Living with the Hawes'

FYI

2010-01-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

the Christmas stuff is down and put away...

three and a half months...

2010-01-10T07:54:00.002-07:00

That's how long it has been since I last wrote. I said at the beginning of this blog I would be bad at it, but really, it's worse than even I expected!! So, this is for Amber, who lovingly pointed out to me that I am a slacker!! Thanks!

Life is just... a whirlwind. I don't really know how to describe it. These last few months have been the busiest of my life. I feel that every day is chaotic and I am behind in everything... example.... it's January 10th and my lovely Christmas tree is still standing next to me while I type, still decorated and everything. So is my whole house... I keep saying, "one of these days I will get Christmas stuff down". We'll see when it actually happens. Maybe just in time to put it back up next year??!!

I am still working at Starbucks and Jay is still going to school. He has taken on more responsibilites at church too. It has been amazing to see the Lord work during this time. We took a leap of faith and He has been so faithful!! Why do we ever doubt???

The girls are doing great at school. They both enjoy it a lot and have made some good friends. This is the first time Brooklynn is experiencing "the real world". There have been times where she has come home from school with hurt feelings. It makes me so sad. Why do kids have to be mean? They are in kindergarten for goodness sakes. I can't imagine a few years from now. I wish I could protect her from everything. I HATE seeing her heart hurt, but that is life and I guess now is when she begins to learn how to deal with the hardships that will be with her everday from here on out. I try to take advantage of each situation and teach her how to deal with it, but it's so hard. Why can't she stay a little baby forever?

We have had an interesting winter so far with health... we have colds now, but this is the first we have been sick with the "normal" winter stuff. We have had no flu and no colds until this week, but Wesley had pnomonia Thanksgiving weekend and was in the hospital for three days. It was hard and scary, but we made it through it. We also have a bad case of lice. So gross!!! Brooklynn picked them up somewhere and they quickly went to all three girls and me. We treated and washed EVERYTHING in our house. They were gone for a couple weeks and then returned only to treat and wash everything again. They were gone and then returned again!!! Terrible. It has been almost 6 weeks since I have seen any, but I still check the girls everyday. I think I will for a long time. Lastly, this last week we have had pink-eye. Our family came from Ohio after Christmas and thought it would be a nice present to leave with us!! Thanks again Amber!!

Our holidays were great. We had Jay's family here for the week between Christmas and New Years. There were 14 people in my house for a week, but it was so much fun!! I will end with a few pictures from their visit.

and we're off...

2009-09-25T15:24:00.002-06:00

Life has become a race. I feel like I am running, running, running... The days are flying by. I blink and a week has passed. Crazy!!

Kendall has started school since my last post. She is doing well and enjoys it. Both Kendall and Brooklynn have made a number of friends at school. It is still weird to think that I have children in school. How did this happen? Speaking of crazy things... I turned 30 this last week. How did THAT happen? I just don't know where the time has gone!

I started work this last month at Starbucks. I managed a few store in the Springs in my pre-baby years, but have't worked in 5 years. So, I started a few weeks ago. It's been going pretty well. I really enjoy working and love it when I am there, but then when I come home I am having a hard time. Does this happen with every working mom or just because I'm new at this? The roles in our home have completely changed. Jay is staying home with the kids... being mister mom and he is doing an amazing job. I am so proud of him, but at he same time I miss being the "mom". My kids come to me and say "daddy, oh I mean mommy..." and it makes me sad that they now think of him first when they need something. I feel bad that this this how I feel, but I can't help it. I am used to being the one that everyone needs something from. It used to annoy me, but now I long for that.

Funny how I can never be content with what I have at that time!!

I know this is just a season of life.

I know I will be back at home with my kids in time.

I know this is where the Lord has led us and I know that Jay worked a job he hated for a couple years because he needed to support us.

I at least really enjoy my job!!

I guess this is part of being an adult!!

Kind of stinks.

Jay started school. He is going full-time on line. It seems like there is something always going on here. I am rushing out the door to work, he is leaving to go somewhere to study in quiet, he is leaving for something at church he is in charge of, Brooklynn and Kendall need dropped off or picked up from school (two different locations) and we are trying to keep a little normal life around here for the kids. Oh, and we (or I should say Jay) is still working on the floors, so that is a constant burden hanging over our heads. I guess it's just a little overwhelming right now. Again, just need to remind myself that this is a season of life... this too will pass. We are figuring it all out and I know once we figure our new routines it will be a little easier.

Anyway, this is my quick little update and gripe session!!

I'm a slacker!

2009-08-21T07:39:00.005-06:00

I am so terrible at this blog thing. I keep telling myself I will do better, but then don't.

We have had quite a crazy few weeks here. August 5 was Jay's last day of work. That morning, I went to start a load of laundry and later found that the sensor on the washing machine was broken and never stopped filling causing a flood over a lot of my main floor and down into the basement (which thankfully is not finished!) We had to have the floors taken out in our laundry / bathroom, kitchen and some carpeting in our hallway as well as the vanity in the bathroom.

The NEXT day, our hot water heater started leaking. At first we weren't sure it really was because it seemed very coincidental that it would leak the day after our flood, but indeed it did. Jay had to replace it for us... not a cheap endeavour.

The NEXT day, one of the toilet on the second floor started to leak at the valve going into the wall. Jay also had to replace that. Not very fun!

So, for now, I think we have all our water issues under control. We are still living on ply wood and decided to pull up the carpet in our eating area and lay tile throughout. Jay is hoping to start this weekend, but is confident it will take a few weeks or so as he will only be able to do it in short periods of time. He tiled our bathroom upstairs when we first moved here, but hasn't done it since and that was only about 50 sf... this is about 350 sf. I just really want my laundry back. My sister has graciously allowed us to use her washer and dryer and while I greatly appreciate it... it is still a huge inconvenience for a family of 6 to have to bring our laundry somewhere else.

So, good news...

