It feels so good!

I have our taxes done, printed and filed! I just have to wait to make sure they have been approved! It feels so good to not have to worry about them! We pray you are all staying warm today. Have a wonderful weekend!
Happy day.

L's shirt that I won!

I had told you about Monkey Stitch and the giveaway that I won. Here are some photos of L in her shirt (and clip but you can't really see it... she did not really co-operate)... Thanks again Tori!

Michigan photos!

My view... from the back seat. I told you I am a lucky lady. Did not realize until after I took the photo that I got a state cop in it too!
Great Grandpa and some of the children that were at the party.

Who would have thought that D would be as close to the cake as you could get!

L checking out Grandma's necklace. (her dad is who turned 90)

L and Great Grandma, playing a little yatzee.

I have more photos but I am going to make a slide show to go right here. There are quite a few of the kids playing at the party.

Have children, will travel!

That's right. 1011 mile round trip to be exact (not including all the running we did while we were in town). And the best part about it -- Jeremy's aunts who had never met L, great-grandpa's 90th birthday party (50+people including 17 children), the "Mighty Mac", tooooo many "grandma's"!!, IKEA!, NO children issues, NO van issues! I have a few pictures (including the Macinaw Bridge ("Mighty Mac") lots of the party. The way out the bridge was hazy and D just went bazzurk. He loved it. On the way home, the sun shone so gloriously over it (but of course that time my camera was packed)... I had the privilege? of sitting in the back of the van with the little boys. I can tell you that in an effort not to complain, we are just going to end this sentence NOW! We are forever thankful for everyones help over the weekend, (It was so nice to see ALL of you, thanks for spoiling my children rotten, **sorry about the pillow top mattress...) and for our van that ran without any issues and has a dvd system.
Truly, we are blessed.

December 2008 Photos!

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

Romans 13:1

Happy day!

Haven't been on the computer lately... a house full due to cold weather! We have been playing games and cleaning house. Oh what fun, let me tell you. We spent yesterday "chasing wires" after we had an electrical issue here. Fixed though, THANKS MICHAEL, we couldn't have done it without you!
I will be gone again here both today (we are going on an outing) and this weekend. Headed to Jeremy's grandpa's 90th birthday party!
I have also been back to the gym trying to get into better shape. So, here are my goals for the week. I want to post all of the photos from December 2008 (I am making a slide show!) and get into the gym to meet my "quota". All of that in three days, I CAN DO IT!
Stay warm everyone.

I WON, I WON, I WON!!!

I enter "giveaways" often on other peoples blogs and well, I WON!!! The Monkey Stitch giveaway! I got to pick what I wanted. Tori over at Monkey Stitch is making L a custom shirt! I can't wait to see it. Go on over and check out the work she does! It is really cute, and affordable. They even have FREE shipping for all of us frugal moms. When L gets her shirt, I will post a photo of her in it! I am saving my pennies to get all of the kids one!
Happy day.

*Wordless Wednesday*well, not really!

This was intended to be "wordless" but I decided to edit it to explain each photo! Had to get these up. If I am going to be an "accountability partner" (you go girl!) I need to hold myself accountable for what I say I am going to do... like post these photos. L's room. See the adorable little bed. Boy oh boy does it make the room look huge. Top left of the photo, that is my stack of photos that need to be taken care of. Hopefully someday I will have enough babysitting money to frame all of them. We love children's books, can you tell?!? The dresser on the right is D's clothes and all crib size blankets and bedding (both toddler beds take that size). L's clothing is all in the closet.
The boys room. To the right is a computer desk and that is all that is in that room. The two big boys have an organizer in their closet that holds their essentials and the rest of their clothes get hung up.

Our room.

My dresser. Now there is a reason for this photo (not just to show off my amazing collection of willow tree). If you know me aren't you proud... you can see my dresser!!! Huge accomplishment for me, just ask my husband (it drives him crazy).

The kitchen from standing in the entry (from the driveway, also goes downstairs). The dark cabinet in the hallway is food on top and towels, rags, junk on the bottom (my only "linen" closet in the house). Under the chair on the right, can you see it? That has become the home for the play dough bag because it is used daily. They love it!

