Wow, what a Christmas!  We had planned to stay the night at my parent's house on Christmas Eve (not unusual) and then as time went on we kept adding in a day..we ended up going down there (to Boise, 30 min away) last Tuesday (22nd) and stayed all the way up to today, the 27th!  We just couldn't make ourselves leave.  It was a great time.  We had SO much fun.  Played Scrabble everyday..different people joined us for games over the week.  We also played some other games with the family which were super fun!  We watched movies, chatted, ate like royalty, played ping pong, the kids played with clay and made cookies with Mom, my dad set up a huge tent outside, J got in some LaCrosse time with my brother Jon, my sister in law came and cut and dyed Ashley's hair, Mom and I dyed our own hair...we just had an amazing time!!!


In the middle of our stay we had other things planned in town.  We went over and helped make tamales on the 23rd and then went back over on Christmas Eve to eat them with Chris' Dads side of the family.  Had a great time.  Then, back home for Scrabble. :)  Then the day after Christmas we went over to Chris' maternal Grandparents' house for a dinner and gifts.  Was good to see everyone. 


Then today we all went downtown to Brick Oven Bistro for Chris' birthday lunch, then back home to Mom n Dad's for cake.  He had an awesome time!  I think we will have cake for quite some time.  And, that's ok with me.  Just as long as it's gone by the next round of bdays which start early January. 


It was sad to leave Mom n Dad's today.  We were all feeling a bit bittersweet about it.  It's always nice to come back and sleep in our own beds, but we have such a great time with them and being able to see my brothers, sils, niece and nephew, my Gramma and Uncle.  We just don't get to see them very often, even though we only live 30 min away. 


So, anyway, once we got home we unloaded everything and I took a nice hot shower.  Then Chris' brother Dave and his family came over for our yearly gift exchange.  It's just us..and that's the way we like it :)  We get to wait until after all the hustle and bustle of the holiday is over and then just enjoy eachother.  So, we ate lil smokies, drank coffee, visited and opened presents.  The kids had so much fun playing.  Then they went home, Ash went off to her friends' house and J barely made it up to bed in time..he just about fell alseep standing up.  Hubby and I played a game of Scrabble (I dominated) and now we're just relaxing doing our own thing.  Life is back to "normal". :)


Tomorrow is Chris' actual birthday.  I'm making him a special breakfast in the morning and then taking him out for a movie, lunch and shopping after that.  He's super excited :)  We will see Sherlock Holmes.  Can't wait for our date!  We have a full slate.


Something amazing happened tonight.  Sadie was sleeping by the couch and Greta walked up to her and layed down snuggling into Sadies neck.  AND SADIE DIDN'T JUMP UP AND LEAVE!!!!  Chris and I were so excited we couldn't even stand it.  I ran downstairs for the camera and took quite a few pics.  It only lasted about 5 minutes (maybe because of the non stop flashing of the camera in their eyes), but we have hope now that one day Sadie will love her baby sis.  Ahh...dogs.


In the middle of Scrabble tonight I got a call from our friend Tierney.  She told me that she got engaged tonight!  We are so thrilled for her and Michael.  We have permagrin.  They are just the sweetest couple and one that we have no doubt will last forever.  They are absolutely perfect for eachother.


Well, I hope your Christmas was just as spectacular as ours..and that you found many reasons to be joyful.  But that most of all, that you remembered the true meaning of it all..Jesus!  He is so faithful.  Tonight,  my cup runneth over.

My Top 10 Disney/DisneyPixar Movies

Ash put up a blog with her 10 fave Disney/DisneyPixar movies and asked us to all do the same.  In order from most fave to least fave.  So here are mine.  What are yours?

1.The Greatest Game Ever Played
2. The Chronicles of Narnia
3. Mary Poppins
4. The Parent Trap (original)
5. Pollyanna
6. Swiss Family Robinson
7. Miracle
8. The Fox and the Hound
9. Lady and the Tramp
10. Heavyweights

It was so hard to put these in order from most to least because I would watch any of them at any time!  Love them all.

