3 loves of today

you know the days you just feel so blessed... love those days.

i love my kiddos... 3 different personalities. 3 versions of some combo (for good or bad) of me & matt. i love each one of their infectious laughs!

i love my husband. today we went out for a while in the afternoon. used a living social voucher for massages. i love that site & groupon too. a great way to treat yourself.. and get a deal!

i love my God. i just love to see His hand in the little things. and i'm talking way way little. too insignificant to go into here. but it blessed me big time and definitely worth praising Him for it!


they actually thought they would sleep like this!








* what do you love today? *

a short blurb of thanks

thanksgiving, for me, was always the same..very predictable. that is until our first as a married military couple. ever since it is anything but predictable. and you know what? i like it that way. Thanksgiving has really become one of my most favorite days of the year. it's not that i'm against tradition, not completely anyway. but something about a different arena and different company each year has opened me and my kids (i hope) to a welcoming heart of pure thankfulness. it's one of the aspects of our military life that i dearly love. ...

*we have adopted and have been adopted.
*we have spent the day with old friends, new friends, as well as with family.
*there has been many at the table.. or tables. and there has been just a few.
*we spent one quietly by ourselves.
*we have been at two of our homes, the home of dear friends, the home of extended family and even two different mountain destinations.
*we only spent one without any kiddos. (the first one with G was also the first night he slept all night.. i was so rested that thanksgiving! it didn't last. :( )
*we have spent one missing a huge part of our family, while giving thanks for our freedom.
*we spent one determined to laugh and enjoy with friends.. just days before we had to part for the rest of the holiday season.

it's never been the same. each year i am so grateful for the chance to spend a day of thanks with people we love and that support us.
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might i also add that i give extra thanks to any year that we have not actually hosted the event :) i love to gather.. but the stress of the meal and the timing and the house is a bit much for me. it's not pretty. admittedly, i need to work on that. assign me some sides. a pretty centerpiece. and i'm a much happier turkey!

yellow stones christmas surprise

i'm fading fast here... i finished a crazy busy week & swore this one would be relaxing. so though i'm not done with what i wanted to accomplish... i think i'm going to turn in for the night anyway.

but first i wanted to jot down this cute little, warm my heart Garrett story.

my thoughtful guy. tenderhearted. caring. .... especially to his mama.

tonight i took him shopping with me. now when i say "shopping" let's be clear. Fernly, NV is not a mecca for sales. nor is Fallon, NV. Still, i was convinced that one of these small town would have what i need so i don't have to go "to the city" or "into town" to get my single supply to finish my latest project. what is it? oh you know, something extremely rare... a silver plastic tablecloth. yep, that's it. $1.26 and worth every penny (wait till you see the finished project!)

alas, neither town seems to enjoy the metallic silver tablecloths as i was hoping so soon i will have to "go to town". we don't have many stores to pick from so the dollar tree was at the top of my list for Fallon. Garrett, who came with me to keep me company, thought the name "Dollar Tree" was silly. It doesn't, after all, Look like a tree. so as we are walking in i was explaining to him what the name actually meant.

"what? everything in here is a dollar?? wow. we should come here more often." Great. what have i introduced him to?! my little craft buddy was so excited with all of the "pretty" Christmas finds in there... for only a dollar. i let him pick out one thing. how could i not? and he actually did not fail to impress. he picked a large clear snowflake.. to which he said "this will be great with some glitter on it". (is he MY child or what!) it's perfect for the playroom, i thought too.

