Blizzard 2009

We just had a Blizzard! On Christmas eve! Like the kind they had way back in Laura Ingalls Wilder day! I measured 18 inches on the back porch when it was over.
It was very fun to watch that much snow come down, but not fun to be out in it. The state closed all major highways and roads. People were stranded in their car for 24 hrs or more. Thankfully, we could just watch it unfold in the safety of home. We did get out in it around 2pm to try and make it to Kathy's for the evening. We turned around about 1/4 mile from our house. It was blowing too hard and the windows were icing over. You couldn't see in front of you. We managed to make it back before it got worse. We sat in the van for a while watching it come down before we were ready to run back into the house. We were very Lucky!

The next day Kathy's neighbor came to shovel us out of the front door. The snow drifts were up to my Waist! It took about 3 weeks for everthing to melt. I have never seen that before and maybe never will again. It was a sight to behold that is for sure. Something like probably only happens every 100 years or so!

Emolyn visits

The Thompson's came in November. Nicole's grandparents were visiting relatives, when the grandfather had heart trouble and was put in the hospital. So Shawn, Nicole, and Emolyn came to be with them and stayed with Kristen and her family while they were here. While Nicole was at the hospital, we got to spend time with Emolyn. It was our first time meeting her and she was such a little doll! So polite and friendly. The kids all had a blast with her. She loved on the big girls baby dolls and gave the kids real "Kisses". We played and talked for a while, then went to eat as a big group. It was fun to catch up with their little family. Can't wait to do that again!

Halloween 2009

Aaron and I went to order our carpet today, while the boys went to Grandma's for a while. When we came back we got the boys ready for Trick-or-Treating. We had a quick dinner at Kathy's and then went out with our whole family in the neighborhood to get treats. Zac was so proud to get something in his basket! Alex was a Rock Star, Parker a Ninja, and Zac was a Giraffe first then a Cowboy. The girls were super cute too! Mya was a Cat and Kennady a Fairy. They all got more candy than they needed, but we had lot's of Fun.

Moving In:

Well, this is us moving in. We had to paint the bedrooms and lay new carpet, hang fans, tile a closet, clean up and cut some trees down. Oh yea, and take the shower out of the masterbath because it was leaking into the bedroom. We all slept on mattress' in the livingroom for 3weeks because we couldn't put in the carpet right away. We also discovered that we can't wash clothes here until we fix something with the laundry plumbing!!!! I am starting to miss the old house already, haha!

Packing is a Pain

June 2001 (3 months after moving in)

Ok, I am going to try and get up to speed here. We are moving in a week! I can't believe it. We have been here for 8.5 yrs. Alex was only 7 months when we moved in. All of our babies have been in this house. It's the only real house we have lived in. The 1st one that we ever bought and sad to say, we have finally outgrown it. We have buyers for our house and they are very excited to move in too! So I am praying that everything goes smoothly for next Friday. I pray that we like our new house as much as we have LOVED this house!

I am shocked at how much we have accumulated over 8 yrs! When we moved here all of our stuff fit in a tiny corner in the living room. Now every room is overflowing with STUFF! (Especially comic books, Aaron) We have had some really great times here and I am really sad to leave. On the other hand, I am excited about have 2.48 acres to roam thru and a bigger house. I know God has a plan for us and has protected and helped us find this house. It will be very different, and that is a good thing for my boys! I know that the reason we haven't moved before was partly fear and mostly packing, haha.... But seriously, Packing is a huge pain! Once you pack, then you realize that you shouldn't have all these things and I really don't want to unpack it. I am going to just use the same 5 plates, cups, forks, bowls ect....for a while because I don't want to unpack it when I get there! Anybody want to come help organize my new house?

SOLD (if everything goes as planned)

Well, we went on the market September 10th at 11pm. We had 2 contracts Saturday morning and we accepted one of those. Monday, the buyer decided not to buy our house because she didn't have childcare and didn't want her kids to walk to & from school without an adult, she wants them to ride the bus, but we live 1.5 blocks from school (she works and is a single mom.)

So Monday we are back on the market and had people lined up to see our house. Tuesday evening we had 3 contracts to look at. We picked one of them and we now close both houses on October 23rd.

