Whiffs of Wednesday

Our sweet dog Little Bit has a sore ear. I took her to the vet and she has an infection. The good news is that it's only on the outside of the ear and treatable with oinment and a daily cleansing "flush". She's resting now from the whole ordeal.

Maverick did very well at the dentist yesterday. He had two cavities filled and was quite a trooper. He didn't complain through the whole drilling process. He did say ouch! as the denist was filing down the filling. He had no pain afterward and was his same bouncy happy self.

We are close to winding down this school year. We are on the home stretch. We're praying about finalizing our decision to have Matthew attend a private school next year. They are close to home and teach the same Abeka curriculum that I teach at home. We took a visit to the school last week and Matthew met the 5th grade teacher and spent some time in her class. He really wants to go and experience being in a classroom setting. I think the change will be a positive one for everyone. Justin will continue to homeschool and will be in the 8th grade and Maverick will also homeschool and begin kindergarten in the fall.

I continue to craft and enjoy my position on the design team at Faithfully Yours. I hope that I have more time to craft this summer.

Oh and we are laying a stone patio this weekend underneath our palapa. The stone will be dilvered tomorrow and Dan is renting a tamper to level the gravel. We will use cement to hold everything in place. I'm sure we'll take photos of our big project. I can't wait for all the fun we'll have using our new patio this summer.

Mondain Monday

I've been sick for a couple of days. My throat is sore and I fell ache. It would be nice to just stay in bed today.
Latest Project:
I'm almost ready to start my scrapbook album of our Caribbean Cruise.
It will be a huge project. I found the coolest paper made by WUBE. http://www.addictedtorubberstamps.com/ProductDetail?SKU=6-758-513110

My first step was to lay out all of the paper and "plan" the pages simply laying out the photos on top of the paper. Then I loaded each sheet of background paper into the album and just simply dropped the photos for that page into the page protector. The layouts will be simple just cropped and matted photos. I have over 100 photos from our trip so I'm excited to see them scrapped.

Tuesday Tidbits

How's your week been so far? My husband just bought all brand new tires for his car so I'm feeling much better they were getting pretty bald and wouldn't you know it, we've had some rain again. Money well spent. I can't believe this school year is winding down. We are almost on the home stretch. I spent the day with my mom on Sat. and we went to Target. She agreed to ride in her wheel chair (I struggled with the decision to ask her to use it. I told her if she felt like walking I would let would just push it. She did get up when we were in the purse section. It wasn't but a few moments later she was felling weak again).so we ran around the whole store and enjoyed looking at purses and plants. We actually left without buying anything but still had fun. It's been a tough year for my mom and her fight to live with Parkinsons. http://www.parkinson.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?&pid=201&srcid=215
I've been taking the kids to see the dentist. The older boys both had no cavities but yesterday we got the news that Maverick has two. I was bummed. He is my little candy nut. He has the ability to sniff out candy no matter where it hidden. He will even get the candy from the little shacker jars that are meant for cupcakes and ice cream. Ug! He is definately my boy witht that sweet tooth of his. This Thurs. is my last dentist appt. I also have two cavities. We only have about 4 more weeks of Awans too. The boys close to finishing their books. My middle boy has made it his goal to have perfect attendance and so far he made it without missing one night. I just love the fact that the boys love going and they look forward to it. My dh is putting together the video for awards night. This will be his third year. It's a labor of love. He interviewed the five youth that will be receiving their citation awards last night. They each will have a special video presentation to go along with their speech. My oldest boy has been in Awana Club http://www.awana.org/ since he was 4 years old and in Cubbies, He is 13 now and is 5 short years away from earning this honor. Next year will be his last year in Jr. High and then he'll move on to High School. Wow. We are started to think about VBS at church. I'll be teaching 1st and 2nd grade again. http://vbs.lifeway.com/vbs2007/yourvbs/ Last year I had the biggest class. Enough rambling.

Monday Musings

I'm feeling refreshed today. I'm ready to take on a new week and have healthy habits. I've been taking a good look at myself and I've decided to work on being grateful by not complaining. I also want to get back into the habit of walking on the treadmill. I'm also taking care of my teeth and gums with my new toothbrush and flossing regularly.
I love this brush and how clean my mouth feels. http://www.prodentec.com/Product_RotaDent.aspx
Our guest speaker Sunday had a great message. He spoke on "God is not our personal Savior". You might say, "What?". He warns us not just be satisfied and content that we've recieved the gift of Salvation but that our Savior came to die for the entire "world" and our aim should be for glory of his kingdom and that missions should be the focus of all believers. I'm praying that this week God will send me opportunities and I will recognize them and respond with obedience. PTL!
ps. I bought a new Cricut font yesterday at Walmart. I saved $20 using a Michael's ad for a price comp. Whoo Hoo! I picked Base Camp because I love all the tag features. http://www.cricut.com/shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?id=10&s=1&sc=18
I'm also jazzed about these cool tumblers I heard about from a message board member at The Stamp Shack. They are made by Tervis http://www.tervis.com/
I think they are going to make excellant Mother's Day gifts for both grandmas. I especially love the shells and the butterflys.

