Who Wants To Go To Russia For A Year......

ARIELLE DOES!!!!!!!!!!

My friend Debbie's 17 year old Daughter, Arielle, has an opportunity to spend her senior year of high school as a foreign exchange student in Russia- She left this past August and will return next year!!

Arielle, we are all so proud of you- The courage it takes to fly to a place you have never been, stay with people you have never met, and go to school where your language, for the most part, is not understood IS PHENOMENAL!!!
May God Bless and keep you as you follow such an amazing adventure- We are praying for you and thinking of you lots- You are missed (but again, we are so so so proud of you)

WE LOVE YOU!!

Grandma (Darlene), Mom (Deb), Steph, Treva, and Kristi

Left to Right- Treva, Steph, Deb, Darlene, Kristi

Arielle's Grandma Darlene

Arielle's mom Debbie

Treva :)

Kristi

Happy Birthday Deb!!

Arielle (this pic was taken of her in Russia)

To Do List

1. Dishes
2. Fold the load of laundry in the dryer that I have 'added' to all week (I have not taken everything out of the dryer each time a load is dry but instead taken out just enough so that I can add the load that is in the washer)
3. Pay Bills
4. Pick up my car from the shop (blinkers went out yesterday on the way to bringing my boys to school- of course if was the time a cop was following me......picture Ellie screaming in the back seat because she, in general, hates her car seat and will cry almost every time she is in it- Police Man comes to my window and asks for my registration (oops- that is still sitting on my file cabinet and not in the glove compartment where it should be)- I have to explain over the top of Ellie's screams that I don't have my registration with me...........I also had to explain that the reason I did not use my blinkers while turning is because they went out when I was bringing my boys to school- It was just one of those un-redeemable moments (never mind the fact that I was still in my pj's and had mascara smudged all around my eyes)  He must have seen that OVERWHELMED look in my eyes cause he let me off with a warning to get my registration in my car and get the blinkers fixed (Thank you Jesus!!)
5. Complete Day 5/ Week 7 of David (Beth Moore Bible Study)
6. Clean out Refrigerator 
7. There is more but I am drawing a blank.........

Hope you are all having a great Fri.

Baby Barf is..........gross

Ellie projectile spits up ALL THE TIME!! You would have thought I would have learned by now the secret to containing it......or at least realize when it is coming.........but nope- don't have a clue......walking around the store, smell something gross- first I look around wondering what in the world could give off such a smell- then It clicks- Ellie yack'd!! I immediately start looking for where it landed on both of us :)

My nephew Josh will not hold Ellie without a blanket-
Poor guy learned that lesson the hard way

What I was wearing earlier and had to change.....going to put on my 3rd
outfit today- Mix that with Ellie's 3 outfits - all of our shower towels cause no matter
how much I nag nobody reuses them and we've got ourselves a load of laundry!! WHOO HOO!!

I added this pic cause it is just so cute :)

To Auntie Jodi and Nana from Ellie

Dear Nana and Auntie Jodi-

My mommy and I went on a date today!! We decided to go to the mall while daddy, Eli, and Ryan

were out riding dirt bikes and jet skiing- Mommy convinced me that my ears would look really cute

pierced- we were all a little nervous that I would cry a lot because it would hurt- I really didn't cry all that much- My mom keeps smiling at me and telling me how cute I look- It's kind of annoying because she keeps taking pictures of my ears :)

I love you and please come see me super soon,

Elle's Bug

My Boys....

Eli Ben and Ryno Chase........
Daddy and I love you so much-

5:00 am- 2 nights of 9 hours of straight sleep..........YES PLEASE!

I just have a sec cause I want to get my fanny right back into bed!  It is 5:00 a.m. and Elle's is going on her second straight 'all night' sleep- She went to bed at 8:00 p.m.
She slept all night about a month ago and I totally thought we were on a sleep all night schedule after that-
NOPE!!
My cousin Becca said that it becomes a pattern after 5 nights-
Honestly, I would never have thought that a lack of consistent sleep would have been my answer to 'what has taken you most by surprise going back to the baby phase?' (my boys were 15 and 12 when Ellie joined our fam)-

Maybe............just maybe we are starting our sleep all night pattern!

The first pic I took of my boys after moving to Hawaii in 2009
(Ryan above Eli Below)

One Thousand Gifts.........

I have heard several people talking about the book One Thousand Gifts for months- I tucked the name in the back of my mind to check out when I have more time- While at my mom's house last week I was asking her if she had ever heard of the book- She said that she had not only heard of it but she had received a copy from my Aunt Anne and was getting ready to read it.............
hummmmmmm.......
Getting ready?  'Mom, would you mind if I borrowed it for a week or so and cruised through it'

I'm not completely done but there is something so captivating about looking at life through the lens of Thankfulness......

1. The way grass looks right after it has been mowed and the lines from the mower are still fresh
2. Fresh Hawaiian Avocados picked right off the tree 
3. Leaves turning bright fall colors and flying around in the wind as winter approaches
4. The sight of a gas station when your gas light has been on for WAY longer than acceptable
5. The feel of Matt's arms wrapped tight around me
6. Humming birds flying like mad around their feeders
7. Wave Petunia's that are not confined by boundaries of their pots
8. Closure............when a situation that has stretched me so thin comes to an end........AMEN
9. Slippers- cozy, warm, covering
10. Peace..........that deep down peace that only God can give- It starts with a really small calming thought deep inside my soul and the more I let it the more of me it takes over until I can say 'All is well'

And the list could go on-

Hope your having a GREAT Mon. May God Bless and Keep each person that reads this blog post today :)