A Diamond in the Ruffs

Official Notice!

2011-09-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

It's official. I've wanted to do this for so long!
I am on YouTube! (((Yay Me!)))
Please check out my first two of MANY videos and let me know what you think!

SweetSmilinSteph
No "g"

I'd LOVE ideas too(though I have about 30 ideas already!)

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-12T18:01:00.001-07:00

The Last Days of Junior High

2011-07-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

Meet Lyle & Ottis

2011-05-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

Meet Lyle & Ottis
Ottis is the cow on the left
Lyle is the cow on the right
Ottis belongs to us
Ottis is too cute!
Too Bad
We're gonna eat'em!

White & Black

2011-05-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

Some recent artwork from Bethanne and Rachel....Enjoy!

The owl was done by Rachel. It is a "scratchboard" art piece. The white background is covered in a black substance you etch off. Basically you're doing a pen/pencil drawing in reverse.

To learn more about Scratchboard art click here!

The Seahorse was done by Bethanne. She hand drew the seahorse and used a technique called "Pointalism" to create the effects you see. All the shading is created by the dots of a black pen.

To learn more about Pointalism click here!

Easter Treat

2011-04-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

He is RISEN!....He is risen INDEED!

Here is a little treat you can make for the kids OR with the kids OR geesh!....
they can make them themselves!

White Melting Chips, melted & sweet
Fried Chow Mein Noodles, crunchy & salty
Cadbury Mini Eggs, chocolate surprise!

Kickin' It Farm Style!

2011-04-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year at the Ruffs....time to do a major project either in our house or yard. This year: a Gigantic Garden! (we gotta feed these kisds!) We rented a tractor and removed a whole bunch of trees and leveled our back yard. Here are pictures from our first weekend of work.

Those darn tree stumps are hard to get out.....

....we resorted to using hand shovels!...then we rented a stump grinder...that didn't work....hired a guys with a massive stump grinder...that worked!

The Ruff Girls: doing some Spring clean-up. They fastened a large tarp to the back of the mower and drug it around; collecting pin needles.

Dave taught Adam to drive the Tractor. Adam spent probably 12 hours on this machine! He has a natural gift, he's all grins!

3 dump trucks full of compost.

That's ME! Dave taught me how to run the tractor too! I spent about 45 minutes running it.

Look at the giant stump I dug up and pulled out!

Gotta end the blog with a little SugarBeeps!!!

Beautiful Breezy Beeps!

2011-03-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

Aren't They So Cute?!!

2011-03-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

The newest additions to our everchanging small zoo! This is what happens when Dave takes a day off....he and Adam go buy some critters somewhere!

These aren't just any 'ol rats either....they're "Fancy Rats"....heehee....actually they are very sweet and surprisingly love to be with people.....(what do you think now Laura?!)

Cortana is the one on the left. Saphira is on the right. Bonus points for whomever can guess where their names came from. Hint: Adam named them.

Pushing the Envelope

2011-03-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

So, I was telling my girls that it didn't look lady-like to have notes written on their hands. This is what Rachel's foot looked like when she came home from school one day last week...the photo needs no explanation....Teenagers!....always pushing the envelope!

On to STATE!

2011-03-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

My Destination ImagiNation team placed 1st at our Regional Tournament in the "Triple Take Road Show" Challenge! They also received the Renaissance Award. Very Awesome! Now it's off to the State Tournament.
Visit Destination ImagiNation to learn more!

So Beautiful

2011-02-23T16:29:00.000-08:00

Organized Chaos: Tip of the Week #8

2011-02-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

Family Business Cards!

Think about it, how many times have you scribbled your families information on a church bulletin or some piece of paper torn from your grocery list you found in your purse?

Now you'll have something nice and neat to hand out to your new aquaintances.

It says, "We're organized!"......at least on the outside!

Jesus Freaks

2011-02-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

We surprised the kids and drove them to the Tri-Cities to attend the WINTER WONDER SLAM! This concert was really amazing. We had awesome seats as you can see by the photos. I'd say maybe 30 feet from the corner of the stage. And we had aisle seats so Dave could sit on the end and poke his legs out into the aisle.
All 3 bands, you can tell, actually-really LOVE THE LORD! Toby Mac has an amazing way of turning his concerts into worship and praise. The whole evening must have been pleasing to the Lord! It was kind of weird for me and very cool at the same time. You all know Toby Mac was in DC Talk. DC Talk was one of my very favorite bands when I was in JH and Highschool. Now he's been on his own and Toby Mac is one of our kids favorite bands. Toby will be 47 this year!....his love for music and his love for Jesus has affected two generations...not bad!

HOUSE of HEROES...very awesome band! This is the kind of band I like to exercise to (when I exercise!)

The guitarist on the right of this photo has an AMAZING voice!

We would have gone to this concert just to hear BRANDON HEATH! One of his songs is Dave's ringtone on his iPhone: Give Me Your Eyes. He also gave a shout-out (unpaid) to Young Life and one of it's camps, Malibu. I loved going to Malibu. That is where he got saved.

This was actually Adam's first concert! All the kids LOVED it!

Our Beauties!

2 Old People! heehee

:43 seconds to GO!

Oh Man! DIVERSE CITY!

TOBY MAC himself!

That's right, Label us JESUS FREAKS!

Basin of Beauty

2011-01-23T14:59:00.000-08:00

I've needed a new kitchen sink and faucet since...well, when we had the house built! I remember my In-Loves came and peeked through the kitchen window when the house was being finished. When we talked next, the first thing they said was..."they put the tiniest kitchen sink in...how are you going to be able to cook and clean for 5 people with that?!" Of course, it's just one of those things that winds up last on the list of house "change-orders" when you're having a house built. I'd rather have AC, wouldn't you?!
So 6 years later we were done with that old beast. Right before we changed it out, my dad was in my kitchen and snickered about how "well used" the sink was. So now I have this beauty! Composite granite: won't chip, fade, stain or rust! And a new faucet that turns on and off when you touch it! And it has a sprayer and a dish soap dispencer and this thingy which tells time! (Just kidding on the last...a little leftover Christmas humor from The Christmas Story) And of course, in true Stephenie form, I got the faucet on clearance!
Dave says: "You can put a whole cookie sheet inside and wash it!"

Our CHRISTmas

2011-01-19T19:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas Party

2010-12-29T23:21:00.000-08:00

Dave and I at Coffman Engineers Christmas Party! What a blast!

Still Sweet @ 16!

2010-12-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

Master Chief & the Arbiter...Adam got a kick out of his Halo Birthday Cake!

Organized Chaos: Tip of the Week #6

2010-12-14T14:14:00.000-08:00

I have a laminated grocery list that is posted on our Fridge for everyone to use. I keep a dry erase marker near by and everyone uses it to let me know what we need. Then I transfer everything to a list I take with me on shopping day!

The Spices of Life

2010-12-14T14:06:00.000-08:00

One of my cleaning projects in early Fall is to go through all my spices. If you've ever had (eaten) old mustard powder or old poultry seasoning, you probably do the same thing! Several years ago I stopped buying bottled spices and switched to these cute little jars that I fill from bulk spice bins. You can actually put a whole tablespoon measuring spoon in the opening which is a huge plus. There is no way you could do that with standard bottled spices. They hold 8 oz. which suits our families needs very well.

Dump out all the spices....just do it! (unless you bought it!...like last week!)

I wash each on throughly and air dry completely.

All cleaned and filled with fresh spices. One way to tell if your spices are old is to compare the color of your current stock of spices to the color of your new spices. I spent under $15 buying new spices from bulk bins!

My cleaned and newly stocked Spice Cupboard! I use air-tight jars that are larger for spices such as cinnamon and cocoa powder (top right ). I also use lazy-susans to expand the space I do have & tiered shelving for my spices (bottom)

My "Prized Spice": Turkish Saffron my mom brought back to me from her world travels!

Click here to purchase the jars I have
Click here to purchase the jar labels I have
Some of my spices I don't use on an everyday bases, they are stored in ball Mason Jars.

Fabulous Fourteen!

2010-12-14T13:32:00.000-08:00

Our babies are 14! What can I say?!

