Giving up a lovey.....

Disclaimer: Gracie dear...when you are old and reading this, please don't hate your mom...okay?

The other day I was talking to Grace about the blanket that I had when I was little.  I will forgo telling anyone the name of my blanket, but the fact about it is...it ended up in several pieces and I can't even remember what has become of it.  The purpose of the conversation was to convince Grace that it might be time to give up her 'lovey's' and be a big kid.  I totally went against everything I have been taught about child development and tried to guilt her into giving up her security and comfort.  Oh yeah....I'm a bad mom!

When I had Katey back in the mid 90's Dr. T. Barry Brazelton used to have a television show about parenting and one of the topics he discussed OFTEN was the use of what her termed "Lovey's" by children.  Basically a security blanket, pacifier or stuffed animal...anything that gave the child comfort and calmed them was a lovey.  His take on this subject was to let the child get rid of the lovey on THIER time. Not the adult's time.  We aren't the one's getting comfort from the object so it isn't up to us to take it away.  Hmmm...okay, I thought.  That is reasonable and I let Katey have a pacifier only at sleeping times and by the time she was three she went to the garbage can and threw it away.

Grace has had this bunny named Willa and her blankey since she was a baby.  The bunny was given to Grace by some friends in Wisconsin and blankey came from a yard sale!  They are very special to her and she needs to know where they are before bed each night.  I have driven back to West Yellowstone from Utah to retrieve them from the hotel they were left in.  They are IMPORTANT I tell you!  Willa got her name from the sweetest book I found when Katey and Sam were little.  It is about a brother and sister bunny and how Willa can't sleep, so Willoughby her brother tells her happy things to help calm her.  Since Sam and Grace had shared a room like these two bunnies at one time, it really is sweet how it mimics Sam and Grace's relationship.

Anyway...as I was having the conversation with Grace about giving up Willa and blankey she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "But mom, how did you feel when you had to give up your blanket?"  Then I thought back to the feelings I had when I watched my dad put my blanket into the top of his closet and thought..."I can do this...I'm a big kid".

Needles to say, the next day Willa and blankey got a bath in the washing machine and after the dryer, they were promptly put back on Graces bed.  So what if she takes them to college? Worse things can happen.  She's 8 and we have plenty of time to get to that point.  Life is hard enough without a lovey.

An apple a day.....

I think I have mentioned before that I love fall.  Yes...in fact I mention that every year around this time.  I love fall!  I love the smells, the crisp air, the food!  EVERYTHING about fall is fantastic!  I love the ability to go and pick my own produce too.  Pumpkins and apples are at the top of the list this time of year because I make applesauce and Honey Crisp apples go into my kid's lunch boxes everyday.

So a couple of weekends ago Grace and I went apple picking.  I have had my craving for applesauce and have missed the farmers markets in our area lately.  We live by an apple orchard so it wasn't too hard to go and get 20 lbs.  Plus, Grace totally digs stuff like this still.  For those of you with teenagers, you are nodding your heads right now understanding aren't you?  Grace thinks that getting our own apples off of a tree was awesome and then we get to peel them!!  Wow, she said.  Oh so easily entertained is what I was thinking.

We picked our apples and brought them home.  Then Monday rolled around and I needed to make lunches for the kiddos.  I do actually make a lunch for all three of my kids and I will tell you why.  Our family has really been trying to get away from processed food when ever possible.  My kid's (especially my two older ones) are at the point they notice a difference in their thought processing and whole body when they eat processed food.  They are more tired for the last part of their school day and just plain feel yucky.  Grace is my somewhat picky eater and I am okay with that for now.  She will eat vegetables and fruit, just when I pack it for her.  When I have looked at school lunch menu's and asked the kids if they wanted to eat at school or at home, more often than not it would be a home lunch they would ask for.  Again, I am okay with that.  But that also meant having to invest in some containers that would accommodate what we like to eat.  So here we go on my latest finds and some cool little tidbits that I have found out lately:

1. Packing a sliced apple so it won't go brown by the time lunch rolls around: If you have an apple slicer/corer use it often.  #1 reason is we all know the nutrient value that an apple with skin on has.  It is amazing the amount of fiber you get in one apple.  I am probably the pickiest eater in my home so if I eat an apple it has to be crisp, cold and not mealy at all.  Fuji's, Gala's, Honey Crisp and Pink Lady apples have a really great crisp texture and don't go brown very quickly when you use this trick.  Take the "wedger" and go to the bottom of the apple but don't go through the bottom.  Then push the core back through so your apple will still look whole when you are done.  Then wrap the entire apple in tinfoil and make a twist on the top so that air can't get into it.  Also, a 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice in a ziplock with sliced apples will do the trick too.  My oldest says she can taste the lemon juice so I do the tin foil method for her.

