<3 this family!

Love everywhere! 

 

 

I was told that I am not skinny.  But she didn’t mean it.  She meant I am rounded out nicely.  Yeah, she did.  Diet starts NOW!

  

Next year, the nephew on the left will be taller than I am.  The fella in the middle is the family turkey.  Three trouble makers cousins.

 

 

Thumbs up for Deviled Eggs. Salami art.

Me and my daddy.  Grandma and three of the grandkids.

  

More family turkey. Every family has one.  Trouble makers Cousins again.  Next year, the fella on the right WONT be taller than I am.  Yippy!

 

 

The older variety cousins.  The girlie cousins, slightly outnumbered.

  Last year, these two were almost the same size.  One of these boys puked Thanksgiving night.

 

Is there any doubt I have so much to be thankful for?

So many reasons!

Someone is another year older today!!  It aint me!

So many more reasons to love being married to my guy. (List #1 here)

He fixes vacuums.

He cleans my oven when I am afraid to.

He lifted Crazy Man up for almost the whole Toby Mac concert at Sonshine.

He pretty much is the brains of this operation.

He promised to love me over 16 years ago, and he still does.

He loves and cares for his mom in a tremendous way.  (Well, who wouldn’t?)

He is predictable and realistic, which pretty much balances the very wing-diggity-it me.  “Squirrel?”

He is learning to put the TV tray away each night – trust me, this is a big deal to me.

He is a great example of Christ’s love for us – he never gives up on me or runs out of patience for us, except when he needs to lay down the law.

He molested a dolphin because I made us late for the demo on how to correctly pet a dolphin and never told me it was my fault, even though the blame was clearly mine.

He not only got me a sewing machine, but also learned how to use it for those special times when one of the boys says, “I need a badge sewn on in 10 minutes!!”  Real men can sew.

He parasailed with me, but it wasn’t the actual parasailing that showed his love that day!  It was mopping up after me without muttering one word!!  NOT ONE WORD!

 

He walked through sewage this morning to mop up the problem.

He cared for Lucy after her major surgery, even sleeping in a tent in our garage one night so Lucy could be with her people. (read: Lucy LOVES Bill!)

He laughs when he sees my receipts after a weekend of shopping, even though inside, he is probably crying.

He does all our snow removal.

He chipped his two front teeth being a great sport at Scout Camp this summer!  Our kids are lucky to have him as their daddy!

He dusts our ceiling fans.

He replaces all the burnt-out light bulbs.

He took Curly in for her shots – that alone speaks volumes.  Tough love.

Happy Birthday, Bill!!  We are a very blessed family.  Thanks for everything you do for us on a daily basis and for all the times you go above and beyond.  Witnessing all the extras you have done this year has been a reminder of how selfless you are.  Love you tons!

Thanksgiving–it’s a wrap!

PART ONE:

Over the River and through the woods we went.   Not to Grandma’s house first, but eventually we did go there too.  It was an eventful Thanksgiving for our family.  Have a seat, this might get long.

Prompt:  2.) Share a photo of what Thanksgiving looks like in your neck of the woods.

Ok, then here we go:

  “Two Turkeys”  My brother, the turkey carvin’ crazy man – I think it was because our family has gotten so big, we needed two birds, and he was sick of it at this point, or maybe it was due to the fact that he had worked all night and carved turkeys all day – either way, he was lovin’ the job so much.

“The Future is so Bright”  Dad forgot his real glasses and had to spend the day in his prescription shades – all that meant was better mood lighting for his after dinner siesta. 

 “Had a Bad Day”  Curly, this is why we don’t wear glasses while sledding.  Glue and tape were not able to put Humpty together again.

  “Another One Bites the Dust”  JP, meet tree.  Tree, meet JP.  Frenectomy completed without Novocain shots.  Bottom lip given pouty look without need for silicone injections. 

After this exciting afternoon, the kids were asleep before 8:30 and I was sitting like a zombie on Missi’s couch because unknown to me at that time, the little scratchy throat and sniffles I had begun to experience were about to blow up into a full-blown, teeth-aching, double-kleenex-blowing, head-pounding, chill-inducing cold – just in time to head to the germs-not-welcome farm.  Yeah for me.  Yeah for them.  Yeah for everyone.  Sudafed and  Nyquil, I adore you.

Happy “you’re older than me” day to my hubby!!

