Movie!

Travis is off from work for a few days this week. He has a much needed break. Today we took the kids to a movie. This was a real treat as we do not go to the movies very often. The last movie we seen in the theater was Shrek the Third. That was probably two years ago. Today we seen Marley and Me. It was a very funny, cute and sad movie. I of course cried almost through the whole movie. I'm such a cry baby. I cry in all movies and tv shows. But this one was sad not just for me but for Travis too. He didn't cry though. But it tugged at his heart strings. I want tell you about it in case you plan to see it. I do highly recommend it. I seen mixed reviews some people said it was not very appropriate for kids, but my kids didn't pick up on any adult content that was there.

Let me just say when we came home we gave Cody and Chi Chi some much needed loving. I'm sure lots of dogs get lots of attention after that movie.

Finally back to normal!!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and spent lots of time with loved ones. We had a really great Christmas, but its good to get back to normal. We started our festivities on Tuesday night and had something everyday through yesterday, Friday. That was five places total because we went to two on Christmas day. We feel very blessed that we have so many loved ones to spend the holidays with, but sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. Now we have to make room for all the new things that the kids recieved.

They really had a wonderful Christmas. Santa brought Colton a 22 rifle for youth and gun stuff. He was so excited he is really getting into hunting now. He got a hunting light and coon squaller from his grandparents. So he is ready for the woods. He got tons more but I can't remember everything.

Santa brought Emma her first sewing machine. She was so excited because she threw a holy fit for it in Jo Ann's a few months back, so I went back and got it. She also got an art easel, that I found at an antique store. It's not an antique and it was practically brand new, with a chalkboard on one side and dry erase on the other. She loved it. She also got some holly hobbie stuff and clothes. She got tons more too.



Overall we had a wonderful Christmas and I think everyone got exactly what they wanted.

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE...BRR!!!

It's incredibly cold out today. In the 30's with wind chills down in the single digits. But on Christmas Day it's supposed to get back up to the fifties and sixties. Crazy...I would like to have a little snow for Christmas. I don't think either one of my kids have gotten to experience any snow at Christmas time. Well neither one of them have seen much snow at all. The past few years our winters have been really mild. Anyway I guess I won't complain. I know that people up north are digging out of lots of snow and would probably like 60 degree weather for Christmas. We are never happy...when it comes to weather anyway!

Christmas, What It Means To Me!

C hrist child- the reason for the season!

H ome the best place to be with family!

R ich not with money, but too many blessings to count!

I s the most wonderful time of year!

S leigh bells ring...are you listening!

T oys, toys, and more toys!

M omma's Christmas breakfast...Yummy!

A nother year of health and happiness for our family!

S weets for everyone!

Okay so on my last post I hadn't gotten into the spirit of Christmas yet. Well I have finally gotten there the weekend before Christmas. I finished my shopping on Wednesday and I baked my cookies for the teachers. I wrapped a few presents, but still have the kids to do. Why did I not wrap them during the day while they were at school? Now I have to try to sneak around to wrap them with the kids here. Sometimes I'm not very smart.

I was just thinking about what Christmas means and this was a few things. I want our Christmas to be about Jesus' birth most importantly, but also family and love. We have so much to be thankful for this year and I want to be sure that we remember it. We may of not been able to spend hundreds of dollars on our kids for Christmas, but they are still very lucky there are many kids that don't get anything. We all seem to stress so much and think we have to get them exactly everything they ask for or they aren't going to be happy. But you know what if we have raised them to be greatful and appreciate all that they have and recieve then they should be happy with anything. I think parents make a bigger deal about Christmas than the kids. I mean the people that paid hundreds of dollars for a Tickle me Elmo a few years back were crazy. They were trying to buy there kids love. Yeah maybe the kid cried and begged for it, but so what. It takes the parents to say no, I still love you but your not getting a stuffed animal that I have to pay five hundred dollars for. Where do you draw the line. If your willing to pay that much for a stuffed animal for a four year old, what will her first car be, a porshe.

We all need to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. Its not about toys, Santa, reindeer, food and candy. It's Jesus' birthday and if it wasn't for him we would not have eternal life in heaven.

