Super Halloween!

Good fun with the family and friends! Started a new tradtion of dinner in a pumpkin. We were all a bit frightened at first, but it tasted great!
It was a Super Hero Night! Except of course for the little pumpkin Trey.

Brown-eyed Girl

The only one out of a family of Hazel eyes. They sure stand out dont they?...just like her little personality.
I was outside playing around with my focus points and settings on Stella. Only got a few good ones, Pippy's boots were buggin her and she wanted them OFF!

"Cleanliness is Close to Godliness..."

...whoever said that quote, was not a mom of 3 kids in a small house with way too many toys. And frankly...I dont like them right about now.
This room was clean at 7 am this morning. I woke with my normal Monday morning surge of productivity and cleaned it first off. It is now 2pm and this is how it looks.
I cleaned all weekend only to go to bed last night with a messy house again.
Sometimes I wonder why I even bother.
Completely having a pity party right now... I can not keep up!!!
Sometimes I just want the entire house to be completely picked up. But everytime I turn around the room I just picked up is cluttered again!
I know I am whining....just feeling discouraged right now, seriously to the point of tears.
Keeping the blog real I guess. Off to pick up the pile of buttons my computer chair keeps rolling over and find some chocolate.

Edited to add: How do you make a 4 & 5 yr old know they have to clean up everything they take out.? Or is is a lost cause by now?

Another Edit at 4pm: The kids got up from their quiet time and picked up the family room and their rooms...mamma's feeling much better. Pity Party over.

A Holiday Venture

So excited to share with you all a new extension of my business. Please feel free to share this link with all your friends and family.

www.winksink.blogspot.com

And here are a couple samples of my custom designed photo holiday cards:

Even a 5 Year Old can Notice...

Here's a little conversation I had with Em today after school.

Me: "What did you learn about today"
Em: "Little Miss Muffet"
Me: "Anything Else?"
Em: "No, just Little Miss Muffet. We don't learn about God."
Me: "Yes, I know. Is that sad?"
Em: "yeah"

Thankful today for the church our family is apart of, and for my up-bringing so that I can fill in the gaps that our "Laws" are creating for our future generations.

Hawaii Post # 7 "The Bride & Groom"

So here is what I think is my last Hawaii post. The Couple. For those of you confused by the Green Tent looking thing...it's a Kite...for Kite Boarding. Of which the couple are enthusiasts. We were actually praying that the wind would stay down the day of the wedding so we would not have to go out on the ocean searching for the Groom and his groomsmen to start the wedding. I think they actually brought the kite to the wedding site just in case ;).







Thanks again to Leslie and her camera Poncho for some of these pictures.

Hawaii Post # 6 "Amy"

I couldn't do another Hawaii post without dedicating one to Amy, the maid of honor, the sister of the bride and my friend. Why Amy? Well because her face takes up most of my memory card on my camera. Stella loved Amy and Amy loved Stella. (For those of you who dont know Stella, it's my camera.) I know she will be reading this and I can just see her mouth drop when she does. Are you embarrassed Amy?
I have known Amy for as long as I have known Ang, but more so as Angie's sister. I remember a Women's retreat years ago when I started to get to know the real Amy. See, she comes across quiet and reserved at first, she's really not. She's probably one of the funniest girls I know. She has a Quick Wit! She is smart, confident, level headed, with a solid faith I admire. She kept us in line during the trip, literally. We were usually seen following her around like little ducks since she seemed to always know where to go. I really think one of the highlights of my trip was getting to hang with her and gaining a new friend. I miss you Amy! Hope you love these pictures...hope your doggy-sitter likes some of them too ;)



(stay tuned for the last Hawaii post tomorrow "The Bride and Groom")

A Nude Painting

Fostering the love of Art anyway we can.

Pumpkin Patch, Pumpkin Patch, Pumpkin Patch

That's right THREE TIMES! And hopefully we are done for the year. I have taken a hundred pictures of my kids in this same field...they all kind of seem to look the same. So here are a few of my favorites. Some from the MOPS outing, our Care Group outing and Emery's trip with her class today. Happy Picking!

Ducks in the Urinals

That's right folks, Ty was so excited to aim and pee on the little rubber duckys some clever Coug fan placed in the Urinals. Totally cracks us fanatics up! Here's yet another game post with a ton of pictures. (sorry i've been bombarding you lately with pictures)

Notice the score board at the beginning of the game. "Ducks vs. Ducks" What the heck?


Love seeing the prayer huddle at the beginning of the game, and my friends all the way across the stadium.


