Worst sound in the world

I have found out what the worst sound in the world is. Let me set the mood first. I am pretty sure I have sinus infection and last night was wanting to just go to bed around 7:30. Alex was at my mother's so I called and asked for them to bring him home. He comes home a little after 8 and I immediately start getting him ready for bed.

I was in no mood to go through the usual bedtime ritual, so I decided to let him just sleep in my bed to save myself from having to read 2 long stories in the dark(so JJ would be waken by the light).

So we get into bed and Alex is tossing and turning and I keep threatening to send him back to his own bed(real great, hah, using his bed as punishment), when suddenly I hear him gagging. I hurring and turn on the light to find him throwing up all over John's side of the bed. I hurry and get him out of bed and rush him to the bathroom, with him puking all the way. Call my mom to see what he ate(which turned out to be ALOT of grapes), call John to inform him he is sleeping on the couch(which he said he totally enjoyed this morning), grab towels and clean up the puke and lay down over the wet spots, so we can go to sleep.(I was in no mood to find new sheets, so I improvised. Alex threw up 2 more times(luckily this time in the trash can I put by the the bed, before he finally went to sleep.

Luckily he is feeling better this morning, even though I did find him in the bathroom this morning, (apparently whatever grapes were still in his system were making their way out) and he had diahrrea all over the floor and I got to clean that up also.

Needless to say I got no sleep last night, have a killer headache, sent John to church with the boys, and am on my way to Walmart to get some sinus meds once I find the keys.
Mandi

Turning over a new leaf

I decided I was sick and tired of how I felt about my body, so I decided I wanted to loose some weight. But not just loose weight, actually get fit, so for the past week I have been doing Denise Austin workouts every morning and a couple nights also. Already I feel better, my pants are loose in the thighs now. I am just so happy to actually see results in 1 week. And I have lost 5 lbs already. Totally awesome!!

Today was the first workout just on abs I had done. WOW do I hurt now!!
Mandi

My new baby!!!

Here is the newest addition to the Schimek clan. I know some people think we need another dog like we need a hole in the head, but we got him anyway. Our other dogs are basically outdoor dogs, so this is our house dog.


He is a pure breed pug, that my mom gave us out of her batch of puppies. His name is Bucky(Alex named him after his favorite singer, Bucky Covington) and he is a sweetheart. He is already proving to be better behaved and easier to handle than Rowdy. Alex drags the poor dog everywhere he goes. I feel sorry for the poor little guy. The other dogs are awesome with him.
Mandi

10 years

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of when John and I started dating. Although at that age we were not dating, we were "going out." I can't believe that we have been together that long. John asked me yesterday if I had thought when we first got together that we would ever be married with 3 boys and a sharing a life together in 10 years and of course who at that age thinks they have found the one God has for them. It is just amazing.

Well we are off to see Casey today. He is going to be in Kearney for work and is going to be able to have dinner with us. We just have a few errands to run and then we are off.
Mandi

Pictures

Here are some picture of the boys.





Mandi

WOF conference

I just got back from the Women of Faith conference in Denver and it was awesome. Lately God has been talking to me about my relationship with my mom. He has been saying just give it to me, actually I have been hearing him saying to me much like a parent trying to get something from a kid, "would you give that to me, give me that, JUST GIVE IT TO ME!!" He wants all my pain, my fears, just every feeling and hurt I have with it. And I have very stubbornly saying NO, I don't want to let it go, work in the other areas of my life, but just not this one.

Well as most of you know, when we don't give EVERYTHING to God, when we don't open up every part of our heart for him to work in, we miss the full annointing that he has for our lives. And that has been what I have been doing. I have been afraid to give it to him, because my biggest fear has always been to be out of control. To just lay broken before the Lord, weeping at his feet, with all my hurt, my sins, my everything just there for him to see and work on.

I have felt like we often feel when we have something in our eye: Man that piece of sand might hurt like heck, but the thought of trying to get it out is worse, because we know the pain will be so much greater, and knowing that we must go through it to heal, but not wanting to. That has been my life for a long time. I know that my relationship with my mom hinders my marriage, my kids lives, my relationship with others, but most importantly God.

