Sunday, December 30, 2007

something to talk about...........

HI everyone,
Well I have not had alot of time to blog, much less anything else. I have been doing my clinicals at the nursing home/ Alzheimer's unit. I have had the worse days of my life there. ( well almost....definitely the worse days of my professional career!) I am glad this will be last week of them and then I start college! wooooooohoooooooo! I am glad Christmas is over, I can't say it was the best Christmas I have ever had, I am making changes after this year for sure! I need to stay home with my kids and have family time...I am tired of driving all the way to town and not being able to enjoy our holiday. Enough of that! The kids loved all of their gifts and they thought this was the best Christmas they had ever had. I was happy that at least I did that much for them. This next year is going to be very rough on them with all of the changes that are happening.
ROb has an interview tomorrow at Columbia foods they need a refrigeration mechanic and they are willing to train the right person. I am so happy! I just pray that if he gets the job he will like it , so there are no regrets. I would like to stay here at least until I finish nursing school because they have such a good nursing program here and the college is still small enough that you get alot of one on one help and I need it!
Well I hope everyone is well and please keep praying for our family!

Monday, December 17, 2007

EXHAUSTION!

HI all,
I know it has been a awhile since I have blogged. I have classes from 7 am to 3 pm and by the time I get home I am worn out , I have to deal with the kids and the house and then do homework. That hasn't left me much time for anything other than on the weekends, and during this season that is pretty full. I am helping other people with their projects for Christmas , but I am actually not making any gifts this year, some I am touching up a bit , but everything has been bought--NO TIME! for crafting!
CNA classes are going well I will be done with all of the book work on Thursday and then we start clinicals on Friday and then I have to be to work at 6am--UGH! is is so early and the roads are so bad in the morning and the fog from here to Moses has been really bad lately so it takes me a good 45-50 minutes to make the 20 minute drive because I am to scared to go very fast. But I will be happy to be done with them in a few weeks and then start my classes at the college on Jan 7th.
The kids are all excited for Christmas to come, Clarissa keeps asking " How many days does it have to snow before Christmas gets here?" The rest of them are so excited to open their gifts and see what treasures they got.
They all got good grades in school, JEri is flunking a few subjects so she will have to start Saturday school after the winter break.
We have been healthy so far , I am happy about that. The kids are having their Christmas programs this week at school and I will have to miss them which is sad because I have gone to almost everyone --but I can't because of my classes and being in the next town over will be to hard to make them all. I just wish they had one parent there to watch, but life goes on........
Well next weekend we will be off and running with our whirlwind Christmas plans. It gets kind of hard traveling for all of the holiday and being in so many places in such a short amount of time, but then I think about... The fact that I am blessed because I have so many places to go and so many people that LOVE us and want to spend time with us...We can't ever fit everyone in....SO I should just be thankful and when I am old and can't travel I hope someone comes to visit me. I hope you all have a good CHRISTmas and travel safe! LOVE US!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

A new Adventure!

HI ALL,
Its been awhile since I blogged, I have had alot going on........along with Thanksgiving which went great--I had a bit of a timing issue--I was ready before I was supposed to be --but it all worked out fine, anyway....we had a nice time.
I have been running from here to there and I have been to SPokane and I registered for my college classes--I will be an official college student on January 7th!! I am taking math,english and Psychology! Tomorrow is my last day of work at the hospital , on Friday I start my CNA classes. ( I have to be a CNA in order to get into nursing school) I will be done with my CNA classes on Jan 4th so I will have 2 days to spare for my college classes to start! I am nervous excited and happy to have my goals fall into place.
We have had alot of traffic on the house recently--who knows what will happen with that whole thing, ROb is still applying for jobs when he comes home . However I cant really move at this time while I am in school so I will have to stay at least thru my first quarter. I need to go--I will try and check in later

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

hello

Hi All,
Well today Rob left to go back to work again! We had 4 couples stop by at our open house and I was surprised at that # just because it was rainy and yucky out, so basically I was pleasantly surprised. I don't think anything will happen with it, but at least we tried and I can tell my realtor and Rob I did the best job I could. SO Rob applied for a few jobs while he was here in town and I hope he gets one of them b/c I need a life again. RObs days off are now Sundays and Mondays and I can't really do alot with my friends since those are horrible days off. There is no one to watch the kids. Anyhow I meet with my college counselor today to discuss my placement test results and figure out which classes I should start out with on my first semester. I am excited but I also know I bombed my math test, I apparently didn't get enough studying in b/c I didn't recognize anything they were asking me. Oh well life goes on and if I have to work my way up from the bottom, at least I have plenty of time to do it. I can't apply for nursing school until fall of 2009 so I will be able to get every last bit of classes I need, so by the time I get to nursing school all of my "extras" will be done and I will be able to focus solely on nursing school. SO there is the silver lining!
The kids are all doing well in school we got report cards last week all of them pulled up the grades that they needed --one of the kids got a C, which I wasn't going to complain about b/c frankly, for that child, a c is pretty good!
The boys started wrestling last week and it will go thru spring depending on how serious the boys are going to be , but they are at least paid up thru December. One thing after another but at least they like it and it is good for them!
Well there is the update so far for this week--I hope you all have a happy thanksgiving and eat yourself happy!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Tuesday, in NOVEMBER

HI All,
How are you? I am doing well, I am wondering how Thanksgiving is coming around the corner so fast? Does anyone know? Well last weekend I worked on a quilt that seemed to have been the most tedious quilt I have ever worked on and I think I can safely say I will never work on this certain pattern again--I don't think I have ever said that about any other quilt....so I just DID! I got the center of the quilt done and when I was in the thick of that quilt Justina decided to point out just how many "little" pieces were in this particular quilt---it is over 2700 ...so maybe that is why?--it is actually a very beautiful quilt, just very long and drawn out.
I am having a pampered chef party tomorrow and then on Thursday I am heading to Spokane , all of my kids have dentists appointments and then Friday I am taking my placements test as nervous as I am about it, I will be happy to just be done with it, I didn't get as far in my math as I would have liked , but I got a good start. I am hoping at this point that I can just get into math 95 so I can get into chemistry. I won't be able to get into nursing school until Fall of 2009 so I have plenty of time to get all of my pre reqs in and then some extra classes so I will be able to have a higher score to qualify for nursing school. SO pray for me!
Rob is actively looking for a job close to home now because our house has not sold and I just found out ANOTHER new housing development is coming in....so it does not look good for us. I am happy to just stay put at this point and just keep working towards my goal for school and hope and pray that Rob can find a job to support us here. Napa has been so good to him , they compliment him all of the time and I know he loves his Job , things just don't seem to be working out they way we had planned. SO I guess there is a bigger plan for us.
The kids are doing well, they are planning on how we are going to arrange the house for our possible stay, the only thing I can say about that is...I hate painting and it looks as if I am going to have to start that process all over again. UGH! However on the bright side, we have done some things to the house that Rob had been putting off for some time and we replaced alot of things and the yard finally started coming together this summer..so at least we will be able to reap the benefits of our work and not someone else---so there is some great positives! We are having an open house this next weekend, which I am going to have to do alot of cleaning --between Friday and Sunday--I am not thankful for that...but maybe if we give it one last push--we can say we tried really hard. Although I am thinking having an open house the SUNDAY before Thanksgiving may not have been the best weekend for showing a house--who knows??
Well I hope you are all having a great week! PRAY FOR US!

Friday, November 9, 2007

Quilters retreat...here I come!

HI All,
well I am on my way downtown to go to a quilting retreat that my friends and I have all planned together and I am in for 2 days of sewing bliss! woooohoooooo!
It is nice to be able to do these because I can usually get a quilt done in one of these weekends, well usually more than one quilt if you want to know the truth and this time will be no exception I am sure because my friend Donna has already given me a jump start on the one I am making today. It is "sew" nice to be able to do this also because there are no friends like quilting friends, I think that is why this tradition has never died, quilting will be around until the end because
there is something about the quilting community that just makes you feel like you are home. It is the same with our local fabric store here in town...I know that if I ever leave little Ephrata I will still come here to visit " The Fabric Patch" and buy my fabric , just because I am comfortable there and I think I can call them friends. I won't be able to get that in a big city environment. Anyway, other than that lately I have been working on my math, cleaning the house, I finished a book this week and I am trying to keep myself above water with all of my worries, responsibilities and trying to focus on God because above all I know he wants what is best for me and I need to just pray to him. So if all of you could just keep praying for us and that our house will sell , I just really want our family to be together and I am trying to be patient. I would really like for ROb and I to accomplish both of our dreams and provide for our family.

Friday, November 2, 2007

A few days after Halloween......

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HI All,

I just thought I would let you all know how Halloween was for our family.......

I am really struggling with Halloween, the older my kids get the more we fight about this holiday, they want to be creatures that I don't approve of and they are really wanting to get really expensive costumes , which I can't afford ! SO anyway-This year after much debating and upset faces, I got off relatively cheap..and the costumes are as follows:

JEralyn: Vampire ( I hated this costume--I hate all vampire movies and it was this or some cstume that had a slit clear up to her thigh --I was tired of fighting!)

