Snow Mommy

Prayers

2012-01-25T09:05:00.000-08:00

Asking for prayers for my family. My Step-Grandfather passed away Monday night, and my Grandpa Dennison is still in the hospital recovering from surgery. It's been a rough week for Mom and Wayne, and I ask that you pray for strength for them through this difficult time. Thank you!

Snow Day with Auntie

2012-01-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

We didn't get our warm up until last night, so I did have 7 kids yesterday. We had a great time, and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Justin did great, and the kids all wanted to snuggle with him. The big kids all played outside in the snow, and for dinner they made their own pizzas. I was thankful that the little boys ate all the sweets I had been baking all week! My favorite quote of the day came from Drew (shocker!!). "Auntie, what's that on the plate? Ohhhhh, it's pupcakes!".

Snowed In

2012-01-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

The kids and I are snowed in. I haven't driven anywhere since Sunday. Monday was a holiday, and school has been canceled the last three days. Tuesday was the PERFECT snow day. The snow was fluffy and it wasn't too cold. The kids played with their friends in the snow. Then the wind came yesterday. A very cold Northeaster that dropped us down to 9 degrees (-9 with the wind chill). Of course one of my pellet stoves quit working, and Dan went off to work. I'm too cheap to have a repairman out, when I know Dan can fix it. So we are relying on space heaters.

We have been keeping busy, and surprisingly the kids don't have Cabin Fever. I have been trying new recipes from Pinterest, and they are good......not so good for my waistline. I am so thankful for my stockpile of groceries, and the ability to stay home with the kids. It's supposed to warm up to 32 today, but it's still only 18 degrees. I'm thinking we may not have school again tomorrow. I'm babysitting my nephews tomorrow, but if there's no school, that will add my niece and my own kids to the mix. 7 kids, ages 11 to 7 weeks. Praying for a warm up and school tomorrow!

Snow Day for the Snows

2012-01-16T17:46:00.000-08:00

A Snow day for the Snows. Dan saw the neighbor kids making a huge snowman, and tried to compete. Lets just say he lost. To his defense, there were about a dozen kids working on the other snowman. What a fun day! And as Lily says, "There is no better day than a snow day with Daddy home!".

January's Specials

2012-01-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

January is the BEST time to host a Scentsy party! Hostesses get double the half price rewards. You could have a home party or a basket party. This month is also Bring Back My Bar. Twenty discontinued scents are brought back on bar form only, for January only. Some of my favorites made the list: Berries and Bubbly, Cinnamon Cider, Spring Clean and Toasted Apple Butter.

Check out my website for the complete list, (click on the link on the sidebar) and contact me to book your party!!

Reasons I NEED a Clubhouse

2011-12-30T12:13:00.000-08:00

I have had a dream for the last few years of having a clubhouse. Our family is growing, and growing, and there are few places to host all these family gatherings. We have very few places to host a Stauffer Sunday! When I hosted last February, I had 52 people in my house!! Amy's baby shower had 25 people, Thanksgiving at my house was 30 people, and Christmas with my Dad and Step Mom was 23 people. So we NEED space to host these events. So that's why I want a clubhouse. I have it all planned in my head. Nothing fancy, just practical and room for all these people! The kitchen would hold commercial grade appliances, big roasters, commercial coffee pots and everything needed for a large group. I keep adding things to this clubhouse in my mind......until I hosted Christmas last week with my Dad. Dad likes to buy the "boys" some sort of weapon, have them all rip them open and start battling in my house. After the pictures frames started falling off the wall, I realized one thing that the clubhouse will NOT have is breakables.

A Christmas to Remember

2011-12-29T11:39:00.000-08:00

A new baby in the family, Dan being home for more than 5 days, surrounded by family and friends, and of course the annual Stauffer/Dykman battle.......gives us one Christmas to remember. I am so thankful for these memories, and the blessings we have been given!!

Soup of the Month Club

2011-12-21T14:55:00.000-08:00

Need a gift idea for the parent/grandparent who doesn't need anything? For my Grandparent's I do the Soup of the Month Club. I make out a list of a different soup for each month, and give them the list for Christmas. Each month I make a big batch of soup and deliver it to each of them. I even bought a set of reusable plastic containers, so they could just trade me back and empty container when I delivered more soup. In the past I did the bread of the month club, you could do just about anything! The idea is that it's homemade, and I will stop by once a month to visit! They LOVE this and look forward to it each month.