He just had to walk all over the store.. take it all in i guess. he found some glass stones (again, things i love to use) and he was like "daddy is going to Have to bring me back here"
"why" i ask.
"because i just got an idea for a christmas present. it's a surprise so don't ask. it's for you"
it took more than what is probably deemed "normal" for me not to ask questions, knowing that if i did... he would spill. but.. i held it in.
then he said "no never mind. they don't have what i want. these won't work"

i prodded a bit... asking what he needed.
a different shape. a different color.
i said we could check them out at our next stop because i thought walmart would have them.

as we were walking in to WM, he reminded me. and we checked them out. they had more than the dollar tree, however still not what he was imagining. he told me ... "i need yellow. i think these swirl ones would work?? but i think i want to check michael's first and then decide."

i kissed his head and just laughed. i told him that we could not go to michael's tonight since it's in reno.. but i will be there soon and we will look. then he asked if i was excited to see my surprise. "yes buddy, that will drive me nuts till Christmas because i can't wait to see what you make for me. "

the kid that gets his inspiration in the dollar tree and then decides 2 stores don't have what is necessary & we need to take a trip "to town".............. this IS sounding familiar, right? :)

a continuation

tonight i found out a friend is reading my blog! (what's up jen!) maybe there are others out there.. pretty neat to think about. it's probably good i'm finally putting the ongoing dialogue in my head.. down in written form. i'm enjoying it. truthfully, i wasn't sure if i was going to keep with it or not. i figured i would give myself a month and reevaluate.

so.. i've decided i like it. ;)

fall decor

i just love decorating during this time of year. last year, i didn't really get into it that much. being pregnant with 2 other busy children left me completely exhausted most of the time. i even went to bed before 11 most nights! crazy for me.
so, i'm sort of making up for it this year. i'm busy well into the night a lot of the time!
i'm trying to use as much stuff as i can from what i already have... but making some fresh changes. most fun, for me, has been adding to my collection by creating some fun new items. and i've tried to use a lot of natural and recycled materials. it's really fun to save something and say "what can i make with this?" i have to admit... i'm kind of hooked on it!
Garrett is really the one who started it. but that's another post all together...;) so either he's just like his mommy or i'm following his lead of changing the world .. one saved container, cardboard, or "treasure" found on the ground at a time.

fun, right? yep, those are beer bottles. i put matt to work all in the name of craft and decor! he seemed not to mind ;) i glittered the tops with a copper color glitter and wrapped a ribbon on the top. for the letters i stenciled onto foam art and then glittered them. the kids gathered some sticks to finish it off. the striped white pumpkin has green glitter on the stripes.. though you can't tell in this pic.

this stand used to sit in front of the fire place with lots of candles on it.. pretty. but the reason i didn't feel like decorating last year is now into tearing any decor within reach apart!!



this is the back side. this area is a large open space above the tv, kind of a waste really. and it's a challenge to decorate. can't put pictures because when you walk in the door, you would only see the backs of picture frames. so it has to be a two sided affair.

random.. but this glittered wine bottle with dried flowers in it was an addition to the fall mantle of a previous post. i was bored one day and wanted to try the new glitter i bought. ... verdict is Love it!



Happy Fall
Give Thanks

yarn O

I made this for my friend's birthday recently. i was really happy with how it turned out... but OH MY! it took so long! (you are worth it though, Marci!) I just totally misjudged how long it would take to wrap the O. it wasn't wrapping tightly so i ended up having to hot glue as i wrapped. Much better, but much more time consuming. I worked on it a little at a time when i had a few minutes. Got one really nasty hot glue gun burn (i now have a cool temp one!). I got the idea on a blog (i still need to figure out how to put that in the text here so you could click on it.) but they did it with a brass letter. i used a paper mache one, which was nice for indoor use anyway.

so yep, i'm happy with it. i was planning on making these for Christmas gifts. hummmmm not sure. i would be wrapping and gluing from now Till Christmas! LOL.

hunting with dad

these two camo cuties went duck hunting with Matt the other day. They were so happy to be asked to join in the adventure. So excited. Matt was so proud :)

Addie was back and forth about going... mainly because we could not find her camo fleece with the pink lining. Dressing for the occasion, you know, is important.

Garrett was not concerned with such things of course. He just couldn't wait to get out there. Disappointed to learn he wouldn't be able to take a shot... Matt told him not to worry. & That he most likely would not be able to take a shot either ;) Garrett didn't catch the joking sarcasm.