Brooklynn started kindergarten this last Wednesday. She is enjoying it so far and has had no tears which was a great relief for me!! She is extremely shy, but came home the first day and said she talked to her teacher and then yesterday said she talked to one other little girl. Those are HUGE steps for her!

Wesley had his two month appointment yesterday. Two months! Where has the time gone. I can't believe it! I think time goes faster with each child! Anyway, he was 12 lbs 13 oz and 24 3/4 in. long. He has grown so fast. The girls have always been small and very slow at growing... he is very different. I was just telling Jay last night that I have never had to learn how to clean between rolls at bath time!

I got a job at Starbucks this week. I don't start for about a week and a half, but I am very excited to go back to work there. Jay and I are changing so many of our roles and in some ways I am a little anxious to be working after being at home full time for five years, but in other ways I am very excited and looking forward to being out of the home some and doing something that doesn't involve diapers, screaming children and continual messes (oh, I guess that will be there, but it will be different!)

So, I think that sums up most of the last few weeks. I again, hopefully will be better at this... but I wouldn't count on it!

update...

2009-08-04T11:57:00.003-06:00

Life is changing a lot around here. Just wanted to share a little of what is going on and ask some of you to be in prayer for us.

Jay has always known that he has a calling into full time ministry. About a year ago, we really felt the Lord was calling us to commit to him going to seminary. We started the journey last September, but quickly learned that it was extremely difficult with his work and all his traveling... he was traveling about two weeks a month. His classes were online, but when he travels he works such long hours that it was still too difficult and stopped taking classes in December.

In the early spring he went before our church board and asked for a paid position as an intern at the church. After much prayer, they felt that they were not to spend the church's money in that way at this time. We very much respected their decision, but was still in a hard position to figure out how to accomplish what God was asking of us.

In April and May both Jay and I felt the Lord speaking to us and sharing the same message with both of us... "do what I have asked you to do... even when it doesn't make sense. Don't make it be practical."

After much prayer and guidance from friends, family and pastors, we felt that Jay was released from his job and that he is to go to school full time. So, tomorrow is his last day at work. He is going to a leadership conference with our pastors and has started an internship with the church (just not paid) and will be starting school full time in a couple weeks. We very much feel that this is what the Lord has asked of us, and when we are focused on Him, we have peace, but it is easy to take our eyes off Him and then the fear of the unknown takes over. We don't know what is ahead of us. School is three years and as of right now, we have no income. I am looking for a job, but will probably not make enough to pay our bills. We don't really know what the Lord has in store for us, but trust that He has a plan and that He has not called us into this to allow us to fail.

Please pray that we will continue to hear His voice and trust in Him fully. I know when times get hard it will be easy to question our decisions, so pray that we will be reminded of His calling.
I will keep you updated as we start this journey ahead of us. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Morgann's birthday

2009-06-29T08:03:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was Morgann's second birthday. I can't believe she is two already. I think time just goes faster and faster every year!! Since we've had a crazy week with Wesley being born we have had meals brought to us, so last night a friend of mine made homemade doughnuts and brought over a candle for us to celebrate.

We love you Morgann and are so thankful to have you as our daughter!!

Here are some pictures of our night last night...

Wesley Jay Hawes

2009-06-29T07:52:00.004-06:00

I have a new baby!! Wesley was born Wednesday morning at 4:41. He is perfect and we are loving having him a part of our family. The girls have been great with him and love taking care of him... even Morgann who I was a little nervous about.

He was 8 lbs. 2 oz and 22 inches long. Morgann was my next biggest baby at only 6 lbs 15 oz so this was quite a change!

Here are a few pictures:

so proud...

2009-05-25T12:15:00.006-06:00

This last Thursday night was Brooklynn's pre-k graduation. It was a lot of fun. They had a slide show of the year and then called each student up for their diploma and then had a cake and punch reception following. Here are a few pictures...

Just to brag...

2009-05-25T12:09:00.002-06:00

I haven't been very good at keeping up with my spending on here and probably wont really do that much anymore, but I couldn't help this. This is what I got for free today.

19 tubes of toothpaste
27 packs of Mentos gum
7 bottles of dial soap... oh, these were not free, but $0.30 a piece
2 bottles of BBQ sauce
3 bottles of steak seasoning

so I'm a little behind...

2009-05-14T11:44:00.002-06:00

I think I missed a week of posting, but this was from last Saturday...

King Soopers:
Original total: $186.00
saved: $ 98.43
paid: $87.57
% saved: 54%

field day

2009-04-30T15:36:00.005-06:00

Brooklynn had field day this afternoon with her preschool. Kendall was able to participate as well. They had a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures...

so cute...

2009-04-30T15:34:00.002-06:00

savings...

2009-04-27T16:12:00.002-06:00

King Soopers:
original total: $130.73
saved: $63.79
paid: $66.94
% saved: 50%

King Soopers: (yes, I went there twice in the last couple days...)
original total: $33.42
saved: $15.36
paid: $18.06
% saved: 47%

random pics

2009-04-20T12:04:00.003-06:00

Here are a few pictures from the last couple days...

The girls bowling on the Wii.

me and my girls

Morgann and cousin Joel

Fun at the park.

free stuff!!!

2009-04-20T08:30:00.003-06:00

Jay thinks I am a nerd for getting this excited, but this is all the stuff I got for free this weekend! I love it!! It's so exciting for me to see the things my family needs be "purchased" for nothing!!

8 woman's deodorant (some of which I will donate),
3 men's deodorant,
4 hand soaps (they were out, but I will be going back for 8 more that will be free),
4 bags of rice cakes....

Here are my totals for this last weekend....
King Soopers:
Original total: $132.79
saved: $70.10
paid: $62.69
% saved: 54%

savings...

2009-04-13T07:51:00.002-06:00

King Soopers
original total: $133.30
saved: $48.48
paid: $84.82
% saved: 37%

Albertsons
orginal total: $81.90
saved: $43.28
paid: $ 38.62
% saved: 53%

Easter fun...

