The World Has Disappeared!

What a strange feeling it is to have the rest of the world "whited out". We are in the middle of a huge winter storm right now. It's snowing, -11 degrees (yes....that's below zero!), way windy, and.....basically.....just very yucky out! Welcome winter! Yesterday Dave went and picked up a new-to-us pickup. It's a 4-wheel drive, has 2 bench seats in it (a must for our family!), and.......Dave's favorite thing........came with a snow blade on the front. Poor Dave.....he gets this pick up.......and then it snows. =( The poor guy just had to go outside this morning and play around with his new pickup....with this blade on it. Don't you feel sorry for him?

Here is a picture of our white-out and the white pickup.

Last of the Thankful Pictures

Oh my........I forgot all about posting my last 2 Thankful pictures from November. I cannot believe how quickly we are speeding through December! Christmas will be here before we know it!

Nov. 29

Clara picked the picture for today and decided that she was thankful for MOM and DAD. So she got to take a picture of us.

Nov. 30

Dave was the last person to get to choose what to take a Thankful picture of. He thought for a few seconds and said that he was thankful for God. Hmmmm......awesome idea......but how do you take a picture of it? This is the best we could come up with.

Some More Thankful Pictures

I've gotten really lax on posting my pictures each day, but I am taking them.........and having a really fun time doing it! I am looking forward to compiling our 31 Thankful Pictures into some type of book. This has been a great thing to do!

Friday, Nov 28

Chris picked today's picture and he wanted a picture of our van. He's been really good at picking out the basics of what God has given to us.......food, house, furniture, van.......what a great thing to be so thankful for the "simple" things He has given us.

Thursday, Nov. 27

Thanksgiving day! SOOOOO much to be thankful for! Nobody picked today's picture. We all decided we are most thankful for our family! So here is a picture of the whole bunch of us who gathered yesterday. It was interesting taking a picture of everybody there. I gave the job of figuring it all out to my brother-in-law Jeff. He like taking pictures and I knew he's know what to do. My new little camera has a self timer, I used (for probably the 3rd or 4th time) my little grippy tripod that bends and supposedly can be used anywhere. Jeff put it on the kitchen table, on top of a globe.......and it worked really good! Then everybody piled in and sat somewhat still while Jeff got everything worked out. Then he pressed the button and ran for the back of the group. I discovered that the kids think the flashing red timer light is fascinating. They stared at it and we ended up getting 3 pictures that had EVERYBODY looking at the camera. I'm thinking that when I take pictures of the kids from now on I might use the timer, just so they can watch the red light and be looking at the camera. Anyway.........I'm excited about this picture!

Wed. Nov. 26

Debbie's day.......and she was going to Grandma's house for the day. So guess what she chose to take Thankful picture of????? It is fitting to have a picture of Grandma's house. We are all very thankful for them, and also for the 2 other sets of grandparents we have all in the same town. We are blessed.

Tuesday, Nov. 25

Benji thought for quite awhile about what to take his last Thankful picture of. He came up with taking it of the American flag. He is proud to be an American.

Monday, Nov. 24

Jacob had been thinking of what to take his last Thankful picture of and he had decided to take it of him and his dog Brownie.

Sunday, Nov. 23

Clara really likes our pastor and his wife. She named 2 of her Webkinz after them and wanted to take a picture of them. We are all thankful for them. They are great!

Saturday, Nov. 22

Today was Dave's day. Of course, I forgot to tell him this until it was almost dark out. He told me to take a picture of the "swamp box". This is what him and his brother call a Model T that they just throw together and don't really restore. They have been doing this and then selling them on ebay. This one Dave decided to bring out to the farm and said I'm going to learn to drive a T on this one. I had one other lesson last summer and discovered that's it's quite difficult. But Dave wanted his picture of this Model T. He's thankful that they are so involved in putting them together and restoring them.

Catching Up on Thankful Pictures

Even though I haven't been posting our Thankful pictures this past week I have been taking them. So.........here they are.............

Sat. Nov. 15

This was my day to pick and I was thankful for my girls. This afternoon us girls had a "Girls Only, No Boys Allowed" afternoon. We went shopping and to a movie. It was a fun time. So here's me and the girls.