I can't believe how God answered our prayers. He more than provided for our needs. We thought for sure that we would have 2 house payments for a while. Other homes in the area have been on the market for several months or longer! Our realtor said it must be a record, 5 Contracts in 5 Days. I am just thanking GOD that this happened for us. Oh and the seller of the new house is putting on a NEW ROOF next week at no additional cost to us! Can you say AMEN!!!

OUR HOUSE AFTER PHOTOS:

Bedroom, bath, laundry

Well, these rooms speak for themselves. The boys room had to be de-cluttered, so did the laundry room. Kathy came over after church and helped in the boys room by dusting, picking up toys, and arranging the shelves. Now they look great!

Living, Dining, Office, & Sewing Room

In these areas, we just had to clean up and remove stuff. Aaron cleaned the office all by himself. Kristen came over one day and helped clean the sewing room.(Thank you so much) I could not have done it alone. Then we had to vaccum and dust everything. And it looks great!

master bedroom & bath

In this room, we put in new carpet, sanded and painted all the wood, painted the walls, put up crown moulding. I scrubbed the shower with acidic cleaner. And of course we got all of our junk out :) I LOVE IT. I am going to do the exact same thing in our new house. Hanging crown moulding wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be either (especially with a nail gun, haha). I am very proud of Aaron and myself!!! Way to go

Kitchen

This is it. Our finished kitchen. We put in a backsplash, new countertops, appliances, moved a cabinet, textured and painted. I love it. Now we are moving :( But, I know that we did a good job and we can do it again!

OUR HOUSE BEFORE PHOTOS:

Getting our house ready

Ok, I know what you are thinking "How in the World can this house be ready to sell in a few days?" Believe me I am wondering the same thing. But we do not have a choice. If we don't want to make 2 house payments then we have too! I know it can be done. Thank goodness that Labor day is Monday. I decided to take a few pictures of the mess here, to remember later. Today our bedroom carpet is being installed and the handyman came to fix my ceiling in the kitchen all at the same time. But it is none too soon, let me tell you. I need to get all of this done as quickly as possible. Hopefully it will go smoothly?!

Our New Home (next month)

We are buying a new house!!

Ok, here are the details

• 2.5 acres,
• 3 bds
• 2 baths
• 2 living rooms
• Kitchen/dining combo
• Huge 24 x 30 Workshop w/contrete floor
• a well house, gardens, pergala, 1960's storm shelter and a huge deck
• 1 mile from Family (we could ride our bikes or walk thru the farmer's field)

We have been looking for a long time and were pre-approved in July. We looked at this house August 30 and put a bid on it the next day. We didn't do a contigency for our current home to sell. Aaron and I were afraid that we would lose this home because there were 2 other offers, so we took our chances. We even upped the asking price so that we could get it. Our closing date is October 30th and hopefully we will have a contract on our current home and not have to pay 2 Mortgages. Now we have to get our house ready to sell. Our goal is Tuesday the 8th of September. So we have labor day weekend to get cleaned up and move a lot of stuff to Kathy's garage. (Thank you Kathy So Much)

Looking @ Houses

Kathy just called and told me a house just went on the market today. I am so excited. My realtor looked it up and sent us the photos. We are looking Sunday after church. I just have a feeling that this is the one. Pray for us.

Storm clouds

Turner Falls 09

On Friday we went to Jimmy's Egg for breakfast. Because they are only open until 2pm, we had missed chances all week to go. We got there about 9am and had a wonderful breakfast. Afterward we made the decision to go to Turner Falls for the day. We hadn't been in 3 years and wanted to go again. It is a little pricey, but cheaper than driving far and having to stay in a hotel.

Turner falls and the Arbuckle mountains are beautiful. The water is clear and the views are awesome! Aaron and I used to camp there when it was cheaper, now we will have to go in the off season to afford to camp, but it would still be worth it. I was worried about how Zac would be, but he was so good! He did his usual in the car, but once we got there he was fine. The boys had a blast and we took 275 pictures of just the 5 hours that we were there! I bet we have to get another hard drive soon so that we can have more space for all the photos, ha.