I'm so thankful for the encouragers in my life.  And so thankful for good sounding boards.  And for people who will tell me, "No, you are wrong in this, and here's why."  Or, "You are right, that was totally not correct and you were good to question it."  Honesty will take you far in a relationship with me.  But, encouragment is a magnificent thing.  And, an encouragER is simply divine.  When things get me down, when words are twisted, when situations blown out of proportion, when gossips start flapping their poison...sometimes it just takes a hug or a simple word of encouragement to turn it all around and remind me that God is still on the throne, and He still understands.  And He still loves me, and He still understands me.  And most importantly that HE knows the truth and the intent in my heart.  And that no matter how the world spins my words and intent, He is not swayed.  He knows.  And, that needs to be enough.  And, it is. 

Christmas Newsletter 2009

Here is the info from our Christmas Newsletter this year..thought I would post it for those of you who I don't have email addresses for...Good Heavens, it looks really long when all shoved into this tiny blog.  Oh well, I've never been good at editing things down. 



Without further ado, here’s the latest and greatest..

Ashley’s doing wonderfully in school this year, and enjoys hanging out with friends in her spare time. She’s still involved in Teen Bible Quiz & doing very well, as always. Ash is also having a great time with her church drama team. They’ve had a great performance already, with many more to come. If you are in the area, please try to attend one of the performances. You won’t be disappointed! Ash also loves to sing movie songs & make up silly dances with her friend, Bradee. When those 2 girls get together there isn’t a dull moment! We love the energy they bring! Ash still loves to draw & is continuing to grow into a great writer. She’s always up for trying to beat Daddy at movie/music trivia, and is getting to be pretty good at it! She’s also starting to cook and bake more, and is doing well!

Jaden is still with Junior Bible Quiz. We had a new boy join this year, so J is enjoying that. Although the girls never fail to keep him on his toes! He is always busy with some activity, project or game. Jaden goes & goes like an energizer bunny from sun up to sun down. He keeps us very entertained! He’s also started home school this year, he loves it and all of the projects/experiments he gets to take part in. His sister is very jealous, but excited to join him in home school next year. Jaden is still pursuing his love for drawing, and has started drawing classes on Monday evenings, taught by the best draw-er we know..Daddy! Jaden’s most favorite place on earth is still at Grammy & Grampys’ house, they have quite the adventures! He also enjoys his friend Bryce’s “HUGE” backyard!

Chris is still with Hewlett Packard, & enjoying most of his days there. :) We’re thankful that his job is able to provide for our family. In his spare time (yeah right) he is involved with Ashley’s drama team at church, & is co-coaching Jaden’s Bible Quiz team with Sarah. He also enjoys movie & game nights with our buds. He’s gotten to go shooting a few times, & has enjoyed our camping trips too. I think, though, that he would have been a bit happier had there been an occasion to use his gun while we were camping. Bears look out! He & Jon did have a “run-in” with a few very unlucky chipmunks. Next year, he wants to begin slaying larger prey..Elk! He’s all set to start golfing again this spring, too.
Sarah became a full time stay at home Mom again in November. Proving, once again, that the Lord knows & fulfills the desires of our hearts! She is now home schooling Jaden & absolutely loving it. Sarah is still coaching Junior Bible Quiz, but has taken a break from all of the other things she was involved with. She’s returned to her love for baking & cooking, which is fun for all! She was at the pool just about every day (for hours!) while it was open over the summer, enjoying many days of fellowship with her swimming pals! She loves her Thursday night laughing sessions with her friend, Jess. She’s enjoying more frequent date nights with her husband (He sure is a cutie!), and coffee dates with her Mom. Time with family & friends is her main interest in free time, but quilting may be making a comeback. Photography is always a passion, she had lots of fun over the summer taking pics around Idaho.

As a family we have enjoyed camping trips, a family reunion, & even a weeks vacation in McCall where we got to watch Sarah’s brother Jon compete in amazing LaCrosse tournaments! We finished our landscaping projects this last spring, and did some painting around the house.

