Fun with out so much sun....

Monday was a holiday for the kids here, so we spent the day calmly working, from the shop and at home. We had been having real weather all day long, so about 4:30 I decided to skip the "bewithcing" hour and go for a drive. I LOVE where I live and can only say that living on the coast has kept me functional.(notice I didn't say sane?) Being at the water is where I go if I am hurt, happy, or just needing to HEAR god. I took Nat and Audrey on this drive to see the waves.

We normally have pretty peacful weather but when it is stormy, I love to go to the beach. Watching the waves be so violent just calms me like nothing else. I can see and hear God here better, I get to give all my worries to Him by sending them away on the ocean, deep breathing with the roll of the waves, me matching His Breaths. I get the overwhelming presence of God.

Yep, I am a Beach person!

So out we go to watch the waves.

The view as we start to decend to the cove whee we are going.

Some of the waves crashing on the tide pools.

Standing in the cove looking out to the cliffs.

More tide pool waves.

It is starting to get dark, and creating beautiful clouds.

So, the little kids informed me that I never have taken them there to watch the waves. Normally we go to Morro Bay, witch has wonderful look out spots too. But I was in the mood for here so off we went.

They kept running and skipping rock, having a ball of a time. After a while we drove to the top of the bluffs, and opened the windows to listen.

Me asking "do you here that?"

Them, "No what?"

"That is God talking to you."

I think they get it.

If they don't then we had a beautiful afternoon and made many memories.

Packing, teenagers, and 1 small bag.

Tonight we are packing to go on a little vacation. The first real Vacation in 5 years.

No wedding, graduation, bithday, dance competition, or pig show to use as the reason to go.

Just going to have FUN.

And fun will be had, if we can get packed with out blood shed.

We are going to Disneyland as a family Christmas present. Now we are going as a family, My girls, me, Gretchen and her two little ones. If you counted that was 6, and we have a 6 passenger car. We also need to fit into the car Nathaniel's wheel chair, which now that he received a new and bigger one takes the whole back end.

So enter the big fight of the night.... We are only taking ONE little bag. Yep. For me and my two teenage daughters I have limited it to one bag. One bag for all!!! Clothing, bathroom supplies, makeup, hair and entertainment. (you know books, crayons, notepads etc.)

Brianna is trying to convince me to let her take her computer and that she could use her computer bag to pack into. Not falling for it.

Josie is just in denial. The pile of stuff she Needs is as tall as me, but she says I am the Queen of packing and will make it all fit. I am surprised that she hasn't tried to get me to pack her guitar, saying we could all play or sing to it.

Now me, I haven't even begun to sort and pack, I have been avoiding it all, hoping the girls will wise up and follow the guidelines put before them.

Hey it is a new year, I can be optimistic.

I am hoping to get it all done tonight, so then their is no fighting tomorrow.

Will I succeed?

BTW...I get to take my computer...It is smaller!

blog design contest

So have you ever visited Gretchen's blog??? She has an ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS blog designer and I have been wanting Carla to design something spectacular for Butterfly for a while... but allass it doesn't seem to make it to the top of the priority list with the limited $$ I have. After all Butterfly needs a cute new look (check it out HERE) and I can boss my designer here around lots :)

BUT.. Carla is having a giveaway HERE and I could WIN a makeover :)

Isn't that cool????

GO check Carla out (she is an amazing believing mom to a special needs child or two) and check out her fabulous work too :)

Today at work....

Today at work we have been laughing and giggling up a storm. We have even been trying to get some work done. We have gotten alot of new inventory out, and there are some really cute things. Once we got the clothing out it was time to inventory shoes.

Now I have to confess, I love shoes.

I like to see all the different styles and hope to find the perfect new home for each pair. Leftover from my former life or something. Now I have passed on this love to Brianna and Audrey. Brianna thinks that it is her duty to the world to clothe and shoe every child she meets.

Audrey has a slightly different opinion.

She thinks all shoes are her size and she NEEDS to have them.

These are the cutest cowboy boots.

They are also made of rubber so they act like goulashes too. They are about 1 size too small for Audrey and both Bri and Audrey are trying to convince me that they fit perfectly.

Never mind Audrey has three pair of boots that would work as rubber boots or her cowgirl boots.

Now how could a child NEED another pair of boots?

(that was not counting uggs or hiking boots)

These are the cutest gold pair of ballet flats.

Every little princess dose need a pair of these in her closet.

Right?

So I did loose this pair to Audrey, But they are so perfect for her and she did need a new pair of glittery ballet flats. She had out grown her old pair and we all need a dressy pair of shoes. Right?

I have no idea where she got her shoe addiction from. Do you?

Merry Christmas!!!

It was a very merry Christmas this year. Not very calm and relaxing but a nice one overall. I was Blessed with having my children with me all day. I have spent many years convincing myself that spending Christmas eve with my children was enough and that it didn't bother me not having them with me, but being with them all day was a very nice change.



We had Christmas every two hours, that was hard, but we got to see many family and friends. It was so nice to take them to my ex in laws house with no cold shoulders and fighting, but the girls were sad to not see their dad and brother. They did get to spend the morning with their great grandparents, who have had a very hard year with their health, so every chance to make another we get to make another memory we take.



