Ren's First School Party

Since Ren's preschool gets out on the 14th we celebrated her birthday this last Thursday. Since the color of the month is green, we brought green frosted cookies (Yeah, Misty the good ones :) and yogurt raisins (ren's fav) on zoo pal plates. The kids were so cute and their little conversations were absolutely hilarious. Ren got a cute crown and had her picture taken and put on her special birthday certificate. It was so much fun!

My Surprise!

Doug was #2 in the nation for the Cervical Task team he is on so he got the new Apple iphone, which he gave to ME. I know I am spoiled! It is the coolest thing ever especially when it is FREE! Doug is on a phone plan that he has been on for like 5 years and as long as he doesn't renew his plan he will have it forever. It is $99 unlimited...Doug talks on the phone a lot so it is worth it!

San Francisco Trip

I am so spoiled! Doug's company party was in SF this year and since Doug was up in SF for a meeting starting Wednesday (last week of Nov.) I came up and joined him Thursday night. My amazing parents watched the kiddos for us (Thanks Mom and Dad) and Doug and I got to spend some much needed quality time together. Friday, Doug was in a meeting all day so I slept in, walked around Union Square and read a book. It was so relaxing. We had dinner Friday night at the Cheesecake Factory and then spent all day Saturday hanging out. His Christmas party was that night and was a fun way to end the vacation. Doug had a surprise for me Friday when he got back from his meeting...

Christmas is 29 days away...

O.k. so it is coming fast and I really want my kids to know the true meaning of Christmas. I found this awesome daily activity on a website that I frequently visit called sugardoodle.net Here is the link to go directly to the page:http://www.sugardoodle.net/Christmas/Christmas%20Symbols.shtml You can totally motify it to what you think would work best in your family. I am excited to get it started. (pic by fensterbme)

For all the busy Mommies

Yeah, I know like there is another option than a busy mommy :) I found this awesome website that has lots of time saving templates that you can download and print, plus lots of cute ideas for kids. http://www.momready.com

Thank you Veterans...DAD!

Today is a day we should all be thinking of and thanking those who have fought for the freedom we so preciously hold. We are forever indebted to the many men and women who have fought and continue to fight for our freedom. My dad served in the United States Army and was in the Viet Nam war. What many people don't know is that the visions of war and unexplainable circumstances are in the minds of many vets on a daily basis. So, even if someone you know has been home from war for a short time or years and years the time they were in war is still very real, which is even more reason to thank a vet today. To my daddy, I love you more than words could ever express. I am honored to have you as my dad. You have taught me so much: humility, generosity, work ethic, and above all how to love unconditionally. I love you more, mostest!!!

Introducing Heartfelt Blessings

After months of thouhght of how I can do more simple kind things for others on a regular basis I came up with, HEARTFELT BLESSINGS. Check out my Heartfelt Blessings blog by clicking it on the right or visiting: www.hfblessings.blogspot.com

Pocketful of Treasures Design Team

Well, it is official! I am part of this year's Pocketful of Treasures (scrapbook store) Design Team. I submitted my work last year, but didn't get chosen, so I thought I would try again this year and I did it! I am going to pick up my submissions tomorrow so I will have to take a pic of my work and share the pics. My first meeting is on Monday. I am really excited about this opportunity! pic by bookalooka

Am I Doing Enough?

Lately, I have definitely been feeling the pressure of parenting. It is almost as though I am a single mommy with Dougie working so much. I feel like I can't catch up and my kids are the ones sacrificing...Mommy is definitely not as patient. The only thing that keeps me going is prayer. I have been trying to be more prayerful throughout my day. How wonderful it is to have Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ on my side :) pic by: cobalt123

Ren's Parade

Ren's school had a parade at school where they walked around so all the parents could see the cute costumes. They were all soooo cute! That day they went classroom to classroom to trick-or-treat for their snack. Ren's friend Kylie was scooby-doo. Ren is always talking about Lillie and Allison. Lillie is the cute pumpkin fairy and Allison is Supergirl. Too cute!

Happy Halloween

The Grebau's invited us over to go trick-or-treating. It was so much fun! The kids got TONS of candy! A lot of houses gave FULL SIZE candy bars....WOW! Landen was getting tired by the end of the night, so he decided to pop-a-squat on someone's walkway and have some candy. Ren loved running house to house...she did pretty good in those Minnie Mouse heels. We had a fun night...Thanks KC and Scott!

Fall Festival

After going to Dylan's game Friday night and spending the night up north we came home to go to the Fall Festival at church. It was so much fun. I really wish we had more things like this at church. We got to chat with people that we usually don't get a chance to on Sundays. The kiddos LOVED the fishing game and enjoyed trunkoor-treating with Daddy.