AND (drum roll please) we got to welcome a new nephew to the family! Cash Carter Mundy entered the world on November 19th. He brings pure joy! Looks just like his Daddy. Sarah loves to snuggle him when she gets the chance. We look forward to many fun days as we see him grow up to be a cowboy, and kick butt in LaCrosse! I think he and his sissy, Monet, will be the best of friends.

We have added a new puppy to the family. Her name is Greta (Havashire breed). She is just as devious precious as can be. Sadie wasn’t too sure about this new sister when she first arrived. In fact, she was downright furious! But, she has come around and now has lots of fun playing with Greta. Greta is pretty sure that she is boss, which is funny considering she is just a tad over 1 pound and Sadie is over 50 pounds! She loves to snuggle up and sleep in Sarah’s fleece jackets, while Sarah is wearing them of course. :)

Sadie had a busy year with going on walks (with her new leash that doesn’t allow her to pull..HALLELUJAH!), playing endless hours of fetch and swimming in the river. She’s also had lots of playdates with her doggy cousins and really loves that. As soon as we get within 5 minutes of Mom n Dad’s house she starts getting antsy just knowing that her cousins are close! We also had the pleasure of discovering Sadies love for eating horse poop this summer while camping. Delicous AND nutritious! And after her “meal”, just to be sure we all knew she’d enjoyed it she would ROLL IN IT! Ahh, yes. (Did that fall into the TMI category?)

We are down to one bird! Mary seems to be enjoying her widowhood. Turns out she never really liked Lloyd at all! She lives in Ashley’s room and sings at all the wrong times. Like, in the middle of the night..or when Ash is trying to study for Bible Quiz. But, Ash loves her so she is willing to overlook her annoying habits!

Our friends’ son, Joshua, who has been fighting Leukemia, is now in remission! Praise the Lord for that. Thank you all for your continued prayers. Their family is very thankful for all of you, as are we.

Well, short of updating you on how our cars are doing, I think we’ve summed up the year pretty well. :)

We pray 2010 is a year filled with growth and blessings as you continue to draw closer to the Lord. He loves and treasures you. So do we!

Have a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic New Year, with love,

Chris, Sarah, Ashley, Jaden, Sadie, Greta, & Mary

SO EXCITED!

Could Christmas vacation please come a bit quicker???  EEEEE!!!!  This is the definite upside to homeschool (there haven't been many downsides yet..).  I just LOVE that I will have all this time off with my kidlets! 

We had a fun weekend.  Friday night Chris had a poker game here at the house.  While they were having fun downstairs, my friend Jen and I Scrabbled and chatted the night away upstairs!  She and her hubby, Eric, have a different way of playing than I've seen before.  Proof that interpretation of rules is a beast all it's own!  However, it was super fun to play "their way"!  I actually liked it a lot.  Not as stressful as the other way.  Chris says he won't play that way, though, so I guess I will only play "their way" when she is over!

Anyway, then Saturday we had a TBQ meet all day, our team did well!  It snowed all day.  We got a few things we were needing from Fred Meyer and then came on home.  I got in a nice long-ish nap and then got ready for the TBQ girls to come over for a movie and snacks.  It was a great night.

Then yesterday, we had JBQ practice, Church, a birthday party, and Ash went out with her TBQ girls for some shopping time.  So when Chris, J and I got home we just sort of lazed around.  Chris and I played Scrabble and watched The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.  J watched some cartoons in our room..then we ate some dinner and just did nothing really.  It was GREAT!

Tomorrow our friend is coming to pick up the Trailblazer to take it in for maintenance..and then we will get new tires put on it.  Ahh joyous times!  So thankful to have a mechanic we can trust, though.  We've been through the run around so many stinkin times.  Those days are over!  Hip Hip HOORAY!  Anyway after we get the maintenance and then tires put on, Chris' bonus should be pretty much gone, I think.  But, praise God for those bonuses.  We so need them and appreciate them.