2009-04-13T07:20:00.005-06:00

We had a great weekend for Easter. Jay come home from a business trip on Friday, so we waited to color our eggs until Saturday morning so he could be a part of it. The girls had a lot of fun...

Morgann watched some TV like this...

Later we went over to my sister's house and we had our Easter dinner on Saturday afternoon. My parents came up from the Springs and we had a great afternoon and evening of food and games. Julie had to work on Sunday... that's why we did it on Saturday.

Sunday, we had our Easter egg hunt at our house and then were off to church. We had a wonderful church service and loved the time to reflect on what Jesus did for us. Thank you Lord!!!

Brooklynn and Kendall in their "princess" dresses.

Morgann would not give up her bowl of Cheerios.

This was our best attempt at a family picture!

When we came home, I made resurrection eggs with Brooklynn and Kendall. It was a fun way to teach them more of the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. I did forget to take pictures though.

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend and that the thoughts and thankfulness of our salvation would not end now, but continue all throughout the year. What a blessing we have been given in the gift of Jesus Christ!!

savings...

2009-04-06T11:41:00.001-06:00

King Soopers
original total: $227.37
saved: $123.77
paid: $103.60
% saved: 56%

False alarm...

2009-04-05T11:47:00.001-06:00

This morning I was at church and received a call that the burglar alarm was going off at my house. I called them back... they said the motion sensor was set off in our living room and the police were dispatched. So, I got the kids out of their classes and took off for home.

The culprit... a helium balloon. Needless to say, the balloons will be in the trash later today!!

today's savings...

2009-03-31T16:53:00.001-06:00

Albertsons
original total: $38.70
saved: $22.19
paid: $16.51

savings

2009-03-29T11:56:00.002-06:00

So, I mentioned on here awhile back that I am working on saving money using coupons and tracking sales. I have gone up and down with motivation for this throughout the last number of months, but someone suggested that I use my blog as accountability. So, whenever I go shopping I am going to give my "stats" on here. You all will be able to see how much I am spending... not that you really care, but, you will also be able to see how much I am saving. I will post everything that we shop for excluding clothing. This will cover groceries, cleaning supplies, toiletries, diapers, toilet paper, etc... anything that is needed to keep my home functioning.

So, here we go...

Today:

King Soopers
original total: $157.54
saved: $74.67
paid: $82.87
% saved: 49%

Today was a pretty good day which is why I was probably motivated to start this today... I like to brag a little about it! You will see that I have good trips and not so good trips. My goal right now is to always save at least 35%.

By the way...

2009-03-23T10:25:00.000-06:00

I know I am terrible at keeping this up. I warned you all in my very first post that I may end of slacking off!! I will try harder, but for now, this is what you get! Sorry.

My baby is five!!

2009-03-23T10:02:00.003-06:00

I can't believe that Brooklynn turned five this weekend. It makes me kind-of sad. It feels like such a milestone.

Five.

How did this happen?

Next year she starts school, those years will go fast and then she will be off by herself... ok, maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself.

But seriously, she is no longer my little baby... well, she will always be my little baby, but you know what I mean. I was teasing her all week before her birthday that we were going to pretend she was only turning one and that for her birthday I was going to give her diapers, bottles and a crib to sleep in. She didn't like that idea.

Did anyone else feel this way at five? Am I being completely crazy?

Anyway, so this weekend we had some birthday parties for her. Saturday afternoon we had her "friends" party. This was the first time we did this. In the past we have always done family parties, but this year I let her pick who she wanted to come. We had 12 little kids here. They had a lot of fun. The kids were able to decorate their own cakes, we played musical chairs and opened presents.

That evening my parents, sister and her husband came over and we did the family thing. It was very nice. My mom made dinner, which was a blessing to me, and we had cake, ice cream and she opened more presents.

Anyway, here are a few pictures. I still have to get some from my parents camera as I was too busy to take many, but this is what I have for now.

It's a boy!!

2009-02-06T20:17:00.002-07:00

I had my ultrasound today. We are having a boy! We are very excited... Jay is completely beside himself! The baby looks very strong and healthy. We have been so blessed with healthy children and I pray that for this child as well. Seeing the baby made it so much more real that I am really having another baby. I am due at the end of June.

Six years...

2009-02-02T08:26:00.003-07:00

Today has been six years since we were married!!! In some ways it seems to have have gone so fast and I can't believe we are already at six years and in other ways, I can't remember my life before Jay.

Six years...

three and a half kids
two cross country moves
major career change
loss of parents
miscarriage
vacations
many laughs
many tears
buying of two homes
selling of two homes
four churches
motorcycle accident
making new friends

so many major things have come and gone. Jay, I love you more than I did the day we married. Thank you for sharing all this and much more with me. I look forward to many years to come. I love you.

Cleveland

2009-02-02T08:22:00.003-07:00

This last weekend Jay and I went out to Cleveland to visit his family. We had a great time relaxing, talking, laughing and eating lots of food!!
I just had to share this conversation with my airline attendant on the way home:

her: when are you due?
me: June
her: so, it's February, then March, April, May June... so about four months left?
me: yes
her: (pointing at my stomach) don't you think it's a little big?
me: (kind-of taken back) no, this is baby number four so I guess I get a little bigger faster??????

... and then I walked away.

How rude. I actually have been feeling pretty good about my size so far, but thank for telling me I look like a cow.

Crazy.

Holidays...

2009-01-02T08:51:00.003-07:00

Well, the holiday's have all come and gone. I seriously don't know where my time went. I usually can sit back and enjoy the month of December, but this time, I feel like it went so fast. I feel like I just set everything up for Christmas, which may be why it is all set up still! I'll get it down one of these days.

We had a great Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at my sister's house along with my parents. It was fun. We ordered Chinese food, which as become our Christmas Eve tradition, and opened presents from my side of the family. When I was growing up, my family celebrated pretty much everything for Christmas on Christmas Eve, so we are trying to keep that tradition alive by doing all the Galaszewski stuff that night.

