Life at the Cauley's

Goodbye for now

2009-10-23T12:52:00.002-04:00

For any faithful readers that might be out there...I will be taking a break from blogging indefinately. I am not sure when or if it will start up again.

God Bless,
Bridgett

Look mom, I'm all ready to go!

2009-09-18T09:13:00.003-04:00

Cute moment

2009-09-14T10:00:00.002-04:00

Rachel and Julia are play cooking and eating this morning. Their menu consists of "Buffaloaf", Rachel just came in and asked if I could make some "Buffaloaf" sometime. I thought it was too funny.

James' 1st soccer practice

2009-09-14T08:50:00.006-04:00

So you can pick him out, James is wearing a red shirt and blue shorts.

woohoo we made a goal!!

Go James!

Goal kicking relay

Despite what it may look like, he is not trying to hit that girl

James listening intently

Some cute spectators

Mowing the lawn

2009-09-14T08:45:00.004-04:00

James is not quite ready to do it by himself, but Jim is showing him the ropes.

Fall Chore Chart

2009-09-14T08:23:00.005-04:00

The kids had a break from their chore charts this summer. They still had to do things around the house but we didn't use a chart. Anyway, this is their new fall chart. I made this template on Excel and every so often I change the colors and content of the chart. I really like it this way because I can customize it to their ages, abilities, and shortcomings. For example...one of Rachel's responsibilities is to "be polite", say hi, don't just put your head down and ignore people, etc... I am sure most of you know that Rachel is extremely shy and we are not sure how to change that. Well it seems to be working already, she has been talking to people for the last few days. James on the other hand has trouble concentrating at school and doing his work. When he brings homework home it always seems like a battle to get him to concentrate. Therefore, one of his responsibilities is to get all of his work done at school. I am really hoping that this will motivate him. The chart is broken up into chores, bible memory verses and responsibilities that go along with them, and commission (what they earn according to what they have done for the week). I have the chart laminated and put magnetic strips on the back to hang it on the fridge. A dry erase marker with a magnet on the back is hung next to it and the kids just mark off the chores when they are done.

Rachel's 1st day of school

2009-09-03T15:57:00.004-04:00

She looks sooo happy to be at school.

At least Julia is excited to be there.

I am doing one day of kindergarten per week with Rachel. She is a little young at 4 1/2, but I wanted to get her used to the school system since she is so shy. She is academically ready for kindergarten because she can write her letters and is starting to read. We will be going through the year very casually without pushing.

First day of school and rambling...

2009-09-01T10:09:00.005-04:00

Third Grade!!!

On a different note...this is a baby bunny that was sitting on our steps. The kids got to pet him because he was too scared to run.

Then on another entirely different note...Yesterday developed into a hard day. I was in a terrible mood because of it and eventually ended up writing about it on facebook. Sometimes I do that in order to "see myself" and hopefully correct whatever needs correcting. Most of the time it really helps. Anyway, my evening did get better. We had a nice fire in our backyard firepit and sat around roasting marshmallows, it was fun.

Six Flags

2009-08-17T10:28:00.006-04:00

We had a fun, very hot day at six flags this weekend. Kaleb, Renee, and their two boys went with us.

James trying to make it spin faster

The other four adults went on a rollercoaster so I took the five kids on a train ride.

Oh so tired! Makes a nice nose rest.

Me in the Alice in Wonderland tree.

My manly man, he made it to the top of the wall!

Rachel loved the rides the faster the better.

Julia's self-haircut and more...

2009-08-14T09:32:00.003-04:00

She took a whole clump in the front and cut it off. Yesterday I saw the scissors, planned to put them away, then totally forgot about them.

Rachel wrote this for me. She loves to write and is starting to read.

James and his goofy lips pop.

Baby Boy Cauley

2009-08-12T08:50:00.005-04:00

Profile Pic

We have a couple of other pics, but they are not very clear. I also thought it would be a bit crude to show the one comfirming that he is a boy. During the ultrasound while going around his bottom area, I saw right away that he was a boy. We asked the technician before hand to let us guess before telling us the gender. It was really kind of cool.

So anyway, James is excited about having a brother. Rachel had said that she wanted it to be a girl. I wasn't really worried about disappointing her because I thought she was too young to really care. She was in a really bad mood all of yesterday. First thing in the morning she said that she did not want the baby to be a boy. After that she was walking around the house with a pencil. Then I noticed that she had written X's all around the house. On the wall, refridgerator, stove, counter, etc. When I asked her why she did that, she said, "because I don't like the baby." I guess she was disappointed after all.

Look mom I did my own hair

2009-08-04T15:59:00.003-04:00

We were getting ready to go for a walk and Julia decided to do her own hair. She put water on it and combed it down.

My sweet guy!

2009-08-04T15:37:00.005-04:00

I guess he felt bad that I have to travel back and forth to Burlington and only have FM radio to listen to. He surprised me with this gift today. It's a portable XM radio that I can use in the van or wherever. What a great surprise, I will surely enjoy it!

James' self portraits

2009-08-04T10:31:00.001-04:00

I like this one because it shows his cute freckles. (he hates them)

Don't come in mommy!

2009-08-03T09:55:00.002-04:00

When I came up from doing laundry, I discovered Julia in James' room with the door closed. When I started to open the door she said, "don't come in mommy." She had dumped all of the toys out of the bins.

A rare moment

2009-07-30T20:32:00.003-04:00

A rare moment because they are all...

content
getting along
not making a mess
being quiet
not asking a million questions
not getting into trouble
etc...

Now don't get me wrong. I love my kids and they are not horrible or anything. It's just rare to find all three of them like this at the same time.