We have really tried to make Christmas fun for our kids without overdoing it. Some may think we spend too much and some may think we are horrible parents and don't spend enough. This year we spent a little more on Colton, but Emma has more presents. We spent $150.00 on Colton and $120.00 on Emma. Not much of a difference and they will never know. Its so hard to keep it completely fair. But like I said before our kids do not get stuff all the time, so when they do they are greatful for what they get. I hope so anyway.

The Christmas Spirit!!

I don't know about anyone else, but I have had the hardest time getting in the Christmas spirit this year. I thought it would be better after we got our tree up, but we put it up Wednesday and I still don't feel the spirit yet. It just doesn't feel like it can possibly be Christmas yet. I mean it feels like this year has just started and now its already over. Man the older I get the faster time flies.

I have done better with my gifts this year than in past years. Usually I wait til the week before Christmas to do any shopping. I don't know why I do this to myself, but I guess I'm just a procrastinator. But this year I've done so much better. I only have a few things to get my kids and stocking stuffers. Then I have 4 kids to buy for at my husband's grandparents and my niece. We decided to only buy for the kids at my parents house and the other houses we only buy for the kids but we draw names so we don't have to buy for all of them. It's much easier on everyone this way. So I think I will be able to get the few presents that I still need probably Wednesday or Thursday when I go to town.

I have been so disgusted with the toys that are out for kids now. Everything is so cheaply made but cost so much. My kids don't play with anything. Emma plays more than Colton, she likes My Little Pony and Barbie and girl stuff. Colton never plays with any toys. I don't know what to do with him. He likes to play the playstation and watch tv, but we limit it. He just isn't into anything, like most kids. I will post at a later date what we got them, in case they read this. I doubt they would but you never know.

Well hopefully I can get in the spirit this week and get the things done that I need to. Like bake cookies for the teachers and wrap presents and finish shopping. Hope all of you are in the Christmas spirit and ready for the holidays. Have a great week and get lots accomplished!!

Happy Birthday Colton!!

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. Been a little busy.

My firstborn turned 8 yesterday:( Oh my goodness how sad. He's growing up so fast. It seems like just yesterday when I seen that beautiful little baby with the headful of black hair. He was the sweetest thing I had ever seen. That was the day my whole world changed, for good. That was the day I became a mom. The best, hardest and most rewarding job in the world.

Colton is the sweetest little boy. He has the biggest heart and can totally melt yours with his smile and beautiful blue eyes. His teachers have said they have the hardest time ever getting on to him for anything because he flashes those big blue eyes at them and they just melt. Of course he is not perfect he has his moments like all kids, but he was defiantly my easy baby. He might show me different during the teenage years, but I pray that we have done a good job and will always remember the things he has been taught.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!!! I Love YOU more than you will ever know!!

Thank you for making me a Mommy!! Love-Mom

Thanksgiving Blessings!!

My family and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope you all did also. I know that I gained at least 10 pounds:( Thats the down side of all the wonderful food.

I have been thinking about all that I have to be thankful for. I really have too many things to list. I'm so fortunate and blessed to be a wife and mother. To be a Christian and have the love of my savior and to live in the USA. I'm thankful for everyone that is close to me in my life and very lucky to have lots of family and friends.

Thanksgiving is a time to remember all we have and think about the less fortunate. Again I'm so very blessed and thankful for everything that I have. I'm very lucky and need to remember that each and everyday.

Thanksgiving MySpace Comments




Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and eat lots of turkey. Remember to be Thankful for all you have and remember the less fortunate. Have a great day!!!

My little man had his tooth pulled today. It was so sad. He cried the whole time. He said he could feel everything. The dr said he could only feel pressure and not pain, but he said he could feel the pain. It was so hard on me I was crying right along with him. Usually he is very tough when there is real pain involved, its the things that are little that he normally whines about. I know he was really hurting to act the way he did.

He's still puffed up and starting to turn purple around his eye. Tomorrow it will probably look like he was in a fight. He seems to be feeling better now and slowly getting back to hisself, now that he has pain medication in his system. Hopefully he will be back to normal by Turkey Day, I would hate for him to miss all of the good food.

Emma returned to school today. She seemed to be doing really well this morning and her sores on her face looked better today. I just pray that the antibiotics work and it doesn't spread anymore. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

What a horrible day!