The next morning we got up and had fresh baked cinnamon rolls, opened our stockings, had quiche for breakfast and then started opening up presents from Jay's side of the family and from Santa. My parents joined us this day as well. It was wonderful to have them there. We like to open presents slowly, one at a time. I figure, we wait all year for this one day and I would hate to have it done in 10 minutes!
After presents we played some games and then had a large ham dinner in the early afternoon. Overall the day was great... very relaxing and laid back.

For New Year's we went down to Colorado Springs to spend it at my parents new house. They closed the day before so it was fun to stay in their very empty house as they still have not moved in. Julie, her husband and baby came along with some family friends. We ate lots of food and played games until midnight... then we were all ready for bed!! Yes, we are a little pathetic!

I am now trying to get my house in order. I need to get Christmas down and put away and somehow messes are growing at a faster rate than normal and I am having a hard time keeping up. Hopefully in the next few days I will feel a little on top of things again!!

I am feeling really well. My energy has returned a lot and I am not feeling sick. For those of you who know my past pregnancies, I am getting my "black outs" again, which I hate, but I hope they will pass soon. They usually don't stick around too long.

The girls are doing well. They loved all the holiday excitement. They had so much fun at Christmas and loved opening presents and being with family. They also learned a lot this year about giving as they made presents for my family this year and were so excited to give them. They seemed to understand a little better this year why we celebrate Christmas and why it is important to honor Jesus though it all.

In December, Brooklynn was asking a lot of questions about how Jesus gets in our hearts. It was very exciting to see her heart and mind have a desire to know Him. She asked Jesus to come and be in her heart, but she stressed that she doesn't just want Him in her heart, but to go everywhere with her and be a part of everything in her life. It was so precious and melted my heart!! I pray that as she continues to grow up, that she will truly grow to know and love Him in a very personal way and that she will follow Him with all her heart.

Well, I think that sums up our holidays. I hope you all had a great Christmas season.

conversation with Brooklynn...

2008-12-08T19:55:00.002-07:00

B: when I grow up can I be a mommy?
M: yes, if you want to
B: but I have to get married first...
M: yes
B: how do I get married?
M: you will meet a boy, learn to love him, and then decide to get married
B: and then I can be a mommy?
M: yes

Suddenly her face got really sad and she paused a little...

B: but are you and daddy going to die?
M: someday, but hopefully we will be around for a long time and be able to see all your babies grow up... is that something you think about?
B: yes, sometimes
M: does it scare you?
B: yes, I want to see you all the time

Brooklynn is growing a lot in her intellect. It is clear that she is processing the "real" things of life a lot more. Sometimes it brings up hard conversations that I really don't know how to react to. I guess this is just one of the next steps in parenting. It really is the hardest job in the world!! I want to protect her, but tell her the truth. I can't shelter her into thinking everything about life is great when there are hard times. I guess that I have to trust that what we teach her everyday through word and action will be enough to meet her needs.

quiet...

2008-12-05T08:49:00.003-07:00

So, I have been quiet lately. Don't really know why. I just haven't had any desire to blog. We've been busy...

Jay and I went to Hawaii and had a wonderful time. It was really good for us to spend some time together without the kids... we were able to have a full conversation without being interrupted over and over!! We rested a lot, went to the beach, took walks and went to a luau. It was very nice.

Kendall is finally potty trained!!!! This was very challenging and tried my patience every day. I began to notice that when I would let her wear underwear at home, she would do better. I thought she liked the responsibility. If I put her in a pull-up she would just go in her pants and not care. So I started to let her leave the house in her panties and she has done great. We only had one accident at church... bless those nursery workers, and now she is doing very well with it. I am so proud of her!!

We have been sick this week. Colds... I hate them. All three of the girls and myself have been sick. Jay has been able to avoid it so far, which is good since he has to leave everyday for work. Hopefully we will get past this soon. Never fun.

Last, but definitely not least, just this week we are sharing the news that we are expecting another baby. We are so excited. I am 11 weeks along. I feel like we are a little crazy as we will have four kids in five years, but we are truly blessed. I have been very tired and a little sick, but hopefully some of that will pass as I am almost into my second trimester. Crazy as it may sound, this was planned and we can't wait to meet him or her... Jay says "him"... we'll see! I am due June 24.

I will try to keep up with this a little better.

Water for Christmas...

2008-11-05T16:55:00.002-07:00

What an idea?

A movement is coming... to bring clean water to the whole world.

Did you know that 4500 children die everyday because of the water they have to drink? The same water that brings them life, brings them death.

We can do something about it.

Americans spend 450 billion dollars during the Christmas season... it would cost 10 billion to give the whole world clean water for the next 20 years. Is that not amazing? If we all sacrifice a small amount this year, we can bring clean water to the world.

Jody over at http://jodyrlanders.com/ is launching a cry for help. Please check this out and see how you can play a part. Her passion is evident for this cause and would greatly appreciate any thoughts, ideas and action to help accomplish this. Scroll down her blog to the post called "water" and then read up from there to get caught up.

Together we can work to accomplish this great goal. Please check it out.

I've been tagged...

2008-10-30T16:01:00.003-06:00

I was tagged by another blog a while ago to share seven things that are interesting of not well known about me. I have been struggling with this, but decided to finally give it a shot.

1. I am not much of a night person. I prefer my mornings. I can get grumpy at night and just want to be left alone and allowed to sleep.

2. I absolutely love planning events and such, but often times am too lazy to actually do it. It's amazing that you can be lazy to do something that you love, but that's what I do.

3. I have always dreamed of going to Israel. I think it would be amazing to walk where Jesus did and see the history of my faith in real life. It would make the Bible stories come alive even more.

4. When I was a kid I wanted to be a vet... now I really don't like animals ( I will not use the word hate here and I am sure I would get many complaints)... sorry Shawn and Amber. Jay finally talked me into getting a dog, who I am putting up with, but don't really love.

