Laura's Little Corner of the World

Riding a 2 wheeler!

2009-03-28T15:36:00.003-05:00

My dad sent Jordan money for her birthday (and Christmas--he just mailed it 3 months late:) We went to Walmart last night and got her a new bike. We had left her little bike with training wheels back in Idaho for her little cousin. Today after about 2 hours of practice in a parking lot down the street, and LOTS of tears she can now basically ride the bike. She still has to figure out the brakes though. For now she just puts her feet down and crashes the bike to stop :)

She's still a little wobbly on the stearing

I'm a big girl mom

Change of Heart

2009-03-08T10:20:00.003-05:00

We have been having some major behavior issues with Jordan again. So for now our plans to homeschool are off. I don't think I can handle dealing with her behavior and trying to get her to learn something. This last week I took all of her toys out of her room and she has to earn them back. I did leave her books and coloring books and I have to see she has taken up reading more. She earned her computer time back on Friday and some TV time back yesterday. She does not have the TV back in her room though.
I'm saddened by the decision not to homeschool but also feel some relief because I have been so stressed out over her behavior lately. I checked out some parenting and discipline books out at the library yesterday. I'm hoping they will help me too. I'm still keeping our subscription to Time4Learning.com for now because it really is a good educational site and Jordan enjoys it. I'm hoping we can just do some fun educational things for enrichment. She is on a 2 week break from school now so we have alot of fun stuff going on for a few weeks now.
Her 7th birthday is at the end of this month and we are trying to decide what to do about her party. We can not have the party here. For one thing this house is in too bad of shape for me to even think about having people over. Plus we don't have a table or anywhere for the kids to sit and eat cake. I wish the weather was more predicatable and we could plan to go to the park or something but it always seems to rain on her birthday so we are thinking of the ice skating rink, the roller skating rink or Burger King (they have a playland). I just need to check on prices. I think she will only invite 2 or 3 friends. My mom will be in town the weekend before her actual birthday so we will celebrate it then.

4-H and sports

2009-02-17T21:35:00.004-06:00

Jordan will be joining 4-H this weekend. They are having a kick off party at the YMCA to start the 4-H year (which runs Feb.-Nov.). She will actually be in Clover Buds which is 4-H for kids 5-8 years old.

We are also signing her up for spring soccer, swimming lessons and gymnastics next week. I found out the spring soccer is alot like the indoor soccer she is in now. There are no practices and they just play for 1 hour each Saturday. I guess she will get her exercise if nothing else. We are hoping to get her into the Thursday evening swim lessons and the Tuesday evening gymnastics. Add to that her AWANA on Wednesdays and we will have a very full week! Her 4-H will be on weekends but they don't have a set schedule right now.

Soccer

2009-02-16T19:22:00.006-06:00

Jordan is on an indoor soccer team at the YMCA. It's a very unorganized group but oh well. They play on Sundays from 2:30-3:00. There's no scores kept but there's also no coaching. It's just disorganized chaos. The kids are divided into 2 teams and just run around in 1/2 the gym. Jordan seems to have fun with it though. here are a few pics from this last weekend.

Jordan going after the ball

Tossing the ball back in one of the few times the "ref" called it out of bounds. They don't hardly have any bounds. It's more like when the ball gets into the bleachers it's out of bounds.

My big girl!

2009-01-24T11:46:00.002-06:00

I stayed up late last night working on homeschool stuff and was hoping I would get to sleep in. Jim woke me up at 5:45 because he couldn't find his car keys. I went back to sleep after he left and didn't wake up until 9:50! I heard the TV on downstairs and thought Jim had come home early from work. I got downstairs and Jordie had the TV on her cartoons, was playing a game on the computer, had let Jesse out of his kennel (which she normally never does) and had eatten breakfast! Normally she would wake me up and whine about being hungry, want me to turn the TV on for her (it's cable so she has to turn the TV and the cable box on) and find a cartoon channel. She knows how to turn the computer on herself but I was surprised that she had done it. I asked her what she ate for breakfast and she said the rest of her oranges. Now granted that was about 3/4 of a can of mandarin oranges so she will probably be pooping all day but the point is she had done all of this on her own, without waking me up and whining. I praised her profusely and am hoping she will continue to be more independant now.

We had a lazy moring and now it's after 12 and I told her we need to get moving and get the house cleaned up. After the cleaning is done we are going to work on our map of Alaska. We are doing a homeschool project of following the Iditarod this year. There's a whole email group/website set up for this. We are really looking forward to it.

Another Long Overdue Update

2009-01-11T07:14:00.010-06:00

Get ready to read a novel.......

Ok, I know I have been awful about keeping this blog updated. I just looked and it's been over a month since I posted anything. I have been on the computer every night but not on here. We have decided to homeschool for second grade and I have spent practically every waking moment online researching for it. UGGH! It's become an obsession I think. We are not going to follow any specific set curriculum but are doing unit studies and lapbooks. We are also using Time 4 Learning (online curriculum). I'm still in the research phase and still seem to find all kinds of new info each day. I did order a science text book and workbook and will possibly do the same for social studies. I will use these more as guides for what to study. I will be getting a math book because I'm lost when it comes to what math she should be working on. When I talked with Jordan about what she wanted to study next year almost everything she named off had to do with animals or nature (is she my daugher or what???). I found a great blogspot blog that does what they call the Outdoor Hour Challenge. http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/ It's not really an hour but an activity you do each week outdoors with your children. If goes along with an old reference book by Anna Comstock called the Handbook of Nature Study. We are looking forward to adding this to our daily/weekly curriculum.

Jordan is really excited about homeschooling. Her cousin Parker has been homeschooled for 2 years now. They spent a week and half together at Grandma's over Christmas and Jordan was so happy that she did "Parker's 2nd grade work" with him while she was there. After Christmas we did a short mini unit on Polar Bears and made a lapbook about it. I have found a great website that gives you lots of templates for lapbooks and reasearch ideas too. The Enchanted Learning and Homeschool Share websites will be our God Send for alot of this.

Front of lapbook (got picture of polar bear from work and typed title out )

Inside of lapbook. We got templates from Enchanted Learning and Homeschool Share websites. We took a "field trip" to the Omaha Zoo and took the pictures

Back of lapbook. Picture report on Polar Bears in a pocket.

Right inside of book lists names of "family" Male=Boar, Female= Sow, Baby= Cub

Polar Bear Diet Shape book. Inside she cut and pasted info about a polar bear's diet.

Book about polar bears. We learned alot about polar bears just from this mini weekend unit. Did you know polar bears fur is actually clear and drinking straw like? How about that polar bears don't drink water?

Right side of lapbook. A polar bear maze, a picture (we took at our zoo) and a "T-book" about where you can find polar bears.

OK, now that I've updated you on our homeschool adventure let's see what else I can tell you about....

Christmas- We spent Christmas eve and Christmas day evenings at Jim's parent's house with James. It was a nice time. We had our traditional syster stew and sloppy joes dinner and then opened presents with them on Christmas eve. We did our own family Christmas with Jordan on Christmas morning (at 5am because Jim had to work) and then went back to his parent's house that evening for duck dinner. I realized I didn't really take that many pictures this Christmas

Jordan with her one present she got to open at home on Christmas Eve. It's her Mariposa Barbie from my mom

Jim reading the story of Jesus' birth
James and Jordan

James in his Packer's coat he got from Grandma

Jordan on Christmas morning

Jim on Christmas with his key finder keychain which doesn't work right so I still have to help him find his keys all the time :)

Jesse with his new toys

Riley with his new toys

Our kitten Nala. I don't think I posted about when we got her. We got her the day after Thanksgiving. Jordan and I went to the pet store just to look around and fell in love with her. Jim wasn't too happy at the time but has since fallen in love with her.

Courtney came down after Christmas but was only here for a day because of a big family blow up that has since been rectified. We were glad to be able to see her though. Victoria and Chad are here from Florida visiting. They are staying with Grandma and Grandpa Leland. It was nice to finally be able to meet our son-in-law. I took all the kids out to dinner at the buffet with a gift certificate we got from my mom and Norm. Let me tell you James and Chad are a couple of goof balls (just kidding guys). You would think they've known each other all their lives though the way they get along. Chad and Tori are coming over today after church and I will try to get some pictures of them. I'm sad I didn't get any pictures of Courtney while she was here.

I went to a 12 hour scrapbook crop on the 27th. That was my Christmas present from Jim. I had a productive day and got 15 pages done. I hadn't done any scrapbooking since last spring and it was nice to get back into it.

We are slowly but surely getting work done on this house and may end up buying it from Leon. He's giving us about 6 more months to live here before we decide for sure.

Jim is switching to 2nd shift in Feb. He will be helping me with homeschooling since he will be home more during the day. I am still loving my job. I'm going to talk to my boss soon about homeschooling Jordan so she knows she will be there more during the day. With Jim working second shift she won't need to come over until 2:00 though when Jim leaves for work so she will only be there an extra hour a day. I was told when she hired me that anytime I am scheduled to work Jordan can be there for free so it shouldn't be an issue.

Well it has taken me over an hour to post this update. I know there are other things that have happened but I can't think of them right now. I will post more later if I think of it. :)

Snow!

2008-12-09T08:01:00.002-06:00

We got our first snow last night. It's not much only about 1-2 inches but the wind is blowing so much it is soooo cold. Jordan was happy she got to wear her boots and mittens to school. She's getting more excited to go to grandma's on Sat. She is going in for another EEG on Fri. The children's neurologist here in Fremont thinks she may not have to be on the anti-seizure meds. We will find out more next week when she gets the results in. I have to take Fri. off work because we have to go to Omaha for the EEG and her appointment is at 12:30 but she has to stay up till midnight and then wake up at 6 am so that pretty much shoots the day for work. Oh well it will give me time to get ready to go to my mom's on Sat. morning. We will be taking the train over and have to be in Omaha for that by 5:30. It's an hour drive there so I will have 2 nights with not much sleep. I'm planning to sleep all the way to my mom's (after me and Jordan have breakfast on the train). I'm going to try to work on our end of the year letter this week too. I may have cards sent out by the new year :) Or I may do an email letter like I've done before. Oh the joys of technology.