She Did It!!

Well, I would have bet money that my sweet Ren wasn't going to be cheering with the rest of the girls on Friday night, but she surprised me. She actually went out there...poor Brittany is soooo sweet to have put up with her running around in circles, kicking dirt, and playing with the pom poms :) Serenity had a lot of fun and looked so cute.

Not too SURE!

This week has been a week of rushing and trying to catch our breaths. Serenity said she wanted to participate in this cheerleading clinic with our nephew's (the one we go watch play football every weekend) girlfriend. So practice was Monday and Wednesday night and then they will perform at the game tomorrow night. However, our sweet, but sassy Serenity will probably be watching the girls from the sideline. She says she wants to do it, but then she goes out there and looks like she is absolutely terrified...oh well...it was a donation to the cheerleaders. :) We have been practicing so we will see. We will just have to watch Isabella bust a move.

Where to begin...

I know everyone has felt like this one time or another...or feel this way all the time :) I have so many different "projects" going on I don't know where to begin. There are some that I am really excited about and want to do, but others take precident due to time constraints. I end up stressing about what to do and not doing any of them because I try to do a little something for everything...so TODAY it STOPS. I am making a list of everything I need/want to do and then prioritizing in order of importance/when it HAS to be done.
Here is my list in no particular order YET:

Bills/filing in order
Finish my book
Reunion meeting samples/examples/questions
Heartfelt Blessings - I am starting a Scrapbook Club (very excited what I really want to work on :)
Ren's b-day party reservations
Clean Van
Halloween Costumes (make sure I have everything)
Thank You's
Clean Garage (least favorite thing on the list)
Christmas Gift list
Take a Family Picture
Order Landen's pictures
Design Team Entry

Now the hard part...putting them in order of importance! Wish me luck!
(pic by The Shane H)

Don't Go Mommy

Here are the kiddos blocking my way out the door the other day. Daddy was home in the morning so I tried to get some errands done with the little ones. It was too cute. Serenity started it and then Landen thought it looked like a good idea.

Dylan

Poor Dylan hurt his neck at the last football game. Doug and I stayed with him at the hospital until 2am and then took him home. His neck ended up being o.k., but we found out that he had broken his clavical while lifting weights a few weeks back. Poor Dylan...

Shhh....it's a SURPRISE!

I had the privledge of throwing a SURPRISE party for one of bestest friends in the whole wide world, MISTY! It was so much fun to plan and I think we all had a super FUN time. We did a photo scavenger hunt where everything had to do with things about MIsty...We had two teams. Example of one of the things we had to do: Each team member had to go to a store and wrap themselves in a towel and then take a picture with bubble bath. Then each team had to buy a bubble bath to give to Misty. Each team member had to be in the picture which meant you had to find some random person in the store to take a picture of your team. Misty loves to take baths. Then we got the pics developed in 1 hour photo while we had lunch at one of Misty's favorite resturants. Once we got back to the house each team member scrapbooked their pictures on 8 x 8 paper. I took a picture of Misty with each guest and then each guest got an 8 x 8 paper to decorate and write a message to Misty. By the end of the night Misty had an (almost) completed album of her 30th birthday! Misty is always doing things for others I thought it was time for her to enjoy people doing things for her!

FOOTBALL

We are definitely a family that LOVES football and our nephew Dylan (not in that order of course :) We travel 2 hours every Friday to watch Dylan play Varsity football for East Union in Manteca. We love hanging out in the stands with the other 20+ family members that come to support Dyl each week!

Ren's School Stuff

It has taken Ren a little while to warm up to the idea of school, but she is finally getting the hang of it. Here is a picture of her on pajama day and two of her projects that she has brought home!

Landen Turns TWO!

On Sept. 6 Landen-poo turned two and we just had our little family celebrate at Red Robin and at home! Since our nephew, Chase, was born three days after Landen we decided to do a joint party. It was a lot of fun...I think Landen and Chase had a great time!

It has been awhile...

Well my blogging has definitely taken a place on the back burner for a couple of months. To get you up to speed I am just going to post a couple of pics for each thing I want to share with a quick sentence or two :)

Landen's First Haircut

Well, I was really nervous, but poor Landen could barely see so we took him for his first haircut. He was soooo good! He watched Elmo and drove the fire truck...he didn't even know what was going on. About half way through he said, "All done!" So we busted out the bubbles and he was distracted for the rest of the time. He can see now and still has curls. My little boy is growing up!

