Happy New Year's!

I can't believe that it is December 31st already! I remember as a child thinking that the year and time in general went by pretty slowly. Now I believe as an adult that time flies by. Every year goes by quicker than the one before.

Maybe it is just the busyness of being a mom, wife, volunteer, friend, etc. that makes the day/week/year speed by.

I had not even thought about the fact that this is the end of a decade already! I am looking forward to 2010. 2009 was a great year. I love seeing my kids grow, change and learn every day. I love being married to my best friend. I am looking forward to what the new year has to bring.

I never really make any New Year's Resolutions. I think they are fun, but I never really stick to any of them for more that a month or so, but I would like to work on being healthier and losing some weight this next year. Let's face it, I am not getting any younger (will be 34 in just 16 days!) and have a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure. The thought of both of these is very scary and I need to focus on being healthier.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve tonight. We are headed over to Kyle's Mom's house for a family friendly night of board games, Wii and card games.

See you all in 2010!

Happy New Year's!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy your time with your family this Holiday Season.

Remember Jesus is the reason for the season!

Emily likes to bake!

I spent most of my day over at my Parent's house helping them get ready for Christmas. We baked and wrapped presents. We are having a Christmas Eve Dinner tomorrow afternoon with my parents and siblings. We will exchange gifts with my parents on Saturday when we have all our kids.

Emily had a blast helping her Aunt Julie bake Pumpkin Pies! She sat on the kitchen counter and helped measure, pour and stir all the ingredients.

It was a nice day spent with people I love! =)

Wordless Wednesdays - Emily's first time in the Snow!

I was looking at pictures and found these great pictures of Emily playing in the snow for the first time last December! She was 13 months at the time. She looked like a big pink marshmallow! She has grown and changed so much in a year.

Christmas Tree 2009!

We finally got our Christmas tree on Saturday. It turned out to be a perfect day to head out and cut our own tree down! It was snowing but not to cold. We bundled up and headed down the road to find the perfect tree.

Where we go they take you around the tree farm on a wagon pulled by a tractor and drop you off. Of course we had to have a snowball fight since the snow was great packing snow! Even Emily tried to participate and I tried to stay out of the way while taking pictures! Some snow angles were made and after we found our tree we headed to pay and have some hot apple cider! The kids loved that.

Our tree this year is beautiful. It is a little smaller than some previous trees but it fits great in our small living room. We decorated it on Saturday Evening. The kids did it all, even Emily helped.

I have always had a real tree for Christmas and I plan on doing so for as long as possible. I have great memories of getting our tree as a kid and hope my children will as well. I was talking to Kyle about how cool it is to always have a different type of Christmas tree every year. It always looks different. Sometimes it is tall and skinny and sometimes it is short and fat! I'm not trying to put down anyone for putting up a fake tree at all. I just happen to prefer the real thing. I mean who would not want pine needles on the floor and occasionally stuck in your toes! =) Wouldn't be Christmas in my house without it!

Merry Christmas!

I placed in the Photo Contest!

Yesterday I got a letter in the mail letting me know that I won 1st place in the People Enjoying Nature category of the 2009 Eaton Conservation District's Photo Contest! You may remember back about a month ago I posted about entering 4 photos in the contest.

Here is the picture I entered that took 1st place! It is titled "Emily in a Sea of Yellow Trees".


I had to call my mom immediately to let her know since she was the one who encouraged me to enter. My photo will be published in the County Journal in January!

CLICK HERE to read my previous post about entering the contest and to check out my other photos.

Thanks Mom! :)

Prayers for a Family in Florida

I am heading to bed soon. Been on a cleaning spree tonight and just sat down to check my email, facebook and twitter accounts. I am in tears as I write this post, as I just read over on Twitter about a Mom in Florida who lost her 2 year old son yesterday. He drown in their pool. I don't know this women at all but my heart aches for her.

I can not imagine the pain she is feeling tonight. I just went into Emily's room and had to touch her face, stroke her hair and tell her that I love her more than words can describe. I would love to do this with my 3 other kids as well, but they are not with us tonight (at their other parent's homes).

I think of my own parents tonight. They have lost 2 adult sons. I remember my Dad saying that parents are not suppose to bury their kids. I know that with time, prayers and God this family will get through this difficult time.

Please keep this family in your prayers. The mom's name is Shellie. They are looking at Christmas next week without their little guy. Make sure to hug your little ones extra and even your big loved ones as well. Try to remember in those stressful times when your so frustrated that your child is a blessing from God. Your life as you know it can change in the blink of an eye.

Good Night.

MOPS Brunch

Today was our last MOPS meeting of 2009. Our steering team catered in our brunch and all I can say is "YUMMY"! We had 2 different kinds of quiche, fruit and dip, cinnamon coffee cake, little barbecue hotdogs and lots of yummy chocolate desserts and cheesecake. We also played a Christmas Trivia game. It was a very nice morning spent with some really great women.

