Life With My Girls

Allison's 5th Birthday

2012-02-10T23:20:00.000-06:00

I realize that this is long overdue since Allison's birthday was back on December 25th, but I am going to try and go back and put up some pictures that I have missed since I had quit blogging for so long.

Here she is standing in front of her bedroom door that we always decorate with streamers.

Brooke made her birthday cake, although it is actually homemade frosted chocolate syrup brownies. A favorite around this house!

Blow out the candles!

She was really excited about her new Cinderella doll.

But she was really surprised about her new Elephant and Piggie book that come with Elephant and Piggie stuffed animals!

I think she had a really nice birthday this year. As she is getting older and able to stay up later it is more fun for her to get to open even more presents on Christmas night. When she was younger she could hardly stay awake and was usually tired of opening gifts by evening. Now she thinks it is great that she gets even more presents than everyone else!

Tea Party

2012-02-09T21:53:00.000-06:00

Grace made mini loaves of banana bread today and we decided to let the little girls have a tea party. Grace got things set up for them at the table.

Emily helped the girls get dressed up for the party.

Grace served up the tea which was actually apple juice.

Here is Lydia enjoying her tea.

Sophia is very lady-like with her pinky finger pointed out.

Allison just wanted to show off the bear on the teacup.

Just Thoughtful

2012-02-09T20:47:00.000-06:00

Emily has a new blog. Go check out what she has to say at Just Thoughtful.

Who Is This Little Girl?

2011-11-30T23:44:00.001-06:00

Could this be my little Lydia? She sure looks different! As promised, here are the after pictures of her haircut.

This is Grace "helping" her smile.

I guess this is Lydia "helping" herself smile!

I am pretty happy with the haircut, considering what we had to work with!

Lydia Cut Her Hair...Again

2011-11-28T11:36:00.001-06:00

Here's Brooke with Lydia on Thanksgiving Day...before Lydia decided to cut her hair.

Here is the after picture with all her curls washed out.

This is how long the back had finally grown. I will post a picture of how short they have to cut it after I find someone with an opening. Getting in for a haircut around here is almost impossible.

Little Funnies

2011-11-28T11:28:00.001-06:00

I just overheard Emily asking Sophia if she was ready to practice her guitar to which Sophia responded "I was born ready." I don't even know where she gets some of this stuff.

I was drying my hair this morning when Allison came running in all excited. "Sophia said she would give me TWO monies if I empty her garbage for her!" I thought, wow, Sophia is way to smart for her age, she is probably going to give her a couple pennies and get our of her chore. But when Allison finished emptying Sophia's garbage, she came in and showed me that Sophia had given her a dollar bill, one quarter, and one penny. That's a pretty good wage for a 2 minute job!

Red River Zoo

2011-09-05T20:58:00.000-05:00

While in Fargo I decided to take the kids to the zoo. I don't think any of my littles had been to a zoo. The highlight of the visit was probably the carousal. It is so pretty and it goes pretty fast for a merry-go-round! I loved that they had a wagon available since I hadn't brought the stroller. The Chinese Red Panda was even out that day which was a real treat!

Inspiration For The Stay At Home Mom

2011-07-16T10:26:00.000-05:00

Motherhood As A Mission Field

Motherhood Is A Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

These articles are great and just what I need to get me motivated today. I'm taking the girls to the festival parade today. It should be in the mid-90's and I really wasn't looking forward to it. I was even kind of hoping Lyida's cold would turn in to a fever today so we would have to stay home. I admit I've even been putting on a bit of a guilt trip on the girls for all of the running I have done for them with softball this last six weeks. Not a very good mom thing to do. These articles have set me straight though. Now I'm looking forward to taking the girls in for the parade! We'll enjoy the time together watching the parade and then head over to the park for some corn dogs and nachos. It doesn't matter that Josh is working and it doesn't matter that it will be so hot out. We can enjoy the afternoon spending time together because really there is nothing else I would rather be doing! If you need a good reminder of your purpose at home, click the links and read these two articles. I promise it will do your heart good!

Cousins

2011-07-12T23:24:00.000-05:00

We had such a great day today! My nephew Nick is visiting his grandparents and we were able to go pick him up and spend some time with him today. We went to the park for a while and then out for pizza. The kids played video games with real money, ha ha. That doesn't usually happen so what a treat for my girls. Then we headed over to the ball park for Emily and Grace's softball game. Allison absolutely loves her cousin, Nick. He showed her how to use her ring pop as a "laser" and shoot him. She was chasing him all over the place, what a riot! I think all of the kids enjoyed being able to spend time together. I hope we are able to see him again soon. It had been a year and that is just way too long!

Baby Kittens

2011-07-11T13:27:00.000-05:00

The girls were so excited to discover baby kittens this morning! Usually the mama cat hides them and we never see them. This is the first time this mama cat has had kittens and she seems so much friendlier. Maybe we will get to play with these ones! There are two black ones and two white ones.

State Fair Cancelled

2011-07-11T09:14:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to a blog I just read about the State Fair in Minot being cancelled. They were so optimistic that they could still have the fair, kind of a way to rally the community really. It saddens me that they had to cancel. Not because we won't be able to go, but because it is a reminder of how bad things there still are and how much work they have ahead of them. But they will get through and I do believe as the article says that next year will be great!

Minot Is Still Having Troubles

Do You LIsten To Pandora Radio?

2011-07-10T22:22:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard of Pandora Radio? Brooke just told me about it today while I was taking her to camp. So this evening I decided to check it out. Wow, it is so great! You simply type in an artist's name or a song you like and it will play it and then it goes on and plays other music like it. It is so very cool! Check it out if you want to, it is free at Pandora.com.

April 30, 2011 Snow Storm

2011-05-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

I uploaded some pictures to Flickr of the snow storm we had on Saturday. There were just too many to post on my blog. So you can see the album here.

It had rained all afternoon and evening on Friday. Friday night at about 11:00 the wind really came up but it was still just raining. We woke up Saturday morning to an all out blizzard. The heaviest, wettest snow ever! It wreaked havoc on the power lines and trees. We lost power Saturday morning at about 4:00 and it didn't come back on again until Monday night. Thankfully my in-laws have a generator so we were able to make it up to their house around supper time when the snow finally stopped. We stayed there and had warm water, heat, food, tv, and yes, even internet. We were the lucky ones! Many people stayed home with no power and no water. To top it off, many people in Williston ended up with water in their basements because they couldn't run their sump pumps. What a mess! It really makes me appreciate being home and being able to do laundry and even cleaning house seems kind of nice!

