Today is VET day for the dog. Sheba has the longest nails I have ever seen only because she tries to run and bite when we try to cut them. I look at her and she seems so happy and eager to get out today. She won't even know what is about to happen until we get to the door of the office and she smells the place. Once she becomes aware of her surroundings, she will start to shake with fear and shed like a tree in fall. Poor Sheba! However, once her nails are cut she will feel a lot better. So will I as this means she won't be making the clicking sound any more on the kitchen floor. It is driving me insane!

Pray for me as I am looking into going back to school. God has placed an urgency in my heart to learn to counsel. For what or whom? I have no idea. I just know I am supposed to go back to school.

Every Saturday we go to the Farmers Market down the street. On the way there last Saturday, a car was pulling out of a parking spot, and the wheels were making this horrid squeaking sound, and Mackenzie turns around and says "Geeze! Get your tires fixed would ya!!!!" Shad was so proud.

I am still working out the bugs so I can post pictures. I have many from our trip to Washington D.C. that I would love to share.

Nothing is new. The sun is out and Mackenzie has Soccer today. Other than that, I am just being a lazy mom and hanging out in the living room in front of the T.V.

The girls are playing some pretend game and soon they will start thier reports. Hailey is writing about African Elephants, and Mackenzie is writing about Desert Tortoises.

It is the most amaizing thing that Mackenzie has never been to school a day in her life and she is reading and writing now. I guess I'm doing okay.

I think I will take a nap.

I am a craft artist now. I started making crafts and am sending them to a shop to be sold. How cool is that? Okay, the shop is in the family, but still, it is kind of cool.

My dog is trying her hardest to catch the phantom squirrel that is living on our roof. The little thing comes down once in a while into our back yard to, well, I really don't know what it is trying to do, but the dog takes off chasing it and it is the funniest thing. I just hope the dog doesn't ever catch it. Go little squirrel!

Mackenzie started soccer yesterday and it was such a joy to watch her play with all of the other kids. She didn't know any of them, yet she jumped right in and played and laughed. The coach had certain games for them to play like "shark in the water" and "tail grab." Mackenzie said it was "great!" Worth every penny in my book.

Hailey starts a babysitting class next week. We shall see how that goes. Pray for her anxiety as it has gotten a little worse with the move. She starts tennis in February. Watch out Stephanie!

Love and miss all of you Apexers! (my spell check wanted to replace Apexers with abusers. What's up with that!?!?)

Where am I?

I am missing my friends badly. This whole move to another state and start over thing is not easy. People here are not that friendly and it is cold.

Okay, I will stop. I went to a new doctor today. It was weird. I have a chest cold, so he gave me a pillow case and a huge bag of rice. He said to put the rice in the pillow case and warm it up in the microwave. Then I am to place it on my throat and chest four or five times a day. He also wants me to drink hot water six times a day. Did I mention that he is about the sweetest little old man I ever did see?

I think we moved into the twilight zone.

Happy Christmas

We took a road trip to Vegas for Christmas and it was awesome. I ended up driving most of the way and it wasn't that bad. Then, on the first night we got in I went with Shonna to help feed some homeless Vets Christmas dinner. That was the most awesome experience. So many stories, and the kids put a smile on every face. One of the vets said that they saw God's love in the kids smiles. How great is that? I would have to say that my time there was the best part of my Christmas.

We never were able to make it to the Carder Ranch as we had so many things going on with family. However, we did see the pictures on Amy's blog and oh my! We missed a good party. And Oh my goodness, welcome to the world Noi!!!!!! What an awesome surprise to see your picture! I wish we would have had more time to visit everyone.

The plan for today is going to Park Day in Livermore to meet some of our new homeschooling family. My prayer is for the girls to get connected with a few friends this week. I am also in the process of getting Mackenzie hooked up on a soccer team.

I am still not sure why God placed us here, but I am trying to get this house ready for visitors. I feel like that is the mission I need to be on right now. We love you all, and miss you. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Where does all the rain go?