This whole conference was on Freedom. It was truly a freeing weekend. I realized that just like Luci Swindowl said "Just show up, Shut up, and Let go." That I was never in control and by trying to be in control I have not let God do all he can in my heart. And forgiving my mother doesn't mean forgetting, but giving it to God will heal my heart and let God do things in me I never dreamed he would do.

It is a truly freeing, wonderful weekend.
Mandi

8 bad habits of my husband I will fondly remember

I decided to make a list for myself about John also.

1. The fact that the kids can be screaming right in front of him and he can ignore them.

2. That there are always coke cans all over my house. (guess it bets beer cans)

3. The fact that when he gets up in the morning he is not ready to run out the door to do whatever I was wanting to get done.(I mean the nerve of him, so what if I had at least an hour to wake up and get dress already, lol)

4. The fact that he will watch bits of movies he finds on tv over and over for days in a row. Sometimes it takes days to watch the whole movie.

5. That he cant watch tv and talk at the same time. (I guess all people aren't that talented.

6. That he alway puts the parking brake on my car, even though it doesn't need to be.

7. That he turns my radio station to a different station every single time he is my car.

8. That he always manages to remember he needs something the minute we are ready to walk out the door, that he really doesn't need at all.

That is my husbands bad habits in a nutshell, and you know what I wouldn't change him for the world. I love him, corny movies watcher, coke drinking, late all the time, dorky man that he is.

Have been tagged

Well I read my sister in law's blog and therefore got tagged.

So here are 8 bad habits of mine that my husband will fondly remember at my funeral.

1. No matter how high the trash gets, I generally refuse to bag it up and take it out.

2. Leaving diapers laying around until the next morning. (they are generally just wet ones, but occasionaly a pooping one is laying around too)

3. Asking him to refill my water glass by simply holding the glass up and moving my wrist as soon as he walked in the door. (Come on, it was one time, get over it)

4. Asking him to get me something the minute he sets down.

5. Jumping on the computer the minute he walks away from it for a second.

6. Drinking the last can of coke even when I know that he will be craving one when he gets home.

7. Managing to wash everything in the house except for a pair of boxer for him to wear.

8. The fact that I sometimes leave my craft projects down and have the nerve to get mad when the Alex takes off with my stuff.

Mandi

Middle Name Tag

Well I saw this on my sister of the heart's blog and so I thought I would do it too.

J-- Jeans--I love, Love, LOVE Jeans. If I can find the right pair, I will wear them until they are falling apart.

E-- Easy to use--Not in any naughty kind of way, but in the I never seem to be able to say no when people ask me to do something for them, whether it be watch their kids, hey can you make this for me, hey can you be my taxi for the day, hey will drive around with me while I do errands so I can leave you in the car with my 4 children while you slowly go insane(Kari, that one was for you, lol).

A-- Artistic--Not autistic-- not in the art painting way, but in the crafty kind of way, can quilt, scrapbook, learning to paint signs, cross-stitch, and crochet

N-- Need me time-- I need to be able to regroup every so often and remember that Mandi is still alive, that she isn't just a mom, wife, youth leader, you fill in the blank. That Mandi the crafty, movie watching, look at the Mall while holding my husband's hand, card-playing person is still here and able to come out and play every so often.

There is so much more to me than just those things, but that is me in a nutshell.
Mandi

PEOPLE!!!!!!

I hate having to depend on other people. Especially when they do things on their own time frame. Pastor Dave asked me to print out the directory today at the church. Well I tried calling him this morning and he didn't answer. I headed over to the church and he wasn't there. My keys are lost(thanks to my husband) and so I couldn't just go in and get it done.

Well I can't do it now today, because we have stuff going on for the rest of the day. My way of thinking is if you want to do something to try and do it earlier in the day. I must be an odd-ball, because it seems I am always waiting on people. That frustrates me!!!!!

Keeping Busy!!!!!!

It has been a hectic couple of weeks. I thought with VBS ending I would get to slow down, boy was I wrong. I have been watching my niece 3 days a week, have a youth girl come over after school until her parents get off every school day, working on quilts(or trying too) and working on signs to start selling at craft shows as a side business with a friend. Oh and all the new projects I have taken on at church.

Here is the 2 quilts I am doing for a lady.


2 of the signs I have made. The rest are at my friend house. We are going to do custom order name signs, and then have some signs with seasonal, welcome and etc to sell at the shows.

We named our business, Creative Praise and we are hoping that it will go over good!!!