5. I pre-wash my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Don't really know why, just the way I have always done it. You would think that if I am too lazy to do something I love (#2) that I would definitely be too lazy to do something I don't really enjoy, but that's not the case.

6. I have a huge sweet tooth. It is a blessing that I get that sick feeling after having too much sugar, otherwise, I would eat sweets, breakfast, lunch and dinner and then be very ill and about 400 pounds.

7. I am not into sports. I wish I was, but never had interest as a kid. Then when I was older and had a little interest... all the other kids were so much better than I was that I never gave it a try. I would love to be more athletic, but as my husband so gently says it "I can't walk and chew bubble gum at the same time", I don't think I am really cut out for it.

So that's me in seven little points. I would love to hear what anyone else has to say about them, so... I tag anyone who reads this blog.

Big savings...

2008-10-27T12:58:00.003-06:00

The last two months I have been learning a lot from a friend of mine about saving money through coupons and tracking sales. I have been getting better and better at it. When I first started I was saving between 12% and 15 % just by hitting sales and with my couple coupons.

Now I am up to about 35% - 40% savings every week. My friend Amy saves between 70% and 90% every week. This is my goal, but I am still learning. Today I ran out to get a few things that I forgot to bring coupons for yesterday when I went grocery shopping. Above is what I got.

Toilet paper: sale $.99, coupon $.50 off, doubled means FREE

Energized batteries: sale 5 for $10 or $2 a piece. I had $1 off coupons and then there was an instant rebate sticker for $1 on each of them... FREE

Halls cough drops: sale 4 for $5 or $1.25 a piece. I had a coupon for $.50 off, doubled is $1 off. Total... $.25 each.

You still have to pay the sales tax on everything, but my total was $21.02 and I walked out paying $1.40. I am very excited!!!

what a mess!!

2008-10-27T12:55:00.002-06:00

This was Brooklynn's room after she thought she was "done" cleaning it! Nice try Sweetie!!

Here we come...

2008-10-25T08:24:00.003-06:00

Hawaii, here we come, that is!!

Jay and I are planning to go to Hawaii in just a couple weeks. I can't wait! He has a business trip down there for a whole week. I'm coming toward the end of his week and then we are staying for three more days after he is done working!! The only things we have to pay for is my airfare and two nights of hotel. Jay's company is covering the other nights and his airfare as well as a rental car, so it's a pretty cheap trip to Hawaii.

He gets to be there for 10 days... me, only 5, but I don't have to do any work while there!!

A few months after we were married we took a trip to Branson, Missouri. It was fun, but the next youngest people in the whole city were about 65! We haven't been on a trip/ vacation since then except to visit family. It's going to be great.

My parents are coming up to stay with the kids. Gotta love grandparents!! Thank you mom and dad... you will never know how much this means to us!

Introducing...

2008-10-20T13:10:00.004-06:00

Joel Robert Sippy
Born: Oct. 17,2008
8 lbs 7 oz

My sister, Julie, had her baby this weekend. Here are a few pictures. We are so excited for them.

Baby Joel

Kendall and Joel

First cousin picture!!

pumpkin patch

2008-10-17T12:58:00.004-06:00

This morning I took the kids to the pumpkin patch with my MOMS group. It was a lot of fun. They loved trying to get through the corn maze... which really was hard. It was 20 acres of corn!!
Anyway, here are a few pictures.

adoption

2008-10-15T08:20:00.002-06:00

For awhile now, Jay and I have been praying about adoption. We still don't know exactly where or when the Lord is leading, but we are trying to get educated and allow our hearts to be open to whatever He may have for us.

On November 22 we will be attending a meeting in Colorado Springs about adoption and the foster care system. Focus on the Family has a mission to unite the Colorado churches and provide homes to all the children in the foster system that are able to be adopted. What an amazing mission. We are called to take care of the orphans and widows. What an amazing example of Christ's love this would be!! I would hope that it would only be the beginning and that other states would follow. We have so many great families that could change these precious children's lives and offer them a future that they may never otherwise know.

Here is a link to the invitation to the event. I would encourage any of you who live in the area to pray about attending and passing the news along to others who may be interested.

http://www.icareaboutorphans.org/Default.aspx?Menu=8&Article=24

Please be in prayer for us as we are not sure this is what the Lord has for us right now... maybe, maybe not. We want to be open to wherever He leads. Pray that we will hear His voice clearly and know beyond a shadow of a doubt what He wants us to do.

our tree

2008-10-07T16:59:00.004-06:00

We had a huge tree in our backyard that we had taken down last week. We have a fairly small yard and it took up a lot of it. It was also having its roots come up all over the yard, making it hard to mow or even walk across the grass... so we decided to get rid of it. Here are a few pictures. It was neat to watch as the guy had to climb to the top and drop the limbs with rope. The girls loved watching!!
Before: Sorry, I don't know how to turn it, but this is from our deck which is on the second story.

All the mess down in our yard.

After. It looks so different... good in some ways, bad in others.

Kendall's new song...

2008-09-23T11:31:00.002-06:00

I heard Kendall singing a song and couldn't believe what I was hearing!

"Jesus, you're a monkey, Jesus, you're a monkey..." over and over again.

I asked her if she was really saying that and she confirmed that she was in fact calling our Savior a monkey.

Brooklynn then came up and explained that Kendall was trying to sing, "Jesus, you are my king, Jesus, you are my king."

That makes so much more sense!!

reunion

2008-09-21T20:26:00.004-06:00

Last night was my 10 year high school reunion. It was so much fun!! We met at the Warehouse restaurant downtown Colorado Springs to have dinner and were there for 5 hours. Everyone was talking and it wasn't awkward at all... I was a little nervous about that before hand. It was fun to see where everyone has been in the last 10 years and how they all have changed. Here are some pictures of the night...

Me and my hubby!!