Sabrina

I'm just a bloggin'

Okay, So I'm still getting the hang of this bloggin' biz. Life goes buy at 100 miles per hour sometimes. It's hard to put on the brakes and take those moments to reflect. I just finished a Bible Study of Daniel with Beth Moore. http://www.lifewaystores.com/lwstore/product.asp?isbn=1415825882
The last half of the book of Daniel is all about eshatology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology I had a blast gaining a better understanding what's in store in the future. It puts our everyday petty concerns into a new perspective. I highly recommend this study.
I just started my next study, The Prayer of Jabez.

So what's up lately around here. I have a great new friend named Tammy. We attended a women's conference together last Jan. and have become friends and I enjoy our conversations. She is hungry for the word of God and wants to impact the world around her. PTL. Yesterday we had lunch at her home and then we took the kids to the Noah's Ark Bible book store and then to the Imagination Zone Children's Museum in Temecula. http://www.cityoftemecula.org/Temecula/Residents/ImaginationWorkshop/ImaginationWorkshop.htm
It was a fun afternoon.
I'm having a great time on the Design Team at Faithfully Yours. net. If you love scrapbooking and have wondered how to incorporate your faith on your pages this is a great community of faithbookers. It some great features: a message board, a montly ezine, a gallery, lots of great articles on faithbooking. So come see what all the fuse it about over at http://www.faithfullyyours.net

I have been doing a lot of scrap booking. I recently completed a 20 page album for my dad's birthday. The photos are from my dad's first church as a pastor in Perris California. I had a great time reliving the memories and giving it as a gift to honor my dad and his service to the Lord. It was very satisfying project. My dad loved it too. Would you like to see my album?
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=15922530&uid=4006483&members=1

Easter Sunday was such a beautiful day. We had both sets of parents over for lunch and my dad invited a couple from church and his pastor and wife. We all enjoyed our lunch together. The kids had fun playing with bubbles and chalk and then we had a late afternoon egg hunt too.
Grandma spolied them with a pail full of treats. I gave Justin a watch. Matt got a GI Joe action figure and Maverick got his very favorite Littlest Pet Shop pets.
Spring is in the air and I'm enjoying the beauty of God's world in the spring.
Dan and I have started going on walk in the evening. The kids and the dogs are loving this.
Well that's just a quick snapshot into the happnins round here.
Take care, ya hear.

Sabrina

Where did February Go?

It appears that I've been a very busy girl and I'll only have one entry for the whole month of Feb. 07. Lots going on. We celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary on Feb. 3rd. We had a great date at and dined at The Iron Wok. Love those lettuce wrap appetizers. I have the recipe. I've gotta try that one of these days. My folks watched the kiddos and they all had fun watching the old Batman movies that I picked up on DVD. Dan's company bought a new much bigger building so this will be a big move later this year. He's dreading the move but looks forward to this new opportunity. Matt was in the Awana Olympics on the 17th. His team took 2nd place this year. In school he's working on his state notebook project. He is also on a team for Awana Bible Quiz and will compete next month. Justin just continues to grow. He had a great time at winter camp even though there was no snow. He went with the youth group to the Creation Museum and Dan bought an excellant set of DVDs on God's marvelous handiwork in creating animals. Justin will be joining Dan on a mission trip to Mexico next month as well as competing in the JV Awana Olympics. Maverick is so enjoying his days of playing and has such a cute imagination. He has a toy dog named "Mimi" was is always having a birthday, getting hurt, or taking a trip. Mimi is included in many of his prayers. Maverick also loves The Little Pet Shop toys. He says he plans on becoming a dinasaur vet when he grows up. Maverick has a girlfriend at church. She is very shy and rarely speaks but her mom says she talks about Maverick all the time at home. Donna, Brooke and I had so much fun painting t-shirts together on Sunday the 18th. We sponged painted a cross using a homemade stencil and used glitter paint and pearls to dress it up. Then was all watched the movie RV and laughed our socks off. Monday the 26th was the funeral for a friend's son. He was 71. My dad was asked to perform the service. I hadn't seen or talked with the family for years and learned that when my friend died there hadn't been a memorial service. I had wondered what happened for many year so it did help me to mourn the loss of my friend along with the loss of her son. I've been getting quite a bit of scrapbooking done lately. I did three pages today using a line of paper called Crossed Paths. It has a wedding theme so it's been fun using my weddding photos and giving them a updated look. Well there was much much more but I'll leave it lie for now.