I Told You She's A Girly Girl

2011-05-03T22:49:00.000-05:00

I knew in the last post that I was missing a big story. This is naptime on Monday. She was sooooo tired. She was nearly falling asleep when I was reading to her. So when I left the room I thought it was a sure thing. I went out to do school with Em and Grace only to come back later and find that she had gotten my make-up bag and was getting herself all fixed up!

So then this morning I am getting ready, having forgotten all about Lydia playing with my make-up. When I went to put the concealer under my eyes it went on a very sparkly brown! I can see why we don't put eye shadow under our eyes! By the time I finished putting on my make-up, let's just say I was looking a bit orange. It wasn't my best make-up day. So I washed up my make-up brushes and hopefully tomorrow I will look a little better!

Nail Polish?

2011-05-03T21:46:00.000-05:00

No, it's not nail polish. It is actually white out. We were all busy watching American Idol. I had already gotten up once to answer the phone and busted Lydia in her sisters' room wreaking havoc. But we all got busy watching the show again and not long later when the phone rang again I discovered Lydia with the white out. I was really mad. But then I looked at what she had done. Lucky for her she didn't really get any on the floor. I couldn't help but giggle when I saw that she had simply thought it was nail polish and painted not only her fingernails, but also her toenails. What a girly girl, huh?

I think I could probably start a blog just on the things that Lydia gets into right now. It is most definitely the terrible two's with this one. At grandma's this weekend she was playing in the toilet and finding things in the entry cupboard that she wasn't supposed to have. On top of that I feel like all we do is clean up after her disasters, whether it is things she's not supposed to be in or even just the toys she scatters over the entire house.

I'll just end this by saying that it is a darn good thing she is so cute!

A Free Book!!

2011-04-27T15:32:00.000-05:00

Hey, check this out, it's a FREE book! It's called "31 Days to Clean - Having a Martha House the Mary Way." Apparently if you tweet or blog about this e-book, she will send you a copy free! Wow, I can't give that up. I have read about this book before on another blog and of course I thought it looked interesting. I hope this works! Check it out for yourself at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee . Let me know if you get one!

Parenting Is Not For The Lazy

2011-04-18T22:26:00.000-05:00

I read this on my new favorite blog tonight and it is exactly what I needed tonight after a long, overwhelming day:

Parenting is not for the lazy. There is no quick fix or easy solution to raising children that honor God. Children require quantity time—our time. Repetition is endless. Sometimes they need us to stand up for them and sometimes they need us to stand up to them. We cannot be afraid, nor can we be too tired. We must not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Gal. 6:9) So, we must do our best and then do some more…more guiding, more loving, more correcting, more listening, more rebuking, more encouraging….more, more, more.

It encourages me for my tomorrow! You can read the whole blog post here. While you are there, check out her book. I am hoping to get back to reading it pretty soon and plan to post my own little review...but don't hold your breath on that one...I've been planning to get that done for a few months now!

Today

2011-03-27T22:42:00.000-05:00

So here is a run-down of today's happenings:

Church and Sunday School were canceled thanks to our wonderful winter in March.
I took Josh's pick-up in to Fairview to check the roads and pick up a few more groceries that ran me just under $50 for practically nothing...again.
Major snow drift so there was no way we would get out with the van.
Canceled Brooke's Music @ The Hall event, due to the bad roads.
Realized after I got home from the grocery store that I forgot to buy Josh his coffee...again. We only had enough for a 1/2 pot and if you know him, that is not nearly enough. Sent him to work tonight with an extra Pepsi.
Busted Lydia in the bathroom giving herself a haircut. She took a little off of both sides, a pretty good job actually. However, good thing I caught her when I did because it would have gotten ugly real soon.
Road report shows that Josh will more than likely being driving home on "no travel advised" roads again tomorrow morning.
Neighbor stopped in and told me I wouldn't be taking Brooke to school tomorrow thanks again to the snow and wind.
Cancelled fiddle lessons for tomorrow.
Emily has a boil on her leg that really, really hurts. Poor girl.
Sophia is coughing like crazy.
Lydia sat in bed and whined until after 10:00 tonight.
Yeah, I was crabby.

Brooke's Little Buddy

2011-03-26T23:04:00.000-05:00

Brooke and Lydia really bonded on our trip to Rapid City. They shared a bed for the three nights we were gone. Usually at bedtime Brooke was sitting in bed using the laptop and Lydia would snuggle in with her until she would fall asleep in Brooke's arms. It was so sweet and just melted mine and Brooke's hearts! So today Brooke was cleaning her room and I went in and there was Lydia sitting on her bed. She was all snuggled in with a book and a little container of Chocolate Teddy Grahams that Brooke gave her. Brooke was busy cleaning away and Lydia was just so content watching and snacking. It was adorable. It reminded me of me and my sister. I have fond memories of my sister cleaning her bathroom at home when we lived in Minot. She used to put me up on the chest that was in there and play games with me. She would tell me to pretend I was in a boat or a car and to drive fast! I don't know exactly why that sticks in my mind so vividly, but it does. So seeing how Brooke and Lydia have bonded lately just brought back such good memories. The only difference is that I was a little older than Lydia so I can remember where as Lydia probably won't remember. But hey, isn't that what this blogging is all about? Preserving memories.

My Littles

2011-03-26T22:50:00.000-05:00

It was a lazy Saturday here since we are basically snowed in with no four wheel drive. Allison and Lydia went through numerous outfits today. It will be fun to show them these pictures when they are older. I love the picture of all three standing with Sophia in the middle with her arms around her sisters. She saw me take a picture of Alli and Lydia and went up behind them and said how about this mom! I loved it! It is a rarity for her to be able to do that without one of the girls getting mad and wanting her to back off!

Lydia Being Cute

2011-03-26T22:29:00.000-05:00

What can I say? She was just in the mood to have her picture taken so I snapped away while she let me. I also posted a picture on my POTD blog if you want to see another cute one, as if all of these aren't enough!