I have come to really look forward to every other Tuesday mornings! It is so nice to spend time with other Christian women/mother's of preschoolers. MOPS stands for Mother of Preschoolers for those of you who have never heard of it. I always wanted to join when James and Hannah were little, but was not able to since I did Daycare from home and the meetings tend to be in the mornings. I joined my local MOPS the fall of 2007 when I was very pregnant with Emily. They welcomed me with open arms and hearts. =)

CLICK HERE to learn more about MOPS.

Slide show of Great Wolf Lodge!

My family was invited by Great Wolf lodge in Traverse City for a free night's stay to help kick off their Snowland Event. Here are a few photos of our fun stay last weekend. I am working on a review and write up of our trip for my other blog, Money Saving Mama in Michigan and will be posting that very soon.

Vote for your Favorite Christmas Tree!

When we were at Great Wolf Lodge last weekend they had 8 decorated Christmas Trees in different themes that you could vote for. You walked along Candy Cane Lane and checked them out! You could also decorate a sugar cookie and eat it along the path! Our 4 kids all had their own favorites. Which one is your favorite?

The start of the walk throught the Candy Land Lane

#1 Candy Land Tree

#2 The Man's Tree!

#3 Disney Princess

#4 Oscar the Grouch

#5 Great Wolf Lodge

#6 Aliens in the Attic

#7 Twilight

#8 Disney

Question of the day!

Why is it when you take a vacation you need an extra day when you get home to rest up from your vacation?

We spent most of the weekend at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City and of course we had a blast! We got home late on Sunday night and I would have loved to sleep in on Monday morning and be lazy all day. Life had other plans for me though and I was up early getting a kid on the bus, starting the many loads of laundry ( Really how many loads of laundry could there be from one weekend away with 6 people? At least 3!), and got myself to Brayden's school to help set up the Holiday Gift Shop that the PTO does every December. I met my friend Dawn at Church to help set up our table for the Christmas by Candlelight service last night, made dinner, did more laundry, homework with Brayden and back to the church at 7 for the service! I think I was finally home by 10pm and ready for bed! I am not complaining though, I love my life and am happy to be able to help out with great events.

Now on this Tuesday morning I am still in my pj's, sipping on my 2nd Diet Coke and catching up on emails and posts. I need to get myself ready to head back to the School to help with the Gift Shop this afternoon. I think this quiet morning has helped me "catch up" from my fun Vacation at Great Wolf Lodge!

We are off to Great Wolf Lodge!

Great Wolf Lodge was kind enough to invite my family up for a complimentary stay! There will be 9 other mom bloggers from Michigan there as well! They found my Money Saving Mama in Michigan blog! Woo Hoo This weekend is the kickoff to their Snowland and there is a lot of extra fun Christmas activities going on. We are headed up North early this morning. I will post about everything next week. Have a great weekend!

Question of the day!

Why is it that just a week after I scrubbed the inside of my Fridge (meaning I climbed right it and scrubbed on my hands and knees) and it was all sparkling clean that I have to come home from getting a ton of groceries to find a 2 liter of Diet Coke has leaked all over every shelf and even the door? Of course when I opened the door it ran all over the floor as well! Lovely! Oh well, I now have a very clean and sparkly fridge once again and the groceries are put away. I'm betting that if the fridge has been dirty this would have never happened! Just another day in my life.... =)

Cute things 2 years olds do!

So I was folding some laundry in the living room (which really needed to be done since I could no longer see the chair I had continued to stack each clean load on!) and Emily, my cute 2 year old was helping! This is one of her favorite things to do, she is starting to really want to be a big helper. It's nice but sometimes I think it takes me longer to do chores, but hey it's quality time spent with her. So I look down at her and she says "I like" and I realize that she has put on a pair of her older sister's underwear and they are around her waist like a belt! I burst out laughing at such a cute sight and she kept saying it over and over! I should have taken a picture! I think she will LOVE the Dora underwear I got her for Christmas. Planning on tackling potty training come January.

Isn't she a cutie?

Wordless Wednesdays - Come on Snow, Where are you?

I am so ready for a good snowfall and a Snowmobile Trip up North! Come on Snow! =) Here is a few pics of winter I have taken while snowmobiling!

Emily saves the day!

So last Monday Kyle had dropped me off over where we hunt for a few hours. He came back at dark to pick me up with Brayden and Emily. As I was walking across the field towards the truck I saw Kyle and Brayden get out of the front seats and then I saw Kyle try to open the back hatch and then go to the front door with no success! Apparently when Brayden got out of the front passenger side door he hit the lock button! (the truck was not running) So where were the keys? Locked in the truck! So where was Emily? Locked in the truck in her car seat! When I got to the truck and found out for sure that this what happened I started to panic! It gets better though! We have an extra set of keys! Where were the extra set of keys? Locked in the truck!! It just so happened that very day when we were leaving the house I grabbed a set of keys and Kyle grabbed the other set! So he used one and the other set was left lying in the cup holder. Ok, so we knew we could not call someone to go to our house to get our extra set of keys!