Lucy, Bill, and I were all 35 yesterday.  Today, that all changes.  Today, he is older than me!!  Back in childhood, being older was a good thing.  Now, however, we are getting all too close to that big number that is supposed to be all black and sad and full of questioning of the meaning of life.  He is closer than I am for about 8 months…ah, crap, he is 8 months older than I am all the time, but this time of year, it is kinda fun to be the wife of an older man.  He is such a cradle robber. 

We got married 4 days after I turned 12.  He was also 12.  That’s just the way it works.  We were babies.  We grew into adulthood together.  Nah, we still are kids.  But really, we have grown from little babes to whatever it is we are now, and we have done it all together.  He met me at 90 lbs and now I am, shoot, like I am going to tell you.  I will let you in on the secret that my body has a few more stripes than it used to have and also a couple (**cough cough**) lumps here and there.  Oh, and a couple killer scars.  He loves me anyway.  That’s what it is all about!  I have a keeper. 

1994

So, an incomplete list of 20 things I love about Bill:

1. He pumps almost all my van’s gas and I haven’t taken a vehicle in for an oil change since we started dating.
2. He works hard – really hard – and provides financial security for our family.
3. He rubs the knots out of my shoulders almost every time I ask, which is pretty much daily.
4. He is a super involved dad.  Our kids are very blessed.
5. He watches chick flicks whenever I want to.
6. He lets me pick the restaurant almost every time and doesn’t complain when I pick Texas Roadhouse pretty much over and over and over.
7. He does all our money junk.  He balances, deposits, budgets, and so on, and with free-spending me as a wife, it is a BIG job.
8. He does all the heavy lifting, shoveling, hauling, etc. for me (probably to prevent more of #3)
9. He doesn’t get mad at me when I do stupid things.
10. He talks to me at 11 PM when my brain is still going, and then again at 7 AM when it has started again, even though he wants to sleep.
11. He lets me go out with friends pretty much whenever I decide I am going towithout complaining.
12. He wears old jeans and free Microsoft shirts so I can wear new sweaters (and pants, and shoes, and jewelry)
13. He’s been known to vacuum.
14. He does almost all our laundry.
15. He knows I am intelligent (after all, I have a degree – someone in this house has to have one!) so he encourages me to use my brain, whether that was while I was a stay-at-home mom or now as a para.
16. He eats toast without complaining.  Night after night, if he has to.
17. He lets me be a complete goof nut and also lets me cry when I need to.  Moody moody little girl!!
18. He nags me to take my meds.
19. He bought a suit.  I am so stoked about that!!
20. He can build and fix almost anything. 

There are so many more things, but this is a start.  Happy Birthday, Mr. P., cant believe you are sooooo old already!!

My fun weekend

We were supposed to be at the farm but decided since JP and I were sporting pretty nasty colds, we wouldn’t go drag those germs down.  I was going to miss the bridal shower and some fun time spent with the in-laws, but germ + situation = bad, so opted to stay home.  Good thing since it snowed like crazy and the shower ended up cancelled anyway.  That drive home could have been interesting!

Because we stayed home, my aunt and uncle from Oregon were able to come spend the weekend, since they were in the area.  FUN!  Put my aunt and I together, and you get sweet rebellion, and that is rebellion in a good way.  We cooked, we ate, we shopped, we watched TV, it was success.

Friday night, we enjoyed our Pork Roast dinner, all 10 of us around the table together.  We don’t sit down and have dinner at the table all that often in our run run run lifestyle.   We served it over mashed potatoes with a side of corn.  I also made pumpkin bars and apple crisp that we munched on all weekend.  Warmed apple crisp for breakfast is yummy!    Ok, back to the business of Friday night.  Uncle Doug taught Crazy Man how to tie his tie!  Alright, more like Uncle Doug tied it and taught him how to loosen it and tighten it to get it on and off for future uses.  HANDSOME!!

   

Saturday, we enjoyed breakfast at Tiffany’s (Perkins, actually) and then did a little shopping.  I found a shrug and bracelet for my little black dress for the wedding and our upcoming cruise.  The shrugs were all hung really high.  What were we two shorty pants to do?  Where was Janell when we needed her?  We couldn’t find one of those trusty hookers either – you know, those things you use to reach the stuff they hang in ridiculous heights? So we improvised and got one – cant share the details.  See how short my aunt is?

Ok, truth is, I am sitting on 3 blankets in this picture – my uncle is actually really tall.

We came home to get started on our extraordinary dinner plans.  Auntie Joyce loves to cook old school,  and being the wiser girl I am these days, instead of watching, I took notes and learned some more tricks of the trade.  Every time they come, they make chicken wings for us!  YUMMY!  We did a little cheat this time and ran to BWW for sauces.  Joyce’s homemade sauces are better.  We also learned how to make her famous coleslaw. 

