The 25 Days of Christmas: Day 1

Today for the 25 days of Christmas we are supposed to find our elf. Unfortunately our Christmas stuff was stolen out of storage so we have to wait for a new elf to arrive! Instead we started opening our Advent Calendars from the church. Todays Scripture says "Arise and shine for your light has come!" Isaiah 60:1.

Day 2:
Write a letter to Santa. Our town has a special mailbox where we can drop of letters to Santa and Santa even writes back! If your town doesnt do this, still write a letter to Santa and you can write back for Santa!

Its almost Christmas Time!!

Now that Thanksgiving and birthdays are over, its time to start getting into the Christmas Spirit! Even with all the craziness, I am suprisingly still excited for this time of the year! Every year my kids do what we call the 25 days of Christmas. We have an activity for each day planned out which all lead up to the big day! I will post every day what our Day was and also post what the next days activity is so if you want, you can participate with your own family! I highly encourage you do to so! Its so much fun! If you do, post about it too! December 1st is just around the corner so here is the activity so you can get a jump start!

1st day of Christmas: Find the Christmas Elf and talk about it with your kids.

Every year a "Christmas Elf" comes to live in our home for the month of December. Every day the elf "watches" the kids to make sure they are being good, and every night the elf flys back to the North Pole to tell Santa if they are naughty or nice! It really helps my kids behave for that last month! Dont forget to move your elf every night so the kids think the elf has come and gone! I tell my kids that they can talk to the elf and tell him/her what they want for Christmas, but they cant touch the elf. Let your kids name their elf!

I look forward to seeing anyone who wishes to join us in the 25 days of Christmas!

Friday Fill in!

So...here we go! 

1. While the cat's away _The mice will play____.

2. _Jalapeno Crawfish Chowder is____ fabuloso!

3. Children _grow up to fast so hug your babies while you still can____.

4. _I just need 5 minutes of decompression time____ when I get home from work or shopping or what have you.

5. This may seem odd, but _even though life is so up in the air right now, I feel more at peace now than I have in a long time____

6. _A cup of hot chocolate and an early bed time are on my mind____ and that seems like a fine idea to me!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _A quiet night with just the kids and I____, tomorrow my plans include _taking the kids to the last Pioneertown Posse performance and costume parade____ and Sunday, I want to _take the kids to the halloween carnival at church and trick or treating____!

Friday Fill-In

So...here we go! 

1. Wow, it's such a perfect fall day_____.

2. _My family is so____ beautiful.

3. My favorite way to start a day is _COFFEE!!!____.

4. _He went to the store to buy beer____ and he walked in the door holding a pumpkin.

5. I look out my window and see _the lovely desert lanscape____

6. _Financial decisions____ is what I've been thinking about lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _spending time with the kids____, tomorrow my plans include _going to the parade____ and Sunday, I want to _go to church, watch football and prepare for the week.____

Friday Fill-in

1. My favorite month is _November____ because _of the fall air, the wonderful holiday, and Son#1 and Buds birthdays!____.

2. _Nothing is quite a refreshing as____ a fresh breeze.

3. I love to sniff _clean clothes____.

4. _Coffee and pancakes____ is what I like to have as a treat for breakfast.

5. The hobby I enjoy most is _making cupcakes. I am so relaxed when Im baking!____

6. _Its been so stinking cold,____ oh my!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _dinner becase Im cooking stuffed Anaheim Peppers____, tomorrow my plans include _a surprise birthday party for my mom____ and Sunday, I want to _go to church____!

Blessed

This blog is one that is hard for me to write. Its hard because I try to downplay our situation as much as possible and its hard because I dont like to admit how much I feel like a failure. Since moving to California, life has been harder. We have been here for almost 6 months already and Bud has yet to find a stable full time job. The economy in California is horrid. I have days where I wonder if I made the right decision moving here, and I have days I feel like I have made a horrible mess of my families lives. However, what my kids have lost in money and extras they have gained in love and support. I still struggle everyday with my decision and know that someday we may have to make the decision to return to Texas. For now we tough it out here.
For those of you who truly know Bud and I, know that we have never been religious people. I believe in God, but never believed in religion. I was raised in a Baptist church where I was taught that Baptist were the only ones who believed the "right" way, Santa was just another form of Satan, and if you didnt go to church on Sunday, you were sent to hell. I went to a private school full of Sunday Christians, that bullied kids during the week, but then were sweet as pie to them on Sunday. I eventually stopped going to church all together and definitely lost my spirituality.
Recently a friend recommended an author to me and suggest I read his books. She knew I was looking for a good read and thought I would enjoy his stories. I picked up the book she recommended at my local library and read it in 2 hours. Not only did it (in her words) give me the "warm fuzzies", but it also reawakened my sense of spirituality. Since I read the first of his books I have read a total of 6 of his books, all in the matter of a little over one week.
About the same time Bud started his community service. We are currently receiving federal aid and it requires Bud do 36 hours a week of community service. On Monday, we headed over to a local church to ask if they had any work for Bud to do his community service. Of all places that he could do his service, we both felt pulled in this direction. We met with the pastor, who offered to help Bud with his service. Bud and I went home and discussed how we both felt a strong spiritual pull to maybe start attending church. We decided we would attend church on Sunday.
I have to add that I have been stressed to the max lately. Son #1 has a birthday coming up next month, Daughter wants to participate in extra curricular activities (which of course cost money), school pictures needed to be purchased, and Christmas is fast approaching. I have done everything in my power for my kids to not feel or be affected by our current situation, but it is becoming harder and harder. I find my self praying daily that something will happen soon so that our situation improves.
Today as Bud did his community service, the pastor approached him and asked to speak with him in his office.  He told Bud that the church is adopting our family for Christmas and the kids gifts would be taken care of. He also told him that they planned on advertising his computer repairs in the newsletter. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. We both agree that we have found the church we will be attending.
Is our situation improving because our family is turning back to a more spiritual life? Honestly, I think so and I am grateful that burdens are becoming easier to bear. I feel blessed to have found my spirituality again, and to have found this wonderful group of people who are helping a family in need.

