Lights, Action, Brrrr

It’s always fun to see the children use their gifts. This year the girls did not go south for Thanksgiving. So we got to go to the Parade in town on Friday evening after Turkey. This is only the 2nd time since 2003 that they’ve been able to go AND Miranda was in the parade this year, playing her trombone.  I have told her that she should do the Turkey Trot 5K run/walk next year before the parade. (maybe we should ALL do it…We shall see.)

Here are some pitures we grabbed:

Yes, that is a pink and blue poodle

A Nativity scene on the float. sweet.

Middle School band turning the corner JUST before our seats on the curb   (I didn’t get to see her play)

Tallen’s favorite float so far – a HUGE motorcycle! Very cool!

Ya gotta love a school bus covered in lights in an American flag!!

 

One of the Symbols of the Christmas Season…

My kind of gift!! There’s more than enough to share

 

The Howell Highlanders Marching Band

They did NOT turn the corner where they were supposed to.

The director felt it would be nice for EVERYONE to be able to SEE and hear them.!  Thank you, That was very Nice!! I LOVE the drums!

Every year I LOVE this one!! One of the HUGE snow scraper trucks dripping with lights!!

And of course it’s just not a Turkey Day parade without Santa!!

Are you ready for him? I’m not as of yet.

Happy Holidays!!
Bronwen

Winter Bucket List

I picked up an old and tired framed picture at the Salvation Army this afternoon.

I wanted a "bucket list" and the size is perfect. It actually could have been a tad bigger but with the mat out it will be perfect if I choose to go that way.
Any how, it's cute now.

I took the old picture out, measured scrapbook paper to fit in the spot,
 cut it, put the mat and paper in the frame and wrote our list out.

I can hardly wait for thanksgiving to be over. Fun!

Technology How I love Thee

There are times that I can not drive for 10 minutes without the children bickering about something. Those times are not fun. But while driving all those 48 hrs., the children were MOSTLY good. There was that once in Kentucky that I threatened to strap the girls to the roof rack and let them fight it out up there and the other time while at the Goodwill that I said I might try to auction all three off on the door step. 
I assure you, I will neither strap then on top of the van nor sell them to the highest bidder, but the temptation is always there when they are bickering in the back seat.  Overall they were well behaved. But perhaps that has something to do with the DVDs playing through the trip! I was going to be thankful for my children this post, but I guess I'm ACTUALLY very grateful for technology.
Technology how I love thee, let me count the ways!
I am thankful for DVDs that entertain, for laptops to play them on, for the Redbox kiosks along the way at which to rent a new movie to catch the children’s interest, and the extra jack in the van to plug the computer into. I love how you can rent a movie in Michigan and return it in Kentucky!!
Note to self: Rent more than one in the actual towns…as the kiosk at the McDonalds at the exit off the highway had NO movies left in it!! Sad but true.
I am grateful for a phone smart enough to show us the way and tell me the turns to make AND play music at the same time! Gotta LOVE my WAZE GPS and Pandora! Both played through the radio - nice. Especially since I didn’t want to listen to RIO 3 more times as I drove. 

Steven

Today I am grateful for my sweet Husband. Steven is eternally mine. And that brings me joy. He works so hard for our family. He is kind and generous and one of the best people I know!! I love how he loves me! The love and support he shows in wanting me to be the best ME I can be. Here, let me show you…keep reading!
We just returned from a week long trip south to see my in laws and to try and see Mickey. (we saw him dancing, does that count?)
Like I said, we just returned from a trip to Florida and back. 23 1/2 hrs. of driving down and back...ugh!! My back always kills me when I sit for long periods of time. And during this trip my feet and legs swelled up like water balloons. (it took 2 days to go down after we got there.  And another 2 days after we returned home.
This morning Steven woke at 5:45 to take Sariah to early morning seminary so that I would not have to get up. I got up to get Tallen around and then crawled back in bed...why not??  The next time I woke up, it was to Steven massaging my feet with warm lotion.  ahhhhh. BLISS.  Then he massaged my aching back. More luxury.  But wait...there is more! He took me to lunch as well!! It was a lovely treat. It was like an extension of vacation.  You know what they say "You need a vacation to recover from vacation." This was JUST what I needed today.  Soooo grateful to have Steven as part of my life.

MOP it UP!!

I follow the clean mama blog and love her fun tips and stuff.

Right now she is doing a give away - go forth and enter....

http://cleanmama.blogspot.com/2011/07/black-decker-steam-mop-giveaway.html

I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE one of these...
crossing my mop handles and hoping...

Missy

Like I needed ANYTHING else to add to my already busy schedule ...June 29th, I got a dog.  I hate to walk but I need to move more (walking in a circle alone and with no purpose is dumb)  so I said to myself,
"self.  Get a dog to walk with you. Not a BIG dog, but a dog."
I thought about it, prayed about it researched breeds and tendencies and then finally started looking.  I believe in adopting gently used pets just as I adopt gently used clothes. So we went to our local Humane Society where I had gotten Truffle. Neither the people nor the animals seemed very excited we were there, and the big dogs barking scared Tallen, so we left.
I thought about an adoption event and the timing never worked out. Then I thought about Craig’s List, they have everything else I could ever want, maybe they have pets, too.
I looked in all the postings – for a 2 hour radius and then I found her. this is the picture that sucked me in:

