10 "Interesting" facts about me...

I've only had surgery once in my life. When my sister & I were fighting and she broke a light bulb in my left middle finger. I got to flip everyone off for free. To this day there is still a piece of glass in my finger & yes its a pain.

I have twin scars, one on each knee. As a kid I was more of a tomboy...now I'm a wimp!

I write left handed but do almost everything else right handed, including bowling.

Even though I really, really want two boys a girl wouldn't be that bad.

Pink is no longer my most disliked color I actually like it now.

I still don't have a drivers liscense. Yes, it's pretty pitiful. But I'm working on it.

Sky diving & getting a tatoo is on my list of things to do.

I rolled in the snow unclothed once...in Finland. Brooke & I also sat in their sauna naked too.

Swimming is the "sport" I enjoy most.

And volleyball is the only sport I can attempt.

I asked Jesus into my heart at age 3. My great grandmother had a picture of Jesus knocking on a door with no doorknob. I asked my mom about & she said that was the door to your heart. She explained how only we can ask Him into our lives & the salvation story. I asked Jesus into my hear that day. When I got married my mom had the pic reframed & gave it to me. Its one of my most treasured possesions.

That was hard!!!! But there you have it.

Rescued

They finally made it home...YEAH. They got home last night , I still haven't talked to them or seen them but at last they are safe and sound. With a bed to sleep in and food in their stomachs!!!

Our little Tinkerbell...aka..Brieanna

Our little Tinkerbell...aka..Brieanna
Posted by: tma.

She usually isn't too keen on pics but she's coming around!

Spidey....aka...Brandon

Spidey....aka...Brandon
Posted by: tma.

Justus was scared of Brandon the first time he saw him with the mask on. They were all too cute!

This weekend we took the kids to the fall festival

This weekend we took the kids to the fall festival
Posted by: tma.

Justus was supposed to be a chicken but at this festival they had the heat cranked up & he was too hot.

DVD weekend

Hello all. Thought I would write a quick note & let you know I'm still here. I havent' had lots of time for internet reading so I'm behind on the times. I hope to catch up sometime in the next few days.

Nathan & Traci are still stuck in Cancun. Their flight out for today was cancelled & are now being replaced by "humanitarian" flights on a first come, first served basis. Who knows when we will see them.

This weekend is Hallelujah House at church but sam is stuck with Justus & I. He pulled a muscle in his back and so he has been resting, watching lots of DVD's from our bed. It's nice to have him around.

Jamie, sorry I havent' put anything up...I'm still trying to think of 10 things.

Cancun update

The last update I got was that N & T had gone 3 hours south to a resort shelter...not exactly sure what that means but I'm still concerned. Nathan's mom has rebooked their flight twice already. If they can't get out by Tues. she'll have to rebook them again. We haven't heard anything from them in 3 days. Keep praying.

Update on mom....she's doing SOME better. She can at least sit on the couch now instead of staying in bed 24-7. Also: keep praying.

One more fun piece of info....someone else is pregnant...NOT ME...my sister in law Aubrey. I think WOW-that was fast!. They're one year anniversary was this summer. Maybe they will move closer so we can see the baby...and them too!

The pumkin patch was CHAOS! It was Justus, me, my sis, her 3 kids & husband. And another relative with her two young boys. Let me just say this- I would not make a good single mom. Justus was being a kid & driving me crazy. I missed sam being there to enjoy & to help me out. We did get a pumpkin but the parents were to worn out to let the kids paint them.

We had already played on the hay mounds, raced on the John Deere bikes, played on the playground, had snack, went on the hayride, & played in a huge "sandbox" of corn. That was really cool! After we got the pumpins we headed home. Justus was out in 10 min!!!!

Yesterday we took the kids to get their pictures taken in their costumes. It took an hour but the pictures turned out pretty good! They won't be back until November, I can't wait to show you! That's about it for the "cancun" update. I guess I got carried away.

Stranded!!!!!!!!

Nathan & Traci are stuck in Cancun! I guess they waited too long to get out & now there are NO flights out. Doesn't sound like the best honyemoon in the world but they'll have a story to last a lifetime. Please keep them in your prayers. The last I heard they are evacuating the coast (where they were). But I'm not really sure where they will be going. Their poor parents!!!! I"ll fill you in on any details as I get them.

ps We're dressing up the kids in their costumes to go & get their pics taken tommorrow. We're also supposed to go to the pumpkin patch this weekend. It should be fun!

Top 5 Christmas Traditions

#1 Exchange ornaments; see staci's blog for more details
#2 Bake like it's going out of style; sharing past memories while doing it
#3 Get up early the day after Thanksgiving & shop the deals; just for the fun of it.
(Sam and I starting doing this when we were in OH & had no family to hang with. There are SO many people there; it's always fun).
#4 Get a tree & decorate it Thanksgiving Day. Since we always get a real tree we have to wait until then. Otherwise it dies too fast!
#5 Open stockings on Christmas Eve. For me this is the most fun b/c you can really get some cool gifts that fit into a stocking. For example I saw an ad today on TV for some cute scarves $1 at the dollar tree. Nice gift, nice price. Emmm...makes me smile just thinking about it!