Family Photos, 2011

2011-12-17T13:49:00.000-08:00

A BIG thanks to my sister, Amy Parsons, who took these pictures! We were lucky to get them done while Dan was home, and before Amy had her baby!!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2011-12-13T12:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, I have been so busy that I didn't realize the blog template was messed up! I'm working on finding a new one I am happy with! With Christmas approaching, I haven't had much time to keep up on the blog! I will work on that......once my shopping is done! In the mean time, have a Merry Christmas!!

Craft Bazaar

2011-11-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

Sumas Elementary PTO is hosting a Craft Bazaar this Saturday, November 19th at Nooksack Assembly of God Church on Nooksack Ave. I will be there with my Scentsy stock from 9-4. Hope you can stop by and do some shopping!

Director Boot Camp

2011-10-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

I was blessed to be able to travel to Boise last week and attend Scentsy Director Boot Camp #15. What a great time full of training and inspiration. While I have always known what a wonderful company Scentsy is, I was blown away at how much the home office cares about the consultants. And seeing the new warehouse and manufacturing facility blew me away. I made some great friends, and met Orville and Heidi!

I was also lucky to get to have dinner with my Dad and Step-Mom, the night I arrived, and then had lunch with a dear friend and her brand new baby. An exhausting trip, but it was fun! A big thanks to Mom and Poppa who took the kids for me!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do in the fall is get the pumpkins from Grandma and Grandpa's garden. The kids helped me plant this pumpkin patch in the spring, and it's fun to see how well they did. My Mom scarred the pumpkins with the kid's names in August, so it was like a treasure hunt to find their names. The kids found little pumpkins that should have grown into giants (none of the giant pumpkins got big), and used these little yellow guys for eyes on this last picture.

Things the Snow children said....

2011-09-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

My kids have been cracking me up lately!!

We were talking with my Dad's cousin, who we haven't seen in years. He made the comment that the last time he saw Lily, she wasn't talking yet. Nate pipes in, "Those were the days!".

I was looking through grocery store ads, making noises with my mouth without even realizing I was doing it. Lily asked if I was making kissing sounds, and I said no. She said that she was talking with friends and they told her those were kissing sounds and Lily told them, "No, that's the noise my Mom makes when she is thinking".

I have started making chili in preparation for our friend's annual chili cook off. Lily told me that the secret to a winning chili is using lots of Johnny's Seasoning. Because Daddy used lots of Johnny's last year, and he won!

Corn Maze

2011-09-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

It's tradition to go to the Corn Maze put on by the Lynden FFA. I have to say that it was a good one. It took us a half hour to get out the first time (12 minutes the second time, and we took different paths). We always get pictures of us trying to decide which way to go. As I looked at these pictures last night, I realized that Nate has grown a couple inches recently, and will be passing me up soon. I really hoped to have another year or two before I was looking up to him!! This last picture cracks me up. It shows their current personalities so clearly!

Fall Soccer

2011-09-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

Lily had her first game of the season last weekend. Her team played hard and very well, but lost. Lily's a quick runner and getting more aggressive for the ball. It's fun to watch her play! She's got a great team and coach, the same group from Spring. I'm looking forward to seeing how these girls learn and grow!

Side note- When Lily picked out her jersey, she grabbed number 36. She yelled across the field, "Mom, how old are you?". I wasn't going to yell it back, so I just said, "Dad is 36, so you are good!".

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

We took a camping trip to Priest River in Idaho over Labor Day weekend. We had fun in the sun and enjoyed every minute away!

Cousins

2011-09-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

We celebrated August birthdays (on the last day of August) and finally got a picture with all 13 cousins. What a cute bunch!

Back to School

2011-09-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

The kids are back to school! Lily started 3rd grade, and Nate is now a 6th grader in Middle School! I'm the bad Mommy that didn't get a picture of Nate on his first day of school. It was raining, we were late, and I just plain forgot! They are loving school and their classes. Nate is up and out the door early, but is home before Lily. I think I have had the hardest time adjusting to the new schedule!

Summer is finally here.....

2011-08-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here......just in time for the kids to go back to school! It's been a busy week of water slides, doctor appointments and trying to enjoy or late Summer. And of course, because everything is late, I just started canning. I made salsa last night, and it looks like I will be canning green beans next week. Lily has already started soccer practices, and school starts on Wednesday. Yikes!

Busy Fair Week!