Addie said she looked and looked, but she couldn't understand why they didn't "catch" any ducks.

Matt said it may have been a little loud:)

They may not have come home with dinner... but at dinner she stated

"we had so much fun hunting with Daddy today."

small gifts

i meant to share these earlier...

aren't they cute? easy too.

i made them for the teachers for a little halloween gift. they deserve something for putting up the sugar high kids ... and sugar let down kids the next day.

it's just a Styrofoam ball painted yellow. hot glue candy corn. put it on a halloween pencil. stick it in a jar filled with candy.. or like i did here... a formula can and wrap a dish towel around.

New Life

I'm an Auntie again!! I'm so excited and happy for Meghan and Chris and big brother, Alex. They were blessed with another boy yesterday, November 6th at 10:06 pm they welcomed Reid Christopher into the world!!! He is adorable. perfect. a few weeks early, but so happy to be out! He is 6 lbs 12 oz (same as his older cousin, Micah!) and 20 inches long... maybe he got the tall genes??!

While I'm so excited... I'm also having a hard time. I want to be there with my sister. I want to hold that sweet boy!! I want to give big brother a big hug and take him out for a chocolate milkshake to celebrate.

I think of when we were little and we played "house" all the time. We would play for hours and hours in the basement where we had our house, school, and store set up. Sometimes we both were moms to all our cabbage patch kids (we were probably octo-moms or at least quad moms!) Play dates weren't the rage then, but I think we basically invented them.. playing with all the dolls. Most of the time though, I suggested (read: forced) Meg to be the kid and I was the Mom. Why not? i was older, i of course knew more. I am glad that our lives now do not imitate our imaginative play back then. I don't know more. We are both the moms now. We are in the same boat now .. and it's so fun to share stories or tap into each others wisdom .. or just vent on the sure fire plan that just isn't working with a child.

we are only a phone call, skype, text, email away. a plane ride. a really long drive. i don't like the distance.. and i wish it weren't there, today.

only treats

i am not a fan of halloween. never have enjoyed dressing up and frankly the whole ghost thing just causes me to freak. however the past few years i have found a new child like joy in this day of dress up. appropriate i guess that addie switched her costume 3 times that day. finally deciding 5 minutes before we left for a pre trick or treat pizza party. she cracks me up. i'm scared to say it but between the dressing up and the chocolate... this may be my daughters favorite day of the year! she decided she wanted to be "A Bubble Gum Princess"! of course, why not? Thankful for this all pink costume we inherited! add a pink crown and some pink hair spray... call it bubble gum! she was thrilled! She cracked us up while going door to door as well. she very dutifully said "trick or treat!" , watched something get dropped into her bag, said thank you:) then said "Happy Halloween!" and she'd skip away yelling "mom, i said it again! and I got another chocolate bar!" she was just amazed that people were giving her chocolate and apparently it reinforced the polite 3 liner she came up with!!

Garrett on the other hand knew weeks ago what he was going to be... never wavering. he wanted to be his dad :) looking pretty studly i think! he added a few more pins and patches than the traditional flight suit... but we like the additions. you can't see it here, but his patch with wings on it is a real one that Matt had made for him... i guess over in the middle east because under Garrett's name it is also written in Arabic. pretty cool.. and official. Garrett did not talk to us the whole door to door experience. He was on a mission with his friend. house. T or T. thank you. next house. very goal oriented. "mission completion"!








oh our sweet Micah Moooooooey! i saw this costume at the local resale and it was perfect. the kids.. well all of us now.. call him micah mooey. so it fit. :) i was kind of sad that he wasn't going to wear the little pumpkin outfit his older siblings wore in Maine and San Diego... but i got over it seeing how CUTE he looked!! little man rocked the "big boy stroller" and enjoyed the beautiful evening.












This Halloween was the best one yet. We had pizza with 2 wonderful Military families for the second year in a row. The kids had a great time. The weather was a perfect fall night. yep, I'll do it again next year :) i think i'm starting to like it!