Today was not a good day. I spent the morning at the dr and dentist office with my kids. First off Emma has had a cold for about two weeks now. She hasn't coughed much or complained with sore throat, it has just been a very yucky runny nose. Last week she started developing some sores around her mouth and I thought they were just cold sores or fever blisters at first. Then they started spreading and getting worse looking, so I thought it could be impetigo, because Colton had that one time when he was little. I would have taken her to the dr last week but my husband said it was nothing and I was being paranoid. Well what did he know. I took her today and she has a staph infection that could quite possibly be MRSA. That is so scary to me, but having a mother and sister as nurses they reassured me that she would be okay. The dr wasn't able to culture it because none of her sore were infected and oozy anymore. But I'm supposed to bring her back if they get that way.

So that was Emma now for Colton. He started complaining last Thursday or Friday about a tooth that was hurting him. Well I didn't think it was really anything because he is losing his teeth and also getting some molars in. Plus he is a little on the dramatic side when anything hurts so I really thought he was making it worse than what it was. Well guess what! He woke up this morning looking like a chipmunk. His little cheek was swelled so much. He also complained with a headache and sore throat. I took him to the dr first to make sure it wasn't a sinus infection. The dr said no its a tooth. So then to the dentist. He said it was an absess in the tooth he had filled in June. The dentist had said then that the cavity was really deep and may cause problems in the future, but he had put a medicated filling in it and thought that would last until he lost that tooth. Well he was put on antibiotics and has to go have it pulled at 8:00 tomorrow morning at a pediatric dentist that is an hour away. That will be fun and it may be bad weather tonight so that will be just so fun trying to get there that far away.

I felt so horrible about both of them being worse than I figured and just pray that they both get better and not worse. Especially Emma's because that could be very bad. The dr said she will be okay to return to school tomorrow. Colton's is bad too, but he will be taken care of tomorrow. Please keep my babies in your prayers and me so i don't lose my mind!! Thanks.

Here is my Poor Little Chipmunk!! It looks much worse in person than this picture.

It's Winter!!!

This is what I awoke to this morning. Its just a little dusting, but its always exciting to see the first little snow of the season. Of course the kids would have been more excited if school was closed or at least late:(

Homemade Bread and Banana Muffins!!

Yummy!! Last night I made roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade amish bread, and banana nut muffins. It was sooo good. The bread was Amish white bread the recipe was from www.allrecipes.com and it was so good and easy to make. The muffin recipe was also from the same site.

I think Travis was impressed to come home to such a good meal. The way he works he's only here Tuesday and Wednesday nights for supper, so when he is here I try to make it special. I love big comfort meals like this during the fall. But I really need to stay away from them so I can fit in my clothes:(

First Lost Tooth!!

My little man lost his first tooth. Yes he pulled it in the bathtub, which helped not get blood on anything. He was so excited. We was beginning to think he would never loose any, because he will be 8 next month. He was the only kid in his class that had not lost a tooth. Now he will go to school and show off his hole where a tooth once was.

Congratulations Colton you sure are growing up!! By the way it must have been a really good tooth, because the tooth fairy gave him two dollars!! Way to go, Colton:)

Now Emma is ready to loose a tooth!

Need Help!!

So I need a little help from you all out there in blogland:) I am going through some of my kids clothes and toys (to make room for more) and they have some nice things that I don't want to take to the Goodwill. I would like to sale the stuff on ebay, but have never sold anything on there before and need help.

I'm set up to sale and I have a paypal account. I just need to know about shipping costs and anything else that may help to know. I would really like to make a little extra money for the holidays, so any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you to all of my little bloggy friends.

Late Halloween Pictures!!

Don't you love how you can see only one eye on the old man. Creapy!!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Here is the Halloween pictures of the kids. Emma was a princess of course and Colton was a creapy old man.

The other pictures are from Colton's school program. He did such a good job. I'm very proud of the sweet, caring little boy he is. He's so full of life and happy all the time. I Love Him so much. I Love Emma so much too. I'm a very lucky mommy.

My Little Hunter!!

Colton and his Papa Danny (my dad) after the big coon hunt last night. My in-laws took the pictures. Colton thinks coon huntin' is the funnest thing ever. Last night was the first time they got the coon and skinned it. My dad told Colton they would dry the hides and sale them and let Colton have the money out of them. He was really excited.

In the pictures I can't tell who is the happiest Colton or Papa Danny:)

I deeply apologize to anyone that is anti-hunting or just really loves raccoons. But when you grow up in the country you get used to all the hunting and killing of cute wildlife. Sorry if it affends anyone, its not my intentions!!