Casey's new home

2008-12-06T17:43:00.006-06:00

I have been thinking for a long time that Casey wasn't getting enough attention and was spending way too much time covered up because he's been noisey. After lots of thought and prayers I decided to give him away. I found a couple, Leland and Carla Watson, who live on a farm about 2 hours from Fremont. Leland is handicapped (he's missing a leg). They told me Casey could spend all day on his shoulder. After we were there for about a half hour today Casey seemed right at home. Thank you Leland and Carla for giving Casey a wonderful home! Carla raises goats for milk and show. Here's her website if you want to check it out http://www.freewebs.com/playritefarm/ . Jordan and I had a great time visiting their farm today even though it was VERY cold out we had to peek at all the animals.

Update

2008-11-28T21:15:00.002-06:00

So I've been asked to post an update that DOESN'T have to do with the animals :) It's so hard because I love my animals.

Things are going good here. I absolutely love my job and it is so convenient for it to be right across the street from my house. The 2 year olds can sure give us a run for our money but it is great. The other new girl and I have started implenting the curriculum that was supposed to have been used all along but the other teachers hadn't been doing it. The only bad thing is we can't cram everything into the afternoon when we work so the kids aren't getting all of it. We do a craft each afternoon though and that's the most fun part. We went in last weekend and rearranged the whole room and set up centers. Hopefully the other staff will start helping us out some though because it's been a big chore for just the two of us to do all the planning and prepping. There will be 6 staff members in our room starting on Mon. Donna works 6-noon (she's an older lady and is supposed to do the "Jesus Time" with them each morning), Brandy works 7-2 (she's the new one coming in our room from the toddler room), Jake works 9-4:30, Angie works a split shift 7:30-11:30 and then again 1:30-4:30, Paige works 2-5 and I work 10-6 three days a week and 11-6 two days a week. So our staff is pretty spread out. No one has full time hours at this job because it's sponsored by the church and we don't have benefits. Even though I'm scheduled until 6 each night I never work that late. I'm usually off between 5:15 and 5:45. When the kids numbers go down they start sending staff home and combine classes. Except Mondays are my nights to close so I'm there until all the kids go home but even then I'm usually gone by 5:55

Jim is doing alright. He has been working a lot of overtime lately and his back is really bothering him. We are praying he doesn't have to have another surgery. He is having a good time getting his Harley winterized and playing with his puppy (oops I mentioned the animals). We will get to working on this house more as the weather cools and he isn't playing with his bike as much. We did get the carpet put in Jordan's room. It's not tacked down or cut but it's in there so at least she can play on the floor.

Jordan seems to be enjoying school and has been doing pretty good on her weekly spelling tests. If we can just get her to make her b's and d's and l's and j's the right direction she will improve a bunch. Jordan now rides the daycare bus to school in the mornings because the lady that was giving her a ride is the morning bus driver now. And again I get this service for FREE! Normally it's $10/week/way for transportation. Kelly picks Jordan up from school in her own vehicle though because someone else does PM transportation and they don't go to Grant (Jordan's school) in the afternoon. The only reason the bus goes to Grant now is because Kelly's kids go there and she said she couldn't do transportation unless she could take her kids.
We go see the neurologist here in Fremont on Monday and hopefully they will have all her records from Washington and we can come up with a plan for her treatment. She still hasn't had anymore seizures that we know of. She's getting excited to go spend a week with my mom next month when my sister and nephew are there. She and I will take the train over on the 13th and I will come back on the 14th and then drive to Des Moines (about half way) to meet them the following Sat. to pick her up.

We had a good Thanksgiving with Jim's mom and dad, grandma and James. We had the traditional fixings of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and rolls. Jim's mom makes a great corn casserole that has macaroni in it and she made a strawberry dessert too. I took over a peach cobbler too. We brought home leftovers so I didn't have to cook tonight either. Thanksgiving leftovers are always good.

I was going to go out and do Christmas shopping today but then decided not to. I didn't want to fight the crowds. I will probably go sometime next week on a day I don't work until 11. Jordan and I are going to go to the scrapbook store in Omaha tomorrow. I need to get some Christmas cut outs for work so it's a good excuse to go :) That's about it from around here. Hope that's enough of an update for you Gigi, and I only mentioned the animals once. More updates on them coming soon though :P

Cat and Dog Antics

2008-11-19T10:29:00.002-06:00

As I said in my previous post Simba and Jesse fight like crazy but are the best of friends. Lately Jesse has really been getting the best of Simba and actually making him yowl in pain. But as Jim keeps pointing out Simba always comes back for more (I think it's his revenge). The other night though Simba really got Jesse. They were playing in the laundry room and somehow the small laundry basket got knocked over on Jesse. I laughed so hard because Simba finally had him cornered and "won" in my opinion. :)

Jesse say "Simba, so help me, when I get out of here I'll get you.

I mean it now you get me out!

Simba says "ha ha ha, you're trap!"

Jesse!

2008-11-05T18:08:00.003-06:00

Our beloved Jack Russel Terrier, Lucy, was stolen this summer while she was at our friend Leon's house. Jim bought a new JRT in Sept. shortly after he was born. Jim, James and Jordan went to pick him up this last Sunday. His name is Jesse and he is quite the cutie. He and Simba fight like crazy but they are also best buds. Here are a few pictures.

Jim with his new baby

The collar doesn't fit him so he decided to just chew on it while he layed in the toy basket

What a cutie

Best Buddies (sleeping in my basket of clean laundry)

Halloween recap

2008-11-02T18:21:00.004-06:00

Well Jordan thinks halloween lasts for a week now. :) At least it does in this town. We started with the week before halloween on Thurs. they had trick or treating in old town Fremont. We got down there kind of late and some of the stores had closed up already even though they were supposed to do candy until 8:00. We missed the haunted bank because that closed at 7:00 and we didn't get to that end of the block until after that. Then that Fri. was the fall carnival at her school. They don't have a halloween party but they have a free carnival where the kids get candy and play games. Sat. there was trick or treating at one of the little strip malls but we didn't go because Jim had to work and had to use the car. The next Tues. was Trunk or Treat at the YMCA. Then Thurs. was trick or treating at the Fremont Mall (ok, I wouldn't even consider this a mall because it's so small) and finally Fri., actual Halloween, there was a Fall Festival at the church we've been going to with free food, games, candy and activities. I did let her go trick or treating at a couple of houses and we went to Grandma Diane's and Jamie's houses too. Suffice it to say she probably has enough candy to last her a couple months. She has it stashed in a sand bucket but we are only letting her have 2 or 3 pieces a day.

She loved squishing the pumpkin guts between her fingers

Simba thought it tasted good

Jordan drew the face on for me to carve :) Simba wasn't too thrilled when Jordan put him in the pumpkin

A scare!

2008-10-18T09:27:00.002-05:00

Well Jordan gave me a scare yesterday. I take my 1/2 hour break from work from 3-3:30 to walk the 8 blocks down and get Jordan from school then walk back. Well yesterday on the way to school she told me she wanted to start walking home instead of waiting for me at the school. She gets out at 3 so she had to wait for me to get down there. It takes me about 11 minutes to walk down there. I told her she could walk 1 BLOCK to the big tree, by the stop sign at the busy street. I didn't want her crossing the 4 lane street by herself (even though there is a crossing light). Well I'm walking down there, it's one street straight up, and I don't see her at the big tree, I don't see her outside the school either. I'm getting mad because I only have a half hour to get down there and get back to work. I start to go around the school to the main office entrance and my cell phone starts ringing. It's not a number I recognize so I ignore it. They leave a voicemail so I listen to it and it's a lady saying "Laura, this is Michelle, I'm at the corner of Grant and Military and there's a little girl, Jordan, out here crying. Can you please call me back." HOLY CRAP!!! Grant and Military is 4 blocks north of where she's supposed to be. I call the lady back and I'm frantic by now. She says Jordan is standing outside her car and is very upset. I tell her I'm on my way up there. By the time I walk the 4 blocks I'm crying. I thank the lady profusely. Luckily this is a small town where people are friendly. If we would have been in Omaha I doubt anyone would have stopped for her. The little boy in the car said he recognized Jordan from school. The lady told me she was sitting on the sidewalk curled up crying saying she was supposed to meet me by the big tree at the stop sign but there's no big tree there. There was a stop sign but it's 4 blocks in the wrong direction! UGGH! My poor child gets so turned around. I thought she would be able to walk one block, straight up the street we've been walking on all week but no that's not going to happen. So I told her we are back to me meeting her AT SCHOOL by the parking lot for a while longer. I'm just so thankful that she remembered my cell phone number. I had to call my boss and tell her I was going to be late getting back. I got back 12 minutes late but she let it go this time.

Just for fun

2008-10-11T23:30:00.001-05:00

Just for fun I dug out all of Jordie's pics from Vala's for the last 6 years. The only one I don't have a picture of her in front of the sign was from 2002 but she was only 7 months old and so she wasn't really standing yet.

Vala's Pumpkin Patch 2008 visit

2008-10-11T23:01:00.000-05:00

We had our annual trip to Vala's pumpkin patch tonight. We had a good time even though we dind't get to do everything. We skipped the hay rack ride because the wait was over an hour long. UGGH. We got there late (we went after Jim got home from work) and got to tired to see everything. Here are a few pictures though.

