Home Sweet Home...

a few days ago GlamorGirl was getting her clothes out of her dresser and the top drawer fell out. I didn't have time to investigate until I came home after dropping them off at school. The middle wood piece that holds the drawer on cracked and broke off. Now anytime she opens her top drawer she has to be super careful not to let it fall to the ground. It has fallen more times than I would like on the hardwood floor. We have set out to find a good quality yet affordable new dresser. I did a little research online and then today I stopped at a few stores I got as suggestions from friends. Let's just say...furniture isn't made very well nowadays. I did find one store that had quality dressers but they were a bit high in price. This evening we headed over to the mall for some Disney apparel, our junior highers are having a Disney night tomorrow. Since we were out we hopped on over to IKEA. Looked at the one dresser we liked online and the construction of it wasn't not very good. But since we were there and the kids were playing we walked around and ended up buying a new entertainment center. I am so excited to get rid of the table. We also got a pot for the plant in the living room. We are classing it up in here ;) I will put up some before and after pictures but the after isn't ready yet!

BEFORE!

AFTER!

Sleepover

The two oldest each had a friend spend the night on Friday night. I figured this would be the perfect weekend to do it since it was a 3 day weekend! The only thing I regret is not taking any pictures of the kids. Oh well. They all seemed to have a good time and the two little ones didn't feel completely excluded from the other ones. After school on Friday I took all 6 kids to the library and let them pick out some movies to watch. I thought they could watch a movie before they went to bed to help get them in the relaxed bedtime mood. I feel like it worked as they were all asleep by 11:30pm. The only downside is that the 3 boys all were up by 7am! Was NOT expecting that. I thought maybe Red and Peanut would wake up early since they went to bed about an hour and a half before the other kids. Not so. But I am very thankful that when Red got down off the top bunk in the girls room he didn't wake up Peanut. She actually slept until 8:20 this morning. The kids did a lot of running (I had to retype that word because I typed funning, haha) around and playing games and what not. I just think it is so funny my kids personalities. GG and her friend sat in the living room reading books for about an hour. Too funny. I can tell that I am worn out from the excitement too. Tonight GG and I got the movie Letters to Juliet and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I am actually amazed that I am still awake. The movie was over about an hour ago. All in all I think we will let the kids have friends over again. Though not sure I want to do two at once?! Maybe one kid comes and one kid goes to some one else's house...

The Winner is...

Thanks everyone who entered!

How Exciting A Giveaway!

I've never done a giveaway on my blog before and I'm really excited about this opportunity to bless one of my readers! Before we left for vacation I received an email asking if I would do either a giveaway or review on my blog for TV Stands they are one of many online CSN Stores. As you can see I choose to do a giveaway :) The giveaway is for $35 good on any of CSN Stores websites, you don't have to use it exclusively for the TV Stands website. It is actually quite interesting that I got an email for this website because my husband and I have been looking at different entertainment centers for our tv for awhile now. Looking at the site this would be my first choice of tv stands...click here. CSN Stores have over 200 sites online! Some of the sites that I have looked at are this one, this one and this one! There are so many more too! Okay let's get down to the details of this giveaway...

You will have four different ways to enter this give away. Each of them is a separate entry. Please leave an email in your comments. This contest will run until Feburary 18th at 9pm central standard time. I will announce the winner on my blog Saturday morning. I will also notify the winner if the winner does not respond within 2 days I will pick a new winner. Also this giveaway is for US and Canadians only, I forgot to mention this earlier sorry. This is my first giveaway I'm learning ;)

1. Check out this site TV Stands (link at top) and leave a comment of what tv stand you like.

2. Leave a comment about an interesting fact about you! I'd love to learn a little more about my readers.

3. Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment, (I need to clarify) this means click the follow button on my side bar. If you already are a follower leave a comment letting me know that as well.

4. Blog about this giveaway on your blog linking to my blog and also putting a link to the TV Stands website. Then leave another comment letting me know!