Our table at "rest" so people can get through the kitchen easier.

When we need it, I pull the table out and three (or four when I let them) kids fit on the bench. When we are done we clean it off and push the table back to the wall. Works great (we also have two more chairs and a leaf... when we add those, we turn the table the other way and put the bench by the sliding door, in order to make it all fit the dishwasher gets wheeled down to the bedrooms so we can get around the table... only when we have a crowd!) You can also see our awesome back yard! Can't wait until it warms up!

Living room, from standing by the table. Dishwasher to my left. Don't mind the rug rats!

Turtle tank to the left of the big couch. That is usually where my keyboard goes when the CHRISTmas tree isn't up)

Standing by the turtle tank and front door. Where the tree is, is where the turtle tank usually sits. I took a picture of the entertainment center because I thought it was funny. Did you know that "starwars" and the coast guard were at the "nativity"! (obviously our littles can't play with the tiny legos so they get set up on the stand... amongst my pretty things...)

So there you go. That is how we all fit. Not too bad if you ask us. We are cozy warm with no complaints here! (and yes, the rooms are still clean. I do still have the clothes basket full of socks, work on it a little bit each day).

Happy day.

Anna

Look out Sarah Palin

And on another political note. While in bed with us yesterday morning (all of us were in our bed instead of the couch... the kids were trying to get us to get up) L yells "Barack Obama"! Mind you, she is only two... not too many other words we can understand yet, but she hollers that! She was right too, it was him (and no, they did not say his name first on TV). (Photo above is courtesy of my brother-in-law Shawn. He sent me a disk of a whole bunch of photos that I did not have). This is one of my favorite photos of W in grandma's reading glasses.

Frequently asked questions...

"How do you all fit in there?" "Where does everyone sleep?". Two questions that drive me crazy. As you know we live in what I call "my shoebox" because it is a 956 sq foot rectangle. Even strangers ask me these questions. So, before the end of the weekend I am going to prove to you (in photos) how we "fit". We are comfortable and warm. Do I wish I had a bigger "linen closet"? absolutely, but that is in the works too. When the basement is finally finished that will be something that I will have. There are not any complaints here. We even got two couches (a couch and a love seat) and we still don't use them both. On a rare occasion that someone comes to visit the love seat gets sat on but in the evenings with just us, you can find all six of us on the same couch... always has been that way, hope it stays that way for a long time to come. Cozy and lots of love. I am trying to get and stay organized. For example I had (yes I just said "had") two clothes baskets and an entire six foot tall bookcase full of papers and what not. After all of the throwing, sorting and shredding, I am down to one clothes baskets of pay stubs, report cards, W's paperwork, spelling tests (I keep some of my kids school work, especially handwriting and spelling words), and other personal information paper work. NOTHING in that basket is extra or garbage. That is a huge feat for me. It just needs to be sorted and put in the filing cabinet. You should have seen the garbage mans face this morning when he saw all of the garbage. I am really proud. Making things more organized and put away properly the first time will make L's room livable. Jeremy does not think I can keep it that way. Honestly, I don't have a choice. The only thing extra in her room is my keyboard which is stored under her bed until the CHRISTmas tree comes down. Her closet is another story but it is organized and it is secure. SO, as soon as I finish my room... I will post "how we fit".
Happy day everyone.

Happy New Year!

No new years resolutions here... never have been, never will. Just counting our blessings everyday.
Today a friend whom I had not heard from in exactly two years today called. Boy or boy did I miss her! Happy to have her back. Hey, how 'bout not such a long break next time!!!
Also today, BIG news. L got a "big boy" (as her brothers put it) bed! For the first time in eight years there is no crib set up in our house!!!
I have not been on today because we have been cleaning all day... literally. BUT, L's room is spotless... yes, even the bookcases... both of them. NO before and after pictures, I would like to keep my daughter. Our whole first floor will be amazingly spotless by tomorrow afternoon. I am still working on our bedroom. I am whipped. Cooking supper and taking the rest of the night to fold clothing and match socks.
We pray that you all have a happy and healthy new year. May you all be blessed.