The annual picture if front of the "how tall this fall" sign

Riding on Cherokee

Waiting for the Pig-Tuckey pig races to start

Bunnyville

This is right where she belonged today with her attitude :)

Farmer Jordan

In the petting zoo

They have a new 5 acre corn maze. We got lost in it! It was dark, they have some lights and loud music playing. We kept seeing where people had gotten off the trail and made their own trails through the corn. After about a half hour of wondering around we understood why they did it and ended up following some other couple and their kids to get out of the stupid place!

Kid for sale! Goin cheap today :)

A pumpkin amounst the pumpkins!

Pictures from our trip back to Nebraska

2008-10-11T22:30:00.000-05:00

Ms. Brooks (student teacher) Jordan and Mrs. Julien on her last day of school at Betty Kiefer

My nieces Emily and Teresa with Jordan at my friend Dina's stuffed animal store

Me and my friend Dina

This is how packed our car was on the drive home.

It reminded me of something out of a movie :)

Riley was not happy to have Simba sleeping on him but it was too cute not to take a picture

Jordan took this picture of Tid Bit riding in the back seat

Simba decided to get up on the dash and play with the leash while I was driving

Riley, Simba and Jordan playing around in the tent on our first night camping

Simba fell asleep with his back legs on my shoulder and his front paws up on the back of my seat. It was too funny. He slept like that for almost an hour.

Back in Nebraska and Online!

2008-10-11T11:22:00.000-05:00

Let me tell you after having dial up Internet all summer and then having no Internet for 3 weeks, I was in heaven last night when our cable got connected. We are getting settled into our house in Fremont. It needs alot of work but we are making it "home". Jordan starts school Monday. It's a year-round school and they were on a break when we first moved back here. It's about 8 blocks from our house but straight down the street so it will be an easy walk for her. I have an interview on Monday with the daycare that's right across the street from our house. It would be so convenient to not have to drive or walk anywhere to work. The weather is starting to cool down so Jim won't be able to ride his motorcycle much longer and will have to use the car to get to and from work in Omaha. I will post some pictures on here later of our camping adventures and about our drive back out here. Just wanted to post a quick hello and let everyone know we made it. I had over 400 email messages to go through since I was without internet for 3 weeks :) For those of you who have emailed me I will get back with you as soon as I can. Gotta run to Walmart right now and get some things.

Deer

2008-09-25T09:37:00.000-05:00

My dad has deer that quite frequently come down from the mountain, cross through his corral and then go out in his field. We have really enjoyed watching them this summer. Jordan always comes running in the house saying "Deer! Deer!" whenever she sees one. Last night there was a doe who was being really friendly with his dog Molly. She let Molly get right up close to her. These pictures came out grainy because I had to zoom all the way in to get them. She would let the dog get close to her but not us :)

Simba Sam

2008-09-18T18:56:00.000-05:00

This is how they slept last night.

He is such a cuddle bunny :)

Jordan got a kitten yesterday. She named him Simba Sam. First it was just Simba, then it was Sam now she says Sam is his middle name. Isn't he a cutie!

Rest In Peace Uncle David

2008-09-05T11:39:00.000-05:00

My uncle, David Radcliffe, was senselessly murdered along with five other people on Tues. Sept. 2nd in Alger, WA.

First day of first grade!

2008-09-02T21:44:00.000-05:00

Jordan started first grade today at Betty Kiefer Elementary. Betty Kiefer was a well known teacher here in Rathdrum and they named the school after her. Actually, my sister Angie had Mrs. Kiefer for a teacher. I took Jordan to school this morning and then she took the bus home. There are 3 other kids who get off the bus at her stop too.

Her new outfit

Showing off her backpack that we got over the summer on clearance for $7

She has the same lunchbox as last year.

Posing proudly in front of the school

This was the "Ok mom, I'm fine now would you please leave" picture :)

Family day!

2008-08-27T22:09:00.001-05:00

We had a great family day today. It's my only day off this week while Jim is here. We started out this morning with going to Hayden to the Triple Play, which is attatched to the hotel I work at. It's alot like Chuckie Cheeses, where you play games and earn tickets. I had a bunch of tickets and some token cards that people had left behind in their hotel rooms. If we find them after the people have checked out we get to keep them. Well between the 5 token cards I had there was almost $20 worth of tokens and about 400 tickets. Jordan had a great time playing games and winning more tickets and then she got to pick out prizes she wanted.

Jim playing the basket ball game

Jordan playing Deal or No Deal video game. She said no deal through the whole thing and ended up with her case having 15 tickets :)

Remind me never to ride in a car with Jordan. LOL. She's a maniac driver

Playing the spider smash game.

After TriplePlay we went and got lunch at McDonalds and then went to the Harley Davidson store in Coeur d'Alene so Jim could get a Coeur d'Alene Harley shirt. He also got Jordie one for school.

After The Harley store we drove for about an hour up to Sandpoint, ID. It's a cute little tourist town. We were going to go fishing at Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced pond-er-ray) but the man at Walmart sporting goods there told us the fishing would be better at Round Lake so we drove back about 15 minutes to Round Lake State Park. It is a very small lake and was really nice. Jim caught 4 blue gills and 2 small smallmouthed bass. He didn't keep any of them. They were way too small. The highlight of our time at the lake was when the eagle was flying overhead and then came down to the water to grab a fish. I got a picture of her just as she was lifting off the water. Then a seagull came down and did the same thing but it wasn't as neat as seeing the eagle do it.

Jim and Jordan ready to fish.

The happy fisherman

The first tiny smallmouth bass

The eagle way up in the sky

Getting closer

The eagle has landed (if you click on this picture and open it up in another window you can really see the fish at the end of his feet)

Now the seagull has his turn

Reeling in another....

Bluegill!

While we were driving back home we saw a big eagle's nest on a power pole and also some white tailed deer. It was great to see the wildlife. We topped the night off with going out for Mexican food. My favorite! It was a wonderful day with my family.

Eagle in nest on way home

And another one that was on the other side of the road

Deer on the way home

Jim doesn't want to have to go back to Omaha on Sunday. He's going job hunting tomorrow and Fri. while I'm at work and Jordie is at daycare. Hopefully he will find something and be able to go back to Omaha and give notice.

More cute puppy pictures

2008-08-13T21:03:00.001-05:00

These pictures are about 2 weeks old but I think they are so cute. That's my "baby" sister Crystal in the pictures. She was laying on the trampoline and the puppies started crawling up on her and then Jordan piled them all up with her

Aren't they precious!

What a faker Jordan!

Update

2008-08-13T20:46:00.000-05:00

Our most exciting news is Jim is coming out for a visit! He will be here on the 25th and stay for a week. We can't wait to see him. Jordan and I both miss him very much. He's going to do some job searching while he is here too.

Well I took a job at the Holiday Inn Express in Hayden. I'm working in the housekeeping department. The job itself is OK. The people I work with are another story. Everyone is such a gossip there and they all talk about each other and call each other names. It's really discouraging. The pay stinks too. It's only $7/hr and I only get about 6 hours a day. I've applied and interviewed with Walmart in Post Falls. I'm just waiting to get the results back from my drug screening and background check. That job would be for cashiering and would be up to 33 hours a week. They don't have anything full time right now. It's more money though--$8.40/hr. Today I had an interview at my old college--North Idaho College, in their Children's Center for a floater teacher. That pays fantastic! $12-14/hr. I will find out on Fri. if I got that job or not. They had 4 or 5 other interviews to do. The place has changed so much since I was there. They now have 5 different classrooms ages infant-5 years old. I would LOVE to work there.

I gave all the puppies their first shots today and they will be in the paper tomorrow for sale. It will be sad to see them go but it is time. They are 7 1/2 weeks old now but are fully weaned and really love running and playing. I took some pictures of them last night to post on a Yahoo group. Maybe we will get some calls from that too.

Two male puppies

Three dark colored female puppies

Two light colored females

Jordan starts daycare tomorrow. My mom, bless her, sent me some money to get her started with. Jordan is so excited because the lady has 2 horses and a swimming pool! She only has 2 other daycare kids right now but has 4 kids of her own.

I was down to $12 in my checking account and had to borrow my dad's gas card this week for gas. I get paid from Holiday Inn on the 22nd so I can pay dad back. Jordan and I are working at the County Fair next week on Wed. and Thurs. from 9-3 at Dina's booth. Dina is going to pay me $30 a day for that. I figure it's pretty fair trade, she can get us into the fair for free also. Her kids do 4-H and she wanted to watch them during their shows so I told her I would work the booth.

Jordan starts school on the 2nd and is getting excited about that. Her registration is next Thurs. evening. That's about it from this neck of the woods.

Fond Memories

2008-08-02T22:14:00.000-05:00

I've had some fond memories the past couple weeks living here. Jordan has been enjoying playing in the field with the dogs. That's what my sisters and I used to do all the time. We would run through the field and play "Little House on the Prairie". You know the beginning of the old Little House shows where Mary, Laura and Carrie were running down the hill. Watching my daughter run and frolic in the field has brought those memories back.

She also had a ball at the old Rathdrum City Park and playing in the same creek my sisters and I used to play in. My little sister,Crystal, claims we tried to downed her there although I don't remember any such thing.

Fun Weekend

2008-08-02T21:51:00.000-05:00

We spent the last 2 days in Coeur d'alene with my friends Dina and Renee. Dina has her stuffed animal store at a booth for the street fair. My friend Renee came over from Elk, WA (a one hour drive) both days to spend time with us. It was alot of fun. Today me, Renee, Jordan, Renee's daughter Madison, Renee's mom and her 2 nieces went over to Art on the Green which is over at our old college. The girls had alot of fun. They got to paint, work with clay, make gourd birdhouses, got balloon dogs and got to try their hand at juggling and walking on huge balls. Here's a few pics from today.

Jordan in front of the sand castle display.