2011-08-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

What a crazy busy week it's been. The Scentsy booth went great, but man that was a lot of work! Long hours on my feet every day, and running the kids around to different family members who were a huge help with babysitting! On Wednesday, Mom brought the kids in after my shift and the kids did rides and saw some of the fair. I was so tired that we didn't last the whole night like I planned! They still had fun and even did some rides with their cousin Johnny. We had perfect weather all week, in the low 70's, except for today when it hit 85! With all the warmers going, it was really hot in our booth!

Gotta love the fair!!

Fair Week!

2011-08-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

It's the start of a wild and crazy week for me! I will be at the Scentsy booth every day of the Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden. Stop by and see me in the Expo building.

Things I learned....

2011-08-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

We survived having my brother's 4 kids over for two nights. The kids has fun, and nobody got hurt! Amazing! It really went well and I was able to pass them off to my Mom with clean clothes and a good nights sleep. I was able to make dinner both nights and kept up on dishes and laundry. But I have to say I was ex-haus-ted by the time they left. It hasn't been that long since I have had them overnight, and it's only been a few years since my kids where that small, but still, you forget some things. Here's a few I learned, or re-learned this week.

It's impossible to take an uninterrupted shower with small children awake. Each morning I would get two four year olds opening the door yelling, "Auntie Holly....". And while the door was opened, Drew would walk in and open the shower curtain! Freaked me out!!
Don't feed small children rice and corn, unless they are eating outside. What a mess!!
Don't pass out 6 milk cups and let them walk off with them. I think we are still missing 2 milk cups. YUCK!
Every time I was in the kitchen, one of the little boys would ask me, "Whatcha makin?".
Don't give multiple instructions at once. I think I am spoiled with my kids who have been able to do this for years. Lily especially, you give her a list, and she will get them done in order, within the time frame. When I told a little boy in blue to go pee then get dressed, he can't even get one done. It had to be one thing at a time.
Three kids is one to many in the bathtub. You must do it in pairs, or solo.
Those kids can eat! Good thing I stocked up on groceries!
If I want to indulge myself with one of my ice cream bars, make sure to offer the kids fudgecicles first.
When putting Drew to sleep, he will tell you that he can't do it. When you ask what he can't do, he will look right at you and say, "I don't know". Oh, and Drew talks in his sleep. And Emma snores.
The twins could spend the whole day in the pool, as long as it's just them.
Nate learned quickly, if you give a mouse a cookie......or if you give one kid a snack, you better have one for all of the others!
And lastly, I learned that Tiffani is my hero.....ok, I've known that for years, but I have to give her kudos!!

6 kids and one bathroom....

2011-08-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have my brother's 4 kids for two nights and already I am seeing a big problem. I only have one bathroom. I had to give the kids baths in pairs, and brushing teeth went in waves of children. Sleeping arrangements have changed several times already, and the playpen got busted, so I'm worried that baby Jack Jack will escape. I'm sure I will have many stories tomorrow!

Scentsy Stampede, Fort Worth, 2011

2011-08-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

I was so lucky to get to go to Scentsy Convention last week. I arrived in Fort Worth on an hour of sleep the night before and was hit smack in the face with 109 degree weather. Coming from a cold summer here, where I heard we have hit 80 degrees for a whole 79 minutes, it was a shocker. You couldn't take in a deep breath, it was so hot and muggy!

The first night Scentsy had a big Texas welcome for us at the Stock Yards. What a fun place. We watched a rodeo, ate dinner at Billy Bob's and had a Gloriana/ Clint Black concert. We did a little shopping until we were so sticky and beat that we had to call it a night.

Our second day we were up early to head to the convention center. It was team day and I had made my team, Snow Angels, matching tee shirts with our logo on them. I had also bought some halos for them to wear, and angel wings for me. I just wanted a picture of all 8 of us together with my wings, I had no intention of actually wearing them. What I didn't know was that Scentsy was going to call all the Directors up on stage to be acknowledged in front of 10,000 people. As I got up to get in line to parade across the stage, my team insisted that I wear my wings. I tried to talk my way out of it, but they had me at "it was your idea!". So we now have pictures, and video of me in a halo and angel wings, walking across a stage with confetti flying.
Scentsy made some great announcements, including some fabulous new warmers and scents, new Scentsy Buddies and a new product, Solid Fragrances. We also had some very informative speakers. And in true Scentsy fashion, we received over $200 worth of brand new products. I also received a convention warmer that's a cowboy boot!

