~HAPPY THANKSGIVING~

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Just want each and every one of you to know that I am so THANKFUL to have you in my life. You make my life so rich & full. I feel very blessed every day!!!

~JASON~

If any of you remember I had my 3?th birthday back in August. The kids got me tickets to see Jason Mraz. Haley also proceeded to buy her and JT(Haley's boyfriend) tickets. That way she could bless us with time to spend with them. She is thoughtful that way. Of course let me inform you that she put the tickets on our credit card.

I recieved the tickets back in August....put them in the cabinet and forgot about them....until Haley informed me that JT had decided last minute to go to Mexico with his family. I knew Haley would find someone to go to the concert with us. Haley and her friends LOVE live music. Getting rid of the ticket was the easy part......finding a sitter put me into full panic mode. Made a few phone calls and no one was available to do it. I was in a real pickle here people. I called my very sweet neighbor, Pam Wyma, and kindly asked if she would be available to babysit Bradley until Asher got home from work. If any of you were wondering....that's why Asher couldn't go to the concert....he is gettting all grown up and has a job. Pam said they could watch Bradley. I have two things that I felt when Pam said "yes." The first thing...relief. WOO-HOO. I'm going to the concert......I'm going to the concert. The second thing was how happy I was that I have someone like Pam in my life. She is such a lovely woman. If any of you are blessed to know her, you are a lucky person.

Anyway.....off to the concert we go. It was AWESOME!!! Jason (yes we are on a first name basis) played at the Aragon Ballroom. What an amazing venue to watch a concert.....not a bad seat in the house. We were on the main floor and had to stand. When you are dancing you don't really need a seat.

Needless to say, Haley knew a bunch of people there and she ditched us to be with her friends. Can you believe that?? The audacity of teenagers.

After the concert Bill and I went to a bar to have a drink.....needless to say, we didn't know we went into a gay bar. Had tons of fun...will tell everyone about that in the next post. Sorry all...it is two days before Thanksgiving and I just don't have time for that FUNNNNNY story.
I promise....the next post. Hopefully I will have some pics of the concert by then.

If you want to see some of the concert click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAICy5kk4CM

HAPPY TUESDAY!!!

~MY NEW PROJECTS~

This is my new pastime. I'm in high gear WINTER mode. I've had my hand at stamping and scrap booking. Very fun stuff!! Love 'em or hate 'em.....I MADE them!!!

I LOVE this card. I can do this one for every season. Wouldn't it AWESOME to get one of these SUPER cute cards in the mail???

I guess that leads me to my next question .....have I missed the card generation?? Does anyone send cards anymore?? That's it...I'm sending more cards!! Maybe you could give it some thought and make someone else's day. Just think how your hearts beats a little faster every time you get the mail and you see something with a REAL stamp on it~

This is my first attempt at a holiday banner. Not the best picture but hey this is suppose to be a casual, laid back blog for casual and laid people. I think next time I need to make the letters bigger. Hey, we LIVE and we LEARN. Thank goodness I'm just talking about the HOLIDAY banner~

This is a close up picture. Again, think I need to do it again. However, it was fun making it. It doesn't take long at all to make.
At this stage in my life nothing can take too long. I have lots of things on my plate right now.
I was talking to my sweet friend, SHELBY, today and I mentioned that I just don't feel like I have enough time in the day to spend some time with GOD praying. Then I realized how WEIRD that sounds. I sound so full of myself. I declare that this holiday season that I am actually going to attempt to slow down. CRAZY thought right??? I am going to try realllly HARD to focus on other~

~That Kind Of Day~

HAPPY MONDAY

Today I told Bradley that Mommy has lots to do. I told him how I played with him allll weekend. That I didn't get any of my "work" done and that today was the day to do it! That it is Monday and I have to get the house cleaned up for the week. That this kind of stuff drives me crazy. That I have to get the house ready for winter because we will be spending lots of time in the house. That I have to get the kitchen really cleaned up to cook dinner.

He just looked at me with a puzzled look and just said "OK". I think I told him way too much. Not sure if I actually thought he would understand or if it's to relieve my guilty conscience. Thank goodness my dear, sweet Asher came home after school. Guilt is gone......out the window. Bradley would much rather play with Asher over me any day. Uh-oh...Asher is leaving again...UGH!!!
This is what my kitchen table looks like. What a mess....I'm getting to it....I'm getting to it....I HOPE! As you can see my laptop is there waiting for me to blog. I've been trying to get to it all day. FINALLY I'm here...yeah!!

This is just another thing that I have been doing all day. Bradley feels that he needs to change his clothes at least 2 times a day. You would think I had an army here with all the laundry I have to do. However, I really enjoy doing laundry(at least everything but the whites....you know...all the socks...definitely not my favorite).

This would be the kitchen sink. My sink very rarely looks like this....honestly! It is now empty and I feel so much better. I'm telling you...it's the little things that I love so much! I know sometimes your looks like this too. I hope it does...I'm just going to keep telling myself that to make me feel better.

