Growing Up Faster Than my Mind Can Comprehend

 Our three little ones are now 16, 14, and 9.  Time is flying by and life is so very busy.  I am thankful for Phil and the life we have built together.  We are so very blessed.  

The Big C loves everything baseball.  He is a Junior now, drives, and tries any and every youth group imaginable.  I don't really know what he is looking for but I pray he finds his place.

Middle B is also a baseball guru.  He plays ball here in our mountain town for now.  He will have to decide soon so follow Big C to FCA or stay here local.  As homeschoolers, once you start your Freshman year of high school somewhere, that is where you stay for the whole 4 years.  He mastered his black belt a few years ago, still loves legos, and is not so much a little boy at all anymore.  

Little S is into gymnastics and is a level 6 in the J.O. program.  She practices at least 16 1/2 hours each week.  She is a marvel to watch.  Little S loves being with her girlie friends, doing crafts, and playing with her American Girl dolls.  She started Essentials this past year and has completely rocked it!!!

We are still a two pilot family and travel when we can with this crew of ours.  God is so good!!!

Tribute to Sonne - A Gift

Our sweet, sweet doggie passed away this week.  She was diagnosed with heart disease 1 1/2 weeks ago and we had her on all kinds of medications to help her heart and fix the fluid on her lungs and heart.









The meds seemed to work the first couple days.  Her strength got better and we thought she would make a turn for the better.  The doctor said that if it all worked as planned we might even get one more year with her. 



After those couple good days things slowly got worse.  She eventually wouldn't eat and had no strength to move.  We had an appointment on Tuesday morning to go to the vet and say our goodbyes.  I drove her there separately before the crew came along, to get everything worked out. 
While in the waiting room for only a few minutes Sonne passed away in my arms.



We brought Sonne into our lives in my arms back in Arizona and she left our lives in my arms in Colorado.  It was a tough day.  We had her for 15 1/2 beautiful years. 



A great life.  She loved us, traveled with us, played with our 3 kiddos.  She was a perfect dog for our family.  A gift from above. 




Sonne saw many changes in our lives.  Our careers staring in a new city, our marriage, our 3 children, 3 more new houses. 

 After our first baby she started to grey.  It was subtle at first but in the end she was very beautiful and very white.

We will forever remember our wonderful doggie and all the joy she brought to our lives. 

Earl

This year we were blessed with a new Christmas tradition starting at our home.  My mother got the kiddos their first ever elf from The North Pole.  He is very brightly colored and full of smiles!!!

The first thing in order was to name our new little visitor.  The kiddos all agreed on Earl.

Next was to establish rules about not touching him to keep his magic full of strength.  You see he watched the kiddos all day long and reports back to Santa each night with the good news and bad. 

Each morning the kiddos would promptly look for the happy Earl to find his new location and see what he was up to the night before.  They found him in obvious places like the mantle, or on a shelf.  And also in silly places like sticking out of the cookie jar, in the bathroom, or hanging from the chandelier.  One morning they woke up to discover that Earl had Toilet-Papered our Christmas tree.  What?!?!?

On his last visit to see us he left us a message.  He got out the cereal box and wrote out 'Jesus is the Reason' with the little pieces.   So even with this secular fun, we could still keep Christ in it!!!

Photo to come once I download.
\

Happy Birthday

We had a wonderful Christmas today.  We had family time, opened gifts, played games, enjoyed great meals, and finished it off by singing to Jesus. 

We sang 'Happy Birthday' right before bed after reading through the Christmas story in the bible.  Our oldest son held up with Jesus cross and we all sang it through twice.  First we sang in English and then our middle guy surprised us by continuing in Española.  Just love these Little Blessings so much.

A Season to Celebrate Jesus in all We Do

Christmas is upon us once again.  Our home is fully decorated inside and out.  Christmas songs can be heard daily.  The kids are enjoying their advent calendars and counting down the days to the birth of the Christ Child. 