More Pumpkin Ball

2010-12-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

4th of July

2010-12-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

I know....a little late....!

LMS T-Shirt

2010-12-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

T-Shirt Contest

2010-11-18T14:16:00.000-08:00

Bethanne won her schools t-shirt design contest for their annual ASB Fund Run! She recieved all but 14 of the student bodies votes and was also the first kid in Lakeside history to have their front and back t-shirt designs chosen!

Here is the scanned copy of her original artwork (not quite finished). I'll post of a picture of the acutual t-shirt when they get here!

Anyone seen my camera?!?!

2010-11-17T15:17:00.001-08:00

Of course! Now I lose my camera....when I want to blog!!

The Pumpkin Ball

2010-11-02T23:13:00.000-07:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/the.nw.photobooth/PumpkinBall2010#5532076713736397490
Click here to view pictures of Dave and I at Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery's 2010 Pumpkin Ball!
Who says Dave can't smile!?!?!

Laughter is good for the HEART

2010-06-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

As most of you know already, both Bethanne and Rachel have been experiencing some health problems. This blog post won't be able to explain the whole issue but you'll get a little idea of what is going on. Over the last couple years (for Bethanne) and the last several months (for Rachel) the girls have been passing out while exercising...among other things. Currently both girls are wearing MCOT heart monitors to hopefully capture any heart issues they may have. (In case you are worried, both girls ECG's didn't show any anatomical heart defects, so we're good there) Because both girls were removed from any physical activity/labor the last couple months, while wearing the heart monitors, the Doctor wanted them to resume some physical activity so the heart monitors would capture episodes while they exercised. So under close adult supervision, Dave and I had to "exercise them" to see if we could get them to pass out.

This is how the girls got ready for their "fainting session." Aren't they hilarious?! They really have taken this whole thing well.

And yes...both of them did pass out... 6 times around the flower bed in the front yard, 20 situps and 20 lunges....TIMBER!...in about 10 minutes.

Please pray for the girls, Dave & I, and wisdom for the Doctors.

PAR-TEE

2010-05-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

Adam had a wonderful Golf Season. He made the JV Golf Team and was top player out of 12 all season. We are very proud of him for his dedication and hard work. For Dave it is bitter-sweet, his student now plays better than he does!

April Fool

2010-04-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is our dish soap bottle...

This is our Canola oil bottle...

See any similarities?!

Yes...Beeps SWITCHED the bottles...the poor unsuspecting FOOL would either

#1 Fry eggs in dish soap

#2 Wash dishes with oil

Take a wild guess which one poor old suspecting Dad/Dave fell for?

Ding Ding Ding...you guessed it right...

He washed dishes with the oil! I should say he TRIED to wash dishes with the oil. He said he kept "washing this pan like 5 times" before he realized he had been BEEPERIZED!

(He actually fell for it...hahahahahah!)

Good one Beth...your Momma is so proud!

Bad Apples

2010-03-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't know about you, but right about now I'd give one of my kids away (JK!) for some local fresh fruit! For those of you that live in the Spokane area, you know that we have an abundance of amazing fruit within miles of our homes, and we can't wait to going U-Picking! Apples, Peaches, Raspberries...Strawberries....Plums! (I'm drooling) ...but
FRESH is what I want!

I try my hardest to live within a food budget yet provide fresh fruit & veggies. Apples are on the top of the list around here, everyone likes them, but I'm TIRED of spending the money the Lord has given us, only to bring the food home and it turns out nasty, old & taste-less. (Did you know that most apples in the grocery store are last years apples! Kept at a specific temperature to stop their natural enzyme process)

So what do you do with those sub-par apples? Throw them out? I say NO WAY! Turn them into CAKE!

3 cups grated/shredded Apple, Zucchini, or Carrots. Cleaned of course but leave the peel on.
In a bowl sift together the following:
1 cup of white flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
In the bowl of your mixer beat the following till incorporated:
4 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
2 "cups" of applesauce. NOT cups as in measuring cups, but those little snack/travel cups of applesauce. Any flavor.

Add grated veggie/fruit (a combo would work great too...I think I'll try that next!) to the wet ingredients and give a spind to blend. Add flour mixture and blend only until all ingredients are incoporated. DON'T over beat.
Grease/spray a glass 9 X 13 baking dish. Preheat oven to 350. Pour batter into dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn down oven to 300 and bake an additional 5 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick. Bake in 5 minute incruments until cake is done.
This cake can be very moist depending on the water content of the fruit/veggies. Make sure you actually poke through the top crust to make sure the cake is done. You are looking for a nice "crumb", not complete dryness, with no "goo" ~enjoy~

What's that saying...."That 1 bad apple spoils the whole bunch"...well, I say...
"Approximately 4 not-so-good apples make for one TERRIFIC CAKE!"
PS We eat this for breakfast!

Pot o' Gold at Rainbows End

2010-03-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

I made these for the kids to help them celebrate St. Patricks Day in a sweet way!

On to State!

2010-03-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.idodi.org/
Destination Imagination

Regional 2nd Place D.I.- Bot Team!

Snow White

2010-03-01T08:18:00.000-08:00

These are photos of a bouquet of flowers Dave bought me to say "I LOVE YOU!" in December. One morning the sunlight was gleaming through our kitchen window and I just couldn't help but grab the camera and take a whole bunch of pictures. I hope you enjoy them.

He buys me flowers from the Davenport Hotel Florist Shop. They are very reasonable prices and they are the only place he's ever purchased flowers from that last more than a couple days. I had this bouquet for at least two weeks-minus a couple that died, but the majority of the flowers lasted quite some time. I should also mention that this bouquet was 2 1/2 feet tall!

Neon NERD Day

2010-02-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

Meet Mack Cheese & Don Utz

Top 1 of 1994

2009-12-09T16:06:00.001-08:00

Dave, Adam and I. Adam was just born.

Yep...Top 1...not Top 10...make sure you check out my next post NEGATIVE ATTENTION!

16 Years Baby!

2009-12-06T12:36:00.001-08:00

Our Anniversary this year, like it has in the past, fell on the night of Dave's Office Christmas Party. We had a wonderful evening filled with food, laughter and dancing. Coffman Engineers Christmas parties are always a blast! Dave, being the General Manager, was Emcee. He did a fabulous job, he had all of us laughing so hard that our cheeks hurt! Nerds DO know how to have fun!

The 'long arm' shot...

Happy 16th Anniversary Babe!

Silliness

2009-11-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

The girls celebrated their 13th Birthdays by having their 2 best gals over for a sleep-over...
Speak no Evil..Hear no Evil...See no Evil...Don't Smell Evil!

Malia, Bethanne, Rachel & Cali

Thank-FULL-ness

2009-11-30T16:27:00.001-08:00

FULL house & so much to be thankFULL for!

Showing off the "spread"...or at least a fraction of it!
Dave carvin' the Bird X's 2

My dad torturing me...in the kitchen...again...

Dawson was SO excited!

Our niece Ella and nephew Gabe

The view...

Charlie our nephew

My In-Loves, Larry & Maryanne

My BE-U-T-Full sister Laura, hanging out with little Mitchy, our nephew

Adam...doing his thang...

Torre our nephew chowing on some 'mallows Aunt Stephy gave him

Mitchy getting loves from Grandma

Beeps holding Charlie

My Bro-in-Love Rich with our niece Ava...getting her first taste of Thanksgiving Num Nums!

Our good friend Scott and Rich...leading worship...

Dawson wearing Rich's Mom, Suzanne's "witch shoes" (as she called them)...every boy tries once!

Sugar & Beeps are 13

2009-11-25T08:31:00.001-08:00

3 weeks before I delivered

Rachel at 4 days old, Thanksgiving Day 1996
Bethanne at 4 days old, Thanksgiving Day 1996

February 1997, the girls were 3 months old here. Rachel is on the left.

The girls were 6 months old in this picture. Taken at my parents place in Colorado.

July 1997...bath-time! Bethanne...

Rachel...

The girls in August 1997, 9 months old, eating...peanut-butter and jelly....eekkk! Things sure have changed in 13 years!

The girls 1st Birthday Party! Aunt Laura is holding Bethanne.