Friday Fill-in

Ive been meaning to do this for awhile. Every Friday I am given a fill-in to fill out! If you want to join me in the Friday Fill In Fun, then copy and paste to your own blog and fill in the underlined spaces with your own answers!

1. My back _is in knots because I slept funny last night____.

2. _Life is about running____ wild.

3. Leaves are falling all around, _this is my favorite time of year___.

4. _Forget____ forgetfulness.

5. Healing is _necessary____

6. _Stressing about future plans____ is what I've been up to lately!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _not having to do homework with the kids____, tomorrow my plans include _going to the Grueblers Orchid Festival____ and Sunday, I want to _relax and watch football____!

Hi. My name is Jenni, and I'm a Blogger Slacker.

Im horrible! I have been majorly slacking in the blogging department! I have had so much to say, but it seems like I dont have enough time in the day to actually say it! Now that things seem like they are finally settling down, I hope to get back in the swing of things. Now to play catch-up!

The daughter started 1st grade!!!

She has a man teacher and I wasnt quite sure how I felt about it, but I am very pleasantly surprised! Hes a great teacher and has really pushed the daughter as far as learning is concerned.
She also lost her 1st tooth!

She was so excited when she woke up to find that the tooth fairy had brought her a dollar! She also recently auditioned for the school musical so I will try to keep everyone updated on that!

Son #1 started kindergarten!

This was very hard on both him and mommy! Im not ready for my baby to be growing up! I miss his hugs all day! Im the mom of 2 school aged children!

We have had a few more problems with school for son #1. His class ended up getting combined with another, so he has a new teacher. The new teacher is currently on medical leave so he has subs until the end of October. I for one will be happy when he gets a permanent teacher! He cried for the first 2 weeks about school, but now he has made a best friend, and loves going. 

Son #2 is as rotten as ever!

He is all boy and all mischievous! He loves dirt and anything that involves getting dirty or making a mess!

Well you should be all caught up now and hopefully I can keep it that way, but as a mother of 3, Im sure everyone understands when I get a little behind :)

California Dreamin...

Son #2 fell asleep on my bed yesterday watching daddy play the wii with son #1. I absolutely love to watch them sleep. So peaceful you can't help but wonder what they are dreaming about. If only we could sleep so peacefully.

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Tastes like love to me...

I am in love, no, obsessed with this berry lemonade concoction. Its so simple to make and oh so tasty on a hot 97 degree July day like today. I'm not a huge juice drinker. Mostly I stick to water and sodas (and a bit of rum!). However, I find myself drinking this by the gallon. It tastes so much better than any premade lemonade I have found.
Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try:
1 can frozen lemonade (whatever brand)
1 can frozen Berry Punch (Minute Maid)
6 cans of water

Nothing makes me happier than sitting on the porch in the summer with a nice breeze and my cold berry lemonade. What is your favorite summer drink?

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From baby to big boy...

If you know me, you know how strict I am when it comes to giving up the bottle or sippy cup. Nothing irritates me more than seeing a big kid with a bottle or pacifier.
In my house the kids give up the bottle at 1 year old. Yes it can be hard, but I firmly believe that it is easier younger. At 2 years old, they give up the sippy and start drinking exclusively out of a big cup. I do this because I have found it easier to potty train when they arent carrying around a cup all day.
Son #2 turned 2 in April. Did I take the sippy cup away? No. We moved in April and I felt that with all the craziness I didnt want to traumitize him any more. Well I am happy to say that we are officially a sippy cup free home! My last baby has finally become a full blown big boy! No sippy cup during the day and no sippy cup at night! Other than asking " Wheres my drink?" one time, he hasnt even been upset. Along with giving up the sippy we have officially been potty training. Yesterday morning we had 2 accidents, but none in the afternoon and none this morning.
So I officially have a home with no babies and im suprisingly okay with that! While Im sad that my kids are growing up at a speed faster than I am okay with, I know I dont want any more babies.
So say goodbye to baby Kaeleb and say hello to Big Boy Kaeleb!

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Who says its mystery meat?

How do you know you make the best meatloaf around?


When son#2 licks his plate clean!

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Summertime, and the living's easy

Nothing says summertime more than 3 kids enjoying a popsicle on the porch swing!

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Fresh Start

I recently realized that it has been 14 months since I posted to my last blog. Much has happened in the past 14 months that I decided to just have a fresh start. Fresh start with a new blog. Ideally I would like to post every day, but realistically I have 3 kids and thats not possible. I promise to post at least 3 times a week, so bear with me as I take to these new changes.

As for an update. We are no longer Texans. In April, the hubby and I made the decision to move back to California. We missed our home state and wanted the kids to be closer to m mother. It hasnt been easy since California is definately hard hit with the collapse of the economy. Hubby has a few potential positions and we are really keeping our fingers crossed for one in particular.

The daughter loves being a california girl. She is looking forward to starting 1st grade at her new school. She recently learned how to ride her bike with no training wheels and also learned how to swim without help.

Son #1 is getting ready to start kindergarten in August. Mommy cant believe that he is starting school already, but I know he will have a lot of fun. He still loves to ride his four wheeler and is most excited when he has compitition. He loves to jump it over the hills and slide around turns. He too learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels.

Son #2 IS 2 YEARS OLD! He is starting to talk up a storm and finally we are rid of the sippy cup. We are starting to potty train, but he is definately harder than son #1.

Well I promise to post again soon and keep this blog updated better than the last one!

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