It's Official

I've been asked to be on the Design Team at Faithfully Yours. I've been wanting to incorporate my faith in my scrapbook layouts as a way to grow spiritually and as a testimony of God's work in my life. I'm very excited. I've made two layouts so far and I'm getting to know the gals on the message board. It's a great place for fellowship and to share ideas too. I'm sure I'm going to stay plenty busy and the good news is I'm going to be getting a lot of scrapbooking done this year.

New goodies and new endeavers for 2007

Wow, I have so many new goodies. I used my Christmas money to buy 4 craft punches.
A giga 3" circle, a giga square, a giga oval, and finally a whale circle punch. I also have 24 different color spots from Stamin'Up, a new white craft ink pad, and a mini alphabet set. I have a new Cricut http://www.cricut.com/Default.aspx?
that I've only used twice. So I'm doing quite well in the craft department. On Feb. 2nd a large group of gals from Donna's work are getting together to crop at our local scrap book http://itsabouttimescrapbooks.typepad.com/
. It's an awesome store in Murrietta called It's About Time. Donna's also planning a t-shirt craft using black lace, and a cross template. She's inviting the high school girls and we'll all make shirts together. I started going to a Bible study at my chruch. It's a 6 week study about the role of a http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Her-Lover-Lord/dp/0399144145
woman in marriage loosely based by a book called, The Lady, Her Lover, and the Lord. I'm glad to be involved in a study again. At the end of this month I'm going to one day conference for moms called Mom's Rock. http://www.hearts-at-home.org/new/?nk=home&page=index
I'm excited that my new friend Tammy is going also. Justin will be at winter camp that weekend http://www.foresthome.org/
. Wow, my boy is growing up.

Baby, it's cold outside

It is so windy today. Brrrr. It makes me feel so thankful for having a home to live in. Praise God. I'm glad it is Friday. We are going to go see Night at the Museum tonight with our friends the Wilsons. I'm looking forward to it. I'm still trying hard to get Matthew caught up with all his tests and quizs. I sure wish he would stay on target everyday this catch up business is no fun. The whole family is nuts about pistachios

Get on the ball

It should be an excercise ball but for now it's just changing my blog template and making by first post of 2007. We had a great time ringing in the new year. Yes, we are that family that runs out into the front yard and bangs on pots and pans with wooden spoons. It's so fun to have a good laugh in those first new moments of the year. My mil told me that her mil had a tradition of banging on pots and pans. My kids think the adults are aweful silly. We spent the night at my inlaws on New Year's Eve. Since we had to postpone our Christmas get together we celebrated Christmas with them too. Dan's brother and neice Ashely weren't able to make it and they were missed. Dan's sister made us go on a hunt to find our gift. We knew it would be very large because they asked us to bring two cars. Our hunt ended in the garage when Dan uncovered an outdoor patio heater. The guy that sold it to her was a groomsman in our wedding that we haven't seen in over 10 years. We are excited to fill the tank and have a nice evening on our patio. Ariel brought her boyfriend and he participated in our annual tradition of the white elephant gaem. Adults and kids alike all look forward to playing this game. There were only a few steals this year. I stole a cute decorative box from Matt and Rick stole a tool set from Dan. The silliest gift was the strange motion sensored dog we brought. It is in a digging position and barks kicks it legs and then lets out a fart. I was more than happy for this gift to find a new home. LOL. The next day Lena made some black eyed peas and a big pot of beans using leftover ham and the ham bone. Quite yummy.

We started up school again. Wow, do we have a lot of catching up to do. It feels good to be back in a normal routine again. I need to finish this up. I made a goal to start going to our midweek service again. I had better start getting ready.

