Happy Birthday, Jared!!!

Happy Birthday, baby. :) I can't believe the once so tiny newborn has grown into this amazing little boy, and how fast it happened just blows my mind away. It seems like yesterday I was feeding you bananas and cheerios, and holding you while you suck on your blanket. :) I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life as your Mama, being there wherever you need me to. I know that as you get older, you won't need me like you have the last six, but I look forward to filling whatever role you need. :) You are an amazing person...and I love you one million. ;)

Ice Skating. ;)

Hey...it has been forevverrr since I have posted anything. :) I have been getting ready for winter...we officially skipped fall altogether today (the first day of autumn) when we got snow flurries. :) I am...ummmmmm....not...quite ready for winter yet, but I don't guess anybody asked me. ;)

Anyway, there are some cool things that we have been up to lately...we went ice skating today for the first time. :) It was sooo much fun. :) I have been on roller blades/skates before, but never had gone ice skating. :) I was as excited as the kids were, I think. :) My friend here Lisa and I took the kids to McDonalds for happy meals, and then we took them to the ice rink. Between the two of us, we have 5 boys under 7, so they have oh so much fun together. :) My boys especially were all wiggly and excited today and had a hard time settling down. :)

When we got to the rink, we rented our skates, and tried walking around on them before we actually got out on the ice. They were sooo much easier on the ground than they were on the ice. :) I spent the first 20 minutes or so s-l-o-w-l-y moving around using the wall....I guess because it was also used for hockey, there wasn't a rail like there is at roller rinks......sooooo my fingers were just about cramping trying to keep myself up with just a tiny little lip around the windows about the size of a fingerprint. ;) I did that for a while until all the little kids were kind of giving me the eye like "lady learn how to skate already, and let us use it!" I was probably melting a spot beneath me where I was trying to get the skates to move, so I decided to be a big girl, and start edging away....I kept sliding backwards without trying to...and finally got so far away that I couldn't get back to the rail, so I decided I needed to learn how to keep myself up. ;) I made it to the middle...and went just about everywhere. :) I was soooOOoooo proud of myself. :) Hahaha. :) I want to be a fun Mom, I am just not altogether athletic, I am afraid. ;) I do have fun trying though. :) I actually didn't fall, although I had a bunch of REALLY close calls. :) I figured I would end up with a wet bottom, but I didn't....this time. :) I was pretty proud of myself until the end of the session was over, and everybody started emptying off, and I was in the middle on the far side, and started trying to make it out of the rink, and when I got to the exit, I looked back, and saw I was THE LAST ONE OFF!!!! Oh well, maybe next time. :) I did do some twirls and spins, even though I wasn't trying to. :)

The boys had soooo much fun. My friends Lisa and Becky were MUCH better skaters than I, so they took them and skated off with them, so they could get so fun in the middle. :) I got some videos of them with the camera, but it didn't catch the sound, but you could tell they were really having a good day. :) Jared was able to snag one of those skating walker things that little kids use...(I totally wanted one, but I was too tall to use Jared's. ;) He was going fast with that, he loved it. Jathan made it all the way around by himself, and had a great time. :) We definetely are gonna come back and do this again. :)

Denali-

We took the boys to Denali this last Saturday because we had a season pass, and it is going to get too cold to go soon. :) Fall is here.... the yellows and reds were abundant. We ended up seeing a grizzly bear.... I actually got out of the truck to take pictures...and found out later that he could have made the trip up to me in less than 6 seconds....ummmmm....probably wasn't a good idea. Especially since the camera that I had taken (my digital one), doesn't zoom and the pictures were lousy. :) I really didn't feel threatened... I guess I should have. :)

We did end up getting out later, and taking some of the hiking trails. I love to hike...it is just a little different than it used to be before my car accident messed up my foot.... I can still do it, it just hurts. :( We took one that was pretty much uphill all the way, really steep, without ANY flat spots once you get started. It was a beautiful view... Once I got up high enough that I could see for a long ways around, I was ready to stop...but the boys kept urging me on... "Come on, Mama!!!" I thought it was so funny...usually always in the past I have been the one urging THEM on. "If you get up here, we will have an animal cracker picnic up there," or "I will race you up!!!" or "If we get done with this quickly, we will still be able to watch Diego before bedtime!" I guess they love to hike too. :) Anyway, here are some of the pictures that I took on our trip. Enjoy. :)

Demolition...