Aunt Suzanne is holding Rachel.

The girls yesterday, one day before their 13th Birthday....

Rachel is on the left...

I could spend days, uploading photos of the girls over the years. They have truly been a blessing to my life. I know ALL moms say that about their babies, but I really feel this way. They were a total surprise to Dave and I. There was a time when I was overwhelmed with the thought of having 3 kids under the age of 2 and not knowing how I would be able to do what is best and what is right for them. The LORD has shown Himself ALL SUFFICIENT. His master plan has and will continue to be BEAUTIFUL. So, here's to my gals...the smartest and most beautiful teenage girls I know...(((wink)))...You are my greatest accomplishment and my greatest reward.

Top 10 of 1993

2009-11-23T16:57:00.001-08:00

My Dad at my wedding. Some of our "friends" stealing Dave away for a Bachelor Party during our Rehearsal Dinner. It is noteworthy to mention that after this night some of his friends came back and apologized! And then when they all got married, they asked everyone to not do to them what they did to Dave. That story is for another blog!

Fall 1993, Girls Sleepover at Nancy's house.

Laura, Tina, & my Mom

Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil

My $425 clearance Wedding Dress. I loved it! Perfect size 8, no altering needed at all. (Sure wish I could still fit into THAT dress!)

My Father-in-Love Larry, Dave, & my Dad Mitch

My Dad walking me down the aisle during rehearsal

Our room at the Silver Cloud after our wedding night. I think there was birdseed behind the headboard! I posted this picture because Dave and I took it to freak my Dad out. We made it look all messy on purpose. :0)

Our first KISS as man and wife.

Coffman Engineers 30th Anniversary

2009-10-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

Say No to Solicitors...

2009-10-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

...unless they're these "guys"!

Baby and the Beast

2009-09-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

Isn't this the cutest little Baby Goat. I took this picture hiking at the Continental Divide while we were in Glacier National Park. He (She?) was about 5 feet away from me. So soft looking and clean and white. I just LOVE the look on it's face. A little innocence with a lot of spark!...reminds me of my nieces and nephews. Notice the "Beast" behind the Baby..... that's it's Mom. All scraggle-e, with matted fur (where she has fur) and a few dingle-berries. She has horns too. Reminds me of myself, at times, when the kids were little. The kids looked great but I looked like I hadn't showered in a couple days, heck, I hadn't showered in a couple days...or shaved...or did my hair...or de-horned! Who am I kidding?

Beautiful Bethanne

2009-09-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

Beeps...Beepers...Baby Girl...Bethy...Bethanne...Beautiful. I am astonished with your creativity and appalled at your messy room. Your eyes are so big and bright and highlighted but your painted nails always have chips. You have your own sense of fashion and your not afraid to show it. You have accepted your big feet. You have your struggles but you're the best giver I know, the first to offer someone something that you have. You are excited to plant your own flower cutting garden. You hate P.E. class, it's the only class you have that makes you nervous. You said, "If boys ask me out, I'll say, "I'm not the Droid you are looking for."" You crack me up. You are always the life of the party, you don't mind making fun of yourself, you have a hilarious sense of humor. You don't take yourself seriosly. You fight for what is fair and you don't take no for an answer. Sometimes both of those get you in trouble. Often you forget to brush your teeth but you almost always have a necklace on. You are protective of your Mom. You are an amazing cook, breakfast being your speciality. You talk with your hands like your Dad. You love antique glass and old movies. You'd sing like an angel if you only stopped goofing around. You want your independence, to be your 'own person', to not be lumped in with your sister. You are tender to the Holy Spirit and to your Dad, you are a truly repentant girl. You read 2nd grade books because you like them and you love cross word puzzles. When you get scared you want to be close to Dad, and yet you are the first of your siblings to say..."Come on! Let's do this thing!" You eat onion slices raw with nothing else but you hate grapes...weird. You love donuts but they don't love you back. You love lattes like your mom.
You are our Beautiful Bethanne. There is none like you.

God's Beautiful Handiwork: Glacier National Park

2009-09-26T14:57:00.001-07:00

Words can not express, nor these little fuzzy photos, the majesty that is Glacier National Park. If you ever have the chance to visit you must. You will not regret it.

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead..." Romans 1:20a

Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery 'I Give for Kids' Phon-a-thon

2009-09-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone: our friends, our family & our community for your support of the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery. During the evening of the phon-a-thon we (all the volunteers) were able to raise $42,015!!!

And this being our first year, we did very well too. Our team came in 2nd for total number of pledges during the evening and Dave came in 3rd for total number of personal pledges during the evening. Go Team!!! (I like exclamation marks!) Many thanks to Leslie, Jose, Ilene & Jack too!

www.vanessabehan.org

Gonzaga's 75th Anniversary Dinner for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

2009-09-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

GO ZAGS!

Ellie Boo

2009-09-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

Here is the news on the newest member of the Ruff Family; Ellie Boo

She was a stray, visiting the homes in our neighborhood, being fed here and there. She is black but in the sun light looks as if she has dark brown stripes. Our neighbor Shelli said one day she saw Adam in the backyard and "that black kitty jumped the fence and went and sat on his lap!" He'd carry her around like a football and she would just hang there. The girls gave her a little food and from then on she wouldn't leave our yard. We spent the next week and a half trying to find her owner. We scoured the Internet for lost pet postings, put up a sign at the local grocery store, and even went to the Vet to see if she was micro-chipped. At one point we thought we found her owners, but that turned out to be a dead end.
From the moment she first came over she began to woo us with her charms. She was very attentive and cuddly; like a dog. You'd call her and she'd come. (By this time the girls had already named her) She'd roll over and let you rub her belly. Most precious of all; she would jump up, keeping her hind legs on the ground, grab your hand with both paws and rub her face on your hand. And when you hold her in your arms, she takes her paws and puts them on both sides of your face. She knew what she was doing! She was picking us to be her family! I finally asked Dave to make the decision to keep her or not. I am allergic to cats so she couldn't be in the house, but having her be an outside kitty in the elements made me sad. What made me even sadder was the prospect of taking her to the pound. He made the final decision and now we have a cat.
The last two weeks we have been taking care of her and setting her up to live a healthy life. We found a vet and had her vaccinated and micro-chipped. Poor thing, being a stray we didn't know her medical history, so she had like 6 shots that day. She had tummy worms and ear mites too, so we took care of those. This last Monday she was spayed...it seems she had a litter of kittens earlier this year...luckily we got her spayed in time. My kind-hearted husband spent all last Saturday making her two cat houses; one for outside on the back porch and a heated one for in the garage. The girls painted them to match the house and we placed an "E" above the door- ways.
Ellie finally has....a HOME

Black Kitty in box #13

She was very attentive as Dave made her homes.

"A righteous man regards the life of his animal..." Proverbs 12:10a

Double Dip

2009-09-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

As the girls have grown, in stature and maturity, Dave and I have witnessed the birth of their relationships' with the Lord. Though they accepted Jesus at a younger age, we put off baptism until they were older, for obvious reasons. Even though they couldn't fully understand what it meant to be 'saved' at 6,8 & 10, we encouraged them to ask Jesus to be their Savior. (Do we ever fully grasp salvation?!) As their 'brain gets bigger' they have been able to understand more and more about what it means to love the Lord and to serve Him. Baptism on the other hand is usually something you only do once. So we asked them to wait until they were older so that it was forever locked into their memory; a defining moment in their Christian walk. This winter, as they have sought ways to please the Lord, they individually come across scriptures that say...get baptised! So that, coupled with their growing maturity in the Lord, we gave them permission to get baptised.
O what a Grand Day(....other than the blasted hornets! Both Dawson and Adam were stung) We were surrounded by family and friends who witnessed their personal testimonies & will continue to be an encouragement to the girls as they continue on in their faith.

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words I command you shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children..." Deuteronomy 6:5-7a

Wildflowers of Glacier National Park

2009-09-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Matthew 6: 28 & 29

Wildflowers and WILD kids!