It is so entertaining watching their faces light up at all the little Christmas delights.  Snow falling, our lit Christmas tree, outdoor Christmas lights, wrapping the presents, Christmas cards arriving in the mailbox, Carols being sung, Gingerbread houses (ours is a church with an outdoor nativity scene), ...  They look at each individual thing and get more excited to celebrate Jesus' birthday. 

Looking forward to the next couple days and all the extra Christmas delights that are in store for us.
 

Blown Eardrum

It has been exactly 2 weeks now since I blew out my left eardrum.  I was flying around with work and on my last flight before I caught my commute home.  I had a lot of pressure and discomfort in my left ear.  I was getting congested.  Then all of a sudden the pressure and discomfort was gone.  The good news is there was relief.  Ahhhh.  The bad news was that there was a definite rupture. 

I turned my headset volume all the way up on the left side and finished that flight. 

I caught the next flight back to Colorado.  More pain with the changes in altitude again on the flight home.  The worst part was that I knew I would still have to drive back UP into the mountains after we landed.   I made it home and went straight to bed.

I went into the dr's office to find out the inevitable.  Yes, I was right.  There was a hole.  It should heal on its own. 

In the meantime I have been having popping and clicking in my ear, trouble sleeping, and so much vertigo that I get nausea. 

Saw an ENT to make sure it is healing up properly.  I am on a new nasal spray because my vertigo is due to my Eustachian tubes trying to reacclimate after the trauma.  My hearing test revealed decreased hearing in my left ear.  This should all go back to normal shortly.  I go back to retest in a month.

Most of the problems have past.  I am only dizzy a few times per day and sleeping finally at night.

Hope to be back flying again in another week.  Prayers for continued healing.  Thanks.

49ers

I married a San Francisco 49ers fan.  A huge FAN!!!!  I am not a big football girl but I try to sit and watch a little bit each week.  9ers had a great game tonight.  Very intense, back and forth. 

Our kiddos just love the whole football game day thing.  We eat fun different football type foods.  We all wear jerseys.  And we start the day off with an opening ceremonies.  The ceremony starts with bringing out the 49ers flag to parade once around the house with everyone following behind.  This is done to us all humming the Olympics theme.  The dog has to come in the parade too (she gets biscuits for playing along).  The banner/flag then gets placed at the center of the fireplace for the day.  After our football day the flag gets taken down in a closing ceremony if the 9ers win with the kiddos once again parading behind dad, the flag, and the Olympic theme.  Otherwise it just gets folded up until next weekend. 

FUN!!!                          FUN!!!

Garage Sale

We had a successful garage sale.  Made some money and got rid of a ton of 'stuff'.  It feels so great to be free of all of it.  Everything that didn't sell went straight to Goodwill.  A win/win.

Boys sold a big bunch of their old toys.  They also sold water as it was a hot day.  Our oldest sat outside under an umbrella selling the water for most of the day.  At the end of the day he says they made more money selling water ($0.50/bottle) then all the toys. 

The 2013/14 School Year Kicks Off

We started our first day of homeschool this year like we do most years. 
Pledge
Prayer
Yearly Binders (decorated and organized)
Safety Week (Stranger Safety today)
Math
Reading
Trip to Library

Quick and easy day.  Actually this whole first week will be fairly easy.  Just easing into things and getting back into a routine.  I am loving it.  The boys did great.  Our 2 year old however found herself in a few messes and time-outs throughout the day.  I'll have to work on that.  Overall I call it a huge success.

Our homeschooling electives classes started up this past week at a local church.  This is our second year doing this.  The boys each picked their 6 classes for the one day each week that they will be there.  3 of the classes are together.  It looks like it is going to be an interesting year for them.

Financial Habits

EBAY

Our two oldest children recently decided to put a lot of Cars toys on eBay.  They decided which of the Disney Cars toys they no longer played with and got them all together.  They arranged them for a photo shoot, deciding which car should be next to which other car.  They downloaded everything onto the computer (with the help of dad).  Then they waited to see what would happen during the next week.