Bryce: Gangster . I had to have the talk with BRyce about how we don't condone gang behavior in anyway and that this costume is just for fun. ( I don't want to glamorize this is any way !)

Carl: bought a scream costume-- however he did not get all of his homework turned in--so no celebrating for him. ( I did not buy this costume--so I was not part os the decision process.)
COle: Skeleton, however Carl let him wear his costume because he could not.
PReston: Ninja ( although , not what I would have chosen, it was better than some of the others and his costume only cost me 2$)
Clarissa: Ariel, The little Mermaid. This of course was my favorite costume.
I didn't really like any of the cotumes my kids chose.




Clarissa's costume was my favorite , however I had to give BRyce special recognition because he came up with his costume on his own and it really turned out well, and we got all of his costume from the dollar store and he borrowed clothing from Quinn and our neighbor. ( the picture does not showcase his * BLING* *BLING* well or his * GRILL* )

SO AFter school the kids came home and we went trick or treating from 4:30-6:30 downtown, I love that they do it at that time, because I was able to come home make dinner for the kids, they could do their homework and take their showers and still get to bed on time! wooooohooo!

I have to share a funny little story about my kids, I am the parent who does not buy them candy very often, and for their snack after school we always have a fruit bowl. My kids LOVE candy, so they are trying to get every last bit that they can. I didn't buy any candy for Trick or treaters for our house because, we hardly ever hear the door bell ring on Halloween, so as we are eating dinner it rings and of course, Trick OR Treaters--my oldest SOn ( who shall remain nameless!) says" Sorry we don't have any CANDY!" and slams the door! That was after they just got done saying how much CANDY we have from downtown! I was so mad! I said "Hey, that was so RUDE! YOu have a TON of candy right here!" and the oldest child who shall remain nameless says" BUt that is our CANDY!" SO I say " and you can't share a few pieces?"
SO COLE my good son! Runs after them with a huge handful and puts it in their bags! SHEESH! My kids are STINGY!

SO anyway--all in all it was a good Halloween and we made it thru .This year was especially good for Clarissa, she was not so shy because she knew what she was getting! I think she sprung out of bed that day and she kept telling everyone " HAPPY HALLOWEEN! SHe was especially upset that her Daddy wasn't going to be here , she called him to wish him happy Halloween also.

SO I hope everyone had a great day!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

HIking

HI ALL,
Well today was beautiful fall day and very warm , Rob decided to take us on a hike. This is usually a guy ritual that they do in our house, but we decided to make it a family event, FINALLY! there are certain milestones on this particular hike that we went on, where the guys have actually named them. SO when we get to the first "milestone" it is called " Preston's Pass" b/c years ago when they first started going on this hike, they decided Preston must have been the youngest kid to ever go on this hike and be able to make it up such a steep hill. Then as you keep going, there is " bear claw" rock and then as you keep climbing up this steep hill made of rocks, there is " The Plate" as they call it--which is at the very top of the hill and it is a big flat rock that they usually eat their lunch at and take their break.There are really three different stages, as you climb up and get on the trail --the trail eventually stops--you have to choose going over the other side of the mountain or you choose to go up either side of the 2 adjoining mountains--one was far to steep for us girls---so we went up the one to our right, it had a 1.5 foot area to get up on this ledge, I barely made it thru to lift myself up, as the boys were cracking jokes about how they don't think I could get thru. ( although not very funny, I was actually scared I couldn't get thru!) so then once you get up that you once again, find somewhat flat ground, but you see this big mountain thing with a flat top, you have to climb up the side of that- (it had an even smaller area to climb thru and the first ledge was taller than I am )-to get the " The Plate" . JEri and I opted out of that and stayed behind while the boys and CLarissa went up.( Clarissa being hoisted by her Daddy!)
SO finally we decided to head back down the mountain. I made up just fine, no big deal, However on the way down, I fell about 5 times! A few of those times a few words came out of my mouth, that is not a normal vocabulary for me! BUt After awhile I got my grip and I made it down! whew! By the time we made to the last leg of our trip( meaning the trail again) CLarissa was jumping over little stones and what not, its official--she is one of the boys!
So we made it along with the guys and us girls got home in one piece!
SO now we are going to relax, for a bit and then go help Melissa paint her house after we eat dinner. SO I will check back later I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful weather!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Hello

Hi All,
Well it has been a few days. I went to SPokane yesterday, had a court date for child support modification--it went well and I got a raise! wooo hoooo! Anyway--I had to take the kids out of school yesterday , because I had no one to watch them after school, so we had a nice day in spokane. We went to lunch with my Mom, had a few hours at the mall, I was so proud of myself, I didn't spend hardly anything at all. I gave the kids each 3$ to spend on what they wanted and I bought myself a manicure kit, I would not have even bought that except the very handsome ( gay ) guy that was ( not white, I might add) speaking with an accent lured me in by his cologne and VERY nice looks. He started working on my hands and I melted like butter and bought the darn manicure kit! ( I think they hire nice looking guys on purpose!) He said it was OK because he did his own manicures , too. HAHA! Anyway, I justified it by thinking that I am not getting my nails done anymore so I am actually saving money by buying the kit to do it myself, right?
* wink*
anyhow, We all went out to dinner, my family, Landon,jordan and Carla, we all had a nice time and then we came home. Today I had alot of good intentions to get anything done, that didn't happen . But I did turn in my FIRST AT HOME AMERICA party so I am official. If any of you need to a catalog or anything , let me know. I also have my own personal website WWW.ATHOME.COM/CHARISMAHORTON
OK well I will check back in a few days--have a great one!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Sunday, October 21st

Hi All,
Well this weekend I didn't do alot of MATH--however, I did do a few pages. I did alot of scrapbooking though. I did a lot of layouts and I have decided unless there is a few things I need to replenish in my stock( plain colored paper and adhesives, mainly) I need to quit buying scrapbooking supplies, Since I have re-vamped the way I scrap,( Thank you , Stacey Julian) I am going thru my pictures--I am in no way going to be thru my pictures anytime soon, but I do see an end in sight and if I were to scrap every picture I have, I have way more supplies than pictures. SO no more buying! I decided last christmas that I would not buy anymore fabric for quilting unless I needed a certain color or fabric to finish a project , but I needed to use my stash otherwise, I have not bought one stitch of fabric so far this whole year, Granted I have not quilted as much as usual , but I have maintained alot of self control ( not that I had a choice , really) SO I am sure I can make this goal as well. I know those of you who scrap with me , know that this is true and you will hold me accountable although I have to say --usually when we go shopping for supplies I am the one who spends the least since I am the one who already owns everything, I have been scrapping many more years than most of you.
I went to Ritzville today to pick up my boys from Landon, he pointed out I don't have many weekends with the boys next month due to holidays and what not and we have to plan Carl and Bryce's birthday around that , so they are trying to decide what they want to do party wise--ugh! just when you think you don't have to worry about it--it all comes creeping back. I told them no sleepovers, I still have not re-covered from the last couple that we have had and I don't feel like cleaning up after another one. SO they are going to get back to me. this obviously requires alot of thinking--they are going to be 10 & 11. UGH!
I have been enjoying having somewhat cool weather--I LOVE This weather, it is almost sweater weather and I still have not turned our furnace on--my kids hate that--but I love it!
I hope you all are having a blessed weekend!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

October 18th

Hi all,
Well it is starting to get cold outside...last night was the first night I actually started to feel as if the weather was changing. I love the fall..it is my most favorite season of the year. I love all of the warm colors , the changing of the leaves and apples. I love apples and apple cider, apple dumplings, Apple pie and apple crisp! Yummy! I can smell the sweet smell along with cinnamon. I don't think that I could live in a better place for apples, we are so close the Apple capital of the world! ( at least that is what the sign says) It has been a few years since I went overboard with the whole apple process and my kids are still sick of applesauce, but I love the whole apple season.
LAst night we went to football practice and no coach showed up and normally I might be upset because, I drove 20 miles there for no reason, However, the hand of fate, this man pulled up behind me out of nowhere, ( I am not sure where he came from b/c I was parked out of the way) anyway he told me I had a flat tire. SO I panicked at first, then I called LEs Schwab and they sent a guy out to help me, he filled the tire and told me the air was coming out so fast , he was going to follow me to the store. AT this point I am worried about how I am going to pay these guys b/c I am out of checks and payday is on Friday. So we made it to the store and after about 30 minutes one of the guys come in to tell me that, he has been working on my tire and he can't get it off b/c the bolts are so damaged and worn. so he said he didn't know what to do, my tire wasn't salvagable. He went back out, a few minutes later he came back in and told me another guy got the tire off . I asked him if he could just put my spare on and I would deal with things later.( I have a real spare not a temp.) SO Les Schwab didn't charge me anything. Thank you LEs! Anyhow, the thing is....I am taking all of my kids to Spokane next Wednesday and if it took the guys at LS 40 minutes to get my tire off , there is no way me or Joe Blow off of the street could have gotten my tire off if I got a flat on the side of the road! So I am thankful that I went to Quincy last night and got that issue taken care of in a small town rather than having to be stranded on the side of the HWY with 6 kids! Thank YOu JEsus!
I think sometimes we just need to appreciate the little things and that is a fine example of seeing the good in an everyday situation.
I am realizing there are many reasons why my house isn't selling, I need to learn patience and I need to trust and if the good Lord is going to protect me from being stranded on the side of the road he is going to protect me from other unseen things! Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of that! Anyway--I hope you guys are having a great day and you can see something GREAT the Lord has done for you today!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Wednesday

