Okay, it has been a while, guess a long while. Almost a month actually. Lots and lots have happened since then. You didn't even know the boys went visiting for 12 days.

They stayed most of the time with Rob's Aunt--the one with boys the same age as ours. They went camping with his sister Jenny--the one who recently left the UPC also-and her family and some friends. They went over 4th of July weekend. What fun. Dean bought some fireworks, the kids thoroughly enjoyed that. The went to see the fireworks somewhere, and they could see the Sears Tower from where they sat. I guess they were on some high hill and could see firewords from about 10 cities at once. How awesome is that. They spent a few days with Rob's parents. They had fun while they visited everyone, but they sure love to come home. They went to church with Aunt Paula and her family, and they decided they missed our church. Funny, because they weren't too happy about the most recent switch, but evidently they have started to enjoy it, because they missed it when we were gone.

Rob and I had a nice weekend the first weekend they were gone. We had tried to go and eat at TGI Fridays in Indy the day we dropped them off, but it was closed for remodeling--how frustrating. We ended up at Applebees which turned out just fine. On the way home from Indy we stopped at Dairy Queen--see you can do that when there is only 2--it is costly when there are 5 of you. We ran into people we hadn't seen in forever. How awesome is that. We got to talk to Carol a lady that we met while attending Memorial Baptist in New Castle. It was nice to catch up with her. We also saw a teacher from the boys scholl--the teacher Zach absolutely loved. The rest of the time we enjoyed having a clean house. We cleaned it--super duper cleaned--on the Sunday we left and it stayed clean the entire 12 days. We even ate at home this time. Rob was thrilled with the fact that the hand towel remained in place in the bathroom until one of us changed it to be washed. Funny I know, but hand towels in this house seem to disappear in about oh, 15 minutes after it is hung and that would be a good day.

Here is a funny story from my house while the boys were gone. You know that we are now the parents of 2 dogs. Well, they sleep with the boys, and with the absence of them, the dogs slept with us. Well, Miss Maggie evidently had a stomach problem. One evening she kept carrying her food dish to us, and we'd reluctantly give her some more food. She doesn't eat as much as you'd think for her size, and we were worried about underfeeding her. It was quit comically to see here carrying this bowl to us. Well, she never took care of business before bed time. She was so restless all through the night, a few accidents that we had to take care of in the night, and so on and so on. It was awful, we were up all night with a puppy. I thought my sleepless nights with babies was over. She is all better now, actually thankfully it only lasted one night.

I have some good pictures to post, however, somehow my boys took my cable to my digital camera to Illinois by mistake. I guess it looks just like the car charger for their Nintnedo DS and they took it, then while they were up there, they think it was mistaken for Daniel's cable to his digital camera. So, we need to find out how to get another one soon.

VACATION IS COMING!!!! Yeah. We will be taking the boys on the long awaited trip to Holiday World/Splashin' Safari.

Here are a few funny shots of the dogs. Angel has a small crate, because she is only 10 pounds. Well, she spend alot of time in there, even when we are home. Maggie is still a puppy, therefore she just wants to play. First she got into to Angels bed alone, this caused much drama for Angel. Then she sat in the doorway and barked a playful bark trying to get Angel out to play, then she gave up and joined her in the crate. Angel didn't smile on this too much, but she didn't fight back as much as I'd thought. Maybe they'll be friends soon. LOL!

Meet Maggie!

Meet Maggie Mae, our new puppy. She joined our family last Friday. She was just too cute not to bring home. Rob works for the city, she was abandoned at the park, where he found her. The city dog catcher picked her up and hoped she'd be looked for. NOT!! She stayed at the dog kennel for a week, 2 weeks and then to the county shelter, and then who knows what next. Well, every night Rob would say "you really need to see this dog." Okay, I saw her, and she came home with us. I took her to the vet today to see if we could learn something about her. She is a Border Collie Mix, she is only 8-10 weeks old, based on her paws he thinks she will be 30-40 pounds. She is a very gentle dog. Very playful, as she is still very young. She is great with Austin and Zach. Angel, the first dog, is not too fond of her yet. However, each day is a little better than the day before for her. See, she has been the only pet, and very spoiled for the past 3+ years.

This picture is Angel wrapped in a blanket straight from the dryer. She is too funny, she hears the dryer beep, and follows us to see what we will do with the warm clothes. Maggie is lying next to her worn out from a day of play.

Ihave told my husband no more looking at the puppies at the kennel.

Well, I paid for my car repairs on Friday. Today I hitched a ride with my sister to get it picked up. She is working at my store, and worked this evening, so she willingly le me ride along. I am going to check gas mileage on my car now. I'm curious as to whether or not my gas milege will increase due to the nice hefty repair I had done.

What a day!