Our third day was filled with more speakers, and awards night. The entertainment for the night was Anita Renfro, who I love! She had us in stitches! Our incentive trip to the Hard Rock Cafe Resort in Dominican Republic was announced, along with our convention next year in Las Vegas!

Saturday I was blessed to get to have lunch with two high school friends who live in Texas. What a fun time catching up with them!

I had a blast with my team, and can't wait for next year. I love that I have had the opportunity to visit new places and make some great memories!

Scentsy Convention 2011 teaser

2011-08-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is me in front of 10,000 people, walking across the stage in angel wings and a halo. Want to know why? I'll get back to you tonight!

Rite Aid Coupon Trip

2011-08-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

I have been scoring great deals at Rite Aid. I have wanted to share a great trip, and today's all came together perfectly.
So this is $45.25 in product (before tax).
I used $15 in coupons, $15 UP reward (from previous trip), and a $3 survey coupon (no longer printing).
Total out of pocket, with tax was $15.84.
I received $9 in UP rewards for next trip.
I submitted my receipt for a Single Check Rebate for $12.99, and have a Mail in rebate for the Allegra for $6.29.
Making this a moneymaker of $12.44!!

Drew's favorite scents

2011-07-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

This is NOT a paid testimonial. He climbed up on the couch, went through the whole basket of scents, and decided that the red one's were his favorite.

Don't forget to flush!

2011-07-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

Last chance to "flush" someone and help raise money for a mission trip to Africa. Check out the Flight of the Fuscia Flusher!

And Speaking of Coupons.....

2011-07-19T21:00:00.001-07:00

Did you know that military families overseas can use expired coupons up to 6 months old? I have been sending my expired coupons to two different families, one in Guam and the other in Japan. They are very appreciative, and pass on to others what they can't use. If you are a fellow couponer, I'm happy to collect expired coupons from you to send to these families. Thanks!

Warning: Coupons May Cause Weight Gain!

2011-07-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

I am a new couponer. Please do NOT call me an extreme one. I have strong opinions on the people who clean out grocery shelves and should be on the hoarders show. My goal is to save my family money, and be able to donate more to our church's food bank. Do I have stockpiles, yes. Will I use them within 6 months, or before they expire, yes. I am still learning the fine art of couponing, and have reached an overall 50-60% savings. That's just the number my receipt tells me. But really, I have more products (and better quality) than before. I have a coupon binder, and you can find me lugging all around town as I shop. Couponing hasn't hit that hard up here, so I get strange looks, or complete strangers stopping to ask about my coupon binder. I have learned what blogs to watch, and to always have a list ( learned that one the hard way).

What nobody warned me about was the weight gain! Seriously! See, when manufacturers want you to try a new product, they give out a high value coupon. Case in point, Magnum Ice Cream Bars. They look sinful, and even the name sounds a bit dirty! I had coupons for these sinful delights, and Safeway was having a sale. I got my first box for free. It's like a crack dealer giving you your first hit, knowing you will be back for more. You think I'm exaggerating? I can't count how many boxes I have eaten so far this summer! I refuse to know how many calories are in each bar. I just know that I can't pass them up when they are on sale (with a coupon of course!). I have even opened a box to eat a bar on my way home from the store. Problem with that is it melts quickly and I ended up wearing half of it. I'm sure I looked hilarious driving down the road sucking all the melted chocolate off my fingers. My only hope is that summer will be over sooner than I would like, and then the coupons will be gone and I won't be tempted to buy more.......or too many more!

Bring Back My Bar Rides Again!

2011-07-16T10:02:00.000-07:00

It's July and I am so excited for Bring Back My Bar. For this month only, Scentsy has brought back retired scents in bar form only. Here's the list, contact me if you would like to order, or just click on the Scentsy logo on the sidebar to visit my website. Some of our favorites made the list, and I will be stockpiling ( and will NOT share once this is over!). Nate's favorite all time scent is Strawberry Sweetie. One of Lily's top three is Fried Ice Cream, and I am super excited for Fresh Cut Cantaloupe and Luscious Lemon. Don't wait, only two more weeks before they are gone!

Bring Back My Bar July 2011

Banana Flower
Delightful combination of fresh, sweet banana mingled with soft florals.

Banana Nut Bread
Right from the oven with ripe bananas, nuts, and spices.

Cashmere
Sheer floral bouquet combines Moroccan jasmine, lily of the valley, and bergamot.