Wild Chives (purple tops, very yummy too) and Orchids

This photo is special to me. I took it because of it's symbolism for our family. This plant with it's 5 leaves was growing out of the crack of this huge chunk of rock. This huge rock is situated right next to this massive waterfall. The leaves reminded me of the 5 of us clinging to our Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ. "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2

Indian Paintbrush (pink/red)

Fields of Alpine Daisey and Balsam Root (yellow)

Monkey Flower (pink)

Bear Grass. This flower was taller than me!

Yellow Columbine

Huckleberries, Hikes & Handle Bars

2009-09-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

Rachel & I

We spent 3 days up at Schweitzer Mountain as part of our family vacation. It has become a favorite winter destination and now a summer one too. One day the girls and I hiked the whole mountain. We spent the morning hiking along the base searching for Huckleberries. We hadn't done that before so it was pretty fun. We laughed a lot, frolicked along the trail and stopped to take LOTS of pictures. The girls rightly observed that they were happy the guys hadn't gone with us...they'd be complaining the whole time that we were moving to slowly or taking too much time stopping. We took the Snow Shoe Trail. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get to Upper Grr but only 20 minutes to get back. Tells you how much lollygagging we did! Next we took the chair lift up the mountain and headed back down taking the Nature Trail. It was a spectacular day with views into Canada, Idaho and Washington.
While we were hiking and picking 'power balls', the guys went extreme Mountain Biking. We brought our bikes with us, but the off-road trails would have trashed them. So the men rented bikes and took off. Of course there is no photographic evidence, but they said they had a blast! Dave flew over his handle bars 3 times! Luckily, he said, his Camel Back full of water softened the hardest blow to his back! I can't imagine flying over my handle bars and landing smack on my back and then getting back on and doing it again?!?! Adam never fell...he is obviously very proud of that. They went down the mountain 4 times with a round of disc golf on top of the mountain in between. At 4 pm we all met at the bottom of the mountain. Dave and Adam were the dirtiest I had ever seen them. Dave had to SCRUB the dirt off his body. He also had some serious road rash to once again prove his manlyness.

On a side note: Bethanne took all of these photos.

Named Upper Grr for the sounds the bears make when you try to pick their Huckleberries on Huckleberry Hill!!

Those stains took a while to come out of our hands!

Wild St. John's Wort

My Beautiful Daughters...

The Garden of Daily Living

2009-05-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

this was in our Garden Club Newsletter:

PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:
1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash selfishness
4. Squash grumbling

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:
1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:
1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another

OUR GARDEN MUST HAVE THYME:
1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends

WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE

Journal Entry Ideas

2009-05-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

If you journal, would like to start a journal, have your kids journal (maybe through the summer?!), here are some fun "starts" to journal entries.

I am thinking.....

I am thankful for.....

From the kitchen (list room you are in) I.....

I am wearing.....

I am creating.....

I am going.....

I am reading.....

I am hoping.....

I am hearing.....

I am smelling.....

I am worried.....

I am learning.....

I am needing.....

A few plans for the rest of the week.....

One of my favorite things.....

Organized Choas: Tip of the Week #6

2009-04-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

I've always had a thing for bald men. Now I think I'm in love!

Don't ask me why both my Mom and my Sister knew how to use these Beauts and I didn't, but yes, that is the sad truth. After my sister posted on Magic Erasers in her list of Favorite Things I asked both her and my Mom if they really used them to clean their showers, and they were like yah.....duh!...don't you?!

I have been known to #1 either NOT clean the shower ( I know, kind of gross, I don't let it grow mold though, that is where I draw the line! heehee) OR #2 use a whole bottle of foaming cleaner and strip down and scrub the shower and then finish with my shower. I do not recommend this. Chemicals, mist and tender skin do not go together. But you see, I had to have clean shower LIKE my Mom and Sister, and that's how I thought they did it....drats! Now their secret is out and I'm going to spread it all over the world! YOU TOO CAN HAVE A CLEAN SHOWER LIKE MY MOM & SISTER!

I got all raisin-e and spent 30 minutes in the shower with one of these Magic Erasers and they really do work...I promise! No fumes and no chemicals. Just a little scrubbing. I got buff arms from it too...wanna see?!

So save your skin and your pride and go out and buy some of these!

Mickey is Calling!

2009-04-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: Some of you will understand this post.....& some of you will not.

Yes it has only been six month since we vacationed at Walt Disney World for 10 days. SO?!

Yes we "do" Disney almost every year.

Yes it is the most magical place on earth!

The kids and I were talking the other week about where we'd like to go on vacation this year. Of course DISNEY was mentioned! (I'm so glad my kids "understand", they must have Mickey shaped DNA like I do!) We talked about how funny it is that we just love being there and that we just can't explain it. We also talked about not mentioning Disney to Dad because he might flip! He loves Disney, just not as much as some of us in the family. Yet, I find it interesting that he planned our honeymoon to end with a Disney Cruise.....hmmm! Anyhoo...the kids and I did mention it to Dave and then we spent the next hour reminiscing about our last trip to Disney.

The next day was supposed to be warm here, so we decided that would be the best day to gut the garage and spring clean. As we were taking everything out of the garage, Bethanne yells....."I found a Hidden Mickey!!!" Sure enough...there it was....calling to us....! How can you NOT think about Disney when it's always just right there?!?!

By the way, the garage looks AWESOME! Amazing what a mess you can make while remodeling in the winter. The garage is the only place to do a lot of stuff.

And well, is Disney in our near future? We will see!

Love is...

2009-04-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

A group of professionals posed the question, "What does love mean?" to a group of 4-8 years olds and the answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think.

Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way.
When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis, too. That's love.
When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.
Love is when a girls puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.
Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.
Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad, but you don't yell at them because you know it would hurt their feelings.
Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.
Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy, and she takes a sip before giving it to him to make sure the taste is okay.
Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.
Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.
When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you're scared they won't love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only do they still love you, they love you even more.
Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.
Love is like a little old women and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.
During my piano recital, I was on a stage and scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.
My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.
Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.
Love is when Mommy see Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.
I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.
I let my big sister pick on me because mom says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister because I love her.
Love cards like Valentine's cards say stuff on them that we'd like to say ourselves, but wouldn't be caught dead saying.
When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.
Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.
You really shouldn't say "I love you" unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.

TEACH magazine, author unknown, Spring 2009

His WORD on the web...

2009-03-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

A dear friend of many years has finally put her Bible Studies on the internet and I wanted you to know about it! Mary Treat has, and continues to be, a major spiritual influence in my life. I sat under her teaching for many years at Calvary Chapel Spokane and have had the privelege to meet with her outside the church for Bible Study. She is a wonderful lady, though not perfect, and I think you will definately enjoy her studies as much as I have.

hiseternalword.com

Blessings on you as you study His marvelous Word!

How to Exasperate Your Kids...

2009-03-07T22:12:00.000-08:00

I wrote this list down during a Homeschool Mom's Night conversation awhile back. I took them to heart...

How to Exasperate Your Kids:

Don't apologize.
Never admit you're wrong.
Model hypocrisy.
Fail to keep your promises.
Batter them with words.
Abuse verbally.
Make discipline too severe.
Show favoritism.
Embarass them in front of others.
Give no "time" warnings.
Trying to be their buddy or pal.
Withhold firm discipline & training.
Discipline inconsistently.
Assert parental authority weakly.
Consistently believe "evil" of them.
Don't listen to them.
Neglect them.
Threaten them with rejection.
Never communicate approval.
Overindulge.
Reward insolence.
Criticize when they are sharing their feelings.
Cease time of chastisement before it has produced humility.
Have higher standards for them then you have for yourself.
Demand to much of them.
Over protect.

It's Official......

2009-03-04T14:50:00.000-08:00

My BABY is finally taller than me!

A Valentine for YOUR Sweetheart!

2009-02-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

I was thinking today about my Man...he is so AWESOME! And then I was thinking about you all and all of YOUR AWESOME men...and with Valentine's Day around the corner...and thinking you may have a tight budget, or not, I wanted to give you an idea for a Valentine gift for your Man. I did this a couple years ago, acutually several, with some ladies, when I was facilitating M.O.P.S. and the ladies loved it!

Supplies:

1 large mason jar with lid

1" X 4" strips of paper Qty. 100

stickers, ribbon, sparkles, etc.