Pear Preserves!!

A few weeks ago we went with my parents to pick pears at one of my dads friends house. The kids really had a lot of fun. The pear tree was way back in this cow field that we had to drive the truck through and open several gates. The kids loved it because we let them ride on the back of the truck through the field. I guess it was the first time they ever rode the back of a truck. They loved it. We could hear them giggling the whole time.

I was pretty impressed with my dad. He acted like he was fifteen climbing up that big ladder to pick the pears. Me and my mom stood at the bottom saying, "Don't you fall and get hurt." But no one got hurt, Thank God, and we ended up with lots of pears.

The pears weren't ready yet so mom and dad put them in there cellar to get ripe. I went to get some yesterday and they were starting to go bad. I got a little over half a five gallon bucket full.

Anyway I made some pear preserves and ended up with 6 pints and two quart bags of pears for the freezer. My preserves taste really good, but are a little bit runny. I'm not sure why I followed all the directions. But they will be okay.

Potatoes...and...t-shirts!!

Wow. Today is absolutely beautiful. It's in the low 80's in mid October. So I got outside for a little bit and dug all the potatoes from the garden. We ended up with almost two five gallon buckets full. Now I have to figure out where to store them.

A few years ago I seen on Martha Stewart, these women that were using potatoes as stamps to make t-shirts for kids. Well I thought that was the cutest idea ever. Since I have a few taters I decided to try it. I think they turned out pretty cute. That was the easiest craft project I've ever done. It only took ten minutes to make two of them. Pretty cool. Hopefully the kids will wear them. Colton's is the one with jack-o-lantern on it. Emma has a field trip to the pumpkin patch and this would just be the cutest shirt to wear.

I sure hope they like them.

Apple Bread!!

Today I made some wonderful apple bread. I love it, it tastes more like cake than bread, but it is so good and easy. I got the recipe last fall from Hobby Farm Homes Magazine. I love that magazine, when I can find it.

The apples were from my dad. Colton went with him to cut wood on Saturday and they stopped by the produce stand to get apples and Colton told him to buy me a whole bag, which was half a bushel. Thanks Colton I love apples. And Thank you Daddy.

Heres the recipe:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 cups apples, peeled and sliced
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Prepare two loaf pans by greasing, then dusting the inside with flour.

Combine the flour, apples, eggs, sugar, oil, salt, vanilla, and baking soda and mix well. Pour into prepared loaf pans. Bake at 300 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire racks.

Yield: 2 loaves

ENJOY!!

Are you Worried?

Everytime you turn on the news we hear about the bailout of the economy. Okay I'm not very smart when it comes to economic stuff. But I don't think this bailout thing seems like a very good idea. I do think something needs to be done before it gets worse. But why should us taxpayers have to bailout these money, hungry pigs on wall street.

If you go to www.daveramsey.com he tells you how to contact your senators and congressmen and let them know you do not want this. He has some other ideas that seem to be much better than what the president has come up with.

I think they need to figure more and not jump into anything too fast. It's all politics anyway and they really don't care about us regular Americans.

Okay enough of the ranting just some thoughts from a lonely, old housewife that watches too much news!!

More Canning!!!

I have been busy again today. Canning tomatoes and making applesauce. I diced the tomatoes and canned them. I decided just to freeze the applesauce, because I didn't want to quit my canning to go to my sisters to get more cans. She has very generously said that I can have some cans and I will need to get them soon. So I made the applesauce and am making jelly from the apple peels. I found the recipe on http://bethany.preciousinfants.com/ and I'm really excited about it. Its nice to find multiple uses of one item. Here are some pictures.

"Canned tomatoes and applesauce"

"The goodies in my pantry"

My New Baby!!

Check out my new baby!! She is so precious. She's supposed to be the kids puppy but she is kind of spoiled to my lap. All she wants to do is lay in my lap all the time. She is just like a baby , she loves to be cuddled and wrapped up like a baby. Her name is Chi -Chi, she is a Mt. Fiest and just the cutest little doggy ever.

CANNING, CANNING AND CANNING!!

I have been a wee bit busy here the last few days. I have been canning. Last year was the first year that I ever canned anything and I loved it. I have been canning alot this year too.