My 2 Fish

Well it is definitely SUMMER here in the valley. We bought a cheap plastic pool, put our swing set slide in it, and VOALA...instant fun and the feeling of coolness! Everyday (except Sundays) after nap the kidos get their swimsuits on and lathered up in sunscreen and head out to the pool. They have so much fun and it seriously keeps them entertained for most of the afternoon.

Overwhelmed MUCH?!?!?!

This is both a question and an exclamation that has been running through my head the past month. I am one that does not believe in self-pity at least not for more than 5 minutes...I just know that there are so many people out there that have it a heck of a lot worse than I do. We are all given challenges and trials in life....Before beginning to tell me how crazy her life is, my friend Cindy always says, "Hell-o, I know I don't even have kids and you have two...I can't even imagine...like I should be complaining." And what I always say to her is..."Hey, we all have "things" going on." So this blog entry is more of a diary entry...something I just need to express into words to hopfully get things into perspective for me. And I can type a heck of a lot faster than I can write.

No doubt, I am thrilled to be home after traveling out of state and out of town for two 4 day excursions. The trips were definitely fun and life improving expereinces, but it feels so good to be home. I really like living in Fresno, but I really feel like we aren't a part of anything here. I know we are out of town often...but really, recently we have MIA because the kidos were so sick for what seemed to be forever. Yeah, we have our ward, but it seems as though if we are not going every Sunday, we fall off the radar. We were invited to a get together tonight, but Mr. Dougie didn't get home from work until close to 9pm so I decided not to go. Some people probably think we are flakes, don't want to go, or what have you, but the truth is...I do not have the strength or the patience at the end of the day to go out to a get together with the kidos by myself. Sometimes I feel lazy, but after having an appointment with a behavioral doctor for Ren, I think I am entitled to the feeling of overwhelmness...a new word-I just made up. :)

So quick run down of my sweet Serenity. She will be getting assessed by some more doctors...there are some definite concerns, but nothing that we can't handle! We don't know any specifics yet...once she is assessed further we will know more. It was such a relief to have a doctor actually say that there was some "concerns". Obviously, I don't want either of my kids to have "concerns", but it gets a little troubling when everyone around says, "Oh, she is fine, or don't worry she is just a kid...it makes me start to wonder, "what the heck is wrong with me." The doctor did say she is extemely bright and a very happy girl. We will just be learning some ways to help Ren handle her frustrations! :) I know that since we have been reading from the New Testament as a family every night our family has been blessed with more patience and love towards one another.

So, I think it is time to call it a night. As always, I never want to hurt anyone's feelings or offend anyone. This is just a way of expressing my feelings and it has helped tremendoulsy. I have a lot going on right now emotionally and mentally...more than most people know...and proabably more than I know or thought. I know we (our family) just need to continue following Heavenly Father's plan and all will be fabuloso! :)

Just got back from DETROIT for my business trip with ACN. It was AWESOME!! Nothing could have prepared me for the wealth of information I would receive. It was well worth the trip. I learned a lot about Bricey and enjoyed spending time with Misty away from the kidos and hubbies. Now I am off to Anaheim for 4 days for CKU...scrapbook university!!! I will miss my kidos and Dougie, but I am looking forward to scrapbooking and learning lots of new things.

From A to Z

A- age: 28
B- bed size: queen
C- Chore you hate: laundry!
D- Dessert you love: Brownie Sundae from Applebees
E- Essential start of your day: Landen yelling "MA-MA!" and Ren saying "Good Morning Mommy. Did you have good sleeps!"
F- Favorite musical artist: Tim McGraw
G- Gold or Silver: Silver
H- Have to Have: my computer and cell phone
I- Instruments you play: Natha
J- Job title: Domestic Engineer and Telecommunications Rep.
K- Kids: 2; Serenity (3.5 years old) and Landen (20 months old)
L- Living arrangements: Dougie, Serenity, Landen and Me along with the two kitty cats Jax and Jossie
M- Most favorite month: Don't really have one. It changes each year. This year I would say June because I get to go to Detroit for my Telecommunications company and to CKU with Misty!
N- Nickname: Heath (my close friends), Babe (Dougie), Toot (My Daddy)
O- Ordered last on the internet: Gymboree clothes from Ebay
P- Phobia: Floppy Sockobia
Q- Quote: Our lives are the only meaningful expression of what we believe and in Whom we believe. And the only real wealth, for any of us, lies in our faith.”
R- Right or Left handed: Right
S- Siblings: 1 Matthew (23 in 6 days)
T- Traffic tickets you've received: 1 - a CHP pulled on the freeway inbetween me & another car then he got behind me and pulled me over for tailgating him. The worse part was after being at the hospital for 48 hours straight I went home to take a shower and was heading back up to see if my mom was going to pull through...thankfully she did!
U- Unique Talent: Natha
V- Veggie you hate: Too many to list...
W- Worst habit: Biting my fingernails
X- What body part would you Xerox?: My bum...with clothes on of course.
Y- Yummy food you make: Muddy Buddies...Teryaki Chicken wings
Z- Zodiac sign: Pisces

10 years ago...