Sophia's 6th Birthday

2011-03-23T12:13:00.000-05:00

Sophia had quite the birthday this year since we were on vacation in Rapid City. We took the kids to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse on her birthday. Supper was a quick stop at the McDonald's drive thru. Luckily at her age she still thinks that is a treat! We found a grocery store and she picked out a cake. It was so delicious. She opened presents and spent the rest of the evening in the hotel room playing with her new toys and getting ready for bed. It was a fun day for her. She is still waiting though because this is the year she gets a birthday party. I'm hoping to get that done in a couple weeks. I'm hoping she picks bowling since that seems to be the easiest party for her age. She seems so big now that she is six!!

Disposable Motherhood--Leaving to "Find Myself"

2011-03-19T07:44:00.000-05:00

Unbelievable...

Disposable Motherhood--Leaving to "Find Myself"

Brooke

2011-03-12T14:09:00.001-06:00

It's not very often that Brooke lets me take her picture. But she had to let me this day because she had to send a picture in for winning that essay contest. Here are a couple of them...figured I better get pics of her up while I had the chance!

Brooke's Essay for English

2011-03-12T13:55:00.000-06:00

Qualities of a True Hero

      In present day, what, in the eyes of society, is considered to be a hero? Fictional characters from comic books and television series have corrupted the minds of young children by causing them to believe that a true hero must possess superpowers and a cape in order to save the world. Even adults can be brainwashed into believing that the heroes only exist if their good deeds have been publicly displayed. But a true hero, such as my dad, must present qualities of wisdom, a good work ethic, and unselfishness.
   Wisdom is a quality that is overlooked by people in society. While strength and courage are given characteristics of the common fictional hero, oftentimes people ignore the need for wisdom in the actions of a hero. My dad is an excellent example of how wise decisions can affect the lives of many. For several years now, my dad has made important choices for our family according to what will best benefit us in the present and the future. He plays a fair, unbiased referee in family arguments and sees the point of view from each side. Also, when politics become an issue at work or at home, my dad avoids making judgments before he has heard the defending arguments of the opposing parties. Even when tempted by the luxuries of one decision, my dad shows true wisdom by doing what is right.
   Along with wisdom, a good work ethic is also a highly respected quality of the modern-day hero. A person must be willing to work hard to make a difference in the world. In his five years in the oilfield business, my dad has missed only one day of work because of icy roads due to a recent blizzard. He works hard to support our family financially, and also does his share helping out at home. Most importantly, he sets a good example for my sisters and I by teaching us that willingness to work is an imperative factor of contentment and success in life. A hero that shows a good work ethic proves to be a reliable role model for children and adults looking up to him.
     Last but not least, unselfishness is a value that is often hard to find. Unrealistic heroes have a sense of pride and selfishness about them, but true heroes are humble and considerate of others. My dad has devoted his life to supporting the thing he cares about the most; his family. Through good times and bad, he has always focused on what matters the most. If a friend, or even a complete stranger, is in need of help, my dad doesn't hesitate giving that person what he needs. He shows consideration for others in the simplest of ways by showing common courtesy at all times. By showing unselfishness, an ordinary person possesses the most necessary quality of an extraordinary hero.
     While a fictional hero displays desirable qualities that anyone would want, sometimes we need to take a few moments to reflect on what a true hero is. Wisdom, a good work ethic and unselfishness are all excellent qualities of a hero. Ordinary people, including my dad, who possess these qualities, often make the greatest heroes of all.

Found: One Green Elephant

2011-02-27T22:25:00.000-06:00

Brooke just found Ellie!! He was behind her bed, where Allison naps. He was right there. I swear I looked there last night. Whatever, I am just so happy she found him! I tried waking Allison up to show her but she was LONG gone, snoring and all. So Brooke laid him next to her so she would have him in the morning.

Thanks Brooke!!

Allison, Elephant, and Playtime

2011-02-26T21:21:00.000-06:00

Have you seen this elephant? He's lost. I thought Allison would be crushed. She loves that elephant. But what do I know? I asked her if she lost her elephant, expecting her to end up in tears. But no, she was very matter-of-fact when she told me he had simply "died". Where did that come from I have to wonder? Funny thing is if she had been upset about it, I probably would have just told her it was okay and to find another stuffed animal to sleep with. But since she said Ellie had died, that really bothers me and now I find myself somewhat determined to find him. So please, if you have seen him, let me know!

Tonight while Allison was getting ready for bed she came out and told Sophia "Today I am playing with Lydia. So the next day I will play with you. And the day after that I will play with Lydia, okay?" We all got a kick out of her scheduling her playtime with her sisters.

Sophia's Opinion

2011-02-26T21:01:00.000-06:00

We babysat Bristol and Tucker on Friday. It was a constant fight, but I finally got my turn after lunch to give Tucker his bottle and hold and love on him for a while. But in the morning, between all the girls fighting over him I didn't get to hold him even once. I love this picture of Sophia holding him. She sits there a really long time perfectly content holding him. She is growing up so fast. So while I was taking pictures, I said to her, "I suppose you want mom to have another baby now, too." See the older girls constantly beg me to have another one. But her response cracked me up. With a big grin she told me, "Yeah, a boy one!"

Preparing the Cake

2011-02-26T20:26:00.000-06:00

Emily and Grace had such a great time baking and decorating Lydia's cake. This was their first time doing something like this so it certainly was a new experience for them. They had fun and worked really well together. I think I will let them do this more often. They learned a lot and I think they have many ideas how to improve on it the next time. By the time my birthday rolls around, they might even be professionals!

Lydia's Second Birthday - Presents

2011-02-26T20:02:00.000-06:00

Lydia's Second Birthday - Cake

2011-02-26T19:27:00.001-06:00

Emily, Sophia, Lydia, Grace, and Allison with Lydia's big heart birthday cake.

Waiting for her cake.

I'm not sure but she must be excited about her cake?!

Eating her cake.

No manners needed on your second birthday.

Before You Lose Your Parental Rights

2011-02-23T07:05:00.000-06:00

This is so important! Please read this and then go to the link to ParentalRights.org!

Before You Lose Your Parental Rights

My Life For Yours: A Mother's Pondering About Her Body

2011-02-20T19:18:00.000-06:00

I love these blog posts at Generation Cedar. Reminds me so much of my yucky pregnancies and how they were all so worth it!