It has rained for two days now and I keep wondering where all of the rain is going. I mean, in Vegas is just collects in to a huge flood and we get all kinds of news on it, but here it just seems to never collect very much. Weird.

I think I am finally starting to have a little bit of reality hitting me. I woke up thinking I was in Vegas, and then I caught myself wishing I could see the awesome mountains that Vegas is surrounded by.

We found Target, and this Cost Plus World Market that has all of these cool things from all round the world. It is way expensive though, so Shad made me leave the store. Party pooper!

My first purchase here for the house was a new shower head. Ours is a little worn for such a nice house. I need prayer as I am constantly looking at all of the items that still need a home and not finding the interest to put them some place out of the way.

Do kids get louder as they get older? I don't remember ever being louder, but my girls are so loud these days. It really is getting on my nerves, and is damaging my hearing as I have to turn on the radio really loud now. But then, we are supposed to loose our hearing as we get older, right?

Baby it's cold outside

I am not sure, but I think it is in the 40's today, and there is rain. I might even put on a fire in a little bit to warm us up a little. Northern California is nice, but they sure make it hard to live here. We went to get our new California drivers license today and was told that we had to have a copy of our marriage cert. and a copy of our birth cert. Which seemed wierd. On line it just said you had to fill out a form and pay a fee. We also have to take some kind of written test. I guess it is nice to know your $25 is paying for something.

The last few weeks have flown by and I am still trying to come to grips with us living here. I feel as though we are on vacation. It still has not hit me or something. I have to say I am super happy to be here away from my mother. I miss friends and family, but boy am I happy here.

I signed up on Yahoo with our new home school group and am planning to invite people over as soon as I get the boxes emptied and out of the living room. Unpacking isn't all that fun, but it is nice to reorganize things and get rid of stuff we really don't need anymore.

Shad is doing well so far with work, and I am going to attempt to drive around this week to learn my way around to the different freeways so I can take the girls to some of the home school events. I don't know where San Ramone is but we are going to find it so Mackenzie can play soccer this year. There is an indoor team starting in January for home schoolers. Kicking a ball around will be great for her.

Our dog is smelling everything all of the time. She has been so good through this whole thing and loves to go out for walks. I took her to the park yesterday and she was so happy.

I have to go, and will write more later.

We leave this Sunday! How did it get here so fast? I am happy, excited and yet sad to be leaving the desert. I have lived here all of my life and now we are going to a new place. It is just wierd.

The movers will be here tomorrow to pack us up, then they take off with our crap on Thursday, and we end up at the in-laws for a couple of days. I don't like good-byes. There are always tears involved, and then tissue and then a mixture of sad and happy laughter. Hugs are good, and knowing that we can always come back to visit is nice. I am really going to miss church family, and home schooling friends, my nieces and nephews, and my vegas family.

Well, I will stop all of that talk for now. Shad is in morning over the loss of his beloved huge ass television. It went out the door last night never to return. (Thank you so, so, so, so, much Zack! ) I am trying to be supportive, but it is not easy.

Our car is all messed up I guess, and we had to choose between a $300 fix and the other $1200 fix which would be the air, so we decided to go with the $300 fix and live without air. I figure we don't really need it in Northern California right? I am also kind of glad we didn't sell it. It has been the best care ever. And most of all, it is paid for. I like having no payments.

Well, I am off to check on Mackenzie as she has a flu bug going on, and I have some packing to do. Pray for our family if you wouldn't mind.

More later........

Wow!

I am sitting in a hotel room in Walnut Creek. It sure is different here in Northern Cal. The weather is awesome, and the green is a nice change, but the traffic sucks and everything costs a f*^&%$g arm and a leg.

We found a house to rent in Pleasanton that is beautiful, but expensive of course. We will have to live on soup and crackers for a while, like about the next four years, but I am glad to do it if it allows us to stay in such a great area.