Sun. Nov. 16

To go along with yesterday's thankful picture, Dave chose to have his picture for today be of him and the boys. Yesterday afternoon they had a "Boy Only, No Girls Allowed" time. I'm not quite sure what all they did but I know it ended with them going out to eat and having ice cream for dessert. The boys had fun!

Mon. Nov 17

Debbie chose what to take a picture of today. She wanted to take a picture of her Strawberry Shortcake, Barbies, and horses. So that's what we did..........

Tue. Nov 18

Benji decided that he was thankful for chothes. Here is his stack of clothes that is begging to be put away. At our house, the clothes seem to get stuck in piles in our laundry room.Wed. Nov 19

For today's picture Jacob wanted to take a picture of the school. For all of his complaining about homework he really does like school. So here it is.........Thur. Nov. 20

Chris's day today...........and after much thought...........he decided that he was thankful for furniture. So he told me to take a picture of the couch.

Fri. Nov. 21

My day today. I am combining 2 thankfuls into one picture. I am very thankful for my job as Preschool Director! This is our 5th year and I love it! We have 34 students this year and I love the 2 teachers who I work with. Tonight was our first Preschool Program of the year. Debbie was in it and looked so cute in her pink dress. Too bad she didn't sing a single word and didn't look too happy to be up there. So my second thankful thing for today is having a little girl to dress up in pink dresses. =)

Friday, Nov 14 Thankfulness

As a reminder, our family is taking a Thankful picture everyday in the month of November. We are taking turns deciding what to take pictures of. This has been a wonderful thing so far. I am amazed at what things are important to the kids. And they all have such different things they want to take pictures of.

Today is Clara's day. Before school I asked her what she thanked God for. She decided that she is thankful for the "angels" her Grandma gave her. She calls them her angels, but they aren't angels, they are little girls. One of her birth-grandmas' have been collecting these for Clara since she turned one. For her 10th birthday she gave them to her. Clara has a special shelf near her bunkbed for them, along with some other special treasures. While taking the picture I noticed how dirty it is up there. UGH!

Thursday, Nov. 13 Thankful Picture

Today was Debbie's day. She said that she was thankful for "Ruby". This, translated into non-3 year old talk, is Reuben, our cat. Debbie loves the cat! And the poor thing is soooo dumb! The cat lets Debbie maul her, then when Debbie looses her grip on the cat and drops her, the cat stands there and waits for it to all happen again. I would think that as soon as she had a milisecond of a chance the cat would run, but.........nope. Oh well...........

About this picture.........I'm thankful for the new comforter the cat it laying on. But........shhhh.........don't tell Dave Rueben was on the bed.

Nov. 12 Thankfulness

So..........for today's Thankful picture Benji got to decide what to take a picture of. He choose his Dad. So sweet.............

Nov. 11 Thankful Picture

Today was Dave's day. I told him about it first thing in the morning and TRACTOR and the WINDMILL. I didn't get too technical with him and tell him that was 2 things. I just glad to have gotten an answer out of him. This is tractor that he uses to do all sorts of things around the farm, feeding the cows, moving bales, moving snow, moving manure (uck!) and moving.....well....all sorts of things. The windmill is pretty cool because it's the windmill from the homestead of Dave's great-great grandpa, the first in the family to move to the "new country" and homestead in South Dakota. Several years ago Dave's dad arranged to buy the windmill from the guy who now owns that land and they went down to get it. It's now up at our farm. Kinda cool......

Nov. 10 Thankful Picture

Chris picked out today's Thankful picture and he choose our HOUSE. I am with Chris in being thankful for our house, especially with the weather turning colder. Sometimes we forget to thank God for basic things. Chris is good at remembering to do this. His last picture was of eating and now it's our house. This is his photography so the picture is a little crooked, but he sure liked taking the picture!

November 9 Thankful Picture

OK.......so I think this is one of my favorite Thankful Pictures so far. Jacob has been waiting all week to do this. He is thankful that our family goes to church together. I love that he is thankful for that! And it's my prayer that as he grows into a man, he is remember that and raise his family in the same way.

This was kind of funny.........the guy who was taking our picture this morning........Shawn........kept saying that the camera wasn't working..........HA..........there were a few pictures like this..........he's funny..........