My Life For Yours: A Mother's Pondering About Her Body

2011-02-18T22:33:00.002-06:00

Lydia was in trouble this afternoon so Josh put her in her bed and shut the door. The other girls were told they couldn't go in there. It wasn't too long before Lydia was off the bed and at the door trying to peek through. Allison was right there to talk to her and try to get her out of trouble. I heard Allison ask her if she was going to be nice. After she answered yeah, Allison ran to Josh to tell him that Lydia was going to be nice now. Well, Josh said she was still going to have to stay in her room a while longer, so back to the door ran Allison to tell Lydia that Dad had said no. She stayed there quite a while keeping Lydia company. I thought it was so cute to see Allison standing up for her sister and trying to get her to do the right thing.

The Things They Say...

2011-02-18T22:23:00.002-06:00

We were in the family room hanging out this afternoon. Sophia and Allison were excited because their friends Jeff and Macy were coming out later. That is what started this conversation anyway. So I started listening at the point where Allison sat up super straight on the couch and had a huge smile on her face and said excitedly, "I want to marry Jeff, cause I LIKE HIM!" Almost instantly Sophia answered with a sing-song "Oh ye-ah, oh ye-ah, now I don't have to marry him!"

Poor Jeff. He just really likes Sophia. He's even talked about marrying her someday. But Sophia just isn't interested at all. It is so funny! But, all is not lost for Jeff. Allison really really likes Jeff. She gets so excited when he comes over to play. He walks in all excited to see Sophia, but first he has to get through Allison who is always right in his face saying "Hi Jeff!" The last time he was here he even had Lydia right there after Allison to say "Hi Jeff!" It is going to be interesting to see where this all ends up in the long run!

Lady Bugs

2011-02-10T09:55:00.003-06:00

Allison just showed me a picture of lady bugs in the book she is looking at. Lydia does NOT like the picture of the lady bugs. It brought back a funny memory of when Brooke, Emily, and Grace were little. We were at the Festival Parade in Fairview. I would say Brooke must have been about 7, Emily about 4, and Grace around 2 1/2. While waiting for the parade to begin, Brooke and Emily found a lady bug and were keeping busy playing with it. They built it a little house with rocks and were just so happy to have this lady bug to play with. Next thing they knew Grace saw the lady bug and instantly, without a second thought, she stepped on it! Brooke and Emily were furious. Grace didn't think anything of it. I was trying very hard to keep from laughing out loud while I comforted Brooke and Emily. Ah, good times!

Brooke Is Going To Washington, D.C.

2011-02-09T22:01:00.002-06:00

That's right, Brooke won a trip to Washington, DC! Our electric cooperative had a contest for its members. She had to write a two page essay on how electric cooperatives can reach out to young adults using new technological devices and social media. She got the phone call today informing her that she is the winner from our cooperative! So she gets to take a week long trip this summer, all expenses paid. What an excellent opportunity for her! Way to go, Brooke, we are so proud of you!!

Yes, Another Blog.

2011-02-05T22:20:00.003-06:00

Yes, I did it. I started another blog. It's an obsession maybe? No really, it is just a picture a day blog. My friend Brandy and her mom decided to start a photography/blog project where they decided to do a photo each day for one year. I bought Brandy's old camera and decided that with Emily and Grace's help I could try to join them. I started a month late, but that's okay. You can check out all of our blogs here:

Life is Good, Too
Life is Good, Jr.
Life is Good

Are you seeing a theme here?

More Music @ The Hall

2011-01-28T23:53:00.003-06:00

This is Emily on guitar and Grace and Sophia singing along to Taylor Swift's "Our Song". It is a favorite at our house and I love to hear them playing and singing together.

Music @ The Hall

2011-01-28T23:44:00.003-06:00

Brooke planned a great jam session at our new hall building in January. Roads were questionable that day, so we were very thankful to have a few people show up! It was a lot of fun and really good for the kids to have people to play their instruments with. Brooke is planning to have another one in February and hopefully we can eventually get a nice big group there to play. It is a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I wanted to put up a video of Brooke playing, but the one video I had she said she messed up on so I can't actually post it. I will try to get more video next time! The next post will have a little video of the other girls, though.

Who Wears The Pants In Our Family?

2011-01-28T23:24:00.001-06:00

Last Sunday Josh and I were having a discussion with Brooke. You know, one of those all important discussions with a teenager. Basically, Josh was the referee between Brooke and I and our "female hormones". So at the end Josh told Brooke to just remember who's the boss...he was referring to me. But he paused and said, "Well I'm the boss. I mean I wear the pants...your mom just tells me which leg to put in first." Much laughter followed that remark. I had to add in that I pick out the pants, buy them for him, and wash them. I don't know, maybe you just had to be there, but it was very, very funny!

Brooke

2011-01-28T23:10:00.001-06:00

Yeah right. She is a teen girl now. So do you think I could get a picture of her to put on here tonight? Nope, not happening. She did say I could take some tomorrow so we will see....

Emily

2011-01-28T22:55:00.004-06:00

When Emily was in Kindergarten I compared her picture with my Kindergarten picture and we looked so much alike! Now I don't see it much anymore.

Sometimes these two can look so much alike, but in this picture I think they look completely different. But they are so much alike in personality. There are even times in the van when I will look in the rear view mirror and see Sophia and think it is Emily.

Grace

2011-01-28T22:46:00.003-06:00

This picture was funny because Sophia wanted to take a picture of me and Grace and little Allison snuck into it! We didn't mind though.

More Sophia

2011-01-28T22:36:00.003-06:00

Sophia

2011-01-28T22:28:00.003-06:00

Sophia insists on giving herself bunny ears all of the time!!

I messed with the color on this one and as you can see I have absolutely no idea what I am doing! Oh well, she's still a cutie!

More Allison

2011-01-28T22:25:00.003-06:00

Can you tell she loves her elephant?

Allison

2011-01-28T22:20:00.003-06:00

More Lydia

2011-01-28T22:09:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I did get a smile after all!

This face? Well, I don't know what to tell you about this one!

Lydia

2011-01-28T21:27:00.003-06:00

This is Lydia taking a picture of me when I was taking one of her.

As close as I could get to a smile today.

The real thing.

Sunday School Christmas Program - 2010

2010-12-21T21:55:00.002-06:00

Grace

Allison and Sophia

Grace and Emily

Allison and Sophia

Our whole Sunday School!

Getting The Christmas Tree - 2010

2010-12-21T21:49:00.004-06:00

Here's our tree!

Lydia and Mom waiting for Dad to come down with the tree.