This week we have the TBQ Christmas party and talent show on Friday night, should be fun.  Then Saturday Chris is going out in the morning with his bud for breakfast and some movie called Avatar.  Then that night we have the annual Christmas party out at our friends' farm.  Tons of food, friends, Santa even comes with presents (I'm not a Santa fan, he doesn't have place in our personal Christmas..but this is fun).  They dress the donkey area all up for rides (I think they still do that, I never go outside) and our friend hooks up a hay ride thing to his 4 wheeler and takes the kids on rides.  My kids SO look forward to this every year.  Then on Sunday...well, Sundays are Sundays.  Busy, busy!  Anyway, every day is filled with something, but we are enjoying ourselves and our time together.

Chris and I watched The Express last night after the kids went to bed.  It was SO good.  SO sad.  SO uplifting.  SO..just everything.  I loved it.

Hope you are finding things to fill your days with that bring you joy. Until next time..here's a verse I love:

Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute, and love without stopping.
*1 Corinthians 16:13,14 The Message*

Today I have this to share with you.  I really don't think any other words from me are necessary.  The video speaks for itself.  Love you!

My puppy likes to sleep inside of my fleece jacket.  I tuck her in an then zip up the jacket.  She cuddles right up and goes to sleep.  It's so cute!  Looks like I have a huge tumor on my chest, that breathes.  My dog, Tess, that passed away right before we got Sadie used to love to do this, too.  So it's bittersweet.  I miss that stupid little dog every day.  She was so annoying, but she was mine.


Got to chat with Wink today for quite a bit.  Well, he talked I listened.  He's so fun..full of ideas and always willing to work to make something better.  Not afraid to talk about his feelings, or to give you a straight answer.  I really love that.  He's going to get our ceiling fans hung in our house too.  That will be nice.  We've attempted to have a few different electricians come do the work, but apparently they are just too busy to make money!  Or maybe it's just not enough money to make it worth their while.  No matter.  We've found someone willing and who won't charge an arm and a leg.


Had long overdue coffee time with a friend this morning, and movie night with the girls tonight!  Also got to take J and his buddy Delaney over to the Library for some book searching.  I forgot my card, and apparently checking out books at the Kuna Library involves extremely high levels of security the likes of what you would encounter at say the flippin PENTAGON.  I have my OLD library card, I have my drivers license, I have my social security card.  Nope.  Can't check out a book.  Nothing they can do for me.  Wow.  So, Chris and Ash came down and rescued me..brought me in my library card.  Thank God for them.  Now I've been granted the privilege of bringing home a few books, that no doubt have hidden government documents in them..or maybe they are laced with gold.  Who knows, but they are SUPER valuable.  I know that.


My babe took us out to dinner at my favorite restaurant tonight, El Gallo Giro.  Was a surprise, and was nice to get out and do that together as a family.  Unfortunately, something didn't set right, and I promptly came home and ran up to the bathroom..3 times.  BLAST.  My bowels are not my friend.  The family got a laugh out of it..we are sick puppies that way.

It's been a busy week, and changes are never far from my path. But with each one I get closer to where I am meant to be. As long as I am moving forward and in the direction He has laid out, I am happy.


Well, that's about all of my exciting news for the day!  Hope you've had a wonderful day, regardless of circumstance. 


Thanks for the movie, and the sugar cookies Tiffany.  You are such a good friend.  Love you. :)

Hubby is puking...

What a sad day it is!  Hate it when my hubby is sick.  And even more than that I hate it when it involves puke!  I'm praying it doesn't spread to the rest of us.  I don't want everyone puking..but I SUPER don't want to clean UP puke when the kids can't make it to the toilet!  That's CHRIS' job!!  And, he can't do it if he's pukin too. ;)  I have a super sensitive gag reflex, but he is made of steel.  Proof, once again, that we are meant to be together forever :)


I finished all of my Christmas cards last night.  I couldn't really afford to print off all of the newsletters this year so, instead, I handwrote in every one of them!  We had close to 80 cards this year.  Yeah.  HELLO ARTHRITIS!  Anyway, I figure I will send out the newsletter via email with some pictures attached.  That way if "they" want pictures of the fam, they have the option to print them off, or send them in for prints.  Win win, right?


