Not saying "goodbye"....

Just sayin', "See ya soon!"

We watched our cousins drive off to their new home yesterday afternoon. We have had such a great time with them. Janelle and I even got teary eyed before they left on Sunday. It has been wonderful experience being able to have them all month, right next door. Janelle and I definitely have the "sister" bond thing down. I feel we have become so much closer and I'm so grateful for the special times we got to share together. God truly works in amazing ways.

They are going to be so happy in their new home. They are going to create so many new memories and share so many great times on their new adventure. We are so happy for them.

We love you guys and are going to miss you all very much!

New toy!

I got a new toy!

And now I need to go to school to help me figure out how to use it!

I've been wanting a new camera for a while now. A camera that will allow me to take nice pictures. Not that I'm going into business or anything. I just wanted to be able to take great pictures of my kids on my own.

We got it on Saturday and now I'm just really overwhelmed. I don't have a clue what most of the stuff means. But I have been playing around with it...and I think I've taken a few good shots....

It does help that I adorable subjects to photograph!

Big winner!

Last Friday night was Maggie's school carnival. It was actually our first experience with it, because we were out of town during last years carnival.

It was so much fun...so many games and prizes, the basket raffle (of course we didn't win...) and my favorite the cake walk. (we didn't win anything there either)

But what we did win...was an evening of extremely tired kiddos...with very cute painted faces!

Max & Mom!

Max is off school today, so we are spending the day together....just Max and mom!

Toothless Thursday!

I got home from the gym this morning....everyone was still asleep. I was enjoying a little quiet time and doing my devotion when I heard someone coming down the stairs. I knew it would be Maggie, as she is my automatic alarm clock.

As I turned around....I saw it immediately. The big hole where her top front tooth was last night.


Apparently, she felt it fall out last night while she was sleeping. She woke up to find it in her mouth and then she just put it on her night stand. She said the clock said 2:21 am. She said she was really tired, so she just went back to sleep.

After breakfast, she surprised Daddy with the big news! All she had to do was smile...and he knew!


Tooth fairy, better get ready to come visit us tonight! This smile won't be here forever! Oh, and bring your big bag of loot!

Two blog anniversaries...

Two of my bloggy friends are having blog anniversaries and *giveaways* this week! Just thought you should know!

Beth @ Swimming Upstream In Life

and

H-Mama @ Family Team

Congrats ladies on one year of blogging! The fun has only just begun!

PJ Day!

This is what Mags wore to school today....she was worried that everyone else would forget and that she'd be the only one in pajamas. My little worrier! I think she looks pretty darn cutie, don't you?

I just might make it a PJ Day here at home today too! Sounds like a great idea!

Finally...the table!

See, it's nothing fancy...but I really like it!

I'm officially now a professional table-and-chair-put-together-er! And can be hired out for the right price.

Happy Monday!

Just random stuff!

Sorry for the lack of reading material this week. With the weather being so nice it seems my computer time is getting less and less.

I do have some things coming...like pics of the kitchen table and chairs...a super cute video of Maxarooni singing Veggie Tales and more...so stayed tuned.

Oh, and if you haven't signed up for the swagbucks thing yet...you should, I earned $25 in amazon gift cards this week and I'm excited to have my Christmas "santa saver" started. Check it out...and let me know if you have questions...I'm still learning about it too! Click below and sign up today.

Happy Thursday!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

What I miss!

Andy's away this week on business. Business that has to be done in England. So while the week will be busy and I'm sure the time will go by fast, I'm reminded again of all the little things that I miss while he is gone.

* he's not here to place all his stuff on the kitchen counter, (keys, phone, wallet, etc) instead of on the little desk area where it should be (did I say I was going to miss that, okay...really, not going to miss that at all!)

* he's not here to keep his side of the bed warm. My side is always nice and toasty due to my fabulous heated mattress pad...but if I roll over when he's not here...brrrr!

* he's not here to press the garage door opener when he's coming home from work. That is such a wonderful sound at the end of the day, knowing that daddy is home to take over.

* he's not here in the evening, doing work on the computer till all hours of the night. Even though I get frustrated a lot with this, at least he's home and I know he's here. It makes a big difference.

And the one I miss the most...

* he's not here to give me my morning hug goodbye. The hug where his cologne lingers with me for hours. That is what I miss the most while he's away.

Have a great week Hun...we'll see ya on Friday!

The story of a table!

Most of you know that I've been wanting a new kitchen table for a while now. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive, just a new style. The table we have is way old, missing a few spindles in the chairs and just outdated. It has been a great table to have with little kids. Since my kids are pretty much past the "banging the fork on the table" stage...I felt it was time to get something new.