Riley got a polo shirt from Dina's booth :)

Jordan and Madison with their gourd birdhouses.

That's Jordan in the center standing on the ball. Renee and her mom are helping to hold her up

Dina's Boston Terrier, Roxy. She is SUCH a good dog. She is their shop dog and is used to being dressed up for parties and such. She sat out front of the booth all day today.

Jordan and Roxy

New Haircut for Riley

2008-07-28T20:48:00.000-05:00

We took Ri to the groomers today. He's been spending alot of time in the field and in the woods since he got here to my dads. Well his fur has suffered for it. He had all kinds of stickers in his fur clear down to his skin. So he got a lion cut today. My dad's dogs didn't recognize him when we got back and ran up to him and started smelling him. It was so funny. I think he looks like an overgrown chihuahua now. :)

Strutting his stuff

Posing for the camera

Puppies eating food

2008-07-26T00:22:00.003-05:00

We gave the puppies softened food today and they LOVED it! It was quite a mess in the pen after they ate. Here are a few pics.

This is what it looked like after we took out the 3 paper plates we put their food on. What a mess!

Isn't that little girl a cutie! (the puppy I mean--well Jordan too)

Grandpa's puppy

Mom came in and they decided they needed dessert. Isn't it cute how their ears are flapping back?

They like to play and fight now

Wandering in the grass after eatting dinner

2008-07-21T00:57:00.000-05:00

Jordan and I took the puppies out in the yard today for the first time. They weren't real sure what to think of the grass and immediately started whining.

Jordan and I counted today and there are 5 females and 3 males. Dad started counting the night they were born but then gave up :)

The little black and white male on the left is the one my dad wants to keep. All of the brown and white ones are girls.

They are used to being all nice and cozy in the old swimming pool in the garage

The bunny is named!

2008-07-21T00:55:00.001-05:00

The bunny's new name is Tid Bit

I got Jordan a basket at the dollar store to carry him around in. (By the way that's yellow gum in her mouth--her teeth are not that yellow!)

Happy 85th Birthday Grandma King!

2008-07-21T00:52:00.001-05:00

Today was my grandma's 85th birthday. We had Dairy Queen ice cream cake before me and Jordan moved back up to dad's.

Grandma didn't want her picture taken because her hair was a mess. :)

Long overdue update

2008-07-20T13:29:00.000-05:00

So much to catch up on, where to start? Things have been so crazy lately.

Jordan had a seizure on June 29th. They did a CT scan at the emergency room but didn’t find anything so they referred us to a pediatrician. She had an EEG done that showed she has abnormal peaks in the left side of her brain so she is a good candidate for repeat seizures. They put her on Tegratol to control the seizures. She still has to have an MRI done to make sure there’s nothing else abnormal in her brain.

Jordan also had to have her yearly check up for her bladder reflux. The VCUG test is NO FUN for her. She was a real trooper though and we will have the results back this week. Hopefully the reflux is a lot better and she won’t have to be on the low dose antibiotics any longer to prevent bladder infections.

We came up to my dad’s for the 4th of July. Jordan had a great time with all her cousins and her aunts Kiki (Crystal) and Angie. We had a potluck here and then did fireworks that Crystal and Matt and their friends Cheri and Rock brought up. The next night me, dad and Jordan stood out near his field and watched as the neighbor down the road let off some huge fireworks. Dad’s dog had babies. He has 8 English Pointer/English Setter puppies. They were born on Jun. 30th and Jordan had a great time cuddling with them.

Lilly with her puppies

The cousins on 4th of July: Teresa, Emily, Ariel and Jordan

Things didn’t work out in the Tri-Cites so Jordan and I moved back up to my dad’s in Rathdrum, ID on Friday. We are both in heaven now! We love the woods and the animals. I got Jordan a bunny yesterday. It’s a Dwarf Netherland. He is so cute! She is really enjoying having a pet of her own. She is also still in love with my dad’s puppies. Their eyes are open now and they are moving around more. Dad got 9 quail and 4 chuckers yesterday to add to the 5 guineas and 2 banty chickens he already had. Jordan says this really is a farm now.

Lovin the yet unnamed bunny

I’m going out tomorrow to find a job. I had put some apps. in online before I left the Tri-Cities and I will be following up on those too. I will try to update this more often now. I still only have dial up internet which is a pain but I’m learning to deal with it.

Funny Story

2008-06-20T00:46:00.000-05:00

Tonight when Jordan and I were at the library, I was making copies of some job ads and she said she had to go potty. The restrooms were only about 100 feet from us so I told her to hurry and go and then come right back. She went over there and then came back with this serious look on her face. I said what's wrong? She said "Momma, I read the sign on the door and it says No Escaping." I looked over at the door and it said "No Smoking" I laughed so hard. I told her what it really said and she said "Oh!" and went in to go potty. LOL!

Water Park

2008-06-15T01:07:00.001-05:00

We went down to Columbia Park today (the city park). They have a new water park set up there. The kids had a great time.

More love of horses and Smores!

2008-06-15T00:37:00.001-05:00

We went out to Aunt Patti and Uncle Paul's again tonight for dinner. We had BBQ hotdogs, pasta salad, baked beans and veggi tray. It was yummy (and I don't even really care for hotdogs). Uncle Paul made a fire after dinner and we had smores.

Patti was "babysitting" the neighbors dogs and horses so Parker and Jordan got to go down with her to feed them. Jordan was in heaven again.

Jordan and Parker petting Delilah

Delilah licking Jordan's skirt

Can you tell this girl loves horses?

A goodnight hug :)

Jordan and Parker ready for smores!

Uncle Larry, Uncle Paul and Aunt Patti relaxing after Smores.

Uncle Paul with his dog Sid, Shannon and Aunt Patti

This was one of the neighbor's dogs that Patti is watching. She really put up with the kids mauling her.

Aunt Nita and Grandma

Horseback riding

2008-06-14T00:24:00.000-05:00

Jordan was in heaven again today. We went to my Uncle Marc and Aunt Kellie's and she and Parker got to ride the horse. They were both really excited. Jordan can't wait to go again soon. I'm trying to upload the pics to kodak but with this darn dial up internet it is taking all night. I may have to wait and figure out another way to do it.

Jordan on Tootsey with my cousin Lexi

Jordan loved it when Lexi had her jog

Parker had fun too after watching Jordan and deciding it wasn't that bad.

After the kids rode, Lexi rode for a bit and then they turned all four horses loose in the pasture and they LOVED it. They ran around going wild, but they were just having fun. It was neat to see them run around so much.

A little update

2008-06-11T00:24:00.002-05:00

Have I mentioned how much I hate dial up Internet??? This is so stinkin slow that it takes me over an hour to read my emails from my Mar02 mom's yahoo group each night. I hate it! Plus I have to fight with my grandma over the phone time during the day. It seems like as soon as I get on she has to make a call, even if I've asked her if I can use the computer. I'm only briefly checking in during the day now and doing most of my Internet time after she and Jordan go to bed.

Jordan and I did make it to the library today though and got library cards so now I can go there and check email too. I'm not sure what the library hours are though, I forgot to look :( so I may just get to go on Wed. when I'm off after my 3 weeks of training. Jordan got signed up for the summer reading program and checked out 3 library books today. She's very excited to be reading again. We brought a backpack FULL of books with us but it's much more exciting for her to go to the library and get some.

I have 5 more days of freedom and then I start working. I need to start working though my money has dwindled away.

We were at my cousin's (on my mom's side) graduation and graduation party this last weekend. They had mexican food at the party. I was so happy. I absolutely LOVE mexican food. There are alot of mexican places here in the Tri-Cities but I haven't had the $ to go out to them. I think when I get my first paycheck I will take my grandma and Jordan out to dinner. We went to my aunt and uncles (on my dad's side) for dinner on Sunday. My aunt Patti made a big spagetti dinner. It was delicious. She puts veggies in her spagetti sauce. My sister Shannon and nephew Parker are coming over this weekend to see us. We still need to get over to my Uncle Marc's so Jordan can see his horses. Maybe we will do that while Shannon is here.

That's about all the news from here. It's been unseasonable cold and rainy but I'm praying it gets nicer next week or Jordan (and grandma for that matter) will be going stir crazy in the house while I'm at work.

In Washington, Employed and Online!

2008-06-07T01:03:00.002-05:00

I got a job after only being here a day and a half. The Courtyard by Marriott only had a part time position and was only $8.50 /hr. I got hired on at the West Corporation working in their AT&T department. I will be assisting customers who call in to sign up for phone and/or internet services. I start training on the 16th.
I now have internet but it is VERY VERY SLOW! It's hard to go from cable connection to dial up. I will deal with it though. Will post more soon.
Jordan and I are going to my cousin's graduation and party tomorrow and then to my other aunt's house for dinner on Sun.

Tomorrow's moving day

2008-05-26T10:07:00.002-05:00

Well we pick the moving truck up tomorrow morning. I have James coming down tonight and tomorrow a neighbor kid and Bobbi's oldest boy are coming over to help us load the truck. This will probably be my last post for a while. We are staying in a hotel here tomorrow night. Although my mom is bringing her laptop and I think at least one of the KOA sites has WiFi so I can check in. Wish me luck and safe driving. I still have some packing to finish up today and last minute laundry to do. Talk to you all from Washington!

Just about done!

2008-05-22T07:04:00.002-05:00

Well I'm just about done with packing up what I can. I only have a few odds and ends in the living room, the stereo, my computer and printer and then my clothes to pack. I packed some of Jordan's clothes last night and left a weeks worth in her dresser. I started measuring the couch, the chair, the table and stuff last night and just don't think I'm going to be able to fit the entertainment center and the king bed in the truck. The truck dimensions are 15'3" long X 7'8" wide by 6'2" tall. I have about 25-30 boxes packed right now that need to go in the truck plus the furniture. It's going to be a very full!