On my way to work today my car just stopped running. It kind of slowed down and then it was fine, then it did the same thing again but I had to pull over onto the shoulder, and then it just died, and wouldn't start again. Usually we only have 1 employee at the store between 6-7 am, therefore I'd been walking--about 1 mile--but 2 weeks ago we changed our shift time to 7-3, 3-11 and 11-7. I go in at 7 also, therefore there were 2 people at the store and one of them came to get me. I had to get the car towed, and then I got the great phone call about what was wrong.
The fuel pump. $719.00 to fix it. THis included the part, towing and labor. It will not be done until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. I am off this weekend, this is a good thing. I am so thankful that we had a little money saved and were planning on getting a new water heater, I guess that can wait.

Well, it has been so stinking long since I've updated. UGH! I think of post often, then I don't have time. Imagine that.



Work has been extremely busy. Okay, just in case you don't know. I manage a convenience store with a Subway in it. So that means I have a store, a gas station and a restaraunt. Fun huh! Actually I really, really enjoy my job. From the end of March until May 10 Subway had a $5 footlong sale. EVERY sub that we had you could get a footlong for $5. Sounds great huh! Actually it was great for the consumer. We were so busy we couldn't see straight. The sale ended, and the continued a new $5 every day value menu. Which now means that we have 8 of our menu items for $5 each day. This in turn means we haven't really slowed down much at all. Then on top of this, it is graduation time. LOTS of big party orders. So needless to say I've been a little on the tired side of life lately. In fact last weekend I came home from work on Friday and fell asleep at 6:45 (Jordan informed me of the time) and slept until 9:30 on Saturday morning.

Oh, today our fuel is about $.10 cheaper than the surrounding towns and then it is about $.20 cheaper than here in UC. Evidendtly we've been on the news this morning. Which means that my store is beyond busy.



We went camping the weekend of Memorial day. We went with Rob's sisters and their families. It was so much fun. It rained while we set up, and then not much after that. It progressively got warmer. The kids had a great time.

We have been attending a church in Muncie Indiana now. I know, I know, we keep changing, and we just joined a church, and it was a hard decision. Maybe sometime I can explain it all. Most people don't understand. We are thinking this may be the move that ends "most" moves.

Today I am off, the boys are doing their chores, with a little assistance. Zach has a dentis appoitment, so we will leave for the appointment and eat something (I'm thinking Taco Bell) and the go and see a movie. Horton hears a Who is playing at the cheap theater. We've all been wanting to see it, so this is the perfect time.

Well, I must go and "assist" with the chores of the day.

I sure miss my blog friends.

some pictures from Memorial Day

I took LOTS and LOTS of pictures when we went on our camping trip over Memorial Day weekend. However, I have evidently deleted them from my computer and my memory card--since I have already printed them. I really had some good one to. UGH!!! We had a great time. We went with Rob's 2 sisters and their families. It was much fun. We each took one day and were in charge of the food. YUMMO! It was nice, we had good food and didn't have to do the work the entire time. We never even had hamburgers or hotdogs once. It was nice to spend time with family. We all traveled almost exactly to the 1/2 way point between where we live and where they all live. The kids enjoyed spending time together, getting dirty, and all the fun stuff kids do. Acacia is at the present the only girl, therefore she is the Princess of the family.

Evidently these pictures were taken of Zach, by Austin from the tree. My boys are something else.

Austin's self portraits

Zach and his teacher at Cinderella night. Zach's story was CiInderskeleton.

Here are a few pictures of my "new" furniture. I kept thinking I'd take a picture when the house was nice and clean and in order. However, that hasn't exactly happened since I got the furniture. This is how my house generally looks anyway, laundry and shoes everywhere.

Front porch. Rob got me the flagpole for Valentines day. I have begged for as long as we've owned our home for a flag pole. I think it is fun to change the flags for seasons. At any rate, he always said no, so I was very surprised when he brought this gift home on Valentines day. What a guy. You can't see the flag well, but it is a spring flag with flowers and bunnies. Then the flower pots that Rob did last week. He has the green thumb, and keeps the outside in tip top shape. I have a great husband. Can you tell I love yellow flowers.

View from my porch

This is the trailer that Rob and Jordan built to put on the boat trailer so it will be universal and able to haul things when we aren't using the boat. It is a great hide out evidently. Too much fun.

Easy Enchiladas

This is a quick and easy enchilada recipe. It is a requested dish in this house, and I'v shared this recipe with some co-workers and they love it. So, I guess it is worth sharing some more. I love, quick simple yet yummy meals.

1 Package of frozen Chimichangas or burritos

1 package of enchilada seasoning mix

1 6 oz can of tomato paste

3 C water

**You could just use can enchilada sauce

I buy the frozen chimis, and put them in the fridge in order to thaw ahead of time. This just shorten the baking time.