And here are halloween costumes that I need to get started on. JJ is going to be a puppy(I am going to change the costume slightly, my niece will be the skunk and Alex, well I am sure you will guess his.



Well got to go get busy again.
Mandi

Finally-The Weekend

This week VBS was going on at the church. It was the first VBS in many, many years.

It turned out ok, the only thing I was exactly thrilled about was that I was the craft teacher and got my crafts planned for me. They turned out really good, but there was a craft book that went along with the theme for the VBS and it had some awesome ideas in there. Oh well.

I am just glad that things are slowing down. I am going to go get dressed and relax some today.
Mandi

Kid Swapping!!

That's right, I have my own version of the favorite tv show "Wife Swapping." Davina and I were talking about how we never get any time with our husbands alone. I mean to just go out and be adults. So we decided to switch babysitting duties a couple of times a week. Tonight was the first official night.

The funny thing is that JJ fell asleep halfway through the time they were here and Alex was at my mom's the whole time. So basically it was just me watching her kids and not my own. They were really good and we had fun.

Their little girl Ariana LOVES me. She calls me grandma, which is so funny because Davina is 2 years older than me. Ariana wanted to stay with me, but did end up going home.

So I have one kid gone for the night and one down for the night with only a nightly feeding to break up my sleep. John is working overtime and I am going to enjoy having the bed all to myself!!!
Mandi

Sins of our Fathers!!

Today I ran into my Aunt Judy at Walmart. Even though I had to get JJ to an appointment to get his immunization shots soon, I still decided to say hello. Well if you know my Aunt Judy, you know that once she gets you into her snare, there is no getting out. lol. Anyway I did get the shots on time. Mainly because JJ started screaming his head off and I told her that he needed to eat.

But she mentioned that she felt she was called to pray over the younger generations in our family for us to overcome the sin in our lives. Well I was reading a book last night and in it, it talked about praying and repenting of the sins of our fathers and the generations before us. Both those things got me to thinking.

It says in the Bible that sins are passed down. So to fully get rid of sin in our lives we need to not only pray over our childrens lifes, but to repent of the sins of our families past, so that they no longer have a hold our families.

I don't want the sins of John and mine to cause sin in our childrens lives. I know that sin from our families past is affecting us now and I am wanting to sever it at its start. I want it to no longer have a hold over my families lives. I am claiming the blood of Jesus over my sins and the sins of the past and asking for the Lord to wash them away!!
Mandi

New Pictures of my little men!!

Last week we got some pictures taken of the boys from a company that comes through town every once in a while. They turned out awesome and John and I spent way too much on a package of them. But we get in the package a 16x20 canvas print, quite a few prints, and also a cd with all the pictures on it with a written release form so we can take them and get them printed off at Walmart.

So anyway here is 5 of the pictures. There were 12 in all.





Are my little guys hansome or what?!!
Mandi

My Man's coming home!!

Today John is coming home from camp. Hopefully we can spend some time together. His friend(Tim)'s wife called yesterday and said that Tim had ran into a guy on a bicycle on the highway at night(who ride a bike on the highway at night?) and is really upset about it. The guy is ok, but is trying to get Tim into trouble now.

Anyway so she was wondering if John would come down and see Tim for awhile. Part of me really wanted to tell her no I wasn't even going to ask, because I haven't seen him in 4 days and need some time with him too. Plus tomorrow I am suppose to go to Colorado for the day and wont get to see him. We'll see what happens.

Well so today I am going to clean the house. I want it to look nice, so he can come home and relax. I will just be glad to have him home!!!
Mandi

Well, here it is almost 11 and I am just getting ready to take a bath. I don't take baths in the morning because I prefer to take baths alone without Mr. Alex so I have to wait until he is asleep. I had been scrapbooking after putting down the boys for bed. I went to the local scrapbooking store today to use a gift certificate that I got for my birthday(Thank you Kari!!) and felt inspired.

Alex has been going to bed so much easier. For a long time it was a fight to get him to go to bed and stay there. I honestly thought he would wake up one morning with bruises on his bottom from all the spankings he was getting for getting out of bed. Well for almost 2 weeks now he has been staying in bed after we read a book and pray. It is great. We had one night where he didn't get up a couple of times after Daddy leaving, but since has been staying in bed again.

