Back to school

Well I am NOT going to Idaho but I am doing their online courses! Its a new program called The Pathway program and the best part is that the credits are onle $65 a piece and I can go all the way up to a bachelor's for half the cost if I went to a university. I am excited and nervous but I have been puting this off for tooooo long and when the opportunity came up there was no way I could pass up. Go here if you want to read more into it.

My sister Rebecca and I are doing this together and its going to be a great learning experience! One of the requirements is that you have to attend Institute one night a week and take a Religous course. I am excited for that because I didn't really attend Institute when I was younger and when I did go I didn't have my whole heart into it. I am happy that I get this chance to grow both spiritually (which I NEED) and mentally!

Homemade

This year for Christmas I decided I was going to try my hand at being crafty and make most of our gifts this year for family members. For my 2 nieces that are around the same age I found a cute idea on a blog for ABC blocks. Bear already had the wood I needed for it and I already had the paint and paper and mod podge. They were WAY easy to make and I think they turned out so cute!

I used 6 different patterned papers and painted the blocks with the coordinating colors.

The one other gift I made was an apron. I found a cute tutorial on this website and decided to try it out! I have never sewn in my life so I knew this was not going to be an easy project but with the help of my mom I was able to do it! I made one for our girl gift exchange with my dad's side of the family and made one for my SIL.

I had a lot of fun making these gifts and think they turned out good for being my first. I am sure I will be doing homemade in the future so if you get a homemade gift I hope you don't mind :]

Rebecca-The Artist

My sister Rebecca has been drawing since her freshman year of high school. I think going in to it she didn't know much about but as you can tell from this she is pretty dang good! She sure did find her hidden talent! She does painting, pencil drawing, oil painting, etc. and does them on the side. I will post more of her drawings soon...

Moving in

My sister Rebecca is moving in with us in a couple of weeks! I couldn't be more excited! Its going to be a good thing for the both us, and it helps that Bear is being so supportive of it! I am looking forward to spending a lot of time with her and helping her through the changes she is going through! GOOD changes and I couldn't be more happy and proud of her! My little sister is growing up :] It will also be good for me to have her here since Bear is gone working nights and I am still not used to it!

Good Deals

Since we have been married I have been on the search for a display table for an entry way and two end tables for the couch. This weekend we were out and decided to go and look at a couple of furniture stores and see what they had. Our first stop was at Ashley's and that is where I found everything I have been searching for! We went back into their clearance section and we found these beauties! Being in the clearance section also meant that there were a little misperfections but nothing Bear couldn't fix :)

This is just missing the glass piece up top..easy fix! It was originally $375 and we got it for $140

These 4 came in a set! The 2 end tables, coffee table, and a back table for the couch. All of them just need glass added to them. Originally $750 for the set and we got it for $200!

I feel like my living room is complete now! Now its time to decorate.

Holding On

I read this quote from a conference talk from April 2010 and it came at the perfect timing. At times right now I just feel like giving up on trying to have children and ask why why why. I always hear about people having babies that don't even deserve them (druggies, abusers, neglecters, ect) and ask why can they have babies when they don't even care and there are so many couples out there that would do anything to have children and give them a loving home. Why?? I know I shouldn't question Him but at times I do. At times I think I am just not good enough and that I don't deserve children. I know I just need to have more faith in Him and I just need the strength to handle whatever it is the may come our way.

Happy Halloween

Halloween's are pretty low key around here. We usually just hang out with family and play games and hand out Halloween candy to the neighbors, which is the way I like it. But I can't wait till we have kids and we get to dress them up and take them trick or treating. I think it will make holidays like these more enjoyable. But until that happens we will continue our little tradition of hanging out with family, eating chili, and playing games; which I am sure we will do even when we do have kids!

Bear bought this mask this year and I am not fan of it at all! But he insisted on wearing it so here he is cooking the chili..he only put the mask on for picture purposes for me. I wanted that thing out of sight. He did scare my mom with it. She was in the bathroom and he waited for her by the door and went BOO and she jumped and screamed. She did chase him up the stairs but couldn't catch him...

We pulled out good old Jenga and played it about three times. Me, dad, and mom were the ones who ended the games. Bear never let it fall..whatever. He is a bit on the competitive side

I was the first one to let it fall...