Who can blame me for driving to far off regions to get her?? And not only is she a cutie – she’s a GOOD dog!
It was all very James Bond – secret spy stuff. VERY Weird really.
I texted to get a picture of the dog and details. Received the above photo.
I asked if I could meet her, was answered yes and hopped in the car and drove. (I took the cat crate just in case. Truffle has…ummmm, ISSUES with riding in the car. MESSY, you want to contain them issues, and I wasn’t sure about this dog. So I wanted to be safe.
I Texted along the way my whereabouts and expected arrival time. She texted back.
I pulled in the parking lot of the very public place we agreed to meet at, located her vehicle, got out and waved.
We shook hands and introduced ourselves using our code names - no actually, I used my real name. I’m sure she did, too.
We walked to her van and I was handed Missy.
I gave her (Amber?) a “rehoming fee” and got in my van with Missy. NO bowl, no toys, no food, no nothing. JUST THE DOG. 
All very strange.
Most of the stuff on Craig’s List is like “I have extra rocks in my back yard from yard work, come get ‘em, you can have ‘em” With the pets – there is a rehoming fee. To somehow prove that you’re not going to feed them to the snake. At 10 lbs. Missy COULD be snake food…
Then Tallen, Missy and I went right to the Pet store to buy her a seat belt and some ginger cookies for the ride home. Because everyone knows that Ginger settles your stomach if you feel motion sick…If you doubt me, watch Myth Busters!!
Before I could even get her into the thing though, she hopped out of the van and took off!!!!! AHHHHHHHH! I took of after her, which scared her even more. It took me 20 minutes of looking, and praying and calling to her. She popped out from between 2 storage trailers behind the plaza of stores and I opened my car door.  IN SHE HOPPED!!! Thank God!  What would I have even told the poor 12 year old girl who was so angry at her Mom for giving Missy up that she wouldn’t talk to me..????  That I had lost her dog 10 minutes after taking her!!!?? I put the seatbelt on this tiny dog and off we went for home.
We had a rough first day or so, but Missy is fitting in great!  She had been used to running an acre of land, but is doing fantastic with her leash and tie out. When I take her outside to the potty place, she doesn’t QUITE get it yet and lays down to rest if I stand in one spot too long. She is LOVING our long walks twice a day and I admit it, I do, too. It’s the whole walk with a purpose thing. Tallen usually comes along and Steven has walked with us a few times as well. This is a good thing for all of us.
Such a SWEET DOG!!!  I am so blessed.  She only whines when we go in the van without her and has yet to bark at anyone or any dog.  We took her to the concert by the Courthouse and the pancake breakfast on the 4th. She did great both times and just smelled the smells and lay beside me.
**Disclaimer: I have not mentioned the girls reactions, because they are gone right now to hang with Dad in GA for the 5 week visit. When I sent a picture and told them this thing I had done, they got pretty excited. Sariah posted on Facebook “My new dog ! I love her, can’t wait to meet her.”
Missy completes our family in just the right way. Before long I won’t be able to remember our lives without her here. I am so blessed.

Way Behind!!

I have not blogged pretty much since last summer!! I hate when life just pushes in and gets you all messed up.  So this is a time of playing catch up.   Whew!

We moved out of the house we were renting, stayed with great friends for a while, bought a place of our own and have been fixing it up by tiny bits since August 2010. I will post pictures…they disappeared, but I’ll find them.

Sariah did well in the 8th grade and is nervous and excited for the 9th grade campus.  She went out for Cross Country and messed up her knee, so had to sit out most of the season healing.  But she did great and finished up strong. She played the flute in the band and enjoyed it, but has chosen to not continue band this year and is enrolled in Photography and Digital Imaging.  I am excited to find out more about these things as well.

Miranda had a great time in the 6th grade and is thrilled to burst onto the scene at the Middle School as a 7th grader this year. She went out for Cross Country. The 6th graders can run “as practice” but can also compete if there are other 6th graders at the meet to run against. Fun!! She then did wrestling this past winter and then Track & Field in the spring.  The same rules apply there, the 6th graders are not REALLY part of the team, but get to compete if there are opponents. What a fun-sports-filled year Miranda had!

Tallen had a fantastic time at Head Start and is off to Kindergarten in the fall. He has made some friends here in the neighborhood.  I LOVE that!! Riding bikes, playing outside!!!

Having a blast!

A little smell of Heaven

spring is on its way!

Melt snow - CHECK 
HUGE puddles formed - CHECK
Puddle boots purchesed & in use - CHECK
Spring... bring it on.
Tallen is ready!
this ginormous puddle is in the mulch covered area where the play set is near the club house. He wanted to put those puddle boots to the ULTIMATE test before the school bus came the other day.  He makes me laugh. Such a fun kid.

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The DIY Dish: Make Valentine Placemats and Paper Crafts

I love The DIY dish. program.  They have the perfect combination of paper crafts and sewing.

LOVE IT!!!! watch and enjoy.
I am making the placemats - with the vinyl covering - to be able to NOT ruin them the first time out.
I don't know if I have linked it right, but here's the site so you can check out the rest of their stuff. The DIY dish.

Tallen and the Priesthood

Sariah was assigned to give a talk today at church. Her first one and she’s sick and won’t be giving it.  She feels bad and she feels bad about not giving the talk.  I made the call and explained. Sariah will give a talk another day. All is well…

KINDA.

Sariah feels rotten. I told her she needs a blessing when Daddy gets home from his camp out. That’s when Tallen – age 41/2 - offered to give her a blessing instead.

“I’ll give her a blessing. I can do it!”

I explained that he was not big enough yet.

“I can get the stool.”

I explained that he needed to have the priesthood. That he would get that when he is 12. He gently reminded me that he HAS it. I asked him “where do you keep your priesthood.”

“In the storage unit” was his sweet reply.

This kid cracks me up!!!!

(I did explain more about how it all works. About being 12 and the authority and all the important things like not keeping your priesthood in the storage unit.)