Kyle decides at this point to try to get Emily to unlock her door! Now one of the first things that Emily does when she gets in the truck lately is to take off her shoes and socks! Don't ask, I don't know why, she just does it. Well this past summer she discovered that she could use her cute little toes to roll her window up and down! He thought just maybe that we could get her to unlock her door using her toes! So he took my flashlight that I had used to walk out of the woods with and pointed it at the door lock button and we kept asking, kept begging her to unlock the door! She was very calm and thought we wanted her to open her window so she kept trying to do that. About 5 minutes into this I started to think that maybe we should just break one of the windows! I wanted my baby girl out! She was of course fine, not freaking out or anything. She was pretty amused by the whole thing. Then Kyle said we should probably call a tow truck since we have free lock out service. But he kept trying to get her to open the door. Then one last try and "click" she flipped the lock and I quickly opened her door! SUCCESS!

We made a big deal about it and of course she was very excited and happy. She is such a smart little 2 year old! I was very relieved that we did not have to wait for a tow truck or break a window. So moral of the story keys need to come out of the truck whenever you get out! What a crazy night. Anyone else have a funny story like that?

Happy 11th Birthday James!

Today is my oldest James' 11th birthday! I can't believe that he is 11! Wow, how did that happen so fast! It seems like just yesterday I was rocking him to sleep and making up silly little songs to sing to him in the middle of the night or taking him to a Farm Machinery store to sit on the tractors! He is growing into such a fine young man. We love you James. Have a great birthday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your day this year. Make sure you take a moment to think about what you are thankful for.

A few things I am Thankful for this year!

God, He loves me unconditionally

My family! I have an awesome loving Husband and 4 great kids!

Health. I am thankful for my health. I had a pretty rough 8 months earlier this year with my gallbladder problems, but now I am feeling much better!

My family's health.

A warm, dry roof over my head! It might not be the biggest or prettiest but it is filled with lots of love!

My extended family. We are so lucky to be surrounded by so much family that loves us.

Our great friends!

For being a stay at home mom!

Our Freedom.

There is so much more that I am thankful for! What are you thankful for this year?

Our Weekend

Had a nice weekend. James and Hannah did not have school on Friday so I got to spend some extra time with them. :) The weather was beautiful and we spent a lot of time outside playing in the leaves, woods and the kids rode their go karts! Friday night we stayed home and watched a movie with the kids. Saturday Kyle had to work and we were pretty lazy in the morning, just hanging out in our pj's. Made some yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Finally watched the Hannah Montana Movie and was pleasantly surprised! I really enjoyed the movie and would recommend that you watch it. I took some pics of the kids playing in our big leaf pile and I got a couple good ones that I think will work good for our Christmas card this year.








Sunday was opening day for firearms for deer here in Michigan. Kyle and I got up at 5 am and headed to the woods. Was a beautiful day out and I enjoyed being in my tree stand even though I did not get a deer today. I will be heading back out tomorrow. Kyle did not get one either. We still have a lot of standing corn around where we hunt and I think the deer like to hide in it! :) It is now 10pm and everyone is sleeping (Kyle is snoring on the couch!). I am heading to bed in a few. I am exhausted, apparently sitting for 7 hours in a tree stand makes you tired! lol Actually I think it is the getting up at 5am that makes me tired. I am not much of a morning person!

I entered a photo contest!

So about a month ago my mom called me and told me about a local amateur photo contest being sponsored by our County Conservation District! She knows how much I enjoy taking pictures and she really likes looking at my pictures! Although since she is my mom I doubt she would tell me that she did not like my photos! :) Anyways she has been encouraging me to enter and I finally got around and printed out 4 photos and dropped them off today!

The contest is an Annual thing and this year they have 4 categories that you can enter a photo in. I chose 4 that I really liked that fit in each category. The categories are Trees and Plants, Wildlife, Landscapes and People enjoying Nature! They will be picking 3 winners from each category. You will only be able to win in one category as well.


So here are the 4 photos I choose!I printed them out as an 8x10 and they looked better on photo paper than on my computer!

Which one is your favorite?

This I entered in People enjoying Nature! This is a picture of my youngest Emily running down the trail in the woods behind our house! During fall we are surrounded by a sea of yellow trees and leaves!


I entered this one in Trees and Plants. I took this in our woods behind our house. I love the contrast of the yellow and red!


I entered this one in the Wildlife category. I took this photo of a robin's nest this past Spring in a bush in our front yard. I played with the settings on my camera and love how the picture turned out.


I entered this in the Landscape category. This was taken in our side yard. We are surrounded by tons of trees!