Brock opening his new pj's

A fun look back at 2008!

The year is almost over...here is a fun look back ♥ 2008

JANUARY

1. Who kissed you on new years?
My husband of course.

2. Did you have a new year's resolution this year?
I always think of all the things I should change and then don't.

3. Does it snow where you live?
YES!! We live in MT now ;o)

4. Do you like hot chocolate?
With lots of whip cream and sprinkles ;o)

5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop?
No...I would rather just watch from my warm living room.

Abby and Gabby at Abby's 5th birthday

FEBRUARY

1. Who was your Valentine?
my husband and my kids

2. When you were little did you buy Valentine's for the whole class?
I think so...can't remember that far back ;o)

3. Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not?
Not really because I think winter lasts a little longer in MT weather he see his shadow or not

The kid's getting ready for our Valentine's dinner

MARCH

1. Are you Irish?
Not sure...but you would think with the red hair

2. Do you wear green every Year on St.Patrick's day?
I try....

3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2008?
Went to Abby's preschool with her and then had Sam D. over for a play date and they went outside to hunt for leprechauns ;o)

4. Are you happy when winter is pretty much over?
I am ready for spring to come and open all of the windows ;o)

5. Something special in march?
Last March was a crazy month...we were selling our house, got an offer, offer fell through, busy with the everyday stuff but we did manage to squeeze in a vacation to Montana and Bri took the kids skiing ;o) We also finishing designing our new house plan and now I am sitting in the house....amazing ;o)

Abby and Sam in their green clothes

APRIL

1. Do you like the rain?
grew up in the rain...Seattle area so sometimes it reminds me of home but for the most part I appreciate a dryer climate

2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year?
My kids played one of me....put a rubber band around the kitchen sprayer and when I turned on the water I got soaked...cute real cute!

3. Do you get tons of candy on Easter?
I give candy and toothbrushes...I figure that balances it out ;o)

4. Do you celebrate 4/20?
Not really but last year I went to Woman of Faith that weekend...what a blast!

5. Do you love the month of april?
I like when it transitions to warmer weather and the flowers start to bloom....we'll see what happens in MT. Last year I took pics in April of the kids picnicking on our lawn in 74 degree weather ;o)

The kids on Easter

MAY

1. What is your favorite flower?
white roses from my husband, gerber daisies on my porch

2. Finish the phrase "April showers...":
brings may flowers or in MT more snow??

3. Do you celebrate May 16th: National Piercing Day?
no piercings here except for my ears. I am sure there are people out there that do celebrate that ;o)

4. Is May anything special to you?
Yep....my Jordie's birthday is in May and Mother's Day of course

Jordan's 8th birthday dinner at Zany's

JUNE

1. Did you do anything fun during this month?
June was a crazy month....we had a going away party, moved to MT, Brock turned 2, and we started the church ;o)

2. Have a favorite baseball team?
Mariners if I had to say, but really whatever little league team my kids are playing on ;o)

3. Who has a birthday in June?
Brockie and my brother Henry

Brock's 2nd Birthday

JULY

1. What did you do on the Fourth of July?
Had a BBQ with the Beeson's and went to bed before the fireworks....like I said June was a very busy month...we were tired ;o)

2. Did you go on any vacations during this month?
I don't think so....still tried to settle into to the new house and new city but Grandma Betty came to see us ;o)

3. Do you blast the A/C all day?
What a/c...no a/c in the rental....blah! We did buy a window unit and used that 24/7!

Jordan with Grandma at Hoagieville eating ice cream

AUGUST

1. Did you do anything special this month?
Went to family camp, the kids started at their new school, did the "Grocery Give" and we prepared for the launch of the new church!

2. Name a birthday in this month:
My mother in law and brother in law

3. Did you have a sunburn?
Probably a little...but it was too hot to be out too long.

4. Did you go to the pool a lot?
A little with the kids.

The kids on their first day of school

SEPTEMBER

1. Are you attending college/school?
No...thank goodness I am done with that and my husband is too ;o)

2. Who was/is your favorite teacher?
Mr. O'Reilly ~ 7th grade math teacher....part of the inspiration for Riley's name.

3. Do you like fall better than summer?
I like both...usually ready for fall after summer.

Riley with his frog he found when we were camping ;o)

OCTOBER

1. What was your favorite Halloween costume?
I of course liked all my kids costumes: Riley as Elvis, Jordan as a clone trooper, Abby as Hannah Montana and Brock as a cow.