We came to the conclusion that Alex and Parker will be taking swimming lessons again this fall. Parker panicked 3 times and never told anyone he needed help swimming. It was scary! He can swim great, but couldn't touch and got nervous and didn't remember what to do. Alex was fine the entire time, except for being too brave and going off by himself. Zac has no fear, that boy would jump if you told him to. He didn't care! Thank goodness for life jackets and floaties. Overall, it was a fun day. Now we just need to get people to go with us, anyone?

Yea for Snow-Cones!

Aaron is on vacation all week, so we have some little things planned here and there. Monday, the big boys went to the dentist for fillings, Yuck! (I am pretty sure the dentist would say to not have sugary treats). My boys are so awesome, they just let the dentist get the job done without painkillers, so that they can go home. Tuesday, we had snow-cones and watched Speed Racer. Wednesday, we went fishing/swimming at lake Thunderbird. It looked rainy when we got there so we didn't stay long and there wasn't a good place to fish from. Thursday, Aaron cleaned out the garage and did a GREAT JOB! We are not sure what we are going to do Friday.

House projects

Here is a list of all the improvements we have done since June 2nd

• Fix 2 windows
• tile backsplash in kitchen
• paint kitchen
• replace missing trim in bathrom
• caulk trim in bathroom and kitchen
• attach back porch post to patio
• fix plumbing leaks in bath and laundry room
• have insulation blown in attic
• new porch light
• paint mailbox
• drywall behind washer and freezer in laundry room
• texture walls in laundry & kitchen
• replace plug-ins & light switches to match
• install light in living room

I am sure that I forgot something. It really feels good to get things crossed off the to-do list! We have a few more things to do before we are finally done with everything, but right now I am a happy girl!

Kitchen is Done

Before

Before

New tile, paint, countertops, sink, faucet, stove, dishwasher, switches, plug-ins........It is finally done. And it feels really good. Don't get me wrong though, putting in the tile was really, really hard! But it looks really good!

We have done more this summer to our house than we have in years, and everything is almost done. We just had insulation blown in the attic yesterday and it has helped out tremendously! Aaron and I both were surprised by how cool our house became. We are dumb for not doing it years ago, we probably spent thousands on our utilities because our attic was not insulated. Oh well lesson learned the expensive way, I guess. Our goal was to sell this house and find an acreage, but so far only one house was available we could afford and fit our needs but I don't think that it is the one. So we may have run out of time to move to another. It looks like the economy is going to get real bad soon, so we may have to just hunker down where we are for a while longer.

After

I have got to go take a better picture soon!

Happy Birthday Alex

Before & After

Before

I put the drywall up after 3 years of having a hole in the wall. We were just lazy after we switched the plumbing and never got to it until now. It is nice having it done!

Happy Birthday Zac (4th of July too)

father's day

Passing the time....

This is what I have been doing to pass the time this evening. Taking pictures of Zac sleeping on the floor next to his crib. He woke up about 10:20 screaming, probably with gas pains. When he stopped screaming he laid down beside me and wouldn't let me put him back in his bed. So I got out the camera and started taking pictures. The light was not ideal, and the pictures are a little blurry, but I still like them. I think that Aaron is in there right now laying him down again.

The reason I am passing the time, is that my best friend, Dani, is having her First Baby. We have been friends since 4th grade, were room mates in college, and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding. We know everything about each other. Dani and her husband have been waiting for this for so long! They are going to be great parents.

I had a message around 7pm from her, saying she was in the hospital ready to give birth. I so wish I could be there. I don't think that giving birth is something you ever forget. It just reminded me of what I was doing 2 years ago. It is exciting and scary at the same time. And you know when it is over, a whole new adventure is beginning. I am praying that everything goes well and I have news soon!

And Aaron's friend and roommate in college, Jesse and his wife had their First Baby tonight too! The room mate's mom cuts Aaron and the boys hair. Sandra, (Jesse's mom and hairdresser extraordinaire) was not at church today because they were driving to be there for the birth! They have also been waiting a long time. And he was a big baby too, 8lbs. 2 oz and 11 days early.

Update: Dani had her baby after being in labor since May 30th. He was finally born on June 1st around 1am, weighing 6lbs. 4oz and 18" long.

Baby Zac

This morning Zac was being silly at breakfast. I laughed and said, "Zac, you're a Goofball". This is what he told me after that,"No mama, I soccerball. Get shoes on."

