Eternal Soul Mate...

Yesterday was our 20th wedding anniversary! Where has time gone? In some ways it has crawled by, looking at it daily, weekly, but looking at the entire picture, it has just gone so fast! So many wonderful and not so wonderful things have taken place over the years. Somehow, we just get busy living and forget to live. :P We didnt go out and do anything special. We did take the kids out to lunch, but our city was doing a city wide block party (1st annual). So we were part of the three organizer families. YAY. It went off really well. OUR neighborhood was a success. We had about 40 people. Jeff was in charge of the games. I only stayed long enough to eat because Matthew isn't into the social scene. It was either take him home, or force him to stay resulting in an ugly meltdown in front of everyone. I don't want that at all. So we came home and the rest of the family stayed for almost 2 hours longer. They had a great time. But anyway, back to our anniversary, I bought Jeff a watch he has been eying up. He really loved it. Tonight he had to go get it sized and he is excited to wear it tomorrow. He has a thing with watches. I suppose its like me with kitchen gadgets or purses/bags. :P He was very thoughtful. He bought me a body pillow and a new king size pillow. I didn't have the heart to tell him I don't like change and I love the pillow I already have. I am certain, they will find a niche with a head all to happy to sleep on them! ! ! But he also gave me a music CD that I have been wanting for a while (Adele 21). I just love Jeff. He is such a good daddy. He is a wonderful husband and provider for our family. He is my love. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful man in my life!

HeAtHeR...

Our 16 year old niece, Heather, is my brother's daughter, wrecked her car this morning. It flipped and rolled. She was ejected out the back window and left on the ground safely as her car continued to wreck. Angels certainly held her through this. Also, while she lay there on the ground, screaming in pain, someone came within a minute or two to be with her. She wasn't alone long. She has an L3 compression fracture (in her spine) and will wear a brace for 6 weeks or so. She has minor scrapes and bruises and is dirty but she is OK. What a blessing. By the looks of her car below, you would see that had she actually been buckled in, she would have continued to flip and roll. But for her, she was planted safely on the ground.

I love you dearest Heather! :)

Fair Week Continues....

We decided to go out to the fair last night to take the girls and do rides. Matthew didn't go with us because he doesn't enjoy the fair at all. There are way too many noises (with the races and rodeo going on) and the rides just freak him out. He also gets sick in the heat so we decided to leave him at White Grandma's (Jeff's parents). So we took the girls, bought our wrist bands, rode three rides and a storm blew in. As we were leaving, we were headed toward our van when all of a sudden, this very loud burst of what sounded like firecrackers went off just above our heads. It was so loud and bright it almost landed me on the ground. I was holding Bethanie's hand and Jeff was holding Madison's hand and we all looked up to see what was happening. We realized in a quick instant, that while our bodies reacted to what happened before our brains did, that it was lightning that struck right above our heads. It hit the building we were next to and split the air and sparked on the building. It left a black mark on the ceiling of the building, then it bounced from there to a make-shift stage just beside the building. Two people were hurt in this incident. It could easily have been us. Poor Bethanie was stuck with me. She went into a panic attack. I wanted to but I had to control myself for her sake. I shoved her into the building that was hit and just held on to her. I don't know if it was more for my sake or hers. It was terrifying. Jeff and Madison were somewhere behind us. I don't even remember seeing them come into the building. Later, he said he wanted to just keep heading on toward the van (which was parked quite a ways a way). I don't remember ever being so scared before.

So tonight we decided that lightening probably wont strike twice in one place, so off to the fair we went. We took Matthew this time and as usual he hated it. But it is a good teaching time for him to learn that sometimes he has to do things that he doesn't like, to make his loved ones happy. We wonder how confusing the fair must be for him. He sees the rides, he hears people scream in fear and surprise (which makes him think 0f fear) but at the same time, those are the people laughing. How confusing it must be for him. Along with all the sensory issues going on for him at the same time. But he made effort and we all ended up having a great time.

Bethanie can hardly wait to see how much $ she won at the fair. She already has it spent (in her mind). LOL!

2010-2011 Fair Entries...

This collage is of Bethanie's pictures from this past school year. Some of the things she did at home. But she entered all 8 things this year. From left to right, here is how she scored:
Ranks: Purple=1st place; Blue=2nd place; Red=3rd place; White=4th place

Mona Lisa- blue ribbon
Owl- purple ribbon & BEST OF FAIR RIBBON!!!!
December Book-blue ribbon
Black Dog- purple ribbon
Statue of Liberty (my personal favorite)-purple ribbon
Fishing for Grandpa- purple ribbon
Blond Self Portrait- blue ribbon
Wolf painted on fabric-purple ribbon

So 5 1st places and 4 second place ribbons and one BEST OF FAIR RIBBON!!!



Now, Matthew also had one fair entry. I wasn't able to get a picture of it because it has been stored at grandma's house for safe keeping. It is a Lego semi rig that has hydraulics and is really awesome! He won a blue ribbon so he won 2nd place!

WAHOO! I love seeing the kids excited about their accomplishments! There are a lot of really fantastic things out there to see that are entered! Great work kids!!!

My sweet mom, Terry...

Today we celebrated my mom's 61st birthday at her home! What fun it is to spend such special days with one another. Mom has had a very tough year and a half, and seeing her smile and enjoy her party just melted my heart! I love her so much! I feel so loved by my Heavenly Father, simply because he gave such a wonderful and strong woman to love me. Her body spends most of its time torturing her, but her spirit within is so vibrant, loving and kind. I love you mom! I hope you had a great birthday party!

KiTcHeN GaDgEtS...

I think it is fairly safe to say that everyone who knows me, knows how much I love GADGETS. I am a Tupperware fan. I also like Pampered Chef stuff, but I LOVE Tupperware. So, out came this neat empanada maker thing-a-ma-jig. :) Today, I made 24 mini pies. Some were cherry and some were apple. It was the easiest thing ever to make. I have an awesome Canola Oil pie crust recipe that I use and it was so quick. My girlies love to come in and help me when I bake. This gadget is especially neat because not only does it crimp them, but it also cuts them in a perfect circle to make the pie. They also will go in the freezer quite nicely. I cant wait to try some pudding pies and some meat or breakfast pies!!!!