HI ALL!
Well I don't have alot to talk about, the last couple of days I have been going to work , coming home and working on MATH! yuck! anyhow, I am trying to get thru this math book so I can start on algebra, I am not going all that fast, so at this point I am just praying that I get into MATH 95 I was trying to shoot for MATH 99. SO we will see what happens by the time I go take my placement test. But if I don't get in in won't be because of a lack of effort. I worked on math about 10 hours the last 2 days, and I am going to put in my time today.
Clarissa has been in speech therapy for about 3 weeks now, yesterday she was doing so well at her lesson, we can move on to her "L" sounds now. She is picking it up very well, so I don't anticipate her being in speech very long.
The kids are doing well in school, we had conferences last week, the only one with an issue is Carl b/c he is not turning in his homework as I suspected and he also isn't doing any A/R tests. However he also got a letter from the gov. stating his WASL scores were above average. So we have one student who isn't even passing the WASL and she only has 3 years to get her butt in gear or she won't graduate and then the other 2 that are old enough to take the WASL's are scoring way above average. I hate the WASL's, I have a hard enough time getting JEri to turn in her homework , so I have that down, and now she is not even getting passing grades on the WASL and that is all that seems to matter , if she doesn't score high on the WASL in 10th grade she will have to take it ever year until she passes to graduate. So what does school work matter?? Anyway, we will see how it all plays out. Carl is grounded until he turns in all of his missing work. JEri had to go thru the same things every other year and this year with her being in 7th grade some of her teachers don't accept late assignments, good for teaching responsibility, not good for JEri!
As far as the house is concerned, we have not had any lookers since the first weekend in OCtober, I think this is the slow time of year to sell a house, so we won't be getting alot of traffic , I am not upset by that. My house has been trashed for days and today will be my first chance to clean it! I hope you all have a great day while I am cleaning!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Greetings!

HI All,
Well yesterday we made it to the football game and then to Spokane for the Apple Festival in Greenbluff ( otherwise known as the Pumpkin Patch). We had a good time, I had heard from other friends that they changed things around and the farm that we usually get our pumpkins is no longer doing hay rides, so I went on a hunt to find a farm that does, and by the time we got there it was to late to take a hay ride! Darn It! Anyway--We went to the harvest house, and to the big corn maze , it was so chaotic everywhere, I had never seen that place so busy in all of the years we have gone there. Then we all went to dinner at Arby's , the Halloween store and then a brief stint at the mall before heading back home. It was a good loooooong day! I love being with my friends and family so much--it really makes me homesick!
I just love that there is so many things I could be doing in SPokane and I love that my kids could be with family all of the time. This is when I REALLY want to go back HOME!
My kids had such a good time with their grandparents and the grandparents were so happy to see them. Anyway--just a bit of homesickness has creeped in since we were there.........awe.
I made sure before we left to have the house clean , just in case there were any lookers, I came home--no cards--so no potential buyers for a week. I don't know----the house is only going to be on the market for 11 more weeks. I am sure I can get thru it.
Well I hope you all had a good weekend!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

It's been a long time!

Hi All,
Well just checking in I know its been a while. We heard back from the people that offered they can't afford to bid anymore than they did, so back to square one. We are supposed to have an open house this Sunday, but by the looks of my house today, I don't think we will be having it because my house is a wreck and I am working the rest of the week, and then heading to Spokane for the big PUMPKIN PATCH! We have only missed 2 years of the pumpkin patch since my kids were born and last year was one of them, so we really need to go this year. It will be alot of fun, and it will take our minds off of the house. ROb applied for a job close to home, it is the same kind of position with the same amount of money, so pray he gets it and I don't have to go thru this house business anymore!
I applied for financial aide to go to college, and they got back to me, I qualify! HURRAY! I also went to the college to take some tests , so I will know what to study before my placement exams. I scored higher than I thought I would, so I am brushing up on some skills! I am going to get my pre-requisites and go to nursing school. SO that is my big news for this week---HURRAY for me!
This week the kids come home at noon because it is conference week, I only have conferences for 3 of the kids, which is unusual for us--3 will be a walk in the park! I am not worried about any of these 3 kids , so I am sure they are doing fine. ( I may be worried about 1 of them, because I haven't signed any homework for awhile)
I am having my first AT HOme America show tonight, I am signing up to be a demonstrator because I love their stuff! just in case I get a new house I will be getting a discount! WOOOOHOOO! SO any of you want to have a show--you know how to reach me!
OK well I guess this is all for now and I will--check back in a few days. Have a great night!

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Sunday Sept.30

HI all,
Can you believe that October is here already? FAll is officially here. Time goes by faster each year that I get older. Well I had a bunch of girls come over for scrap weekend, we had a great time---it was themed " Death by Chocolate" I think I have had so much sugar I am having withdrawls---yikes! I am going to have to do a cleanse just to feel normal at this point.
We shared stories, bonded, we walked 3 miles, we worked on our projects--we just had good girl time! I am so thankful for my friends.......They really just keep me centered.
I am going into this new week with open eyes--I felt good over the weekend I didnt think about the house, or the stress of my situation b/c my mind was focused on other things--so I was happy to get the much needed break--but now I think about how I am going to get all of my cleaning done in the meantime b/c the house is a wreck--as soon as the kids got home--the floors got all muddy b/c it is raining . GREAT! OH well--you have to love all of the little ANGELS! right?
So I ask everyone to please continue praying for us----I really don't know the answers to our situation at this point. HAve a great MOnday!

Friday, September 28, 2007

I hope today is not just another day.......

HI All,
Well Wed night was a rough night for me , I slept 2 hours, I got up and threw up in the shower all because of nerves. This just isn't right. SO I decided to do a fast yesterday, every time I felt hungry I prayed. This house situation should not have me as stressed as it does, I need to learn how to trust God . SO I went to prayer. I was actually able to sleep a bit last night, but I did wake up a few times hungry and so..... I prayed.
I actually feel better today, I know I need to learn patience, it is a virtue right?
SO I am setting my focus on something else. OH but I have to say --yesterday I was reading another self help book with scripture ( I might add) and I had a thought......I need to pray for this couple b/c I have been thinking of how rude they were for keeping us hanging and it was really upsetting me---if I pray for them and ask for God's blessing upon them it would make me feel better and that is what I really should have done in the first place.And SO...... I prayed!
Today I am working until noon and then a have COMPANY coming.......hurray for me! I will write about all of my adventures when I check in on Sunday. I hope you all have a good day!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

The longest week

Hi all,
Well we still have not heard yet if we are going to sell our house to this couple that put in an offer. However--I went to go look at a house yesterday and I love the house! It is advertised as a 7 bedroom house with 2.5 bathrooms. It actually has much more potential than that -there are many un-finished rooms. So if my house sold today--I would put in an offer on that one immediately. I could adopt a slew of kids, I could house missionaries--I can think of all of the limitless possibilities with this house. My kids would all have enough space to live and then some. I am very excited about the possibilities of this house. Please pray for me this situation is very stressful and I need to learn to just TRUST GOD, I know he has a plan for me.

Monday, September 24, 2007

UPdate...or no update

HI All,
Well I still have not heard if our offer has been accepted so PRAY,PRAY, PRay and pray! We are in limbo once again...I think this is supposed to teach us patience.
I made an appointment with my agent in SPokane, so we are going to go look at the house on Wed. afternoon. Tonight the boys had football practice and I read a few chapters in my self help books. I feel the more I study them the more I know I am right where I need to be and still growing. I hope tomorrow I will have more to write about. Have a great night.

Still Waiting.......

