September 29, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Coolest cell phone in town - way to go Rubz! She is SO creative with her clay, play-doh, paper, markers, tape, glue, scissors...

September 28, 2009 - Living For Jesus Is Fun

Happy Birthday to HALLIE, I didn't forget you (still sorry Annie, I will make it up to you, I promise).

This right here - these Hooked On Phonics letter blends sound cards...they are enough to make a Ruby CRY. Poor thing. Now, to me, this is not the end of the world, it actually makes me LAUGH because Ruby reminds me so much of HALLIE at the same age. Hallie wanted to learn to read sooooo badly she would sit with books and cry because she couldn't read them and she was frustrated - but she lacked the patience to learn to read one step at a time. She wanted to open the book and READ IT - not learn any letter sounds, nor learn a few words and then put them together - she didn't want to do ANY OF THE STEPS involved with learning to read, she just wanted to read.
*sigh*
and that brings us to Ruby. Ruby knows all of her letters and their sounds. She can write the letters. She can tell you the sound of the letter she wrote. BUT SHE DOESN'T WANT TO SOUND THINGS OUT nor learn short words she can later put together to make big words. And she likes big words, she has a fantastic vocabulary, but no patience.

We're working on patience today :D

September 27, 2009 - Living for Jesus is Fun

My awesome friend Sandy bought me this YUMMY Cocoa Chili powder - it's Chipotle Chile ground in with the chocolate so it's HOT chocolate, but not hot cocoa...this stuff is AMAZING. Can't wait to put it on CHICKEN!! :)

September 26, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Birthday party!! Abby's little friend Haley turned 9!

September 25, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

It occurred to me when I got to work today that September 23, was ANNIE'S birthday. Sorry Annie. I did call and tell her happy belated birthday...I'm bad. I am a bad sister.

upside down...i put camera overhead, upside down and shot Kurt just for funnies at Youth Group.

September 24, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Time to pack up camp. We ended up camping 2 days instead of 1 - the second day was cloudy/foggy all day, but it wasn't rainy, and it wasn't hot, hot, hot! It was fun though!

September 23, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Boy + Campfire = Happy Boy.

We are ALL FILTHY DIRTY and have a meeting to get to by noon.

The shower in the men's area on our end of the campground was not working...fortunately, we only live 5 miles away :D

September 22, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

On a Tuesday, after school starts, when it's been HOTTER THAN EVER and you attend school...at home, CAMPING IS A FIELD TRIP OPTION!! Kurt gets to work out of town, we get to go on a campout! There were gobs of jellyfish washed up on shore, dead ones, something to do with the tidal cycle and the full moon...we are looking into why jellyfish seem to wash up 10 to 14 days after a full moon...that's homeschool science.

Anyhow, they got to smash some of those jellyfish in the campground and see them make green flashes of light (which is caused by a protein that gives off ultraviolet [blue] light when jostled, which is reflected by the green fluorescent protein in the jellyfish - that apparently you can do some pretty cool stuff with, including making a dog glow green under an ultraviolet light source).

There were also hot dogs, clearance squirt guns, campfire baked potatoes, and the Alsworth gang hanging out most of the evening with us.

September 21, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

September 21, 1920 set a record high temperature of 86F. This my friends is a RED NECK SWAMP COOLER. Yes, it really IS a bag of ice hanging in front of the fan. We broke the record today with 93F (at the airport), in some places in town it was 94 - 96 OUTSIDE. My friends, if it gets over 75-ish here, we're HOT, like almost too hot. So, 90s and working in a pizza joint with the ovens on...man alive we thought we were baking :D

**Just an FYI, the RED NECK SWAMP COOLER does in fact work.

September 20, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Taco Bell. Ruby's in a "take my picture" phase of life.

September 19, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Cat. AKA Natasha, Nat Cat, Nut. Up close and personal.

September 18, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Reflections of cool stuff on water are fun. Kurt was able to take Kord, Grant, Abby and Cam sailing - and when they got back and a log was blocking the path to where they tie up, and I was shouting from the boardwalk, LOG!! LOG in FRONT of the BOAT - they all looked at me like I was a moron...then they rounded the corner and scrambled...to lessen the impact from hitting the log. It's all good - they hit it but no damage (except to Kurt's knee because he put his foot out there to help...not sure if it was to help stop or if he tried to kick the log...*sore* subject :o) )

September 17, 2009 - Living For Jesus is FUN

So much fun in fact that I am 10 days behind again? Seriously?? What on earth have I been doing?? OKAY...hmmm. Let's find out! This will be FUN (hahahaha to all of you that get an email every time I post)

Alright, so Monika got this cool brochure from a wedding photographer. A little background...Monika is getting married, December 20th. She works with me at the pizza joint. She's taken on the MOM roll for small children...