Lydia and Brooke

All the girls waiting for Dad.

Heading up the hill for the perfect tree!

The Almost 4th Birthday Party

2010-12-21T21:23:00.002-06:00

Allison's birthday is on Christmas, but this year we decided to celebrate it early. Last year we tried celebrating it Christmas night, but by that evening she was exhausted and really didn't even care that it was her birthday. She was also completely bored of opening gifts. So to make her birthday more special we decided we would just celebrate it early. So she went with Josh and I to town today and picked out a little cake (with a big price!). We picked up pizza on our way home and had a little celebration. After pizza she wanted to open gifts and then finally we had cake. The plan was to watch a movie the girls' had gotten as a Christmas gift, but Allison chose to spend the evening hopping on her new hopper ball instead. She also had time to play with her other toys. Just a few minutes ago, we told her it was time for bed. She came up to me almost in tears and said that she guessed she wanted to watch the movie instead. Nice try sweet pea, better luck next time!!

Welcome Tucker Arthur Paulson!!

2010-12-13T11:38:00.002-06:00

We are so happy to announce that Jonathan and Breanna had their baby boy yesterday morning! Tucker Arthur Paulson weighed in at 7 lbs. 1/2 oz. We all went in to the hospital yesterday afternoon and took our turns holding him. I wish I had pictures to share but I had left my camera out in the van. He is such a handsome little guy, I will try to get some pics to share this week. Congratulations Jonathan, Breanna, and Bristol!!

Emily's 12th Birthday

2010-12-11T01:17:00.002-06:00

How is it that she is 12 already? Emily had a bit of a messed up b-day as far as b-days go around here. For starters, Brooke left for school early in the morning, I had a physical therapy appointment that I had to leave for at noon, and then Josh went to work at 4:00 that night. Talk about bad timing! But she took it all in stride. :) We had pizza on Sunday night from the Powder Keg for her birthday supper. And then on her birthday morning we had her favorite lemon bars for breakfast. Brooke left for school before we got going, but it all worked out since she doesn't like lemon bars anyway! Birthday presents were done without Brooke here, too. This was a first for our family. But I guess it is an introduction to reality for us. As the girls get older and busier, it is harder to coordinate everything. But in the end it is all good. Emily was happy with her lemon bars and her gifts. I think it was an enjoyable b-day for her!

Happy 12th birthday my sweet Emily Rose!!

Blog Obsessed

2010-12-11T00:31:00.002-06:00

So I counted my Google Reader blogs that I am following tonight. I am up to 74. What does that mean? Am I obsessed? Is that too many? I mean I am behind on reading them by 111 posts. When I do actually get time to read them all, I will really just browse them for anything interesting and the rest will go down as read, even if I don't actually read them. The last time I checked I was only at around 45 blogs I was following. The kind of sad thing is that I have been trying to unsubscribe to the ones I haven't found to be of interest to me lately. I think of my mom who probably only reads about oh maybe 3 different blogs? But then there must be people out there who read a whole lot more than I do??? Anyone??? Please???

ND Grillin'

2010-12-11T00:12:00.002-06:00

When you live in North Dakota, you just learn to deal with the weather. So when you marry a farmer that loves a good steak, he just learns to deal with the weather. When that farmer buys a steak that they literally just sliced off for you what you wanted and the size you wanted, you better grill it. It doesn't matter if it snowed probably 8 or more inches. You use the snow brush out of the van and clear the snow from the grill and you GRILL those STEAKS!!

Sophia's ER Visit

2010-12-01T10:38:00.003-06:00

On Saturday night Sophia fell off the couch and hit her head on the coffee table. We had to take her in to the ER to get it fixed up. We thought for sure she would have stitches and were quite relieved when the Dr. said they could just glue it. She gave me permission to put the after picture up on my blog, but not the before. She thought she looked like a scary monster with the bloody open cut! She won't even look at the picture, the poor girl. She is doing great now. Her eye has changed many different colors this week and she likes to look in the mirror every morning and see what color it is!

The More We Have the More Ungrateful We Are??

2010-11-26T23:43:00.000-06:00

The More We Have the More Ungrateful We Are??

Strings Concert

2010-11-26T23:16:00.002-06:00

Just a quick video of a part of one of the songs they played tonight. Hope you enjoy it!

Brooke's First Strings Concert

2010-11-26T23:06:00.002-06:00

Brooke had her very first Strings Concert tonight! It was so much fun to go and see her play her first concert with this group. Lydia ended up with a fever yesterday so Josh's mom was nice enough to come down tonight and watch the three little girls so the rest of us could go to the concert. I think that Emily and Grace really enjoyed it. I can see now why Brooke enjoys playing with this group. They are wonderful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T20:17:00.002-06:00

The pies are made, thanks to Emily and Grace. They are getting to be quite the pie makers! All I need to do now is get some jell-o jigglers made and we are set for tomorrow. We will be up the road at Josh's parents house for Thanksgiving. It sounds like there will be a full house so it should be a very fun day. I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving and I hope that you have many, many things to be thankful for!

Make Me a "Leadable Wife"

2010-11-22T10:34:00.000-06:00

If you haven't heard the song "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real, then you have to click below and listen to it. It is the best song ever and I cry everytime I hear it!

Make Me a "Leadable Wife"

A Day Off

2010-11-21T22:09:00.003-06:00

Did you know that it is actually hard to be at home and take the day off? That is my new goal for Sunday. We go to church and Sunday School and then relax together as a family for the rest of the day. Well, today we didn't go to church due to the road conditions. We all got to sleep in and that was such a treat! We got up and did our morning chores. But then we were done. I was sitting there thinking of all of the cleaning projects we could get done. It was actually really hard to not start on something. But I knew that I needed to spend the time with the kids doing something other than work! My friend Brandy came down with her two kids and the kids played puzzles and games and we played on the Wii with them. It was a lot of fun, and very relaxing. After they left I made a couple of phone calls and during that time Grace made supper and dessert. Josh came home and we had an excellent supper together...Taco Casserole and Scotcheroos! Super yummy! After supper though, our family day pretty much ended. Josh was tired and so we went to visit in the family room while the kids cleaned up the kitchen and got their chores done. Josh got into a movie and I didn't want to make him stop it so we ended up skipping our game night tonight. But that's okay. I am glad I spent some time with the kids this afternoon so I don't feel so bad about tonight. It was disappointing for them I am sure. But it is a good lesson to learn. I think it's important for them to respect their daddy, especially when he gets up at 3 in the morning and drives an hour to work, works 12 1/2 hours and then drives another hour home. He is exhausted by then and by the end of the work week he just needs his quiet time. I am glad that the girls understand that and they know that next weekend he will be off of work so we can play games then!