I will pick a winner the old fashion way of putting your name in a hat and letting one of my kiddos pick it out. I might even video record the process and post it! Now let the fun begin :)
Please note that this post will be a sticky post until the giveaway is over :)

A Good Day

Day was an amazingly great day. I woke up with a good attitude and nothing that happened was going to change that. Trust me there were people who tried to gave me little jabs but guess what? It didn't work! I was happy and content yesterday too but only noticed it once it was the end of the day. I love Wednesdays. I go to a woman's Bible study at my friend Melissa's house. We are going through Daniel, such a great book. Then GlamorGirl had a friend over who came with us to church. This little girl is so sweet and the best part is I love the way GG is around her she brings out the good quality of my girl. Her mom is really sweet too. I hope to get to know them better. This morning I woke up and the forecast was 55, I just knew it was going to be a good day. I had more patience with the kids. We laughed more today. We played and enjoyed each other company more. It really is true when mama is happy/content so is the rest of the family. After writing my last post about food I feel such a huge burden was lifted off of me. Like God said, "Here my child let me take that from you." I have not been as tempted as a matter of fact it almost seems like it is easier for me to flee from those sugary treats yesterday and today. I think that also may have to do with my mood, I have been eating better! Let's just say that usually this time of the month I'm not so joyful. Tonight I took my oldest to see Gnomeo and Juliet. It was a really cute movie. She was hoping to see a girl from school there as this girl told her she was going to see it tonight. But instead a different little friend was there, gasp, a BOY. He is in Monkey's class and gets along with both GG and Monkey. His mom and I get along really well too! Well since this post really has no rhyme or reason I will end with this. The day I posted my food struggle I got an email with an award from I am a Woman of God. I feel so honored and not worthy of this award as I don't always talk about God though He is a HUGE part of my life. I am just humbled by this award. Thank you.

Food

Since we have moved into our new house and I had been feeling pretty good for awhile I started to get really lax on the food I bought and made. Well I think it has finally caught up with me because I haven't been feeling good the last few days and I haven't been eating good the last few days. Point in case, Sunday I went to a baby shower and ate bread made with yeast, drank pop, ate some gummy worms, a few brownie bites and had cake. I did try and get some healthy things in there like peppers, salad and a bottle of water but the bad out weighed the good. I also ate coffee cake at church before going. Then Monday I worked in the cafeteria. I had some salad at home waiting for me but things that were completely out of my control interfered with me getting home to eat that food and I ended up eating two pieces of pizza. Then the kids came home with tons of candy. I have lost all will power and ate way more than I should have, causing me not to feel good that night. I also bought Jeff and I each a candy bar of chocolate not smart. I didn't eat the whole thing and I'm going to throw the rest away. Today I determined to eat good. I started out great BUT I took the van to get an oil change and while I waited for my ride I got myself a cup of hot chocolate. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME???? The thing that really is upsetting to me is that in my daily reading of the Bible I have been reading about food specially what sticks out in my head is the phrase "made without yeast". Make bread without yeast or eat nothing containing yeast. In the last week all the passages I have read have this concept. I know some people think that this is an old testament law that we don't have to follow but as many times as it is written in the Bible I have to stop and think that maybe there is something to this and I should look a little farther at this particular item, not sure you can really call it a food. So I googled yeast and made the connection that is classified in the FUNGI kingdom. It is in the same classification as mold. So God was telling us not to eat yeast/fungi/mold how ever you want to look at it. When I did a quick search of the phrase "without yeast" on Biblegateway it pulled up 26 verses. Yet people don't think that mold can cause harm to our bodies? I am living proof of the harm it can cause. I know other people who have been effected by it as well. God knew we should not eat it and told us several times to make bread without yeast. Of course, there is free will and so there is yeast to be used in making bread but we don't need it. I feel like such a stiff-necked person. Why do I know this stuff and still continue to struggle with it. I hate the way I feel after eating what I KNOW I shouldn't. I need strength in this battle for I am weak. Lord give me the strength to resist the things I should not partake in. I also want to say that I am not judging anyone for eating bread made with yeast this is something that God has revealed to me in my life and I feel I need to obey. This has been an ongoing battle between God and me for at least a week now as I have read His word.