Wedding photographers AREN'T INEXPENSIVE. Enough said, the prices in this brochure brought tears to her eyes, even if they are showcasing some cool stuff...she doesn't have $1600 for a disk of photos and 200 - 300 4x6 prints.

This is the point in life where Kurt said, "Yes, you need to buy a newer, better camera. Yes you can upgrade your equipment..." So...now I have to work several more weeks at nearly full time to upgrade (because I would have to have a business partner/marketing manager to ever charge enough money to cover my expenses, I know, I know, I am okay with never running a successful and profitable business lol, but someday, I COULD be that good, right?)

September 16, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun!

OY! Zippy had the camera :) We had a meeting at Resource Link, the Coos Bay School's charter program...

September 15, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

See, what a cute toothless grin...in good light so you can see her pretty green eyes too - and with that cheapy 50mm lens, so you CAN'T see her pajamas that I'm making her change out of now that it's almost 3:30 PM :)

September 14, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun!

Cam finally yanked this tooth out a few minutes after this photo was taken! YIPPEE - now that the other tooth is mostly in :)

September 13, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Look closely, you will see Darling Little Andrew there - he's so stinking cute :D

September 12, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Even though this will be my 13th day in a row, being off work since 3 PM yesterday has made it seem like a DAY OFF - I don't have to go to work until 4 today (because Boss Krystal rolled the dough and I don't have to go in early for that).

SO, I did my dishes AT HOME and made potato soup! YUM!!

September 11, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

She went sailing!! He bribed her with candy...the boat is named after her and she has been reluctant to go sailing because water over the rails isn't FUN to her...it's scary! :)

September 10, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

We went to visit the Kutch Family today!! Check out Dev's new braces, much straighter teeth and super grin :D

He has already invited us to his birthday party...in 2 months :D

September 9, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

sky. i saw it out the Gino's kitchen window and made everyone go outside and look at it, the pink and purple ripples were clear across the sky, in all directions. what an amazing and wonderful blessing - God has way more colors in His box than crayola!

September 8, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

The radio lights as I pulled into the driveway after my 9th day in a row. Help me remember it's a blessing to be employed...I clocked in at 9:45 AM and back out around 11 PM...

We had so many crazy parties on this Tuesday night, you could have mistaken it for a FRIDAY!! Seriously NUTS!!

One family was having their daughter's 3rd birthday party - super nice people - and all of a sudden they were GONE and I feared we had offended them - but really, their kids got tired and they packed up and went (see, nice people and good parents) - they came back a couple hours later to tip us...and brought in 3 slices of home made from scratch CHOCOLATE CAKE - WITH MILK!! Is that not the sweetest thing in the whole world?? Dr. Yost makes a mean chocolate cake!! They made our night (even if we did utterly destroy the whole place) (no really, flooded walk in...dirty tables that i somehow didn't see, out of everything...really a disaster)

September 7, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Abby & Ruby made these for the girls at Gino's. Katie S. got one, and Whitney got the other. The roses smelled SO GOOD, very strongly scented from the bush in front of our house.

September 6, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

This is special. This is what I see...every day. It helps me remember that I am SO BLESSED and will be able to buy 4 new tires and a front end alignment on PAYDAY!! On my 7th day in a row of a 16 day stretch....

:D

And I didn't have to TAKE *ANYONE* else's hours...I got all of the hours from the supervisor that quit, and some of Lora's while she's out for surgery.

September 5, 2009 - Living For Jesus is FUN

Happy 9th Birthday Abigail Zipporah!!

September 4, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun!

FRIDAY! No photo, funny story. Thursday was a concert performed by Sixteen Cities (formerly known as Issakar, aka, Becky's cousins' band), and our youth group attended - then big after party at Gino's...fun times. So Friday Youth night rolls around and I call the Alsworths to make sure there's Youth - since there was an activity yesterday and I am told - YES, there's youth. So Cam and I head to church. Sandy and her group show up, the rest of the youth show up and WHERE is the Youth Leader? He had thought it was decided last night that the Thursday outing was Youth for the week...so he wasn't at Youth because it had been canceled. Um...yeah. WHATEVER! We had Youth anyhow without him (and snacks too).

