Wednesday, December 03, 2014

It's been a long time

But I think I'll try this again. Maybe it can be an outlet for all the stress of life. :)

Things I am Thankful for:
My Savior
My Wonderful Husband
My Beautiful Children
A House to live in
Cars to get us where we need to go
Food in the pantry and fridge
Family close by to help when needed
Jobs to pay the bills

Most of the time, Life is not as bad as we think when we are in the moment.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Craziness of Life!

I'm a swirl of emotions lately. How can my sweet baby boy be 10 months already?!! Have we really been in our new house for almost a year? Has it already been 10 years since I pleged my love to my best friend, forever?! Well, tomorrow will be our 10th wedding anniversary. It has been quite a ride.

We have been so busy the last year, I really just want to take time off from life. I'm I the only one that feels that way? I wish we could take a month long vacation with our kids this summer and just be a family. Work and school and family obligations seem to take up so much time. There is always something going on. Our weekends are so full there is barely time for laundry. Let alone have time to really clean the monster of a house we live in. Don't get me wrong, I love my house. But the task of cleaning it just overwhelms me. I haven't been able to clean it top to bottom all at once since we moved in. Maybe this long weekend will allow me to get a handle on things.

The kids are growing up way too fast. Hailey is be coming a young lady way faster than Bill and I want her too. I resently had THE TALK with her about how she is changing. I was surprised at how open she was to asking questions. I did my best to answer them without getting too beyond what she needs to know. I found some cool little books at the Christian book store that helped. I read one of the books and let her read certian chapters out of the book. Then she was able to ask me about stuff she didn't understand. Bill and I decided we would rather talk to our kids about these things than let them learn from other kids that don't know what they are talking about.

Bill is doing great with his new position at Southwest Gas. It has been a learning experience for him. They have so many training classes that he has to go through. But we are both learning from them. He shares the good stuff about the classes with me. Since we are both in management type positions, I am able to gain some info from them too.

I can't believe that the school year is almost over. I'm going to have a 4th grader!! Holy Cow!! Happy Memorial day!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Coupons!!!

So my new passion, thanks to Jamie Bielich, is couponing!! I know that with this crazy ecomony almost all of us are looking for ways to save money. Well, with the new house and new baby comes more expenses. More than I could have imagined. Don't get me wrong, I know diapers, clothes, and baby food were all in the mix. I just didn't expect to have the cost of daycare yet. You see we have been blessed with amazing moms. When Hailey was born, Bill's mom quit her job to watch Hailey. She knew that we just wouldn't be able to make it with the cost of daycare. Hailey didn't start day care until she was 18 months old!! I huge savings of over $14,000!!! She is amazing!! My mom was also helping to watch Hailey a couple of days a week. Then when Clayton was born, I only worked 3 days a week. My mom was able to watch him the other 2 days and Lori watched him on Fridays. See I have amazing moms!! So Clayton started daycare at 12 months. Another savings of almost $10,000. For those of you that haven't had to use daycare, it is a staggering number!! Well, this time around, I have had to work full time. In fact I really only took 3 weeks off after having JP. My mom was able to watch him full time for 6 months before it really started taking a toll on her. So at 8 months JP has started daycare.

In trying to save money, Bill and I decided we needed to start clipping coupons. Like most people we really didn't know where to start. I have been trying to do this for a couple of months now and really haven't gotten anywhere. Then I watched that new show called Extreme Couponing. I couldn't believe how much these people were saving. But it failed to tell you how they really do it. I wanted to learn more, but couldn't find anything. About a week later, My great friend Jamie invited me to a free couponing class. So of course I was there with bells on. I wanted to know how these people are able to save so much money. As the class started, everything was so intreging. The wheels in my head immediatly started turning. I think I fustrated the teacher cause I jumped ahead. I couldn't help it. I had gotten it and had to learn more. My the end of the class, I was so excited to jump on this coupon bandwagon. I want to share it with everyone I know. I'm going to host a free class sometime soon. Let me know if you are interested and what day of the week works best for you!!

Just so you know, I got 6 boxes of healthy pasta for FREE this week. :)

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Easter

Easter is a holiday that is celebrated across the globe. We have made it about Bunnies and eggs. But it is so much more than the candy that is sold at the stores. As Christians, it is why we live. I was fortunate enough to grow up in church. So Easter has always been about Christ dying for me. Just for me. That is such a hard concept for us as Humans to grasp. Why would the God of this universe send his son to die for me? I couldn't send my child to die so someone else could live. How was he able to do it? The answer is simple, a little too simple. He loves us so much that he was willing to send his son to die on a cross for our sins. The cross was a death for criminals. Jesus was far from a criminal. He was blameless and pure. He was and is the only person that will ever walk this earth that is without sin.

John 3:16 -18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. -The Message


Hailey's take on Easter...
Easter means new life and when Jesus came and died on the cross and rose on the 3rd day. He died for our sins.

As this Easter draws near, I invite you to find our about this God. This awesome God who sacrificed His son for us. My church is have 6 services this Easter. Come find out what this Jesus is all about! gvchristian.com

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

JP is 9 months!

Where does the time go? I really can't believe we are already at the 9 month mark. Jonathan started daycare a couple weeks ago. And 2 days in he came down with the first of many colds. Well, he was nice enough to share it with me. So JP and I have boggers everywhere. He has them coming out of his eyes and his nose. They are dry and crusted to his poor little nose. I finally broke down and took us to the Dr on Monday. I was first, I have a sinus infection, infected throat, and an ear infection. Fun stuff, NOT! JP was next, He has a sinus infection and double ear infection. Poor thing. I can only imagine how he feels. He has been so cranky lately. Sometimes I wish we as adults could just cry and complain how horrible we feel. Babies do it. Yesterday my amazing mom watched all 3 kids. Hailey and Clay are on Easter Break. Jonathan cried pretty much all day and yet she still made time to make cupcakes with Hailey. She is amamzing! I would have told Hailey maybe another day.