I only have 4 more full nights at work and then Mon. night I'm only working 3 hours. My mom is coming over on Mon. and so is James. I've had some people flake out on my on the things I had posted on Craigslist and on Freecycle. I may just end up putting stuff on the curb and marking it "Free" and be done with it. I did that last week with a plastic bookshelf and an old dog kennel that was falling apart and they were gone quickly.

Very disappointing day

2008-05-21T14:57:00.008-05:00

I was sooooo very disappointed at the awards ceremony at Jordan's school today. They herded the kids through the awards like they were cattle. No time for pictures or anything. It was total chaos. I was the first parent there and there were chairs up near the front but I was told those were for the staff members and parents had to sit in the back at the lunch tables. Well before the program started only about 5 staff members sat in the chairs, the rest were filled in with parents. I was so mad because the zoom on my camera does not work well enough to get way up front. So the few pictures I did get didn't turn out that well. Jordan got her certificate for completing kindergarten and one for citizenship. I missed her getting her citizenship certificate because the kids were all just clustered up there waiting to get theirs. The principal just rattled off the names and the staff members handed out the certificates. Then for the picnic it turns out the girl that was supposed to ride with me rode with her grandpa instead so it was just me and Jordan in the car. When we got to the park Jordan only sat with me for about 3 minutes, took a few bites of her lunch said she was done and was off playing for the next 2 hours. It was a waste of my day. I could have been here packing and cleaning. Here's a few pics from the day though.

Before School

Enough pictures already mom. Let's just go to school

Waiting for the program to start. (see how grainy my camera gets when I have to zoom in)

The kindergarteners sang "There was an old woman who swallowed a lego." LOL

Getting her Kindergarten Certificate

After she got her citizenship certificate

At the park

Most of the kindergarteners played in the sand. That's Noah getting buried in the background

Looking at the cows in the farm below.

I am BEAT!

2008-05-20T23:39:00.002-05:00

In the last 32 hours I've had about 2 1/2 hours of sleep. I got alot done today but I always felt like I was taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back. It started out with my going to 4 different grocery stores only to get 2 boxes. Normally these stores have all kinds of boxes stacked up. Then I stopped at Target to get some flip flops and decided to treat myself to the new Starbucks Mocha Mint Chip Frappuccino. Only to accidentally dump half of it all over my kitchen floor when I knocked it while packing. UGGH! It was so yummy too :) I got most of my kitchen dishes and pots and pans packed. Just need to run the dishwasher one more time with the rest. I got Jordan's DVD's and player packed as well as her books and a few odds and ends boxes. I cleaned and swept the laundry room. I still need to go through the junk drawers and the linen closet. The last thing will be packing the food that's left over next Tues. for Jim and Leon to take home. My mom is coming over on Mon. and so is James. Luckily someone took the last half of my shift Mon. night so I only need to work until 2 am. We pick up the moving truck at 9 on Tues. and I have the neighbor boys lined up to come over at noon. Mom and I will load the boxes and leave the furniture to the boys :) I'm still not sure how much of this stuff I will actually be able to fit in the truck. I've already decided if they won't fit I will leave behind my dining table and chairs and my entertainment center. I love them both but they are replaceable. Also if the king bed won't fit it won't be going.

Tomorrow is Jordan's kindergarten graduation and the all school awards ceremony at 10 and then right after that we are going to a park for an all school picnic and play time. We will be there from 11-2:30 and I am driving part of the kindergarteners. Tomorrow evening I have to run up to work for a BBQ (I don't have to be its the NYC hotels hosting it and they always give away goodies). We also are going up to our old neighborhood tomorrow to tell Bobbi and her family goodbye. Then it will be back here for more packing. Someone is supposed to be coming over tomorrow to look at the safe we have in the basement. Hopefully they will buy it. I've had 3 people bugger out on me that were supposed to come look at it. Tomorrow I'm hoping to clean the car inside and out, finish packing up the kitchen, pack the bathrooms, pack our clothes and most of the linen closet and make a list of what needs to be packed in the car as opposed to the truck. Everything that's going with us to Grandma's needs to be in the car so I don't have to sort through it at my dads. And all of that will have to be done after I'm done with her school outing. UGGH!

Please pray for my family as the stress of all this is really starting to get to us. Jordan is REALLY acting out and it's putting a strain on Jim and me. That is on top of the stress and strain we are feeling from knowing we will be separated for a while. I know we will get through this with the Lord's help. I'm trying to stay strong through this but I feel like I may hit my breaking point soon. I probably just need a good cry :) It's almost midnight now so I'm going to head to bed. I have to be up with Jordie at 7:15 and start all over with another busy, busy day.

Packing Day

2008-05-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

Well I'm hoping to get most things packed up. I'm going to stay up as long as I can today to get things done. I'm very tired though so I'm going to have to load up on pepsi and turn music up real loud. :) It's only 7 days until I pick up the moving truck and this is my only real day off. I'm off tomorrow too but will be up at Jordan's school for most of the day.

Got a job! Almost for sure

2008-05-16T04:45:00.003-05:00

Well I pretty much have the job at the Courtyard in Richland. I have to go in and interview with them as a "formality" but he told me I pretty much have the job. I'm going in to interview on the 4th of June. Sooooooo....as you can see we are moving 3 weeks sooner than planned! I have 12 days to get everything together--eeekk! My mom, Jordan and I are still taking our trip to Rapid City, SD on the 28th and then Jordan and I will just leave from there and drive out to my dad's to drop my moving truck stuff off and to drop off Kelly (one of our dogs). We will spend a couple days with my dad and then go down to grandma's on Tues. June 3rd. I'm very excited. I'm not sure what shift I will be working at the hotel so I'm going to see if my grandma or my aunts can watch Jordie until I have a schedule for sure and can get childcare arranged. Because I will busy for the next 12 days I may not post too much on here between now and then. It will be a while till I get internet set up at grandma's too. I haven't even talked to her about taking up a phone line for that. My aunt has a computer though and I can always go to the library so I will be checking in.
Just wanted to post my exciting news!

Move Updates

2008-05-13T01:17:00.002-05:00

Well we are closing in on our move now. Only 5 1/2 more weeks! We have decided to get a moving truck and take most of our stuff out now when Jordie and I go. We will store things at my dad's place. We were going to get a storage unit here so our house doesn't look so cluttered but we can store it at my dad's house for free so we will do it that way instead. We will be using our stimulus check to pay for the truck. I will be towing my car behind the 16 foot truck. Pray for safe travel :) We'll leave a bed, a TV, the recliner, a computer and the kitchen stuff here for Jim. Hopefully the house will sell fast and he can join us in Washington (I know I say that all the time).

I put a bunch of stuff on Craigslist today and have had several replies. We'll see if people actually show up to buy the stuff though. We are going to get down to just the bare minimums and start from scratch in Washington. We'll have a bed and dresser for each bedroom and our couch and recliner. We may keep the dining room table or may not. It just depends. I really like my table but it would take up alot of space so I don't know if I will keep it. We end up eatting at the TV trays half the time anyway. The washer and dryer will stay at the house to sell with it as well as the dishwasher. The only other big things we will take with us would be the entertainment center and the computer desks.

Well I'm rambling, guess I'm tired again :) Actually I'm at work and trying to stay awake.

Update on Job Search

2008-05-09T00:03:00.002-05:00

Well I called the Courtyard in Richland and the manager there told me I could have the job if I could come out right away. I respectfully declined. I'm not going to pull Jordan out of school 2 weeks before it is over. The manager understood and he told me to contact him when it was closed to my move date and he would see if he had anything else open. So it's still a possiblity I could work for Marriott.

Plus mom, Jordan and I have a little trip planned for the weekend after memorial day. And Jordan and I are taking the train over to my mom's for the weekend before we move.

10th Anniversary

2008-05-08T23:59:00.003-05:00

Today was our 10th anniversary. We kept it quiet here at home. We worked together to make a nice dinner: smoked porkchops on the grill, grilled corn on the cob, rice a roni, mac and cheese and bread. Then Jim scrounged together enough money to buy ice cream! It was a nice quiet night at home.

We have some issues that we are dealing with lately but things are definately looking up and we are looking forward to our new start in Washington state.

Another Tooth

2008-05-05T20:33:00.003-05:00

Jordan lost her other top tooth tonight. We'll see how she does eatting her lunch tomorrow :)

Jordan lost her 4th tooth

2008-04-27T17:06:00.005-05:00

We are growing her bangs out and they are at the ackward stage now where they get in her eyes.

Jordan lost her 4th tooth today. It's one of her top ones. It's been VERY loose for a couple days. She had a birthday party to go to today and I tried to get her to wiggle it out before she went but she wouldn't do it. Well, sure enough she lost it at the party while she was eatting a cupcake! Her other top one is loose too and one on the bottom was loose but now it's kind of scrunched between two others so it's not as loose now.

A Marriott Is Hiring!

2008-04-25T07:07:00.003-05:00

The Courtyard by Marriott in Richland, WA is hiring. I sent my app. and resume into them. I'm going to call them today to follow up on it. It would be GREAT if I could stay with the same company. Keep me in your prayers

Job Applications

2008-04-22T05:52:00.004-05:00

I've been busy putting in job apps. online. So far I have applied at:
Rite Aid (worked at the one in Bainbridge Island before moving to NE)
Toys-R-Us
JCPenny
Savers/Value Village
Kindercare (2 different sites)
Red Robin
Sears
AAA
Edward Jones
Petco (2 different sites--I think I would be in trouble if I got a job here. I love animals too much)

Trying to excercise daily

2008-04-22T04:09:00.002-05:00

I'm going to try to walk each day after work. I walked a mile on Sat. but didn't get it done Sun. I did walk around the building at work on my break Sun. though. Monday I walked about 3/4 of a mile. I'm taking one of the dogs with me each morning. They are loving the walks. I just have to keep myself motivated for this. I have got to loose some weight because I can't fit into alot of my dress clothes and I have to be able to for interviews.