2. Kid's love Lunchable's.  It's just a fact:
After teaching preschool for 3 years I have seen Lunchable's morph into different variations of really expensive lunch products.  They now have a water bottle available in a type of Lunchable with a single serve Kool-Aid packet.  I won't discuss my aversion to Kool-Aid but, because I have witnessed lots of kid's throw away food and money I came to a realization.  It isn't what is in the Lunchable (because the dessert was always eaten first) it is the Lunchable container and the food not touching that kid's like the most!  Ah ha!  So I went on a quest to find compartmentalized containers to make my own lunchables.

My family loves what we call "carpet picnic's" and the kid's eat better when we have those.  We do this at least twice a month, usually on a Saturday night when we are watching a movie together.  It's just cracker's, our favorite cheeses, lunch meat, fresh fruit, fruit dip, lots of fresh veggies, cream cheese and a french baguette of bread sliced.  A couple of serving platers, paper plates and voila!  Dinner is served.  I took this idea and put it to use for lunch and I have to say it has been great!  My kid's actually tell me "Lunch was good Mom."  **insert surprised look here**

I found these Ziploc containers at my local Big Lots for $1.00.  There are two in a package with 3 compartments in the container.  Filling them with what the kids like is the easy part and putting a cookie in there for dessert is all they need.  I also found a storage container set with the little tiny dip containers at Gordman's.  Here's the cool thing.  All this is dishwasher safe and REUSABLE!!  I did put the cookie in a plastic bag, but at our school they have recycle bins for plastics.  The kid's bring all of it home and we are set!

3. Kid's don't drink enough water:

Think about the difference in the amount of water your child/children drink during summer vacation and when they are at school.  I know my kids don't drink NEARLY the amount that they should and even if they take a water bottle, which some schools won't allow, they don't like that because they have to leave class to use the restroom or any other myriad of reasons.  So I did a cost analysis on taking water bottles as opposed to a juice box or the V8 Fruit Fusions my two older kids were taking with their lunches.  On calories alone, water was a MUCH better choice.  The V8 has almost 180 calories in a 12 oz can and cost $4.00 for 6.   They are a really good option when you aren't packing any fruit or vegetables in the lunch though.  A juice box has almost 60 calories in them and for a case of 36 I was paying close to $10.00.  And there is always a flavor in the case that someone didn't like that I would have to throw out.  Enter, the little stubby water bottles.  Last week I purchased a case of 24 stubby water bottle for $2.50 at the local store and a case of 24 16 oz. water bottles for $1.97 at the same store.  Crystal Light has now come out with a brand called Pure that are in single serve packets for 16 oz. bottles and naturally sweetened.  This is what I have been sending with my older kids.  Then in the stubby bottles (8 oz.) for Grace, there is brand of raspberry lemonade called True that is sweetened with Stevia, a natural sweetener.  These are really good alternatives to regular Crystal Light because there is no aspartame in them and blow Kool-Aid out of the water!  (no pun intended)
The cost for juice per box is $0.27 the cost for water is $0.14 give or take 10 cents and the benefits are better.  Just a thought.

So there you go.  I hope some of my fun finds will benefit you.  Have fun with them.
Love from my home to yours,
Shelly

The move that seemed to NEVER END!

HI!  I'm back!  Yes it has been awhile but when you have been in the process of moving in what seemed like forever, you wouldn't have written too much either.  I have said that this is more of a journal for me than anything and over the last 4 months, there has been some craziness in our lives.  Well.....let me start from July 1st.

About 4 pm that day Marshall Minnesota was under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning.  Ok...warnings mean you are probably going to get some sort of storm.  "Watch"s mean there is a possibility of a storm.  There wasn't a tornado warning or anything like that and so the kid's and I didn't think anything of it.  So they left to go to town, 10 miles away, to go see a movie.  As they left the power went out and as they drove down our road the sky went a REALLY bad shade of green.  Trust me...you don't want to see green in the sky ever!  By the time I had gotten back into the house after trying to flag Katey back home, we had horrible winds and Coco and I were in the basement.  I was panicking trying to call Katey on her cell phone and just praying with all my heart they were ok.  Where was Jerry you ask?  Remember, the reason for us moving is he was transfered to Mitchell, SD in January.  The kid's and I had been holding down the fort during the week and he was home on the weekends.  During all this drama, he was driving in BEHIND this storm! He was coming through towns that had been damaged terribly from two tornados that spun out from this storm.  Katey finally texted me that they were ok and had pulled into someone's yard and ran to the door after she had almost been blown off the road.  We all road out the storm safely, but really scared.  Out by the Marshall airport the winds were clocked at 116 miles per hour.  They were straight line winds with a bunch of hail.  Needless to say we had some damage done to the house and we were supposed to close on it's sale on the 29th of July!  Yep...the stress just got a little bit deeper.

