It was the happiest day of this whole year. Our attorney called to share the news that the Judge had made his decision. He ruled in my parents favor and they now have sole custody of my niece Margie.
So many thanks to all of you family, friends, and all of my scrapping/crafting world friends who have offered your love, support, friendship, and most importantly...your prayers. Thank you so much.
God is good. Kit: Danielle Engebretson "Pink Cashmere" coming to TheDigiChick.com on 11/12/09 Template: Kim Wresh "Something Shapely" coming to TheDigiChick.com on 11/12/09
Most of my template sets are on sale for $1.94 and my hybrid templates are only $1.24. Very groovy.
Here are some of my favorite products that you might want to pick up!
AND NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULAR BLOG ENTRY (yes there is a blog treat at the end!)
Where to begin...ah yes...
RYAN IS 7 Ryan's birthday party is actually this weekend. Since it falls so close to Halloween there were other parties, school functions, and various activities that made last weekend a bad choice.
Saturday is his birthday party. It is a track and field party. Think potato sack races, three legged races, egg on a spoon races, relay races...you get the idea. For refreshments we are having hot dogs, punch, and cake balls instead of a cake at Ryan's request!
We did celebrate on Ryan's actual birthday. We went to town and visited Dad's office and then went out for Mexican food. Yum. Dad had balloons at his desk for Ryan too!
Later that night when Dad got home we had cake and Ryan got his birthday present. An Air Hog!
I remember when I was little telling my mom how much I loved her...then she would tell me she loved me more...and I would argue that it was not possible. My mom would just smile and tell me that I was wrong...that there was no way that I could love her more than she loved me and that I would never understand that until I had a child of my own.
Well mom is right. Like always. I never really understood until this little boy came along. I love you Ryan...to the moon and back. Happy Birthday Boo.
CHOCOLATE FROM HEAVEN Have you ever had one of those days that was just really crappy. You know...you just want to even kind of revel in it...just roll around in your own misery. OK, maybe not. Maybe that is just me. Anyway, I digress.
I was having one of those days last week. I was miserable and doing nothing to bring myself out of it. And then I got the mail.
There was an unexpected box. I don't know about ya'll but around here we lurrrrrve "Special Deliveries". Especially if it is a surprise. And it was! My sweet friend Jenessa (who lives in Germany) sent us another box of chocolates! Yummy European chocolate and other fun treats all the way from Germany.
It changed my mood immediately. Not even because I had a replenished supply of smooth chocolate (I can be a snot about chocolate...American chocolate is too waxy)...but because someone thought of me.
It changed my mood because I am realizing more and more how God uses us all as His instruments to act as a comforter on His behalf. I thought of the time that it took Jenessa to purchase the chocolates for us, pack them up in a box, go to the post office, send it off. That was really nice. It made me feel cared for by not only Jenessa, but by heaven. I know that when we serve one another we serve our Father in Heaven. I can't help but think heaven put a bug in Jenessa's ear. Thanks J. Love you.
The boys with all the goodies from Auntie Jenessa in Germany (anyone who sends you a box of treats gets instant "auntie" status!)
JOEL IS LIGHTER BY 4 WISDOM TEETH We know what you are thinking. Walrus.
Joel had to have all four of his impacted wisdom teeth pulled last week lest they jack up his new grill. Ouch. He opted to be knocked out and when they woke him up he looked STONED. Of course I messed with him all the way home.
Part of messing with him meant taking this picture with my cell phone and plastering it on my facebook page.
One of my friends commented that I was mean for posting such an...unfortunate...picture. Little did she know that the kid changed his profile picture to this one!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! There was lots going on this Halloween so I will start down South and work my way West! Chase is not interested in dressing up anymore so he and his cousin Brennan sat on the porch at Grandma's House in Homestead and passed out the candy to all the little trick-or-treaters.
My mom and dad live in a really nice neighborhood with a private street. Lots of people drive specifically to their neighborhood to go trick-or-treating. The police have to block off the entrance to the neighborhood and people park on the main street and walk in.
My parents and their neighbors (I am guessing there are maybe 40 homes in the neighborhood) all decorate their yards for every holiday and Halloween is no exception. They go all out!
Margie wore her Snow White Costume. My niece Emma was a Bee and Jenna was a Fairy! SO CUTE!
My boys were...well...what else...Pirates!
I ran into my friend Natalie at the Fall Festival at Ryan's School. Look at her headband. She is ALWAYS the cutest!