DINNER!!! Just don't have time to put a full dinner together. My big boys love chili. Asher will probably have a big bowl for dinner and then one to enjoy in front of Monday Night Football later . Bradley will probably have gourmet mac & cheese. You know, the kind that comes out of that box. Thank goodness tomorrow is a brand new day. I can enjoy all my hard work tomorrow!!

Just a thought for the day...why when we write or type "I'm" we have to capitalize the "I"????

~IT'S HERE....IT'S FINALLY HERE~

JEANS
FLANNEL SHIRT

INDOORS

WOOL COAT & SCARF

(NOTICE THE HAPPINESS)

& A BIT OF SADNESS

WINTER IS HERE!!!!

Get your hats, mittens & scarves ready.

It's finally here!! YEAH!!!

Just imagine...snowball fights, snowmen, snow angels, hot chocolate, Christmas & Hanukkah,

Asher is home for 2 weeks, Haley comes home for a month, going to see the windows downtown,

Santa Claus, sledding, Asher's Birthday, chili, stew, cute scarves, Ugg's, snow blowing, fires in the

fireplace, big cozy sweaters, Christmas tree, my mom's homemade chicken noodle soup,

the

Macy's Day Parade...the list just goes on and on.....

Take a moment to think of all the wonderful things that winter brings into your life!!

~Life Made Easier~

This banner is just a wonderful reminder to me to be THANKFUL everyday. As my DEAR brother, Pat, reminded me there are so many things going on in our world right now. However, there are many things that I am sure of that haven't changed:

1) That I have a family who LOVES each other very much.

2) Today I have HEALTHY kids.

3) I have a warm house on these chilly November days.

4) I wake up everyday to my beautiful son greeting me with a GOOD MORNING KISS.

5) I have a remarkably COOL husband who shows he LOVES me everyday.

6) GOD loves me more than I can ever imagine.

Life for me is truly AWESOME!!!

This is my ipod and speakers. When I am done getting ready in the morning I come downstairs to the kitchen and my music is WAITING for me. I start my day off with a cup of coffee(which Bill makes for me everyday before he leaves for work) and music. I love listening to Hillsong, Antioch Church and Kim Walker. Hard to have a bad day after listening to them. Seriously, try it....

Last but not least....my mixer. One of my conveniences that I have removed from the pantry and plopped on my counter. Why you ask (OK, even if you didn't ask I'm going to tell you).......it reminds me to make delicious surprises for my family. They LOVE all the cookies, cakes & cupcakes that start in this mixer. It reminds me that cooking from scratch reaches their PRECIOUS souls. It makes them happy....which in turn makes me happy!

~Prayer Jar~

So...this is my Prayer Jar...I will also sometimes use it as a Gratitude Jar. All are welcome to add a little something to the jar. It is a daily reminder to me that I can't do this thing called life alone. I can't do it without God. I also can't do it without all my friends and family that I love so dearly. Today I was grateful for the changing of the seasons. It's really starting to feel like winter is right around the corner. How could I ever appreciate all the different seasons without the other ones?? Every time Bradley says it's too hot in the summer I remind him in just a few short months he will be saying it's too cold. Then in the winter when he says it's too cold I remind him that in a few shorts months he will be saying it's too hot. Human nature at it's finest...oh how soon we forget.

~Halloween~

Asher came home from school. He said he needed a costume but didn't know what to be. Bill and I were on it. I told him to get me a pair of old jeans...check....Bill had a shirt he didn't wear anymore...check. I found a bandanna I had from the Avon Breast Cancer 3 day walk....check!!! I then advised him to take the cut up shirt and roll it around in the neighbors yard. Not our yard....we have a dog(ICK!!!).....check. I Put some makeup on his face to make it look dirty(Don't tell his friends.) Costume completed with a toy sword provided my Bradley . He has to be the cutest pirate I have ever set my eyes on. I then immediately kick him out of the house to go get his step-mama some candy. Funny thing is I haven't seen him since. Apparently I forgot to remind him to share. Don't worry...I will find an entire pillow case full of candy in the back of his closet it July. Can you say YUCK??

This is Bill and Bradley starting to trick-or-treat. As you can see Bradley is Superman. I'm telling everyone that Bill was a soccer player. He does have the jersey ya know!! It ALWAYS fills my heart with happiness when I see my boy and his dad together doing something really fun. I'm not sure who LOVES this more....Bill or Bradley???


This holiday is a bit much for Stitch. The doorbell....the kids.....it's all a bit overwhelming for him. He didn't move from this spot from 3-6:30. I had to keep him locked in the kitchen. He has a very big bark. I didn't want him to scare the kids. He is able to love on a child so much that he can lick them to death. Maybe next year I will have Bill bring him trick-or-treating. It would sure make my head feel a lot better.


Usually every Halloween I sit down in between trick-or-treaters and I do my Christmas cards. However, this year I helped Bill's office with the annual Thanksgiving cards (800 to be exact). I brought them home from the office to finish up. I made Bill sit and help me. He just kept watching me....it's was a bit bothersome. Hey Bill...next time...note to self....don't watch Amy work. She will get a tad upset and put you to work. Hope he doesn't remember that next year. Now I have to find time to do our Christmas cards.





THE END!!!!!