Yay for the power company guys!!!

We were without power for 4 days and OH were we soo glad to see the power company guys show up.  We all got a little stinky after a while.
The clean up was long and agonizing in the heat and humidity that is known to southwestern Minnesota in July, but we made it through.  In the midst of this we were packing boxes getting prepared to move to South Dakota at the end of the month.


On the 27th of July the moving truck showed up and loaded our little farm house belongings in to it.  That was bitter sweet for me.  The house had some  fond memories for us but yet living on 9 acres was a lot of work.  I knew that having outside space to roam would be the thing that we all missed the most, and it is.  On the 28th  a bunch of wonderful women who have now become known to me as "Angels" showed up and helped me clean and say goodbye for the last time to my house.  That was hard.  You know there are pieces of your heart and soul that you leave in every home you live in and this house will always have a piece of my heart.  The 29th we closed on the sale and it was supposed to be clear sailing after that for us and the closing on our new home in South Dakota.  HAHAHA! You silly girl Shelly!  Oh yeah...it gets better :)

Dust everywhere!

We were in our new house and scheduled to close on the 12th of August.  No problems and everything was a go.  Until Monday morning the 8th when I got a call from our broker telling me that the VA requires your house to be hooked up to city hookups if they are within 200 ft of your house.  HUH?  But we wanted the well and septic tank that is here.  The water tastes better for one thing.  But nope...that is a new requirement from the VA and FHA.  Oh good! (insert heavy sarcasm here)  So this meant posponing the closing and we had to go through 2 weeks of HELL (and I'm not kidding) dealing with plumbers getting concrete dust all over our house and ripping up carpet...oh my gosh!  It was awful!

But again, we cleaned it up and moved forward.  I really should go into business with a cleaning company.

Our family in Utah

So school started on the 23rd of August, Grace began playing soccer for the first time and life is getting a little simpler.  My parents came out for a fun visit over Labor Day and that truly was the highlight of our summer.  My dad turned 70 and we had a little celebration for him which was really fun.  We also took a short ( and I mean short) trip to Utah to go to General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or LDS Church.  I had never been and grew up in Utah and neither had my mom.  There are 6 sessions that are 2 hours in length and the conference center seats 23,000 people at a time.  Each session is full every year.  It was amazing to go and to feel the Spirit that was there.  And I tell you what, I have a wonderful husband because it isn't many men who would drive 2000 miles round trip in 4 days to go to a religious conference for their wife and kids to attend and then attend it with them, but mine did.  Jerry isn't the same faith at the kids and I but he sure supports all that we do as members.  He's a keeper.  We didn't get to see much except the beautiful mountains turning colors and one great friend at conference whom I hadn't seen since 2005!  Whirlwind definitely describes our little jaunt.

Now we are getting back into our routine and almost through the first quarter of the semester.  Katey has filled out college applications and been accepted to one already.  She isn't sure she wants to go so far away from home to Utah State but then doesn't know if she wants to stay close to home and know people when she goes to college.  I am so glad I don't have to do phase of life again.  Pheasant Season opener is in a week and....oh yeah!!  My little boy will be 14 in two days!  (sniff) He is such a handsome young man!

My friend Jane

You are now officially caught up on the Mathis Mis-adventures!  Whew!  It has been a crazy few months and it made me tired retelling them.  I put a recipe on the Recipe tab for those of you who enjoy a good guacamole like we do.  YUM!!

Love from our home to yours,
Shelly

This is where my soul is peaceful.  

For 20 years it's been Susan Branch

 Good Morning!  The sun is shining.....wait!  What?  The sun is shining and it isn't raining?  Holy Moses alert the media!  But they probably know already.  I can't believe it!  Last week roads were washed out and the crops are waterlogged.  I am so happy that the sun is out I am almost giddy!  **doing a little jig right now**

Anyway, for all of my women friends who read this, think back to when you were very first married and learning how to make your little two bedroom, sometimes one bedroom apartment, a home.  Think about looking at material to make a blanket or shower curtains that you thought were feminine yet manly enough that your new hubby wouldn't go "Yuk" at.  How learning to love this new person in your life and in your space was sometimes really hard to do.  