HI All,
Well funny thing happened on Friday, we got an offer on the house, it wasn't exactly what we wanted but it was negotiable ( I think) so we counter offered, the people came by with about 6 or 7 people on Saturday to look at the house again , before they decided what to do with our counter offer and we still haven't heard anything, hopefully we will hear today. I am thinking since they didn't immediately reject it and unless they are completely turned off by something they saw here--they will probably give us another offer or take our counter offer. We shall see. SO after we delt with house stuff on Friday night, we went to celebrate Cole's birthday at the bowling alley, we had a great time, much needed fun time!
Saturday the kids had a football game they won again, so for games on the record they are un-defeated. Then Saturday night I let the kids have a few friends over for a sleepover, needless to say we all didn't get much sleep. Sunday we relaxed a little,cleaned the house a little and I scrap booked a little. I talked to a few of my friends in Spokane and none of us can wait until next weekend b/c we are going to be scrapping in our jammies all weekend! wooohoooo!
oh I forgot to mention.....the little house in Fairfield that I fell in love with sold, we found out Friday night..Rob and I were both very disappointed. Rob does not want to live in town and I kind of like the small town environment for the kids, so I spent 2 hours looking for a decent house in our price range outside of the city limits-- I found one, count them one! anyway I am going to try and go look at it this week, it is an old Catholic school that was converted into a house 18 years ago, it has 8000 square feet and a 4 car garage and I see alot of potential for it--so I want to go see with my eyes and then go from there. I need all of your prayers! HAve a great day!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Hello

Hi All,
Well since my last blog--alot has happened--I threw a birthday for my mom--it was a big one--the ol' FIVE_ZERO! Anyway--My aunt and Grandma helped me pull it off since I live far away and it was as success--my mom cried b/c she thought I had forgotten since we threw the party 2 days after the actual date and I had never called her--so kudos to me! haha
My kids a had another football game and they won--although they played another game again tonight and lost--ya win some and ya lose some--oh well!
We have had a few lookers come to the house--no more bites--my contract is up with my agent in a few weeks---I think I am going to take my house off of the market and maybe just continue to live here--we are doing fine --my husband will just have to find a good job here, b/c I can no longer go thru this hassle of being invaded by people looking at our house all of the time and trying to keep it clean--with 6 kids. Rob is tired of traveling back and fourth and living a nomad sort of life, sleeping at different houses. We are thinking about it, while we have the next few weeks and we are going to pray about it and see what happens--maybe someone will buy it in the next few weeks and we won't have to worry about it??? ya think?
I am meeting with a college counselor in 2 weeks to get my packet of paperwork and take some placement tests--but I want to start college winter quarter if it is possible--so I am excited about that--a new adventure!
Rob will be home tonight and we are going to go to football,clean the house, work on the deck and try to clean out the garage? Does this sound like fun? anyone want to help?
Well I hope everyone has a great weekend! Be thinking of me working all day long!

Friday, September 14, 2007

FRIDAY!!

Hi all,
Well I am back at work today--sheesh! Rob came home last night, I am happy about that b/c I may be able to get out of going to football practice tonight--wooohooo! The boys all had their first game on wed. night and they all lost , but they all had good play time for the most part. last night while at practice for 2 hours, I walked for 3 miles and I worked on a few bible studies , so I got in a bunch of good quality time.
This weekend my boys have another football game.
We haven't had anyone come and look at the house this week and I am OK with it b/c , football isn't over until the end of October and then the holidays will be here , and it won't hurt my feelings if we don't have to move during the holidays. The longer I wait the more prices are going down and so are interest rates. SO I know it is all in God's timing!
Well I will update you as to how this weekend turns out--have a great couple of days!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

HI All

HEllo to everyone,
Well it is already Wed. and things are pretty routine again--thank goodness for school. Teh boys are in football they have their first game tonight and it has been a mad rush to get all of the jerseys done in time--our local shops had their press break down , so hopefully when I go pick them up today they will be all done! I am getting back in my weight loss / shape up plan again--it has been far to long and I don't have as many projects to do on the house--so there are no more excuses. Today I have been eating well and I am going to walk 3 miles as soon as the kids get home, it would be nice if I could have done it during the day but unfortunalty--Clarissa slows me down--so I need to wait for the kids to keep her busy and play with her. I was watching the biggest loser last night and I am once again inspired! Did you see that little girl lost 20 pounds in one week? I know that is not possible for me b/c I am not spending everyday training--but I think I can do alot better than I have been for the last couple of months--so I got out my food journal , I am planning my meals and working in the exersice--baby steps, right?
I would appreciate for my friends and family to keep me accountable and help me in my success! SInce I have been in counseling and I am working on my emotional issues I feel like this could be the beginning of my goals.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Monday Sept.10th

HI to all,
Well this last weekend was busy and relaxing--I guess. We had football Friday night, then we had to get up early Saturday morning to take the kids to Ritzville,WA. Went to LEss PArr to turn down the offer on the house, Came home did some work, Went grocery shopping and came home. Rob worked on the cars and I worked on some scrapping. Yesterday I got up worked on some more layouts and had to go back to Ritzville to pick up my kids. Yuck!
I am excited to have my kids on a football team, However, this means I have to be in Quincy 4 days a week for 3 hours each night, this is not going to be fun. I am going to make the best of it though, I am going to bring my books and my bible and do a bit of studying and I am also going to walk for an hour of it so I can work in some exercise --good thinking huh?
Although I feel like I don't have alot going on--Lately I feel so blessed by everything--I mean God found a spot for my kids on a team, Carla HElped me with Rob and after I prayed about the house situation everything seems to be falling together and I even read an old issue of TCW ( Today's Christian woman) and it talks about simplicity, making things in your life more simple. I have been doing that more and more, I have learned to say "no" to people and I am not volunteering for every little thing no matter how fun it may be.
Well I am off to work--I hope everyone has a happy MONDAY!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Saturday Sept.8TH

HI Everyone,
Just giving you an update---We did finally get an offer on the house. We DENIED! It was a low offer and they wanted us to sell on the contingency that they sold their property however, they wanted us to have that contract until the end of December--They want to come in remodel and basically-- flip this house--so I am not willing to help them--I am not desperate enough to just get rid of my house especially for that price. SO they will either have to get a bridge loan and make a better offer or I will wait for a year until my house sells! Gees! My friend Donna called that one! She told me exactly what these people were gonna do--b/c they came a 2nd time with a contractor. SO anyway--Happy to get an offer just so I could turn them down. I am willing to take a low offer if it is for a family that really needs the house and I am getting desperate--I am not so desperate now and --I have found the longer I wait the better the interest rates are getting and the lower prices are going down in Spokane--so I am good! Today I went shopping and I am going to scrapbook tonight and tomorrow with my friends. I Hope you all have a good weekend--have a great day!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

LAbor day weekend

Hi all,
Well we left Friday after school and work and headed to Steamboat Rock Park for a weekend of camping. We were surprised by how beautiful and nice the campground really was...there was sandy beaches and it wasn't very busy for being a holiday weekend--all the campsites were full, however there wasn't any rowdy people and there was plenty of room on the beaches , not to mention plenty of out of the way discoveries that my kids seemed to be able to find. Carla met us up there, and she is so much fun to have around, she is just one of us and she was have seaweed fights with the kids and dunking them--it was so much fun! I took a few really good pics! None of us slept very well--but we will have a day to catch up since we were only camping for 2 days. Rob had to leave Saturday night and I had to figure out how to take down the tent trailer and hitch it home-on Sunday-but we made it--with one broken chain--haha-- oh well. On my way home we got a call that a family was coming to look at our house sometime that afternoon, so as soon as we got home we started un-loading and cleaning--I gave Clarissa a bath and I hopped in the shower and thanked God for blessing me with the ability to be able to take a shower everyday, since I hadn't had one since Friday morning , I ate lunch--then the couple came--they spent an hour at our house--I guess they liked it--because they came back on Monday with a contractor to ask him about some of their ideas of remodeling our home--and they stayed another hour-- So I am thinking we may be getting an offer. Although this is what I have been wanting I am scared and thrilled at the same time--I think this is the closest we have been in the last 8 weeks that our house has been on the market--and it is so nerve wracking!
Well wish us luck--and I hope you all had a great Labor day weekend!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

First day of school

Well today was the first day of school and we went thru the normal routine and I was dropping all the kids off at the 3 different schools and I took pics of them by the signs at school and all of that jazz. Took the 3 younger boys and started taking their pics and Preston starts throwing up in the grass. Oh no! So I went to the office and told them I would be taking him home. I thought it was nerves at first but he came home and slept for the next 5 hours--so I think he really is sick--I am just praying that he doesn't get any of the other kids sick and that he will be fine to go to school tomorrow.
We had the kids open houses last night , so of course, they are all scheduled at the same time---not very single parent savvy apparently! SO we raced to the different school and got our packet of information and met our new teachers. Well we came home and there was a ring on the door bell after the kids were all in their pj's and I was too. A family wanted to come and see our house--we have met this family before b/c we had a sleepover and their son was on of the attendees--anyway--I said that was fine--they had 4 kids and the house would be perfect for them--who knows if they liked it or not--but nice that they excused the mess and wanted the tour anyway. We also had a family come and look at the house on Monday and they had already seen our house before, so they must like something about it--my agent said they hadn't put an offer on anything yet--so in the last 3 weeks we have had 2 families come and look. We got good responses b/c of the kitchen--so that made me feel good.
Well tomorrow after I get a decent picture of Preston I will post pics of my beautiful kids on their first day of school! Have a great day!