Katie, Sarah, Andrea, Kris and me... good friends from high school. I still keep in touch with these girls.

Andrea, me, Kris, Amber, Sarah

Kris, Andrea, me

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-09-17T11:30:00.002-06:00

Today is my mom's birthday. We are planning to get together on Saturday since that is my birthday to celebrate together. Yes, I was her amazing birthday gift so many years ago!!
Anyway, Mom, I hope you have a great day today. I love you.

hair cuts

2008-09-17T11:19:00.005-06:00

We decided to get Brooklynn's hair cut. This was her first hair cut in all her life!! She looks so cute and I think she aged a couple years because of it! I love it!
Before:
After:
We did also get a trim on Kendall's hair but you cannot even tell at all.

heavy heart...

2008-09-16T17:20:00.002-06:00

You know those times when you feel the Lord is trying to lead you in some direction, but you aren't sure of it? That's where I am right now. There are no words... I struggle with knowing if it is truly God talking to my heart or me feeling certain things and thinking certain thoughts just because of influences in my life. I don't know if any of this is making sense... my heart is just heavy, feeling lead in a direction... a little confused... a little scared... a little excited... a little of everything.

Don't you wish God would just write his directions on the wall, or let a little book fall out of heaven that has step by step directions for your life... oh wait, he kind-of already did that. I guess I need to spend a little more time there! But you know what I mean, something that would make everything so clear, you wouldn't have to even think... I guess that would build no faith. It would just be easier though.

"Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. " James 1:2-5

So I guess my faith is being tested, I should be thankful for the perseverance that I am gaining. That is so much easier said than done...

Again, don't know that any of this makes any sense, I just had to get a little off my chest.

Our new niece!!

2008-09-12T07:22:00.003-06:00

Jay sister had her baby early this morning. They named her Addyson Mae. We are so excited for them especially as this is their first and they tried so hard to get pregnant. She was 8 lbs 12 oz. and 20 in. long. We love you already Addyson and can't wait to meet you!!

Brooklynn's first day of school...

2008-09-02T18:22:00.004-06:00

Today was Brooklynn's first day of preschool. She will be going three days a week. She was very excited about it and had a great time. She is extremely shy, and last year she barely even spoke to her teacher the whole year, so this year I asked her to make an effort to talk to her teacher and she said she did today! I was excited to hear that. I pray that she will make a good friend there. Here are a few pictures before her big day as well as some random ones from the day.

For those of you who don't know... Jay is addicted to video games... he is teaching his children young to have the same passion. They all have controllers in their laps!

I know....

2008-09-01T07:52:00.003-06:00

ok, I know I am going a little crazy with the blogs right now, but I just got some pictures that my parents took from last weekend when they had the kids. They took them to the North Pole, which for those of you who don't know this, is an amusement park for kids. I remember my mom taking me there all the time growing up. I have many great memories there. They have little kiddy rides, but they also have rides for bigger kids. Brooklynn and Kendall loved all the rides! I was very impressed that they went on the big ones. They had so much fun and haven't stopped talking about it. Here are a few pictures:

yes, I copied this idea...

2008-09-01T07:44:00.002-06:00

I read on a fellow blogger's site that she takes her kids out for a date and buys school supplies with them. I thought it was a great idea so... I copied it.
Brooklynn starts preschool tomorrow. This last Thursday was her open house at her school. She and I went to the open house and met her teacher and saw her classroom. She was very quiet and shy, but was very excited once we got back in the car and it was just me and her. We then went out for ice cream and then to Target to buy her supplies. It was very nice as we rarely have time for just us.

Happy birthday Kendall!!

2008-09-01T07:21:00.005-06:00

I can't believe my little girl is three years old! Her birthday was on Thursday, but we pretended it was on Friday. Does that make us terrible parents?! We were planning a little party on Friday for her and felt that she wasn't really old enough to understand that "your birthday is today, but we are celebrating tomorrow, so you don't get cake, your favorite meal or presents until then..." We just thought it easier to lie! We are terrible!!
(sorry I couldn't figure out how to rotate it!)

She had a great time. My parents and my sister and her husband came over. We stayed home and kept it small, but she loved having all the attention on her. Earlier in the week I had told her that I would make whatever she wanted for dinner that night and she chose mac and cheese. That was it. So we had that and we grilled burgers as I thought mac and cheese may not be enough for the rest of us!

For those of you who know my children... it is impossible to find pants that fit. She got three pairs of jeans and none of them fit! I need to return them all. I hate dressing my kids in the winter!! She did get many other nice presents though.

We had an ice-cream cake at her request. It was really yummy!

kids rooms

2008-08-25T10:08:00.004-06:00

My parents took Brooklynn and Kendall for the weekend. We decided to fix up their room while they were gone and surprise them. We worked really hard, but finished both rooms in two days... and Jay had a kidney stone during that time so we were at the hospital for a good portion of that. Here are some before and after photos.
Kendall's room before... we had already moved the furniture.
Kendall's room after. It's a light purple with monkey's on the walls. We have no idea why, but the girl loves monkeys!!

Brooklynn's room before.
Brooklynn's room after. She loves pink and there are a few decorations that say princess and stuff... she is our girly girl.

friday...

2008-08-15T12:25:00.002-06:00

This morning I took the girls on a field trip with my MOMS group to the fire station. It was fun to see the trucks up close and have the firefighters teach us about fire safety. The girls enjoyed it, but I was not able to get any really good pictures so I don't really have any to post.... sorry.

On the way home I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things I needed to make some banana bread this afternoon. Anyway, When we got in the store Kendall wanted to ride in one of the carts that looks like a car, but they were all being used. This was the start of the temper tantrum... about 5 feet inside the store. She started screaming and stomping her feet to I put her in the cart where she continued to scream as loud as she possibly could, through the store, in the check out line and all the way home. I was so embarrassed! I think this the the third time my children have ever acted out in public and it is so humiliating. To make matters worse, when I was trying to get the three kids and groceries loaded in the car, I accidentally pushed my alarm button on my key and my van was beeping loudly though the parking lot!! I drove away with my head down just praying no one would recognize me.

teaching my children to speak nice words...