With John and some of the youth at camp I decided to do something with the kids that didn't go to camp. We went to McDonald's and ended up with more kids than we usually have. The 3 girls from youth that stayed home came and then 2 girls that moved away came and brought a mutual friend of all of theirs with them. So the girls chatted for a while then we headed back to my house to continue chatting. Everyone had a good time.

Went to Davina's today and man her family are real country folks!! They have 10 acres, about 7 horses(on is even with foal) and they were putting in a late summer garden today. Her husband always dressed cowboy-ish with the wrangler jeans, long sleeve plaid shirt, cowboy boots, and of course the hat to top it all off. The boys all wear wranglers all the time with boots. It is just a difference experience being at their house. Kinda reminds me of my friend from Bridgeport I had as a kid. They were farmers too.

Well the lure of a hot bath and a good book is calling me.
Mandi

I am a single mom!!

For one week(until Friday) I am all alone. John took the youth to camp and I stayed behind with the kids. I will miss him so much, but I think he needed to get away and have some fun.

Plus I am looking forward to using this time to really grow spiritually. To have some more awesome talks with my new friend Davina. Her and I can just lay all our crap out for each other to see without feeling like we will be criticized or have to hide anything. We have had such awesome talks about our faith, our frustrations with our lack of obedience at time, kids, husbands, and just life in general.

It is so nice to have someone to talk to that you can just let it all hang out and be totally vulnerable(sp?) with, without fear. I had been praying for that and God heard. I mean I can talk to John about anything, but somethings he doesn't understand because he is a man and they don't think like we do.

Anyway so my husband is gone. He left with bright pink hair because of a fundraiser and I am excited to see what the kids think. Alex already misses him and so do I. I mean yes he is gone alot with work, so we don't see him a ton between him sleeping and work, but I will miss our time together when the boys are both napping(yes God has blessed me with them sleeping at the same time most days). This week will be interesting!!

Here are some pictures of this past week. Casey graduated on Friday.




Mandi

I never have been one for having many people really close to me. Throughout school I have only had 1 or 2 close friends at a time. I am still friends with only 1 person from school, Laura. Other than Laura, the only other person I really have ever been close to is my sister-in-law Kari and lately my sister Ashley. Both are not only sisters to me but really are friends also.

I have always prided myself with being able to talk to people and be friendly, but really cultivating lasting relationships that are tight has always been hard for me. I have friends from church, many older women, who I am close too, but not really anyone my own age. I seem to only let people get so close to me, in fear of being hurt(fear from from my childhood) and I use sarcasim alot to hide that fear.

Anyway this family have been coming to church and I really like the wife. She is only 2 years older than me and we really have hit it off. Yesterday she came over and we talked for 5 hours until I had to get Alex. She is pretty easy to talk to and the best part is that she has a hunger for fellowship with fellow believers. I really think she could be an accountability-partner for me. That is really what I need. I need someone that can test my faith and I can do the same for them. Someone that I can talk to about problems and not feel judgement or condemnation. She has voiced a similar yearning for that in her life also, so I really feel that this is God's will.

I know that God wants me to grow in his word and to become more than I am. There have been other people that I have meet lately that I also feel will help John and I with the youth group coaching that we are desiring. I think this is a season for growth for my family!!!
Mandi

It still hurts!!

Last night I was looking through Alex's and JJ's scrapbooks and it really got me to think about Jacob. I know it has been 3 1/2 years since I lost him, but it still hurts. I have moved past it, but I will never forget him. He was my first baby, my first son. Even though I didn't have anytime with him while he was alive, he was still so very real to me.

I am so blessed in my life, and I thank God everyday for all 3 of my boys. I thank him for giving me Jacob, even though I didn't get to raise him. I try not to think to much on what it would be like if he had lived, because then I remember that if he had lived I wouldn't have Alex, and I could never choose one son over another. This way I got them both.

It just hurts to see how much Alex and JJ are growing and realize that I will never see Jacob grow up. He will always be the same to me. His picture will never change.
Mandi

My boys

Yesterday I decided to take a picture of JJ similar to one I had taken of Alex at the same age. Well then Alex wanted to get his picture taken too, so here is what I ended up with.
Alex at 6 months

JJ at 6 months

Alex at 2 1/2

The Boys

And I found Alex's 1st halloween costume I made and Alex wanted to try it on again, so him and JJ took turns.
JJ

Alex halloween 2005

Alex yesterday

I just love my boys so much!!! They bring so much joy(and sometimes stress) into my life and I can't imagine not having them both to hug and kiss everyday!! I thank God for them everyday!
Mandi

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!!!!!