Friday, August 24, 2007

August 24th

Hi to everybody,
Well ROb got home late last night--we were all snoozing away!!!
Well this week nothing exciting is really going on, I didn't do alot of housework and we have had no prospective buyers for over 2 weeks. I went to my local christian book store and the 2 girls there are members at the church I attend and they pulled me in to a prayer circle right away to pray for the sell of my house, isn't that sweet! Can you find that every where you go?
I have been working on the inside of myself recently and I have been making alot of progress , according to my therapist--so that is my most exciting news of the week. Tonight I am going to have Carla and Robbie come and stay the weekend with us and we are going to do some tourist things , so that will be nice and I am so happy to have company! I will let you know what exciting things we do over the weekend!

Monday, August 20, 2007

Monday August 20th

Hi All,
Well Rob only had one day off this last week and we came home late Friday night, he stayed until Sunday morning and then came home again last night and he brought the boys back home. It was so nice to see them again and it is nice to know they are back home again for good. Since they were gone for my birthday they had all brought homemade cards that they had made for me, How sweet is that?? What good boys!
This weekend I volunteered for a bike race called HOT AUGUST DAYS. It is a bike ride that is 150 miles long and the riders go a full circle from Wenatchee, WA back thru Quincy, Ephrata, and back thru the hwy to Wenatchee again. I was at the rest stop in Dry Falls, Wa and I handed out food and water. It was nice to talk to all of them and I can't wait for the day when I am strong enough to be one of them.
It rained on Saturday so I couldn't work on the deck. I was really upset by that. So I had a few girls over and we scrapbooked. I got at whopping 3 layouts done! WOOOO HOOOOO! Oh well we talked had girl time and worked as we talked.
Well I am going to get back to work.
I am thinking after I get the deck done , that maybe I should have an open house. SO I am going to aks my real estate agent about that, Hopefully I will hear back soon.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

pics I promised








SO here are the final shots of the bathroom until I decide to gut them and start over!




Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Hi ALL

Well, Hello to all of my friends!
Today I went to work and left shortly after as they didn't need me and I was all to happy to oblige! SO I came home trimmed my trees, painted the vanity in my bathroom and cleaned some more around the house. Yesterday I did all of our weeding of the flower beds and tried scrubbing the hard water stains off of our outside window---just to find out there is also stains in between the 2 panes of glass--so I can't get it clean anyway! I spoke with my real-estate agent today--she said the prices of houses are dropping and they are also starting a new development of houses, so that isn't very promising for me! I hope we can get out of here before the flood of new housing! Or I may be here a few more years and Rob will be going insane by then.
Since I finished painting the kitchen and what not we have not had any body come to look at the house, I am hoping to get a good response from the kitchen and bathroom , I will post before and afters tomorrow--I am to tired to post them now. Have a good night!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Sunday Project!

Well today once again, Rob went back to Spokane to work and I stayed home cleaned up a little and decided to start a project. Melissa had bought me a some frames for my birthday and I had an idea! I take a ton of pictures of my kids and these frames have exactly 6 slots.here they are:

So I thought for one of them I could decorate and put in one pic of each kid( b/c there is exactly 6) and then the other i could have some fun with, I thought I could use the word family--but I already have a project using canvas and I have the word family on that one --so I thought I could use the word HOME and just fill in the 2 empty spots. I like how it turned out although I am wondering if I should add a few things. Here is the one I have done--I will post the other one as soon as I get the pics put in. Here is a shot a bit closer so you may be able to see what I have done with the edge of the mat--kind of hard to see in the picture. SO I was thinking I coudl add some little brown or cream colored flowers to the mat?? I am not sure--I tend to over do some things--any input from my "crafty" friends would help. I love these frames they are so nice! anyway--I hope you all have a great week!


Saturday, August 11, 2007

Kitchen Project!




OK so a friend of mine told me that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses--and then the next day I read it on a website. So I decided I better do something with my kitchen, I have always wanted to "update" the kitchen here but I didn't really know what I should do--so I decided to bite the bullet and just paint the cabinets. I went to a website and it told me how to do that and what products I would need and I went ahead and updated my kitchen. I LOVE the results! My kitchen looks so much better and it just brightens up that whole part of my house! SO I am posting before and after pics.

Saturday August 11th

HI to all,
Well I made it thru my 30th birthday! It was a good day, I went to work and my boss brought me a bunch of nice chocolates and a co-worker brought in my favorite cake( Carrot cake) and Melissa took me out to a great lunch--we were so stuffed already and then they brought out a 5 layer fudge cake--I took 2 bites had to take the rest home--yikes! I came home and watched Dr.Phil, of course. I helped Rob paint the cabinet doors and then we went to dinner at Pizza Hut( my choice--hehe) and then went shopping at wal-mart--are we all excited yet? I needed to get some things to finish the kitchen and I had to buy Cole's Party stuff for next weekend. SO all in all it was a good day.
Well I am going to come and put in another entry later today--the before and after of my kitchen b/c we should be done with that soon and it makes a HUGE difference! as you shall soon see! Have a great day!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

The day before my 30th birthday!

Hi all,
Well today I went to lunch with my friend Donna and she had made me a gift--this really cute purse! with Amy butler fabric! sensational! Really cute you can see it on her blog at www.donnahodgson.blogspot.com It is so me and I have already transferred all of my make-up and cards into it. Rob is supposed to come home tonight and then he will have the next 2 days off. I need to start working on kitchen cabinet doors as everything else is done--I was just waiting until I borrowed an electric sander from somebody b/c my arms were very tired after sanding everything yesterday. So of course, since I have everything torn down and wrecked, a family wanted to come see the house today! I knew that was going to happen to me! Well hopefully if they liked the house , they can over look the kitchen for now. SO pray for us! Anyhow that is all I have to say for now , have a great day!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

tuesday

I Don't know if this is jaw dropping , edge of your seat writing..but here goes................. Today.......I went to work..........and I came home for lunch.......and that is about it! ha! I called my real estate agnet to ask what some feedback on the house is..she is calling some other agents to ask--and getting back to me. I have decided since my kitchen seems to be a sore spot( for me anyway) this weekend I am going to paint the kitchen cupboards and put new hardware on the drawers and cupboards. That should lighten it a bit in my kitchen and make it feel a bit "newer".I am just worried about our back splash and countertops b/c they are faux wood , I think they should be neutral enough. We shall see--I will try and post before and after pics and then you can tell me what you think. Tonight I am going to work on a few misc. items here and there and do some light cleaning. We have not had any showings since Saturday. SO maybe when we rip down all of the cabinets--people will show up--that is how it seems to go . Have a great night everybody!

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Sunday

Today was a relaxing day--I watched alot of tv, did a few scrapbook pages, and watched the kids play in the pool. ROb had to work early this morning and he took the boys( sad face here). Tomorrow it is back to the old grindstone(work). I wish I could say I was looking forward to it----I will leave that alone. I did 3 loads of dished today and harped on the kids several times to clean up their mess--it still looks as if a tornado hit this house. Is this never ending?? Well not much going on here--maybe I will have something so fantastic to write about tomorrow--it will hold you on the edge of your seat!

Saturday, August 4, 2007

August 4th,2007

Well a Big Happy Birthday to Rob today!! he is a whopping 33!
Today--I got up and made a big breakfast for the family--it was nice I can't wait until we get back to normal and have a dining room table again--so we can all eat together--I gave it away--b/c when we get a new house I will be buying a new set--but I also wanted it out of the house so it didn't look so cramped with a our big dining table and such a little dining area. Anyhow--we got a call from a realtor today and she said a family was coming to see the house at 12:00--so we raced around cleaning everything and then she showed up UN-announced with someone else at around 3:00 --so that lady got to see how we really live--oh well! The pool is finally coming along and it is about halfway full--so that is nice--the kids are having fun! We are going to take the kids roller skating tonight, we have a bunch of 2.00 off coupons and it is good exercise. I miss having my boys around, Clarissa and Carl miss them so much when they are gone--Clarissa is going to be upset tomorrow when she wakes up and they are gone b/c Rob is taking them with him when he goes to Spokane--they they will be with Landon for 2 more weeks. Then all of his weeks will be used up and I will be able to get back to our normal schedule just in time for school. Please pray that one of these families put a decent offer in on our house and that we can start the process for moving and getting our new house. See ya later!