Auntie Joyce’s Famous Coleslaw

1.  Cheat and start with 2 bags of already bagged coleslaw mix

2.  Roast sliced almonds (we did slivered almonds)

3.  In a bowl, mix a couple scoops of mayo, a scoop or so of sugar, and a squirt of mustard (told ya, this is old school recipe stuff, no measuring)

         

4.  Notice that you don’t have any poppy seeds, call a neighbor, borrow hers, and add them to your mayo mixture…

5.  Sprinkle 2 handfuls of Craisins into the coleslaw mix

6.  Add the mayo mix to the coleslaw mix and taste.  Allow to sit and meld.

    

7.  Add the almonds just before serving.  YUM!!

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Also, back to this thankfulness challenge. 

Nov 13th – Thankful for extended family.  Not just my brothers and their families, I am talking the fringes, like aunts and uncles, who care about my whole being.  Like the deep down parts of my being.  There is just no such things as too much love.

Nov 14th – I am thankful for window blinds.  I like my personal life to be personal.  I like walking around in my jammies at noon if I feel like it.  I like dancing with my kids once in a while.  I like leaving messes around the place if I don’t want to clean.  And I like that no one can see it all.  I also LOVE my top down blinds in my bedroom.  I can come out of my bathroom and get dressed without the hood seeing the horror.  (Thanks for this great thankfulness idea, facebook buddy!)

Glorious Hitting of the Wall

It happened – once in a while, it does – and last night was that night for me.  I started our crazy Tuesday of after school running and kept running till all the running was done.  When all the running was done, I came home, hopped in a hot bubble bath and crashed.  Girls still awake, Bill still with the little drummer boy at Scouts, JP off with a friend, and I didn’t care.  I didn’t have it in me to care.  I crawled in bed.  I woke up at 6:00 this morning after 10+ hours of sleep.  Do the math, I will wait for you. 

 

-insert beautiful waiting room music –

 

I went to bed last night at 7:40.  Yah, you heard me right.  7:40 and it felt good.  James woke me up when he got home, Bill came in to talk to me because I must be sick or something, nope, just sick of being awake.  It was wonderful.

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I also conducted the #2 experiment.  Nope, not what you are thinking or maybe even wishing I would talk about.   After eating so well for 6 days, I decided to see what would happen if I accidentally ate an entire #2 combo meal from the mecca of all that is healthy and right in this world.  Yeah, I ordered from a McDonalds drive through, and it began by going down way too easily.  Perfect Fries – almost too hot to grab, but not quite, and perfect salt factor.  (We have joked that at any one of our How family funerals, it would be perfectly respectable to serve McDonalds #2 meals since we all eat them in bulk.) Ahhhhhh…and there they sat in my stomach.  And seem to be still sitting.  I feel like I don’t have to eat again for at least another 24 hours.  And there we have a brilliant idea.  If you can leave a McDonalds cheeseburger on a counter for a couple months and it looks the same, what is it doing in my stomach?  I think my stomach is still trying to figure what to do – I picture a meeting of the head enzymes trying to develop any sort of new digestion plan they can come up with to rid my body of that poison.  Eat one meal every other day and remain full.  This would help so many people.  Marathon runners, hunters, race car drivers, scuba divers, surgeons, sailors, so many people can benefit from this. 

http://images1.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/McDonalds-mcdonalds-806131_500_655.jpg

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And I missed 2 days of Thankfulness, not that I wasn’t thankful, I just didn’t add them to the blog.  I was too busy sleeping.

Nov 8 – I am thankful for the massive support system we have.  I haven’t even had to tap into our second line of defense since the first line has done it all for us these past couple weeks.  You people know who you are, and THANK-YOU!

Nov 9 – I am thankful for the ability to bathe in clean hot water.  Not even in our country is that a guarantee, and certainly not in the rest of the world.  Water is something we take for granted big time!!

And Nov 10 – I am thankful for a van transmission that only seems to be going out once a day.  It could be twice a day.  It could have clunked out on me already, but nope, just about once a day, I push the gas pedal and it chooses not to smoothly shift and accelerate, but only for a second or two and then it remembers what it is supposed to do.  At least we have time to get mentally prepared to plunk down massive money on a tranny,  it could have just called it a day and caught us off guard.  Nothing worse than a split second, total melt-down of the van mechanics. Ok, tons of things worse.  This is just stuff.  And we are ready, bring it!