I got married 6 weeks after my husband returned from Desert Storm.  He was getting out of the Air Force and then going to college the fall of 1991.  We moved to Brookings South Dakota the end of August into a small two room...not two bedrooms, two room...apartment and I worked at a bank.  He went to school and I paid the bills.  I will never forget the first time he washed and DRIED my beautiful cashmere plum colored sweater!  It would have fit an American Girl Doll now.  I was crushed and so, so angry.  For about 3 days I barely spoke to him.  I couldn't believe he could do that, he just ruined it.  What I didn't realize is how bad he felt.  Probably because he didn't say anything either.  See, neither of us were the worlds best communicators at that point.  I am an only child and didn't really ever have to explain myself or share anything and he is the 4th child out of 6.  Yes... middle child.  Rather than talk about anything, he would get on a horse and go ride around.  

So here we were, two stubborn young yahoo's that didn't know how to talk to each other.  How does this have to do with Susan Branch you ask?  Well...after we left Brookings Jerry transfered to Utah State University in Logan.  I got a job cutting hair in the little barber shop in the Student Center.  Right across the hall way was the Aggie Bookstore.  On my breaks I would walk over there and look at the many books and calendars that they had.  In the fall of 1992 I found a Susan Branch Calendar and fell in love with her art work, quotes, recipes and the beautiful colors she uses in her books and calendars.  She gives little thoughts about making your table look welcoming and how to make your day a little happier. She quotes everyone from Mark Twain to Gandhi.  I bought a calendar that fall and ever since then I have  had a Susan Branch calendar in my kitchen.  I have also bought many of her books that have taught me to love my home and surroundings where ever I am.  And also she has helped me to understand that it is the little things in life matter and that is how she lives her life which she then passes that knowledge on through a calendar.  

20 years later Jerry and I are still stubborn and not the world's best communicators, but we have learned a thing or two along the way about talking and about love.  The biggest lesson we have learned I think is that marriage is work and compromise.  If I ever meet her, I want to thank Susan Branch for helping me to learn the value of being a wife and taking pride in my home.  She helped a really young woman see the importance of patience and listening in my environment.  Her words have been powerful and made a big difference in my life.  Thanks Susan!

Saying Goodbye.....

Anyone who has ever moved knows the feeling of excitement and sadness that surround you in the months and days preceding a move.  It is hard to wrap your brain around the fact that the house, friends and sometimes family that you will be leaving will be gone.  Sometimes you leave a house that you never, ever thought you would miss.  Sometimes you leave a community that you have grown to love and friends that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt will still be only a phone call away.  Then....you move.  

And that house that you hated everything about becomes the house that Sam grew 2 ft. in and gained a love for basketball.  The house that Grace started school in and lost a tooth on the bus ride home one day.  The house that Katey started high school, began dating and started driving in.  The house where tears have been shed, laughter has expounded from and new memories have been created to last a lifetime.  

My children have moved alot.  This house was not by any stretch their first house.  We have lived in 6 states and Sam and Katey have been to 7 schools.  But this house was the first were we lived out away from town by ourselves.  We have had room to roam and the freedom to grow as big of a garden as we chose.  We have had chickens that we were able to have eggs from and a doggy that loved chasing the wild cats around.  Not to mention the pheasants, deer  and raccoons that we have named because they are in our yard on an almost daily basis.  With this distance from town and the amount of traveling Jerry has done, has come a need for the kid's and I to get ourselves out of some sticky situations.  This last winter Katey thought her car could go through 4ft. drifts of snow and she managed to get it high centered.  But we used the skid loader, lifted up the front end a little and backed it out.  WE did it!  All the experiences we have gained from living here have helped me and my children to be more self reliant and more patient with one another.  We have also had to depend on each other. And for those lessons I will always hold a special place in my heart for this house.  