Want to brag on my kids...

The kids got their reports cards from school on Friday. They all did an excellent job! Monkey had straight As again, looks like he could have a straight A 3rd grade year! GG was right behind him with all As and one B+ so close! Red doesn't get letter grades he gets O for outstanding and S for satisfactory and N for needs improvement. He had all Os and S/S+s :) But we can't forget about little Peanut. She doesn't get a report card in preschool but today I sat down with her so she could write her name on her valentine's cards for school. Her fine motor skills are amazing! I should take a picture of her name and post it on here! It will have to wait until tomorrow because I'm upstairs and the camera and cards are downstairs, yea I'm being lazy. ***update*** so I don't think I will post her name on here! If you are friends with me on facebook you can see it there, sorry. We took the kids to Toys R Us and let them pick out some toys. The boys each got two G.I. Joe guys. GG walked around the store for about 20 minutes not really having anything catch her eye. Jeff and I talked and then asked her if she wanted to go on a date with either me or Jeff instead. She looked at me and said what will we do. I said we could go see Never Say Never. She gave me the most disguised look. I suggested Gnomeo and Juilet to which she agreed. She is so funny also while we were at the store Jeff came up to me and attacked me. It ended with a kiss between us. Completely disguised and embarrassed she said, "could you please never kiss in public again!" Nothing I could say would change her mind that it was inappropriate of us...haha. Sorry kiddo but if I feel like kissing her dad I will do it anywhere I want just get used to it!!! But now I know how to embarrass her if I really wanted too...

Want to scream but I know I shouldn't...

I pick the kids up from school today and GlamorGirl is bawling. I ask her what is wrong and she starts crying even harder and tells me she lost her necklace and watch she got for her birthday. UGH. Seriously! I go to grab my phone to call someone but I didn't bring it with me, go figure. She is upset the whole ride home. I'm not the happiest as she lost two of the presents from me and her dad. One being a really nice watch. You know the kind that you have to take into the store to get adjusted with the links. Well I am happy to report that as soon as I got home I called my mom-in-law and asked her what I should do. She suggests calling the school office. They were closed so I called the operator. She went into the office and FOUND both the necklace and watch!!! I have a little girl who went from being super sad to have lost the gifts from us to being the happiest girl that they were found. What a great life lesson that is how we are before we have a personal relationship with Christ. We are so lost and sad/miserable without the relationship with Christ. When we find that personal relationship with Christ it brings so much joy and happiness into our lives. I hope each and everyone who reads this has that relationship and if not I hope this spurs you on to looking deeper into what I'm talking about.

I did it!

I am so excited to say that I finally after years of wanting to go I registered myself for the Hearts at Home conference! I am so excited. I am going with a few girls from church and we are going to have a BLAST because these girls are FUN! I looked over the sessions for the conference and I am really happy with their selection and had a hard time just picking my top 10 :) You know it is a good conference when you want to do it ALL. This is what I am choosing to use my Christmas money on and I think it is a very well use of my money! I will have to let you know how it was once I get back...

Forgot to mention this...

but really thought this was a really funny memory from our trip. The day we were at the private island, owned by the cruise ship, the men walked around and collected seashells while us girls were reading. When we got back to the ship Jeff showed me all the shells he found. One of the shells had a hermit crab inside of it. Jeff thought it was dead but as I was sitting at the desk to get ready for dinner (it was formal night) the hermit crab start crawling across the desk. I freaked out! We both thought it was dead but it was so very ALIVE! Not sure what my hubby did with it after that. We both thought if we could get it home it would of been the coolest gift for the kids. Not too many people can say they have a hermit crab from a beach in the Bahamas!

We're BACK!