So last year over Labor Day weekend, I found a table that I really liked. We were in Iowa visiting friends and went to a furniture store near their house. The table was on back order, so we thought "no big deal" this gives a good excuse to come back to Iowa and see our friends. However, the back order date kept getting pushed back and pushed back. I was getting so frustrated that finally in mid-January, I finally canceled the order. They were telling me maybe I'd get it in April....(remember is was ordered in early September!) I just kept thinking maybe I wasn't supposed to have this table.

So after I canceled the order, we went out shopping again. We shopped in our local area and online. I found some things, but nothing that I liked as much as that original table. We don't have a huge space for a table, so I had to watch the size, and I really wanted a table with a butterfly leaf so that I didn't have to wait for Andy to help me get the table leaf in. I had a certain picture in my head and that is what I wanted.

So, one day I was searching the web. I had all the info on the original table and I started
searching elsewhere for that same table. I was so excited when I came across the very same table online. It was on sale for just a little more than what I paid in Iowa AND the company offered FREE SHIPPING. What could be better. I checked the measurements, made sure it was the same table and completed my order.

The day came when the table was being delivered. Papa helped the delivery guy get the table in the house. I opened it up real quick, checked it over, and then sent the delivery guy on his way. Later that day, I was so excited and couldn't wait for Andy. I put the legs on and had the kids help me lift it up. As soon as we got it up on the legs, I knew it wasn't right.

I ordered THE WRONG ONE!

My heart just sank. I kept saying, "You've got to be kidding me". I went and got my paperwork and looked it all over. Sure enough, in my excitement of finding the table, I totally overlooked the size. The table I ordered was a pub-style, counter height table. Now don't get me wrong, I really like those tables, but it wasn't going to work in my space. I immediately got on the phone to the company to see what I had to do to get this one returned and order the correct one.

The very nice guy who helped me, informed that I would have to pay the shipping to return it, (along with the free shipping the company paid to have it shipped to me in the first place) so basically double shipping to return it. So just under $200 to have it returned...I was crushed. I told the guy that I'd talk to my husband and then let him know what I wanted to do.

When I got off the phone I went back to make sure the table was still too tall. (I was really hoping that I just dreamed it all and that when I walked back in the table would be the correct size.) I had the kids help me open up the table and check it all out (I really should have done that before I called in the first place...but I didn't.)

When we opened it up and pulled the butterfly leaf out, there was a chunk of wood out of the leaf. Now it wasn't huge, but it was definitely noticeable. So I called the company again (don't you just hate people like me!) and wouldn't you know, I got the very same guy on the phone. I told him that when I finally opened the table there was a chunk of wood out of leaf.

I know he didn't believe me, but I was telling him the truth. He was super nice and promptly told me that my problem was solved. He credited my credit card the entire amount and informed me that the manufacture would be contacting me about when they would come pick up the wrong table.

So three weeks passed with the wrong table sitting in my living room, I finally called this week and asked if they knew when they would be coming to pick it up. I was told that it would cost them too much to come get it, so I could donate it or dispose of it, whatever I wanted.

So, last night, Andy cut 6 inches off each leg. The chunk of wood is still missing from the leaf, but we won't be using the leaf all the time, so I think I'm just going to live with it.

Part of me feels guilty for keeping it when it was free, but I'm sure this happens all the time. At least I'm not putting it in a burn pile somewhere. Plus, if you know someone who could use a decent kitchen table and four chairs for free, let me know! I'd be happy to donate my old one. (I also have two counter height bar stools!)

As for us, we will be sitting at our new *free* kitchen table.

Free Stuff!

I recently found out about Swagbucks. It's a free search engine that allows you to collect "bucks" and then use those "bucks" to buy stuff you want.

Just in the few short weeks I've doing Swagbucks, I've already earned over 2000 bucks. Throughout the day, they post different codes, these codes help you to earn more bucks...I'm kinda getting addicted to searching for these codes. It's fun!

For all my Starbucks friends, you can earn "bucks" and get yourself a free gift card. Pretty awesome I'd say. I'm saving up to get Amazon.com gift cards to buy Christmas presents.

It's a fun little way to earn some free stuff just for searching the web. Want to check it out, click the box below!

Happy Thursday!

Mom likes to read too!

I've never been much of a reader. It's a sad thing, I know...but I struggled with reading as a kid and I never really found any enjoyment in it.

However, over the past several years, I've learned to really love to read. I also realize how important it is for my kids to love to read...so we've been working hard at making reading fun and not a chore. I want them to love it now and not later like me.

I don't get much time during the day to read, but let me just tell you. As soon as the kids are in bed...I head to bed myself, just to have a couple hours of peace and quite, relaxing and reading.

The thing is...a book has to suck me in from the beginning. If it drags on at all...I never really get into it. Needless to say, the Twilight series sucked me in and so has this new series I'm reading right now.