We went to Alcatarz today and it is way bigger than I thought. The cells are very small and the place is kind of creepy, but it has some great views of the city and the Golden Gate. We drove over all three bridges today as well. That was really cool. Clam chowder in a sour dough bowl rocks too!

The one thing that kind of sucks is that we will have to leave on Saturday instead of Monday to the new house. Shad has to be at work on Wednesday the 14th and we have to do an inspection on the 12th. It is crazy how fast it is all going.

Guess I will go and pack for our trip back home tomorrow. We are leaving early becuse we have all things ready to go on this end. Now to get all of the things ready on the other.

Can't wait to see the Carders, and holy crap!!!!!!! Congrats Steve and Jules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Can't wait to hear of the happy day that the little one arrives!

At the airport waiting to go to San Jose. Shad is bugging me to check his email. Can't a person write a blog note without any interruption? Guess not.

This is the only trip we have ever been on with just the two of us. I am happy about it and excited as to what awaits.

I will update more later.

The wind is blowing like crazy right now. It is kind of cool.

The dog got to go on a field trip today to grandma's house. She fell into the pool twice before realizing that she just can't walk on water. It was fun to watch but my girls freaked out thinking she would drown. I told them it is called the "doggie paddle" for a reason. Although, not all dogs can swim. I realize this, but I believe ours can now.

No lookers on the house as of yet, so I am getting a little worried. We did have a couple of people look at the car though. It would be great to have all three things taken care of before we go to San Fran, however, I just can't stress over it. Too many other things going on.

I was reading about how as a Christian I am supposed to be honoring God by using my spiritual gifts to help others. What is your take on how to find out about your gifts? Someone gave me a test to take, but who made it and how do they know if it is correct? And what other way is there to find out what they are besides asking others?

I also read that if you have questions, you should find the answers in the Bible. Because I have not read much of it, how do I know where to go to find the answers?

It is all so corn-fuzing but so simple at the same time.

I used to have a stuffed animal puppy dog when I was little. It was my favorite, and I took it with me almost every place I went. At about the age of 12 my father took it from me because he was afraid I would keep it until I was 20. Well, at the ripe old age of 34 I just went out and bought me a Snoopy stuffed animal. How do you like me now pop?!?!? I am taking it with me every place I go, and I sleep with it in my arms. He is cool and very acrobatic. Snoopy rocks!!

I am sitting here thinking, wow, this house is bigger than we thought. That is because we took out all of the crap we had, now I can really see just how much crap we have that we don't need. Living with less is nice. Living with less with Shad will be torture. Okay, not really. Well, it might be. He is very much into his stuff.

So the house is for sale, the car is for sale, and the TV is sold!!!!!!!(I am so very happy about the last one.)

So we leave for Maryland in another week and I am so excited because we get to go to the White House while we are in DC and we get to go inside and check it out. My kids are going to love it! They are so excited about it.

Hey Amy, I am going to Trader Joes, anything you need? I have a box ready to send out to you! Just name it and I will send it if it is poss.

Peace and love to you today!

This has been one hell of a weekend. My in-law family was here all weekend helping me get this house ready to sell. What a huge blessing that has been. I couldn't have done it without them. I am not done, but things are way better. I really didn't know that this would cause so much stress, but it has been very stressful. I wish Shad was here to help.

Thinking about anything other than moving and selling and cleaning has been almost impossible. This has been a fly away month so far and the excitement is just getting started. We still have a trip to Maryland to prepare for, then finding a home in San Fran will not be easy, however I am looking forward to the changes ahead.

God is awesome.

It's alright

Our house is for sale, our car is for sale, and our TV is for sale. We have to down size to fit in a smaller living space in a larger city. I don't really understand it either. I am willing to play along though.