Ok so I found them like that again today. Wow, must be some kind of record. Love 'em!

My Julia

2009-07-27T20:29:00.001-04:00

Silly kids

2009-07-27T19:53:00.005-04:00

All three of the kids were being silly, but the video only shows Rachel.

Rescued turtle

2009-07-25T13:50:00.003-04:00

This turtle was crawling across a busy road last saturday. Thankfully Jim was able to rescue him. He had some scrapes on his belly, but seemed to be ok. We took him home and put him on our deck so the kids could see him. He was a little shy and didn't want to come out of his shell so I went inside for a few minutes to get something. When I came back he was gone. He had chosen that time to come out of his shell, crawl to the edge of the deck and fall off. He hit the canoe and damaged part of his shell but still seemed to be ok. I didn't know that turtles can hiss, but this one hissed at me when I went to pick it up. I would probably be distressed too with the day he had.

Foot Surgery

2009-07-25T13:26:00.004-04:00

Ok so this thursday I went in for a very minor procedure on my foot. I went in thinking that I would be springing back onto my feet the same day or possibly the next day. HA!! Here it is saturday and I am barely getting around. Thursday night my foot was in exruciating pain even with the Tylenol 3 that they gave me. You don't realize just how useful a foot is until you can't use it. James has been so good about helping me around the house when Jim was at work. Anyway, on friday I must have had a bad reaction to the codeine in the Tylenol because I started throwing up and felt like death warmed over. So now it is Saturday and I am feeling much better. WARNING: Don't click on the link below if you can't handle gross pictures. There are a couple of pictures of my foot wounds. But it's like Jordan said, if you say that it's gross everyone will probably click on it.

Picasa Web Albums - Gross foot wound picture - Gross foot wound picture:

Circus

2009-07-17T12:06:00.003-04:00

This little girl was like 5 or 6 years old, she was very good.

Their idea of a kids g-rated circus and ours are quite different though so we will not be going back.

Alpine Slide

2009-07-17T11:53:00.001-04:00

Dirt Pudding

2009-07-13T10:59:00.003-04:00

Presented by....

Question from a 4 year old

2009-07-13T10:54:00.004-04:00

Rachel: How did brother Matthew go to heaven after he died?

Me: Ummm

Rachel: Did he go when we buried him?

Me: "Thinking"

I guess I took too long thinking because she got distracted and started playing.

So Cute!!

2009-07-06T11:10:00.003-04:00

Julia came upstairs looking tired so I asked her, "are you ready for a nap?" She didn't say anything and just walked out of the room. About 5 minutes later I realized that she was being very quiet so I went and checked on her. This is what I found and I though it was so cute.

Watching the fireworks

2009-07-06T10:54:00.002-04:00

Father/Son Canoe Trip 2009

2009-07-06T10:42:00.001-04:00

They had a very rainy trip, but still had fun.

Family fun day

2009-07-06T10:08:00.004-04:00

Digging for buried treasure

Waving to Allika

Finally able to upload pictures again

2009-07-06T09:25:00.004-04:00

Strawberry picking & eating

The kids loved this cardboard house

Sick day

2009-06-15T10:47:00.005-04:00

I told Jim that I wanted to take a "sick day". RIGHT!! What mom with little kids ever gets a sick day. Anyway, James overheard and said that I could go ahead and take a sick day, that he would take care of everything. It was very sweet of him.

A cute picture of Julia, Rachel, and Naomi on grandpa's motorcycle.

A day at the lake

2009-06-08T08:23:00.003-04:00

Jim and James canoeing

James is "teaching" Rachel how to swim

Jim and Julia taking a ride on the canoe

James searching for clams

James swimming way out there

Boating

2009-06-04T08:25:00.002-04:00

We decided to take the canoe out on tuesday night. Jim and James paddled and the girls and I sat in the middle. We saw a moose on the way up, I wish that I had brought the camera. It was fun even though I am not a water or boat person. On the way back we kept smelling this awful smell and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. As we were getting out of the van, James holds up this snail he had brought from the pond. He had been holding his nose the whole time in the van not realizing that the snail was the cause of the smell. IT WAS NASTY!! Anyway, I hope everyone has a great day. Looks like it is going to be beautiful outside.

Julia's 2nd birthday

2009-06-01T09:15:00.003-04:00

School Awards

2009-05-28T10:09:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that James in going into the 3rd grade already, yikes!

Fishing

2009-05-28T09:48:00.002-04:00

Practicing on the deck

Julia being silly

2009-05-12T10:20:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-12T08:36:00.002-04:00

They are finally gone!

2009-05-12T08:23:00.004-04:00

We have had these two huge spruce trees in our front and side yard. The bigger one fell in a wind storm a couple of years ago, it landed perfectly without damaging anything. Thank you God! All that was left is a half uprooted stump. The other tree was half dead and ready to come down. Yesterday the tree guys took down two trees, and removed three stumps. Expensive, but I am very happy to have them gone.

My girls!

2009-05-04T09:18:00.004-04:00

Julia fell asleep at the desk after eating her lunch

Rachel fell asleep on our bed at about 7pm after missing her nap for the day

FYI:

My blogging will be much more scarce through the summer. I love being outside and getting things done when the weather is nice. I hope everyone is having a great spring so far!

We are expecting!!