The boys and I had a playdate today at the park at McDonalds, and on our way to run some more errands, we saw a demolition crew demolishing a bunch of buildings. The boys and I decided to park the truck, and walk to where we could get a better look. They had a man spraying the area with a water hose, and a man operating the heavy machinery (I am not sure what it is, but the boys and I are going to get a book from the library so we can find out more about it. :) Mamas aren't boys, even if we do raise them. :) I am learning as much as they are, I think. The boys were so excited to be able to witness the buildings coming down. They were actually SCREAMING with excitement!!! I bet the operator kind of thought we were crazy, because he gets to see things like this all the time. :) But for us, this was our first time. I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures of the day, so my boys will one day be able to look back on them, and remember their fun day dreaming of dirt and big boys toys. :)

Out our front door

This was the view through our front door this evening about 9:30-ish. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets that I have seen in a long time. The weather was glorious, really still and calm, perfect temperature and made you want to stay outside and enjoy the view. The sun is beginning to set earlier now, and we are really enjoying the novelty of having a real night now. Ask me again this winter how nice it is to have dark, and I might have a different answer. :) But, for now it is so wonderful and cozy. It is towards the end of August, and we are already experiencing frosts on some mornings. It is totally different than what we are used to in Arkansas, we would still be running the air most days nonstop. The trees are starting to turn colors, and I have heard that the leaves don't stay on for long once they start changing. In the time that we have spent here we have not had alot of sunsets like this, and we were surprised and delighted to look out our front door and get a view like this. I walked out and down the street looking for glimpses without power lines and street signs, and thought that I would share some of my favorites with you.

Jared on babies. :)

Jared absolutely LOVES babies, but he told me today that his car that he got at McDonalds he was going to keep in my purse until we left, because he didn't want a baby "blobbering" on it. :)

Jathan's newest thing.

Jathan wants a dog. Bad. He has been reading alot of stories about dogs in his reading comprehension, and apparently they are passing on more than just the main idea. :) He keeps talking about how that it would be to have a dog, changes that we would have to make for one, whether he would be able to walk one, ect. He talks about it at least once an hour. We don't want one here where we are at now, because it would have to be an indoor dog, and we don't want that. So he is looking forward to when we might get a home in the country, and be able to get a dog. He is trying to decide which ones are best, and everything. I guess it is true, every boy needs a dog. :)

Jared's Marriage Plans

Jared has been so funny lately. :) He just told me that "he wasn't going to marry anyone. At all. Because he likes me the best. And he always wants to be with me. But when I die, then he will have to get married. But he isn't going to talk about that. Because that would make me sad. When I am gone he would get too lonely without me. But I would never know. Because I would be dead.And don't worry, it won't happen for a long time. Because I am not TOO old."

Crickets

Jared. "What happens if a cricket starts rubbing his legs together faster and faster and faster and they start getting redder and redder and they catch on fire?"

Room with a view.

Jathan and Jared have been asking me for years for a bunk bed. I haven't been brave enough until now to get them one. Jared sometimes sleepwalks, so he was obviously not going to do too well on the top bunk, and with Jathan being the oldest, it seemed to work out well. We are still trying to figure out exactly what to do their new room in here in Alaska, right now we have kind of a smorgasbord of bright colors, and I have let them pick the kind of sheets that they wanted. It was easier than letting them pick their own comforter, because undoubtedly they would have picked two different things. We are leaning towards Peter Pan to decorate. Right now, Jathan has chose pirate sheets and cowboy sheets, and Jared chose Very Hungry Caterpillar sheets, and has been thinking about puppy sheets (he saw some of those at Sears. :) I just bought them bright colored quilts for now.... they match with everything that they have picked out, and will be good to keep their beds warm underneath their comforters later. (I think in Alaska you can probably never have too many layers. :) Here are some of the pictures that I took on Jathan's first night up above. :)

Spiders

Talking about spiders today in school, I asked Jared to tell me what he knew about them. He told me that he knew that they had eight legs, built webs, ate flies' blood, some had hair and some didn't, and he said, "And do you know what else? Some spiders have red spots on their backs, and are poisonous if you eat them." :)

First day of school. :)

Today was our first day of school. :) Jathan has started 2nd grade, and Jared Kindergarten. They both were so excited to be in new grades. Jared wants to learn to read as fluently as Jathan this year. :) I think that that is cute. We have so many fun things to do this year. Jathan is doing Laurel Springs curriculum, and Jared is using Calvert. I can already tell that for Jathan I will be having to get alot of supplements for him. We breezed through the outlined pages, and when we got done I noticed that that was supposed to have been for the first WEEK!!! And that was in the first two hours. That is definetely not going to be enough for him. :) He loves school, and I will have to stay on my toes this year for sure, making sure that he has enough to keep him occupied. I bought 17 file folder sets for both grades, making about 300 file folder games for the both of them, probably about 150 each. :) I am still working on those, and probably will for a long while. :) They are just so much more fun than workbook work, so once they have done the workbook work for the day, they practice on their file folder games. Jathan is a visual learner, he learns so well using charts and visual aids, so they work well for him. Jared learns best when he can DO it, so being able to actually take the things and place them where they belong keeps him interested, and he learns well from them also. :)