This week my parents gave me two five gallon buckets full of tomatoes. Wow. I'm not complaining though, I was thrilled. My tomatoes just aren't doing anything much. It may be because the sun can't get to them through the weeds. I promise my garden that I will do better next year.

So with the first bucket of tomatoes I made 10 quarts of tomato juice. Today I made 14 quarts of salsa and still have half a bucket of tomatoes left. I guess I will make the pizza sauce recipe from www.tammysrecipes.com as soon as I get some more jars.

I know some people think that canning is not worth it. Well it is a lot of work but I feel that it is worth it. It is actually kind of fun. Maybe I have just been raised with the importance of raising a garden and canning and freezing the food for use all year long. It makes me feel less dependant on the stores for things and feel kind of self sufficent.

I recently purchased a food mill from an antique store for $10. It was just like the kind that are for sale at stores for $35. The one that I got was in really good shape just needed a good cleaning. It was really neat using it. For one it worked perfectly. But it was also kind of neat thinking about the woman that used it before me. Was she a mother or grandmother putting food away for her family? Was canning a necessary way of life for providing food for her family or was it just a hobby that she liked? Maybe she did it for the health benefits. Or maybe that was how she was raised and knew no other way.

I know that with the time put into raising and caring for a garden and then having to harvest the produce and can or freeze it is a lot of work. I'm sure that I could buy the items at the grocery store for a lot less work and effort. But to me its so rewarding to know that I can go to my cabinets and pull out my own jar of salsa, or pickles, or jam or tomato juice. It also taste so much better than the stores.

So if you have never tried your hand at canning, I challenge you to try it. Either you will hate it or love it. As for me I love it.

Happy Anniversary Honey!!!

Today is our anniversary. We have been married nine years. It's really hard to believe that we have been together for a decade. We were together for almost a year before we were married. In some aspects it seems like we have been married for a century though.



We were married very young, I was 18 and he was 19. We had Colton just over a year after we were married. Things have defiantly not been easy over the years, but it has been fun. Well its fun most of the time:)



Travis and I truly are soul mates. I know that we were destined to be together long before we knew. He is an amazing husband. Yes he has his faults ( a lot). But so do I. But he is very good to me, he works so hard so that I can stay at home with our children, he loves to buy me things and spoil me (when we can afford it). I never have to worry about him going out and drinking or doing drugs or fooling around. When he is off he is spending his time with me and the kids.



We have been through a lot over the years and with each tragedy or hard time I think we have just gotten stronger and learned to depend on each other more. Marriage is not easy, but when you find the right person it makes it easier. I know I have found that right person.



I know we will face harder times in the future, but with Travis by my side I can get through anything.



I Love You so much Honey!! You are the one I dream of sitting on the front porch with and watching the sunset when we are old and gray. Happy Anniversary!!

I tried to post some pictures, but for some reason its not working.

I wish I had my Camera!!

Saturday evening around 6:00 the kids and I were heading to the grocery store. We were on a small road a few miles from our house and you will never believe what we saw. We saw a momma bear and four baby bears. I could not believe it. It was so cool.



Well it was cool since we were in the car, but it would have been really scary if we were in the middle of the woods. It seems that black bear keep getting more and more populated in our area. We are already completely over run with deer, now it will be bear too.



It was still exciting seeing them and the kids were really excited. I pulled off on the side of the road to see if we could see them in the woods and Emma started crying, she was scared they could get in the car. Now Travis wishes he could see them. Too bad I didn't have my camera, well its probably good because I would have wrecked trying to take a picture.

I Survived!!

So the big day came and went and I'm still here. I did better than I thought I would, I only cried a little as I seen the big yellow bus pull away with my babies. But Emma had a wonderful first day of school and can't wait to go back on Monday.

Her second day didn't go as well. School was great, but she got scared on the bus. She was so pitiful telling me about a first grader that wanted her to be his girlfriend and he tried to kiss her. But her big brother was sitting with her and he protected her. I just hope he's still protecting her in say...8-10 years.