2009-05-04T09:01:00.004-04:00

Due January 4th
Yes I am sick most of the time
Jim is having sympathy hunger and sickness
No that is not the baby showing yet
I am thinking like crazy about all the things that I want to get done
I don't really care if we have a boy or a girl
James wants a boy, Rachel wants both
We have one name in mind for a girl, none for a boy yet. Sorry we aren't sharing the name.
Jim got hungry one night at 11pm and had to eat. He said that I MUST be pregnant. That was two days before we found out.
We are very excited even though this is my 6th pregnancy
It wasn't planned or unplanned

These are some of the questions that are asked when I am pregnant. Just thought I would answer them all together. And no I will certainly not be upset if you ask me again in person.

Sweetheart banquet 2009

2009-05-04T08:26:00.005-04:00

Yes we did smoosh it in each other's faces.

Jordan & Danielle were the only other couple to smoosh the cake.

Toilet paper gowns

haha, he has no clue! He asked if we really did this for fun at bridal showers.

Fun!!

2009-04-27T08:19:00.003-04:00

I heard Julia giggling and laughing for a few minutes before I grabbed the camera. She was having a great time.

Pictures

2009-04-21T08:36:00.007-04:00

Today is drizzly and dark, so no outside work today. I thought that I would catch up on some pictures while the weather is bad.

Sewing machine that I found at a yard sale for $5.00 Jim had asked me to keep my eye out for one because he needs to sew some things for the canoe trip. I found this machine at the second yard sale I went to this year.

This is our bathroom after Jim took down some walls a few months ago. We are definately not done here, but at least it doesn't feel like a closet anymore.

This is a stump that I am digging out. From this angle it doesn't look too bad, but it is actually about 5 ft long. Just a bit harder to dig out than I had imagined.

This is how our whole backyard looked when we bought this house. It was used as a landfill for garbage, scrap metal, car parts, and much more.

The view from our deck now. So much more to do, but getting there slowly. Last year I basically worked on the front and side yards to get them in shape. It is actually pretty enjoyable to do outside work like this. I mean what more can you ask for....Exercise, fresh air, sun, kids aren't cooped up, I love it! Well all except for getting my feet dirty that is.

Last week

2009-04-20T11:11:00.003-04:00

Last week was so nice that we spent most of the days outside. I got quite a bit of yardwork done, and there is sooo much more to do. It seems that our back yard is made up of rocks, weeds, and a little bit of dirt on the top. Jim is going to be renting a backhoe at some point to clear things out. But in the meantime I am doing it very slowly by hand. And I do mean by hand because my wheelbarrow broke after the first day. Rachel was very anxious to plant some flowers, so we planted some marigolds around the mailbox. They are not my favorite flowers, but there wasn't much out yet. We also got some vegetable seeds to try a very small garden this year.

I had an awesome shopping trip this weekend. Price Chopper and CVS combined....$120 worth of stuff for $19. Most of which was groceries, but I did get a few things to sell as well.

I had a fun time time teaching ladies class on sunday. Teaching is something that I have never been interested in until the last couple of years. I have always liked writing and studying, but not so much the speaking part. Well after doing a couple of classes, I have found that I actually enjoy it.

Sorry about the lack of picture on the blog recently. I haven't gotten around to taking many pictures.

The girls coloring before bed

2009-04-20T08:24:00.004-04:00

The last few days

2009-04-13T08:55:00.003-04:00

Thursday - The weather was very nice on thursday. I ended up doing some spring cleaning, a bunch of yard work, and cleaning out the van.

Friday - The weather was still pretty nice on friday but I really had to get some things done inside for sunday's "easter" lunch. We started out in the morning walking about 2 miles to a yard sale that didn't happen until saturday. Oh well, it was a nice walk. I got my inside work done early and we were still able to play outside for a couple of hours. In the evening I had a great date with an awesome husband. Jordan and Danielle watched the kids for us.

Saturday - We once again walked to the yard sale, this time on the right day. It was a bit chilly and Julia fell asleep on the way home. I went grocery shopping after that and got some awesome deals. Price Chopper total before savings $134.33, after savings I paid $50.10. And to make it a bit sweeter, I also earned a $20 off my next order coupon. OH YEAH! Saturday evening was spent putting kids to bed, picking up, and cooking.

Sunday - Easter lunch at our house with about 13 people. It was a nice amount of people, full but not stuffed into the house. We ended up cancelling the Dave Ramsey class in the evening because there was only 3 couples there when we started. About 3 more couples ended up coming much later, but we had already decided to cancel. We had a nice time visiting with Chris and Sarah after everyone left.

A little experiment

2009-04-07T08:59:00.002-04:00

It is not often that I find all three kids laying or sitting still. So after seeing them like this, I decided to try something. I grabbed the camera, popped back into the room and said, "smile", then took the picture. It turned out pretty much like I had expected. Rachel gave a huge smile with a girlish giggle. Julia smiled compliantly then wanted to see the picture. James didn't smile and instead gave a little scowl. This totally goes along with their personalities!

The "Camp In"

2009-04-07T08:48:00.005-04:00

James and Rachel had great fun camping last friday night. Rachel didn't get out of bed even once. Maybe I should just put cots in their bedrooms.

(Not related to the camp in)

James built this structure and took a picture of it

Rachel then put this puzzle together and took a picture of it

Life in general

2009-04-06T12:34:00.002-04:00

I have started this week with a determination to do things better! It would really be great if you would mention me in your prayers. Thanks!

My poor husband hasn't been feeling good recently. But even so, we had a good weekend. He has an exciting story, but since he doesn't blog, I will share it for him. For those of you who are taking the FPU class, it's old news. Last week's class was about how to get a bargain. Jim has been looking at weed trimmers but the good ones didn't fit in our budget at this time. Well he went to Home Depot this weekend and he had about $100 or so in the budget for home repair. Anyway, he decided to saunter past the weed trimmmers, just to take a quick look. And lo and behold, there was a nice one reduced from $219 to $129. The reason stated because it was reconditioned. He looked it over and determined that it was brand new, but the switch was broken. After talking to a few employees he learned that they had sent it out to get fixed and it came back still broken. After using a few of the techniques taught in FPU, he was able to get the weed trimmer for $70 with a full 5 year warrenty which would cover the broken switch. He was very excited and I am proud of him.

