Carving Pumpkins

Well, it's that time of year. I love it. The colors are changing and the fresh & crisp air reminds us of FALL!! I have to say it has been absolutely beautiful up here in the Northwest.

I am so disappointed though in myself. I didn't ever make it to the Pumpkin Patch this year. I am not sure why- other than adding an extra sport into the mix for two kiddos. And that was too much fun to miss out on.

But QFC had a wonderful selection at prices that were hard to argue with. So, we had a blast last night carving away. All in all, we carved 5 pumpkins. From big to little. Ethan had a blast and so did Kae and Brooke. Mom wore here rubber gloves-- and boy were they the envy of the night. Funnier how the older they get the grosser things seem to be. We used every kitchen utensil possible to get the "guts" out of those pumpkins. Not a spot in sight was safe from "orange slimey sphagetti." It was just too much fun.

Here are some fun pics...






Brookelyn's finished pumpkin doesn't put out enough light to get a good pic in the dark but her's is super cute.


Mom's pumpkin

Dad's pumpkin

Ethan's pumpkin



Kaelyn does plan on taking his to the Wild West Fest at church tomorrow. They are having a contest and he even carved "I love Jesus" on his that the candle actually shines through. He was totally thrilled with how it turned out. This was the first year I let him do the carving part. He almost did the whole thing by himself. Not really sure where the santa seahawk hat came into the night but he sure is a cutie...





HAPPY HALLOWEEEN!! TRICK OR TREAT!!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! TRICK OR TREAT!!!

Ladies... This Friday--- Crop Nite!!!

I love crop nites. It's such a great way to spend a Friday night with all your girlfriends. A time to craft, chat, and have great snacks. So don't forget to bring your tools and projects and a snack to share. We will have a lot of fun. Starts at 6:30.

Don't forget we have a new Fall/Winter Catalog. And the Stamp of the Month is a wonderful set. Artwork below is from that set. It can be yours FREE- ask me how!!

Oh Bother...

I am such an Eeyore right now. I can't get past this sinus infection. I feel like after 5 days of antibiotic I am still worse than I was when I went in. I get these all the time and a round of meds usually zaps it away. But this one is lingering and holding on for dear life. Not fun.
We are all doing great though. Ethan is loving school and playing with his friends. Brookelyn is loving everything in life. From reading to her new music program she got in to. Kaelyn is a bit under weather but did I mention last Saturday he turned "12". Middle school and almost a "teen" Yikes!!! But he is doing so great in all of his classes and is back to loving math the best. Playing like a rock star on the football field and just loving life too!! Dalton is working so hard right now and starting to lose sleep from all of my coughing. Sorry honey.
But they have a new project to start working on... I will have to get out in the garage and take a picture of the new baby in our home. It's a 67 Mustang. They (Hubby and Kaelyn) are going to restore it for Kaelyn to have when he is ready to drive. It might just take that long. It really is in pretty good shape. It drives fast and well. I guess the fast part is not really needed... but sure makes it fun. They hope to paint it crimson and put cream stripes down the hood and wherever they go.. Boomer Sooner car!!! I am excited to see it all come to fruition.
Well, don't have much time. I have to get Ethan off to school. But wanted to post a little just to keep me in the habit. Talk soon.

Home Extreme Makeover- Night before unveiling

Well, it is only the 3rd time in their taping and building of homes that they have not been able to meet the deadline. But it actually happened here in the great rainy Northwest. I had promised my daughter that we would go Wednesday to "Move that Bus" day but I didn't want to take her out of school. I couldn't find a schedule anywhere for the time that they would be making the great reveal. So Ethan and I headed up to Kirkland. Amazingly there were no traffic hurdles on 405 and it was only a 35 minute drive for us. We got to the shuttle area and no one was there but the 2 busses. Got to the site and there was soooo much work to be done. It was clear that morning after raining on them for almost a solid week. Some cloud breaks but not enough apparently.
I heard from a worker that it would be at least 6 or 8 that night before they could do the unveiling and Paul actually told her he thought that was a "best case" scenerio. So, back in the car Ethan and I drove back down 405 home. A route we had become very familiar with over the that week.
Well, I had volunteered to help clean up the next day and got an email that it would be postponed until afternoon. So I new the unveiling would be delayed until that next morning. So, that night I took Ethan and Brooke back to view the progress and let Brooke catch a glimpse of what it was all like. We met a family that had a girl her age and they were instantly friends shouting "Ty, Ty, Ty!!" But he just didn't come out in time. We got pictures of Michael and Paige again. That thrilled everyone.



Cold boy with rosy cheeks...


And a girl who didn't want to go home. "Please can't we stay and see Ty??!!"

That next morning I was going to head out until I found out spectators had to be in position by 7 and move that bus would be at 9. Three kids makes that a little hard. But I am so glad that I got to experience the parts that I did. It is so weird to watch the episodes on tv now and know how much goes into every little scene they shoot.
But the best was getting to talk to all the neighbors who truly love this woman and her children. Dalton got to go take a day off on Tuesday and really help with the construction. He was up and out at the staging area by 4:30 am helping do insulation and various other things. What a day for him!! He loved it. And best of all I got one of the blue shirts to sleep in!!!
Thanks for the great experience and congrats to the Chapin family. Can't wait to see the episode in January.

