Count your blessings

m.y. l.i.t.t.l.e. t.o.m.b.o.y.

i just had to share this quick story with you while i remembered...

gracie had a teacher in children's church that afterwards told us she was a pest. (in her exact words)  she goes on to tell dusty that she was hitting a little boy in children's church and so forth....so we came home and talked to gracie over lunch and just as dusty was getting to the part where her teacher was saying she was hitting a little boy....gracie pops up and loudly proclaims, dad it was a BIG boy....such pride :)  gotta love that girl!!

the *new* do

So here is the new haircut...Sydney took some pictures for me.  The before picture is one I took in the bathroom at the salon, so excuse the bad picture.  I had to take it in a dark, small room myself :)

Before:

After:

 

roller doodle stamps

by the way, found some stamps that i MUST have.  They are giving some away on this blog!!  Go check them out.

calendars

So I have a question....who has the DW Calendar?  I know Jen does.  What do you think of it?  I am thinking of getting it.  I also was wondering what everyone uses for their daily planner/calendar?  Just thinking about different things :)

Who entered Ali Edwards' sister's blog contest?  I did.  Haven't checked to see if I won :)  It would be so much fun to have someone "help" you find the perfect jeans.  Every girls dream right?  I really loved looking at her blog and daily fashion pick.  SO fun.  Speaking of fashion, I am doing Sydney's room in fashion/design, et cetera.  She is really excited and so am I.  Any ideas, throw them my way!!

Colton has an appointment with another doctor tomorrow.  I am actually very excited about it.  His name is Dr. Wilkinson and he is geared more towards natural medicine and finding the root cause.  I'll let you know how it goes.  By the way, Colton is doing much better after being on the antibiotic.

I also have a hair appointment on Thursday.  AGH!  I am a little freaked out.  I am planning on chopping all my hair off but Jen thinks I will chicken out.  Jen you wanna bet?  Maybe that will help me not to bail :)

just a few quick things shared until later....

pay it forward

so i won a contest on Ms. Kelli Crowe's blog a few days back.  SO excited about that :)  so i thought it would be fun to have a little contest myself...i will be giving something away from my fun little scrap store i work at.  you can find the blog here.  the only rule is you cannot post twice in a row!

how many pairs of shoes do i have?

i will be watching, so when there is a winner, i'll let you know :)  it's better than Monday right?

where did it go?

I think somebody at typepad is having fun with me.  I have tried to post this twice now!  Last night I barely had enough time to post (because I got home right before midnight after seeing p.s. i love you :) and looked earlier today to see it was no where to be found!  So I started to post it again later this afternoon and when I came back, gone again.  So I have already failed at posting once every day for a month.  So I will start today! 

Colton is doing better and is on the mend.  Makes me happy to see he is feeling better.

A couple house things checked off (and boy does it feel good):

Electrical layout (final walk through)

Garage doors

Cabinets

Central vacuum

Exterior doors

So my next big thing will be the flooring.  Oh my goodness.  I am a little bit afraid!!  I thought the other stuff was hard work!  Then we will be picking texture of drywall, paint colors, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, trim, appliances....my list could go on but those are the ones in the near future.  I am hoping to post some pictures tomorrow....

lOts oF thIngs

Here are a few of the things I have been doing lately....

unpacking/organizing Christmas stuff (it is hard since three of my kids are all in ONE room, I cannot wait for their new rooms!)

Lots of house stuff (cabinets, electrical stuff (boring), fireplace, windows) I could go on and on...I am wishing this part of the process would go a little quicker :)

trying to potty train Audrey (too bad Colton is too little :)

doctor appointments (one in Seattle and the next day here)  Colton has a new staph infection and this time it is all over his body.  He is so miserable and it scares his mama!!  We are all very tired!

trying to *figure* things out (ex.  thinking about how I can become more organized and thinking why am I wasting time thinking?!)  Make sense?  Does to me :)

A fEw tHinGs I waNt tO do:

post everyday for a month (then from there hopefully it will be a habit :)  i want to do this for the sake of journaling my thoughts and feelings but also our lives.

scrapbook a project/layout once a week (i know this is alot but its a goal!)

workout.  some way some how.  maybe i can get someone to do it with me?  i am so unmotivated on my own :)

So these are a few things for the next week or so....my goals for the year to come!

Gracie Jane

Cutie pie Gracie turned five years old!  We had her birthday party at the family fun center and it was really fun.  I didn't have to clean/prepare for a party and the kids had a blast.  Definitely the way to do parties!! 

Just a few things that *define* Gracie:

*  anything that includes a competitive aspect ( and especially boys)

*  as long as it is a sport or can be made into one, she is game!

*  a smile that lights up her face (especially with those cute dimples)

*  storyteller (Dusty was recently asked by her teacher how Colton's seeing eye dog was.  Huh?  You have got to be kidding me.....:)

*  strong forehead (no really, she will wrestle you to the ground with her forehead.  she is freakishly strong and every time she does it, she wins.  (I must say she takes me down pretty easily because I can't help but laugh that a five year old is taking me down with her forehead)

*  she is a tender hearted giver.  she gave one of her prized possessions to Dawson, a sword :)  she thought he might like to have one.  she also recently tried to give Abby her new guitar because she knew Abby really wanted one (even though that was Gracie's favorite gift.  the funny part was seeing her aunt Jen though, she almost cried when Gracie tried to give it away!

*  she likes to *be* Michael at times.  sometimes she will take her shirt off, other times she just likes to pretend she is Michael (her mii on the Wii is Michael :)

*  she has a special bond with her baby brother.  she starts talking and his face lights up. 

Gracie,

You light up my life and make my day so much brighter.  I love you and I am so grateful God gave me such a special little girl.  I love how you are confident in your abilities and not afraid to try something new.  I pray God continues to give you gifts that encourage you to show God's love to others.  I am so proud of who you are Gracie and can't wait to see what this next year brings you!

Love,

mom