It is all about tests and trust

The study I am doing is pretty cool. I was a little critical of it at first, but I am really learning a lot. Like it isn't all about me, at all. It is all about God, and I need to be thinking about what the driving forces in my life are. Like is it greed, or envy or the longing for acceptance? How about anger or fear? And have you ever thought about how we are only a blink in this life? But did you forget that God wants us to live forever in eternity with him? I honestly never really thought about it all that much. I was always too busy worrying about me in the here and now. And the thought that God is always testing us, and has trusted us with all of His creations. Wow, never thought about it that way either. I mean, I know we are tested at times, but never thought about it all being a test in this life for the next. And God trusts me? Whoa!

I listened to 1 Corinth. Last night and heard a lot of what I needed to hear about some of my issues. The one that stuck out big time was when it said that we will always be tempted, but God will always give us a way out. Think about it, every time you have been tempted, there was always another way to go and although we might not have made the better choice, God was right there by our sides seeing what we would do. That's kind of freaky. Like he is always watching us and stuff.

And the craziest part? He loves us anyway, no matter the choices that we make. Even when we do the really stupid things.

Anyway, I just wanted to share what was on my brain today. Hope your day is filled with the constant reminder of Gods love for you.

Memories

I remember taking my tent out in my backyard and finding a nice flat spot in the dirt, setting it up and playing in it all day and night. Well, until the dog pissed on it and I had to go find a hose to wash it off with. That part sucked, but the rest was very cool. Of course I was by myself, but I had a lot of fun anyway.

Tonight, my girls are sleeping in the backyard, in a tent, in the rain. Funny, because as soon as they started telling me how they wanted to get a tent so they could sleep outside, I couldn't say no. I remembered my adventure and couldn't deny them the experience and fun. I mean, life is uncertain, and things happen. Why not live a little? I am tempted to go out there and sleep with them, however I want them to have the time to be together. Mackenzie said that when the lightning pops and the thunder roars, they hug until it is safe. Earlier I heard them wrestling. God is so awesome.

40 days

I started a study today, the 40 days of purpose study. It is all I can do to not read on to tomorrows chapter. I know that this is a good thing for me, having to wait. I tend to get going on a book and move so fast that I end up not getting all that I could out of it. So, I will take it one day at a time.

Yesterday was my last day of billing. Sad, but good. I need this time to get things in order for our move. It will all happen very fast, and there are so many things to do.

I am off to make smoothies with the girls. Blessings to you today.

I didn't go to the concert. I am still not over this sick thing completely so I figure I better behave.

The weather is beautiful these days. It was a great day yesterday and we spent most of it outside. My favorite part of the day was watching my girls try to hoola-hoop and Mackenzie kept having to stop because it tickled her ribs too much.

Today we will have some school lessons, and then probably end up outside for a while. I can't wait to see what will happen today. It seems like every day is an adventure and something happens either good or bad out of the norm. What will it be today? God is so awesome.

Know you are blessed.

It seems weird to me how bad things make us change. Why does it have to be that way? Being sick for so long, and in bed for so long has changed me. I am finally feeling better and all I want to do is be outside, eating veggies and fruits and enjoying God's creations.


I started out my day by wanting to go buy cleaning supplies and ended up at Floyd Lamb State Park talking to the birds and reading all about Tule Springs. Then, after finally going to buy my cleaning supplies, I decided to go to the Farmer's Market up the street, bought peaches, and ate some fresh, grilled corn on the cob. I was tired and needed to go home and take a rest, but I just couldn't stop being outside. They had this really awesome grey and white three legged cat that was just the coolest little guy ever. He was very playful and up for adoption. I would have taken him home in a second, but realized that our dog would probably eat him.

So, now I am home and wishing I was outside, but realizing that there is a lot here to do. Oh, for my birthday, by best friend got me tickets to see Motley Crew with back stage passes. Will I go? Should I? ..................

Happy Birthday

It is the frickin pneumonia.

But, I am doing alright and today is my birthday and I am going to do something special. Maybe I will have some soup. MMMMmmmmm soup.