Thankful Picture for Nov 8

Today was my day to decide what to take a picture of. This weekend is Deer Hunting opening and as Dave and a couple of the kids were getting ready to go out looking for deer I snapped a picture. I chose this for a couple of reasons. First of all, because it is always cute to see how exciting it is for the boys to do things with their dad. They get excited about doing "manly" things with him, whether it's checking the cows, hauling in wood, or going deer hunting. Another reason I choose this for my thankful picture is because I'm thankful for the right to bear arms and go hunting. Deer are the only thing we hunt so we are not all gung-ho with the hunting thing, but I'm thankful for the right to do it.

Nov. 7 Picture

Today was Clara's day to choose what to take a Thankful Picture of. She decided to take a picture of her ADOPTION SCRAPBOOK. This is where there are all sorts of pictures and info about her when she was little and all about her adoption. She must be really thankful for this. Here are the pages she wanted me to take the picture of.

Nov 6 Thankful Picture

So....today was Debbie's turn to decide what to take a picture of. When I asked her what she thanked God for she said........."Clara and me". What a precious way for a three year old to say how much they appreciate her big sister. So here is the picture of my girls...........

Thankful Picture of Nov. 5

Today I let Jacob decide what to we were going to take a picture of. His first choice was to take one of the whole family dressed up and attending church together, but he wants to do that on Sunday. So we're going to wait a few days for that one. I was touched that he is so thankful for that! The second idea he had was that he was thankful for baseball. But.......it was raining out and he didn't want to take the picture in the rain. So then he decided he was thankful for the rain. But........it was dark out and raining.......how do you get a picture of that? I tried but it just didn't work. So............then he thought for a little while and said that he was thankful for SPECIAL THINGS. Huh? So he pointed to one of my most prized possessions and one of the most "special things" in the house that has a bunch of "special things" on top of it. He was thankful for my hutch. This is a piece of furniture that my Grampy built for my parents shortly after they were married. It is beautiful! When my parents moved into the house my dad lives in now there was no room for the hutch. So.......bummer........I had to sacrifice and put it in my house. I was so excited! And on it are plates, pictures, and other "special things" that are very........well..........special. I was amazed that this is what Jacob chose (even though it wasn't one of his first choices) for today's picture.

Nov 4 Picture

Dave picked what to take for today's picture. He told me while we were on our way to vote. He wanted me to take a picture from our driveway looking over the valley. This was to symbolize the free country we live in. So here it is.......

Nov. 3 Picture

Today was Benji's day to decide what Thankful picture to take. After being asked what he really thanked God for he said..............."you Mommy".............gosh, I love that kid! My heart melted! So he took a picture of me. He got to decide where to take it and all that. He decided to do a close up. So.........here's the picture for today.

Nov. 2 Thankful Picture

For today's picture I asked Chris to tell me something he's thankful to God for. He said......after much thought.......EATING. So I took a picture of my food cabinet in the kitchen to represent the food that God supplies for us.

We're Thankful For.....

I am now in a new challenge to take a picture every day in November of something I am thankful for. I am getting the kids involved in this and we're all going to take turns deciding what to take a picture of each day. For Nov. 1 I let them all decide together what to take it of. And this being the day after our Harvest Party.....and them each having a big bag of candy......they choose CANDY. So..........even though it is a bit superficial.........yesterday's picture is of candy.

Pictures from College

Oh my goodness! I have recently connected with a bunch of people I knew in college. Some of them have been posting pictures from way back then. We're talking the early 90's. It's bringing back a slew of memories and I've spent lots of time giggling over the pictures. I thought I would put a few of them up here.

I was, as Dave puts it, a "drama person" and loved every minute of it! This is a picture of me and Jennifer dressed up for some play. I don't even remember which one it was.

Here is another one of Jennifer and me. We shared an apartment our Junior year and had lots of fun times. I was shocked at how long and curly my hair is in this picture! I was also shocked at how huge my glasses are! What was the deal with big frames back then? Did it make us see better?

This was taken on the last day of my Sophmore year. There were several of us messing around together. Jennifer and I were so very excited because we had just found an apartment for the next year. The other gal is Denita, one of my bestest friends. =) Our clothes are adorable, aren't they?

This last one is.......obviously...........of when I graduated from college. Again........look at the super long hair and outlandishly huge glasses. With me is Trayc. The two of us lived right next to each other our Senior year. It was a good time!Well..........thanks for taking a trip down Memory Lane with me. Seeing all these pictures makes me somewhat miss those days. But then I am reminded of all that God has given me since then. Back then, I would never have guessed how my life is turning out. But I love it! I praise God for my wonderful hubby and for my the kids He has given to us.