I know I am crazy...I along with two other fellow classmates are planning our 10 year reunion!! HUGE task!!! We graduated with 600 people...I am excited, but a little stressed because there is a lot to do in a very short time.

FUNny Faces

Scatergories

Heather

Famous Singer:
4 letter word: Home
Street Name: Heatherglen
Color: Hot Pink
Gift/Present: Hermonica
Vehicle: Honda
Things in a Souviner Shop: Hats
Boy Name: Hank
Girl Name: Hannah
Movie Title: Happy Feet
Drink: Herbal Tea
Occupation: Hygenist
Flower: Hybiscuss
Celebrity: Heidi Klum
U.S. City: Hollywood
Pro Sports Team: Huston Texans
Fruit: Honeydew
Reason for being late to work: Highway Traffic
Something you throw away: Hershey candy bar wrapper
Things you Shout: Ho! Ho! Ho! (Do I get three points for that?)
Cartoon Character: Hagar the Horrible (2 points)

7 Random Things to Know About Me

Let the Randomness begin....

1. Everything has it's place!
I don't know if you would call it random or OCD, but once my house is picked up and cleaned I go around to make sure everthing is in place. It could mean centering something or moving something 1/4" so it is in its "proper" place. The good news is, everything doesn't have to be perfect all the time!

2.I BUST a move a least once a day!
After 12 years of ballet, tap, and jazz, and 8 years of cheerleading it is bound to happen. My favorite is the flower corp. ballet number from the Nutcracker...I can seriously remember most of the dance...I was in the flower corp for 5 years and we didn't change much of the dance. I can also bust out the Peace dance that I learned at Cheer Camp my freshman year in high school. My high school friends can attest to the countless times we performed this dance.

3. I LOVE school supplies...too.
Misty listed this as one of her random things too. It must be the teacher in us. I love office supplies and especially school stuff. In fact, every year the Christian radio station in Fresno does a back to school little thing where you buy a backpack and load it up with new school supplies and then donate it and it will go to those students who can't afford school supplies. This seriously helps me not buy un-needed school supplies for myself. I can buy for those who really need it!

4. I LOVE to Color!
Come on (Misty) I know you like it too! In fact, Misty, do you remember when I was living at Grammie's house and you and Danny would come over to hang out with me and Doug and you and I would color while the boys played video games. I think I still have our pictures somewhere. I could color all day. Ren and I have fun sitting down and coloring a picture from one of her bazillion coloring books.

5. I use to wear socks in the swimming pool.
Thanks to heredity and dance I have a bunion the size of Texas on my left foot. I was so self consious about the way my foot looked that I would always wear socks....no sandals....at some swim parties I remember wearing socks in the pool. I don't know if someone said something at one time and then I was forever more traumatized or what. Dancing on pointe for 4 years made it worse. I am better now, but still not comfortable...I don't want people staring at my feet thinking...GROSS! Hopefully I will get surgery to correct it soon!

6. I like to add endings to names and words.
The Volster (my mother-in-law), The Lesanator (my father-in-law), friendilious (from my blog), and many more. I don't know why I do it, but I do. So far, the Volster is the one that has stuck the most out of any of my made up words. I even have her in my cell phone as the Volster.

7. I am a doodler.
I doodle all the time...especially when I am on the phone. And when people are asking me info. on the phone like for a phone number or address...I write it down, even if it is my own address. I cannot not doodle!

I am SICK to my STOMACH

Our van got broken into on Monday night while we were shopping at Costco. I thought they only took a few things, but as I am getting packed for Disneyland, I realize they have taken a lot more. Including our video camera with priceless and precious family videos which include Landen and Serenity's birth, birthdays, holidays, and the list goes on. I have cried and now I am just sick to my stomach. Why do people have to be so heartless? I am going to put a reward in the paper for the return of the videos....I don't care about anything else. I know it is probably a long shot, but it will make me feel a little better.

We spent Easter at Papa and Rassie's house. Serenity and Landen loved what the Easter Bunny brought them and LOVED hunting for eggs. Uncle Matt hid eggs under the car and of course Landen had to climb under to get them. Landen did NOT like the hard boiled eggs...he would throw them down on the ground. He liked the plastic eggs...smart kid...the plastic ones had money in them.