2. What is your favorite candy?
Turtles

3. Who's birthday is this month?
My husband and my dad's.

4. What was your favorite thing about this month?
Went home for a visit to see family....Brian's favorite thing was that he got a moose ;o)

Brian with his Canadian one-antlered moose

NOVEMBER

1. Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving?
We had Thanksgiving at Fairmont Hot Springs...a wonderful getaway ;o)

2. What's best about this month?
Spending time being thankful and looking forward to Christmas.

3. What are you thankful for?
So many things...God's grace and unending love, my wonderful husband and children that bless me everyday, my family that loves me unconditionally, my wonderful friends near and far, our new house that is starting to feel like home and Christmas...a time to reflect the son of God who was born so He could eventually die for us and give us new life...what an amazing Gift!

4. Do you love stuffing?
oh yes and my kids like it too...we make traditional stuffing and sweet potatoe stuffing for my husband.

The kids at Fairmont Hot Springs on Thanksgiving break

DECEMBER

1. Do you celebrate Christmas?
Of course....it has such a different, more wonderful meaning now than it did when I was a kid.

2. Do you go to a movie on Christmas day?
We usally do when we are at my parent's house...we will have to see this year.

3. Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe?
Yes...

4. Have you ever gone ice skating?
Yes...not so good. I would like to take the kids to the rink here.

5. What do you want this year?
I just got a brand new house for Christmas....I feel very blessed!

6. Do you like cold weather?
If I am dressed appropriately ;o)

Our Christmas tree and stockings at our new house ;o)

Building another house....a gingerbread house that is!

We finally carved out a little time to put together our gingerbread house today. I had a bazillion other things I should have been doing but I decided to do this instead ;o) And I am glad I did. The kids and I had a great time. Riley joined us for a little while but then went on to something else....I am afraid he is getting past the age of enjoying things like this. And Brock was taking a nap so it was just Jordan, Abby and I which may be why it was a little more enjoyable...not so many hands trying to help. Brcok woke up at the very end and just admired the house. The kids said they are excited to eat the house after Christmas....we might have to wait and see about that ;o)

The best peanut butter cookies in the world!

I am not sure where I got this recipe but if you like Peanut Butter cookies this is the best and easiest recipe in the world. I made them the other day for a cookie exchange and put hershey kisses in the middle.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
1 c. Peanut Butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg

Roll into balls, put on cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until done at 350 degrees. Recipe only makes about 1 dozen so I suggest you double or triple the recipe ;o)

A little Christmas cheer!

We finally got our Christmas tree decorated! I have a priority list for getting this house put together and that didn't make it to the top but I was really missing that Christmas feeling when the house is all decorated. So the kids and I took a little time tonight and decorated the tree and hung the stockings (with care of course.) We even have packages under the tree which I have never done before. I usually like to wait until Christmas day to put out packages. But this year we are staying here for Christmas so we received a package in the mail the other day and the kids wanted to put the presents out. Hopefully Brock will be able to leave them alone for the next week and a half. I might get a little more Christmas stuff out tomorrow if I get some of my other projects done...we'll see.

We moved!!

Just a quick post to let you know we have moved. We started Friday and finished up yesterday. We still have a little bit in storage but the majority is moved in. Of course, we have boxes all over the house and it is a little overwhelming but with a little time we should feel settled. We should hopefully have internet hooked up this week and until then we won't have a home phone, just cell phones...thank goodness for those becuase if you know me I can't be without a phone ;o) I hope to post some new pics when we get all moved in.

Happy late Birthday Jamie B.!!!

Last week we celebrated my great friend Jamie B's birthday. Her husband planned a 30th birthday with a theme "Jamie's Guide to Style." The inspiration for the theme was Tim Gunn's Guide to Style which Jamie likes to watch. So her husband had us bring her to Dillards where he had set up a grand entrance to the dressing room blocked off with red ropes and all. She was presented with a gift card and we started helping her pick out clothes. In the end, she ended up with some great new outfits and I think she had a great time! She is such an amazing friend and I am so thankful for our friendship....Happy happy Birthday J-Me! I know God has many blessings in store for you in the year to come! Thanks for being such a great friend!

Almost there....hopefully!

Well, we are on the homestretch or at least that is what I have been told. We still have some little touch up stuff to do this week but we should be moving in soon. The crazy thing is I haven't really started to pack....about 2/3 of our stuff is in storage still packed so that is good but I find it hard to start packing when I don't have an exact date that we are moving...just a weird thing with my personality I guess. Anyway, I took lots of pics of the almost finished house progress so I hope you enjoy. Hopefully, the next pics will be of the house with furniture ;o)