Tis the season

to catch a cold. Blah! Feeling a little sick today. I've been so lazy today. I've just watched tv, played on the computer and ate left over chinese. Kids are content to play video games. I need to do some laundry and head out to the grocery store. I'll probably swing by and grab some McDonalds for the boys. I just found out they have Little Pet Shop toys. Maverick loves the set he got for Christmas. In fact he bought more pets with his Christmas money from my folks. They were by far his favorite toy for Christmas. I bought him the Curious George collection book and CDs. We read two stories from it last night. It was fun to introduce him to one of my childhood favorites. I want to read him all the stories before seeing the Curious George movie. I only hope that the movie lives up to book. I really loved the Stuart Little books and enjoyed the movies too. I can't wait to see that new movie Charlotte's Web. I've never read the book but I remember going to the theater to see the original movie. Since we very rarely went to the movies it was my favorite. As a girl of course I even thought it would be fun to have a pig for a pet. We had a great Christmas. It was quite different this year. Dan's mom, sister and brother were sick so for the first time we did not spent Christmas Eve together. We attended the candle service at our church and my parent's came too.
It was nice to all sing carols together and I held hands with my dad. I was proud to see Justin standing straight and tall and doing a great job as a candle lighter. He was the youngest youth invited to participate. I went to bed earlie and Dan had to play santa without me this year. The next morning boomer discovered the cookies left for santa and was having a great time. LOL. More about Christmas. I need to take a break.

I scream for ice cream

Matt's hit the double digits today he turns 10.
Since it's Matt's birthday I asked him what kind of desert he wanted. He asked for vanilla ice cream (specifically a big round tub)with whipped creem topping, chocolate, and candy sprinkles. He loves pizza so we are going to dinner at a local pizza shop. Should be a fun day.
The kid's have really started to love working out. I bought them a kid's workout video. They look forward to it and have been faithfully working out every school day. I'm so glad they are starting good habits while they are young. Here is the video we use. I've looked around for a new one for variety but still haven't found another one this good.

Maverick is so cute. He didn't like the choices of cereal this morning so I offered him a bagel. He turned down my offer and preceded to make himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He is so cute gathering all the stuff and making it. I took some photos and asked him how he does it. I love his independence.

Dan's having fun playing santa this year. I haven't had to really shop at all. He loves to shop for the boys and his family. I usually just have to take care of a few little presents and my family. Dan asked me to pick out my present and I chose a Cricut machine. Joanns had it for $189. I called and had them hold it for him and so he picked it up yesterday. Now it's sitting down under the tree. Man, it's going to be hard to wait. I'm excited about playing with my new scapbook toy.

Dec.12
I picked up my mom and ran into Big Lots. The cookie platter I had my eye on was on sale for $3.50. I grabbed 3 of them. I made Peanutbutter Blossom cookies to take to the cookie exchange. Justing remembered that he had burned his finger once while making them and reminded me I had included it in a scrapbook page. I later found the page and sure enough I had snapped the horrible moment and scrapped it. Stephanie's home was gorgeous. There were 4 full sized Christmas trees decorated to match each room. Smaller trees in the bathrooms and the kids room. One bathroom is a rubber duck theme and had a tree with rubber duck ornaments. So cute. We had a touching share and prayer time and them tasted cookies and filled our take home bags. I gave Whitney one of the cookie platters. I had told her about them and I knew she wanted one. I stopped at CVS on the way home and found some great stocking stuffers. I took to heart being bold and inviting someone to the Christmas Eve service and church. The right moment came and I told the store clerk about the service.

Cinderella did have a ball

Dec. 9th We celebrated my birthday a day early. I picked up my mom from her hairdresser and then we both had a pedicure and our nails painted in a festive red with gold glitter. We came home and started getting ready. I put did my mom's make up and she looked really pretty. Justin was a great photographer. I had my picture made with my mom, Dan, and my dad. I haven't had a nice picture made with my dad in a long time so these photos have special meaning. We all rode together in the van. We saw a living nativity as we drove past a church we wanted to stop but there wasn't time. The Mission Inn was gorgeous. I love seeing this old building and all the lights. I felt a little like a star arriving with the valet parking and entering a private reseption area for those with reservations. We were pleasantly surprised by the Prime Rib buffet. My favorite was the stir fry beef with portabella mushrooms. Matthew and Maverick got the biggest hamburgers I've ever seen for a kid's meal. The desserts were yummy too. Gingerbread snowman cookies, and several cakes. The waitress brought me a pumpkin cheesecake for my birthday. Afterward we walked around the mission and saw the animated elves. They were so odd looking that we enjoyed a good laugh. We watched a vender making kettle corn it smelled so delicious. We took a walk in a Christmas ornament shop and my dad spotted these really fun 3-D glasses. Each of them create a unique hologram around the lights. http://www.3dglassesonline.com/holidayspecs.com.html Dan bought a few ofthem because we all had such fun playing with them. Dan tried them on while driving on the way home and I made him quickly take it off. I tend to be a nervous passenger. We listened to Christmas music on the way home. It was such an enjoyable night. I did feel just a little like Cinderella.