What's Wrong?

2010-11-21T11:08:00.003-06:00

What's wrong with Lydia? What could possibly make her cry, look in wonderment, and say repeatedly "EW EW EW!!"? You know, just your average dead deer in the house! I'm sure most of you would be feeling the same way as Lydia if you looked on your table and saw an entire deer, skinned and gutted, sitting there. It was disgusting! But hey, it's a good lesson in where we get our food from and I'm always looking for good real life lessons! I'll be nice though and spare you the picture of it!

The Rich Family In Church

2010-11-21T01:46:00.001-06:00

This is such a good little story! I hope you like it.

The Rich Family In Church

Just Some Pictures

2010-11-21T01:30:00.002-06:00

Family Night

2010-11-21T01:17:00.003-06:00

Sunday has officially become our family night. I am actually trying to set aside our Sundays as kind of a family day. I am trying to get all of my work done before Sunday and trying to take Sunday's off. I just think we need one day of the week where we don't worry about laundry and house cleaning and school work and planning and well you get the idea. It has worked pretty well the last two weeks and I am planning it again for tomorrow. Last week we had Josh's parents down for supper for family night. They couldn't stay for games, but we enjoyed visiting with them while eating some Powder Keg pizza! After they left, we played Topple with the little girls and then put them to bed. Then we played a couple games of Bananagrams with the three older girls. Did I mention that I won all of the Bananagrams games? Oh no, that would be bragging. I would never actually brag about that! Not me. Okay, yes I won, it was fun! I love winning. Josh said we should have played Monopoly instead. He always kicks my butt at that game. I was glad we played Bananagrams!

Allison's Movie Night

2010-11-21T01:11:00.003-06:00

The long awaited for night finally came for Allison! I went in when she was laying down for her nap to tell her that it was her movie night that night. She was SO EXCITED! She said "and I get to have POP?" I told her yes. She said "and POPCORN?" I told her yes. Oh yes, she was so ready for this night! All day long all she could talk about was that she wanted to watch "Beauty and the Beast." Yes, the movie I watched two weeks earlier with Sophia. But who am I to complain? It is her night so she can watch what she wants. I have to admit being relieved when the time finally came and she suddenly decided that we were going to watch "Cars" instead. Anyway, here we are all snuggled up on the couch with our popcorn and pop ready to watch our movie!

Some Pictures From Our Week

2010-11-21T00:55:00.002-06:00

Sophia has been very in to dress-up ever since Halloween. So she dressed up as a cowgirl one day. I thought she looked pretty cute!

I'm not sure if you can see them in this picture, but on our way to town on Thursday we noticed a line of snow geese that covered the entire horizon. It was so cool! These are the times when I wished I had a better camera and some photography skills.

Emily and Grace took a picture of themselves in the van. I think they were supposed to be taking pictures of the snow geese!

Daddy's Supper

2010-11-20T23:57:00.003-06:00

Whenever Josh doesn't make it home in time to have supper with us, one of the girls warms up his plate for him so he can relax in his recliner and eat. Usually Lydia will come and mooch some food from Daddy, but on this night she decided to just climb up and help herself! So Josh just kept on eating and letting her eat what she wanted, too. She is so funny sometimes!

Living Skeletons

2010-11-20T13:21:00.000-06:00

Another story from Haiti.

Living Skeletons

A Successful Hunt

2010-11-14T15:50:00.003-06:00

Josh left on Friday morning and didn't come back until Saturday evening. He went hunting in the grasslands. He has been slowly buying equipment the last few years for an overnight hunt. He has his huge backpack, filled with all his supplies, which really isn't much. He has a little tent and a lightweight, but warm, sleeping bag. Three peanut butter sandwiches and some granola bars was all he brought for food. He brought dry clothes to sleep in and for the next day. He actually even asked if I would like to go with him. He thought that would be fun. That was a very easy NO for me. He got the deer he saw a week earlier in the same spot. He shot it Friday night and was glad he brought his camping gear because he knew he wouldn't be able to drag it out in the dark. I do need to mention the hills. He hunts in the hills. I wish I had a good picture to show the hike he had down to his camp site and the deer. I'll just say that it took him three trips to get his deer and equipment hauled out. Two trips just for the deer. He called me at 4:00 in the afternoon to tell me he was finally heading out. That means that he spent about 8 hours hauling his deer and stuff out. Yeah, not my thing at all, and that's not even considering the below 30 degree temps overnight. I think I'll let him stick to his hunting and I will stick to shopping, or really anything else. Yes, I do think he is a little crazy, but that is just one of the many things about him that I love!

I did find this picture of the area that he hunts. It gives an idea of how far of a hike it is from the bottom of the hills to the top where he had his pick up parked.

Are You a "Joyful Mother of Children"?

2010-11-14T14:55:00.000-06:00

Are You a "Joyful Mother of Children"?

Hunting 2010

2010-11-12T17:19:00.003-06:00

Here are some more photos from our hunting trip yesterday.

A Day of Hunting

2010-11-11T20:49:00.002-06:00

Josh and I went hunting together today. It was so much fun! We left around 8:30 this morning and didn't get back home until around 8:30 this evening. The day started out with us needing gas so we headed to Fairview only to find out that their diesel tanks were being replaced, so on to Sidney. We got gas and some "orange" for me at Cenex in Sidney. It was a bit of a longer trip than planned because Josh thought one highway was another one and yeah, you know how that goes! So we ended up down at interstate and then over to the public land. We drove all over and it was an amazing day of site seeing. We ended up eating at the bar in Grassy Butte and then off to find a place to hunt. It was so busy with hunters that all of Josh's fave spots were already full of hunters. But we found a some good spots anyway. We saw two mule deer bucks and three mule deer does. Unfortunately, his tag is for white tail. But just to see the deer is so exciting! We saw a lot of prairie chickens, a couple porcupines, cows, horses, and we heard the coyotes howling. We did a lot of walking of hills so it will be interesting to see how my muscles feel tomorrow. I sure am glad that I have been exercising though, because those hills were tough!

