We will definitely do it again next year, and maybe be able to go several different times.  It really makes you grateful for the things that we were able to do for our kids.

Here’s hoping that you had a lovely holiday season and a blessed Christmas, and that your focus remained on the good gifts that God has given to you.

I just HAD to sneak on here and post.  Wow, what a month!  I can’t believe our 3-week break is almost over.  we are heading up north to our friends home for the weekend tonight.  I really, really, want to go, but I don’t.  The thought of "losing" the last couple of days of being able to get things done is hard.  Maybe that is why God is sending me away, so I will be forced to just relax.  Our friends have 8 kids still at home, and our kids all really enjoy them.  Their best friends live there!  They plan to go sledding and maybe ice skating all day on Saturday.  The older two girls adore my little boys, so I will probably hardly even see them.  They will be carried around, gotten food and water, etc.  We will probably play games, eat good food, and visit.  It will be relaxing…but, there is so much to be done here!!!   But isn’t there always?  I am trying to change my attitude this morning.  Is it showing?

We did so much this holiday!  It will take a month of postings just to write it all down!

1) Made church baskets
2) Went to Grandma’s
3) Delivered baskets
4) Went to Smiths
5) Did Special Santa program
6) Christmas Eve in Talkeetna
7) Christmas morning at home
8) Christmas dinner in Palmer
9) Started building boys’ bedrooms downstairs!!!
10) Celebrated Micah’s 3rd birthday!
11) New Years Eve watching movies/eating popcorn with the kids
12) New Years Day Family Christmas Party at our house – FUN!
13) Started building the boys’ ceilings/storage area

Wow.  That makes me tired just re-reading it.  I guess we got more done than I realized!  We were SO busy.  Next year we are talking about just going to Talkeetna for Christmas, and spending 2-4 days up at the cabin.  I think that would cut down on a lot of the hustle and bustle and driving and cooking and packing and unpacking etc.

And the Special Santa program was totally neat!  The kids and I will definitely be doing that again next year!  That will have to be a whole post!

I better get something done around here before we have to leave…like take a shower, pack, clean the kitchen, fold laundry, blah, blah, blah…..

Grace (with an attitude)

 We are FINALLY getting some serious snow!  My kids are so excited!  We went up to my in-laws this weekend an hour north of here, and they had several feet of snow, so my kids were having a ball building a snow fort, and were bemoaning the fact that we didn’t have any yet.  Well, God heard their cries!  It is DUMPING!  Of course I have to go out for violin lessons today, so that’s not really cool, but it is SO lovely out now!  I’ll have to post some pictures.

Grace

I woke up this morning and I didn’t have a headache, and I could breathe!  Thank you for your prayers for me!

The kids are all caught up to our yearly schedule, we have one more week until we break for three weeks for Christmas, the pantry is stocked, the presents are mostly bought, the tree is up, life is GOOD!!!

I just had to share…well, I am off to make some Chex party mix and some rolls with my daughter.  Have a great weekend!

Grace

P.S. Thanks for the prayers, Secret sister!!  Ooh!  I’m so excited about you!

You all make your blogs so pretty.  Kris made mine pretty, but I have no idea how to change it for the seasons like you all do, or add cute designs.  I don’t make the time to figure it out either though, so I guess that’s my bad.

I have been reading a fabulous new book!  I hosted the Ladies Luncheon at my house a couple of weeks ago, and one of our lovely church ladies loaned it to me!  It is called Passionate Housewives: Desperate for God.  It’s co-written by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald.  It is SO wonderful!  Every woman should read it!  I blogged about it a few entries ago, but never thought I would be able to get my hands on it so soon!  If you can get your hands on it, DO!  Ask for it for Christmas!  It is SO pertinent, and timely for me.

The first chapter paints a picture of a harried mom with 5 kids, who dreams of the "good" life.  I was really feeling like that just a day before it was loaned to me, and then my Scouts got sick and needed to stay home from church, so I stayed with them and spent most of the day reading this!  I usually take forever to finish a book, and I think I will have this done in three weeks, which is a major record for me!

Anyway, I just wanted to prompt you ladies to get ahold of this and read it.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Oh!  I just remembered this!  I got an email from Homeschooling Today, and if you subscribe, they send you this book for free!  It’s a $16 book, but you can get the magazine subscription for $21 (I think) and then get the book for free!  I was thinking about doing that, just so I get more for my money!  I want one of these books on my shelf to re-read regularly, and for my daughter to read when she is a teen.  Hey!  How about get one of these for your teen daughter for Christmas!  Then you can sneak read it, but you won’t be spending the money on YOU!  That’s how I am anyway….