Jared is using a really great phonics program that we used with Jathan (Scholastic Home Readers) in addition to the phonics program offered with his boxed curriculum. He enjoys listening to the c.d's with his blanket while he is learning to read the words. :)

We are going to have a great year... I can tell. :)

Toothless. :)

Jathan lost his two front teeth today within seconds of each other. With a little help from me (and his bed. :) They were having their "quiet" time in their rooms (playing games, reading, playing their Leapsters.. quiet stuff. :), and I hear this loud and strangled sounding voice yelling, "Mama!!!" I ran in the room, and Jathan was holding his mouth, with blood dripping down out from beneath his fingers. Ewwww!!! Jared told me that Jathan was on his bed, and rolled over, and bumped his teeth on the rail of his bed. (His teeth were just hanging there as it was, they literally have been loose since around Christmas time. REALLY. :) They were showing the roots, and just BARELY hanging in there.) Jathan was in the top bunk, and somehow, managed to drip blood down to the underneath, and splatter some on Jared and on his bedding, but his own clothes, and bedding were fine. Weird. Anyway, I made him up some salt water, and had him hold that in his mouth for a while, while we cleaned up his face and hands. When he spit it out, I knew that they had to come out, or he would probably end up swallowing them. Another Ewwwww. :) So, I just barely had to tug to get them out. He was SOOO happy to have the one out, he had been waiting for a long time, he said. I went ahead and pulled the other one out... and he looked so cute, I laughed. :) He looked at himself in the mirror, and said, "I don't like it!!!" I told him that I only laughed because he was so cute. :) We took these pictures because after he found that out, he wanted EVERYONE to see. :) Tonight, he will put the teeth under his pillow and get a double surprise. I don't tell them the tooth fairy story... I want the boys to always believe me when I tell them things. But at the same time, I don't want them to feel like they are missing out of anything either. So, they know that when they go to sleep with the tooth under their pillows, when they are asleep, I will tiptoe in and hide a surprise under their pillow in exchange for the tooth that they know I want to save. :) Jared can't wait to start gathering prizes for his teeth. :) I had bought Jathan a new leapster game back in April, that I carried with me ever since. :) That will be for one, and I bought a Clue-like game that I bought at that wonderful toy store in town. You have to find clues, and I know that he will love it!!! He has been playing a clue kind of game P.B.S. Kids.com that you have to guess whodoneit. :) I think he will have fun with the games. I always keep surprises on hand for times like these, where unexpected things come up. That way, if I see a good buy or something that they would really enjoy, I buy it, but don't give them a bunch of things all at once. :) I know he will be happy to go to sleep tonight, get his surprises from underneath his pillow, and start his first day of second grade tomorrow. :)

Meet me at the Fair. :)

We took the boys to the fair this past Friday night. We had such a good time. This was the first Alaskan fair that we went to. Everyone told us that it wasn't like what we were used to in the lower 48, but we came from such a small town that it really was very similar to the one we had back home in our town. The boys rode rides, and I took pictures (of course ;). Jared didn't like the kiddie roller coaster at all. He said "That made me SICK!!! I thought I was going to die!!!" (I am kind of like that with rides myself. I love the idea of them, but get motion sickness. Besides, on some of them I really think it might be possible to die. I think life is full of enough worries as it is. :) Jathan didn't like the tea cup ride, because he rode on the other side of James and Jared, and got scared. Their favorites were... Jathan (the roller coaster. :) Jared (the cotton candy. :) They both said that it was the most fun they had ever had. :)

So good to be back on here....

These are pictures that I took after we got off the plane, and were getting settled into the hotel. :)

Hey... I finally got a computer and internet here... and I am so ready to get caught up on all that has happened since I posted last. We are settled into our house now.... still finding things to make it more like "home", but we are pretty comfortable. It has been fun finding new things that fit the house, since we sold pretty much everything to make the move up here more easily. I will have to post more on that later. ;)



Everyone has asked me what my impressions on Alaska were, so I thought that I would list some of the differences that I noticed right away. Soooo... here it goes!!!!