Serenity and Landen really liked coloring eggs. Ren did such a good job. Landen was more interested in the thing you use to dip the eggs than the actual coloring of eggs.

ZOOOOOO

We went to the zoo with Hannah, Hannah's Mommy, and Baby Ella. The kids had so much fun together. It was such a beautiful day. We bought our zoo pass so we will definitely be going more often. Landen liked roaring at the tiger and Ren and Hannah loved running around more than looking at the animals.

On the Ranch

Papa took Landen around on the back of the lawn mower to see all the animals at Rob's house. The kids loved playing in the HUGE puddle in the drive-way.

Friends

Here are Cindy and Deborah! Thanks for taking me to lunch. I had a really fun time even though the kidos were a little CRAZY!

Happy Birthday to ME!

I had a really good birthday. On Saturday, Doug took me to PF Chang's. On Sunday, we went to church where the primary sang me Happy Birthday (soooo sweet), then my parents and brother brought me lunch and cake (YUMMY)! On Monday, two of my bestest friends came down to take me to lunch and shopping. I am definitely spoiled...and loving it!!

CKU...WoooWhooo!

After a lot of agonizing stress and worry I am an official CKU student. In June I will be heading to Anaheim where I will be scrapping for 4 days and 3 nights. What is even better is I will be with my friend/sister-in-law Misty, and other friends Lori and Brooke. I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Even though I have every craft book and teacher book in the world I still have a difficult time finding things for both Landen and Serenity to do. I read them The Very Hungry Caterpillar and then let them paint and make their own caterpillar out of an egg carton. They loved it and were so proud of their little critter.

That same night...Daddy put Serenity's ladybug tent together. The kids love it...Mom isn't real thrilled that it takes up the entire living room, but it will be o.k. for a little while.

Happy Birthday Great Grammie!

Great Grammie and Rassie came over so we could celebrate Grammie's birthday. We had lots of fun hanging out together.

Here is a picture of us at CBS after attending the PRICE IS RIGHT. Jason is the guy on the far right...he actually got to Come On Down...March 29th is the day it will be aired. Can't wait!!!!

Our morning didn't start out too well. We got a flat tire 10 minutes out of Bakersfield. Thankfully, Misty's brother came to our rescue and we made it on time!!!

MY Visual DNA

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The Happiest Place on Earth

I've been putting off a vacation to Disneyland because the kids are so young, but after the past week of Misty finding out all the bad news about her dad I booked the vacation. My parents and brother will be joining us in April on our journey to the Happiest Place on Earth! I can't wait!

Forgiveness

I am speaking in church on Sunday and my topic is forgiveness. A topic that is near and dear to my heart because of something that happened in my life. I really want to share my testimony of forgiveness because it is such an amazing one, but it has to do with such a hard thing in my life that I don't know what to do. I know that the spirit will guide and direct me on what to say...at least that is what I have been praying for since the day I was asked to speak!

When It Rains It Poors...

My super duper friend Misty, who also happens to be my sister-in-law, is definitely getting soaked!!!! She just found out that her Daddy's cancer has gotten A LOT worse. He just came home from the hospital today and they have called hospice. She is extremely close with her Daddy and I can ONLY IMAGINE what she is going through. Today her daughter, who is 3, starting throwing-up, hence the pouring!!!! Misty is such a strong and amazing woman. She is going through so much and yet I received a thank you note from her in the mail today! Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family. Every night Ren prays that Izzy's Papa feels better...we do too! Love you guys!!!

Come on Down!

Yes I did hear those words...not for me, but for Jason Casper (a friend)!!! It was so AWESOME!!! What an experience and one I will remember for the rest of my life. The show will air on March 29th!!! What is even more amazing is that the Today show was there doing a story on the show and Bob Barker since he is retiring. So that will be airing sometime after the 29th. Can't Wait!!! I will post pictures soon!

Friends

Serenity loves when Hannah comes over to play. Hannah's mommy just had a baby so we had Hannah over on Monday. They had fun coloring and playing together. Landen had fun too!

Tomorrow is the DAY!!!

I will be heading to the Price Is Right tomorrow...actually my journey begins tonight. I am going to stay with Misty at her parents' house. Her parents' are sooooo nice to let me stay...Thanks so much! I can't wait until tomorrow. It seems so far away. I am extremely excited! Wish us luck!

Crazy Cousins

This weekend we were lucky enough to have Izzy, Chase, and Misty come visit. The kidos had soooo much fun together. They were really good all night. Ren and Izzy stayed up until 11:30pm playing and watching the Grinch and Shrek. Izzy, Chase, Ren and Landen had a lot of fun dancing to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse CD. We can't wait to play together again!! We miss yo already.