Ok, dh just got home, so I am getting off now.  Ah…and he brought me a treat from town!  How sweet!!!  I love my dh!

Grace

I am so bad about making the time to post on here.  I wind up spending most of my online time reading other people’s blogs, or surfing around on interesting links from other blogs!  Geesh!

Tonight, I was helping the boys distribute the Boy Scout popcorn that they sold, and I accidentally went down a wrong driveway…I was turning around when I saw a big flashlight shining at me and was pretty sure there was someone on the other side of the light coming toward me.  It wasn’t the best neighborhood (not sure why we sold there, but it is near our house) so I finished turning around, and got out of there.  I figured that was the end, but after I pulled into the RIGHT driveway, had gotten out of the car, opened the back, and was getting the popcorn out, I hear a truck on the road behind me.  I look up to see the truck pass the driveway I am in, slam on his brakes, back up, and come toward me with his plow!  I prayed, "God protect us!" and told my 7yo cub scout to go up onto the porch.  I was hoping he would knock on the door so that I would have backup!  (He was too scared to do so.)  This guy jumps out of his truck and starts reaming me for pulling in his driveway, how he is sick of people doing it, how he has been taking down license plates and calling the police, etc.  I told him I was sorry, and that I was just delivering Boy Scout popcorn and had accidentally pulled down the wrong driveway.  I don’t think he even listened to me!  He continued to tell me to quit driving down his driveway, made reference to not usually "packing" (!) and left.  My heart was pounding so hard!

My dad and husband told me I should report it, so I did call the Troopers.  I don’t know what good it will do, but the gal that bought the popcorn said that he confronted her last summer too.  I think maybe he was growing something in his kitchen if you know what I mean, and doesn’t like visitors.  There is a lot of that going on here….

Well, just so you all know I’m not sitting around eating bon-bons and watching the tube….

Grace

I actually have a menu, or at least a list of recipes to make this week!  I made it last Wednesday as I sat in the car, waiting for my 11yo to finish his piano lesson.  The piano teacher’s house is between our house and town, but not really close enough to anything to actually run any errands.  It has worked out pretty well though, as I usually use the time to clean out the car, read a book (not very productive with four little one climbing around!), or make other plans.  This week I thought far enough in advance to bring my cookbooks and make a list of recipes I wanted to make this week!  Here it is:

Hamburger Soup with Barley
Taco Soup with Black Beans 
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Evie’s Spanish Rice
Tostadas
Empanada Pie
Italian Style Shepherd’s Pie

All of these are new recipes too!  I love trying new recipes.  Last week, I also made steak, overnight mashed potatoes, garlic bread, salad, and German Chocolate Cake on Friday night for dh’s birthday; leftovers with frozen pizza on Saturday night, and then dh and I made tacos on Sunday night.

Tonight, I tried the Taco Soup recipe.  It was in my Fix It and Forget It crockpot recipe book, on page 36 for those of you who have that book.  It was scrumptious!!  I made cornbread to go with it, and we put cheese and sour cream on top of the soup.  It has more of a chili than a soup consistency.  SO good!

Tomorrow will have to be something simple though, as my 7yo has an eye appointment tomorrow at 4:30pm, and then we will probably just stay in town until Boy Scouts at 6:30pm.  I need to pick up new piano books for my 11yods anyway.

That reminds me…I need to work on cutting out wolf profiles and letters from some fleece I picked up at JoAnn’s for my 7yods’s Cub Scout den to make their flag.  I bought 1 yard of $3/yard thick tan khaki material, which needs to be hemmed for the actual flag.  Then I picked up some fleece on a 40% off sale: gray for the wolf profiles and goldish orange for the letters.  I figure I will cut out letters to spell out: Pack 367 Wolf Den 2007.  Then the boys can draw faces on their wolves along with their name, and glue them onto to khaki material.  It only cost me about $6 total!  I also bought 3 bottles of craft glue at $.99/each.  I am dealing with 10 extremely wild 8yo boys …well, actually 8 wild ones, and 2 mellow ones, the two homeschooled ones!  

Dh is reading a P.B. Bear book to the little kids right now with a heavy Scottish accent.  It’s hilarious!  He is so funny!  The older two boys are even being entertained!

Oh, and my 2yo just flushed his favorite bathtub duckie named George down the toilet.  He is crying, "I want to see George again!"  Hard lessons…

I have been thinking alot lately about my one daughter.  I just don’t want to mess her up!  I have really tried to be a good example of a loving, doting, respectful wife, but I haven’t done a very good job of being a very patient mother….sigh.