The bids really took off the first few hours and then they stalled.  They jumped again once midweek.  The last day was fun to watch as each hour they climbed more and more. 
The bid closed and left each boy earning about $45.  They were so proud and excited to find ways to spend/save their new earnings.  Our middle boy wants to buy one small toy and save the rest for a real car for when he is 16 - A CORVETTE!!!!

I am pleased with how well it all went and that they had so much success.  It shows them that the sacrifice of old toys can go a long way.   And I love that it helped clean out my house. 

Next step: GARAGE SALE

BESTIES in Michigan

Had a quick but amazing trip to Michigan last week.  We flew into Chicago, rented a car, and drove
around Lake Michigan to visit our my 'bestie'.  We both decided when we moved to separate states that we will never let the distance keep our friendship from being the great gift that God meant it to be. 

We didn't get in until after midnight and went straight to bed.

Happily enough the kiddos all get along great.  We kept very busy the entire time we were there. 


We went to the beach

Climbed the sand dunes

Saw Smurfs at the Drive-In

Church

Races around a local track to practice sprinting

Local Art & Antique Festival

Pop-Up Fountains (didn't last long because it was chilly with the wind)

Bowling

Shopping for pet fish and snails for 2 different clubs mascots

Birthday Party for our oldest

Bike and Play Day








SAD GOOD BYES


Hope to be back again shortly.  It had been a year since we made the trek out to see them.  Praying it isn't that long until our next go round. 

CRYSTAL, CO Adventure

Crystal Mill (1892)

We just returned from an amazing cabin trip.  Most of us had already been up there and knew how much we loved it.  We wanted to share it now with our baby as well. 

We drove to Marble, Co and planned on hiking from there.  We were going to transfer all of our gear into a jeep for a jeep company to bring up.  When we were checking in they informed us that the hike would most likely be to hard for our 6 year old on that hot day.  Bummer. 

New plan: Drive our F150 up the 4x4 road slowly with all our gear

We set out immediately and quickly saw once again why the road is for 4x4 vehicles ONLY!  The drive went slow on narrow, rocky roads with a steep drop off to the right side of the car (lucky me, the passenger side occupant). 

It took us 1:25 to get up the 5 mile drive.  So many scratches to the sides of the truck it was ridiculous.  But thankfully we were there safe and with all our stuff.

We found our cabin and quickly settled in so we could get out and explore.  Through our days up there we saw the famous Crystal Mill, went hiking numerous times, and caught fish to add to 2 different meals.  Our oldest son had his first experience learning how to prepare the trout for eating.  He loved it and took pride in all his work.  It was wonderful to see all the beauty of God's design up in this area.

The drive back was uneventful and easier on me as the drop off was now on hubby's side of the car.  We evened up the scratches on both sides of the truck and decided that next time we will stick to our original hiking plans!!!!

Chicken-N-Dumplings

Uh Oh

  NAUGHTY GIRLS

We made Chicken and Dumplings for dinner.  Always a big hit with the kiddos.  While cleaning off the table our youngest decided to sit and enjoy a couple more bites.  Only someone else wanted in on the action too!!!!

New Year Blogging

Here it is already 2013!!!  That was a fast holiday season.  I hope bringing in the New Year was memorable and safe.

I am hopeful that I will be able to post a little more often this year.  I am going to go back and recap our December once I get my pictures all downloaded.  Stay tuned.

Stitches

Had the first stitches for one of our kiddos today. 

Our boys took snowboard lessons up at Keystone today.  The lessons went great and their skills improved.  However, at the end of the day, before taking the Gondola down to meet up with dad, our middle child fell down the stairs and got a big gash above his left eye.  He was taken down the mountain by Medical Ski Patrol.  I was told that there was a lot of screaming involved.  He received 4 stitches and a new teddy bear.
  
His eye is very swollen and will most likely be black and blue for days.  It breaks my heart to look at him and know he has pain.  He does not like the way he looks or feels.  He keeps finding mirrors to look into and then cries again at the site of his eye. 

He is sleeping restfully now and we are praying that tomorrow goes smoothly.



