It's what keeps us coming back . . . . again & again & again!!!

So, we are very blessed to be such close friends with the Owen Family. We've known them for about 5 1/2 years now and yet it seems like forever - in a good way! Unfortunately, they moved away from Washington 2 years ago BUT they didn't move far enough away to "escape us"! Anyway, two weekends ago we spent some of our vacation time down here helping build a shed for them. We had a blast staying up way past our "bedtime"! We are now back down here to finish up the shed and help celebrate David's 6th birthday! All of this to say - we LOVE our friends and this is what keeps us coming back . . . again and again and again!!!!

my blogging bff wants to fill your thanks tank!!!

One of my very bestest buds is having a giveaway on her blog. So hop on over and check it out. Her posts are always funny and entertaining or thought provoking and spiritually inspiring. Her blog is why I started my own. Let me know if you end up being a winner to one of her awesome giveaways!!!

The End is Here

So the end of the '08-'09 school year has finally arrived for us in Bethel School District in Western Washington. As always, we are excited to see the school year end and for summer to arrive! But I also wonder how long the euphoria of summer will last before we are ready for the new school year to begin?!?! The ending of this year is a little bittersweet because this is the girls' last year at Graham Elementary. A new elementary school will be opening in the fall and because of new boundary lines we will become Nelson Navigators and be Graham Grizzlies no more! While the prospect of being at a brand new school holds great appeal, I think the girls are a little sad to be moving. And I feel pretty bad for them because this will be there fourth elementary school they've been at since starting school! Anah is only going into the fourth grade! But lots of their school friends and all of the kids they ride the bus with will moving so I'm sure it will end up being all good! Here are some pictures of the girls on their last day and also some from their first day as well! Look how they've grown!!!

Savanah Janne' - June 16th, 2009

Samantha Reigh - June 16th, 2009

Savanah - September 2nd, 2008

Samantha - September 2nd, 2008

Some things I learned . . . . while on vacation!!!

My sisters, cousin and I just got back from an amazing trip to Belize, C.A. "Belize" it or not - C.A. does not stand for California but Central America. (I actually knew this before leaving for Belize but was a little shocked at how many people didn't even know what Belize was!) Anyway, it was such a beautiful place and we had a ton of fun. I thought it might be interesting to share a couple of things I "learned" while gone!

• i am actually capable of drinking not one, or two or even three but FOUR whole cups of coffee in the morning without reheating a single one if I take the time to sit down and enjoy my coffee without being distracted by other things.
• i can survive without Facebook for a whole week and not even have withdrawals.
• i'm surprisingly getting much better at the whole flying thing and did just fine on all of our flights to and from Belize as well as the two tiny airplane rides we took while in Belize flying from Ambergris Caye to the mainland and then back again - no nausea and no panic attacks.
• i didn't miss my cell phone one stinkin' bit while gone and could have went a whole nother week or two without turning it on once i was home!
• i am not as young as i once was and that fact doesn't bother me in the slightest.
• i am not now - nor was i ever into the "party scene".
• i truly enjoy karaoke even though i am not very good at it!
• i smile too big for pictures.
• i smile too much for snorkeling.
• i am getting to old for sleeping on hide-a-beds!
• i look better with a tan!
• God has created the most magnificent world and I love being able to see all the things and places that he has made.
• the Caribbean is indescribable in its beauty!!!
• i love meeting new people and getting to know more about them and their lives.
• i don't like being ignored!
• i could live in Belize if the opportunity ever presented itself!
• Belizean Red Beans and Rice is SO YUMMY!!!!!

Blessed by my Momma!

Though I'm a day late - I still want to wish my Mom a very Happy Mother's Day! I am truly blessed by the most wonderful momma in the world. I love you, Mommy!

He is amazing!!!

I have big plans for my weekend. I need to get all my Christmas decorations taken down. I need to do some major deep cleaning because we have some of our FAVORITE company coming next weekend and there are some major allergies in the family. Because of the cold weather and having a puppy we've had our animals in the house quite a bit over the last 2 months. All traces of our pets must be removed, as much as possible anyway.
I told my husband last night that I was going to get up early to get started on my day. Of course, I needed him to bring in all my Christmas tubs. When I woke up this morning, it was after 9 am. My hubby was not in bed. I came out and my kids were quietly eating breakfast and playing cribbage together and all my Christmas boxes and tubs were lined up inside just patiently waiting for me. Coffee had been brewed!
After being up for just a short time, something became glaringly apparent. My kids had pulled one over on me with their quiet demeanor and "show" of getting along. Within a half hour I was about ready to pull my hair out. Anything and everything that they could fight about they were. And they weren't just fighting, they were being down right cruel to each other. My hubby came in and found me hiding in the office trying to "get-away". I apologized for sleeping in and he just hugged me and held me and told me that I needed it and it was fine. As we were trying to go over some things the girls were just getting worse and worse.
Fast forward to an hour and a half later . . . .
I just got done listening to my husband calmly and patiently talk with the girls about their behavior. He has such a gentle and yet firm way with them. He amazes me with his wisdom in disciplining them. They are now both laying down for some much needed rest. Hopefully they will actually get a nap in and when they wake up we can start the day "over".
I am so blessed by this man . . . my husband . . . my love . . . the perfect father for my daughters!