1. There are bicycle racks EVERYWHERE!!! It is so not uncommon to pass 10-15 bicyclists on your way to town here. I think it is funny to go into McDonalds or places like that, and pass a big bicycle rack. There are so many people that bicycle during the summer that they needed to have a place to put them, I guess. I just never remember seeing any bicycle racks in Arkansas unless it was a school yard. I think thats cute. :)



2. Earthquakes!!! I never remember hearing about Alaska getting any earthquakes before, but the first night I got here, I woke up in the early morning to the bed shaking. I remember thinking that it had been too long since I had shared a bed, and the usual tossing and turning was waking me up, but then I thought that when someone turns over, the bed shakes up and down, not SIDE TO SIDE!!! I was so surprised, but sleepy, so when it was over, I just went back to sleep. When I walked down into the lobby of the hotel the next morning, all the visitors were stopping me in the hall, grabbing my arm, and saying, "Did you feel that!?!". I guess they were just as surprised as I was. Over the next two weeks, we felt two more. I didn't realize that Alaska had so many. I was later told that the state has hundreds every day, but most are so minor that they aren't felt, and it is such a big state that it usually doesn't cause any damage. I guess that it is something to look forward to. :)



3.The amount of sunlight in the summers. I did know about that when I got here, but I wasn't really prepared for the long nights. It was so hard to settle down, and get the kids asleep, because you couldn't mark time by the amount of daylight. I never really realized how much I relied on the light to tell the time, but I guess I did. Now I just look at the clock all the time, and try and make sure and have the kids in bed a decent hour. They would just lay there too, to wound up to settle down. We finally hung quilts on the windows, (I did buy black-out curtains that guaranteed to block out 90 something percent of the light, but they didn't do too good of a job. :) Quilts are much better. :)



4. Prices!!! I am still not used to paying $1.75 for a double cheeseburger at McDonalds.... some things are not as bad as others, but some are worse. :) We have found that for grocery shopping Sam's is the way to go... I wish I had had one nearby all my life. :) It is just mostly the restaurants that are high. The morning after I arrived here in Alaska, I walked down the lobby to bring back breakfast for everyone because I got up early. I ended up at the coffee shop to get James a cup, and got 4 muffins for the four of us for breakfast. It ended up being $22 dollars!!! Wow. I was so not used to that. :) I did find them later at the grocery store for about a dollar a piece... (and they told me at the coffee shop that they were fresh baked.. they must have put them in the oven to warm them up. I wonder if my family would buy that one?)

5. The amount of places to shop. I can't tell you how many people in Arkansas I had grab me by the shoulders and shake me and say, "Alaska!!! Don't you know that they will have to fly a helicopter over your house to drop a fruit basket in your yard!?! Are you crazy?" I guess it may be like that in some of the more remote areas, but the Fairbanks area is nothing like that at all. There are actually a whole lot more shopping possibilities here than we had back home. Don't get me wrong... I still REALLY miss Catos, Olive Garden, Cracker Barrel, and Sonic... still hoping they get those here. I just have found alot of other places to shop. I really love the Fred Meyer store (kinda like a Wal-Mart, but I actually like it a whole lot better. They have some really neat home decor things, and an excellent grocery store... and if you drink coffee, they have Starbucks for the weary shopper. :) I have found Hallmark, an excellent toy store, an antique store that I love, a really great thrift store where I was able to find almost the whole collection of Janette Oke, Beverly Lewis and Anne of Green Gables books. :) I also found a great book store... it has been so much fun shopping for things to fill up our house. :)

6. No fireworks for Fourth of July. I guess they do set them off (but I think that most of them must have started wildfires, so to me it was not worth it. :) Besides, you can't really see them anyway it is so light out that time of year. Everyone has told me that they more than make up for it at New Year's, so I am looking forward to that. :) We did go to a parade, and a kind of carnival thing, so it was alot of fun despite the lack of our normal firework routine. :)

7. Hard Bread. I guess the altitude is different here so it rises different and that plays with the taste, maybe it is froze before it got here, or something. It just TASTES different... I miss soft sandwich bread. :)

8.The amount of people that walk places. Back home, you really didn't do that unless you didn't HAVE a vehicle, or it was broke down. Here, people walk to enjoy the sunshine and mild temperatures after being cooped up all winter long. I have enjoyed getting out and walking myself, trying to store up sunshine and colors like Frederick the mouse. :)

9. That everyone is a die hard hunter here, and bullets and guns are SOOOO hard to get a hold of. Of course, that doesn't really matter to me that much, but I have spent alot of time in sporting goods stores waiting for James. :) I guess that they are hard to ship here, so everyone just buys them out as soon as they arrive, or something.

10. Lack of sweet tea. :) I guess we are southerners, huh? The very first thing that we bought for the house was a tea maker. You can get tea here at restaurants, but it is usually fruit flavored and sugarless. Another thing about being southern, having people notice my "accent". I didn't realize I even had one, but apparently being up here it is noticable to people. James has a much stronger accent than I have, and all the waitresses love that. For which, I don't usually tip too well. Haha. :)

All in all, I have really enjoyed the experience of being up here. I do miss our friends and family, and the things that were familiar to me, but it is exciting to discover new things together just the four of us. I am looking forward to discovering more and more things as we make this our new home.

Alaska....