And finally, our Pumpkins. A friend of mine said they thought we probably did some really intricate carvings on our pumpkins. Nope.
The pumpkins are for the boys! They drew their designs on the pumpkins with markers and then we cut them out!
Matty wanted his pumpkin cut out sideways. Who does that? I love that he didn't care what the norm was and did things HIS way. That's my boy!
There was a Halloween Dance for the Youth too!
Joel and Hillary at the Halloween Dance.
Mr. Wresh was working the night of the dance and I needed to be there to chaperone. Since I didn't have anyone to watch the littles I took them with me. Joel taught Ryan The Macarena! I tried to upload the video of it but it was taking two million years to load. I got bored and canceled the upload. FYI - it is hilarious!
SPICY CHEESE PUFFS This is my friend Jolene's recipe. I modified it a little for my family. There must have been a vegetable in it or something.
Package of "Scoops" Corn Chips 1 block of cream cheese 1/2 pound of Pepper Jack Cheese 1 egg
Mix the cream cheese and pepper jack together until smooth. Add the egg. I used my Kitchen Aid. Use whatcha got.
After you mix it all up drop a teaspoonful into scoops chips and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
They were a hit.
SUPER SATURDAY Most Mormon Women like to craft. OK...NEED to craft. It is in our DNA. Resistance is futile. Crafting is our crack.
So...once a year we all get together and craft our little faces off on a Saturday morning that we call Super Saturday.
A committe of women is put together and a variety of crafts are made available to sign up for. You pay for your supplies and show up!
We had LOTS of crafty goodness this year. Here are some of the highlights!
These cute pumpkins are super easy! Cut out a circle of fabric and place a full roll of toilet paper in the center. Pull the fabric up and tuck it into the middle of the rool. For the stem roll up a bit of kraft paper and stick it in the middle. This will keep your fabric in there too! Now add some raffia and leaves (just stick them in there) and you are done! You don't even need to sew or glue any of it! Sweet!
Cute Modge Podged Frames (Hybrid Anyone?)
Tutu's (Margie is getting one too!)
Cute purse made from old pants!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this fabric flower hair clip. I am going to make them for my nieces but I think I am keeping this one for myself!
And look at me...I SEWED! I made both of the littles a cape. It has Bateman on one side and the other side is red with a Superman Logo! They turned out pretty dang good!
I am so proud of myself...I am learning to sew! Yay!!!
Of course there was food. Lots of it.
BLOG TREAT I hope everyone has a great DSD and finds LOTS of deals! I know there are a few things I have been waiting to pick up! Here is a little something for ya'll to scrap with! Have fun!
AND I LEAVE YOU WITH This picture of Matty...just because it is stinking cute! Happy Fall Ya'll!
It is my baby's birthday! Where did 7 years go? I cannot believe how fast he has grown. I still remember the night he was born. You know. The 23 hours of labor followed by an emergency c-section. Life is never fair.
But then he was here and perfect...and gorgeous.
I remember the hospital was very full the night I had Ryan and they kept moving me around. They moved me to a floor where there were sick patients and my mother (who is normally quite passive and demure) had a big fat hissy fit until they put me in a SUITE on the Postpartum floor. I am not kidding. My room was huge.
While all this was happening my sister was in the nursery happily rocking her new nephew...for hours. She called him "Brown Eyes" and was smitten with him from the day he was born. I mourn the loss of the love she always showed them. Their lives will be less rich because of it.
Today I did what any responsible mother would do. I let Ryan stay home on his birthday. He gets to eat what he wants and play video games all day. This afternoon we are going to have lunch with his dad at his daddy's office. He loves that.
Ryan's birthday party isn't until November 7th so we need to party a little today too.
Tonight Ryan picked a very special dinner. Velveeta Shells and Cheese (GAG) and there will be a cake and presents.
...that's the theme song for my life right now. Me just spinning around, making lists both on paper and in my mind, of things that need to be accomplished and feeling like I am getting very little done.
So when I feel overwhelmed I do what any busy wife and mom of three (who is behind on life) should do...I start surfing blogs that are written by women who have talent that is overwhelming. And they take good pictures of their creations. You know...like they care enough to have bought (or probably made) a light box to use to expertly photograph their perfect creations.
In their pictures their hair is always done and they are thin...and then...to offend me further...they know how to sew...really well.
I can't figure out how to load the bobbin on my machine and it is pissing me off to no end.