More exciting news from Sunday. Ben had brought a friend to church a few times and she had expressed interest in being baptized. Ben's parents and my dad studied with her yesterday and she was baptized last night at 9:30. The FPU class was at 5 and we just hung around until 9:30. It was well worth the wait.

Here are my deals for this weekend.

Price Chopper before $91, after $36, plus I earned a $3 off the next order and a free gallon of milk.

CVS before $41, after $1.25, plus I earned more EB's than I spent.

Julia's tissue

2009-04-03T08:32:00.001-04:00

Julia went to get some toilet paper to wipe her nose. She came back with this tiny piece.

James' bike & more good deals

2009-04-01T08:05:00.003-04:00

This is James' new bike, I meant to put a picture up a while ago. He saved diligently for a long time and was finally able to buy his new bike a few weeks ago.

Good Deals...
Last night I was able to get 6 boxes of cereal for 4.50, that is a pretty good deal but what made it sweet was the 2 free gals. of milk coupons that I received for buying the cereal. I had planned on paying 4.00 for 8 boxes and getting 3 gals of milk free, but I accidently threw out one of the coupons that I needed, phooey.

Saturday Savings

2009-03-30T09:15:00.004-04:00

Sorry to disappoint you Stephanie, but I didn't get many great deals this week.

Price Chopper
Before $80
After $37
Not a great shopping trip, but I was excited to get 6lbs of ground round for 1.99 per lb. They have some great deals this coming week though.

Walgreens
Before $27.24
After $2.50

CVS
Didn't even go this week because they didn't have anything interesting.

During the FPU class last night, Kaleb told a news story about a lady getting kicked out of a store for using too many coupons. Thanks everyone for wondering if it was me!

Sears
Before $40
After $6.19
Ok so I cheated a little bit with this one. We needed pillows and they had a b1g1 sale at Sears. I also know that they are running a campaign in which you get $15 off your first order when you sign up for a sears, ehem, credit card. Yes I did it, I signed up for a credit card to save $15. BUT WAIT, don't condemn me yet. I promptly paid it off right then and am cutting it up as soon as it comes in. Debt Free and lovin' it, yay!

James' pinewood derby

2009-03-30T08:19:00.004-04:00

Working on the derby car

Testing it on the track

Can you see James lining up his car behind the track?

Jim and James had two weeks to prepare the cars for this race. I guess they learned a few things which will help them next year. This was a family event for all the scouts. I wanted to mention that they prayed before we ate, it was very encouraging.

Rachel's party

2009-03-24T08:24:00.004-04:00

We had pizza and salad per Rachel's request. She didn't end up eating very much because she is not feeling well. She also helped me decorate the cake.

Rachel is 4!!!

2009-03-23T08:55:00.002-04:00

Early morning birthday girl. She is pretty sick, but we are still having her party tonight.

CVS deals

2009-03-23T08:46:00.002-04:00

I made this whole spreadsheet to do CVS and Walgreens deals. I tried to copy and paste the whole thing onto here but apparently it only copies text. So this is some of the text from my spreadsheets. It is way less confusing if you are looking at the whole spreadsheet. They have actually been quite helpful. Anyway, saturday I ended up gaining on both of my transactions.

Transaction #1

Subtotal
$6.68

Coupon Total
$1.00
$ off $$ Coupon

Total After Coupons
$5.68
EB/RR used
$5.62
Cash Out of Pocket
$0.06

Instant Rewards Earned
$6.49
Mail in Rebates

(Gain)/Loss
($0.81)

Transaction #2

Subtotal
$15.86

Coupon Total
$3.50
$ off $$ Coupon

Total After Coupons
$12.36
EB/RR used
$11.97
Cash Out of Pocket
$0.39

Instant Rewards Earned
$12.49
Mail in Rebates

(Gain) or Loss
($0.13)

My 911 call

2009-03-22T13:36:00.003-04:00

It appears that I alarmed some people on facebook by saying that I had to call 911. Sorry about that, I should have included an explanation. There is an explanation on FB now. I have only called 911 one other time when my water broke early and the transmission gave out on the way to the hospital. So anyway, it isn't an often occurrence and that is why I put it on facebook. For all of the non-facebook users, here's the story. I was going shopping by myself and drove past what looked like a man lying on a driveway. So I turned around and sure enough it was a man and he wasn't moving. I got out of the van and called out to him to see if he was ok. When I got no response I went closer to see if I could help. It was then that I noticed he was cradling a rifle with the barrel against his cheek. Yikes! I was out of there at that point. I went home and promptly called 911. The End!

(Com)passion Roses

2009-03-18T09:58:00.004-04:00

Aren't they pretty? Jim brought these home for me yesterday, what a great guy! It means alot to me because of the reason he brought them home. I was not having a great day yesterday, and instead of telling my husband about my day, I just snapped at him. Smart of me to do that to someone whom I love more than anything, I know. When he came home for dinner he had these roses for me. He said that he knew I must be having a bad day. His love and compassion for me was so overwhelming. He could have been angry or silent because of what I did, but instead he bought me flowers. When I was trimming the roses I noticed that they were called passion roses, hence came the title of this post.

Cousins

2009-03-18T08:20:00.004-04:00

Rachel and Julia loved playing "mother" to Sydney.