Valentine themed would be nice

Small candies, his favorite, not yours (heehee)

Basically you are going to write 100 reasons why you love your spouse. You are going to accordian fold them and place them in the mason jar. Add his favorite little candies. Decorate with stickers, glittler, etc. Now it may seem hard at first thinking you can come up with 100 "things" but you will. They can be serious, romantic, erotic, silly, honoring, teasing...whatever! A mixture would be PERFECT! You know your man best. This is actually really fun to do....start now so you can finish by Valentine's Day. I find the more I dwell on Dave's "perfections" the easier it is to not think about his "shortcomings" and it also puts you in a very romantic mood soooooo.....have fun with it!

Extra Tips:

Strips of decorative paper can be fed through your printer and you can have the strips already printed with "I love you because...." and then you can hand write in the rest.

If 100 is too much try 50.

Make sure your Valentine card says something like...100 reason I love you or 50 reasons I love you.

A small decorated box would work just as well as a mason jar. Use your creativity. The possibilites with this craft are really endless.

Dave STILL has his jar, we hide it so the kids won't read the little notes!

Organized Choas: Tip of the Week #5

2009-02-03T14:36:00.001-08:00

Not just for shoes anymore! This is one great idea for storing a mess load of stuff conviently and easily. You can buy these over-the-door shoe holders, with 20 pockets, at any retail store for about $6. I've used them A LOT here and there.

Here they are in the school room closet. I have one on each side wall. They hold all of the communal school supplies.
Here they are in my office closet, I have 2 in there. This is where I store all my art and office supplies. You can also see the two sweater/shoe hangers. I use them as well to use my valuable space wisely. They slide along the rod in the closet and the shoe holders are fixed to the wall. You can find pretty good deals on the sweater/shoe hangers at Ross or TJ Maxx. You can also get them at your regular retail store.

Here is the door of my pantry. My everyday utensils are stored in the kitchen drawers. Utensils I use 3 or 4 times a week go in these pockets and my less-used items go in a bin somewhere else.

You can use these ANYWHERE for ANYTHING. They have ones made of mesh too so you could use them for mittens, hats and scarves, items that would need to have air circulating around them. A friend of mine uses a couple now to store all of her skeins of yarn. My mom uses one fore her scarves, hats and gloves.

You can use them to store:

spices

cosmetics

craft supplies

utensils

tools

ribbon

stickers

cleaning supplies (obviously out of the reach of little ones)

little food packets

school material

games

snacks

paints

baby stuff

just to rattle off a few......the possibilities are ENDLESS!

Oh and yes, you can use them for shoes too!

Happy 40th Daddy! <<>>

2009-01-23T18:43:00.000-08:00

From the girls to Dave for his birthday!

^^^^^^This End Up ^^^^^^

2009-01-21T21:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we bought this ((((ginormous)))) TV for our new "Man Cave" and this is what was on the side of the box..... Now bear with me. Starting from the upper left going clockwise.
#1 I understand this universal symbol (??), the rectangular boxes represent TV boxes. The number 4 probably means that you can stack the boxes four high but, no no, you can't stack a fifth on top.
#2 Two, not just one, arrows means that "that way" is definately UP!
#3 This one is supposed to mean "Don't get wet" right? Or make sure you have an umbrella next time it rains!
#4 Same size rectangle box as in #1, but a VERY skinny stick man has it on his back. I assume it's a man. Big no no...don't carry ginormous TV on your back!
#5 This one has to mean "It takes 2."
#6 Now this last symbol is the whole reason I decided to write this blog. This looks like a wine glass to me. Is this the universal symbol for...Drink a glass of wine while you set up the TV?

I think so!

Because he can....

2009-01-21T21:22:00.001-08:00

When Bethanne and I went to Ross the parking lot was full and this guy decided that this 3 1/2 foot tall snow/ice berm wasn't going to keep him from parking! Get ur dun! I still can't believe he'd do that just to go to Ross....oh yah....Granny's All-U-Can Eat Buffet is next door, that's why!

2nd Christmas

2009-01-21T21:10:00.001-08:00

Because we spent Christmas with my parents we had a 2nd Christmas with out In-Loves on January 3rd. Here are a few pictures highlights, surprisingly we didn't get many pictures that turned out. Weird huh?

Udderly Ridiculous!

2009-01-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

I'm SOOOOO thankful we don't drink milk!!!!

Joke #1

2009-01-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

What do John the Baptist and Winnie the Pooh have in common?

*click on "comments" to find the answer.*

We live in SNOWKANE!

2009-01-02T19:04:00.001-08:00

Some fun pictures of the beginning of 2009 here in good 'ol Spokane, Washington. With record snowfall ever in Spokane!

This dump truck is hauling AWAY snow! Where to? Who knows! And he's headed North! I've heard of some people dumping snow into the lakes and rivers.
And the roofs keep crashing down! Grocery stores, fabric stores, gift stores, gas stations......Anyone in the market for a slightly damaged Futon?! Costco was even closed today to shovel snow off it's roof.

The line at Lowe's this afternoon for shovels. Only 3 per person please. The line has about 100 people in it.

On the way into town. This tree bent in a perfect arch over the road.

The SUN did make an appearance today!

Washington is getting hit hard! Wind, Avalanche, Flood, & Heavy Snow advisories.

Me trying to scrap, gently, snow off the eaves. I'm 5' 8" tall so you can see how high the snow is in front of our house.

Sugar in a Winter Wonder Land.

After shoveling the roof off, the 2nd time for Dave, we have to dig out the girl's window wells!

Um...Yah, it can stop NOW!

2008-12-29T14:19:00.000-08:00

This is today...

This was yesterday....

Merry CHRISTmas

2008-12-27T06:37:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderfu Christmas. Here are some of my favorite photos. Meat, meat & more meat! My Dad was in charge of the MEAT!

My gals.

Ella the Snow Princess.

Big D & Buddy

Coal with his snow-stache

Randolph the Red Nosed Buffalo

I bought these napkins with my sister in mind.

Christmas Movie Quotes

2008-12-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

These are some of my favorite lines out of movies that are either considered a Christmas movie or a movie that just happens to have Christmas in it!

While You Were Sleeping

"You suck!"
"I suck or the outfit sucks?"
"It's a toss up."

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas

"How could it be so,
it came without ribbons,
it came without tags,
it came without packages, boxes or bags."

White Christmas

"This is cozy...boy girl, girl boy."

The Muppet Christmas Carol

"Ah well that was a fine meal."
"Yes it was wasn't it."
"Well what should we do now?"
"Let's have lunch!"
"Oh good idea!"

Little Women

"If God wants me with Him, there is none who will stop Him."

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

"Mush...Mush...MUUUSH!!! Don't you understand North Pole talk?!"

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

"I'm crowded! But I'm loved."

Frosty the Snowman

"That silly snowman. Once they come to life they don't know nothing."

Alvin & the Chipmunks

"Wait for me!! I still have baby fat!!"

The Cutting Edge

"Honey where I come from we stand for the National Anthem."

Steel Magnolias

"Clarie, you know I'd rather walk on my lips than to criticize anybody. But Janice VanMeader.."
"I know."
"I bet you money she's paid $500 for that dress and didn't even bother to wear a girdle."
"Looks like two pigs fighting under a blanket."

Christmas Vacation

"No it's the Christmas Star. That's all that matters tonight. Not bonuses or gifts or turkeys or trees. See kids, it means something different to everybody, now I know what it means to me."
"That ain't the friggin' Christmas Star! Griz, it's a light on the sewage treatment plant!"

With Honors

"Women ain't they perfect?"
"Not always."
"Yes they are, they're perfect. Don't matter if their skinny, fat, blonde or blue. If a woman is willing to give you her love Harvard, it's the greatest gift in the world. Makes you taller, makes you smarter, makes your teeth shine, boy O boy women are perfect. Perfect joy and perfect ache. Joy when you 1st see em and get to know em. Ache when you leave them Joy...Ache...Joy...Ache...joyachejoyachesjoyachejoyachejoyache..."

The Family Man

"I choose us."

SNOW BABY!

2008-12-18T12:27:00.001-08:00

Record SNOW FALL in 24hours!