Is it wrong of me to hope that on most days their hair isn't done and that they have twisted it up on their head with a clamp (like me) and they only got dressed for the pictures. Truth be told they wear jammies most of the time...like I do. Or am I supposed to be inspired to stop eating Cheez-It's for breakfast, do my hair, and put on some real clothes. What to do, what to do?
Just when I was feeling extra frumpy I came upon a blog by a woman who I think might be perfect. Perfect pictures of her house, her crafts, posts about sweet things she does for her husband, posts about how she exercises, how she reads a dozen books a week (and reviews them), she cooks healthy meals with the produce she procured (she said that) from the farmers market, pictures of the delicious things she bakes AND she is an environmentalist...green everything...the very nerve.
She is married and seems to be about my age and has no children. I learned along time ago not to make assumptions about people with no children. First of all, it is none of my business if a couple chooses to have a family and second, I have no idea if they can.
Getting pregnant was no easy feat for me. It took a lot of time, medicine, shots, prayers, faith, money, intervention, tears, invasive procedures, and a lot of prescheduled sex. Good times. I know what it is to long for a child.
So as I read Mrs. Seemingly Perfects blog I have to wonder. Is she reading mine too? Is she thinking how good I have it with my crazy days filled with the business of being a mom? Does she wish that she had little boys who pee'd on the seat that she could complain about? Would fingerprints on, well everything, delight her? Would she think it was great fun to say "EAT YOUR DINNER" twenty times every single night of her life? Would she exchange the the spa treatments she talks about for a nursing gown with spit up on it? Does she dream of the day she can see her husband with their sleeping baby on his chest and know that kind of love?
Maybe yes, maybe no. But it gave me something to think about this morning...and a little bit of an attitude adjustment. :)
PARDON MY PICTURES So now you know...I am a little self conscious about my non Canon Rebel, non light box, and generally non edited pictures that I post on my blog. I am just not that into it. I am a point and click girl and I need to make peace with it. There. I said it.
HOMECOMING Joel's Homecoming was last week. He is on student council and was busy with all the activities that they had planned for the week. Friday night was the game and the dance. Joel's first formal. Hillary (Joel's girlfriend) looked so pretty. As a mom can I say how much I appreciate her modest choice of dress. Really. Thanks Hillary. Thank you for being an excellent Young Woman. Watching Joel try to put the corsage on Hillary was just as funny as you might imagine. Mercifully her mother stepped in (after we laughed ourselves silly) and helped him out.
Oh wait - one more shout out for Joely - he got his first report card for the year and had straight A's with the exception of an 88% in Pre-Calc. Who am I to sweat him over a B+ in advanced math? You make us very proud Joel.
CRAFTING I love it. I have a few friends that I craft with from time to time and I am so excited to get to hang out with them! This week we made Fall Center Pieces from wheat stalks. Next up we are making pendant banners like the one my friend Tara is holding below but they will say "Give Thanks" on them. Can't wait!
NEW HAIR BOWS I have been busy making hair bows for all my nieces. I swear it is therapeutic.
How hilarious is the Thanksgiving Day Bow? Ha! The one in the middle is the "Birthday Bow" for my sweet niece Baby Margie. Her Birthday is coming up and I think we all know she needs a Bow just for her birthday! The last picture is of the poinsettia bows I made for my nieces for Christmas. Margie calls her bows "pretties"! Love it!
CAKE BALLS The other day I was craving a really good cupcake. I wanted a really yummy one too. Not some yucky dry thing from the market. I was craving one so much that I actually considered driving to Scottsdale to go to Sprinkles to subdue my craving. I am not kidding. I was ready to go. The fact that it would have been a 90 minute round trip if traffic was good was not stopping me.
I really had to reason with myself and say to myself, "Self, you are being ridiculous. Seriously. You cannot drive all the way to Scottsdale for some hoity toity cupcake. Get over it."
So myself and I compromised and I made cake balls when we got home. You may (or may not) be wondering, what are cake balls? Well, they are little nuggets of deliciousness...and I am going to tell you how to make them. They are easy.
You will need a box of cake mix, a can of prepared frosting (don't use homemade-something I rarely say), and a package of almond bark or melting chocolate that hardens when it cools. If you are too snotty for almond bark (and some people are) you will need to just move along!
Ready? Here we go.