I told Josh to take a picture of me in my "fat suit". I was layered up and had my pockets full of gloves, hats, and the camera. Hunting is definitely not for girls that want to look nice!

I would never turn down a hunting invitation from this guy!

You Never Know What You Will See Out Here

2010-11-10T22:03:00.002-06:00

Every once in a while we see something out here other than deer and turkeys! A neighbor was sweet enough to call us one day and let us know there were a couple moose down on the river bottoms. Josh and I loaded up the five girls that were home and headed down to see. Sure enough, they were right down the road and around the corner. I hear that they come around our area once in a while and oh what a treat to get to see them!

Not Much To Say

2010-11-09T21:10:00.002-06:00

It was a pretty uneventful day here. I had a chiropractor appointment this afternoon so I brought Sophia with me today. We had a good time together, even though she made me eat lunch at McDonald's. YUCK! I don't really like that place, but it is her all time favorite. How could I say no to her? We didn't make it to sign language tonight and Brooke didn't make it to strings, thanks to the rainy/snowy weather. I wasn't about to have us end up 30 miles from home on frozen over roads. Not a chance I'm willing to take with my girls! I guess while I was gone Lydia was mad at her sisters for not giving her any chips. She always seems to choke a little bit on them so we just quit giving them to her. Well, Josh came in the kitchen and said hi to Allison and I guess as soon as Lydia heard his voice she instantly starting crying and screaming like something was really wrong, but a completely forced cry. Josh laughed and did nothing. He said after realizing that he wasn't going to do anything to help her she just gave up, quit crying, and went about her business. Funny little girl!

Sophia's Movie Night

2010-11-08T23:27:00.003-06:00

Sophia and I had our movie night on Saturday night. We borrowed a friend's "Beauty and the Beast" movie. Sophia has been waiting and waiting for her movie night so it was so exciting when it finally got here. We popped up some popcorn and she even got her own pop! It was such a good movie and it was so fun to sit and watch it with her after everyone else was in bed. At the end of the night I gave her a kiss and hug and sent her to bed. She came back out though and asked me if I was going to get up early the next morning. I guess I've been sleeping in too often lately. But she said she wanted me to get up early because she really likes me and can't wait to see me in the morning...or something like that anyway. It was sweet! She is growing up though. She didn't want to snuggle on the recliner with me, even during the scary parts!

Now Allison had a really tough time with this. She was overtired anyway, but this was just too much for her. She was so upset that Sophia was getting to stay up and she wasn't. She could hardly control her emotions. I tried to explain that she would get her turn next, but I don't think she completely understood. Now she keeps asking if it's her turn yet. It's going to be a long two weeks until her turn! But I know it will be well worth the wait!

I Have An Announcement

2010-11-08T22:55:00.002-06:00

I know a man who is 64 years old and has never changed a single stinky diaper. Well, that is until last Tuesday!! Ha! Yes, that is right, my father-in-law had managed to avoid changing smelly diapers his entire life so far. How he made it through raising four sons and having 7 grandchildren and not had to do this is beyond me. But last Tuesday night, everything changed. I'm surprised that any of us are alive to tell about it because it is so shocking that we should all be dead from the shock right now! I hope this post doesn't cause any heart attacks to anyone who knows my father-in-law. But anyway, he agreed to watch my three youngest until my mother-in-law got home from work, which should have been for about 15 minutes. But she was running very late and Lydia was very stinky. I figure she must have really really really wanted her diaper changed because otherwise I think he would have made her sit in it until my mother-in-law came home. But sure enough, with Sophia's help, he managed it! I'm so proud of him, aren't you?!

It Smells Like Thanksgiving!

2010-11-08T22:49:00.002-06:00

Don't these pies look yummy? Well, I can tell you that I thought they were! Last week I had to bake a couple of pies to take to our county commissioners to thank them for the money they donated to our new hall building fund. I decided that if we were going to make two that we could make four and send some to work with Josh. Well the commissioners got their pie, but unfortunately Josh's crew didn't. After baking up the pies the girls and I couldn't resist eating some! My house smelled like Thanksgiving. It is hard to turn that down!

Dinner And A Movie

2010-11-08T22:43:00.002-06:00

The older girls all went to fiddle lessons tonight and I was hoping to keep the little girls busy so I could get some work done. So I made up some frozen pizza and put in a movie for them. They were so excited to get to eat out in the family room while they watched their movie! Can you guess what movie they are watching?

The Trick-or-Treating Crew

2010-11-02T23:08:00.002-05:00

The older two had a friend out to trick-or-treat with. They had so much fun with Ann! Jeff and Macy also came with us for a while. Aren't they all so cute!?

Real Quick...

2010-11-02T22:35:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think I'm having a bad day. But then I read something like this and realize that my life is so so easy. I just love this blog. She is so honest. It really puts things in perspective for me.

Real Quick...

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T14:57:00.002-05:00

Grace the hunter, like her daddy.

Emily the 80's rocker, like her mom!

My princess, Sophia.

Lydia, the yummy M&M.

Allison, the princes gone pumpkin.
In a size 24 month pumpkin costume. She REALLY wanted to be a pumpkin!

How To Use Up That Halloween Candy

2010-11-01T13:12:00.000-05:00

Love these ideas to use up the candy and I thought I would share the link!

How To Use Up That Halloween Candy

"Do Large Families Burden the Older Children?"

2010-11-01T12:55:00.000-05:00

This is too good not to share!

"Do Large Families Burden the Older Children?"

A Successful Hunt

2010-10-29T21:53:00.003-05:00

We were all pretty surprised tonight when Josh walked in and asked if anyone would like to see the deer he shot. I think this was only his second night out so I didn't expect him to shoot one already. But he did and I think he did a nice job. Can't wait for that deer sausage and deer jerky!

Grace's Blog

2010-10-28T20:43:00.001-05:00

Grace has a new blog, check it out here.

Don't forget about Emily's blog here.

What a Natural

2010-10-28T20:33:00.002-05:00

Doesn't he look like a natural with a baby on his shoulder? Josh's boss and his wife had a baby boy at the end of September. Today Josh and I got to go visit them. It was so much fun to get to spend the afternoon holding a baby! Oh how I miss those days. If someone told me I could have another baby without being sick for nine months first, I so would do it! But for today, I just enjoyed this little guy!