There have been some great learning moments too for Jerry and experiences that he has gleaned from living here.  Remodeling a kitchen that refused to be remodeled! Outdoor fun with the kids on the trampoline and 4-wheeler and pheasant hunting with Sam.  Our family room became a place to hang, play on the Wii and to just be quiet.  When our barn burnt down last year it was scary.  But we were so grateful that there wasn't any more damage done to other buildings.  We learned a lesson from that and know that we really liked having chickens.  I think we will have to get some more when we move :)


So, as I spend my time going from room to room sorting and packing, I stay just a little longer in each space.  Trying to make mental pictures to refer back on when I want to recall a memory of an instance when something was said or a laugh was shared.   I will miss this old house, as I know the rest of my family will also.  We have grown both independently and together here, which is all anyone can ask of a home.


"Having someplace to go is a home, having someone to love is a family, having both is a blessing."


I have been blessed.

My New Life

Easter Blessings

For some reason I felt inspired to share my blessings.  Not sure why, but I have had a few stressful weeks...as I'm sure everyone has.  And with all of my stress and complaining, I found a video clip on Mormon Messages that made me think about exactly how lucky I am and how grateful I am for the Atonement of Christ in my life.

I have found this year prayer and what a great and almighty power it is to have.  We are so blessed to have the opportunity to talk with our Father in Heaven and let him know the righteous desires of our hearts.  We can turn to him when we need guidance and peace.  I have had to be on my knees several times this year and ask for help because I felt I needed him to guide me.  As a parent, this is a great friend to have on your side when we try to protect our children from the world and all of the enemies that try to come in and destroy the family unit. 

I am also grateful for the ability to repent.  There are days that can bring us down and all we can do is be negative.  The Lord doesn't want us to be unhappy.  He wants us to CHOOSE to be happy.  It is a choice and I have to keep telling myself that and just be happy.  We are after all his children and as any parent, he wants to see us getting the most out of life that we can and being the best that we can. 

During this Easter weekend, remember why we celebrate Easter.  It is because God's son gave his life for us so that we will one day live in His presence again.  And right up to the end of his life, Jesus was still on our side saying, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do." 

Have a blessed Easter,
Shelly

Spring on the Prairie

Ahhh...March!  I have grown to love March since living in Minnesota.  I never used to because it was just a month that really wasn't that much closer to school being out or no spectacular holidays and days off to speak of, but out here....we treasure March!  Why you ask?  

This is the way it was LAST Easter!

Because when you have spent a good 6 months in the cold and have had as much snow as we did this year, you look forward to March.  We had 76.8 inches of snow this winter...so when the snow begins to melt...it's only a little at a time.  We don't see dirt until April.  Last year we had a fast thaw and major amounts of flooding.  This year it has been thawing slower and there aren't as many roads closed due to flooding.  Then comes the fantastic thunderstorms of April.  I love them!  The lightning is unmeasured out here when you can see the entire sky to the ground and can see where the lightning strikes down the road.  It is amazing!


Alot of fun has been going on here at the homestead the last couple of months too.  Jerry has accepted a transfer to a territory out in South Dakota.  He will be covering (is already covering) his new territory which means another move is on the horizon for our clan of Gypsies.  Yes, we are moving after the school year is out or soon after.  Don't ask if I'm happy about it yet though...I haven't decided yet.  I have a little too much going on to think that far ahead at the moment.  


Grace turned 8 in March.."It's Great to be 8!"  She had her birthday party at the local bowling alley and had an all girl party this year.  It was fun to see her with her buddies from school and watch them try and hold up bowling balls!  That was funny!.  Luckily there were bumpers on the lanes for them.  She had asked for another American Girl Doll for Christmas and the deal in our house is that you have to read the entire series of books about the doll to get the doll.  Well....that back fired on me.  She receive the Kit Kitteredge book set for Christmas and read it in the week of Christmas break.  She loves to read!  So she had to wait until her birthday to get the doll.  She was so excited and that makes 4 American Girl Dolls living in our house.  Dad is going to have to make a doll house soon with some nice closets for their clothes.  They have a great wardrobe.  Grace will also be getting baptized on the 30th of April from our close family friend McCall.  We can't wait for him and his mom to get here! It will be a great day to see friends and family we haven't seen in quite awhile.  

Sam finished up his basketball season and the team only had one loss the whole season.  They are an amazing group of young men with a huge amount of athletic talent.  Sam has been playing with the same group for a traveling team where they go to tournaments throughout the southwest region of Minnesota.  The first tourney they won in Worthington and today they came in third going up against schools that were twice their size.  It was a hard fought day for them and the refs didn't help out at all...but that is another topic for another day.  He has really improved his basketball skills tremendously and I am so proud of him.  