Summer Reading Kick-off

I will just do bullet points of all the highlights. I will tell you that before we started marching, neither of my big boys wanted to do it. They both said it was dumb and no fun. That is why in some pictures they look a little grumpy. When we left they couldn't wait to call and tell their daddy about everything they did because it was "So Awesome".

• All the kids got a Kazoo to play as they marched from City Hall to the Library
• Found friends from school and scouts
• Zac got a picture with the motorcycle police officer
• Signed up for Summer Reading, 10 min a day until the end of July, then you get a medal!
• Got more free tickets to events during the summer
• Ate snowcones
• Played WII
• Face painting
• Computer games
• Checked out books
• The boys got their OWN LIBRARY CARDS with a certificate!
• Ate a Happy Meal

All in all, it was a great way to start summer break. I am so glad we went!

Water Fun Day=Last Day of School

It's the last day of School, YEA! So far our summer looks full.

*Cooking Classes start June 15th
*Summer reading program kick off is tomorrow, with a Parade thru Downtown and ice cream social
*VBS is June 22-26. I signed up early this year and they get a shirt and chick-fila sandwich free
*We have free tickets to events at the Library so far. OKC philharmonic string quartet, Howard Hangar, Art Lesson
*A local furniture store has Family Zoo Passes for $15 off. Yippee
*Work sent home from school for the summer every afternoon Monday-Thursday
*The boys will have to read a Book everyday (especially if they want to play WII)

By the way I have tons of post's to put up. I am trying to get it all typed out and pictures up, so hold on. It will be about a months worth of stuff! We have been very busy!

camping @ witchita mts

Day 1:

We dropped Zac off at Grandma's and then drove to the witchita mts. We found a campsite after driving around like vultures waiting for someone to leave. As soon as we unpacked our tent and chairs, it started pouring rain! So we put a tarp over it to keep from getting wetter, paid for our site and then went exploring. We went to the nature center, had a yummy dinner in Medicine park and then drove back to camp. Alex and I drove to find wood for a fire. On the way we stopped at the bathrooms and saw a buffalo. I made him take pictures with the buffalo in the background. As soon as we got back in the car, 3 guys were chased by the same buffalo so I guess we were really lucky that wasn't us!

We ended up sleeping in our van because it was just too wet to make a tent, plus it rained more that night. It was nice and cool and not bad sleeping arrangement either!

Day 2:

Because it was so shaded, we slept in until 8am. Aaron made a breakfast of eggs and bacon. We packed up the campsite and set off to fish and hike. We spent about 3 hours fishing. It was a blast! We all put on sunblock, but Aaron and I were sunburned anyway. After fishing, we hiked up a little mountain. It was a little scary on the top, because the boys were running everywhere. We took some great pictures and started walking down. Afterward we drove to the prairie dogs, had dinner at sonic and then drove home to get Zac and unpack.
I have to say that the Witchita Mts is now our favorite camping place and will for sure go back!

Older New Car

Well we finally bought a 2nd car. It's a 2002 Honda Accord, with 108,000 miles. We have been looking for a year, and everytime we see a good deal it is already gone. So this time I emailed the seller asking if it was still available. They said yes and we went to see it. The owners bought it brand new with 20 miles on it. It was kept in the garage all the time and the lady only drove it to work and home. The interior is spotless! The husband kept a journal of everything they ever did to the car in the glove box. We just couldn't pass it up, even though we have never paid $6,900 for a vehicle. We are hoping that it is worth it and we can drive it for a very long time!

1st tooth and later 2nd tooth

Parker lost his 1st tooth! YEA! It was just very ready to come out and he easily pulled it out. He was very brave and it didn't even hurt. In fact he was a little surprised that it just popped out so fast. Good job and we are very proud of you. The tooth fairy brought him $2.

Then tonight, you lost your 2nd tooth at Grandma's house when you were eating an M&M. It just fell out. So the tooth fairy brought you another $1.

Parker's Kindergarten round-up

Parker had kindergarten round-up tonight. The whole kindergarten recieved certificates and had cookies, punch, and got a balloon. Parker had the same all day teacher that Alex had, Mrs. Smith. She is a great teacher and was really good with both my boys. Parker is so smart already too. He got a math award for math in the 2nd grade level and he can read too! I know that he is going to do great in 1st grade.