My new favorite magazine...

I found this really cool magazine that I just had to share with you, thanks to my friend who shared it with me! It's called KIWI, Growing families the natural and organic way. It is just chock full of good ideas! Articles like: 23 healthy school snacks, how to pack a waste-free lunch, peanut butter alternatives, and more. I highly recommend that you check it out. You won't regret it. Have I ever steered you wrong?? :-)

Mission: Yard Sale!

Yard Sales. I love them. It is so much fun to find fabulous treasures, and things we need. Like yesterday when I found Evan a 20" Mongoose bike like he has been neeeding at a yard sale for $15. I am finding that here in Kansas yard sales go much later, some are open until 5PM! Do people have nothing better to do than to sit outside for the entire day?! Not that I am complaining, because I totally benefit. So does my family. I am like that Proverbs woman who wakes up early to, well, okay, maybe she didn't yardsale. But I am getting good deals on stuff we need (no junk allowed) and saving tons of money. That's good for something, isn't it?? I really love a deal.

BTW, our church has Garage Sales going on as a fundraiser for Cachi, Argentina. So if you want to get rid of some stuff and help out (oh, and if you are local to us), too ... just let me know. Thanks :)

Job

I don't think that I have shared yet with you all that I got a job. Yes, a j-o-b. I never thought I would get another job, being as I have been self employed in some capacity for over 10 years now. But I have to say that I love it. Totally LOVE it. I spontaneously applied at a scrapbooking store that is close to my house, to work a couple of evenings a week. After interviewing (which required me to show them my latest scrapbook) they hired me. I am having so much fun, scrapping! I love that I can go and play for a few hours and then leave and not think about it again until I step foot into the store again. Scrapbooking has become my passion in the last year so to be able to "work" at a place where I would be all the time anyway, it is a blast. Tonight at work they told me that they want me to do some layouts and store displays. I think this will be a nice challenge for me, scrap wise.

In case you are wondering, I am still an Arbonne consultant and you can still get your stuff from me whenever you want. No worries! This is just a nice change of pace for me, and I am having fun with it.

Nevermind

I woke up this morning thinking about my post last night. I think I came across as ungrateful, and that was not my intention. So just nevermind my rantings. I appreciate that my kids have grandparents who spoil and love them endlessly. I plan to do the same thing when I am a grandparent. So there.

Remember.

I don't have much to say today, but wanted to acknowledge the anniversary of 9/11/01. So many lives affected, and each year I think about the kids who lost their parents, spouses who lost their other half, parents who lost their children. Today I watched both presidential nominees walk together--unified. Why can't it be like that more often? Today is a day of rememberence that can easily become like those other days where you carry on with your day and don't take a minute to remember the lost lives. I am hopeful that this country will never experience anything like that day again. I am so thankful that we live in a country where safety is something expected, rather than death by violence being an everyday thing (like some countries).

Just Fallin'

I love fall weather, and this week has been perfect for it! Cool temperatures, sweatshirts, football games(I am just not a huge fan of watching it on tv), seeing the leaves change color, bonfires with a chill in the air, picking out pumpkins, these are a few of my favorite things! I hope that we can keep this weather for awhile.

Northeast vs. Midwest slang

Neil said pop today. It was the first time I have heard him say that in about 7 years. The last time I remember him saying that was when we first moved to PA and he announced to the (then new) youth group that we had pop over on the table and they said, "What?". The other thing he did was to call all soda, "Coke". He would say, "Do you want some Coke?" and everyone learned quickly he didn't mean Coke specifically, just soda/pop in general.

I can't go back to saying pop. I am sorry, but I just can't. I think it sounds very, umm, hick. It sounds like what people THINK people on a farm would say. I won't do it, I can't. My PA friends already think that Kansas people all live in the middle of nowhere on flat land (ok, the flatland part is right) . . . I will not encourage it any further.

Now, I will go back to saying tennis shoes, even though technically sneakers is a more appropriate word.

And I am okay with saying y'all. (I hated the term "yous" that Pennsylvania Dutch people would say. It made me cringe every time, and in seven years I never got on board with it.)

So anyway, just wanted to share with you what is on my mind tonight. Deep thoughts, I know!

Some house pics

Okay, so I finally took some pictures of the house. Actually only pics of the downstairs and outside. Ava was sleeping so I didn't want to go upstairs and take a chance of waking her from my beloved naptime! We have spent a lot of time painting . . . everything was beige when we moved in. Color, well, it makes a world of difference!








The view from the front porch.



A couple shots of the back yard.



We feel so blessed. We think this house will be perfect for our family for years to come. We'd love to have you come and visit us sometime! :-)

Here's a meme.

Here is a meme . . . thanks to an old friend from college, Jennifer, who sent this to me. What is a meme you ask?
(I copied and pasted this)...
In the context of web logs / 'blogs / blogging and other kinds of personal web sites it's some kind of list of questions that you saw somewhere else and you decided to answer the questions. Then someone else sees them and does them and so on and so on. I generally consider these to be actual questions and not some multiple choice quizzes that determine some result at the end (what color you are most like, what cartoon character are you, what 80s movie are you).

This one is Four, four, four, four...

1. Four places that I go over and over: Target, Panera, church, Kids' school.

2. Four people who email me regularly: Freecycle, Tiff, Lisa, my mom

3. Four of my favorite places to eat: Panera, Pizza Shoppe, Olive Garden, The Cheesecake Factory.

4. Four places I would rather be right now: Hawaii, WDW, that's about it.

5. Four people I tag: Amber, Jackie, Becki, Jill.

6. Four TV shows I watch: LOST, Project Runway, What Not To Wear, The Amazing Race.

I am aware that I am long overdue for a post. It has been bothering me but I keep thinking I need to have pictures to post, and I haven't taken much so I wait. However, today I give up and I will write anyway!

The last month has been a blur in many ways. Getting into our house, painting, settling in, these things have kept me busy. I have to say that I lovvvvvve our new home. I love it in every way. I will refrain from gushing but let's just say most days I want to shout from the rooftops, "Thank You God!" because I almost do not feel deserving of this place, it is beyond fabulous.

School started, and the kids are loving their schools and meeting lots of new friends. Evan is playing soccer, and loves it. Becca is cheering for the 7th grade and loves it. The kids are all very happy with our new church and have transitioned well. Other than one meltdown for Becca and I each . . .

Ava is trying to make me into a crazy person, and so far she is accomplishing it. She exhausts me daily. In the last week she has finally started to get into a routine, so I may be able to save a piece of sanity yet! Potty training, while you would think it would be easy with the fourth now that I have such a wealth of experience . . . still seems challenging. I am training myself to be consistent with taking her to the potty. Let's just say that I am looking forward to moving past this stage.

Moving meant saying goodbye to familiarity and comfort, and starting fresh. This meant leaving the church family and friends in PA who loved us, knew us, and put up with us and all our imperfections. Starting over can be hard. I miss the comfortable, and at the same time I know that God has not called us to stay in my comfort zone.
It will be good in the end, of this I have no doubt! God is good, all the time. {Just don't mind me and my tears as I adjust.}

We are having so much fun with our family. We are also having a great time getting to know our new youth group. I can't wait to spend more time with them. Being here seems surreal, but in a good way.

Pictures are coming, I promise.