Where do you find the time??? Coments PLEASE!

Since I started blogging, I've found myself reading others' daily blogs more often. I can't help but feel a tinge of "BLOG" envy. Where do you find the time to engage in all your crafts, budgeting, photography, blogging, and more? You all seem like Martha Stewarts, while I feel more like Roseanne Barr (I know I'm not that heavy, but seriously, Natalie, you're already fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes. I still haven't recovered from Maddy's pregnancy—I've got the Lloyd hips!). The only craft I've managed to complete in a LONG time is the Halloween decorations (see the bottom of the blog), and that was the most significant challenge ever! Sammy was crying for me to pick him up half the time, Dane was on the couch sick, and the mess from making the "spider egg" didn't get cleaned up until the next day!

I feel like I'm sprinting a marathon with no end in sight. Constantly picking up kids from school, attending doctor appointments for Sammy and me, cleaning (although my house always stays a mess!), homework, soccer practice, and games—AHH, the list never ends! My life is so hectic right now that I've even opted for a service called "Dream Dinners" to pre-make my dinners every month, so all I have to do is thaw and follow directions; otherwise, my family wouldn't eat :) I need comments on this one! What am I missing? And please don't tell me you get most of your stuff done after the kids go to bed at night! My head hits the pillow as soon as my kids are asleep (sometimes even sooner :) since Sammy wakes every couple of hours with tummy pains!

So, what is your secret? Comments, please... cousins, aunts, grandmas??

Halloween decorations!

This was a fun Halloween project! We made a spider nest out of a balloon and paper Meche' It's in our archway going from the living room to the kitchen. For this pic they had to stand on a chair. I'm small enough that I don't have to duck...but Dane always runs into the spider webs upon return from work. 

Points

This Sundays sermon was about how one gets into heaven. It went something like this:

The story is told of the lifelong Presbyterian who died and, upon arrival at the Pearly Gates, encountered St. Peter who said to him: "Listen, this is how it works. You need 100 points to get into heaven. You tell me about your life; I will give you a certain number of points for each incident, depending on how good it was, and when you reach 100 points, you're in."
"Okay," says the man with a certain relish. "I was married to the same woman for sixty years and never cheated on her, not even in my heart."
"Wonderful," says Peter, "three points."
"Three points? Well, I attended church all of my life, rarely missed a Sunday, tithed, was a Deacon, Trustee and Elder, and taught Sunday school--even Junior High Confirmation Class!"
"Terrific," says Peter, "one point."
"One point?" Okay, remember that meal for seniors that I not only helped begin, but continued to work at until my dying day?"
"Excellent," says Peter, "one point."
"Well, what about the homeless ministry I started and supported, not only with my money and by serving meals, but by actually staying over all night about once a month?"
"Fantastic," says Peter, "two more points."
"Two points? That's only seven points. At this rate, I'll never make it, save the grace and mercy of God."
"Bingo," says Peter, "100 points, come on in!"14
It's about humbly accepting the grace and mercy of God. The Pharisee stood before God in arrogance and pride, trusting in his work and demeaning others by comparison, and missed the reason for the law in the first place--lifesaving communion with God. The Tax collector stood before God in humility--knowing and declaring who he was, calling on God to be who God is--and found God's readiness to redeem and be reconciled. That is the power of humility.

My conclusion - it's not works that get you into heaven it's by knowing and believing in Jesus Christ that warrants us to be in his presence for all of eternity! See you there!

Daneo

Since I put up pics of our indoor cats, I thought I should also show you our outdoor dogs. Not sure I can find a pic of Lady, she is a mix of Caviler Spaniel and Brishion. She is basically Daneo's pet :) Now Daneo is my favorite dog of all the dogs I've ever owned. Yes he's huge, but he is the most gentle, sweet, and highly entertaining! You should see him gallop around the back yard when he is excited! I named him Daneo not only because he is a great dane, but because that's my hubby's nick name :)

Our Kittens!

Maddy was very scared to start kindergarten, so we promised to get a cat as an incentive once she got settled into school. After a couple of rough days, she finally made some friends, and by the end of the week, she loved school. That very day, we went to pick up our kitten. We couldn't decide which kitten we liked best, so we adopted these two siblings. Great decision because they keep each other occupied when the kids are not playing with them! We have not given them names yet, but the kids keep calling them Blackey and Greyey, so I guess that's their names! 

I'm now in the world of blogging!

I've always wanted to start a blog, but after reading other people's blogs I thought mine would be so boring to read. All I ever do is get up in the morning make breakfast, do as much cleaning as I can with a 5 month old, and pick up kids from school. Help with homework, make dinner (if Dane's lucky), then get the kids off to bed. All this just to start over again the next day. 

"I believe I can see the future... Every day is exactly the same"

But then I realized something the other day. Maddy was doing something absolutely hilarious! She was helping her new kitten reach a bug at the top of a window so she could bat it and try to catch the bug. She kept saying "Come on you can do it, I know you can!" She's so stinking cute! I told Dane about it later, but we'll never remember something like that years from now! I enjoy our kids so much and they are growing up in front of my eyes. But those memories just won't stick for us or possibly them! I take tons of videos and pictures, and this will add just one more thing for me to look back on to cry in joy! So this blog is more for me than for anyone who wants to read it. So please don't patronize me for spelling or grammar errors. Remember I was the adrenaline junky that went to the police academy to be a 911 dispatcher and babysit cops, tell firefighters where to go, and help deliver babies over the phone (came so close to this happening to me). I skipped out on the 4-year degree and followed my dream. Then later a whole other dream of having a family became a reality. Dane and I never travel (except for our yearly run to Disneyland), we don't own expensive cars, and our house is tiny and always a mess thanks to 2 and soon-to-be three messy kids. I hardly read, heck the only ME time I get is watching ER reruns thanks to our DVD player! You're very welcome to come and see what's new with our family and all the crazy things my kids are doing! Family is the most important thing to me! I love being my kids' mom!

Samuel's first food!

Samuel started on peaches last week (5 months old) His first reaction was hilarious! He squinted his eyes shut and shook his head! But after a few more bites he decided this was a good thing! Ofcorse the whole family pitched in to "help". Unfortunately, he only got to try peach for a couple of nights before he came down with a cold :( He still fighting it, but should be eating peaches again real soon!