The Big Day is Almost Here:(

I'm still here. No I haven't been out of the country all summer, just hanging around in VA. I just really haven't felt like blogging much. We have been kind of busy. We've went to the lake with my parents a few times and camping once. But mostly I have been busy gardening. I have made tons of pickles. I made sweet pickle spears, cucumber sandwich pickles, pickle relish and zucchini pickles. Speaking of zucchini, this was my first year planting it and all I can say is WOW. We had enough zucchini for an army and a half. I tried giving it away and it seems you can't give the stuff away. So I made some pickles and froze some, I shredded and froze some for zucchini bread and we ate alot. But you kind of get tired of it after a while. I also picked lots of blueberries from my mom and dads and froze some and made some jam.

So the rest of the garden hasn't done as well as the cucumbers and zucchini and squash. We have tons of tomatoes, but they are still just as green as can be. I really hope they ripen soon because I really want to make some more salsa. It was soooo good. Our corn is looking hopeful but still kind of weak, I hope we have some, last year what we did have got ate up by bugs, hope that doesn't happen again. Our green beans were not good at all. I'm not sure what kind they were, but they were tough and had no flavor and I even tried to pick them before they got too big.

Every year the garden is a learning experience and I'm trying to figure it out each year. Next year my garden is going to Rock. Well it kind of does Rock now....lots of ROCKS.

So I've been really sad this week. I think I've mentioned this once or twice or five hundred times, but my baby starts kindergarten this year, and the big day is only 6 days away. I'm trying to stay strong for her sake, she is so excited. But it is so hard. I have been at home with her since she was born and I'm not going to know what to do without her. I didn't have as hard of a time with Colton, because I still had Emma, but now I don't have a baby at all.

Don't get me wrong, there has been days this summer that I can't wait for school to start. Especially when I here "Mommy, Colton pulled my hair, and stuck his tongue out at me." or "Mommy, Emma pinched me" or "Mommy, Colton called me stupid." Yeah that gets very annoying. Maybe I will like the house all too myself. Wow I want know what to do.

Emma has gotten really bad a tattling here lately. At their school the kindergarteners have to wear a tail pinned on their backside if they tattle. So I have a feeling my little girl may be wearing the tattletail a lot. Hopefully not. I'm just praying we have a good school year.

Pray for me as the big day arrives, that I stay strong and remember they all have to grow up and she will love school.

I forgot to post about two weeks ago our other kitty Mr. Whiskers died. We found him dead in the barn. He didn't have any marks or anything like he had been attacked. The only thing we think that could have happened was he may have found rat poisioning that we had put out last year. We had it under things so the dog couldn't get it but the kitty could probably get in those areas where Cody couldn't.

We all were very sad. He was so cute and friendly and we had already gotten attached to him. Now we have decided we don't want anymore kitties. Even though my parents say that we can have the momma cat that keeps them supplied with kitties. We are thinking about getting her, but we don't know if we should even try that. Three kitties dying in a month is a little much. I think we just aren't very good at keeping cats.

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Sorry it's been a while, Again. Busy summer.



Well today is my birthday. I'm 27 today. I don't feel any older, yet. I have recently gotten several nice things though for my birthday.



My real birthday present from hubby was a clothesline. I know it doesn't sound like anything really special, but I love it. And hubby made a wonderful one. When he makes something he does it the right way so it will last forever. This one defiantly should. I love it. It has really helped me to keep my laundry under control, because it has six lines and I can hang lots of clothes at one time so its really nice and fun. That sounds weird saying hanging out clothes is fun, but so far it really is.



Okay and my other present was a new stove for my kitchen. It wasn't planned for, just had too. Our old stove was given to my husband by his great grandmother when he moved in to our house. We figured it to be at least 30 years old or older. It has really never worked too good, but it made due for almost 9 years of marriage. That is until Sunday morning when I was fixing cinnamon rolls for the kids and the stove made this horrible noise and then fire and sparks started shooting out of the sides of the oven. It scared me to death. But I quickly turned the oven off and it quit. The heating element in the bottom of the oven burned into. We decided that instead of trying to find an element we would retire the old stove and buy a new one.



I love my new stove. It's a white smooth top Fridgedaire brand. I can't believe that it can boil water in like 4-5 minutes, with my old stove it took at least 30 minutes to boil water and that was on a good day, sometimes it was longer.



So I received a clothesline and stove this week. When we went to Tennessee I also got a lot of things. A set of Henkels kitchen knives, a pair of Olukai sandals, Native sunglasses and a carpet sweeper. So this past month I have been really spoiled. The amount of money that we have spent this month is not normal. Please do not think we buy like this all the time. My blog is about trying to get thrifty, for pete's sake. But we were needing some things and while we were on vacation we decided to go ahead and get things that I really like that was good quality and last a long time. So it was a one time splurge. My knives and sunglasses have lifetime warranties, so that helps knowing if something should happen to them I can get another for free.