An Egg-citing Night

Dec. 8th
As part of the Christmas fun, Friday night's have been fun getting together at the Wilson's house. This week the menu was breakfast. Dan was the official pancake flipper. Donna and Linn were busy scrambling eggs, and Whitney made the sausage and bacon. Dan had finished his work video so it was great to show it to everyone. We took another trip over to see the Christmas lights house and we got to meet his wife this time and see the inside of the house too. Afterward there were video games, card games, The Griswald Christmas movie, and the once again the gals ended up just chatting away. We helped Donna finish her Christmas alphabet book. Kyle and Josh bagan making this book when they were kids up to the letter J. So the gals hatched a plan to have kids and adults participate and finish up making pages for the rest of the book. Next week's menu: Tacos!

Blanket Blasts

Friday Dec. 1st
We started December off in fun way. It was Christmas movie night at the Wilsons. Donna made chili, Whitney made cornbread, and I made hot dogs and brought hot chocolate. The highlight of the night we all went to see a house decorated to the extreme. The massive display of lights, and the fun Christmas dioramas were so impressive. The owner was sure enjoying the fun chatting with everyone, handing out candy canes, turning on his snow machine. We found out that on Dec. 10th on HGTV they will feature his home in a Christmas special. http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/spcl_prsntn/episode/0,1806,HGTV_3909_47483,00.html We all plan to go back next week because that's when his wife will be home and they offer tours of the inside of their home.
Next week's menu is breakfast. I volunteered Dan to be the official pancake flipper.
Sat. Dec. 2nd
I love Dec.! I woke up gulp at 4:30 not by choice I knew I had a lot to do so there was no point in going back to sleep. I decorated my store bought cookies to look like little santas. I needed them for a cookie exchange and Stampin' Up party at my dear friend Becky's. The party started at 11:00 and I needed to leave by 9:30. I made almost 4 dozen. Everyone brought yummy cookies and Becky made tea. Cristina a friend from high school was there. We had fun catching up and made plans to get together and scrapbook. We made two cute cards. I also placed a pretty big order for a bunch of craft ink pads. I posted my cards in the gallery at The Stamp Shack http://stamp-shack.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=66. After the party Becky and I went shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond. I found the gift I needed. It was great spending time with Becky.
Sunday Dec. 3rd
Had a nice day at church. There were gusts of wind and the falling leaves were swirling. I revamped my bulletin board for December. The theme is The Greatest Gift of All. I made gift packages with paper, ribbon, tags and bows and each present is meant hold a new Bible verse each week. I also hung up the pictures for each story and "hid"the upcoming photos with paper. It was cute to see the kids peeking under the paper to see the pictures. So that idea was a hit.We made cute little easels from three candy canes tied together and set so that the curved ends become the feet. Then the Bible verse card sets in the easel. Hmmm, I wonder if those easels even made it through the car ride home. The kids sure had fun. After church was a stop to Best Buy for Justin. He was ready to spend his birthday money on a new game. McDonald's was next and to the kids delight they had some toy they were all excited about. Justin skipped the McRib sandwich to get a Mighty Kids meal just for the toy. They even had 3 different colors. Later, Dan and I hung the new snowflakes lights in our courtyard. I love how they twinkle. We also got the tree set up. Decorating will have wait. Earlier, I met Donna for coffee and a shopping date. A friend who works for Mervyns gave each of us a 15% off gift card. Donna found a new Cal-king comforter set and and I found blankets for the boys. After finding our blankets & comforters we then proceeded to carry them all around the store for the next 30 minutes ( no carts available). It was quite funny trying to walk around the store with our arms loaded. Dan finished his work video yesterday. Hoorah! It's a parody based on Ferris Bueller's Day Off. We all think it's his best work video do date (It's his 7th one). He used the songs "Twist & Shout" and "Oh Yeah". Dan played the role of Ed Roonie. The last scene is him using a key from under the mat to try and catch "Ferris”. Just as he is using the key "Ferris" opens the door in his bathrobe and gives a knowing smile of "Ha" you didn't catch me. It's so great. So the night ends and I'm getting ready to tuck Matt in bed. I plan to snuggle a bit and see how the new blanket feels. We both were quite surprised to discover that just by rubbing your fingers over the blanket it would create a plethora of electric sparks. Lifting the top comforter also caused an equally impressive amount of sparks. I reminisced with Matt back to the days when my sister and I would scoot across the floor in our slippers and "shock" each other. Matt says he now has a story to share some day with his kids about his blanket that blasts. I just love the little moments that make lasting memories.