~DING DONG~

2008-12-15T19:24:00.001-08:00

Pizza Delivery!

2:02 a.m., 10 lbs. 5 ozs.

2008-12-13T12:14:00.000-08:00

Adam at 2:02 am this morning.

At Adam's Birthday Dinner last night.

Eatin' those clams he loves!

My Buddy turned 14 today!

Time has soared since that day I held him in my arms for the first time. It actually wasn't that magical at the moment. I was thinking "Wow, I did ALL that WORK for this?!" Don't hate me, I'd just been up for a very very long time and I was exhausted! My birthing story is very traumatic, you can ask me about it if you really want to hear all the details! But soon the physical pain and exhaustion passed and he became my Little Man. Tender, loving, giving, smiley, with plenty of naughtiness too! He hated to be held & to nurse. He loved bananas & airplanes (still does)

But labor didn't end at his birth. It only began. Some people spend months learning how to birth a child but no time learning how to raise a child for the next 18 or so years. All that information/education for a 24 hour period, but nothing for the 157,000 or so hours after that. I've spent the last 14 years giving everything I've got to grow this human being into someone who loves the Lord and serves Him with his all and is a valuable part of society. Sometimes I wish I could just *push* for a couple hours and out would pop this wonderful human, but it doesn't work like that. When people say what wonderful children I have, I take the time to let them know that is was a team effort. Both us parents and the kids working really hard together. As he has been growing, so have I. It is true that they are little mirrors, they just reflect back to you what you are all about. Very sobering and humiliating at times & refreshing and lovely at others (thank You Lord!). The hardest part for me about today is all the questions circling around in my head: Have I done enough? Did I teach him correctly? What if....? Does he know how to do....? How have I hindered him? Did I give him enough opportunities? Did I discipline him too much or not enough? Does he.....(fill in the blank)? He's 14!!! Not too many more years with me. He IS growing into the man I hoped he'd be one day. That brings me great comfort and joy. Yet I am determined to continue the HARD work & labor of raising my son to be a Godly man. A man who is a reflection of his heavenly Father and not a reflection of his earthly mother.

It's beginning.....

2008-12-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

.....to SNOW!!!! Yipeeeeeee!

O Christmas Tree...

2008-12-10T22:07:00.001-08:00

...O Christmas Tree, how expensive are your branches!

This year found us looking for our beloved tree in the middle of town. After last years "Snowshoe Death March" memories, Laura's morning sickness & sick kids, our big family decided to not take our annual trek up into the Colville National Forest to cut down a Christmas tree in the beginning of December. No, last Saturday, we found the nearest tree lot, forked over $50 (usually a $5 tag gets us one), tied it to the Sub, and drove home! Oh well, not quite as fun or memorable, but we still got our tree.

5479 Days!

2008-12-04T21:23:00.000-08:00

Today is our 15th Wedding Anniversary! Whoopee!

We had a wonderful time this evening reminiscing about the years gone by. I am SO thankful to the Lord for bringing this man into my life. To be my very best friend, companion, lover, mentor & head of our home.

When you've been together as long as we have, & you write stuff down, you begin to really see the "Big Picture" and it's very cool.

In the last 15 years.....

Dave survived a major auto accident

gotten in 4 fender benders

had 4 ER visits

got braces (me)

survived unemployment with a child

had a cholecystectomy, rhinoplasty, tonsillectomy, & abdominal reconstruction followed by a vasectomy!

remodeled, on our own, 2200 square feet

bought and paid off 6 vehicles

3 speeding tickets

visited 9 countries

had 3 different gym memberships

helped save a mans life

been apart, at one time, for 50 days

made it through 12 years of my sickness

made it through a failed personal business

on our 3rd camera

payed off Gonzaga University student loans

home schooled, collectively, for 17 years

helped start a church

4 trips to Disney

helped a family member start a restaurant

had 3 kids within 23 months

had 3 kids in diapers for over a year

helped a man in Africa financially so he could take care of his parents & get married. He later named his first son David.

had no cable TV for over 10 years

mourned the loss of a beloved friend

been debt free 3 times (3rd time must be the charm!)

bought 2 diamond wedding rings

only made one 911 call

lived with a family member

lived in 6 homes

took 1 severance package

worked (Dave) approximately 7500 hrs. of OT

& it goes on & on & on........

The most BEAUTIFUL part is how I can look back over the years and see the LORDS HAND on our lives. We've gone through many difficult times but we have also been able to enjoy so many wonderful blessed times. They all add up to OUR LIVES. Our lives orchestrated by HIS loving hands.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you," says the Lord, "thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

PS~ Dave bought me the wool sweater I am wearing in the picture on our honeymoon. I wear it every anniversary!

If I was a Gingerbread Gal......

2008-11-30T23:08:00.000-08:00

...this would be my winter home.....

...and this would be my summer home!

11:11 am, 7 lbs 9 ozs & 11:41 am, 8 lbs 7 ozs

2008-11-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

11:41 am yesterday

11:11 am yesterday

"Twins! We're having TWINS!" "I need a beer!" Yes, those were the words of my husband when he found out that God would be blessing us with 2 more children instead of 1. I was in for my routine 4 1/2 month ultrasound. Granted I was huge and I felt like an octopus was living inside of me, but the Doctors & us thought I was just having another large baby like Adam. Boy were we all wrong! The sonographer squeezed that blue jelly on my belly and took one swipe with the wand and there went two heads! Our lives have never been the same.

My girls turned 12 yesterday! I can honestly say I didn't see it coming!

We had a wonderful day together which started with a trip to the local coffee shop and then a haircut at the salon (as opposed to Mom's Salon). The girls had each picked out a hairstyle they liked and one they thought they could maintain themselves. The most shocking part of the salon experience is when Bethanne's hair came off. 1st with a donation to Locks of Love and next with her new stylin' do! I had no problem with the hair coming off, just a problem with the extra beautiful girls underneath! I think they look so much like Dave's sister Suzanne, which is ok by me, she is beautiful.

After lunch at home we went to a few of their favorite stores, TJ Maxx & Mels. Adam bought each of the girls a present, a large pink cut glass stone for Bethanne & a cute little Christmas decoration for Rachel. It is a little statue of an acorn with a cardinal sitting on top all dusted in glittery snow.

At 6 we headed to our favorite dinner spot Mizuna. Our waiter Chris bought the girls birthday drinks and we had a BLAST laughing, taking pictures & having a great family night. Dave showed up with a dozen roses for each of the girls. They were so excited. Bethanne "tried" to ask Chris to pack up her desert in a to-go box....it was ice cream!

Next we found ourselves at home singing Happy Birthday as the girls blew out their 12 candles in their new snow-man jammies.

I am bummed too. I tried to scan pictures of the girls when they were born but our scanner isn't working. I'm sure you'll believe me when I say they were the most beautiful babies ever born!

Thanksgiving is always around the girls birthday. We actually came home with them on Thanksgiving during Ice Storm in '96. The whole family was without power so we ordered pizza! Very memorable to say the least.

KNIGHTS Halloween

2008-11-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

Boy this post is weeks (a month actually) overdue!...

I thought you'd all get a kick out of seeing what we dressed up like for Dave's office Halloween party. Now remember this is an engineering firm...full of engiNERDS, and this party has become one of the favorites for the staff and their families. The Structural Department did an 80's Flashback, the Administrative staff did Alice in Wonderland, the Civil Department made a human Foosball table, & the Electrical Department portrayed all the famous detectives of the past and present. Every department gets to put on a 5 minute skit if they want to and we have "celebrity" judges come to the office and vote for best department. The Mechanical Department chose Monty Python's Holy Grail for it's theme. I'll let the pictures do the talking but I'd like to mention that Bethanne sewed part of Dave's costume and all of hers and...uuhh...theirs!

Oh, & lest I forget to mention, we won the coveted SKULL this year!

Disclaimer: Our kids have not watched this movie, in case you were wondering....you were weren't you!

WDW Day 5-10 Part 1

2008-11-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has taken me a while to finish this blog.....

Well we pretty much spent the rest of our Walt Disney World vacation at Animal Kingdom. What an AMAZING park! It's like walking through the best zoo you've ever been to & getting to ride some of the best rides you've ever been on.