No pics...I was tired.

September 3, 2009 - Living For Jesus is - OH NO!! I'm behind again? FUN!

So...here we have what we fondly refer to as *Gino's Day Care Center* - aka - they hired my babysitter because she's so AWESOME and now...I don't exactly have one (Sister Sandy has enough going on most of the time without extra kids every day...)

Gotta' say, these kids behave SO WELL and by the time Camden is legally old enough to work a real job, we won't even have to train him! Awesome eh?

September 2, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Well, this is the best shot I could get of the clouds last night, driving home after church, from a moving car...with Kurt driving (phew, not me, I was not trying to take photo and drive and possibly crash). I love cool clouds - the sky was AWESOME last night, with faint light coming through a break in the clouds that look all dark and menacing but were really just shadowed, thin and whispy - it was so cool :D

The other two - Yeah, I just can't hold still with the little point and shoot.

September 1, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

we made it through that espresso episode...
Now, onto the comics currently posted to our knife block thinger on the wall at Gino's. Bizarro - he's a little nuts and the one that used to be there was funnier (to guys in a desert get to the oasis, one drinking, the other whining, "what? no bottled water??")

ANYHOW, the important one is the Charlie Brown Biblical "a soft answer turns away wrath," - I love it! I figured it was starting to get a little tattered and I wanted a photo before it was removed and replaced, but what to replace that with - it's so perfect and classic and wonderful! Click the image to enlarge and read :)

August 31, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

I nearly called Gino's today to tell them I was home a day early from my out of towning in case I was needed...but I didn't. Didn't matter, they called me hoping I was back (they know me to well) to let me know I was needed. Cool. I needed a place to hang out tonight :D When I got home from work...well in the car on the way home, I received a call from Kurt's phone from Abigail. She was chattering 100 mph. She had fixed french fries all by herself (no fryer, don't think I'm a bad mom, think of her as an advanced and independent almost 9-year-old) AND COFFEE!!

And as I sort of shouted WHAT?? She said, "it's okay mommy, I only made espresso for me and ruby and camden and ruby and i already drank ours and i put camden's in the frige cuz it's iced coffee and i turned off the espresso machine and unplugged it when i was done and it was good mommy, i drank all of mine, could you bring home more milk, do you want me to make you some coffee? it's really easy, i can make you some coffee for you when you get home..."

yes it was really that much of a constant run on jabber jabber - mother put your head in your hands, oh dear what am i going to do when i get home kind of conversation at 10:30 PM...and daddy gets up to go to work at FIVE!!

So I stop at walmart, get the requested milk and bread AND Ben & Jerry's Key Lime Pie (which, btw folks, is TO DIE FOR), pull in the driveway and was greeted by thugs. I mean, 2 little girls hyped up on sugary espresso way past bedtime (and I laughed, they were so stinking cute and funny - then I sent them to bed).

August 30, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Messes like this nearly send Grandpa Mike into convulsions. Note how distressed Abigail and Audrey are over it...also note that Audrey is STILL WEARING her leotard from her flowergirl outfit (that you haven't seen because that's not the photo I posted from the wedding) from yesterday.

August 29, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun!

Isn't my baby sister a PRINCESS??

August 28, 2009 - Living For Jesus is FUN

My flower girl nieces! Shaye Shaye in yellow flew all the way from Alaska to be a flower girl for Annie and visit cousins (Audrey, Ava, Dorion, Camden, Abigail, Ruby, and more and more and lots and lots of other extended cousins - cuz in this family a cousin's a cousin no matter how far). Audrey is in blue. Ava was just too worn out to participate...it's hard work being little and having 10 grow'd ups bossing you around :D

Please note how cutely they are arm in arm :D

August 27, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

Sorry. I don't remember Thursday. Honest. I didn't get my way, I remember that part...I wanted to drive to Salem and we didn't leave until Friday morning. Cam spent the day with the Kahlers...Nathan if you want specifics :D

August 26, 2009 - Living For Jesus is Fun

This, my friends, is what you do when the BOSS is on vacation in Alaska and the Boss is on a camping trip...you tell Lora Jo to put something FUNNY on the reader board, make her fear she's going to be in trouble if she really does it, then get the go ahead from the boss (aka, brother of the BOSS).

Is it me or does boss look like it's spelled wrong? too much coffee and not enough sleep.

Sorry I got behind again :D