Friday, August 3, 2007

August 3rd

Well Today was so exciting--I had a full house and I had to work ---boohoo--But I got thru it! What a boring day! Anyway--I came home worked on the house for a bit watched DR>Phil--so I could see if I still had more issues to work on--didn't see anything today. Thank God:) Don't know if I can take any more assignments.
So I made a nice dinner for the kids and then we decided to go to the ephrata pool --b/c we heard if you took down 2 books or 2 cans of food--you could get in for free and they were going to have live music. The pool doesn't usually stay open for evening swims--so that was nice and it wasn't very busy--so we had a blast and it didn't cost us a dime! My kids thought I was the greatest! And the good part....they are going to sleep well tonight!
I don't have anything else going on really--ROb's birthday is tomorrow ..he is going to be 33--whew! I married an old man! hehehe
SO we will most likely bbq some sausage--he is German--so he thinks that he is immune to heart disease:) --so he eats as much as he likes! Maybe I should open a life insurance policy--is it considered accidental if they eat to much pork??? I always worry about his diet--but he doesn't so I guess I have to let him do what he wants. Anyway--everyone have a great night! I am off!

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Thursday

Well ROb is coming home tonight and he is bringing 3 of our boys home with him--I hate the summer b/c I have to share more time with Landon--I know that is selfish but it is what it is..I like it better when they are home with me and as much as sometimes they get on my nerves I prefer to have them home--they brighten my moods and my days--I just know that is why I am a mom!
SO anyhow--no offers on the house yet and today I have decided I am going to start working on myself--I have been working on my home, my relationship with my husband and children and everything around me except me--so I am going to be selfish and find myself--I am going to work on some self help books and my weight issues and get to the root of my issues--I know this is going to be a deep, long drawn out process--but I have nothing but time on my hands folks! My husband is gone , I work part-time and I have pretty much given up on trying to keep the house clean for potential buyers--so I will probably be here for a long time:)
So I will have about 6 more weeks of summer before kids are in school and then I will have even more time ! Any helpful hints from my old and wise friends??
As Dr, Phil would say " this is a changing time in you r life" ( I think this is what he says--something to that effect anyway) SO I hope this is true!
I will update you on my progress or depression whatever the case may be--haha!

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

AUgust 1st

I Can't believe August is here already, this is amazing to me --I feel like time is going by so fast and I haven't accomplished much at all. I am going to be 30 in 10 days and I don't feel a day over 65--Strange! I know some people get stressed over their 30th birthday but I think 30 is the new 20 , like pink is the new black! So , I am actually looking forward to being 30 , b/c I know I am one step closer to being old and wise--hahahahah! Anyway--we had a new family come and look at the house today--I hope we get an offer--I am living on pins and needles everytime someone comes to see the house. I feel like a single mom --and the kids are just getting worse and worse the longer Rob is gone and JEri the oldest ,who I expect to try and help me some( IDK why I ever expect her to help me) has been getting into more trouble. I have a cell phone for the kids to use , for when they have sleepovers or go somewhere without a parent and to use when I am not home, well JEri seems to think this is her phone not a community phone so she has programmed all of her #'s and addresses in the phone and she tries to talk as much as possible, anywho--she is not supposed to use the phone when a parent is not around--so I looked up phone record she has been using phone--she got grounded from phone--so I look at phone today, apparently-she thought texting would be a good idea since she can't talk on it, we don't have texting on our plan and between yesterday and today she and her friend have text over 70 times--I am very angry!!! I also told her she can't be on computer --her and her friend decided to open their own email accounts--which JEri doesn't need--I was upstairs while this was being done and I found out when I tried to log into my account and could not b/c her email address was in the saved spot, SO we had a little chat about the computer and she was not to be on the computer unless I say so , and I need to know where she is going--well that was 2 weeks ago--I ran a history on the computer and see that she has been on everyday and I had to ground her from the computer, this seems to be never ending, that child does what she wants when she wasn't to do it, and I can't seem to keep up on everything.I am going to invest in some nanny software! I am tired! I have to keep this house clean so we can show it to prospective buyers, which is no small feat, I have to make meals, go to work, and keep up on everything and kids have nothing to do except come up with plans to decieve their parents--this is not fair!
So anyway--once again I feel overwhelmed and I don't know if this keeps up I may have tojust start saving money --so I can pay rent somewhere--so we can start showing teh house vacant b/c it is way to hard to clean everything when I have 6-9 kids running around all of the time.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Sunday

HI All,
Well Rob had to go back to work today so he left bright and early this morning around 5. We had a nice visit while he was here and he tried to get some projects done, however he didn't complete as many as I would have liked.:)
I did some scrapbooking and I cleaned a few things here and there did a little grocery shopping. I am hoping the window guy comes tomorrow to fix our front window b/c it is broken and half hanging out and nobody could come on Friday. I am also going to call sears to see if they can send a repair guy out to fix our washer --I don't know when the house is going to sell and I don't want to go to the laundry mat for the next year if this is what is going to happen with the sale of our house. I have been praying and just decided that I am going to continue to live my life as if we are staying here until my house actually does sell-so I will sign the boys up for football and I am going to register for convention, if something happens after that I will deal with it as it comes b/c I can't put everything on hold, "in case" my house sells. It is not fair to myself or the kids. Of course I would just love for the House to sell so I can make definite plans--but I have to know that God's timing is perfect and I will rest assured.

Friday, July 27, 2007

July 27th,2007

HEy all,
Just thought I would give a little up-date. We have not yet rec'vd and offer on the house, which bums me out a little , b/c we have had alot of traffic and I just want to know what is wrong since no-one is wanting to buy it. I need sell this house to come in and help me.
I went to Spokane on Wed. to look at houses and I booked about 8 or 9 more houses to look at and I found my future house! ( I hope anyway!) it was the very last house we looked at, and it is actually in Fairfield,wa which is a little farming town ( population 500) south of Spokane Valley, by about half an hour. SO I would have the comfort of a small town with really good shopping about 25 minutes away! I love that! I would feel comfy with my kids riding their bikes around town and they have a few parks withing walking distance. This years graduating class is 27! WHEW! that is huge! SO I am hoping our house sells soon so we can put an offer in on that house, it is 5 bedroom 2 bathrooms, move in ready.SO please pray for us! I really want to be back with my husband and I want to have my family back!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Just another Sunday in July

HI, I know I haven't been keeping up on this lately--so here goes: We have not yet recv'd an offer on the house--but we have 2 families coming tomorrow to see the house, so we have alot of cleaning today! Yesterday I took the kids to Wild Waves in Seattle,WA. My Brother and RObert met us there and we had such a good time--it was just the right temp and not alot of people. SO we got to ride all the rides and water rides without waiting in horribly long lines. I have the day off tomorrow so I can make sure everything is clean and ready to go for the prospective buyers. Rob will be home Tuesday ,then he will have to go back , but he has next weekend off so we can go to the reunion in Idaho. I am not sure we are ever going to sell our house--I am so frustrated with our kids, They aren't helping me to keep the house clean. Such is life!
Well I am going to head off to bed and dream of happier times! hehe

Monday, July 16, 2007

Monday--July 16th

Well Today we had a family come and look at the house--and this family came a few days ago--so I think we will probably get an offer today or tomorrow--we will see what kind of an offer it is. I am really nervous--I know God has made all of this happen for us--but it is always nerve wracking to make such a big change. I am also nervous that I don't have a house to go to . Is it so irresponsible for me to sell my house before having another one to go to--I have 6 children and I am so scared of being homeless. I just keep praying God will provide for us.Please pray for us!
Rob is working on the cars and sprinkler system--hehe
I have to go to card club tonight and I am going to tell the girls that this will be my last meeting! it has been a nice club to be a part of....and I actually used my supplies---so hopefully I can find one in Spokane. Well I shoudl go for now--I will update everyoen tomorrow!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Tuesday July 11th

Well I have been pretty busy lately--trying to keep up on everything and adjusting to our new schedule. I looked at houses and I was amazed at what people would actually put on the market--they don't clean,paint or really care about the house being for sale. SO I guess they don't want to sell it very quickly. There was one house I fell in love with--there was one drawback--it was on a busy street--although I am not fond of that fact--I would settle for it just b/c the house was beautiful. We have been working out at Melissa house --because it goes for sale next week--so we are trying to weed out the flower beds and clean all the carpets and that sort of thing. We have had a 3 families come and look at our house so far and I just know it is going to sell soon-b/c there is not alot of competition in Ephrata--and there is probably only 10 houses under 200 thousand. I am scared I am going to be homeless with 6 kids. :)At this point I wouldn't actually just mind staying here by myself with the kids for another year to make sure we can get something IN Spokane--but the costs will go up and Rob will be get tired of all the commuting. SO maybe we will rent until we find something--IF someone will rent to a family with so many kids. and We will probably be in a dump.anyway--enough for now--I hope everyone has a good day!

Saturday, July 7, 2007

7-7-07

Well today i am having my yard sale--we didn't have huge turn out--but over all--I got rid of a few pieces of furniture--I didn't have alot of stuff--I hate doing yard sales so I got rid of about 3 truck loads of stuff to the good will just a few months ago--so maybe I could have actually made something then--but today I wanted to get rid of some big pieces that I don't want to take with me--I am still hoping someone comes by to get my dining set---and computer desk--I am just going to buy all new stuff with my next house. I still have this old desk that I will put the kids' computer on--when we get to the new house. I stayed up late last night cleaning and preparing for the yard sale. but I pretty much got everything done with Melissa's help , of course. I got up early this morning and finished all of the touch ups on the paint and what not--geez! I feel like I am forever painting--I am tired of it! Tonight I am heading to Spokane --so I will be on the hunt for a house tomorrow--Pray for me--I just really hope I can find a house that will be roomy enough for all of us with a decent payment. then we are all coming back tomorrow night and Rob Will be here Monday to start some more yard work and finish some other Little things that need to be done--along with going to the dump!