Moving Countdown

2008-04-21T18:47:00.003-05:00

Jordan and I have counted on the calendar and marked off the days until we move. It's 2 months from today. I've added a counter to my blog. We are both getting very excited about going to Washington. Jim is sad because he will miss us but as soon as he gets his things done in and around this house he can get it up on the market. Hopefully it will sell fast and he can be joining us in Washington before fall.

Snow in mid-April????

2008-04-12T06:32:00.003-05:00

You never know about the weather in Nebraska! The western and central part of the state got up to 7 inches of snow this week. This picture is from North Platte. We got wet snow here in Omaha but nothing really stuck. It's supposed to get back up near 70 this coming week. I am so looking forward to moving to Washington. :)

Productive weekend

2008-04-07T11:19:00.003-05:00

James came down to visit this weekend. Jordan was so excited for him to be here. He helped Jim out alot while he was here. they got the car and the motorcycle washed and leaves cleaned up out of the driveway. I got leaves cleaned up out of the back yard. With what I had raked up last week and what we got done this weekend we have about 20 yard waste bags to go out with the trash this week. I have been going through all out file cabinets and paperwork and have so far shredded 3 bags of paper. I still have more to do though. I've taken 3 car loads of stuff to the thrift store to donate. We are slowly but surely getting ready to move. I've got a few boxes packed up too. We will be getting a storage unit before we put the house on the market so we can get some of the clutter out of here.

Jordan is on springbreak this week so I'm only working until 4 am instead of 6 so I can get a little sleep before she gets up each morning. We are planning to go to the zoo on Wed.

Low key birthday

2008-04-01T22:15:00.002-05:00

I had a pretty low key birthday. I drove Jordie to school this morning, then came home and ate a little breakfast and layed down around 9:30. I got up around 12:30 and went to run some errands with Jim. When we got back I rested for just a little bit and then got up at 4 to get Jordan from the bus. We went out to the Marriott hotel for dinner tonight. I had gift checks from being associate of the month last month so it only cost us $5 for our dinner tonight. We came home and Jordan and I shared the piece of cake we had gotten to go. I got her ready for bed, watched Big Brother and now I'm just relaxing, playing with my bird and checking my emails. I guess 37 isn't that bad. :)

Jordan's 6th birthday party

2008-03-30T00:21:00.009-05:00

We had Jordan's birthday party today. It was a Littlest Petshop theme. She had a great time. She had 3 kids from her school and my friend Alyssa's 4 kids come. We colored Littlest Petshop pictures, played "musical lillypads (like musical chairs), pin the bow on the puppy and Littlest Petshop Go Fish. The kids had mini corn dogs, tater tots and carrot sticks for lunch and then chocolate cake and chocolate chip ice cream before they went home. Everyone got to take a Littlest Petshop toy home plus their goodie bags and a Littlest Petshop poster to color. I was very discouraged because one little girl stayed longer than the rest and when I looked in her goodie bag there was 4 Littlest Petshop toys plus a few accessories in there. Each child was told they could have one toy. She claims she didn't put them in there but I don't know. I took them out and gave her the one she had chosen from the box when I passed them out. Jordan and I were playing with her Littlest Petshops tonight and we noticed a few are missing. I'm hoping that they turn up somewhere and that same little girl didn't pocket them.

Tayla, Jordan, Noelle, Annabelle and Mia coloring while lunch finishes up

Listening to the kids sing Happy Birthday to her

One of her new Littlest Petshop T-shirts

My friend Alyssa made her this dress and headband. After she put it on she didn't want to take it off at all. She wore it for a few hours before bed and then told me she could sleep in it since she didn't wear it all day :) I didn't let her sleep in it though, I told her she could wear it tomorrow.

Her #6 bunny from daddy. He gets her a new bunny every year

Jordan and I counted tonight and she now has 82 Littlest Petshop characters!

The rest of the birthday pictures can be seen here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=59978105905.200157133605.1206854308031&UV=489069375593_552077133605&UV=489069375593_552077133605

Moving Plans and Reservations Made

2008-03-25T22:30:00.004-05:00

Well I have made all our reservations for our trip out to Washington this summer. The first night (June 21)we will spend in Kennebec, SD which is only about 5 hours from here but Jim will ride his motorcycle up there and spend the night with us in the tipi. We will have a nice day and night together at the KOA campground before Jordan and I head out. We will be spending our second night in Sheridan, WY at another KOA in a cabin and then on to Missoula, MT for the 3rd night. We will be at my dad's on the 24th and spend a day or two there before going on down to grandma's. We are taking Kelly one of our pomeranians out there with us. My dad is going to dog sit for us until Jim moves out and we get an apartment. I got to thinking that there is no way we are going to be able to have 3 dogs and two adults in the U-haul when we do move stuff out so I asked dad to keep one of the dogs for me.

Now I just need to focus on getting things packed up and getting the house ready for the market. We need to paint the extra bedroom and Jordan's room (it's purple and has a blue ceiling with clouds on it--don't think that will sell well). We also need to repaint a wall in the livingroom where the plumber had to cut a huge whole to fix a pipe a couple years ago. I went to two grocery stores this morning to get more boxes but one didn't have any and the other one only had 3. Guess it was the wrong day to go look.

The weather is warming up so that means I need to get the outside stuff cleaned up too. There's alot of leaves that fell after the yard waste recycling was done for the fall that will now have to bagged up and saved for when the recycling starts again this spring. We have a couple of big limbs that fell out of the trees this winter that need to be cut up to go out with the yard waste recycling too.

Ok, I'm rambling because I'm tired. I have the night off so I suppose I should get some sleep. Will post again soon.

Easter came early

2008-03-20T07:36:00.004-05:00

Jordan got an Easter goodies box in the mail from Grandma Diane yesterday. She had this cute outfit, a color book, a ball, princess easter eggs and candy.

Posing for the camera

My Little Rock Star!

2008-03-16T18:02:00.003-05:00

Jordan was listening to her Absolute Smash Hits for Kids2 CD (a christian music CD) and she decided to go in her room and get dressed up to sing with it. She was so cute!

Girls Scouts Outing

2008-03-16T17:48:00.007-05:00

Yesterday the girl scouts went to the American Legacy Complex to learn about horses and horsemanship. They were there for 2 1/2 hours. They had a great time!

Jordan on Tigger

Jordan leading Little Dude

Jordan riding Jake

Jordan and Mia learning how to brush the horse

Jordan was in heaven!

Overdue update

2008-03-15T12:29:00.003-05:00

I know I haven't posted an update for a while and people have been asking.

Jordan and I are pretty much over our coughs and flu. My voice still gets hoarse at night (doesn't make it too easy when I work at night and have to talk to do my work) but I'm drinking lots of water at work to try and get over it.

After an additional 2 weeks off work and 2 different rounds of antibiotics Jim is finally on the mend. He will go back to work on Mon. part time. We went to his back dr. on Thurs and got AMAZING good news. His back is healing wonderfully. When Jim bent over to tie his shoe his dr. was very impressed. His dr. had this same surgery and said it was 4 months before he could bend down to tie his shoes.

Jordan's birthday is coming up and she is very excited to be turning 6. She is going to have a Littlest Pet Shop themed birthday party. She loves LPS. Today we are going to a Girl Scouts outing at a riding stable. Each girl will learn about horse care and be able to ride on a horse. They are working toward earning their animal patches.

I have been busy trying to get this house cleaned up and started packing things. Jordan and I will be moving out to Washington the middle or end of June. Jim will stay behind and sell this house. We are actually hoping to put the house up on the market in April. We have alot of deep cleaning to do before we put it up though. Jordan and I will be staying with my Grandma King until Jim moves out. Grandma is so excited to have Jordie there!

That's about it from this neck of the woods for now. I've got to get ready to take Jordan to the horse stable. Will post more again soon.

My little hypochondriac

2008-03-03T19:43:00.003-06:00

Jordan's teacher called me today after school and said Jordan hurt her foot in P.E. class today. They were doing jump roping and she had fallen on it. Her teacher looked at it but it was not red or swollen. She said Jordan told her about it around 2:20 today but then didn't say anything more about it until it was time to get on the bus at 3:45. Then Jordan started crying like crazy and saying it hurt. I went up to the bus stop with the car to get her and she was saying it hurt her really bad. I told her we would go to the dr. and get it checked out. She started crying about that too and said she didn't want to go to the dr. I had to go to Jim's dr. office to pick up his prescription and Jordan wouldn't walk in. I had to carry her. Then we had to run to the store to get milk and she wouldn't walk at the store either. I had her stand on the end of the cart and she rode around that way. I called Jim and told him since I was in the area I was just going to run her over to Children's hospital to get it check out. She wouldn't stand on it at all when we got there either. After getting x-rays and being there for 2 1/2 hours we were told it was not broken but probably bruised real bad. They gave her a hard sole shoe to wear and as soon as that was on she seemed better. As soon as we got home she started walking on it even better. GRR! So I spent 2 1/2 hours of my time and who knows how much money for nothing. I'm sure the foot is sore but not as extreme as she was making it out to. Here's a pic of her with her "special shoe". She's very proud of it. I gave her tylenol and had her elevate the foot tonight when she went to bed. The dr. said to use ice if it started to swell at all.

Dr. Seuss week

2008-03-03T19:41:00.003-06:00

Jordan's school is doing Dr. Seuss/spirit week this week. Today was Hawiian Day. We got this lei at the dollar store for her to wear. Tomorrow is Cat in the Hat Day and I purchased a Cat in the Hat hat from the PTA for her. She's supposed to get it tomorrow when she gets to school.