Lord, we praise you even in this storm right now.  We thank you for looking out for our son and protecting his eye and head during his fall today.  Thank you for helping him be brave.  Thank you for the speed and skills of the doctor at the mountain.  Please help our son sleep through the night and wake up with less pain.  Amen.     

Birthday Tradition

Every year for my birthday we go as a family to get our Christmas Tree.  It is such a fun tradition and a great way to start out the Christmas season.  It is a great excuse to get the tree up right away and this way the kids know exactly when it is going to happen and don't have to keep asking us. 

This is our first Christmas living in Colorado.
 WOW!!!!
 A real Rocky Mountain Christmas. 
I am so excited.  BLESSED!

We bought passes/permits to go into the mountains and cut down a live tree.  The pass tells you where to go and which kind of trees you can cut down.  After hiking around a bit, we finally found a perfect one for our family Christmas tree.  My sweet hubby cut down the 14 foot tree and I helped him haul it back to his truck.  The tree made it back through the mountains to our home in one piece.  We had it up and found the perfect corner for it already. 

It was quite an adventure.  No snow.  Warm sunny day.  No crying kiddos.  Lots of laughs.  PERFECT!!!

Here are a few pics of our new tree.  I'll try to post something after we get it all decorated as well. 

Being Thankful

Walk with the 6 cousins

Our Thanksgiving 2012

Both my husband and I were blessed to have Thanksgiving off again this year.

We made our way out to Reno, NV (in 2 groups) to celebrate with family.  It was a great time for both the young and old, and we were all sad to leave.  It went by way to quick.



We had lots of laughs, wonderful food, great memories.  

One last Goodnight Deep in the Heart of Texas

Our last night in Texas. Wow. When we came here we originally thought it would be about 5 years and we would move somewhere else. Fast forward 12 years later and we are moving in the morning! We close on our home tomorrow and leave immediately. It will be a 2 day road trip for us. We are caravanning both our cars and slowly making our way to Colorado. I can hardly believe it. I pray we make it there safely and I pray that the Lord continues to bless us in our new environment. It has been great here. Texas has been so good to us. It was rough the first couple of years but then it slowly got more and more amazing as time went on. We are leaving here with beautiful memories, countless lasting friendships, and 3 crazy forever Texans. So Goodbye Texas. Thanks. Hook 'Em Horns!

Michigan Trip

For our oldest's birthday party he chose a trip to Michigan to visit his best friends.  We did this in place of a big birthday bash.   I loved this idea as well as I had been missing my best gal pal.

Hanging out with this family is easy for us because everyone has a great friend to be with.  The oldest three are deemed the '3 Amigos' and the middle two are our '2 monkeys' and finally we have our baby girls.  Both of our families were on a break from homeschooling this week during our visit so everyone could just play, play, play.

We flew out and spent a couple days and then had to get back to Colorado to pick out a house to buy.  The Michigan trip went fast.
When we arrived near St. Joseph's they had welcome banners and signs for us.  The kids ran off right away to go and play and we didn't hear from them for hours.


After dinner we went for a walk in their beautiful neighborhood and the kids all took turns on scooters.


After our ride we went to watch the sunset at an overlook spot.  After the sun was gone the lightning bugs came out.  The boys had a great time chasing fireflies and catching them and letting them go.


The next day we had breakfast at Bert's and all the kids got hats to color.






We packed a picnic for the beach and headed to the lake.  It was a nice hot day and the kids went right to work playing hard and swimming in that icy cold water.  Our baby girl had a blast playing in the sand and even eating some of it.  She didn't mind it and kept going back for more.


After the beach they ran around in some huge pop fountains, we saw some pirates, and headed back to get dinner.  After the dinner was the birthday party for our son, with an ice cream bar, singing, and gifts.  He loved it.  Happy 8th Birthday Peanut Butter!!!

The last day we slept in, had waffles, and then went to the children's museum. They had a blast trying everything out.  The most time was spent in the apple picking area with a conveyor belt, wagon, and cash registers.

Good byes were hard and there were tears (mostly from me).  I pray we find a family that we hit it off with this well in Colorado.