Friday, July 6, 2007

PRAISE GOD!

Well I have good news today---I found my beloved Dog --I am so happy, I cried! I am faxing all info to Spokane-- proof that we have her rabies up-to-date and that we have her licensed--fees are much more expensive in Spokane , anyway--Thank you to all who were praying and such for my dog. I have had her for almost 12 years and I know she only has a few years left but no one can take care of her like we can and I love her she is a part of my family --and I have been grieving for the past few days.
Rob left for Spokane--his first day was yesterday --he said it was very busy--I am sure he is not used to the hustle and bustle as the Napa in Ephrata was probably much more laid back:). Tonight I am preparing for my yard sale --my yard sale is tomorrow from 8-? ( whenever I get to hot to be outside) hopefully I can get rid of some of this furniture so I can just be done with all of it, then I will be cleaning the house --so the realtor can start showing it next week. I just spoke to my realator and she is bringing someone to look at the house tomorrow.YIKES! Looks like I am cleaning tonight also! I am going to be exhausted! Once again! I hope everyone has a good weekend and if I have time to break in-between all of my chores I will let you know what is going on!

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

4th of July

Well this 4th is certainly coming in with a BANG!
I am depressed! My husband is leaving me today , so I am basically going to be a single mom again and My mom called me last night--She has been dog sitting Sadie( my husky for the last 11 years) and Sadie is missing , Someone had to have let her out , so someone either stole her or she got out and my mom lives near a very busy street and , Sadie walked slow b/c she had bad hips--so either way my dog is dead or gone--and I am very upset about it. I don't know how I am going to tell Bryce. I know my MOm feels really bad and I don't blame her--just a bad situation. So I just feel like breaking down at every time I stop.
Last night we signed over the house with a realtor at the same time My co-worker came over to look at it--I was trying to get her to wait until Thursday b/c we had the carpet installed yesterday and the place is still a mess--But hopefully most everything will get done today since this is Rob's last day! When he comes up on his next day off--he will need to put up the pool. SO everything is starting to come together and I feel the changes starting to happen.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Monday

Good Morning!
Well I am at work--trying to start my day and worried about all of the things I can be doing at home--oh well--one day at a time, right?
We have a family coming to look at the house today and there are so many things we still need to finish, and I need to make calls today and see if I can hire someone to install carpet. We decided to put new carpet on the stairs as well as Jeri's room and there is no way Rob is going to be able to do the stairs. SO I think it would not take an experienced person very much time--and we already have carpet and padding. So anyway--other than the carpet and some more trim and transition flooring , we still have to put up the pool and then we have a few other little cosmetic things we need to change. So when Rob leaves on wed. night if all of these things are done I am going to list it. I don't think it will be done--I am wondering if we will ever be done! I will keep everyone posted--b/c I have nothing exciting to write about other than that! haha

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Saturday June 30th

Well I didn't blog last night--I didn't have alot to blog about--I went to dinner with Melissa and we chose to go to Skippers--which I am glad we did, B/C Skippers in Moses lake is closing , so today is their last day, I guess Melissa and I were the only people that liked that place--hmm.. I don't know why it didn't make it.
SO last night Melissa and I tore the wall-paper off of the last wall--- And I finished painting it this morning. Rob has started putting up the trim and molding , so that should be done today ( the downstairs anyway) And he is making a trip to the dump as we speak so we can load up the trailer for another trip to the storage unit. And tonight while Rob is down working at the shop I will take the kids to the laundry mat for some Great Saturday night excitement! Anyone want to join US??I will be happy to get a new washer--it just seems crazy to go buy one now cuz then I would just have to move it--so I will wait until we buy another house and then have one delivered. All of the painting is done except a few touch ups here and there. SO now it is just cleaning everything and getting Rob packed to go. And some bigger jobs that we need to have Rob do on his limited amount of time before he leaves us! He starts his new job on Thursday. We had another realtor come out and look at the house and she appraised it higher than the last guy --so I am happy about that, of course, she saw it when it was halfway done with all of the work--so we are going to make almost double what we paid for it! Yikes! That is so exciting!

Thursday, June 28, 2007

June 28th

Well, Today I am at work! I called a real estate agent and she is coming to look at the house tonight or tomorrow. She is a really nice woman and she was our Agent when we were looking--so I wanted to return the favor to her --b/c when we bought our house she didn't make one dime off of us. She already has someone who may be interested in our house b/c they put a bid in on our neighbors house--our neighbors had 5 bids on their house before it sold a few weeks ago. Amazing! We are going to be struggling to get everything done this weekend --But my-co-worker is coming to look at our house on Monday at 6:00 So hopefully it will look OK . I spoke with our financial officer and he doesn't see any problems with us financing a new house --it will just be a matter of us selling ours--so I need to start looking at homes in Spokane so when ours does sell I will be ready to buy one. I can't believe how quickly all of this is happening but I know God is AMAZING and he is looking out for us every step of the way! So other than all the cleaning and last coat of paint I have to do tonight--That is all I have to say for today--Hopefully tomorrow I will have more info.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

My Day off! wooohoooo!!

HI ALL,
Well Today I had the day off--and I feel like I am in slow motion...I woke up and Melissa was here so she took Clarissa and I to breakfast. After breakfast we came back did a 2nd coat of paint in boys room and then Melissa went home to work on her house a bit. I decided to watch a bit of TV while waiting for my kids to get home--I fell asleep--so much for getting anything done right? so I woke up just as kids were getting home and I gave Clarissa some lunch. Then Rob decided I needed to go to home depot for some supplies so he can start working when he gets home and the kids have been dying to go to wal-mart since Grandma gave them money over the weekend! So I braved the wild and took them--Oh my--I am sure people thought we were crazy--I had kids everywhere trying to decide what they wanted--so I had to shop around a bit and wait b/c they had a line to have paint mixed--so it took them about 45 minutes to get my gallon of paint ready. Oh well--I went thru the home fashions and started dreaming about what colors I would like in my new house......and the kids decided what kind of decorations they want in their new rooms--the boys all want camouflage and Jeri picked out some really GROOVY patterned flowers--and bright kind of colors--they were really cute and Clarissa picked out the cutesy flowers and light pastel colors that I love! SO anyway--I have an idea of what the kids would like in their rooms when we start all over again.Today I finished painting the boys room and I have 1 coat of trim done--so tomorrow I will finish trim . I will finish taking down wall paper tonight on just one wall--in the family room and start painting , so that will be done tomorrow. Rob has to finish a car--that he is fixing on the side. which I hope will be tonight because pretty soon I will be done with my projects and I have no idea how to do some of his.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

June 26

Well today--I am back at work! I like my job however--it is difficult to be here when I keep thinking of the million things I can be doing at home. It is hard when you have such a huge project that needs to be done to leave it and tend to other duties. We have 2 families interested in our house now and I am scared b/c it is not even ready to put on the market yet--and they are really wanting to get in and look and I am afraid if we sell our house that fast that we will be homeless b/c Rob has a 90 day probation period at his new job and the financing company said he will have to wait until that is completed before we can finance anything--or the company he is working for will have to write a letter stating he will be a permanent employee. So Pray for us!! I am afraid of what is going to happen , I know God is making all of this possible, and he is taking care of every detail for us. It is all in his timing!
SO today when I get home--I am going to start painting the boys' room--I am just now getting to that! and then I have to peel wallpaper off of a wall in the family room and paint that wall--I think by tomorrow I will have all painting done--then we just have trim work to paint and cut. We also have to make a trip to storage again tonight and then we will load the trailer for another dump run. So hopefully by this next weekend --our house will actually be ready to show???maybe!!!