It was -5* in Boise this morning.  Um, that's cold folks.  Real cold.  I'm not sure what it is right now, but I can assure you it's not palm trees and lemonade weather!  The good part is that the snow is actually staying around for awhile.  And, since it didn't warm up yesterday it didn't melt and then freeze into a solid sheet of ice!  OK, I can't speak for the main roads.  But our neighborhood roads are great.  Snow packed and non slippery.  Me likes.  I hope it stays this way and I hope it dumps feet upon feet upon feet of snow!  Of course, I also want the roads to remain clear.  But, it would be nice to have a real winter where it doesn't go from 45 to 15 every other day.  AND so far the sun has stayed out!!  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I could be wrong but I think the inversion comes when it is warmer in the valley than it is up above?  OK that could be way off.  But, if it is the case then I want it freezing cold here all the way till spring.  Check back with me on this next week when it's been cold for 7 days and I'm booking imaginary flights to Fiji.


Well, I better get back to my morning chores and get that coffee started..then on to schooling the boy!  Have a wonderful Tuesday.  Love you bunches!


Remember, inferiority is a choice.  Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."  I personally love that quote.

People can be super annoying.  Just wanted to start with that.

Now that that's out of the way...

The outside Christmas lights are up!  My super sweet hubby went out and put them up today even though it is frigid out there!!  They look gorgeous :)

I made the big turkey dinner again tonight so that we can have leftovers!  We didn't take any leftovers home from the "real" Thanksgiving.  So where all of you are probably at the point where you never want to see anything resembling turkey dinner again, we are super excited to have it!  I made a pumpkin cake, it's pretty dang good.  New recipe.

I'm hoping the snow holds off till tomorrow afternoon.  It flurried this afternoon and evening and the clouds are looking pretty daunting.  But, I have to go clean a house tomorrow morning all the way down on Glenwood and State (about 45 min from here in good weather).  I don't want to drive it in snow!!  EEK!

Ash just asked me what you get if your Tootsie Pop wrapper has a star on it.  I told her that I thought, years ago, that you used to be able to turn them in for a free Tootsie Pop, but wasn't sure.  So she asked me to look it up.  Oh, she also has questions regarding the wrappers with the Native American on them.  Well, according to urbanlegends.com these wrappers mean nothing.  They never have.  The Tootsie Roll/Pop company has been declining/ignoring requests for free pops with these wrappers since 1930.  They aren't sure where the rumor started, but apparently have no desire in putting the rumor to rest. Some small time grocers have allowed kids to trade in these "star" or "Native American" wrappers for a free pop, but it is at their loss. I thought this was really sad and lame of the Tootsie Pop company (not sure of their actual name..does it matter?) and wanted to share it with you, too.  Because if I was a company who had tons of people (mostly kids..who are just adults waiting to happen, really) thinking that they could get something for free and even going so far as to send in wrappers with requests for the free pop for SEVENTY NINE stinkin YEARS..I'd do something about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Anyhoo..not a big deal, really.  Just thought you might like to know that tidbit of American History.

I'm gonna sip some coffee now...

It's really cold upstairs...brrrrrrrrrrrrrr 

I just can't believe that Christmas is so quickly approaching.  Seems like just yesterday I was putting my decorations away!  We all keep talking about how it doesn't feel like Christmas yet.  Even the kids.  And that's when you know something has really gone awry.

I love snowmen.  I think they are so very precious and cute.  I also love Snoopy.  My very first ornament as a child was the Snoopy bell ornament.  Here's a picture I found of it online just now!!

Every year at Mom's house I get to put that ornament up top, front, and center!  Mom has gotten each of us one new ornament every year since birth.  And when we bring in a spouse or child, they start to get one ornament/year as well.  The tree is getting very full!  But, it is so fun to remember way back when we got each one.  It's a great tradition.  Every year she says maybe she should quit buying them because we have SOOOOOO many now.  But we all say, "NO!  Don't stop!!"  So, she keeps on keepin on.  She's tried to send us home with them, too, but we put the kabosh on that as well.  At some point there will have to be a second tree put up at Mom n Dads or else we will risk the thing falling over.