It's sooo much work making such a mess! She fell asleep right in the middle of it.

Just some stuff...

2009-03-16T09:44:00.006-04:00

James cleaned up his old bike and put an ad on craigslist to sell it. If he sells his old bike, he will have enough for his new bike. I hope he does sell it because watching him add $1.75 per week to his savings is very tedious. He gets $4.00 if he does all of his chores for the week. He splits that up between tithing, saving, and spending, so that is why he usually adds only 1.75 to his spending money per week. He doesn't mind at all though, in fact he has been enjoying saving up for his bike.

Just thought this picture was cute. Julia fell asleep on my bed and one of the kids put this crown on her.

Do you ever have a day when you just want to stop talking and get away from everyone? I really had one of those days yesterday. It felt like every time I opened my mouth to say something, it was the wrong thing to say. Yikes! By the end of the day, I just wanted to be a hermit. Probably had more to do with my mood than what I was actually saying.

Saturday we started out the day by going for a walk, it was so nice! We ended the day by grilling out which was also very nice. Still can't wait until spring!

I got some pretty good deals at cvs and walgreens on saturday. I spent .98 out of pocket at cvs and gained 3 ecb's. My total was $25 before coupons.

Saturday Savings

2009-03-09T09:11:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted my shopping deals in a while so I wanted to post those also.

I didn't have much to get at Price Chopper so it wasn't a great trip...
Before Savings $38, After $18

CVS
Before Savings $23.68, After $1.71

Walgreens
Before Savings $23, After $8.00

I am going to try to do more walgreens deals because I want to start selling more to save for our vacation this summer. So far I think we have saved enough $$ for the gas to get there.

A nice weekend

2009-03-09T08:35:00.004-04:00

We enjoyed the weekend together as a family. I am so thankful that Jim has weekends off so that we can spend that time together. Saturday started out with pancakes and "real" maple syrup. I make breakfast on saturdays, Jim initiated that because it seems to start the day out nicely. All other days it's toast for breakfast. The kids really like the real maple syrup so I suggested that we tap our maple tree to get some sap this year. I have no idea what one tree might produce, I just thought the process would be fun. Anyway, we went to the home depot workshop this month and the kids made these racetracks.

I made new chore charts for the kids because their old chore routine was getting a little boring. I basically used the old template and just changed the colors, bible verses, and chores. It only costs about $3 to get it laminated and for the magnetic strips so I will probably make a new one every couple of months for a year or so. Oh I HAVE to tell this story...I was out shopping with the kids on friday. We were at FYE because I had a good coupon for a used DVD. James saw this toy and thought it was cool. Then after looking at it a little longer, he declared, "wow, $16, that would be a BIG waste of money when I am saving up to buy my bike." I am so glad that the kids are learning something with this system.

After going to home depot we went for a walk on the boardwalk through the swamps in our town. It was fun and refreshing but didn't see much swamp-life as the water was still frozen. We had planned on taking a hike on the trails near our house but it got too late after the kids naps. We did end up doing our first grill-out of the season even though it was dark and raining. I think we are in a hurry for spring to arrive!

He FINALLY lost it!

2009-03-05T08:16:00.005-05:00

James has been waiting a very long time to lose a tooth. Well at almost 7 1/2, he finally pulled out his first tooth. TA DA!

A goofy pic

James' self portrait

Jim gave this to me

2009-03-02T08:53:00.004-05:00

Just thought I would share this because it's kinda humorous. As you have probably read before, we have been following Dave Ramsey's financial plan. This weekend we decided to include some income in our budget that we have just been using as a buffer in case we overspent. In a nutshell, we will get more cash to spend but CANNOT use the debit card for anything other than what has been planned. It is not really a problem because I don't really use the debit card that much anyway. It just gave me a laugh when Jim gave me this debit card sleeve for my wallet. I know after reading this you may find this kind of plan a bit strict, but I absolutely LOVE it. It relieves alot of stress to know that you haven't just spent money that was needed for bills and such. It doesn't feel like we "can't" afford to buy something, it feels like we are "choosing" not to buy something. When we decide that we really want or need something, it gets put in the budget. We may have to wait a month or two but it is sooo worth it. Can you tell that I am total sold on this program? lol

B-day weekend

2009-03-02T08:23:00.003-05:00

Not sure why I got so much more "old" teasing at 31 than I did at 30. It doesn't matter though because I am really liking my 30's. Jim and I went out on saturday to my fav. resturant, Log Jam. It is about an hour away so we rarely get to go there. My parents took the kids for half the day so we could go by ourselves. We did a bunch of shopping because we had some spending money. Yay for the envelope system! Anyway, I had a great time. We bought a couple of things for the kids. I just had to get this doll for Julia when I realized that it looked like her.

Hands up mommy!

2009-02-26T08:46:00.003-05:00

I was checking out facebook this morning and Julia climbed up on the desk. She picked up the stapler, pointed it at me and said, "hands up mommy", then roared with the stapler. It was quite funny.

Not using my noggin'

2009-02-25T08:41:00.006-05:00

Last night I bought a couple of hand towels to match my new bath towels. The new bath towels that got washed with a black crayon. I also bought some jeans. I came home and threw them in the washer TOGETHER no less. Well, the result of course was pale yellow hand towels with black dye all over them. I just shook my head and laughed at my temporary lapse of sanity. I mean who puts brand new jeans in with pale yellow towels. YIKES! Fortunately though I think they are coming clean.

This is my new cookware set that I can't wait to try out.