Monday, June 25, 2007

Hi

Hi everyone,
Well we are still in Spokane we have had a great time! We came over Friday night and stayed with my Aunt--then we got up Saturday morning went out for breakfast then off to silverwood--we spent the whole day there riding rides,swimming and just having a great time! then after Silverwood, we drove to Bonner's Ferry , Id to see Great Grandma Shirley b/c Saturday was her birthday, so when we got to her house at about tenish--we all lined up and sang " Happy Birthday", She loved it! She is the sweetest person you could ever meet , and I just love going to her house b/c she tells us off all her stories when she was young and when she was raising a family and she is just sharp as a tack and when she was raising a family she certainly had struggles and she made it through happy and strong and just very loving ! I hope that when I am as old as she I will always think of this season of my life the way that she does and also have a strong faith, as she does.
Then Sunday we left Bonner's Ferry and drove back to Spokane,Wa to get to my family picnic just at the right time. I have an aunt here from Minnesota and I have 2 cousins that are due to have babies any day and they are so cute! So I am sure the next time we get together my family will have expanded quite a bit! One of my cousins is also due to be home soon and he will be here for a very short time before he will be stationed in Iraq. So Everyone Please pray for him as he has a new budding family and he is very brave and we love him so much! ( please also pray for my aunt as I am sure it is very unsettling to see your son off to teh war--I can't imagine!) The family picnic was nice and fun and it is nice to see we can all start gathering together through all of our tremendous communication issues and hurt feelings.
We decided after the picnic we would take our kids out for some more fun b/c as a family we have been focusing on getting our house ready to sell--we haven't had an FUN for awhile--so we went to Wonderland. Jeri stayed with Aunt Kristie b/c her favorite show was coming on --and she didn't want to miss it--this is a problem----a TV show comes before fun??? I just let her, it was her choice to miss out. Wonderland was so much fun--we played mini-golf, go-carts and then games--it was much needed fun time! The kids couldn't thank us enough on the way home! I felt sort of bad that we haven't been able to do anything with them--but money is tight and we have so many things going on--I kind of lost sight of it --I guess! So we stayed the night at my Aunt's house again --and now it is Monday and we are going to take Rob to the dentist and do some light shopping and head back home--so we can start working all over again tomorrow!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Thursday

Hi All,
Today I am very tired! I am not sleeping well! I hate this! I have lost Charisma somewhere and I can't find her--someone please help me! hehe
I am usually so exhausted, once I hit the pillow i just fall asleep--but lately I get to my bed and I Ly there waiting for sleep to find me--the only good part about that is that I find more time to pray! Cuz what else am I gonna do while I am lying there?
I just got some more boxes so my packing may actually get done tonight and I have been reading up on hydro seeding this morning--so I can better water my lawn--for the next week or 2! Hopefully we haven't ruined our lawn--we are water a couple of times a day, however--I just want to see some progress! Patience is a virtue--I know, I know! I am just missing that one!
So the plan for tonight is to finish packing sewing room, mow the front lawn, and fix the 2 downstairs windows that our lovely children broke( we usually find out after they broke it and then none knows how it broke--until months later after the parents have calmed down) It seems every summer we have to replace a few windows--and most of the time they are broken from the inside?? wonder why??
and then I have to pack our clothes for the weekend b/c we are going to Silverwood on Saturday--I can't wait to have some fun!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Another day in Ephrata

Well Today We were supposed to hear something but the company told Rob to call back on FRIDAY! Geez---the suspense is killing me! I just want a time line!
Rob is working late the rest of the week--I can't wait until he doesn't have to work until midnight anymore just to make a few bucks! SO I cleaned out our entry way closet and packed everything except a few light jackets that we may need thru the summer. I started going thru the sewing room--for the last 5 months it is has really just been a storage room--shoving things in there here and there--so Melissa and I were a bit overwhelmed but we went thru a few things--and I need to get some boxes b/c I have used all the ones I brought home already--which seemed like alot! after I get the sewing room packed with all of the things i can live without for a while--then I am going to put my scrapping tables in there and my sewing table so that I will have some things to do while I am here by myself with all of our kids. I cant pack up everything! SO I guess I better sign off --so I can get some more cleaning done! I hope everyone has a great night!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

June 19th

Well June is half-way over! How is this possible? 2008 will be here before I know it and I know my biggest changes are yet to come in 2007! anyhoo---

Today we are working on getting a load of furniture to storage, cleaning the basement and then I am going to start painting the boys' room. I have been setting things aside to have a sale--but I am not sure if I really want to do that b/c --it is such a hassle to have a sale--it is so much easier to have goodwill come pick up everything! Well I guess I can decide on that later! Today is going to be an interesting day at work--My boss had to fire a co-worker yesterday and we are going to have to make some adjustments. I will check back later---everyone have a great day!
Well since we were all excited about the co-worker leaving:) We decided to go out for lunch! It was a nice lunch. I didn't get half of the thing I wanted to accomplish done today--I guess I am getting lazy b/c I come home and feel over whelmed by all of the stuff that needs to be done. I cleaned the bathroom floor really well and I picked some other things in the basement--I just done really know where to start --on everything. SO when I get done here I will pick one job and finish that and than make out my plan for tomorrow. Rob is supposed to call the company in Spokane tomorrow sometime after 1:00 so hopefully we will know something tomorrow. Today while I was watching Oprah , CLarissa was outside with the other kids playing in the sprinkler--and I would peak out the window every now and then to make sure she was ok--well when they decided to dry off a bit and relax--apparently she decided to go over and pick our neighbors flowers--then she brought all of the flowers to our yard and started "decorating" our lawn and flower beds with all of the flower heads--I hear a knock at my door with me neighbor holding some of the evidence--She was kind about the whole incident--but I made clarissa apologize to her and explained to her that we can't pick flowers from the garden--once again!

Monday, June 18, 2007

Well Today is a new day! Today is Monday and I got up in time for work and the sun was shining and I actually had time to put on my make-up and fix my hair--woohoo! Small wonders! Today I didn't get much done on the home front b/c I am hosting card club---Card club is a group of us gals that get together once a month and we exchange cards--we each make 12 identical cards and than we exchange them--we have a theme every month that we are supposed to follow for our cards. So at the end of the night we should have 12 different cards. This is not the month that I signed up for--but someone else quit the group and they needed a fill in--so it is my night, b/c i may not be here in November which is supposed to be my month. I am making a pineapple upside down cake and I need to finish my cards--so other than that nothing exciting! I am going to try to find time if I can to pack a few more boxes and start cleaning the basement! whew! exciting --I know!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the the dads out there!
I told ROb since today was father's day I would not crack the whip for him today--How generous of me ! although--we have so much to do downstairs it is crazy! We need to clean everything up and paint the boys room. anyway--I really appreciate ROb --he is Darn good father and he really tries to put his family first in most situations--that is why we are moving --Rob is not excited about moving to a bigger city and he gets really nervous about that, he has only lived in really small town and he grew up in northern Idaho--haha!
Today we are going to drive to Wenatchee--we have to pay a bill and then we will have some lunch and come home --so Rob can have his "free time" and I will most likely work on cleaning up this downstairs bathroom and do any "touch ups" that need to be done and I am going to make 12 cards or my card club --which is tomorrow and I happen to be hosting! So I will update you later!

Saturday

Hello All!
Well today--I got up to a late start and loaded up the car--with a bunch of stuff to take to storage--- had the kids work on cleaning out the boys' room and then I walked over to my friend--Donna's house to give her a quilt pattern--she and I are going to work on it together. SO Rob made a few trips to the storage unit --we all went out to lunch--then when we got back --we started cleaning the up-stairs--Rob had to replace a window and he touched up all the paint on the trim and Melissa and I worked on CLarissa's room and the bathroom---then after we got all of that cleaned we worked on the living room and kitchen....we are exhausted! SO all we have left up-stairs to do is my bedroom and the upstairs will be completely finished with all of the thinning out and cleaning!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Can't wait for tomorrow

I am not really sure why I can't wait for tomorrow b/c the thing is...once I get off of work I come home to work --so this weekend will be no different--other than I guess I don't have a schedule and I will be able to get more done around the house--so that is a few steps closer to being done with all of this work! Today I finished the trim in the bathroom --so we have knocked out another room in the house and can start painting another room--I am cured--I no longer want to to paint AGAIN!! Which makes my husband happy b/c he hates painting and he gets tired of me wanting to paint things over and over as he says--but the thing is --Painting just changes a whole room and it just makes me happy to have different colors. SO anyway b/c of that reason we have to paint everything again to sell it! haha! We also loaded up the trailer with more stuff to put into storage--so guess what we are doing tomorrow?? OUr neighbors came over today and offered us a refrigerator b/c they got a new one and they already had a spare--so we took it--I have always wanted one so we could store extra drinks and such --and now that we are moving, of course, we get one--so we can haul it! Wasn't that nice of them?? I will miss those neighbors! They are the best! I am in the mood to get rid of stuff! I just want to load everything up and get rid of it--the house will be so much easier to clean! So tomorrow --will be a wonderful day simply b/c it is Friday! and I will be almost doen with my work!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

painting day!

HI all!
well today I went to work--got up late again--this is becoming The norm this week --and I look like HECK! haven't been fixing my hair so everyone can tell I am not getting up in time for work-HAHAHA! I get alot of comments when my hair isn't fixed--oh well. WEll after I got off of work--I came home to finish the trim in JEri's room--and then we went to an early dinner and the golden arches! whew--I know big spenders! Then Rob went back to work and I started the bathroom--I have the first coat on--now I have to wait for it to dry. SO maybe tomorrow that will be done. I cant wait for all of this to be done--so I can relax a little and just enjoy--the rest of my time here! OK--well I better go water the lawn--so it will grow--funny how that works!