It was amazingly awesome! I loved it. Just for prosperity I want to blog our cruise trip to the Bahamas. The first day Jan 31st we got up super duper early (4am) and got ready for the airport. My dad and step mom came at 4:45am. Roberta stayed with the kids while my dad took us to the airport. We woke the kids up to tell them goodbye, they wanted us too, well except for Peanut we let her sleep. Before our plane took off we called the kids to tell them good morning. We got to the boat at about noon. Us on the bus to the boat!

We ate lunch at the buffet and then went to our rooms. We went with another couple from church who have been on many cruises so they were our guides. We explored the boat, except for Kristy she napped, I was too excited to sleep as I have never been on a boat before and I wanted to see it. We played shuffle board to kill time before dinner and it was actually really fun. Though I was always on the winning team :) The sunset was beautiful and we got a picture with it...

That night I did not feel the greatest. I think the food was not what my body was used to and I was tired from the long day of travel. BUT the food was so yummy. The second day we went to the cruise lines own private beach. It was super nice though the sun kept going behind the clouds and it would be a little cold for swimsuits. Jeff and I got a picture with our feet in the ocean.

Just me in the ocean

The view from our beach chairs
We also found some hammocks to sit in the shade!
Us kissing in the hammock :)
We ate lunch on the island and these were flying so close we could reach our hand up and touch one! Kristy kept screaming when they got too close. Then the guys started feeding them, that's when I exited. They started getting way too close for my comfort!

After we ate we walked around the shops for a little bit and then headed back to the boat for a nap. After the first night of not feeling great because I was tired I decided I should really take a nap. This is us on the tender to get back to our boat. It was so beautiful outside. ALL. THE. TIME.

The guys walked around the boat while the girls slept. That night we went to the show for the boat and it was a comedian who was actually pretty funny! A little crude but not too bad. This is the room where the main entertainment happened.

Then we went to the battle of the sexes in a different room on the boat and I hate to report that the men won. They had so many different activities to do at night that we had to pick and choose. We never did any of the dancing at nights, maybe next time?! The next day (Day 3) we stopped at Nassau, Bahamas and were docked all day long. Jeff and I went parasailing while we were there and it was really quite amazing. Us getting ready to go up...

Us going up and up
Us way up in the sky!

Half way through the ride up there they bring you down and dip your feet in the ocean and then bring you back up high. It was so peaceful up there. This is us right after we came down. Look at our smiles :)

After parasailing we ate lunch just the two of us and then we did our shopping for souvenirs at that port. I also got to lay out at the pool and read my book some more, Kristy and I did this the day before at the beach. This night was my absolute favorite. After the main show, which was a juggler, they did the newlywed game which Jeff and I tried to get on it. And then another game called Quest. That was pretty interesting. We didn't play we just watched. We also did the rock wall before all of that started. No pictures of that though. Then the last day Thursday we cruised all day and night. Since we were on the boat the whole day we just took it easy. After breakfast Kristy and I laid by the pool and read. Then we took a dip in the pool and then read some more. The guys came and got us for lunch. After lunch Kristy took a nap and I went back up to the pool to get some more sun and read. The guys went to see the comedian again, they said he was way worse this time with his jokes. At 4pm we all met and did a flip video scavenger hunt. I am happy to report that we won that scavenger hunt and each got medals. It was actually really fun playing it and then watching it! Then it was the main show, dinner and a little gambling in the casino which I lost all the money I played with :( But it was fun nonetheless and I didn't play with very much money. Then we packed up our bags and went to bed. The next morning it was debarking the boat and heading home. We spent most of our day in the airport. I loved coming home to the kids excited to see us. It took Peanut about an hour after we got home, and the only one who asked, if we got her a present! They all loved the clothes we got them. Here they are all smiling with their new duds. This is also going to have to stand as the first picture of the 4 kids this month!
It was so nice to be away with my husband alone for these last 5 days. I really do enjoy his company. I am thinking we need to make a more conscientious effort to go away together. I highly recommend taking a cruise vacation. It is a great way to travel the world internationally!