Besides a clothesline is thrifty, isn't it!

We're BACK!!

We just got home from the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. We really had a great time, but are totally pooped. We were busy all week and didn't get to the room before 10:30 any night. But it was well worth it and we really had fun.

Wednesday we went to Dollywood. It was lots of fun. Colton was so excited he finally is 48" tall and could ride all of the rides. He wanted to ride the roller coasters first thing. We figured he would chicken out before getting on them, (he is scared of lots of things), but he didn't. He absolutely loved the coasters and rode them at least 10 times. He was completely hooked. Travis and I are so proud, we love roller coasters too.

Emma also was very brave. She was able to ride a smaller roller coaster called the blazing fury. It goes through a dark burning building and then the track is out and you fall straight down into water and get wet. We didn't think she would like it, because it is kind of scary, but she loved it and rode at least 6 times. She even fell before getting on one time and skinned her little knees up really bad, but she still rode. She was with daddy that time and when she came back to me she had blood from her knees to her ankles and it was still bleeding pretty bad. Travis was going to bring her back to me before the ride, but she insisted on riding. She said if she would have been with me instead of her daddy, that I wouldn't have let her ride. She's probably right, mommies are mean that way.

We had fun walking around Gatlinburg and we watched the midnight fourth of July parade and fireworks, which was a lot of fun. We did some shopping and a whole lot eating. I probably gained 10 pounds. Overall we had a very nice vacation and really appreciated our in laws for taking us.

Well when we got home we had some not so good things happen. First my parents came and fed our dog and kitties on Friday morning and they couldn't find one of the kitties. We was hoping and praying all the way home that it would be here, but it wasn't. My neighbor had found it Thursday morning ran over in the road. Our hearts just broke when we heard and then having to break it to the kids. This was Emma's kitty and she was so excited to get home to see it. She was upset, but overall took it very well. We called Granny she has one kitten left and said we can have it if we can catch it. It's pretty wild. I sure hope we can catch it.

If another kitty dies we are calling it quits on the cat department.

The other really, really, bad horrible thing that happened was...I don't even want to type it, it's so bad. Okay here it goes...there was a snake in our house. YUCK!!! SCARRY!!! SCARRY!!!
When we went open our front door it was curled up and went through a crack under the door. It was very small, like a garden snake or grass snake. But it doesn't matter what size, shape, color or if it was poisionous or not the fact is it was a SNAKE. A nasty slimey, creapy, crawley, reptile in my house.

My big strong hubby killed it and took it outside. Then I made him fix the door so no more could get in. Now I'm scared to go to bed. What if there is more? OOH! I think I want to move.

Okay so I'm being a little over dramatic. But come on why would anyone want those nasty creatures as a pet.

The whole reasoning behind getting cats is so they will kill the mice and birds in the barn so we want have snakes. All I can say is Mr. Whiskers better get to work!!

Getting ready for Vacation!!

I'm still here. It's been a while since I posted last.

We are going on vacation:) Our in laws are taking us to Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Dollywood. We are so excited. We usually go to Tennessee every year for a few days but this year we will stay 4 nights, so we will have more time to do things. My kids are so excited, they love Dollywood. Okay Hubby and I do too. Thanks so much to my mother and father in law for taking us every year, they really have helped us out alot over the years and this is just one other way. Thanks a bunch.

Also my mother in law called me yesterday to let me know she had paid for me a pedicure at a local salon. Oh my little tootsies need some serious attention. Ever since I have gotten married and had children I haven't taken care of myself and one way is my feet. They are so rough and cracked, from walking around my home barefoot all the time. I'm really excited to get them pampered a little bit. Thanks Becky I greatly appreciate it.

I really have a great family. My parents, my in laws, my sister, my niece and all of the other people in my life are so wonderful. Thank you all so much for all you do for me and our family. I Love you all so much and am very greatful to have such wonderful people in my life.

Kitty pictures!!

I finally got pictures of the kitties. I couldn't get any of the kids holding them though. They are normally much cuter, but they had been taking a bath in their water bowl.