Make the enchilada sauce according to the recipe on the package. **I only use 1/2 package, because Austin and I can't handle it too spicy.

Spray a 13x9 cake pan with non stick spray, place enough sauce in the bottom of the pan to just cover it. Lay the chimis/burritos in the pan, pour the remaining sauce over them. Bake @ *350 about 20-25 minutes (if thawed), take out of the oven, sprinkle with cheese, and continue to bake for aboaut 10 minutes. Let stand about 10 minutes before you eat.

Dig in. We top ours with sour cream and sometimes pico. YUMMY! It is quick and easy.

Tomorrow I will share another great recipe that I just created--well sort of. I made it this weekend, and it was delicous, so I made another batch tonight for tomorrows supper.

Happy Mothers Day

Well, I'm not so sure where to start. So, here I go.

Let me be honest here. I have a really hard time with all holidays. I'm just now realizing this. I have all these ideas of what I will do with my husband and children, and then I ended up being a little on the depressed side of things. I know it stems from my extended family and the strained relationships there. I realize that I should just "get over it" and create memories for my immediate family, and believe me I think it all the time. God has blessed me with a great husband, and healthy rambuctious boys. They love me unconditionally. It is just so hard sometimes.

I had a horrible day on Friday. I was a basket case. I have wierd cravings, and aversions around holidays, all holidays even the little ones. I have cravings for some of the great foods we ate when I was growing up, then I don't really want to eat them because it makes me remember. Crazy I know. I long to have a relationship with my Mom, or even my mother in law for that matter. I don't have that mother figure to call when I have a bad day, or need mothering advice, etc.. People say, just find a mother figure to look up to, and believe me there are many I would love to think of that way, however it is just not the same. GB's post here, spoke my thoughts and feeling so well, as I don't always have the words for my feelings.

Now, Friday was a bad day. I cried alot, thought alot, talked to my husband and my sister, by the evening I was feeling much better. Then yesterday was fine, and today I was just fine as can be. I had to work. I only wished one customer a Happy Mothers Day, and she about cried, her response was "thanks, I really needed that today." That just made my day, and I got a little chocked up. I guess it was the Holy Spirits gentle prodding to wish this women a happy mothers day, and I am so thankful I did. I had thought to myself this morning "don't forget to wish all those women a Happy Motherd Day", and I didn't, just the one. I thank the Lord for her today. I hope it was happy for her. Today was my weekend to work, then I ended up running register and doing my manager duties also (which worked out just fine) and that is how I came in contact with this women. God is so gracious, he helped me get through my struggles before today, so he could use me to minister to this women. Isn't that just like God.

I came home to this. My boys went shopping after church this morning and this is what I got.

A fondue pot, or 2. I have been wanting to have a fondue pot. I thought it would be so much fun to fondue--and just chill out together. It was great. We had a cheese sauce, with french bread, some little sausages and then a chocolate sauce with strawberries, pound cake, bananas, and marshmallows. It was a lot of fun. The 5 of us had alot of laughs, "trying to be proper" with our fondue meal. See how dressed up they got. You know you always eat your fondue in your jammies. Too much fun. Oh, the roses where sent to me on Friday by my dear husand. (the Hersheys Kiss fondue pot was on clearance for 2.99 at Kohls. Too cute)

I just wanted to share my thoughts with you, and thank my Heavenly Father for helping me get through another holiday, and this one turned out just fine. Some good memories were created today.

Dishes

These dishes were given to me by my sister. I like them, the boys, especially Zach, will not eat off of them, they are too busy for him I guess. Kids are funny.

Happy Birthday Zach

Today we celebrated Zach's birthday. It is actually on the 29th, however, Rob and I both have to work next weekend. He chose to eat at Texas Roadhouse. It was YUMMO! They did the big Texas Yeehaw! with him sitting on the saddle. He sure doesn't like attention drawn to him, but he did it. We had the most awesome waiter, he was very on top of things, and yet we didn't feel as though he was constantly watching us. We then had cake and ice cream to finish the day. Zach chose Chocolate Fudge cake and Chocolate fudge icing.

We had a great Lords Day Service, then enjoyed the day together. Zach also got to pick his birthday gift. What a fun day was enjoyed by all of us.

This is the life.

This is the life. This is Miss Angel aka Princess. If someone is laying down anywhere, she is there. She especially loves it when someone has this blanket--or one similar. Rob's Aunt made it for me at Thanksgiving. I love it, and so does our little princess. She is a funny little dog.

A day in the life of my fishermen. The boys got to try out the boat, with the trolling motor. What fun they had. The last picture is the part that makes me the most nervous. I can't hardly watch any vehicle put the boats in the water, and then get them out. I always think that they will just go on in with the boats.

Exploring, making butter and waiting for the train.