Hey, guys, it has been SOOOO long since I have posted anything. We did get moved up here, and left our computer in Arkansas to pick up this fall, so I don't have one at my house anymore, for a while anyway. We are getting one next month, so I will have alot of fun posting my new adventures. ;) I miss everyone back home, and will really enjoy catching up on your blogs. :) Love you guys. :)

Baby Birdies

The boys and I were noticing all the spring birds out and about. Jathan noticed how that some of the cardinals were bright red, and some were dingy red. I was explaining how that God made it that way so that if a preditor was going to notice one of them, that they would see the flashier one first, and that would give the mother time to get away, so that she could take care of the babies. :) I told him that God made it that way so that when cats or something kills birds, they won't kill a whole bunch of them at once time, by killing the mother. Jathan seemed to be taking that in, and thought that that was very interesting.

This morning, Jathan told me, "You know, Mama. I am not like a baby bird. I need my Mama AND my Daddy." I thought that that was too precious. Someone is really missing their Daddy. Tomorrow, buddy. :)

Moving~

We are getting ready to move up there with Jamie up in Alaska. He has been there for six weeks tomorrow morning, more than I ever thought I could live without him. I did live, but I never want to have to do that again. I will be so glad to be there with him, and at the same time, good-byes are hard. Good-bye to my family... I have parents, a sister and brother-in-law and a niece and nephew who will be so hard to say good-bye to, a Granny, and an Aunt. James has family here too, and I will miss the get-togethers and birthday parties, and taking Katie for a ride in my "black car." I will miss baby-sitting my niece and nephew, and being there watching them grow. I will miss my Mom's beef stew... the ultimate of all comfort foods. I will miss having the support when things get difficult... it is hard to give or recieve a hug over the phone. :( I will miss all of our friends here, and watching their children grow up, having someone to go out with for after-church-Sunday lunch.... on and on. I will miss Olive Garden, Cracker Barrel... I had Jamie check for me if they do have them up there, and he can't find them. I might be surprised though.. I did see where you can get some of Cracker Barrel's foods in the mail. :) :) They had the fried apples in a jar... all kinds of yummy things. I will miss having SEASONS here.... I like to decorate for fall, and I heard that they only have a two week fall there... I bet it would be hard to even find the leaves and pumpkins and things that we decorate with down here. I will miss things like that, but at the same time I am excited to experience all the new things, new friends, new church family, all of the new adventures that are waiting for us up there. :) I will so love being with Jamie, little things like hearing him snore me to sleep at night, smelling coffee in the morning (although I never drink it. :) Hearing his truck come home at the end of his work day (Although that will be different. We are leaving his old truck here, and we bought a different one up there, so the sounds will not be the same ever again. :( I will love making his favorite foods, holding his hand... so many things. I am going to try and keep in touch with our friends and family down here, so we can collect more and more friends along the way. :) That will make it easier to leave. :)

This will probably be my last post for a while... we are putting our computer in our car to ship, and it will be awhile before than we get that done, and I don't know if the library would let me blog or not... :) I will miss this, but I will be back and probably full of stories about our life up north. :)

~Trolls~

On the way to complete one of our very many things that we needed to do before our trip, Jared says out of the blue to me, "Mom, trolls are real. They are like little animals that live under bridges." :)

Best Buds

Jathan told Jared this morning that they were best friends....just like Dora and Boots. :()

Silly~

Jathan and Jared were talking yesterday about how that you have to be careful when you are on an airplane not to bring guns in your backpack because you might have to go to jail. :) Which brought on the conversation about all of the rats in prison. (They MUST have seen that on some show... I am not sure where they picked up that little bit of info. :) Jathan told me that he thought that the police men put them in the prison to scare the bad guys. :)

Jared's Pre-school Graduation

Jathan and Jared both have participated in the H.I.P.P.Y. (Home Instruction For Parents Of Preschool Youngsters.) preschool program. They have a 3, 4, and 5 year old program. For me, this was the perfect way for them to have preschool without having to be away. :) ( I am kind of jealous that way. ;) They both completed the full program, Jathan graduated last year, and this year was Jared's turn to graduate. He looked so cute walking down the aisle in cap and gown, and it made me so sad. He looked so grown-up and self-assured. *sniff*

They ask any of the past/present graduates if they would like to sing a song in their program. This year Jathan sang Hey Diddle Diddle, and Jared sang B.I.N.G.O. Last year Jared got all nervous singing his song, and asked me to come up there to help him sing the manners song. :) I was SO glad this year that he didn't require my assistance (as was the audience, I am sure. :)

It is so sad how fast children grow up, this last 5 years of Jared's life have just whizzed by. He will be a school kid this fall (in Kindergarten already. :( I just wish I could find some time to keep them little for just a little bit longer....