Sunday = spiritual rest and hopefully some physical rest

For those of you who only want to hear the funny stuff with no deep meaning, skip to the horizontal line.  You know who you are.       

After I think 7 weeks of missing our home church, this morning felt like I was home.  Songs I hear every day brought tears as I stood during worship in a safe place, a place I don’t have to pretend to have it all together.  Home.  Friends I haven’t seen for a long time surrounded us in support and God met me there and provided spiritual and emotional healing. Thanks, church family, today you were Hebrews 10 people for me.

Hebrews 10:23 – 25

²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

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I found a new church blog that I find very entertaining and funny, Soiled Wings.  This link is to an entry called Church Rules #1.  Follow that lead and enjoy reading about her take on church issues.  I think she is spot on.  I also like her God, Facebook, and Lady Gaga post.  I  spent much of the first half of my football watching time also perusing her blog.  I can multi-task, I am a female and besides, watching the Vikes this year without some sort of mental distraction is not good for my stress level.

What I cant seem to do today is get inspired to do anything but veg.  So now I think I will take a nap.    Because I can.  Today I am thankful for a soft safe bed.  So many go without those things.

Oh Deer!

Last night, God and I had a chat that went something like this (a little one sided): “Dear God, I am only asking two things.  Most important, protect my family during deer hunting this year.  Don’t let them accidentally shoot each other.  That many boys playing with guns in the woods scares this mom.  And in close second, please help JP get a deer.  He needs something good.”

I waited for God’s answer, because I know he is listening to my detailed prayers, I can see Him all over these days.  At 8:00, the call came.  “MOM!!  I GOT ONE!!!” and this mom bawled about a shot deer.  Around here, life is intense these days, so this meant way more than just some venison sausage.  THANKS, GOD!!!  We needed that!

I was so inspired, I made myself a to-do list and headed into town.  For five hours, Crazy Man and I ran errands of every kind and we crossed off most of our list.  He is a great little helper, especially when we do crazy things like buy tons of candy at 75% off and have to carry it around Target in those nifty little baskets.  THAT, ladies, is how to get the arm muscles rock solid.  The candy is not for us…ok?  Get over it.

I also baked muffins again – yep, again.  I just love cant eat those things. And drum roll please… Princess made the first batch of peanut butter balls for the Christmas season!!  They are heading to the farm next week to reside in the deep freeze of happiness until we meet up with them again at a later time and indulge in wonderful family tradition – eat until you feel sick, we do it every year!

Peanut Butter Balls (straight from Gram on the Farm’s kitchen!)

Mix until well-blended:

1 1/2 cups of creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1 tsp. vanilla

Gradually beat in ~ 3 1/2 cups powered sugar (yep, these babies are GOOD FOR YOU!)

Shape into balls – chill 2 –3 hours (or in our case, overnight) and dip into melted chocolate. We store them in the freezer – kinda because they have to stay chilled and also because I have to walk down a flight of stairs to get one, so I don’t eat them very quickly.

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Today’s food intake wasn’t stellar – hard to do on the weekend, I guess.

Breakfast – Oatmeal with flaxseed.  Was so excited to clean, I forgot to eat any protein.  Was hungry really quick and couldn’t understand why until…oh yeah, oops.

Mid-morning – Chicken Breast and Yams (I thought I would hate those yam things, but I actually like them!)

Lunch – Apple, 2 egg whites

Mid-afternoon snack – 1/4 of a personal pan pizza from Target’s Pizza Hut (Great planning on my part, I got hungry and had nothing with to eat.)

Supper – got creative here – sauté onion and garlic, added black beans, ate with steamed broccoli.  Took a few bites to get into the taste, but then not too bad.

Evening cheat – had to try one of the muffins I made since I never had had one before.  YUM!  Really wanted a milk to wash it down with, but grabbed the boring water and chugged.

5 16-oz of water today, still working on getting 6 down.  Water is so boring.  I repeat, boring.

My stomach is finally flat again after the eat-all-the-great-food-that-I-know-better-than-to-eat superbloat. I like when my jeans aren’t tight.  We are making progress – I feel so much better!!  I wish I was like I was at age 16: eat an entire bag of Doritos dipped in salsa, wash down with 2 Dews, Repeat.  Weigh 85 – 90 lbs.  Those were the days. 