-Bake the cake according to the directions on the back of the box for a 9x13 cake. -When the cake comes out and while it is still warm scoop it all out of the pan and into a big bowl (I use my kitchen aid) just chunk it all in there. -Add about 1/3 of the prepared frosting to the cake and mix it until you get a cookie dough consistency. You may need to add more of the frosting but just add it small spoonfuls at a time. If it gets too gooey it won't roll into balls. -Use a cookie scoop to make little balls. I put mine on a jelly roll pan for this step. Once they are all made put a toothpick in the center of each of them and put them in the freezer for about two hours. -When they come out of the freezer melt your chocolate and dip the balls using the toothpick. Set the balls on a piece of wax paper. I would suggest melting only a few bars of chocolate at a time so it doesn't all harden while you are working. -Once the chocolate is hard, pull the toothpick out and drizzle a little more chocolate on top to cover the hole from the toothpick. I added a few sprinkles.
They are done!
People get all kinds of crazy creative making cake balls. Google "Cake Balls" and you will be amazed at the variety of flavors and neat ideas for decorating them that you will find!
THANKSGIVING SIGN When I was cutting vinyl for some orders I received last week I cut one for myself too and made a cute Thanksgiving sign for our front door. I used some glitter paint and I love the blingy look it gave it!
I also made a cute table display for the season! The candle stick holders were my sisters and I love having her things around me. It is comforting to me.
I cut some vinyl to say Count Your Blessings and slapped it on some pumpkins. The pumpkins sit on top of the candle sticks. So cute. I keep meaning to add some rhinestones to the ribbon but I have not gotten around to it yet. I probably won't ;)
YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
We had our Stake YM/YW Volleyball Tournament recently. Joel was on the winning team. Hillary didn't play because she had a broken toe but she did jump in the picture with Joely.
THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD Last night we had some excitement across the street. There is a man who lives across the street and down a few houses from who stays up all hours of the night...and invites over his friends. They have Harley Davidsons (which I think are the coolest when they are not waking you up) and apparently it is some sort of testosterone therapy for them to rev the engines loudly and high five each other...at like 11PM. Idiots.
This has happened numerous times since they moved in. Mr. Wresh has actually gone over at 2am...in his unmentionables no less...to ask them to shut the freak up.
Well last night all heck broke loose. The family that moved in next door to him this summer had apparently had ENOUGH. Mr. Wresh and I were laying in bed watching Dog The Bounty Hunter (no really) when we heard this screeching female voice. At first I thought it was the TV so Mr. Wresh muted the TV. Nope, this was coming from outside.
We went over to the window and this lady across the street was flipping out and SCREAMING at the loud guys to keep it down. I won't go into the details of all that was said and done but suffice it to say the police arrived on the scene. Five cop cars. Really. Five of them.
Mr. Wresh and I were sitting on the floor of our bedroom watching out the window at the whole thing going down. We had the window opened so we could hear, although it was not really necessary. It was so entertaining that if Mr. Wresh had popped a little popcorn for us to snack on while we watched I would have been willing to count it as a date night.
I will say this. New neighbor lady looked like a spider monkey flying at loud guy and I think he pee'd himself a little. I am going to like her.
NEW TEMPLATE SET In the craziness of the last week I forgot to show you the new set of templates that I released at TheDigiChick last week. Soooo, since I forgot to promote them I am giving ya'll the opportunity to pick them up for 33% off this weekend. The set is called This Story and the pieces have a hand cut look to them! Enjoy the savings!
Grab this set here for just $1.99 this weekend only!
BLOG TREAT With my favorite time of year on the way I wanted to share this word art set with you all!
Family Movie Night for us tonight! Have a great weekend.
Outside my window…the sky is bright blue and there are a few white clouds. A nice easy breeze. This is one of those days that makes people want to move to Arizona.
I am thinking…I am sad and it is OK to be sad.
I am thankful for... the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the grace, hope, peace, and healing it offers. As much as me and my family are hurting and have been I cannot imagine suffering without my comforter, Jesus Christ.
I am wearing… Jammies. Because I can.
I am remembering… my sister Courtney.
I am going… to WalMart before I pick up kids from school today. A necessary evil.
I am reading… My scriptures - with a scripture highlighting pencil - finding that I internalize them more when I highlight meaningful passages.
I am hoping… for peace for my family and that my sister Corinne has a great birthday.
On my mind… my sister Courtney and her children. Constantly.
Noticing that… I am thankful for my trials, horrific as they are. In times of trial we draw close to our Savior. We get the opportunity to show Him what we are made of and that we are truly His.
Pondering these words… 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you"
From the kitchen… I am thinking stuffed shells tonight.
Around the house… is a little messy with several loads of laundry that need doing.
One of my favorite things… Looking at pictures of my family and remembering the good times. It helps me to remember there are good times still to come.