P.S. They gave each child a rose to give to their mothers just like they do in the high school graduation, and Jared was so proud to give me a rose. His Daddy had sent me flowers for Mother's Day from Alaska just that afternoon, and I think that he saw my reaction, and it made him kind of jealous. The roses were beautiful, but they were starting to wilt. By the time we got it home, it had only one petal left on it. :( Jared saw that and just snubbed and snubbed. :( It made ME cry. He was so proud of that flower, and he had it to give to me all by himself. It just melted my heart how sweet he was about it. I showed him where I kept a petal of every flower that his Daddy had ever given me, and I added a couple of the petals that had fallen off to the collection. It made him happy to see that I had added him to my sweetheart petal collection. He is so sweet, I hope that he always is that sensitive. :)

More Jared...

Jared was telling me the other day that what we needed was a "re-bible." (revival) :) Amen, Brother Jared. :)

~First Celebrity with Swine Flu~

AND WE ALL KNOW WHO THE CARRIER IS


I got this today in an email from my sister-in-law Melinda and loved it. :)

~Jared's Wisdom~

Yesterday on the way to church I was explaining to the boys the route that we are going to be taking on our flight to Alaska. (Fayettville Ar. to Minneapolis MN to Seattle WA to Fairbanks AK.) When I told him our first flight will land in Minneapolis, Jared replied thoughtfully, "Hmmm. That must be where they eat alot of apples." :) (Many-Apple-is.) :)

Craziness!!!!!!!!!!

As part of getting ready for our move, I went today and went scouting the area thrift stores for second-hand luggage. We have decided to move via airplane :) (saving the seven day drive.) So, we were going to need alot more luggage than we have. Jamie took two when he went, and he still has them up there, so I was needing to get at least 5 full size suitcases, and three carry-ons. Wow!!!! I am so glad the boys' muscles are growing, so they were able to help me get them loaded. We will DEFINITELY be getting one of those wheely-carts to use at the airport until we check them in. :) I still can't believe it is happening... it seems so unreal. And now I have a smorgasbord of wild seventies style luggage to call my own. :)

~Reflections~

Thanks to my friend Crystal for this beautiful picture taken right before Christmas '09. It summed up our "walk" so well, I thought that this would be the perfect choice for a picture. :)

This last year has been so different, breaking my "cookie-cutter" life. I hadn't realized before how idealic my life really was. :) This past year, I went through a car wreck that came very close to taking my life, if it wasn't for the Lord's mercy upon me. I can't imagine what life would be like right now, it it wasn't for His grace. If things had been just a little bit different...if I had swerved, and spun the car to where it would have hit on the boys' side....if I hadn't gotten so far off the road when he hit me... if, if, if. I am just so thankful that God was looking out for me. I really don't view myself all that great of a driver, so I figure that God sent angels to push my car over, to keep from getting killed. In all of that, I still broke my foot in three places, had to wear a walking boot for 5 months waiting on it to heal, and still doing therapy to undo the damage that occured.... moved from our big 4 bedroom house, to a much smaller house, trying to unpack everything, (still haven't. :) Having work so iffy around here that James went out of state to find work, living this past almost month without him, to finding out that we are going to be moving up there the 22nd. I still feel like the merry-go-round that we have been on is still shaking us up, and I will be glad when I get settled down. I have been sorting through all of our belongings, trying to decide what is most important to take on the plane. We have been married 9 years, and I started collecting things while we were dating, planning on marriage... (to be honest, even before that. My Granny helped alot with my "hope-chest".) We have lived in 5 different places since we have been married, each one a little bit bigger and better until this last move. :) We have had two children, alot of hobbies, saving up for the "future", a coupon addiction :), a business out of our home, friends that we so generous to us to keep giving us gifts, a sweet husband that made sure that I had all the "girly" things, (foot spas, parafin treatment machines, manicure sets that buff, sand, ect., massagers, ect.), so our home is VERY full. I am looking around now thinking of all that will have to be done before we can move. We are going to be going on a plane, and not making the 7 day trip in the car, so we are really limited to what we can bring. Everything I pick up, I am reminded of some story behind it, when we bought it, what we were doing when we found it, which birthday/holiday it was when we recieved it, ect. Looking back on it, we have had such a happy life. Our children have never had to do without anything, as evidenced in their toy boxes, closets full of clothes and massive amounts of school equipment. We have furniture that feels like home to us, that you can plop down to a good movie together, blankets to keep us warm and cozy, just about any kind of kitchen gadget that you can think of to make entertaining fun, books to keep us busy when it is rainy outside, playground equipment right outside our door for the boys to spend hours staying busy and active with....life has been so good. :) I guess not to many people have the opportunity to evaluate their situation as I have had, either people keep their things forever, or they get rid of it a little at a time when something better comes along, or they loose it all at once where a fire or some other catastrophy happens, and sweeps it all away before they have a chance to say good-bye. My sister and brother have both been through that, and I can't imagine that feeling. :( This way, I am able to reflect on all the good times that we have shared, when we were newlyweds, when our children were babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers. Now we are going to start over, in a house that I have never lived in just like it was when I got married and returned from our honeymoon, we are starting over where we have two school-age children, (will have this fall anyway when Jared starts Kindergarten.) Yes, life has been sweet, and I wonder what kind of experiences we will experience together in this next nine years...