Katey had a concert in March and low and behold landed on the front page of the paper!  She was surprised when I texted her at school and told her.  She didn't believe me....LOL!  She is also going to Prom with one of her good friends.  She is so excited and so am I for her.  Prom is one of those rights of passage that you remember forever.  Especially the dress!  I am sure she will have a great time and guess what day it is on?  Yep!  April 30th.  Should be a busy day I would say.  

So when I get a few more minutes...rather than at 10:30 pm at night....I will tell you what Jerry and I have been up to more.  Right now I have made myself tired writing down all of my children's events.  It's no wonder I'm tired!  Oh! One more thing....I am now the second shortest in my house.  That is just not fair at all!  

Good night all.

Grace

This is Grace.  Grace is 7 going on 16 and has always been a little spit fire.  She has a huge vocabulary for a 7 year old and I attribute that to having 4 people in the house larger than her and older than her to correct her.  Sam loves to do that alot.  She is beautiful and has the best sense of humor.  She is seriously funnier than most adults I know.  Adults are too serious anyway.


Well in our house the movie "Tommy Boy" is the go to movie when nothing is on tv and we just want to hang out and eat junk food for the night.  We have to fast forward a couple of parts, but we laugh till we snort.  We always know what line is next and we still laugh.  We are big Chris Farley fans and love watching old SNL episodes.  But anyway, I digress.  


So last Saturday night, I had come home from an early childhood workshop fairly late.  The kid's waited up for me and we started to talk.  Katey said that earlier in the day she and Grace were in her room chit chattin' about something and when Katey went to leave, she held her hand out for Grace to shake it.  Then Grace said on cue.."Sister's don't shake hands, sisters gotta hug!" and gave Katey a big bear hug!  


Now, most parents would be a little worried that their 7 year old can quote appropriately lines from Tommy Boy.  Not I!  I started laughing so hard my stomach hurt!  The girl has great taste in comedy and she knew it was something Katey would laugh at.  That was a priceless moment that Katey and Grace will remember forever.  That is what I love about my life.....watching and listening for those little moments when my kid's are getting along and laughing.  Sibling relationships are amazing for me to watch because I'm an only child (don't go there.. where your brain is going right now...I'm not spoiled and never have been) and grew up around adults.  I am constantly wondering how these three people will be when they are adults.  And how they will talk about moments in their past that no one else knows about but them.  That's cool!


So Grace ended her day with everyone happy and laughing and I think she was pretty proud of herself too.  I know I was proud of her.  Who knows, she may end up on SNL one day and become a Molly Shannon or Tina Fey.  But for a 7 year old...she is awesome!

It's a New Year full of new and exciting adventures!

Happy New Year to all of our friends and family!  We have had quite an exciting few months here.  Needless to say that the weather has been a big challenge with our yearly average coming all in December. Now we get to look forward to the cold.  The kid's have enjoyed pulling each other around on the 4-wheeler on the snow....but Coco keeps trying to "save" whomever is on the sled and took a chunk out of Sam's coat one day.  Oh it never ends here!

Sam's # 11

Sam finished up football season in October and is now into his basketball season.  He really is enjoying basketball.  Football....not so much.  He didn't like getting flown into the air a couple of times and has decided basketball and soccer are his games.  He did get a chance to go hunting on his birthday in October and that is truly the highlight of the year in our house.   When Jerry and Sam can get away for the weekend and go hunting over on our land in South Dakota.  Pheasant Heaven!  Sam also got to play Bob Cratchett in the school Christmas play.  That was a huge leap for him considering the boy is painfully shy!  But he did a great job.  His Language Arts teacher is determined to get him out of his shell.  I just say...Good luck with that!

Grace has been playing piano and reading everything in sight since school started.  I love that she has challenged herself to read harder books and she is practicing piano everyday.  She thought it was very cool to go out and spread some reindeer feed for Santa's reindeer on Christmas eve too. :)


Katey is a teenager and has a life of texting and driving.  That's about it.  Oh...we did color her hair the other day and it looks so nice!  That is a benefit of having a mom that is a licensed cosmetologist!

Christmas was a great time to huncker down and just be quiet and play with all of the toys that Santa had been so generous to bestow on us.  Ok...so Jerry and Sam hogged the tv playing Cabela's Hunter the entire day!  No fair!  However,  I totally rocked it playing Wake Board on the Wii.


My resolution this year is to take life a little slower and take things day by day.  Breath!  Make things in my life simple.  I hope I can do that.


Have a wonderful start to the New Year.  Enjoy the little things that "just happen" and that aren't planned.


Love,
Shelly