2008-08-08T11:43:00.003-06:00

Today I heard Kendall saying "freakin" a lot. I don't know exactly where she got it from. So I had both her and Brooklynn come to me and I told them that we may hear some words from people around us, but there are some things that we don't say and explained to them that freakin was one of those words and that I did not want to hear it from them again.

Kendall says to me, " Satan says bad words like that, not Jesus and we want to be like Jesus so we don't talk like that... and we don't like Satan 'cause he is really bad and so we don't talk to him at all... we only talk to Jesus... he loves us and is good... so we don't talk like that or to Satan.... only to Jesus..."

This went on for about five minutes. She babbled about it for awhile until she was proud of herself and felt that she had gotten her point across about 50 times! Where they get this stuff is beyond me!!

zucchini bread

2008-08-06T16:24:00.004-06:00

Today I made zucchini bread. I love zucchini bread, but haven't made it since last summer. I decided to try something new today to see if the kids would like it. I added more zucchini than called for, added shredded carrots, used apple sauce instead of oil and put some ground flax seed in as well. It turned out really good and the kids love it. They treat it like it is cake and don't even realize that it has a lot of nutrition as well. Next time I think I am going to try it with whole wheat flour too. I think I am going to make a few loaves and freeze them for the winter months. This is how it turned out. Yummy!!

VBS

2008-08-01T13:00:00.003-06:00

Well, we just finished our week of VBS. Brooklynn went last year, but this was Kendall's first year. They both loved it! We started the week with about 400 kids and finished today with 547! It was crazy!! The girls learned many songs and games thoughout the week. We were able to get a CD of the songs sung this week and it is just so precious to hear them singing their hearts out in the car! One song yells "Hey, Jesus Loves Me!, Hey, Jesus Loves Me!" I look at Brooklynn who sings it as loud as she can and with as much passion that her little four year old voice can hold and it reminds me of the simple truth that Jesus loves me! I think about all the times I talk about Jesus' love with my children and wonder if I am portraying the same passion about it as they do to me. It seems that us as adults seem to focus on the larger issues and it is so important to be reminded of simple truths of God. So, that is what I learned, or was reminded of of today by my four year old! Jesus loves me!

blessed

2008-07-29T19:05:00.003-06:00

I am not sure why but tonight I am feeling very blessed. Nothing special happened today... nothing great or out of the ordinary, but in my heart I am feeling very content. The Lord has blessed me with so much that I take for granted most of the time.
There are days that I feel overwhelmed, but when I really look at it...

I am blessed.

I have three amazing children. They all have sweet spirits and already are having a longing to know Jesus more. They have all been healthy. Our greatest scare medically has been the flu or small scrapes.

I am blessed.

I have a great husband who supports and loves me even at my ugliest times. He understands my moods and how to deal with me. He encourages me every day and I never have to question his love for me.

I am blessed.

Most importantly, I have an amazing Heavenly Father who cares for me more than I will ever know. He has been leading me on a path for so many years and is now calling me into His presence in new ways. He is never changing, but shows new sides of Himself to me all the time. He is my comfort, my encourager, my passion, my love, my guidance and so much more. He brings so many blessings into my life and even though the hard times He is faithful to all His traits.

I am blessed.

missing my girl...

2008-07-26T16:29:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I don't understand myself... there are many days that I wish I could have a baby sitter take the kids for awhile, even just one of them, just so I could have a little break. This weekend my parents took Brooklynn camping. She just left this morning and will not be back until Monday. I cried a little as we left and I miss her like crazy. It has only been about six hours. How is this any different than if I were to have a sitter for the day. I know that wouldn't bother me. I know she is going to have so much fun. They are taking her hiking and fishing and she is so excited to sleep in a tent. I just miss her!! Am I crazy?

our puppy

2008-07-25T07:40:00.003-06:00

We decided to get our puppy shaved yesterday. He has longer hair and we wanted him to be a little cooler for the rest of the summer. He looks like a completely different dog! I couldn't believe it was him when I went to go pick him up.

Before:

After:

roller skating

2008-07-25T07:32:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I took the girls roller skating. It was the first time either of them had ever been and they loved it! The rink near our house does a pee-wee class on Thursday mornings so it was only for kids 2-6 years old which was very nice. I didn't have to worry about some big kids flying by them. They were a little nervous, but did great.

new sleeping bags

2008-07-23T16:30:00.003-06:00

We recently bought the girls new sleeping bags to use camping. They were having a blast playing in them. It was really funny to watch!!

boulder trip

2008-07-23T16:12:00.008-06:00

Last weekend we took a day trip to Boulder. Jay had never been there before and I had only been there once many years ago. We had a great time.

We ate at a little local bistro.

After lunch we tried to go to the Boulder Falls, but they were closed because they were fixing the railings. So we got as close as we could. The girls still loved to see the water.

That night the girls were extremely tired and this is how I found Kendall sleeping... in her closet!!

Over all we had a great day. It was Jay's last day off before having to return to work so we thought we should do something special.

walmart

2008-07-21T10:56:00.004-06:00

Today was Jay's first day back at work. It is a little adjustment since he has been at home for the last two months now. I think his day is going okay so far! My day has been a little different. I was a little ready for him to go back to work simply because when he is at home I get out of my routine and don't keep up with things around the house. I am anxious to get back in routine and feel like I am on top of things again.
This morning I took the kids to Walmart to do our grocery shopping. I usually take all three of them with me, but the last couple months I had Jay at home at all times and could leave them here, so it was like a new experience again. So here's how it went... Brooklynn and Kendall were very whiny, about half way though they both had to go to the bathroom. This is a very difficult task as I have to hold Morgann, help them on the potty and put my hand over the automatic flush sensor since they are both scared of it. All while trying to make sure that none of them are touching anything as I think public bathrooms are completely disgusting! So after that ordeal we go back to shopping. I was pushing the cart and somehow Kendall's foot gets under the wheel. It scratched all her toes and pulled part of a nail off. That's when the screaming began. She cried and cried. After a little bit I decided that I needed to get going as fast as I could as I could sense more meltdowns were coming my way. So I carried her the rest of the time in the store while pushing the cart. This is difficult to push with one hand when the cart is full and there is a one year old in the front who decided she is done. Morgann kept standing up in the seat in the front. I would have to stop to push her back down (with my one available hand) and then go again only to have her standing up again within a couple seconds. Oh the joys! Needless to say, we made it home alive and well. I miss my husband!! I may need to figure out a new plan for shopping from now on!!