Grocery Game dot come....

I have to tell you about this again. I don't remember if I went into much detail before. But if you are honestly looking to cut down your weekly or monthly grocery bill you have to do this. I used to go bi-weekly to Costco to buy all my food except the few things I still needed in addition at Safeway. I was way overspending on our grocery budget- which isn't the reason you have one to begin with right???

I read about this grocery game some of my fellow consultants were playing and thought "Hey I am gonna try that" So I signed up for a free trial period... and printed off my lists. I had also read that you wouldn't really save much during the first few weeks when you are just starting out collecting the coupons. But let me tell you I did. The first time I came home from shopping off the list Dalton was amazed at the amount of bags I had stuffed into our Suburban. It was full in th cargo area and the back seats. I had gotten more than my Costco/grocery money had ever gotten before. It was a great WOW factor for us!!

How it works?? They have studied the sales of all the markets and take all the guess work out of it for you. The lists comprise the best time to use your coupons on items that are actually at a "rock bottom" sale price. Not just manufactured paid advertising. For our family we are buying 2 Seattle Times papers allowing to get 2 sets of coupons. I honestly could probably use 1 more paper to maximize the total saving and stocking up on items. So they do these in a 12 week cycle. You are stocking up on items that you don't NEED right now so that when you do NEED them you won't be going out and paying full price. I make my menus based on what I have in my pantry rather than making a menu and running out to buy off of that. That has saved us too.

Now I won't lie you saw the adorned coupon book... yours doesn't have to look like that. That is just how I am. But you will need some kind of binder and definate alone time to clip, sort, file, and pull expired coupons. It is a lot of work- but the saving far outways the work. So, go try it out.... www.grocerygame.com

Adoption Update

Well, I guess God is giving me the true ability to LEARN patience. Our homestudy interviews were done on Monday the 17th. We thought it would be written and given to the appropriate next step people 2 weeks later. I got an email this last Friday that with the new laws we are waiting on the state of OK to give their clearance on a background check for child abuse and neglect. That is all she is waiting on to have it turned in. I am asking for everyone to pray that they will be swift in response and that it will all be done this week. We can't move on to the state here for foster licensing without that homestudy report.
I grew up always hearing "Good things happen to those who wait." Well, after being tired of hearing that one all the time I changed it up a bit... "Good thing happen to those who do something about it NOW." Just appears that it's not about me. I know hard to believe I am saying that one!! It is all about God's timing and the perfect child that he has already had in our plans and being obedient and patient with His timing. I got it, I got it... I just wish I could see the plans that lie ahead.
So, if you are wondering where we are and stand with our process that is it!! Waiting patiently.

Artwork...

Well when I let my website go, I intended to use this blog to have an outlet for my artwork. I have been so crazy busy that posting itself is a challenge and then to have time to create has been a real challenge. But I finally sat down and played with our new stamp of the month for October and finally (thank you Maddy) got my address book bound. I still need to embellish it and do the front cover up real cute... but it still is amazing to me. We (Tricia and I) modeled it after the 9x9 calendar that CTMH sells. I absolutely love it. I plan on offering it as a workshop before the new year. Let me know if you are interested.

Also, crop nite is coming up in just 1 week!!! Yahoo a time for us girls to just get busy on all of our projects. And snack and chat...

So to start off with the Address Book... don't ask how long this took..


Close up of the tabs...


A glimpse of the inside of the book... a pocket on the tabbed page for cards or misc... and each page so cutely decorated..


Then a couple of cards... the one with santa uses our twill stickstock. I love it and am so glad I finally decided to use it. I hoard things a bit...



Thanks for looking and enjoy your rainy day!! Because I refuse to admit that elsewhere it may be sunny, warm and well a better day!!

Home Extreme Makeover

Okay, it's raining so awfully today... doesn't look much better for tomorrow. But I so want to go to the reveal. I just have to share with you the amazing photos I got of the cast on demo day. I love this show so much. It is one of the only "family" shows we watch. Everyone in our family loves it. Kaelyn even did his million dollar project last year being Ty and doing a makeover for a factitious family. It was so much fun.
Anyway, Ethan and I trotted down to the site on the day they did demo and got to meet the cast and lots of other fans. It was truly wonderful!!! Dalton also took off yesterday and did some volunteer work. He got there around 4:30am and got to help with the insulation and other things. He said it was amazing.
This show is truly a gift to many people.
Enjoy the pics..
This is Michael

John..

Paige and John.. (love the pink helmet, matching shirt and boots)

And of course Ty...

Talking to the family...

They found lead and asbestos in the house so he had to suit up to take the camera in to talk to the family...


And Ethan having fun coloring while waited for the "wrecking and crashing"...


The show is to air sometime in January. If I get to brave the rain and go tomorrow. I will post the pictures I get then.