These two picture have kind of a silly story. I made these mashed potatoes for dinner last night and for some reason they looked extra white and fluffy. So I made a remark about them looking nice. Well Jim proceeded to run upstairs for the camera and took a picture of them and the chicken. I guess you probably had to be there to get the full effect of it, but it was funny anyway.

Life over the weekend

2009-02-23T08:39:00.004-05:00

The kids were feeling better (so we thought) so we went shopping on Saturday. We got some money back from taxes so we divided it up using an envelope system. We put some of it toward our emergency fund. We have been needing several things so we divided the rest up to cover those expenses. Our categories are towels, pots & pans, clothing, deck swing, tree removal, and Jim & Bridgett spending $$. We spent 4 hours shopping and it seemed like we didn't get much accomplished between bathroom breaks for all 3 kids. Anyway, we did end up getting some new clothes for the kids and some new towels. On Sunday I threw some of the new towels and clothes into the wash. What I didn't know was that James had a black crayon in his jeans pocket. Yikes was I upset when I saw all the new stuff covered with black spots! Last night I washed half the load in hot water, detergent, and goo gone. Today I washed them 3 more times and it seems like the spots are gone. Now I just have to do the other load 5 times. If anyone has a better suggestion, please let me know. If that was a test from God on patience, then I failed miserably. My brother reminded me that even Paul struggled with doing the right thing. We don't have to be discouraged when we do the wrong thing, just try harder the next time. Romans 7:18-19 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would do, I do not; but the evil which I would not do, that I do.

All snuggled up

2009-02-20T08:14:00.001-05:00

Jim just HAD to get a picture of the girls and I sleeping like this.

My poor baby

2009-02-19T09:35:00.002-05:00

Julia was up most of last night with a fever. I pretty much knew that she was getting sick when she refused some ice cream after dinner. Then when it was time to go to bed, she walked to her bedroom, got in bed and went right to sleep.

Contentment (I sooo need these verses today!)

2009-02-18T08:17:00.002-05:00

Proverbs 8:15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.

1TI 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Eccl 4:6 Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

Eccl 9:9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun--all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.

Little sleep, James throwing up again, the girls are bored, I need to get out of the house... On days like these when I am selfishly unhappy with my lot in life as a stay at home mom, these verses help. I especially like the last one that says life WILL BE meaningless sometimes, but I still need to be happy and enjoy it.

Life

2009-02-17T14:22:00.002-05:00

We were looking forward to this past weekend. Jim had monday off and we were going to leave the kids with the grandparents and go to lunch and shopping. Well, James came down with the stomach flu on saturday morning. So basically we stayed in the house for most of the weekend. I went to church with the girls sunday morning. Jim went to church sunday night so he could lead the financial class. James was very sick until this morning. He could not keep anything down, even water. We were hoping to do something on monday, but he was still sick. I started feeling kind of sick monday morning. I took Rachel out shopping and to lunch. While we were waiting for our lunch I started to get really sick so we had to leave. I wasn't sure if I could make it home, but I did. I felt bad for poor Rachel because she was excited to be having lunch out with me. A lady gave her this purple unicorn while we were sitting in the resturant. The lady won it from the claw machine. Rachel named her stinger. Anyway, Rachel didn't take leaving the resturant too badly.

Dinner guests

2009-02-13T16:51:00.004-05:00

Last night Andrew, Blaire and their kids came over for dinner. We had fun playing games and trying to keep the kids occupied. We found Aiden and Julia playing in the toilet at one point. The older kids made a huge mess with the monopoly game, but at least they had fun doing it.

I made some Amish friendship bread today, it made the house smell so good. I also got the kids car seats washed which I haven't done in a while. Julia had a whole bunch of junk underneath her seat cover. There was lip gloss, stamps, cookies, crackers, and some other stuff in there. Yuck!

Walking in a winter wonderland...

2009-02-11T16:12:00.002-05:00

I was very excited for the 40 degree weather today. I told the kids that we could take a walk today after James got home from school. We walked out the door and it started to rain. We braved the rain and took a walk anyway, thankfully it didn't rain any harder. It was so refreshing to get some fresh air. For some reason playing in the snow or sledding just doesn't give the same results. I look forward to the coming spring!

Nothing to post

2009-02-09T09:42:00.003-05:00

I want to do some blogging, but I don't have anything new and exciting. We started Dave Ramsey's financial peace university at the church last night. Most of the families in the church are taking the course. Jim is leading the course. We have actually been following Dave's plan for about 3 or so years. It has helped us tremendously in our finances. In those 3 years we have gotten out of debt and learned to live quite comfortably on 1 modest income. The Lord has surely been good to us.

For lack of anything else to post, here is saturday's shopping trip...

Price Chopper before $104.25 and after cpns. $42.77. I also received $5 off my next shopping trip and .10 cents off per gallon of gas.

CVS before $22.47 and after cpns. FREE

Grandma Sharon's Birthday

2009-02-05T08:19:00.002-05:00

Little arms

2009-02-04T09:18:00.003-05:00

For some reason lately the kids have not been sleeping well. As a result I have been a bit cranky because of the lack of sleep. Last night I ended up trying to sleep in a chair with a wiggly Julia for about 4 hours. When I finally went back to get into bed I found James sleeping on our floor and Rachel sleeping on our bed. I was too tired to kick them out so I just got back into bed. By this time it was 7am and time to get up. I tried until almost 8 to get more sleep but there was too much going on so I got up. Maybe I will get some sleep tonight. Anyway, this morning Julia climbs up in my lap and throws her chubby little arms around my neck to give me a "squeezy" hug. That just makes all the sleepless nights worth it!