These last few weeks...

2008-07-14T08:00:00.007-06:00

So I know I have been slacking on this whole blog thing. These past couple weeks have been crazy. June 28th was Morgann's first birthday. I can't believe she is one already. I don't know where the time goes. I think each kid goes faster than the last! We had a little party at our house with some friends and family. It was nice and she really enjoyed her cake!!
The next day we left to go to a family reunion in Ohio. We were there for a week and had a great time. The kids went swimming all week long. Brooklynn and Kendall have spent very little time in water so they were a little timid at the beginning of the week, but by the end they were jumping off the diving board all by themselves!! It was so fun to see them enjoying it and we look forward to swimming more here now.

This is Brooklynn (far right), Kendall (middle), and Kaiden (cousin) playing in the water.

On the fourth of July my Aunt in Wisconsin went to check on my Grandpa and found him laying the garage. He had passed away. We think he died on Thursday the 3rd and was there for almost 24 hours before being found. It was really sad. We were still in Ohio when this happened so I flew home that Sunday night with my family and then the next morning Morgann and I flew out again to go to Wisconsin. This was last week. We were there for a few days and went to the funeral. It was a very sad time, but also a nice time to see family that I haven't seen in many years. My Grandpa's funeral was at the most amazing church.

Here are some pictures of my extended family. I hadn't seen most of these people in about 7 years.

t-ball

2008-06-21T08:21:00.003-06:00

Brooklynn started t-ball last night! It was fun to see her interact with the other kids. I can't believe how big she is... even though she was one of the smallest on her team! She loved batting and running the bases. It was really cold and windy last night, but she loved it anyway and is excited for next week.

summer times

2008-06-20T14:47:00.004-06:00

I am so excited that summer if finally here... and I love it here in Colorado where the heat is good. While we were in Missouri we learned to manage the high heat with the high humidity... not so fun!

This week I took the girls to the Denver Zoo with a friend of mine from our church and her kids. They had a great time. My friend has a daughter who is Brooklynn's age and a son who is a little younger than Kendall so they all played well together. It was great to get out with another mom. I have been praying for a long time that the Lord would bring me a good friend... one with whom I can bond with, be honest with, grow in the Lord with and grow as a wife, mom and a woman with. I am so excited for this friendship and pray that it will continue to grow more and more!!

Brooklynn is starting t-ball tonight!! I just can't believe that she is old enough to be playing team sports already. Where does the time go? We are so excited for tonight. It will be so fun, and probably quite funny, to see four year olds learning the game! I think she is a little nervous as she if very shy and this is going to put her out of her comfort zone, but we have been practicing at home for the last couple weeks and I know she is enjoying the game. It will be interesting to see how she does!

Next week we are traveling to Ohio for a family reunion. I am very nervous for the travel days as I will have three kids, three car seats, three suitcases, a stroller, carry-on bags and I am sure much more to deal with pretty much on my own. Jay will be there, but he will be in his wheel chair. Once we are there in Ohio I think it will be ok since we will have others there who are able to help a little, but those travel days are going to be very hard. I am praying for sanity on those days!!

Fun time: potty training!!

2008-06-16T18:53:00.003-06:00

Oh the joys of being a mom... I am trying to potty train my two year old. She gets to wear panties when we are at home. Well, today I had just cleaned the bathroom when she told me she went poopy and pee in her pants, which was now all the way down her legs... she went in the bathroom, took off her pants, dropped everything on my clean floor and then made a mess on the toilet seat as well. So needless to say, I had to clean her and re-clean the bathroom! If you all don't know, I HATE potty training!!! I hated it with my first and now I am hating it again!

My first post

2008-06-15T14:32:00.000-06:00

I have been "spying" on a few of my friends through their blogs and finally decided to take it on myself. I have to admit that I am terrible at journaling so we will have to see how this goes!

For those of you who don't know my family well, I will try to catch you up a little. Jay and I have been married for five years. We were married in Colorado Springs, where we lived for the first year and a half of our marriage. During that time we had our first daughter, Brooklynn Grace who is now four. In August of 2004 we moved to Missouri as Jay was in the Air Force and that is where they stationed him. We lived there until November of 2007. While we were there we had two more daughters, Kendall Rose, who is going on three, and Morgann Leigh who is almost one. Life with three little girls is a lot of fun, can be very loud and very rarely dull!! In November of 2007 Jay decided to get out of the Air Force and we moved to the Denver area. We are enjoying be back "home" and look forward to being here for a long time... Lord willing.

Life lately has been a little hectic. As many of you know, Jay was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle almost a month ago. It was so scary, but he is doing ok. He was wearing his helmet... thank God, but he did have some injuries. He tore his LCL in his left knee, which he has since had surgery on, had a small fracture on his right ankle and had a bunch of road rash over most of his body. Even though it has been difficult to deal with these injuries we know that it could have been much worse and are thankful that he is alive. Needless to say, he will not be riding motorcycles ever again!! So... he has been home for the last month, laying down and doing nothing. It is really beginning to get to him. Hopefully he will begin to feel better soon.

Well, I guess that is it for now. I really am going to try to use this on a regular basis... some of you may need to nag me if I start slacking!!