Well since I was out of town today, I have decided today is my birthday again. lol.

We took the youth to Denver yesterday. It was fun but we drove 4 hours to go spend 2 1/2 hours at the park, and then be stormed out. The plan was to be out of town by 8, well I forgot that with the Clangs coming meant that we of course would have a delay. We didn't get on the road until 9. And of course the delay included a stop at ...... Starbucks. Shocker!!

So we finally got their after stopping for lunch in Ft Morgan. Well when we got their we decided to go to the rides part first. So we split up-Joe, John and all the girls(the rollercoaster lovers) and Yvonne, me, JJ, and Derrick(the chickens), Yvonne and Derrick went on some rides, we walked around, caught a little bit of a dare devil type show, and then I decided I was finally getting one of those old fashion pictures I have wanted for years. So we call up John and get him to come join us so I can get a picture.

Then after doing that and spending about 20 minutes trying to locate the other group, we head over to the waterpart. The other group was already there(little stinkers) and so we set to getting dressed. As soon as I come out fo the dressing room, Derrick finds me and tells me they closed down all the waterpark and the rides, because of lightning. So we are trying to figure out what to do and are told that they will decide if they will open back up the water in about 15 minutes. So we decide to stay and wait until they decide what to do.

There wasn't anymore lightning until like right around the time they should be deciding what to do, so we all pack up and start the long trip back. We stopped and ate dinner at Memories in Ft Morgan, which was very good.

We are going to go to the water park in Grand Island before school starts to make up for us missing the water park in Denver. So that should be lots of fun, and is way less driving!!

Kiddie Parade

Yesterday was the local kiddie parade. JJ wore the indian outsit Alex wore when was that size. Alex was a cowboy and I quickly made an indian outfit for Bianca. It was a little small because I made it, without trying it on her and didn't have time to do another one. The looked really cute.

Of course it was in the 90 for the parade, we all were hot a sweaty. The babies slept most of the parade, which is like 10 minutes of actual parade after like 20 minutes of waiting for stuff to get started. Every year I wonder why I went through the trouble, but we all know, PICTURES!!








Then last night we went and watched Brad Stine. He was so funny. Of course Alex was being a pain and tired. And part of the night we sat by Bob, and for some reason when Alex is like that, he thinks it is so funny to pick on him. I was about ready to beat them both!!

Today I am going to try to get my front bedroom completely cleaned out and set up for our open house next week.

5 years and still going strong!!!

So much has happened since my last post. We went to Kansas City to visit John's sister and her family last week and it was great. We got prophecied over and man, did God have some words for us. We heard things that were so encouranging. It was amazing and really opened our eyes to issues in our lives.




We did so much in Kansas City and had lots of fun. Some of the highlights were rock wall climbing and going to the Incredi-bowl, which was incredibly expensive!!! But we had tons of fun. And we got family pictures taken at a rose park that was so breathe taking!!

Today is John and mine's 5 year anniversary. It is so wierd because in some ways it is like it was just yesterday that I became his wife and on the other hand it seems like we have been together forever. I still am totally crazy over him and am so grateful that God brought us together. That I never had to "play the field" trying to find the right man. That God brought him to me when I was only 13.

John bought me this gorgeous necklace for our anniversay. It has 2 red ruby heart stones set on a gold ribbon with a small diamond on it. It is so beautiful. I am such a lucky girl to have 3 handsome men in my life!!
Mandi

Time flies by!!!

Tonight I decided to try and get some scrapbooking done. It made me realize how fast time goes by! Alex has gotten so big in the past year. My baby is no longer a baby. He is an active kid, who is now wanting to run around bottomless outside, so he can pee like a big boy(Grandma Doni taught him that I think). It makes me so sad to think that he is getting so big and to think how big he will get. And JJ has changed so much in the past 5 months. You really forget how fast they get out of the newborn phase.

We had lunch today with Pastor Dave. He is the first one other than the youth that we have had over for dinner in our new house. Basically he is the first one we have had over for dinner(not just a pizza) in like 4 years. How sad is that.