I sometimes forget that no matter how big the girls get they are still children. They are growing up so fast, and Brianna is talking about where she wants to go to school. I knew she was growing up, but it startled me to hear her talking about what college she wants to go to. To see them everyday and talk to them about all they want to do sometimes I forget that they are still kids and the magic of Christmas is still alive in their hearts. I did a poor job of providing the normal Christmas preparations for them, but the two or three days before we really got into the swing of things. It amazed me how the little traditions that I didn't even know were there effected them when I skipped them. So we had a Christmas Marathon of decorating (or stripping the tree and re decorating it) baking, making ornaments and Christmas presents, and to top it off three days of non stop Christmas movies.



So we might have started Christmas a late this year but it ended well. We have some pretty pictures and special memories to take, and that is what really counts.



Have a blessed Christmas holiday!

I get alittle ditzy sometimes...

It seem the busier I get the more I forget, making me busier.

I have some examples to share with you, please laugh in love cause I am.

Friday night our church has an evening of childcare so us parents could go shopping alone. After a little debate we decided that we didn't know what we had so we must take this childless time to wrap presents. We go out to dinner, so I had eaten, then head to my Mother-in-Laws house to wrap presents, thinking we would have a movie and some adult eggnog. I forget the movie and the eggnog, but those are forgivable. We are starting to clean up and Gretchen is looking at the pile of gifts that are still to be wrapped, looking very carefully, then looking at the pile of wrapped gifts, then looking at the list of gifts for each person, and starting to count everything again. I ask her if there was anything wrong, "Maybe." Umm what? "Faline what have you been wrapping, and what is in that box, that is already wrapped?' I don't know, I was just wrapping it. This is suppose to be IN the box BEFORE you wrap it. I shake it, toss it and open it to .... NOTHING. As if I don't have enough to do I apparently think I need to be wrapping each gift twice.

I did not grow up with cast iron pans, so back when I started dating Shawn, I was helping clean the kitchen, I WASHED the pans until they were CLEAN. That history shared, this morning I was loading the dishwasher, I came across the pizza stone and I was about to wash it(only using water) when Audrey asked me what I was doing...Washing the dishes, Aunta you don't wash that dish. I was only going to use water. No It NEVER gets washed, so I called to confirm, and yep no water just scraped. I still haven't lived down the cast iron, so thank goodness Audry was looking out for me 'cause I would never live this down either.

Last night I was out Christmas shopping. I didn't have my list and I thought I knew what I needed cause I just wrapped all I had and I could remember what I has wrapped. Ya right. I go from store to store, not finding anything that looks right for my niece. I thought I had all the kids done, but I just wrapped all the presents that I had bought, and NOTHING for Caitlyn. I couldn't understand how I could had missed her but I must have. So I go from store to store not finding the right gift, belittling my self for forgetting her. I go on like this for hours, not believing I forgot her. It is 6:30 and I get to another toy store and they have these doll kits for cool doll houses.

It then hits me, we were repainting and remodeling Brianna's old doll house for her.

We have been working on this project for the last two months. I just spent the whole day looking for a gift when I had a gift at home that is made and given with love.

How I forgot is beyond me but I did.

So I am a little further away from being ready for Christmas,

but I have some silly stories to share with the girls when they get home.

Some Randomness

I have a little girl not feeling too well, so she wants her "mommy".
As I sit here not sleeping weird things come to mind, so I thought I would share.


I wish I could keep my kids separate.
If I had a boy and a girl, I might not get them mixed up.
I can never remember who's things are who's, who said what,
who did that, and who eats this or that.
I get into so much trouble when I put the wrong things away,
that I don't fold the laundry any more.

Why do ALL teachers think it is a good idea to give reading as homework?
I have very avid readers, too much if we are telling the truth, it is their addiction.
So why do they get free reading homework? Brianna was in a "special" English class for years, and at the beginning of each year I beg the teacher to give writing instead of reading, no go.
Do they think that it is against the rules not to assign reading?
I know it is good for them, and that more exposure to the written word makes them better writers, lets them see proper usage of vocabulary and grammar, but my children do not need another excuse to read, couldn't they just take into account each child? Maybe not in Jo's case but Brianna's? She had a class of 6 students, and the class was geared to the need of each one.


I don't want to sound sexist, but I strongly dislike car stuff. If I have a weird noise or say I had to add ..... again, couldn't the guy just take care of it?
My brother works at an auto part shop, and went to school as a mechanic. I tell him every little thing about my car, and yet now that my car is not running he finally is willing to look at it.
I do a lot of "woman's work" for him, ( watch his kids, cook some of his dinners, do some laundry)
All I want is some Guy stuff done for me. We are both single parents and we need help some times, so it would just be nice if he listened to me the first time I say something,
instead of when it is not running and is now possibly doing damage to my car.

Josie's temp has finally broke and she just feel into the deep sleep I needed her to be in for me to be able to slip off to bed, so night night blog world.