Adam's new all time favorite: Mt. Everest roller coaster. It goes forwards and backwards! That's where he got the t-shirt that says "Scream like a Girl", on clearance too, that's my boy!

Dinosaur: the scariest ride ever! I'm afraid of dinosaurs and this was tops for me. Dinos chasing you and breathing their hot breath on you! Yikes! It was also the funnest ride ever with the family. This is the only ride where we purchased the Disney photo they take of you at the scariest moment of the ride. I wish I could post the image, maybe Dave can help me with that. Anyway, at the end of the ride a gigantic dino, just like the fossil above, jumps out at you and breaths hot air on you like it's going to eat you.....& then they snap a photo! So Adam, Bethanne, Rachel, & I are in the front seat with Dave behind us. I have my head down clenching the handle bars, you can't even see my face because my hair is covering it, Beth & Rach are basically in my lap looking at the dino and screaming their heads off, & Adam, well...he's completely missing! All you can see is the blue strip from the back of his shirt....he had folded himself in half and could be barely seen! And Dave, he's like "this is so cool!!" The photo shop lady laughed her head off!

Animal Kingdom is beautiful. Everywhere you look there is a habitat for an endangered species. The best bird shows & an endangered animal safari right in the center. Have you ever been to Disneyland in California? If you have this will help you understand just how big Walt Disney World is. Animal Kingdom is 1 of 6 parks. You can fit Disneyland in the safari Sahara of Animal Kingdom!!!!

As you can tell from the pictures the last 5 days also included rain. We made the best of it and had a blast. On the worst day, at Animal Kingdom, we were in our ponchos eating snacks under the plastic. At some spots the water was up to my ankles! The rain is warm there not like here in Washington, so you could just hang out and have fun. Almost like playing in the bath!

On the last day of our trip we park hopped and went to all of our favorite rides before heading home to good ole' Spokaloo....it's was FREEZING! Hard to go from 89 degrees to 45!

All in all the BEST vacation we have ever taken as a family. A once in a lifetime vacation...actually, I hope it's not, it would be nice to go again!

FYI: we drank 100 liters of water while we were there & my hair was curly at the ends!

WDW Day 5-10 Part 2

2008-11-05T14:08:00.001-08:00

VOTE PEOPLE!

2008-10-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

Enough said!

WDW Day 5

2008-10-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today it's back to the Magic Kingdom! Could vacation be any funner?!?!

WDW Day 4

2008-10-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

What a day! Epcot: what another great Park. Top picks: Mission Space (yes...I finally went to space....I wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger but I figured I couldn't really be used by the Lord in space so I decided to be a nurse), Soarin', & the HUGE aquarium outside the Finding Nemo ride. We got a Magical Moment and were picked out of the line at Soarin', given a back stage pass & front row seats on the ride, with no wait. Very fun. Adam loves to fly so this was a very special treat for him. Then we used our Fast Passes and got right back on the ride! Another treat was that we actually got to eat a meal in the park. I know...crazy huh! We approached the head chef at one of the restaurants and he went through every food items we were interested in and helped us find stuff with could eat. I tell ya', that sandwich was the best! So nice....& I didn't get sick!

While we were there the Food & Wine Festival was going on at Epcot. Not too much fun for us, but we enjoyed the live music & even got to watch an acrobatic show put on by children from China visiting our country. Amazing. We also stumbled onto a Starship concert...free of course. We sat and listened to a few songs and then we were on our way.

We finished the evening with a fire work show.

Tidbits: I brought glow in the dark "stuff" for the kids I bought at the Dollar Tree. MUCH cheaper than right before the fire works at Disney World!

WDW Day 3

2008-10-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Typhoon Lagoon! So fun! A huge water park with roller coaster water slides and the biggest wave pool in the U.S. My absolute favorite...all time...thrill of a life time for me...I've always wanted to do....snorkeling! They have a huge saltwater tank with tons of fish & sharks. It was stunning. I went twice. We also have some friends who live in Seattle who we found out would be at Disneyworld too. We we're sitting down to have lunch and we heard "Ruffs!" What are the chances of being at the same park on the same day at the same food stand?!?! We sat and had lunch with our friends the Edlin's. I guess we have to go to Florida again if we want to see them! We all figured that would be ok with us!

Tidbit:

Don't go into the wave pool unless your armed & dangerous! After being toppled over twice, by grown men in goggles, body surfing the 6 foot wave into shore, I was done! I think those men took "you can be like a kid at Disneyworld" a little too much to heart!

That evening we headed back to our cabin to clean up and spent the evening at Downtown Disney. Lots of stores and another "park" called Disney Quest. It's like 5 stories high and every floor is loaded with interactive "computer" games with simulators. One thing you can do is design your very own roller coaster and then go into a simulator and ride the coaster you just made! You can go tame or make it "vomitus!" Rachel & Bethanne designed one but weren't able to ride their coaster. Beth had a low, her only one on our trip, so that took her out of commission for a couple hours.

Very fun. By the way, the dragon is made completely out of Lego's and his body goes in and out of the lake 3 times!

WDW Day 2

2008-10-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

Adam & I in the qeue for Chronicles of Narnia
Beauty & the Beast....of course I'm Beauty & Dave is the Beast......just kidding!
The cutest little fountain with Muppet characters. Adam has always loved Rizzo the Rat. Me too.
Our transportation of choice...Disney buses

Day two found us at Disney's Hollywood Studios. That park was a blast! Lot's of stunt shows, behind the scenes tours, musicals, & some amazing rides. Tower of Terror is Beeps favorite ride of all time. We ate more smoked turkey legs & Adam shared his cotton candy with the girls and I. One show we went to was a half hour musical of Beauty & the Beast. Some of you know that movie has sentimental value for me. Dave and I went and saw it with a bunch of our friends before we were an item. We sat next to each other and he flirted with me!

We ended the night at the Fantasmic fireworks show and called it a night.

Tidbits:

I haven't mentioned the weather yet. Upper 8o's and about 80% humidity! I actually liked it very much.

The cast members at this theme park were really fun. I'm thinking specifically about a guy who works in the Star Wars shop. He was hilarious. A "Sith" (hope I spelled that right, I know Scott with correct me! hehe) so he could be mean if he wanted to. He swung his saber around and made kids smile and laugh. He challenged us with questions and helped Adam make a custom light saber. Very fun!

WDW Day 1

2008-10-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Turkey Legs mmmmm......
We're here!
Girls waiting at airport.
Cinderella's Castle

Our adventures started at the airport with a flight to Seattle and then an overnight flight to Orlando. We arrived at 7:20 am their time which is 3 hours ahead of us here in Washington. Of course no one could sleep on the plane. I hate flying. No one got sick though so that was good.

We were picked up by a bus promptly that took us to Disney's Fort Wilderness. The service even picks up your luggage and delivers it to your room. We were very excited to hear that our cabin was ready for us and that we could check in early. We showered as quick as we could and headed by boat to the Magic Kingdom. It's huge! Like 3 times bigger than Disneyland! We spent the day visiting our favorite rides from California's Disneyland. I have to say that almost all of the rides are better at WDW as well as the queue areas. So much attention to details it's amazing!

With no sleep the night before, we headed home at a decent time. When we got back to our cabin our food had been delivered as well as our luggage. I ordered food for the week from a grocery delivery service. The only thing wrong was that 1 package of hot dogs was missing and Bethanne's luggage. I didn't really care about the hot dogs, but Beeps needed her luggage. Dave spent over an hour trying to chase it's whereabouts down and finally called one of his admin. staff at work to help him. It took her 15 minutes to find out what happened to Beeps luggage and to find out where it was and when it would arrive! Dave laughed about that one. Beeps luggage had been sent from Seattle to Fairbanks Alaska but at least they had sent it on to Orlando and it would arrive that evening. I went to bed and Dave stayed up. It was kind of a wild night. I guess I woke up and tried to explain to him that it was ok to buy golf balls as gifts and that yes...I was awake and knew what I was talking about?!?!?!? The kids woke up at midnight and said we were late and that it was time to get up and go! See what sleep deprivation can do to you!!