Then my dad

Then my mom

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Workin Man

With the economy on the crapper, Bear's company has kinda slowed down. He is still getting work which has been a HUGE blessing but not what he was used to getting. One of his good friends that is the Chief Firefigther out in Buckeye, told him about a company that was hiring for Fire/EMT. Chief knew the guy that was doing the hiring for the position and put in a good word for Bear. Well it worked and after about 7 months he was "officially" offered the position. He had to wait on his background check, his physical, his stress test, etc results to come back normal and thank goodness they did :] Who knew it would take sooooo long!

He has been working at the job for about a month and a half and its going alright...I wish I could say he loved it but I can't. The one good thing about working here is that most of the guys that are working there part time are full time firefighters for the surrounding cities, so he has been able to become friends with them. But I do know why he is doing it..he is doing it for us. He is doing it because he slowed down in his work so he found something else for the time being to make up for lost jobs. So he works Wed-Fri the 6pm-6am shift and I am NOT a fan of it at all! I have a really hard time sleeping and every little noise I hear I freak out. Hopefully I will get used to it soon! So on his days off his has been doing side jobs during the day, and at night is an assistant instructor at GCC with his friend doing the Fire Fitness class.

So on the weekends he is catching up on his sleep! We do go out once in a while but I try not to complain much about being bored because I know how tired he is and he does deserve a good rest! And sometimes I feel like I never get to see him which has been hard but it has opened my eyes and has made me realize how much I really do need him! I am very grateful for Bear and for all his hard work. I am so very blessed.

This little Piggy

For the past 7 years or so my Grandpa has been collecting pigs. Stuffed pigs, salt/pepper shaker pigs, piggy banks, pig statues, pig pillows, etc. Any thing to do with pigs he would collect it. Now that he has passed on my grandma is giving each grandchild and his children a pick of one of his pigs so that we can have a "piece" of him...
This is the little piggy that I chose....small and simple. I am sure before I wouldn't of boughten a pig to display in my home but this one I proudly will!

I still miss my grandpa dearly and wish he could still be here. I can't believe its already been 5 months! I know he was "older" and his time was coming up but I still think he was too young considering how healthy he was. I am not(actually, I think most of the family) looking forward to Thanksgiving or Christmas because he won't be there. I mean we are excited to spend time together but its going to be hard not having him there. These 2 holidays he cherished the most because that is when the whole family would get together and we would have the best time! Family was the most important thing to him and he LOVED it when we were all together!

I went and visited my Grandma today with my parents and it was a great time just sitting there laughing and talking with her. I love her and she is the cutest thing ever! And she is doing great and I think that helps all of us knowing that she is going good! It's still weird going there because you are expecting him to come out of his room or see him in his office studying away. His pictures are everywhere and seeing them bring back such good memories of him and I can't help but get teary eyed when I see them. But I know someday I will see him again and I can't wait!

Hair Be Gone

I had an appointment to get my hair done yesterday for just a trim and some highlights...I have always wanted to chop my hair off but never got brave enough to do it! My hairdresser was just trimming away and I just said...go for it and chop it and give me bangs!  I brought a picture over just in case I decided to do it and she did exactly what I wanted!  I am so happy I decided to go short...I am hoping it will be easier to manage and its a nice change!

I am also hoping it will help me at least look a little older since a lot of people think I am 16 and sometimes think I am Bear's daughter :/ 

Its still weird that when I run my fingers through my hair it stops at my neck instead of down my back....

Feeling Crafty

How cute are these?! I made these the other night and I love how they turned out! Thanks Keeley for the idea! I love the feel of Autumn and that I am able to bust out all the cute Autumn decorations for our home!

Home Sweet Home

After a year of searching for a home we finally found the ONE! We kept submitting offer after offer and getting denied because someone came in with a bigger offer or cash upfront...something we didn't have. It was getting really frustrating because for each offer we had to sign so many papers and submit bank statements, proof of who were, etc.

We put in an offer on a bank owned home and got approved a day later and we were finally relieved that we got something...NOT! Well come to find out, the seller on the home was an investor and had only owned the home for 2 weeks and by law he had to own it for at least 90 days since we were doing a conventional loan. To say we were upset would be an understatement :/

Bear had to go to the house and sign the cancelled paperwork for the home and as he was driving around the corner he saw another house with a sign in the yard and it was also a bank owned home. He called me and told me about it and gave me the MLS# so I could go look at it online. I looked it up and from the pics I really liked it and so we submitted our offer. I think after all the run-around from all the other houses I wasn't expecting to get it...but the next day we got the call saying they accepted our offer and it was ready to go!