(Obviously, the two different series are not even close in story line...just wanted to make sure you knew that!)

The Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury and Gary Smalley is wonderful. I can't put them down. There are 5 books in this series and they are very quick reads. If you haven't read them...I totally recommend that you do. You can check them out here! You might want to check with your church library....they might already have this series and then you wouldn't have to buy them.

If you've already read them, I'd love to know your thoughts! So let me know!

My reading boy!

Maggie brought this little booklet home from school the other day and Max loves that he can read it...I just love his sweet little voice and the way he can't say all his sounds correctly. That will all change soon, so I'm trying to capture it all while I can.

He was feeling a little left out when Maggie got to read the names of all who commented on the blog a few weeks ago, so he wanted to read to all of you too.



Oh, and we got him pre-registered for kindergarten last week...sniff, sniff! My baby's going to the big school in the fall.

It's MS Awareness Week!

and I'd love for YOU to join my team!

Sunday, September 12 @ Junction City in Peoria. Click here to register and join Traci's Troops!

Girl Scout Cookies!

We have a lot of them...120 boxes to be exact!


**A great big "Thank You" to all of you who ordered! Maggie did a great job selling this year!**

So what's your favorite flavor?

I *LOVE* the Shortbread! They have to be frozen, then dipped into a little milk for just a split second! Perfect! Do you remember when the shortbread cookies used to have just a little sugar on the top of them. Those were the best!

Anyway.... Now we have to deliver all these cookies and get them OUT of this house!

Have a great weekend everyone...enjoy your cookies!

So long, farewell.....

I officially said goodbye to the gazebo yesterday. It's been a long time coming...let me tell ya!

Since the day we moved into this house, I've hated that gazebo. It was right in the middle of our backyard and you could only get four, maybe five people around a table comfortably. Plus, there was this awful dock-like, cat-walk area to get to the gazebo from the little deck right off the house. Obviously, it wasn't planned out and I'm sure the gazebo was an afterthought. However, we did have many family-of-four dinners out there in the summer and it was always a great place to hang our beach towels when we got home from the pool.


We've been talking about tearing it down for a l-o-n-g time...or at least I have. I tried giving it away last spring, but I think people thought it was too big of a job to tackle.

Last fall we got to talking about tearing it down when some friends from church heard us talking. These friends just so happen to own a local pumpkin patch and thought it would be great to have a "free" gazebo on their property.

So when Farmer John called last week and said, "let's do this!" I got really excited.

It took him several days of jacking up the gazebo high enough to get his trailer under....then the plan was for Andy to help him guide it out between the neighbors house and ours this morning...like in today, Thursday.


Plans changed a little...and as Max and I were coming home from a meeting at church yesterday morning, we saw the gazebo driving down the road.

I think Farmer John is just as happy to be done with this project as I am. I know he still has a lot of work to do to get it to tip-top shape...but they will have it all decked out just in time for pumpkin season.

Thanks so much John for all your hard work and thanks for making me a happy girl. Now if I could just snap my fingers and the new deck would appear. Bruce, time to start drawing up some plans...

Spring has sprung and this girl is ready to be outside!

Wordless Wednesday!

(saying goodbye!...more on this tomorrow!)

Princess of the Pond!

This week at school, Maggie is Princess of the Pond. Her fabulous teacher LOVES frogs (hence the name...Princess/Prince of the Pond.) Each day this week is a fun day for Mags.

Yesterday was "Meet Me Monday", she had to take in pictures of herself and her family and write down her "favorite things!" (ex. her favorite book, sport, food, etc.) She loved picking out all the pictures. She even commented that her teacher let her put all 12 of them up on the bulletin board!

Today is "Treat Tuesday" and thanks to Aunt Jodi, Maggie took 26 adorable frog cookies with her to school. We let Maggie add some m&m eyes and a frosting mouth to the frogs...(which just about put me over the edge)....but they were cute and she liked them!


Tomorrow the kids will write notes to Maggie telling her why they like her, it's called
"Writing Wednesday". She will then get a little book with all the notes from her friends...I can't wait to read them all.

Thursday is "Thinking Thursday." Maggie has to take in a secret item in a box. She has to give the kids 3 different clues and they will try to guess what the item is. I'd love to tell you what the item is...but it's top secret till after Thursday!

Then on Friday, which is "Favorite Book Friday", she gets to take her favorite book in and read it to the class. She also gets to bring a guest to school and have them be a Literacy Listener...Andy is going to school that morning to listen to all the kids read to him. After I take Max to school that day, I'll go in and eat lunch with her too.

Oh, and we have a special guest with us all week...this little guy is the class "pet" and we have to do fun things with him and then Maggie has to write about what they do....isn't he cute!

(here they are doing homework...not so fun!)

She is having a super great time and I love that she gets to have this special week all about her!