~My hero~

Jared says when he goes running off through the house, "I'm off to the rescue!" It must be fun to be a little boy and think that you could save the world. :)

A Beatrix breakfast...

Jathan asked me this morning if he could have "fruit cottontail" for breakfast!

A Miracle....

Jared was watching me put on my make-up this morning, and he came over and sat next to me, and said, "I will tell you when you get beautiful. If it doesn't work, just keep trying until it does!!" ;)

A Revelation....

Jathan realizing the weight of his responsibility of being the "man of the house" while his Daddy is gone, told Jared today, "Jared, we don't need our muscles to wrestle with each other! We need our muscles to take care of Mama!"

Farmer Boy

"Fishing wasn't the only summer fun, some July evening Father would say: "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Tomorrow we'll go berrying." Almonzo wouldn't say anything, but inside he was all one joyful yell."

Laura Ingalls Wilder
Farmer Boy

One of the sweetest things....

I wanted to tell you guys about one of the sweetest things that I ever saw this weekend. There was an elderly man (he was a preacher) who was telling the pastor's wife that I was talking to about how his wife had been doing. They ended up telling me the story of how that she had had a brain aneurysm and had suffered handicaps since then. She went on to have another massive one later on, and has been very childlike ever since. This was like in the late 80's. He was showing me pictures of his beloved wife, the recent ones, and he came across her senior picture that he has carried ever since in his wallet. *Sniff* That has to be one of the sweetest things that I have ever seen. He talks about her with such love and adoration, and for 40+ years still carries that picture along with her more recent ones. That just melted my heart, and I told him so. :) What is one of the sweetest things that you have ever seen?

*Skunks*

Been meaning to tell you guys the funniest/saddest thing about Jared.... he is deathly afraid of skunks. :) He has been afraid to get up in the middle of the night, wondering if there are skunks in the house, and afraid to go outside by himself without having us or Jathan check first to see if there are any lurking around in the yard. :) He even dreams about them.... I am not sure where the phobia came from to begin with, but it seems like such a funny thing to be afraid of, but it has been seriously on his mind lately. :)

~Encouragement~

I am so thankful that the Lord sends us what we need, exactly when we need it. I have had extra time on my hands since Jamie has been gone. I wanted to spend this time wisely, doing all kinds of home improvements,self-emprovements, ect. I went to my email this morning, and found this encouraging post. I have been recieving these emails for a while, they are such a blessing, and help me keep focus on what a woman's role is, with all that tries to pull at us today, it helps me remember to keep things in the proper focus. I hope that you get as much out from this website as I have. :) This is what they sent me today. :)

At the Well...In Pursuit of Titus Two

I really want to be working on that, I love him so much, and I want him to know that.

Another thing that I have been doing... Focus on the Family had aired this presentation back in 2005, I really enjoyed hearing it for the first time back then, and I found out that they were going to be re-airing it because it helped so many people. It is so informative, makes me want to be the kind of wife she is describing. I agree with what she says so many times, sometimes we are just clueless as to what the other is needing. It isn't that I don't want to be supportive, I just don't realize what he is going through sometimes. She is so encouraging. Take a look at this one, it aired for the last three days, so be sure that you start at the first one (April 14-16.)

Focus on the Family- What Women Should Know About Men

It really encouraged me (and convicted me. :) I love things like this, and I think the Lord that it came at such a good time for me, when I wasn't so rushed, and had time to really concentrate on what it was saying. I hope that you get a chance to look into these, and that they bless you as much as they have me. :)

My days

My days have been oh so different since Jamie has gone to go work in Alaska. Our entire schedule has been different, going to bed at crazy times, the boys sleeping in later, eating simplier foods. I am trying so hard to keep busy, to keep my mind off him being gone. He has been gone for about a week several times, but this 6 week thing is killing me. I guess it is just because I know in my mind that it is going to be longer, plus he is so far away it isn't like I could just go up there for a weekend (But believe me I have thought about it.....many times. :) We are on the sixth day, 1/7 of six weeks.... I am not going to make it. Here is just a little bit what we have been up to since he was been gone.

*Staying at the airport until I was SURE that even with a delay, his plane was gone. (just in case he changed his mind. :(

*Coming back from Springfield, making 4 stops, shopping, crying, Sonic, and more shopping.
It took me six hours go make a 2 1/2 hour trip.