I'm upset

2009-02-02T08:18:00.008-05:00

Sorry but I'm going to go off today. Well no actually I am not sorry at all! I John 2:15 "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." After watching a couple of the superbowl ad online today, it made me upset to know that people actually enjoy this kind of thing. It is very sad to see worldliness creeping into places it ought not be. I John 4:5-6 "They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." If you find yourself resisting these verses, as the verse above says, you probably have the spirit of error. I say these things only in love. If your house was burning to the ground I could not stand by and not say anything. How much more important is your eternal destiny? I am certainly not without sin and shame on me for that! But I am determined to stay heaven bound and do everything it takes to get there.

Cub Scout fun day

2009-01-30T16:15:00.002-05:00

Visiting

2009-01-29T07:58:00.002-05:00

Caroline and Gina came over on tuesday for a visit. The kids had fun playing with Gina and I had fun visiting. They got out all of my blankets to make a fort then ended up throwing them on each other. I just now realized that I didn't take any pictures. Phooey! On wednesday Melissa and Ezra came over to visit. We had a nice time, the kids were all kind of tired by the end. The roads were pretty bad when they left, but they made it to her mom's ok.

Giving it a try

2009-01-23T09:48:00.004-05:00

I have decided to continue on with my business for now. It was a hard decision because I was nothing to push me to do it or to discontinue it. Yesterday I had a little chat with Travis via facebook and he said that he had mentioned it on their radio show. Well I guess that is all the boost I needed to make my decision, so I'm giving it a try.

Julia trying to get her shirt off

We went into Bed, Bath & Beyond last week to get Jim a pillow. We didn't end up getting the pillow. Instead we got this bed set which included 2 sheet sets, comforter, pillows, bed skirt, window valances. The original price was $249, it was on clearance for $43. Since we needed sheets, we decided to purchase it because it was worth it for the sheet sets alone.

She did it!

2009-01-17T15:54:00.004-05:00

Julia has become potty-trained with just a little help from me. YAY!! She has been using the potty for a month or two. But I was being kind of lazy and didn't want to take her diapers away. Also, I wanted to make sure she was truly ready because she is just 19 months old. I had pushed my other two kids pretty hard when they were under 2 and they totally resisted. Anyway, we spent this week really working on it and she got it in a snap.

Julia singing

2009-01-16T09:59:00.002-05:00

She was humming "happy birthday" and I wanted to catch it on video. I thought it was cute in the beginning of the video when she was starting to sing then stopped and said, " I happy". She didn't end up humming too much on this video but here it is anyway.

Responsibility chart

2009-01-15T11:02:00.005-05:00

I had been searching in vain for a chore chart that fit our needs. Finally I just decided to make my own using Word. I laminated it and put magnetic strips on the back and they can use dry erase markers on it. I wanted a system in which they would be paid for doing certain chores so they can learn about money. And also a system that required them to be responsible to God and themselves for other things. They do their chores and mark them off, then at the end of the week are paid according to how they have done. For the responsibility part, we look up the verses, read them and ask how each one has done that week (including Jim & I). It makes me pretty sheepish to tell the kids that I have not done something as well as I should. For the money part we are using plastic cups bearing the names "give, save, and spend". We will be purchasing banks for them that have four compartments in them "give, save (for bigger purchases), invest (college, etc.), and spend". Anyway, it seems to work out pretty well.

A gift from a friend

2009-01-14T13:14:00.004-05:00

We received this beautiful gift in the mail on the 5th anniversary of Matthew's birth. Thank you so much Tanager, it means alot to me!

Remembering Matthew on his birthday

2009-01-14T09:57:00.005-05:00

An excerpt from my journal of Matthew's birth....(I cried on my way down the hall while praying over and over, "God please save our baby." The operating room was very busy with everyone setting up. They administered the spinal which went smoothly. Everything was ready and they brought Jim into the room. I started to relax a bit with him by my side, but was still shaking terribly. As they started the c-section, Jim whispered to me, "our son will be ok", immediately I felt calm as I realized that our son would be ok no matter what happened.)

An excerpt from Jim's speech at Matthew's funeral...(I believed without a stitch of doubt that our son would live, and he is. This is not exactly what we had in mind though. We were praying for our son to live here on earth with us. But as God's will not mine. Even Christ our Savior was denied His will. Matt. 26:39 says, "He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." We can all see that our God in heaven know what is best. So please, I urge you to never thing that our prayers were not answered. Matthew is now living without pain, without trials, and without a chance of ever falling from God's grace...Far better than we could have ever given him. Our prayers for our son are answered.)

When we named our son, we were unaware that his name means...A gift from God. Although we did not get to raise our son and enjoy him here on earth, he was truly "a gift from God". We had this engraved on his grave stone because it fit so well.

Happy Birthday to my handsome, wonderful husband

2009-01-13T09:11:00.005-05:00

I think the only regret that Jim has about turning 30 is that now we are the same age and he can't tease me about being in my 30's. =) I usually make him his favorite meal on his birthday, steak and mashed potatoes. But we might end up going out to dinner this year.

Last night was a very restless night because Julia kept waking up and coming into our bedroom. It seemed very cold in the house and Julia even told me that she was cold. I just figured that it was very cold outside. After going downstairs in the morning I discovered that it was only 50 degrees in the house. Apparently our digital thermostat went dead so the heat turned off.

It seems like yesterday...

2009-01-08T12:11:00.016-05:00

It seems like yesterday... that I was teaching James how to read, write and add. Now... he is learning cursive, multiplication, and reading books for fun in bed.

It seems like yesterday...that Matthew was born and then passed away. Now...the 5th anniversary of his birth is coming up on January 14th.