Tidbits:

Gardengrocer.com: great service!

Disney's Magical Express: great service!! We were treated very well.

Cabins at Fort Wilderness: pretty clean, just enough room, don't have to worry about the neighbors.

Florida's water is NASTY

Walt Disney World

2008-10-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

We're back! I'm too tired to write a long blog now (a little jet lag & a little chest cold too) but I wanted you all to know we had an AMAZING time! Really....an amazing time! I'm looking forward to sharing all of the wonderful details with you, so check back here often. Here are a couple pictures to start with. We took about 300 hundred!

I do!

2008-09-25T21:25:00.001-07:00

The kids!
Thank you Beeps for the bunny ears! Nice!

Miss Bean & My Girls!
Our whole family!
My Man & I
Bret & Nicole

Last weekend we went to the Tri-Cities to celebrate and witness the marriage of a dear gal in our family.

Weddings...I love them!

Mmmm.....Cookies

2008-09-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Mom, "I sure want some cookies!"

Bud,"I'll make you some!"

Life is good!

Organized Choas: Tip of the Week #4

2008-09-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite organizaitonal tips for families with young kids. This gives them the "organizational bug" that will last them a lifetime...guaranteed! I also find that children are more content with what they own when it's not all thrown into a room and messed up. I'd hate to wrap a present or make a craft when all of my stuff is thrown together into several boxes mixed with tools & winter clothing! If it's just too messy they don't even want to try and find what they want to play with either.

Organize your kids toys and belonging into groups. They can be either all the same types of objects or themes. Examples would be blocks, little vehicles, doll clothes, dinosaurs, or Leggos. Purchase lidded containers in your preferred sizes, taking in to account what you will storing in them. Place a pile of the toys on a table and take an aeriel view of them. Repeat with the rest. Have your photos printed and then tape them to the front of the box with packing tape. Cover every surface of the photo with tape. Place toys inside and voila!...your child is organized!

I started this when my kids were really little. This method teaches them #1 we value and appreciate what we have so we take care of it #2 that everything has a home #3 that I can always find my favorite toys because I know right where they are! The photo on the front helps them to know what goes exactly in the box, especially children that can not read yet. When my kids were able to read I replaced the photo with written words. The possibilities are endless, really. We have boxes down stairs right now that say Leggos, Ello, BB Guns, & Nerf to name a few. And as a collection grows, say Nerf guns, you get a bigger box, create a new label & save the smaller box for something else.

~This also works well with the development of a child. They can learn to play with one box of toys and stay focused on the playing-at-hand. In the older child is also creates spontenaity. "Let's have a Nerf war!" Ok...we know exactly where everything is!

~This block box is the only original one left. These blocks belonged to my nephew who is in his early 20's now. They were passed to my kids, that's when I made the box. Then I passed them back to my sister whose kids play with them today. Lots of Ruff kids teethed on those!

Twitterpated #7

2008-09-19T12:03:00.001-07:00

The birdies are growing up! Here they are, about to molt their baby feathers. You can see their beaks beginning to turn orange.

Greek Statue

2008-09-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

This is one of the reasons why I love that my girls are home with me during the day!

Sugar is Beeps own Greek Statue!

Prayer Cards

2008-09-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I find that I need many things "organized" in my life. My prayer life has been one of those areas at times.

With a busy household and lots of things to talk to the Lord about, I felt it necessary to make Prayer Cards as helpful reminders. Occasionally I'd feel as if I was praying the same prayers over & over again or forgetting to pray about specific areas of my life or the life of others. These have helped me stay focused in my time with the Lord & I find that the days prayer card reminders stick with me throughout the day. I am reminded more often to pray about specific people, circumstances and areas.

This is my version 2.0 that I wanted to share with you! I will hang this on my bedside lamp shade. I like to pray in the morning before I leave my room while I'm still in bed.

My Prayer Cards include every day of the week. Monday is Dave, then Tuesday is the kids, Wednesday our family/home, Thursday my extended family, Friday my church family, Saturday our world, and Sunday me. Each card has the topic of that day's prayers as well as being broken down into more specific areas. One example is the kids: their physical protection, spiritual protection, health, spiritual growth, future spouses, & future plans. Another example is the world: neighbors, community, city, state, nation, world, & our Leaders.

I printed each day onto an 8 1/2 X 11 piece of cute paper using a business card sized template on a computer program I have. I also printed a cover card. Then I went to Kinko's and laminated them inside luggage tags. Kinko's provides assorted clips to choose from also. I chose a name badge holder clip. The whole set of Prayer Cards cost me $12.

Prayer

2008-09-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

PRAY.....it's hard to stumble when you are on your knees.

Organized Choas: Tip of the Week #3

2008-09-10T13:27:00.001-07:00

This is a storage system I created from powder-coated wire grid cube thingys! You can buy these kits to make cube shaped free standing shelving. I made them with a bin on the botton and a bin on the top. Everyone has there own indicated by a lamenated tag hanging from the top bin. We put outside shoes, roller blades, etc. in the bottom. We put our bike helmets, lunch boxes, umbrellas, & items bought personally, like cool water guns or bike gloves, etc. in the top bin. These have been very effective in keeping everyone's stuff organized & safe from being prematurely trashed.... if you know what I mean. As you can tell by the picture someone put their life-jacket in there, which should be in another bin, geez!....I try. At least it's in her bin!

Our First Day of School

2008-09-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day! Oh Lord help me!

Our Weekend to Remember

2008-09-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

Wow! I am still on cloud 9....no maybe cloud 10!

Last week we found ourselves looking ahead to a weekend without the kids (thank you G & G Ruff!) so we decided to head to Sandpoint, Idaho, and stay up at the lodge at Schweitzer again.

Road trips are always awesome for My Man & I. We love to talk together. Usually these are the times we make large decisions for our family as well as spending time exhorting & encouraging one another. The Lord has been so good to us. We also spent time thanking Him and talking about Him, His Word, & His people (you!).

Friday night was hard because I got sick. I must have gotten into one of my intolerances at lunch. We went to Mizuna, which is the only place I can eat at, and I've never gotten sick there before. I knew it was my intolerance & not food poisoning because I get a massive migraine and nausea until around 4 am. It's like clock work. With that horrible evening aside we drove down the mountain Saturday to the little town of Sandpoint, parked at the public beach.....& rode bikes all day! Now this may not seem to be a big deal, but IT IS! I have not done anything like this since I was 16 or so. That's the last time I rode my/a bike. (My Mom melted it! That's a story for another blog!) And most of you know that the last 15 years I've either been with little kids OR really sick OR spent money on bikes for kids! My Man bought me a new bike a couple weeks ago & this was my first bike trip. We had so much fun! I really felt free & healty again which is SO awesome for me. Saturday night we headed back to Spokane for church and then headed back to Sandpoint after. That night was much nicer. Jacuzzi, home-made hummus pizzas in our room, little glass of wine....it was amazing. Sunday we drove down the mountain, & quess what? We rode bikes all day! We rode around Sandpoint and then headed south towards Couer d'Alene. We stopped at Round Lake state park and biked around the whole lake. You should have seen the hills I climbed! Then we drove farther and visited Farragut state park and biked around there. We continued to Couer d'Alene and again, rode our bikes all around.

Absolutely wonderful! And I'm only slightly sore today.

Highlights:

Lunch by the Statue of Liberty with our feet in the lake

Racing Dave to the Sub, I lost of course!

The weather was superb. Low 70's and sunny!

Fish Hatchery

Talking politics

Sandpoint Farmer's Market. We had Italian green beans for a snack. Fresh picked, sweet, crunchy & about 10 inches long! No kidding. We shared them with some kids riding bikes that were very curious as to what we were eating.

Fake waterfall we drove to see

The views

Getting locked out of the resort and our room. Our room keys got deactivated while we were in the pool so we had to walk around in our robes until we could get back in.

Fart Bikers. Someone had made a stencil of "gas" and spray painted "farts" coming out the backside of all of the painted road symbols for Bike Lane!

"Freds"

We live in a beautiful part of the country!

Sipping mint tea

Bike jumps

LOVE

Having My Man say he was so proud of me!

Thank you Lord for My Weekend to Remember!