It is so funny how God works things out for us. John and I and Pastor Dave came to this lunch wanting to talk about what John and I do and we were worried about what the other one would have to say. And it turns out we were all wanting the same thing. John and I were wanting more to do for the church, so we feel like we are "earning our keep" and Pastor Dave wanted to give us a job description and more responsibilities. God truly is awesome in how he works things out for us. It makes me wonder why I ever spend time worrying!!!
Mandi

Knowing what God wants you to do is sometimes hard. I mean, often I wish God would just say "Mandi, this is what I want you to do." Sometimes what you want to do and what you feel that God is calling you to do, ends up just being you reading things the way you want to.

That being said, I really am thinking that God has been paving the way for us to fix our Neon. When it broke down 2 years ago, we decided to get another vehicle instead of fixing it, basically because we didn't think the Neon would run if it got fixed. Well I am thinking that God knew if we fixed it, we would have traded it in by now.

It is just so weird how just last month our car insurance drop quite a bit, where now with the Neon on it, it is barely over what it was before. And we paid off some loans so that now we could afford to fix the Neon and then our "oh-so helpful" neighbor turned the Neon in. Well needless to say we felt it was time to fix our car.

Well now it is running. We have to see if some wires are loose to the battery or if the alternator(sp?) is bad from setting, but other than that it is doing good. Even if it does need an alternator, my dad can fix that, he did before, and then we have a back up vehicle for me to use when John takes the kids to camp and to save on gas. It is funny how everything just seemed to move into place.

And on Monday or Tuesday we are heading out of town for a much needed vacation. We are so excited. We get to FINALLY see my sister-in-law's house and hang out with her family on their "turf". We are so glad to get out of town and just have fun. Plus Alex loves playing with his cousins, although I am not sure Uri always enjoys it. I can't wait!!!
Mandi

The New Me

Well for the past 2 days my voice has been gone. Yesterday I couldn't talk at all except for whispering and it looks like that will be happening again today. It is really weird because my throat doesn't hurt. All I can say(or should I say "whisper") is that I want my voice back.

Not being able to talk really stinks!! Especially when people call me and I can't talk to them.

We were suppose to have Pastor Dave yesterday for lunch and we canceled because I couldn't talk and had a headache. I hate that it keeps getting put off. He used to be a youth pastor so we are hoping for some advice and what he thinks would be good for fundraisers. Plus we would like to get to know the guy.

Hopefully we can get together for lunch this weekend.
Mandi

Sleep!!!

Funny, you would think since I slept in until 9, that I would be totally rested, but instead I feel more tired than normal. Probably just my body craving more sleep. It has been awesome though because JJ has started sleeping from about 10-5. Alex still gets up and crawls into bed with me around 1 in the morning, but atleast I get the bed to myself for a while.

Kari and Eric are here and were planning on leaving today to head home to have the baby. But they need new tires so they decided to stay and have little Phin here. It will be so awesome to get to see him right away!!

I am trying to get my house finished. We got lazy, because we got where the house was livable so we stopped and now I am wanting it done. My guest bedroom is packed with stuff for a garage sale and stuff to be unpacked. I just need to get busy.

My front yard is looking good though. We planted flowers and shrubs out front to add some color. Our goal is to start on the backyard possibly when we get back from Kansas City.

This past weekend was awesome. Hectic, but so great. It was great to see Pastor Jerry and Virginia again and the sermons were wonderful.(well the ones I got to hear, KIDS) I walked away with this shamed feeling about how I have acted towards church. I mean they used to have revivals for days on end and now we find the a couple of hours every week is just too much. That is really sad that we have made spending time with God into a "fast food service." Makes you wonder what the next generation will be like. Isn't is funny that we find third world countries lacking of so much, but they are the ones that thirst for Jesus like many of us never have. That just makes me so ashamed!!!
Mandi

Rowdy

Well, life is somewhat getting back to normal. I still have stuff to unpack and have to start putting up pictures, but day-to-day life is getting more routine again.

We got a new dog last week and he is a cutie. He is completely ornery though. Sierra loves having another dog and Alex is constantly carrying him around, although Rowdy is getting tired of that and starting to get away. I am hoping that he will become a good dog like Sierra, and am not looking forward to the terrible puppy stage.

Alex is getting over being sick with throat infection, but is still unbelievably whiney!! It is getting on my nerves.