With her sixth birthday coming up, I have really realized that my baby girl is growing up.  I really miss her little antics.  She is getting so tall and grown up.  I am trying to make the time to read girly books and have tea parties with her,   I really want to start cooking and baking with her, and would love to have some time to do some sewing, crafts, and handiwork with her.  Is she still too young yet for that?

Any advice out there would be very welcome!

I am thinking about a way to keep myself current with my blog.  I know there are several different ways that people do days, but I was thinking about doing a mixture of those and my own.  Here is what I am thinking:

Moody Monday – My emotional state of mind…that could be dangerous
"Tell It Like It Is" Tuesday – What my life is like.  There are so many aspects to this!
Whistful Wednesday – dreams and ideas
Thankful Thursday – I have so much to be thankful for!
Freebie or Frugal Friday – I have so much to give away.

Anyway, just a thought.  I guess I will start with "Tell It Like It Is" Tuesday, although it is already Wednesday for many of you!

I lived without a bathroom sink for 6 years!  When we moved into the house that we are building ourselves, I didn’t even have a kitchen sink.  That weekend, we put the kitchen counter and sink into the house.  I had lived with my in-laws for over a year, and was ready to have my own space, so while my dear husband was gone, I moved the kids and I in.  We used that two-bowl sink for everything: washing hands, brushing teeth, doing the dishes, drinks of water, watering plants, watering the dog, and even baths for the babies as we didn’t have a bathtub for 6 months either!  It really wasn’t a big deal to us, but it was to everyone else!  We got so many comments from people about why we should have a sink in the bathroom.  Hey, I had running water in the house, a flushing toilet, and one working sink!  What was the problem?

Well, this weekend, we were having a big bonfire party at our house and afterward one of the big families in our church was going to spend the night with us so they could go to church the next day as they live 2 hours away.  My dear sweet husband decided it was time for us to have a sink in the bathroom.  Down to Lowe’s we went, and picked out a vanity, sink, and even a matching medicine cabinet!  He spent the whole afternoon and into the evening getting it all put together and working without any leaks.

I have to admit that it looks so pretty in there!  AND, it is SO nice to take a shower, dry off, and BRUSH MY TEETH in the bathroom!  My dear hubbie can also now shower and shave in the same room!  I have to admit that it is pretty cool to have a bathroom sink, but don’t tell my critics.

Here is the latest picture of our darling baby boy! Isn’t he the cutest!?  He is such a little love bug.  He loves to smile and cuddle.  His brothers and sister give him plenty of opportunity to do so!  He is slightly built, but really long.  I think he is taking after my side of  the family.  He looks a lot like his Uncle Fred.

Ben and Aaron are both on the swim team, Ivan and Naomi are both doing gymnastics, and Micah is still our little tough guy!

We are living in the basement of the house now.  We have a lot of painting to do upstairs, and most of the patch work is done.  Paul (our carpenter/drywall man) still has to do the kitchen area, but he has to wait until we get the new kitchen window in, as we are making it smaller to allow for more cabinets.  The new windows upstairs are supposed to be put in on Tuesday next week, so we will see if dh is able to get the old window out and the framing all done this weekend.  Dh is  going to try to get all of the old windows out and put down Ice and Water shield before the new windows get installed to make it much better and more sealed.

Dh, Timmy and I, are going to Seattle this week as well!  Dh has to go for work, so  his ticket and hotel are all paid, and we had a companion ticket that was just about to expire, so I get to go along for practically nothing!  I told dh that I just want to sit in the hotel room and read and sleep!  I haven’t figured out what else to do, but I am sure I can pass the time while dh is working.  Then we will have the evenings to do things together. I am looking forward to four days away.  Three kids are going to a church friends house, and two are going to visit dh’s parents.

Tonight: I’m taking Naomi to a local scrapbooking store to make a cute little paper bag craft
Friday: Swimming for older boys, a suprise birthday party to attend in Anchorage
Saturday: Dh will work on windows, I will pack everyone, and we have an NRA dinner at 6pm.
Sunday: Family breakfast (we have church in the afternoon), church, take two kids to in-laws.
Monday: Take three kids to a friend’s and we leave for Seattle, Paul textures the upstairs
Tuesday: Upstairs windows get installed, tile in the bathrooms and panty gets laid (dh is going to do the wood flooring in the rest of the house, but figured we would leave the tiling to professionals.
Wednesday: 2nd day of tiling (it’s supposed to be finished today)
Thursday: We get home late, pick up three kids, go home.
Friday: Go to in-laws to pick up other two kids, swimming for older boys, Family Fun night with church families.

Now you know why I never have time to write on my blog!  HAHA!  I have missed writing though, and am hoping to get back into a regular habit of it.  My computer is still down, but I have plenty of access to the kids computer now.

God bless, and I have hearing from everyone!