Snow Day

2010-10-27T20:16:00.002-05:00

Today was a snow day and you can read about it here. I was doing so good on posting every day. But then yesterday we got our first winter storm for the year and it knocked out our internet service. So, I think you have to excuse me for not posting yesterday! Thanks! More later, or tomorrow...

Piano Players

2010-10-25T21:33:00.002-05:00

Look at who was playing beautiful music today! I LOVE having a piano in the house. Although Grace is the only one taking lessons right now, there are many kids playing on the piano throughout the day. It's been a lot of fun and I am so thankful that Josh's mom gave us her piano.

The Master

2010-10-25T21:29:00.002-05:00

Just a couple pictures of our master bedroom. I know it needs some decorating, but I'll get there some year maybe.

An Invitiation to Redemption

2010-10-25T12:32:00.000-05:00

This is crushing, especially to a chocolate lover like me. :( Please read it.

An Invitiation to Redemption

I'm Not Ready For Monday!

2010-10-24T22:11:00.002-05:00

I did accomplish a lot today, but somehow it is never enough! Or maybe it is enough and I just need to get over it. That is probably the case.

It was a great Sunday at church. If I can make it through a church service without having to take the baby out, I consider that a good Sunday at church. Today we made it through with no crying fits from Lydia and no potty breaks for Sophia or Allison. Now that is a great Sunday at church!
We had lunch at my mother-in-laws today. She invited us over for slushburgers and topped it off with homemade salsa and white cake with homemade frosting. Oh so good!
Brooke went to town this afternoon to do some shopping. Emily, Grace, and Sophia stayed at grandmas to play on some hay bales. I brought the two little ones home for their naps and had some peace and quiet this afternoon. I didn't get near as much done as I would have liked to since the phone seemed to keep ringing. But it was really nice anyway!
School is ready for tomorrow and I even got a tentative schedule printed out for the girls. They seem to do better if they can look on paper and see what they are supposed to be doing.
I'm sick to my stomach from overeating all weekend. Probably a good thing so it will be easy to go back on my weight watchers tomorrow morning. Should be an interesting weigh in tomorrow! :(

And there you have it, a look into my Sunday.

Movie Date With Grace

2010-10-23T22:50:00.003-05:00

Tonight was Grace's night to have a movie date with me. This is something new I started about a month ago. I decided it was time that I spend some one on one time with them. Josh and I try to have a date night every other Friday when he is off of work. So I decided that every other Friday night when he is working that I could have a date night with one of the girls. Sometimes it doesn't end up being Friday night, but I try to have a movie night at some point during the weekend. I had my movie night with Brooke and then with Emily so tonight was Grace's turn. Brooke took her in to town to pick out a movie. She chose "How To Train Your Dragon". It was really a good movie that we both enjoyed! I love this movie night because the girls love to be able to stay up later than everyone else, have a pop and some popcorn, and pick out their own movie. It is just torture for Sophia though, the waiting. She will be so excited tomorrow when I tell her that it is her turn next. But the two week wait might be too much for her to handle!

As far as today goes, it was another good day. We slept in and it felt so great! Then I got the check book caught up on the computer and our expenses figured out for this two weeks. It always feels good to be on top of the money situation! I got Sophia's school planned for next week. The girls washed up some dishes for me. They get stained from our water after a while so they needed a good washing. I am so thankful that they got it done! Then I went for a late afternoon run. As soon as I got home from that it was already time to get going on supper. I made lasagna, the really good homemade recipe of my mom's. We had garlic toast and carrots with that. Emily made a cheesecake for dessert so it was a pretty nice meal tonight. Yummy! I think we are all set for Sunday school and church tomorrow, hopefully the morning goes well. I am so glad that I've had these days off so I could catch up on things. It sure makes Monday morning easier to face when I am not behind on everything. Well, I am off to bed soon. Hoping to get a good night's sleep so I can get up and get going early tomorrow.

I Love Getting Things Organized!

2010-10-22T23:39:00.002-05:00

Yes, it is true. I am obsessed with organization. You wouldn't know it if you came to my house and saw all of my little messes. But believe me, if I had the time, energy, and money, my house would be the most organized house out there. I suppose it is that way for a lot of people, I am sure I am not alone in this. But anyway, I am taking full advantage of these days off of school to get caught up on some things in the house. Today I got my desk cleaned up and organized. It was such a disaster. I had so much paper work to file away and piles of junk to go through. I worked on that while the girls did our weekly house cleaning. I also had time to clean up the counter in our hallway. That was piled very high with junk, too. I just feel so much better. Even though I know the clean desk won't last long, it never does! We also went outside this morning and cleaned up the yard. That was actually kind of fun to have all of us working together outside. I do wish Josh would have been off to tell us exactly where he wanted everything. But we did the best we could. The yard looks so much better and this was work that needed to be done before it snows, which I guess could happen this Tuesday! Yikes! I am not ready for that! So I feel good tonight about all that we accomplished. I still have a to-do list that is longer than what I will have time for, but if I can prioritize it and get the important things done, I will be very pleased with that!

A Visit With Friends

2010-10-22T23:23:00.002-05:00

We had a phone call yesterday from a friend that he was going to be visiting his parents who live near us for the weekend and that he had his girls with! Emily and Grace were waiting impatiently all day for the phone call saying they were coming over. Finally around 3:00 they called and said they would be over soon. They had a great time together today! I think it is so great how some friends are the kind that you don't have to see very often but when you finally get together, it is like no time has passed. L. and M. are those kind of friends! They hiked outside, played with the little ones on the swing set, came in for pizza, and spent the rest of the night playing games. It was hard to see them go at the end of the night. We all look forward to seeing them again, hopefully sometime soon!

Our Living Room

2010-10-21T14:05:00.004-05:00

We are working hard at our house today. This morning we cleaned all of the bedroom closets. I think mine was the worst. Josh had moved all of his hunting things in there. At the time, we were out of hangers so there were some pretty big piles all over. But I managed to get it done and everyone else finished theirs, too. After lunch I was standing in the living room with Brooke and Grace. I have been wanting to rearrange in there for quite some time now. So I asked if they were up to helping me and they were so the pictures show the end result. I am so happy to have one nice, clean room in the house! I hope you like it, too!

Just What I Needed Today

2010-10-21T09:42:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite blogs had such a good post this morning. It is exactly how I have been feeling this last week so the message is just what I needed. Check it out here if you want! Have a great day!