I am working on a dress for one of our youth girls and it is looking pretty good. I can't wait to get my craft room completely set up and start working on projects again.

Here are some pictures to share.





Mandi

Nieces and Nephews

I love kids, well most kids. Some peoples' kids drive me nuts. But next to my own boys, my nieces and nephews are my favorites. For each one of their births I was around, obviously not at the birth, but shortly there after to meet the new little person.

Gracie and Elijah I wasn't around as much in the first couple of years of their lives. I was around, but not like with the other two. But before this year I was around for every birthday of all the kids, except I think for Elijah's second. I would make sure I went to them all with my camera in hand.

Well I watching my newest niece today(the first on my side) and I realized that I wont get to watch my soon-to-be-born nephew go through the baby stage like I have all the rest. Each one of the kids I got to get to know them right away and my new nephew I wont be able to.

I got really sad just a little while ago, because I was looking at Kari's friend, Molly's blog and she had pictures of the kids on her blog and I thought about all I have missed in their lives in the past year, how many pictures I have not gotten to take.

All I can say is you take family living close for granted until they move. I miss seeing the kids almost daily. I miss going over to Kari's to chat for a while. I miss meeting up with the whole family for dinner at Pat and Bob's. I even miss seeing Eric walk through Pat and Bob's door with the phone to his ear.(that man is always on the phone)

Hopefully we will get to visit them this summer!!
Mandi

I hate moving!!!!!!

Well I have to say that I will be so happy when we get moved!!! I mean this has been a huge drawn out process. It seems I never can get anything done when Alex is here, because he is in to everything and if he is not into stuff he is picking on JJ so I have to rescue him. I just want to get moved and not going back and forth.

Our goal is to get all our small stuff taken over and then next Wednesday when Joe and April help us we can get our bed, furniture and all the big items over. Then we will just have to tidy up the old house and start the process of unpacking.

I have found tons of stuff to sell at a garage sale. I am trying to down scale the boys' clothes and part with the stuff I don't absolutely love that they have grown out of. We have been buying some new stuff for JJ, so there is no point in keeping ALL of Alex's old clothes for him.

And poor Sierra has no clue she is about to move. She hates leaving our house, so I wonder is she will take moving very well. Hopefully she doesn't dig up our new yard, although it does need reseeded.

Hopefully our friend Eric can finish the floor in our bedroom, which it the only thing holding us back from moving in completely. We finished the laundry room floor yesterday and it looks pretty darn good for 2 people that have no real idea what they are doing. So things are actually happening, it is just hard when you don't see any empty rooms, but you have been packing and moving crap all the time. Oh well the end is in site.(I HOPE!!!!!!!!)
Mandi

Random Pictures

Well here are some pictures of our new, improved youth room.


Here are some Easter-ish pictures


And one of Little Miss B because she is so cute!

Here is Mr. Chubbins

And Kari this one is for you. Presenting your Dorky Brother and his Dorky Son

People never come back from Kansas!

Well Casey is leaving Saturday for Kansas. Ashley and I went up yesterday to help him clean his sad little economy apt and see him for the last time before he leaves. I kept asking him if he was sure he wanted to leave because we wont see each other until Christmas probably and he started joking about how people never return from Kansas.

It was funny but really got me thinking. You know we tend to make a big deal out of people moving away, like we will never see them again, but when you think about it, anytime we say goodbye to someone it could be the last time. I mean at any moment this could be the end for one of us. So we should make sure to tell each other we love them any chance we get. We should take the time to hug goodbye and pray that God keeps the other one safe until we meet again.

Guess I am just kinda in a depressed mood. Casey moving again is kinda hard for me. And everything is changing. Most for the best, but how much more is going to change. In the past 4 months JJ and Bianca were born, Mom and Dad moved back, we bought a house, Casey is moving away, Ashley and Andrew are most likely buying a house, and I have another nephew on the way. These are all great things, but it seems like so much at once. Last year at this time I never guessed that any of this would take place and now everything is so different, better different, but different just the same.

JJ's dedication

Yesterday we dedicated JJ to the Lord. Pastor Dave was here, so he did it for us. He did such a good job and it really was a awesome little ceremony. And what I heard of his sermon was really good too. Didn't alot of it because of having to change diapers and wrestle around with Alex.

Anyway here are some pictures.