There are more traditions around here but I want to know what yours are. If you've already written on Stack's thats cool, I 'll just look there. Fun,fun,fun...I LOVE CHRISTmas too!!!

What's up with me

Well as I've mentioned before Sam & I don't get much time together. You ALL can relate I know. One of the things I read in an article from our MOPS group (mothers of preschoolers) suggested writing a journal back & forth between husband & wife. I thought it was a good idea so I'm (we're) gonna try it for a while. What do you do to stay in touch with your man????

Justus is getting bigger all the time. He weighs almost 30 pound now! His feet are humogous(sp)! The kid is wearing a size 6 & their almost too small. His clothes are 2t & 3t. He isn't even 2 yet!!! All that aside, he lots of fun and talking his own language more every day. This is a very fun and strenuous age.

AS for me, I'm feeling more like myself than I have in a long time. Quiet time is better than it has been in a while. And I'm trying to reach out & be a part more in our church.

I guess that is my update for now. Love to you all. And thanks for the prayers for my mom! Keep em' coming!

Sweet Success

The wedding was successful with bride & groom now spending a week in Cancun. The reception, our main focus went well. 300+ guest ate a huge plate of food. Including; veggies & fruit, bread & cheese, meatballs, wings, ham, chocolate covered cherries, and cream puffs drizzled with chocolate. Don't forget the punch & cake. Our only problem was that the wings got a little dried out, I think we had the heat turned up a little to high. They weren't bad with the sauces added on top. (BBQ or ranch).

The sad part was that we were all too busy to spend any time with each other. My brother & his wife came. Rebekah & Paul came with their new baby Gabriel. Nikki & Scott...I know most of you don't recognize the names but for Staci's sake I thought I'd add this part. Anyways it was hello & goodbye. Maybe Christmas won't be as rushed.

We had lots of leftovers; that's good for us! Some of it will have to be frozen so it won't go bad. Nathan & Traci both looked great. And that's all that matters. Their day was successful. Yeah!

Tedious work (sp??)

Well, this weekend is Nathan & Traci's wedding. And my mom is catering for them & I am helping. We have been doing lots of prep work; especially this week. For example: cooking over 1,000 meatballs, 700 some odd chicken wings. Cutting 300+ ribbons to go around 300+ napkins that go around 300+ sets of plastic silverware. We've made a MILLION trips to walmart & sam's club....& the list goes on but I won't in case you're asleep already.

I think that this is going to be a nice wedding & I hope everything comes together. Justus has been great & put up with me doing a lot of extra stuff. Tonight we went to the reception place to set everything up. He played with his cars & balls. Oh, what a good kid!!! Well sam is already in the bed waiting to go to sleep, guess I should go so he can get some rest.

I'll let you know how everything turns out. Goodnight all.

A painting frenzy

Hello all! Well, last night instead of getting ready to paint we went Bowling with my sister,her husband, Nathan & Traci. It was lots of fun & not as much smoke as usual. I still had a headache/sore throat but it was worth. I actually tied Sam in the 2nd game which NEVER happens. He always beats me at Everything.

Now today we are painting. It's going good so far. I hope to post some pics Very soon! I think it will be easier to show than to tell. But it's gonna be a tigger room, with balls b/c J is nuts about balls. Sounds odd. I think it will be OK though!

It's FRIDAY

Yes, as you know it's Friday. Justus is with Sam & I'm again in computer land. Mom & Jake are cleaning out this room so that my brother & his wife have a place to sleep next weekend. (Nathan's wedding).

They are both in a crazy, silly mood. And I'm on the way. Too crazytown. I guess it's all the rain from Tammy.

Tonight is Sam & I are supposed to start painting Justus' room. It's our livingroom right now but we are trying to rearrange to that J can have his own room & we can have more privacy.

I'll try to keep you updated. And I'll for sure take pics. I guess I'm gonna bet out of the way so I see you all soon.

ps sorry this was so boring...oh well.

Dang it!

NOt sure about the title...I couldn't think of anything better! This weekend wasn't too bad. Justus stayed up ALL day long with no nap so he went to bed early at 10:30. I was able to watch a whole movie in peace & finish the book I was reading.

Saturday the kitchen was turned into the beauty shop & my sister cut and colored hair. Did manicures, pedicures & waxing. Oh the fun. She cut my hair a little different but I can't show you since my internet is down.

I really didn't want to go to church today but I did. Me, Bethany & the kids ate out Mexican afterwards & it was so good. And the kids were so crazy. It was fun.

Tonight we did a birthday dinner for my dad, he's 51! We had stuffed pasta, tomato/basil salad & homemade cheescake for dessert.
The cheesecake was made with splenda; it was pretty good.

I watched Sahara & Finding Neverland this weekend. They were decent.

This week is MOPS & I've decided to be part of the steering commitee and help with the finances. It should be fun. I guess that's it. Except I'm really glad that my husband is back!!! I wouldn't make a good single mom!