*Visiting with my sister Charin and her kids when we got home Thursday night.

*Not sleeping more than two hours all night, getting up every 10 or 15 minutes or so to track his flights online, waiting to hear his voice on the phone letting me know that he made each stop.

*Getting up EARLY the next morning to put out our yard sale things with my Mom.

*FREEZING on Friday, spending most of the day trying to put it all out.

*Going straight into the tub after the sale ended for the day, trying to thaw out my numb self.

*Putting more baby and kids clothes on hangers, watching Fireproof until I was exhausted Friday night.

*Loving waking up in the middle of the night for Jamie's night-night phone calls.

*Getting up not as early Saturday morning, thankful it was all set out, waiting for my Mom and Capachinos.

*Enjoying the day with both my Mom and my sister Charin, eating pizza we had delivered, selling ALOT of stuff.

*Making cupcakes Saturday night, getting ready for our Easter Egg Hunt with the cousins.

*Ironing, and getting ready for church in our new Easter clothes.

*Going to church, getting soaked on the way out...lunch at El Charros in Harrison.

*Coming home having an indoor egg hunt, eating cupcakes and my sister's delicious raspberry punch (Which she left with ME!!!!)

*Going to church again Sunday night, going to Wendy's to get my usual sour cream and chive baked potato, chili, and manderine cup. SO happy they got my order right!!! They usually forget the sour cream, spoons, and crackers. This happens EVERY time, but it is such a good combination, and you can't get it anywhere else, that I keep trying. :)

*Talking to my honey on the way home...

*Waking up to hear his ring tone, the song that we had at our wedding.... still makes me happy, especially when it is on the phone, because I know he is calling. :)

*Going clothes shopping with my sister with the proceeds from the yard sale. Out with the old, in with the new... enjoying all of the spring/summer colors, lots of cute stuff. Lunch at OLIVE GARDEN!!! (minestrone, bread sticks, shrimp alfredo..... YUM!!!!)

*Getting early baths, cuddling on the couch with the boys in their new jammers, watching their new Diego movie they got for Easter.

*Letting the boys sleep in later today....such a busy weekend..... watching my sister's babies for her while she goes back to work at the end of her maternity leave. I am so sad for her. Happy to have sweet, squishy bodies to snuggle with, though.

*Missing my honey so badly every single second.... I would definetely not make a mililtary wife, in case anyone ever wondered. It has made me pray harder for their poor families, making me sad what all that you have to sacrifice for your country and families sometimes. Sometimes life isn't fair.

Easter in Alaska....

Sap Story

Hey. I wanted to show you all this, Jamie sent this to me, this is him after work yesterday. :) I don't know if you all know this or not, kind of a sap story, but it is mine nonetheless. :) Jamie left Thursday to go do some work for a friend in Alaska for about six weeks or so, depending on how soon the job gets done. He left with a HUGE chunk of my heart in his carry-on....I will be so ready to get him back. It is so different, he is almost 4,000 miles away, thank the Lord for cell phones.. I am such a baby, I guess, I still get almost giddy when he calls me. :) He is 3 hours behind me, and they have different lighting situations than we do here, they don't start there day until late in the day, even the banks and schools don't until at least 9, so he hasn't been getting done until 9 or 10 at night, so when he calls me, it is like 1 or 2, depending on when he gets done with supper. It is kind of sweet talking to him that late at night, everything is so quiet, and it is just the two of us, no other calls or anything to distract me. :) I am going to be SO GLAD when he gets back home... this is the first holiday that we have ever been apart. :( SNIFF. I wish it had worked out that I could have gone, but it costs so much to get up there, that he needed to check out the job first. Pray for me, and until then.... Happy Easter from Jamie in Alaska. :)

P.S. My Sister-in-Law Melinda sent this picture to me, her husband is my husband's brother, and he had sent this picture to him, so she somehow got it on the computer, and sent it to me in case that I hadn't seen it. :) That made me so happy. I don't know how to do that sort of thing yet. She is SO talented....

P.S.S. And THEN...... :) Charin stayed up late last night editing this so I could see my honey better. :) Isn't that sweet? I am so blessed to have such good sisters that love me so much. :)

Robots

I am *finally* getting Jathan's birthday pictures posted. :) Life has been so crazy and busy
around here (probably more on that on a different day :) Jathan had such a good day, his Grandma and Papa came, and his Great-Granny on my side, and his Aunt Charin, Uncle Kevin, Katie and new baby Colin came to celebrate with him. :) He felt so loved, and said that seven was the best year ever. :) I love how you cam tell about how that his tiny grown-up teeth are coming in on the bottom. :) That is part of who he is right now. :) He got so many fun things, and would probably do it again if we let him.:)