Mike with one child crashed from a sugar high, and one daddies girl. Always on the phone, giving the play by play or celebrating a score with his friends. Also, a shot of him screaming at the refs. Oh Man!


And another crashed child, one with sugar all over her face, and one avoiding eye contact.



Go Cougs!! It was a great game!

Hawaii Post # 5 "The Bridesmaids"

And here we are. I thought I would shareAngie's sweet words about each of us in her wedding program. And Leslie, thanks for sending me your pictures. They are amazing!

AMY: SHE IS MY YOUNGER SISTER. WHEN WE WERE LITTLE I WAS TOTALLY THE BOSSY AND SOMETIMES EVEN MEAN SISTER. MY MOM USED TO REMIND ME THAT SOME DAY I WOULD BE THANKFUL FOR MY SISTERS, THAT THEY WOULD ALWAYS BE THERE AND LOVE ME. OF COURSE I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT SHE WAS TELLING ME AND I WAS EVEN A BIT ANNOYED BY THOSE COMMENTS. NOW I GET IT. SHE PUT UP WITH A LOT HAVING ME AS HER OLDER SISTER. AS WE HAVE BECOME ADULTS SHE HAS GRACIOUSLY FORGIVEN ME FOR THOSE YEARS, THANKFULLY. I AM HONORED TO HAVE HER AS MY SISTER. SHE HAS SUCH A SWEET GENTLE SPIRIT ABOUT HER. SHE HAS TAUGHT ME SO MUCH BY HER ACTIONS AND ATTITUDE. I ADMIRE HER AND EVEN LOOK UP TO HER. THANK YOU SO MUCH AIM FOR BEING MY LOVING SISTER. I CAN’T IMAGINE LIFE WITH OUT YOU!!

LESLIE: I MET LES WHEN I WAS IN 4TH GRADE AT CHURCH. AT FIRST WE DIDN’T LIKE EACH OTHER BUT THANKFULLY THAT DIDN’T LAST LONG. WE WENT TO DIFFERENT SCHOOLS BUT ALWAYS MADE TIME TO GET TOGETHER. WE WERE PRETTY MUCH INSEPARABLE. FROM BIKE RIDES TO MCDONALDS, BABYSITTING TOGETHER, AND OF COURSE SHOPPING, EVEN IN OUR YOUNGER YEARS. THEN ROAD TRIPS TO VISIT OUR FRIEND SHANNON WHERE EVER SHE HAPPENED TO BE AT THE TIME. EVENTUALLY LES BECAME PART OF OUR FAMILY FOR REAL WHEN SHE MARRIED MY COUSIN CHRIS. WITH OUR LIVES SO BUSY NOW WE STILL MAKE TIME TO SEE EACH OTHER AS MUCH AS WE CAN. SHE IS A WONDERFUL MOM OF TWO GIRLS MAGGIE AND AVA WHO BRING SO MUCH JOY TO MY LIFE. I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH MANY FRIENDSHIPS … BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE RELATIONSHIP I HAVE WITH LES IS DIFFERENT. SHE IS THE MEANING OF A TRUE FRIEND. THANK YOU LES FOR BLESSING MY LIFE SO MUCH. YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME.

SHANNON: I MET SHANNON AT CHURCH. SHE IS A FEW YEARS OLDER SO I DIDN’T GET TO KNOW HER UNTIL I REACHED JR. HIGH. SHE WAS THE “COOL” ONE I WANTED TO HANG OUT WITH, BUT DIDN’T IMAGINE WE WOULD DEVELOP SUCH AN AMAZING FRIENDSHIP. THE MAJORITY OF OUR FRIENDSHIP HAS CONSISTED OF VISITS TO SEE EACH OTHER AS SHE WENT TO WSU FOR 4 YEARS, MOVED BACK TO SEATTLE BRIEFLY BEFORE MEETING THE MAN OF HER DREAMS AND MOVING TO LAS VEGAS AND THEN OREGON. SHE NOW HAS 3 DARLING KIDS; EMERY, TY, AND PIPER. WITH ALL OF THE MILES IN BETWEEN US OUR FRIENDSHIP IS SOLID. SHE IS HONEST (SOMETIMES SCARY HONEST…BUT IT IS A GOOD THING) LOYAL, LOVING, AND LOTS OF FUN. IN MY LIFE THERE ARE TWO FRIENDS THAT I HOLD CLOSE TO MY HEART AS THEY ARE DIFFERENT FROM MY OTHER FRIENDS, SHAN IS ONE OF THEM. THANKS SHAN FOR YOUR INFLUENCE IN MY LIFE AND FOR OUR FOREVER FRIENDSHIP.