Today I woke up with no voice and my throat is killing me. I can't even swallow without being in pain. I know I need to go to work, but I really don't want to. The things we have to do to live the lifestyle we want to live....

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Jonathan is 6 months today!!



Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing this new baby home. How can he be 6 months already?! He is the happiest little guy, most of the time. He is scooting all over the place already. He hasn't quite figured out the crawling, but if he wants to get there bad enough, you can bet he will! He's trying to sit up and on occasion he gets it, even if it is just for a few seconds. I"m sure in no time, he will be walking. Clayton was walking at 8 months so why not.

We are trying to start baby proofing the house. I realized yesterday that I need to get those plug covers. If anyone knows how to block off the stairs without destroying a banister, let me know. I haven't figured that one out yet. We also have to put a gate around the pool. We got a quote and boy are they expensive. We have a great friend that has volunteered to help us so that will cut the cost. Bill can do just about anything when he has the time. He's pretty handy to have around. We are constantly reminding the older kids to keep their toys picked up. JP will put anything and everything in his mouth. He likes chewing on anything leather. We were at Brianhead and he got a hold of one the leather pillows. He was going to town on it.






This weekend we went to the first off road race of the season for our family's team. We broke some bolts, but were able to finish. Uncle CJ drove while Uncle Jason was the navigator. Fun times in the desert. JP slept through most of it. :)

Boot Camp

Need I saw more.....

I got this great idea to lose weight. Let's jump start it right! Man, what was I thinking. I got a groupon for a crazy discount to try out boot camp Las Vegas for a month at the weekly price. I roped my awesome friend Tara into going with me. You don't realize how out of shape you are until you are pushed to the extreme. These people are crazy, I'm confinced. We started Monday last week. Boy was it killer. Here is a little recap.

Monday - 1 mile run for our warm up. Then extreme circuit training. We used tires and logs for an upper body workout. I busted my chin and bit my tongue trying to put the log down and rest.

Tuesday - We ran to the high school just down the street. We were told to pick up 2 2 - 3 lb rocks to use as weights. Once at the track, we were told this was the mission impossible challenge. No one ever finishes it. We ran one lap of the track then up the bleachers to the very top, did jumping jacks, then down back up again and down. The next lap we did with our weights. Then a lap without then, then we ran again with the weights only we ran backwards. So our total around the track was 4 laps plus the 4 times up and down and up and down the bleachers. Oh, then we had to run back to the park! Most of the veterens were 3 - 4 laps a head of us!!

Wednesday - 1 mile run warm up. We got in a circle and the lower body workout started. Squats, squats and more sqauts! I thought ok, I can do this. Ha was I wrong! We only stared with 2 squats, then we would do a minute of some floor exercise then we added 2 more squats. By the time we were done, we were doing 50 squats at a time. So total, we did 650 squats total! I just keep telling myself, it's only an hour long class. I can do this!

Thursday - 1 mile run warm up. Upper body work out with weights and medicine balls. We also ran chasers. My arms were like jello!

Friday - too much going on so we took the day off.

Monday - 1 mile run warm up. There was a long line of cone set up. We jumped over the cones then did a push up. There must have been like 25 comes. We also hit tires with a sleg hammer. Lots of sit ups and ab work. I'm pretty sure there was more running in there too!

Today, we were told its all cardio. I'm a littlr scared! Wish us luck!

Sunday, January 02, 2011

My goals for 2011

I'm really not into "New Year's Resolutions" but I need to set goals for me and my family. So here goes...

1. First and foremost, I want to spend time in God's word daily. This is going to mean waking up earlier, but it will be so worth it! I need His daily guidance to get me through my day.

2. Become healthier. Not only for myself, but for my family. This includes me losing weight. I know, I just had a baby, but I don't want that to be my excuse when he is a year old. I have become so lazy when it comes to making sure my kids are eating health. No more fast food for a long time. If you have any recipes you would like to share, I'm all ears.

3. Get us on a budget! We have tried several times but to no avail. Christmas this year really snuck up on us. We were still shopping the week of and it all went on the credit card. BOO! So now we have to work extra hard to get things back in order. Oh, and it doesn't help that the IRS still hasn't sent us our refund for 2009!!! Yeah too bad we can't assess penalties and interest to them!

4. Start a support group for young moms. God laid it on my heart in 2010. I have been that young mom that didn't feel like I really belonged anywhere. Everyone my age was single or just married and without kids. They didn't understand that I couldn't be out until morning. I've already kind of started this one. I'm in contact with a couple of ladies that are ready to meet with me. Just have to make the time. If you know of anyone that would like to check out our group, let me know. I want these ladies to know that they are not alone. God has placed these precious children in their lives to save them.

5. Get organized!! If you know me, you completely understand this one. So we went from a 1600 sq ft house to a 3500 sq ft house. I should have plenty of room for everything to have a place. WRONG. I just have more places for things to not have a place. If that makes any sense? We still have boxes that need to be unpacked or given away. The kids have a great playroom, but there is little room to play.

6. Get some pictures hung on the walls. The walls are pretty bare in the new house. I started taking down the Christmas decorations and realized that we have absolutely nothing decorated. I'm looking for someone that wants to help me. I'm really not the decorating type. I just want me house to look put together.

I'm sure there is more, but I need to get to bed so I can get up early. I have goals to work on.

Happy New Year!!


So, I haven't posted anything since April 2010!! I'm a slacker, I know. But I'm willing to try this again. I have a lot of things I am going to try to do this year. I'll post more later. I've got to get this cranky kid to bed :)