It seems like yesterday...that Rachel was learning to talk and taking her first steps. Now...she is learning to write, does chores, and can lift a bucket of blueberries with one finger.

It seems like yesterday...that Julia was FINALLY born. Now...she is becoming potty-trained and loves to talk.

Same family, different tastes

2009-01-07T10:19:00.003-05:00

Here is the snack that Rachel got out for herself and Julia. The girls are happily munching away on apples and lettuce and it just makes me wonder... why do I have to force, trick, connive, and whatever else to get James to eat vegetables. It has only been in the last year or so that he has resigned to the fact that he must eat what is served. Kids sure have a way of making life interesting don't they.

Round Robin

2009-01-01T18:50:00.004-05:00

Six of us stayed and stuck it out until 2:30am on New Year's Eve. We played round robin and a bunch of games, it was fun.

New Year's Eve

2009-01-01T18:26:00.003-05:00

Jim and Jordan

Apparently something was very funny

James and Rachel went home with my parents at 10pm. We kept Julia but she fell asleep at about 9:30.

These next pictures are self portraits. Jim had to show us how straight he could do it, and he did do a pretty good job. I cartooned his face in case you are wondering. Then I couldn't change it back.

Michael seems to have grown a bump on his head but actually it is just his nub.

I am sorry Danielle, but yours was one of the first that I edited and I gave you this fisheye face. Then I tried to change it back and I couldn't. You still look good though.

Jordan, I am not sorry for this one because you made the face yourself.

This is me a couple of days ago because I didn't like the one I took at the party. No fair, I know.

Poor Renee was the last to go so everyone jumped into her picture.

No more closet bathroom!!

2008-12-29T07:58:00.008-05:00

Here are the handsome workers

The girls and I played with the little people house while the guys did their demolition work.

Jesus' birth

2008-12-27T13:40:00.004-05:00

Shepherds played by Noah, Simeon, and Isaac

Joseph and Mary played by James and Rachel

Shepherds and the angel played by Naomi

Everyone's eyes look weird because I took these in a dark room. I tried to fix them but didn't have much luck. Help Christine!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T13:08:00.003-05:00

James, Julia, Rachel, Isaac, Simeon, and Rowyn

Julia the chef

Look mom it goes all the way up to my shoulder

I promise to help mom without making a big mess

Wait let me get my hair out of my eyes

Yay! It's a new adventure bible

Quick, we all want to see it

Rachel ripping into her gift

Someone kept giving her these blue candy canes.

What happens when parents sleep in

2008-12-27T12:18:00.001-05:00

It's kind of blurry, but this is James' nose. I thought it was hilarious.

James' first morning of christmas vacation

2008-12-24T08:58:00.003-05:00

This is James' handiwork on the very first morning that he did not have school. And yes that IS my couch in front of the door.

The weekend

2008-12-22T09:21:00.004-05:00

I admit that I have been in a bad mood this weekend. And while there should not be any excuse for it, here is my excuse. =) I had some work done on my foot on friday that caused some large blisters on the bottom of my foot. It frustrates me to sit around when there are things to be done. I decided to brave the snow storm and painful foot to go to CVS on saturday evening. WELL, much to my irritation, they accused me of photocopying coupons and refused to take them. So my trip was wasted and I came away with nothing. To say the least I was not happy because I have never photocopied coupons and I always abide by the coupon rules. I guess that they have had some trouble with people photocopying coupons so I do understand their situation. But to just come out and say that I photocopied my coupons was unnecessary. I am so glad for my wonderful husband who just smiles and asks how he can help instead of telling me to quit being so grumpy like I deserve. On saturday he cleaned up the kitchen for me because I could not stand on my foot. Rachel came downstairs and asked him what he was doing. He said, "I am cleaning up the kitchen", she said, "you can't do that", he said, "why not", she said, "because that is the wife's job". I thought that was pretty funny.

At Danielle's house for the cookie exchange

Jim and Rachel sliding at the church building

James and Rachel goofing around

After the first big snow fall. I think we must have gotten close to 2 ft of snow after all was said and done.

Good Job!

2008-12-17T15:18:00.002-05:00

Today Julia has asked me about 6 times to go potty and has gone every time. She says, good job and claps her hands each time. I am very excited because she really seems to be getting the idea of going both #1 and #2. I apologize if this is TMI for any of you.

I am finally DONE!

2008-12-17T10:01:00.004-05:00

Yikes, I don't want to look at another coupon for a while. Because of my prospective business venture, I have had to enter 600 coupons into a database. Well it's done until another batch comes out, but it won't be nearly as many. Here is the story behind these pictures...This is my new coupon organizer, and yes it is as big as a briefcase, and I will need more than one of these. So anyway, Jim and I were joking around about me bringing this into stores with me. You can't tell in the picture so much, but when you flip this thing open it REALLY expands. When we were done joking around Jim says, "seriously, you are not really going to bring that thing into stores are you?" He even sounded kind of embarrassed for me. But I assured him that I will not be bringing this shopping with me. The whole exchange was just funny.

Winter fun and more

2008-12-15T08:25:00.003-05:00

This is fun! It would probably be more fun if she could see where she was going

Jim using his new snow blower

They are happy that they finally have some snow to play in

Sledding down our hill

Oops, Julia fell off while being pulled up the hill. Notice James tries to help her and I take a picture.

Ice on the trees

James pulling the girls

James got tired, so I pulled them for a while

Julia up on James' top bunk. Jim took the rails off her crib this weekend and she seems to be fine with it. We will be switching the bunk beds to the girls room soon.

James was talking to Grandpa Cauley on the phone and Julia is copying him

Giving Rachel a piggy-back ride