Blah!

2008-02-25T20:31:00.002-06:00

I've got this creapin crud and it doesn't want to go away. It started as a cough and congestion on Fri. night and has only gotten worse. It's hard at work because the more I talk the worse it gets and my throat starts hurting. I'm so tired of drinking water and sucking on cough drops. I hate being sick! I hope I get over it soon.

Beautiful Girl

2008-02-25T20:29:00.001-06:00

Jordan went to a birthday party yesterday for her friend Mia. It was at her mom's beauty shop and they did the girls' hair and nails. Jordan was in heaven!

Did anyone else watch the moon tonight?

2008-02-20T23:13:00.002-06:00

I watched until it was completely shadows but was FREEZING so I didn't stay out until it finished.

Jim and Jordie both doing better

2008-02-20T23:11:00.002-06:00

Jim and Jordan are both doing better. I was going to send Jordie back to school today but then they called school off because of the wind chills.
Jim talked to his dr.'s nurse today and got the OK to go back to work part time on light duty starting next week. I've made him promise me he won't push it though. He's only looking at 2-4 hours a day for now.

Update on Jim

2008-02-18T05:33:00.002-06:00

Jim is still in alot of pain. He had called his dr. on Fri. and they told him to up the oxycodone to every 4 hours instead of every 6. That is not working though. He has a post operative appointment with his regular physician on Tues. but we may have to call them today to see if there's anything else they can do. He is getting up and walking around some. He is feeling pretty discouraged though because he's not bouncing back from this surgery as fast as his others. I keep reminding him that this surgery was alot different than the others. They had to peel back his muscles, insert rods and "fake" bone. This is why they told him to expect to be out of work of 2 months. He wants to rebound back quickly like the other surgeries. Please pray that his pain eases up and that he will realize he needs to take his time with this one. I don't want him to rush back to work and injure himself.

Jordan's cold is getting worse

2008-02-16T18:54:00.003-06:00

I kept Jordan home from school on Fri. because of her cough. She seems to be getting worse though. I've been keeping plenty of fluids in her but she just looks so drained. She's been running a low grade fever too. She's on low dose antibiotics year round to prevent her from getting bladder infections (she has reflux in her bladder) so I think this is just a virus she has picked up. If she's not better by Mon. I may have to call the dr. For now we are just going with fluids, tylenol and cough syrup.

I have such great friends!

2008-02-16T00:53:00.003-06:00

About an hour after I got to work tonight one of my friends pulled me off the phone and told me to come with her. She took me up front by the doors and there was a cart FULL of groceries. She told me that I had friends that loved me and didn't want me fretting over groceries while Jim was out of work. I couldn't believe it. Of course I cried and said I didn't deserve it. MacKinzie said she knows if she was in the same boat we would have all helped her out too. This was all spearheaded by my friend Alyssa. I can't thank her enough. MacKinzie is right I do have friends that love me!

Between what I had on hand, what my mom got for us and what my Marriott friends got for us my pantry is now fully stocked! I had to bring in an extra bookshelf for the canned stuff.

Jim's mom had given us some money and I used that to get his prescriptions filled when he got out of the hospital. So over all we are doing all right for now. Please keep us in your prayers

On my own now

2008-02-14T23:19:00.002-06:00

My mom left this morning on the train. I hated to see her go. She was a big help the last few days. My freezer is stocked with burritos and potatoes and ham casserol. And my pantry full of soup makin stuff. We should be set for dinners for the next several days.

Jim is doing better. He made several "laps" around the house today. He always hurts bad afterwards but it's good for him to get up and moving.

Jordie is coming down with something. She was running a slight fever tonight and has had a cough for a couple of days. I may keep her home from school tomorrow. They are out at 1:00 tomorrow anyway.

Happy Valentines day everyone!

Jim is home

2008-02-11T18:12:00.000-06:00

I guess I don't know what I'm talking about. Jim called me at 2:00 today and said they were releasing him. He is home now and resting in the spare bedroom. He's going to be awfully bored because we shut the cable off to save money. I'll have to get some rabbit ears for the little TV so he can at least watch the local channels.

Another Update

2008-02-11T03:50:00.001-06:00

They put Jim back on the oxygen last night but let him take it off today when he woke up. They took the drain out of his back also. He is still in ALOT of pain and they can't seem to get that under control. They are alterinating morfine and pain pills every 2 hours. They did an xray to see if any bones got cracked and that might be why he was in such pain but the xrays came out fine. The nurse said tonight that when the dr. comes in tomorrow they are going to talk to him about a different pain management plan. He can't sit, lay or walk for any length of time because he is in such pain. He has to wear his back brace whenever he isn't laying flat on his back. I have a feeling this is going to be a very long recovery. Jim was hoping to be out of the hospital after 4 days but that is NOT going to happen. I'm guessing he might be out by Thurs. or Fri. if they can get his pain under control.

My mom got in tonight to help me out for 3 days with Jordie. She has to leave early Thurs. morning because she has book commitments.

A few complications

2008-02-09T21:30:00.000-06:00

They put Jim on a heart monitor last night because his heart rate was really up. He had to wear it all day today so they could monitor it. When Jordie and I went back up after dinner they had taken it off though so that's a good sign. They also had him on oxygen last night and all day today. He is really in alot of pain. He can't get comfortable at all. They have a drain put in his back to drain the blood and the fluid. Jordan is just fasinated with the blood in the tube. It makes me want to puke when I see it. I'm praying he can get a little sleep tonight and they can give him something different tomorrow that will help with his pain.

Surgery went good

2008-02-09T04:08:00.000-06:00

Jim's surgery went good. He didn't get out until nearly 7:00. After Jordie and I talked to the dr. we came home. I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. The dr. said Jim would sleep all night and wouldn't even know we weren't there. I came home got her a snack, plugged in a movie, emailed and texted friends saying Jim was fine and I was in bed at 8:20. Of course then the phone kept ringing for another hour or so with people checking on him. Jordie came and crawled in bed with me around 10:00. I woke up at 3:00 am and now can't go back to sleep! UGGH. It's going to be tough to make it through my graveyard shift tonight without any more sleep. I'm hoping I can catch a nap this afternoon. Thanks again everyone for your prayers.

Jim is in surgery now

2008-02-08T15:06:00.000-06:00

Jim is in surgery now. They got about a 2 hour late start so he won't be done until 6 or 7 tonight. I've just come home to put the dogs out and pick up Jordan from the bus. Will post more tonight when I get home from the hospital. Thanks everyone for your prayers.

Surgery scheduled

2008-02-04T17:00:00.000-06:00

Jim's surgery will be Fri. at 11:00 am. It turns out the insurance actually approved the appeal of Fri. but couldn't get a hold of Jim's dr. If they had the surgery could have gone on today as planned. Darn it anyway! Oh well at least it's scheduled now and we are praying this one does the trick and he won't be in pain anymore.

No surgery for now

2008-02-01T18:09:00.000-06:00

Well the surgery is postponed. The insurance company says it will be at least 15 days until they make a decision. Jim's dr, his dr's collegue, Jim's HR lady and Jim himself have all filed expedite appeals on this. I'm cancelling my day off for Mon. but keeping Thurs. and Fri. in case by some small miracle they make a decision.

Goofy weather

2008-01-29T17:37:00.000-06:00

We had 2 days of weather over 50 degrees. It was wonderful and I was hopeful spring was just around the corner. But then it is only the end of Jan. and today we are back to 6 degrees with wind chill of -14 and light snow has been falling off and on today. It's supposed to be -8 at 6 am tomorrow. It will be a cold one for waiting up at the bus stop with Jordie. Have I mentioned how much I hate winter?

Update on surgery and insurance issues

2008-01-29T17:36:00.000-06:00

Jim's dr. has submitted the appeal and also had another dr. submit his opinion that this surgery is medically necessary. As of right now they have not gotten a response back fromt he insurance company. The surgery is still scheduled for Mon. unless we get a definate no answer from the insurance company.

Insurance Companies are Stupid!

2008-01-28T07:02:00.000-06:00

We got a letter from our insurance company on Sat. saying the preapproval for Jim's surgery that's scheduled for Feb. 4 was denied because they didn't deem it medically necessary?????? How does the insurance company know what is and is not medically necessary? So now Jim has to take the paperwork to his dr. today so they can appeal it to the insurance company. It's just a pain. It is medically necessary for him to have this done. The man can hardly walk lately because of the pain. He was off work most of last week because of the pain too. I just hope they can get it approved before it's too late for his surgery to take place next Mon.

Plan Z

2008-01-21T19:05:00.000-06:00

Well we are up to plan Z. I'm going to call the lady from Princess tomorrow and decline the interview. I need to call Northwest Airlines to get my trip cancelled. It turns out Jim's surgery is scheduled for the day I was supposed to fly out. I can't very well leave him here and move out there being the only income for the 1 1/2-2 months he will be off of work. So we have decided to just stay here for now and get this house ready to go on the market by March hopefully and then Jordie and I will head out to Washington the end of May or early June. My mom wants to take Jordan to Storybook Island in Rapid City, SD the week after Memorial day when school is out so Jordan and I may just go out there with my mom and leave from there to go out to Washington. We are also looking at the Tri-Cities area of Washington. Which is where I originally was looking at but Jim wanted the Seattle area. My mom talked to him this weekend though and now has him convinced that the Tri-Cities area maybe the best for us. :)
I will start looking for work out there in the next month or so. For the next month and half to two months I will be working all the overtime I can since Jim will be off work and we still have child support and bills to pay. Please pray I have the strength to work alot.