Thanks Tank #27

It's been awhile since I posted a Thursday Thanks Tank but even though I haven't posted anything in some time each Thursday I think a little more on the things in my life that I am thankful for. I love this exercise of consciously and purposefully taking time to think on the things that make me thankful. Here's my list for this week!

1. I am thankful for my new gym membership! I am excited to be able to be "hitting the gym" with my very good friend Heather. I'm excited to be setting some goals and hopefully being able to reach them.
   
2. I am thankful for a good deal on said membership. I've been meaning and wanting to get this membership for close to a year now. It's actually my Mother's Day gift from 2008! By waiting this long, I'm only paying half of what I would have been paying if I'd signed up before now! Yeah, me!!!!
3. I am thankful for the chance I had this past weekend of hanging out with my sister! We got to go up to IKEA on Saturday and have a free breakfast and then had a whirlwind shopping trip. She got lots of neat items for her home! My whole weekend was actually spent with family and it was really nice to be able to get out of the house and relax! Friday night we four girls went to see a movie. Saturday late afternoon all of us "kids" went shooting at the shooting range. And Sunday was spent out at my parents. It was a wonderful weekend!
4. I'm thankful for a chance to get together with my "other" family (my sister and mother-in-law) on Monday and scrapbook together! We hadn't done that for a long while and it was lots of fun!
   
5. I am thankful that things have been going so smoothly with our puppy but I'm also thankful that he should be going to his new home this weekend! Unfortunately, I've gotten a little attached to the stink pot so I'm praying I don't have some sort of crying fit when he leaves!
6. I am so, so thankful that my husband was able to figure out the problem with our washing machine and that we should be getting the rather inexpensive parts in the mail tomorrow! I am SO BLESSED to have a mechanically inclined hubby to do these sorts of things!
7. I am thankful for how responsible my kids are (usually) in the morning. I've gotten spoiled with them always getting up with their alarm and doing their normal morning routines without much help from me. It takes mornings like this morning (when they slept through their alarm) for me to realize that most 8 & 9 year olds need a little more coaching from Mom to do what my girls do on a normal day all by themselves. I'm very blessed!
8. I'm thankful that our very dear friends who were unable to make it up for Christmas from Oregon are coming up for Valentine's Day! I would be going insane with impatience if I didn't have so much work to do to get my house ready for company!
9. I'm thankful for my church, my church family and friends and how I miss it when I don't make it to church. We are SO BLESSED to be a part of a wonderful group of believers who love the Lord and are such an encouragement to others!

FRIDAY FLASHBACK

So once again, I'm stealing a post idea from JA. What can I say, she's got all the great ideas!!! These are just a few pictures of my time spent at Ecola Bible School and one of them is actually from a reunion. This was definitely the most defining year of my life. I grew in ways I never thought possible and made friendships that have lasted 16 1/2 years. Because I moved around so much growing up, I unfortunately don't still have friends from Kindergarten. Amazingly through Facebook I am reconnecting with friends from different states I've lived in and that has been a blast but my closest friends are all "newer" friends - friends that I've made since graduating from high school. At times this makes me sad but I am so grateful for the friendships I have that it doesn't keep me sad for long. I am thrilled to be reconnecting with my "older" friends again and am hoping that now that we've reconnected we won't lose touch again. But back to my "lovely pictures"! Enjoy the pics - they make me smile and laugh!!!

Kristi and I at the Fall Talent Show!
Kristi and I at our Spring Banquet

Julie and I at reunion but I'm not sure what year it was!

Kristi and I pigging out on food after going for a run in the pouring down rain!

Jenni, Tammy and I getting ready for our Spring Banquet. Everyone who sees this picture comments on the "big hair"! Ha, ha!

Not Me Monday

Ok so this is my very feeble attempt at my first, but hopefully not last, Not Me Monday! I have enjoyed reading through my dear friend Jane Anne's Not Me Monday posts over the last couple of months. If you even slightly enjoy reading this you should check out her Not Me Monday post as well!

After going for a "long spell" without having a Starbucks and then asking my hubby to bring me home one two nights in a row and that not quite working out, I certainly DID NOT buy myself not one but two quad shot Caramel Macchiatto's last Thursday. NOT ME!!!

I also DID NOT decide not to look for subs for Bunco last Thursday because it would give us all a better chance of winning. That would be so selfish and certainly doesn't sound like something I would do - NOT ME!!!

I DID NOT leave a status up on my Facebook profile for an extra long amount of time and refuse to update it until I had someone comment on it because of how clever I thought it was. NOT ME!!!

I DO NOT still have Christmas presents sitting in my bedroom that still need to be wrapped and given to friends. NOT ME!!!

I DID NOT thoroughly enjoy driving my husbands Durango today with new tires and wheels. NOT ME!!!

And lastly, I HAVE NOT been shamelessly leaving message after message for one of my closest friends pestering her about coming to visit. That would be inconsiderate of me to nag and nag and I would never do that. NOT ME!!!

I'm keen on KEEN's!!!!

While checking out my friend Jane Anne's blog, I found a link to a fantastic give away. Just thought I'd pass along this great opportunity to you all! Hop on over to this blog for a chance to win your own pair of KEEN's!