The new puppy, Greta, doesn't really seem like a Greta to me.  And, I'm starting to hate the name.  She doesn't know her name yet so really it doesn't matter if we keep it.  But it's so much work to change a name.  That makes me laugh.  But, really, it is!  I'll think about it.  Ehh, she'll probably stay Greta.

Have you seen Monsters VS Aliens yet?  We totally love that movie in this house!!  If you haven't seen it, you just have to!  It's so entertaining.

I need to fix my signature..it's kinda big and it needs a transparent background. Maybe tomorrow :)


Well, I suppose I'm rambling again :)  I've been known to do that from time to time (always).

Love you!  Hope you've had a beautiful day filled with sunshine and warmth and love.  You are so very special, and I'm thankful that you were born!  Walk in love!  I know (believe me), easier said than done!  But, if we don't have goals, we will never reach them.  So (again) walk in love!

Finally, a picture of the new puppy!  Her name is Greta.  As in Greta Garbo, not Susteren.  She's a precious little girl!  She reaffirms the fact that I am very thankful for no more children!  I am just done with that portion of my life.  I am no longer interested in multiple feedings and potty training.  So, anyway, our family is now complete.  2 adults, 2 children, 2 dogs and 1 bird.  Some of you newbies may be thinking I should get another bird..I assure you I should not.  Everytime we have had more than one bird, the other one kills it slowly.  As in starving it.  It's weird. 

Anyway, it's been a long week and at the same time a short week.  Seemed like it would never end and then I realized it was already over!  We had a Junior Bible Quiz tournament today.  My team took 2nd place!  Pretty exciting.  I'm very happy to have the team down to 4 people on one team instead of having it spread into two different teams.  Now Chris can stay and be my co-coach AND our team has a better chance of placing.  The tournament went super fast today.  We were home by 12:30 I think.  We just have one more tournament after this.  I didn't bring my camera today but if I get some pics from someone I will post for you.

We all sat down and wrapped presents this afternoon, was fun to do that.  They're all under the tree and lookin pretty good!  Other than that we are watching BSU slam out another win.  They are in the bottom of the 3rd quarter and the score is 42/0!  I'm pretty sure they've won.  haha  We're turnin it off now to watch a Veggie Tales movie (Wonderful World of Autotainment).

We are hiding today.  Not answering the door.  Not answering the phone.  Just having family time.  When the kids are in tears and asking for a day where we don't have to do anything but be together, it's time to change things.  Even though we are involved in things they love and with people they love, it just gets to be too much.  We're all a bit burned out and re-evaluating.

Well the movie is starting so I better go!  Love you all and hope you are enjoying your weekend. 

If you're in a place where you don't know which step to take next..which way to turn..remember, He will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; He will counsel you and watch over you.  It's a promise!  Get lost in His Word and you will find that your path has been laid out (perfectly) by the Master!  Place your focus on Him & everything else will fall into place, if it's in His will.  And that which doesn't, was never meant to. 

Onward and Upward friends!

1. Favorite gift you are GIVING this year?
My nieces little outfit is pretty cute.  That's probably my fave :)




2. How many parties are you attending between now and Christmas?
None.  We will have family stuff but not parties leading up to..






3. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Today I'm gonna say its "My Grown up Christmas List"  just cuz it came to mind first.






4. Who was your favorite elementary school teacher and why?
I think her name was Mrs. Rodriguez, and she was the 1st grade teacher.  We had lots of fun in that class and got to make our own hard back books!!




5. If you had a choice to live in any other period of time (other than now) what era would you choose and why?


I dunno, I would love the farm life back in the day..in theory.  But something tells me that life wasn't easy on Little House on the Prarie!  I also love the Anne of Green Gables movies so that might be nice..not sure of what time period that was to be.