Update on Seattle Job

2008-01-14T04:04:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted an update because I was worried about negative comments from someone, but people have been asking so I will update this. I am flying out to Seattle on Feb. 4th, interviewing and taking assessment tests on the 5th and flying back on the 6th. I will know by the 8th if I have the job for sure or not. I will say that I got my plane ticket with money I have raised by working OVERTIME, a bonus I got for a good sales month and Christmas money I had left. I spent NO money out of our general account for this. I will be staying with my sister so I will have no hotel expense while I'm there. I'm pretty confident I will get the job. I'm starting to go through our things and pack some stuff up in boxes. Jordan and I will be driving out but just taking clothes and some of her toys. We'll move everything else out after the house sells. My grandma is getting excited for us to move out there. She's telling everyone she will be watching Ms. Jordan. Which she won't be doing full time but she's excited about us living with her for a while. Jordan is excited to be near her cousin Parker. That's about it for now. Please keep me in your prayers for this job!

Possible Job

2008-01-05T20:17:00.000-06:00

Jim and were talking on Wed. night and decided to start looking for work in Washington. We both want to get out of Nebraska. We are tired of the cold and snow so we decided to concentrate our search on western Washington. I happened to go online to the seattletimes.com Wed. night. There I found a PERFECT job! It's for Princess Cruise Lines (the same cruise line we went on) in their reservation center in Seattle. I would be doing the same thing I do now for Marriott but it would be for cruises instead of hotel rooms. I filled out their online app. I got an email on Thurs. evening with a questionnaire to answer. Then they called me Fri. evening and said they wanted to do a phone interview this Wed.! Wow, this has just moved along so fast. So be praying I pass the phone interview and they want to hire me. Jordan and I would go out the end of Feb. because the training starts the first week of March. We can stay with my grandma in Bremerton until Jim sells this house and we find a place to live. I'm really getting excited about this but don't want to get my hopes up to high yet.

Scrapbooking

2008-01-03T14:39:00.001-06:00

I went to a 12 hour crop at Archivers on the 29th. It was my Christmas present from Jim and I had gotten a gift card from my mother-in-law for Christmas so I didn't have to spend any money that day. I finished up the year with forty seven 2 page spreads and 29 one page spreads. Not as many as I wanted to get done this year but oh well. Now it's time to start on this year's pages. I'm going to another crop on the 2nd of Feb. This ones only an 8 hour one though. Some day I might get caught up on all my pictures.

Another update on dad

2008-01-03T14:34:00.000-06:00

I talked to my sister a little bit ago. They have moved my dad out of ICU and into CCU (Critical Care Unit). He is doing better now. There were some issues with his lungs and deep breathing. That's what happens when you smoke for as long as he has though. My sister Shannon is going to a caregiver class and will be helping dad at home for the next month once he gets home. I won't be going out after all. We really can't afford it now and I would only be able to stay for a few days. Thanks for all your continued prayers.

Dad out of surgery

2007-12-31T17:42:00.000-06:00

My dad is out of surgery and in recovery. He will sleep the rest of tonight. He has to be on a ventilator until at least tomorrow. Thanks for all of your prayer.

2007-12-30T19:11:00.000-06:00

Here's some pics I stole off Tori's Myspace page of her and Chad. Aren't they cute together?

This is a pic of their little turtle. He is so tiny and sooo cute!

Christmas pics

2007-12-28T15:12:00.000-06:00

My Christmas Chicken Wreath. It was really yummy!

Getting ready to go to Christmas Eve Church Service

Jordan and Daddy ready to go to church

Such a little ham

Jordan's Santa present

Lucy loved her new toy

Jim being silly. Jordan said he looked like Rudolph

Kelly enjoying her Christmas treat

Jordan with her Barbie from Grandma Diane

Jordan with her "Your Big Backyard" magazine. Grandma Nancy got her a subscription for Christmas

Don't they look cute together?

I love this picture of Riley with his Christmas treat.

Update on my dad

2007-12-27T16:00:00.000-06:00

I talked with my sisters today and they are going to do open heart surgery on my dad on Monday. He will be in the hospital until then so they can monitor him and then he will be in for about 5 days after the surgery. Please continue with your prayers.

Urgent Prayers Needed

2007-12-27T10:08:00.000-06:00

My dad is in the hospital in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and the surgeon is evaluating today whether to do another open heart surgery. My dad's health is very poor and his medical history is very extensive. Please pray that the dr. can help him. My sister Shannon from Seattle is headed over there today and my sisters Crystal and Angela are in Spokane. I will be going out there when we know more of what will happen. Please pray that my dad makes it.

Time for an update

2007-12-23T22:57:00.000-06:00

I know it's time for an update. A few things have happened in the last week or so.

Tori is Finally Married!
Jim went down to Florida last weekend but the wedding didn't happen. The kids missed their appointment time at the chapel. But they did get married yesterday so just a week later. Jim was upset that he couldn't go back down for it. Tori and Chad now have their own little apartment and Tori is loving the warm Florida weather.

Courtney is Doing Good
I talked to Courtney a few times this last week. She now has a part time job, is still going to North High School and has been accepted to Morningside College in Sioux City for the fall.

Jordan's Brownie Troop Went Caroling

The brownie troop went caroling at one of the local nursing homes. The kids did a pretty good job. I think they were a little overwhelmed at the condition of some of the people.

Jordan Lost a Second Tooth
Jordan lost her second bottom front tooth yesterday. She's really excited about it.

Christmas Cookies and Candies Made
Jordan helped me make Mexican Wedding Cakes, Chocolate Cake Cookies and Chocolate and Vanilla dipped pretzels rings. Jordan loved putting the sprinkles on the prezel rings. Jim loves the Mexican Wedding cakes so this is actually the second batch this season I have made :)

Christmas Eve and Christmas Plans
Tomorrow we are going to church service at 7 pm. Jordan will get to open one present tomorrow. She discovered that I put her present from Grandma Diane under the tree and she has been dying to open it. I have not put our stuff for her out yet because it is going to go in gift bags (because I have no boxes) and I know she will be peaking :) I'm going to make a Chicken Christmas Wreath tomorrow for dinner. I got the recipe in an e-mail. You make it with cresent rolls, chicken and green and red peppers (other ingredients too but I can't remember them off the top of my head). I have a cheese ball and crackers for us to snack on tomorrow. For Christmas dinner I have a ham, that we got from someone at church a month or so ago that I had frozen, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, corn and rolls. I alway make monkey bread for breakfast on Christmas day too. It will just be a quite day at home on Christmas. I have tomorrow night off but have to go into work at 11:00 on Christmas night.

That's about it for an update from us. Hope all is well with everyone and you all have a great Christmas!

Prayers for safe travel

2007-12-13T08:28:00.000-06:00

Please pray for safe travel as Victoria and her friend Jen leave tonight to travel to Florida with the moving truck. The girls are planning to drive straight through and get to Jacksonville Sat. morning in time for Tori to get ready for her wedding. With the wild winter weather lately I really hope they don't run into trouble. Best of luck to you girls!

Winter Program

2007-12-13T00:58:00.000-06:00

Jordan's school program was today. The kids all did a great job! The kindergarteners were the last class to perform. Each class did 2 songs, the band and strings had pieces they did and then the whole school and the audience sang 4 songs together. It was so fun.

Her Christmas dress from Grandma Nancy

I braided her hair last night after we washed it so it was wavy today. She said she didn't want the waves to go away. I think she will be disappointed tomorrow when she gets up. I can't imagine they would last 2 days.

Jordan's class.

Remember on the halloween post where I said Steven from her class was a handful and was the one who roared in the mic when Jordie went up to say what she was for halloween? Well that's Steven on the left in the top row. He kept hollering "hi mom and dad!" and trying to walk down to them. All his parents did was laugh at him. It's no wonder he's a handful.

The kids all watching Steven and trying to keep singing

Here's a video I took. It's not the greatest but you can see the class. This was at the end when everyone one was singing. I tried to scan over to see the other kids but it was too dark. I wasn't sure how to cut that out to put it on here so just excuse the few seconds of blackness. :)

Christmas Changes

2007-12-10T07:33:00.000-06:00

Since money is really tight and we are choosing to cut alot out so that Jim can go to Florida for Tori's wedding we have decided not to make our trip to Kansas City for Christmas. We will just have a quiet Christmas here at home. We were going to stay at a Marriott on the plaza for free since it's during the employee trade out time but that's ok. It still would have taken money for gas and food and any spending we did so we are just cutting that out.

Why all the violence?

2007-12-06T08:33:00.000-06:00

A 20 year old gunman shot up a mall here in Omaha yesterday. The violence is senseless. He killed 8 people, wounded 5 others and then killed himself. Omaha has been getting more violent lately. Please pray for peace. It makes me just want to run away to the woods and live in seclusion.

The tree is up

2007-12-03T14:00:00.000-06:00

After all the chaos last night we did end up getting our tree put up. Jordan loved decorating it.

Jordan helping daddy put the branches on

Lucy looked so cute laying in the branches on the couch

Decorating the tree

She was all into bowing last night. I'm not sure what that was all about

Victoria and Kelly

Jordie loves her big sissy.

Victoria's Getting Married!

2007-12-03T13:58:00.001-06:00

Victoria and Chad are getting married on Dec. 15th. Chad is in the Navy, based in Jacksonville, FL. Tori leaves for Florida next week. Jim will be flying down for the weekend to give her away. We wish them the best of luck!

Can't we all just get along?????

2007-12-03T13:36:00.000-06:00

After another heated argument last night Courtney has moved out. She's staying with some friends for now but is supposed to be going back up to Elk Point with her mom and getting into counseling again. For 10 years now I have tried to hold this family together and bring everyone to love each other again. I know now I can't do that and I am done trying. The kids can do what they want and Jim's parents can not speak to us if that's what they choose. All of them know our house is open to them whenever they want. But I'm not going to be the peace keeper and mediator anymore. I'm done. I can't let myself be so worked up and worn out with it anymore.