30 days later we signed a TON of paperwork and then got the keys a week later! After we got the keys it felt like a weight had been lifted off our shoulders and that we were able to now relax and not stress about our housing situation! I guess this was the house that was meant to be...
It was a foreclosure and move in ready! All we had to do was clean the carpets! That's what I am talking about.

Here are some pics of our home...its not exactly picture ready because things are still not in their proper place..oh well!

Big Sister

Kennedy is going to be a BIG sister!

Now that my sister has officially announced it I guess I can too! My sister Elaine is pregnant and her due date is May 16! I am sooooooooo excited that another little baby is on its way into this family!

About 2 weeks ago as we were moving Elaine came over and helped me pack up some boxes while my mom and other sister Rebecca were there. We were all sitting there talking and she kept yawing and stating that she was tired. I JOKINGLY said what are you pregnant and she looked at me with a BIG grin on her face and I knew then that she was! She finally admitted after I kept bugging her to tell me...she found out the day before Kennedy's 1st birthday!

Congrats to Elaine, Shane, and Kennedy!

I Still Miss You

My dad put this video together of my Grandpa who passed away in June. We all do miss him so much! I love you Grandpa!

Look who is 1

Little Miss Kennedy turned 1 on Sept 19! Wasn't she just born the other day?! They sure do grow up fast and she has turned into the cutest little girl and she sure has a sassy personality! Happy 1st birthday!

Since Kennedy likes to look at herself I had about 20 pictures hung around the house of her
and she sure did enjoy looking at them and would get a big grin when she saw herself!

The cute family!

Elaine and Shane enjoy riding quads and Kennedy got her very own! But don't worry the max speed is 2MPH on hers!

She didn't get into her cake at all! She touched the frosting and didn't like it and just wiped it on herself...

Opening presents! She didn't get the concept but who does at 1 :) She sure did love all of her gifts! She played with each one as Elaine was opening them up for her!

29

Us back in 2007...

Happy Birthday (a few days late) to Bear! We didn't really get to do much for his birthday since we were in the process of moving! We just went out to dinner for his birthday...boring I know! Each year I say I am gonna do something awesome for him and celebrate him all week long but it tends to creep up on me and I don't get to! My goal for next year is to celebrate big for him since he will be the big 30! I should probably start planning it now so I am ready for next year...


I love Bear and I am grateful for all he does for me! He is hardworking and wants the best for us and our future family! He is juggling 3 jobs right now soon to be 4...I don't know how he does it. He is running his company CLEAR Builders, got a job at the Toyota Proving Grounds doing Fire/EMT, working part time at GCC as a fitness instructor assistant with his friend who is the Chief out in Buckeye FD, and will be doing a reserve position out in Buckeye starting next month! I am blessed!

Labor Day

So I am a little behind on my blogging...we have moving for the past month and it kicked my butt and all we have been doing is packing moving and unpacking. I am so glad we are done with it!

Labor day weekend we took a needed get away up to Pine. Our friends have a cabin up there and were nice enough to let us use it and take my family with us! The weather was perfect and it was so relaxing not having to worry about things back at home for a couple of days. My mom, dad, and brother Joey came up with us! It might sound boring to some but we watched movies, went into town to the shops, and played games.

My mom used to play this game all time growing up and she was giving Bear a run for his money!

Sewing project??

So I tend to go to this website a lot to get cute ideas for crafts, yummy recipe ideas, and for the cutest fonts ever! Well as I was browsing their website, I came across this...

Dog Crate Covers with the bumper pads

I have a sewing machine and need to break it out and learn how to use it and I REALLY want to make one of these for Toby :) He won't care if I use his project as a first time trial and that it won't be perfect!!

Isn't it so stinkin cute!! I showed Bear and he just rolls his eyes...figures

Daily Thought

I was blog hopping(yes I am guilty of that :) and came across this quote on someone's blog...I really enjoyed reading the last part of it and it was also a reminder to me that I need to do better on my part...

"God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future; He expects you to embrace and shape the future--to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities.

God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe."
— Jeffrey R. Holland

Cuteness

Just some cute pics of Kennedy I had taken the past couple of weeks! Oh my goodness she is getting so big and ADORABLE! She gives kisses now! When you say "give me kisses" and pucker your lips so leans in towards you with her mouth open and kisses you! I am so in love with this little girl!

She loves Uncle Bear!