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Ok, thankful thing of the day:  It is an obvious one today.  All my childhood, I knew I was going to be a mom.  At age 20, I sat in a doctor’s office and was told I may never have the ability to have children, so when on this day 13 years ago, I became a mom, I was overjoyed.  I am so very very humbly thankful for my children and for the ability to raise them, see them grow and mature, and laugh like crazy because they are awesome kids who make my heart sing.  Thanks, God, for giving me the desires of my heart.

TGIF

Day two of Eating Clean Cooler 1.  I did very well today except for a cheat this afternoon at a Resource Room gathering at school.

Breakfast:

Oatmeal w/flaxseed, one egg white

Mid-morning snack:

Chicken breast, 1/2 apple

Lunch:

Small portion chicken breast, yams

Afternoon snack:

Small portion of taco dip (NOT good for me, but oh so yummy!!) with a few chips

1 Oatmeal cookie (she baked, I must encourage that!!)

apples with small amount of caramel dip

Dinner:

Steamed broccoli, 2 scrambled egg whites

Water:  at this point, I have 5 16-oz glasses down the hatch, 80 oz, but I will get at least one more down.  That goal of a gallon sure does elude me. 

So, not all that bad minus some of the goodies that co-workers and friends brought in for a much needed support meeting.  Sometimes life gets to be too much to handle without friends and today, I was in the company of those people, so I enjoyed it.

Thanks for all the tuna ideas – I will let you know how they turn out. 

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It is going to be hard for my little man to shoot a deer since his dad left the ammo case in our garage.    Good thing there is Reed’s in Walker and some uncles who can serve as bullet back-up.  Thanks, Grandpa, for exposing JP to hunting and providing a great experience!  (Bill goes along too, but doesn’t spend the $150 for the license.  He said he can sleep in a tree for free, so now the only thing he shoots with is our camera.)

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I am just so happy to have a weekend at home when I can collect my thoughts, work on some to-do lists for my family, and also check some things off the extended family to-do list.  I plan to start Christmas baking so I can bring some to the farm freezer for the upcoming season, cook some things for the following week, and do a lot of cleaning (and I mean a lot!!)  I also plan to sleep, lounge around, and do a lot of NOTHING.  How about a little Christmas shopping thrown in there too?  It is a possibility!  I love Christmas.

And I love my country as much as Raj does! 

LOVE this show

 Nov 5: I am thankful for mindless TV for evenings like this one.  My favorites right now:  Big Bang Theory, What Not to Wear, and Cake Boss.

Eating Crazy day 1

Ok, today was day one of our cooler one of the eating clean plan.  I feel bloated. 

Breakfast:

Oatmeal w/flaxseed, one egg white

Mid-morning snack:

1/2 tuna pouch

1/2 apple

Lunch:

Small portion chicken breast, brown rice, 1/2 apple

After school snack:

Yams, chicken breast

Dinner:

Turkey Breast, celery sticks.

And I drank about 6 16 oz. bottles of water.  96 OZ!!  THAT is why I feel so bloated.  But, the body will adjust at some point and I wont have to pee every 15 minutes once we get there.  (Be very careful if you choose to search for “peeing images.”)

Question:  What is a healthy way I can make the tuna not taste like tuna?  Seriously, I gagged through the whole ordeal.  I know it is relatively good for me, but I barely could do it.  I need ideas that don’t involve mayo.

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My big boys leave for hunting tomorrow and while they are gone, I will become officially old – JP is becoming a teenager and there is nothing I can do about it!!  CRAP!  Since I am not old enough to be the mom of a teenager, I was told tonight that I could pretend I am the big sister from now on…I think I might go with that. 

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We did some power shopping – how does a family that doesn’t even own black dress socks for everyone get ready for a very dressy occasion?  Drop huge bucks at the mall, and we did it in style.  Head to toe.  The girls were so excited that their new dresses came home in one of those “body bags” (Alli’s term for the garment bag) and JP got his first pair of man dress shoes – guess he wont have to hide his feet at the Christmas concert this year!!  Two boys became suit owners tonight.  Now if I could say the same about their daddy – but his turn is coming.  He cant pull off khaki’s this time.  Nope.  Not if he wants to see 2011. 

 James is getting mighty close to filling Dad’s shoes.

Last thought:  Today, I am thankful for all my nephews.  One of them celebrated a birthday today, so it is a good reminder to be thankful for each one.  Cant wait to see what each one chooses to do with his talents and giftings!  My family loves creating more boys!  🙂

Anyways, it is late and I am tired.  Time to hit the hay and call it a day.  Goodnight, moon.