My Last Scrap Off Layouts

I have liked being in this Scrap Off and I've gotten several pages done because of it, but it's now coming to an end. This was the last week of it. Here are my last 2 LO's for it. Just to warn you......I took these pictures at night and the lighting just wasn't working for pictures. And the layouts need to be posted by midnight tonight. So the pictures don't look good at all. But.......they are done and posted. So I guess that's what counts.

The first challenge of the week was to "scraplift" a layout from one of the other ladies in the group. I choose a LO that my good friend Becky had done. This is what I came up with. I used pictures of Debbie learning to ice skate last winter. I love these pictures! Or maybe it's the memories behind the pictures. =)

The other challenge was to use ribbon, chipboard, and metal. This is what I did.

ScrapOff Challenges For the Week

Here are my LO's for this week. I think there is only one more week of this challenge. I'm going to miss it.

The first challenge was to make a monocramatic layout. I couldn't use pattern paper and all the cardstock I used had to be in the same color "family". I could use different colored embellishments. I did a LO with some pictures Clara and Chris took when we were picking up bales a couple of weeks ago.
The next challenge was to do a LO with 25 of the same embellishment on it. I used pictures of Jacob driving our ancient 3 wheeler and giving the other kids rides. I put more than 25 square brads on it.

Glasses

Yesterday afternoon I had to go and pick up TWO pairs of new glasses for TWO different kids. Last Wed. I brought Jacob and Clara to the eye-guy because they had failed the vision test at school. Sure enough........they both needed glasses......Jacob for all the time and Clara for when she's reading. Yesterday we got to pick them up and......ohhhhhh......there was SOOOO much excitement at our house last night. Here they are showing their glasses off.

This Week's Layouts

The first of this week's scrapoff challenges was to do a layout with "I Wish for you...." I changed it around a little (after seeing that my friend Kathea did something similar) and did "My Prayer For You...." I used a picture of Jacob that was takend on Labor Day. Dave had just started a fire in the firepit at the lake when it started to pour. Jacob decided to use his body as a shield to protect the fire and he didn't give up until he was completely soaked and I yelled at him to come to the shelter.

This is the journaling I used:
When it started to rain right after Daddy started this fire, you were determined to protect it with your body. I pray that you will always persever...always do what you think is right...always put others needs above your own. Just like you did with that fire.

I also wrote the Bible vers 2 Peter 1:5-7 on it:
Make every effor to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, persevereance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love...this will keep you from being ineffective and unprductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The second challenge was to use an old tool with new supplies. For this I used some older pictures of Debbie and made a simple LO us my Fascinator, which I've had for a couple years but have used maybe twice. The I used some new Fancy Pants rubons.

This Weeks Scrap-Off Challenges

The first challenge was to create a layout using only paper and one embellishment. That one embellishment could be used more than once. The other day I was outside with my camera and all of a sudden Chris started making the craziest faces. Then, when I started taking pictures he stepped it up a notch. I love these pictures of him!

The next challenge was to make a layout of a favorite thing. My favorite is kind of a stretch but I've been wanting to use Debbie's song in a layout and so I decided to say she was my favorite musician. The story behind this is that a couple weeks ago we were driving home from town, just the two of us. All of a sudden she starts singing. The song she was making up was absolutely adorable! I grabbed some paper and wrote down the words she was singing. Don't ask me how I did that while I was driving..........

Scrap Off - Week 2

Like I said last week......I am in a little challenge. Every week there are 2 challenges I have to do. Here are this week's pages for the challenge.

For this first one I had to have a border on all 4 sides of the page and embellish them. Here's my take on that challenge:

This next page was a pretty quick one........and you can tell. I'm thinking that I will probably redo this at some point in the future. But for now.....it's done. For this challenge, I had to use a certain sketch as a guide.

A Couple Pages

Today I completed two scrapbook pages for a challenge I am in. I need to do 2 pages a week for the month of September.

This first challenge I needed to use stamping (on the white paper), paint (around the circles), and 3 circles (I used 4).

For the second challenge I needed to embellish some brads (I used Stickles on them) and put them in a shape (I did a circle).