Coconut Palm
A blend of tropical coconut and musky patchouli with subtle green notes.

Cutiepie Cupcake
Sweet clementine and yellow cake batter with vanilla and sugary icing.

Exotic Vanilla
Spice up your home with a blend of vanilla bean, jasmine, patchouli, and sandalwood.

Fresh Cut Cantaloupe
Vine-ripened melon with hints of juicy orange.

Fried Ice Cream
Vanilla with a nutty touch along with cinnamon and caramel.

Grape Granita
Sun-warmed grape and pineapple with undertones of honeysuckle.

Irish Cream
Smooth and mellow, highlighted with hints of coffee and chocolate.

Lemon Lavender
Inviting blend of tangy lemon and sweet lavender flowers

Luscious Lemon
Light, creamy lemon.

Orange Dreamsicle
A classic combination of fresh orange, swirled with vanilla cream.

Oxford
A masculine blend of ginger and frankincense with woody cedar and amber undertones.

Red Delicious
Crisp, juicy apples, fresh from the orchard.

Root Beer Float
Concoction of old-fashioned root beer and creamy vanilla ice cream.

Spiced Orange Harvest
Strong, sweet oranges spiced with cloves and cinnamon.

Strawberry Sweetie
A fruity delight of strawberries sprinkled with sugar and vanilla.

Tuscan Garden
Mediterranean floral bouquet, enhanced by cassis, apples, berries, and rosemary.

Watermelon Patch
Sweet, vine-ripened watermelon.

First Annual Slider Cookoff

2011-07-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

Our friends host an annual chili cookoff and we have had so much fun with it, we wanted to try a Slider cookoff in the summer. We hosted last week and had 6 different sliders entered. And I really mean they were different. We had spicy, sweet, Thai, cheesy, bacony and Greek. Everyone voted on the winner and my step brother, Wade, won by a landslide with his Greek slider on a pita. I could have eaten a plateful of those! We are looking forward to continuing this tradition for many years. (And watch out, I'm entering next year!!).

Happy Golden Birthday!

2011-07-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Golden Birthday to Nate the Great! A golden birthday is when you turn the number of the day you were born. Nate was born on the 11th, and this is his 11th birthday.
Nate is a smart, loving, and goofy kid. He loves Legos and Star Wars, and loves Lego Star Wars the best. He's reading Harry Potter books right now and will start summer school next week as a mentor. He tried wakeboarding yesterday and was the champion of the inner tube, being the only one that didn't get thrown off.
He's a great kid and we are so proud of him! Happy Birthday kiddo!

While We Were Gone......

2011-07-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

My friends and I have a strange tradition of pranking each others houses while they are away on vacation. Last week, 7 out of the 8 of us were out of town. I made sure that Tiff (the only one home), knew that she had 7 houses to choose from. Of course she choose the easiest one, MINE!

She started out with a blog post and facebook post about it being my birthday. I knew she was up to trouble and was scared as to what I would find when I got home. Click HERE to read Tiff's blog.

So it took me three days to find the master list. And I wasn't happy! We came home tired, and frazzled, so my mind was not ready to figure out clues. We are still finding labels in random places. Yesterday I went to grab a towel before my shower and found a label. Dan wanted soup for lunch the other day and we had to start reading numbers off the cans and check the master list to see what they were. Lord help me if we loose that list!

I have told Tiff and Kristen that I will get revenge. I already got Kristen, click HERE and read flush number two. Many people have shared some great ways to get revenge. And of course Tiff will be in Africa for two whole weeks this summer! (Insert evil laugh).

Trip to Oregon

2011-07-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

We made a last minute trip to my Dad's last week. Dan got off the boat on Tuesday morning, drove home from Seattle, then we drove the 10 hours to Dad and Marsha's. We had a beautiful sunset on the way over, and a super cool lightning storm after dark. The kids had a blast on the motorcycle and four wheeler. Dad had just cut his hay field, so Nate learned how to rake and bale the hay. Then he drove the tractor when they picked up the bales.
Dad planned a big BBQ and invited everyone he knew. We had some great food and fun! We pulled out the old card to go to dinner at a fun little diner one night. I FINALLY got to drive my Dad's '55 Chevy Bel Air. I'm the last of the kids, so we have all had a chance to drive it now.
We had a blast and loved the dry heat. I hope the kids remember the great times we had.

Want to Flush Someone??

2011-06-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

http://flightofthefuschiaflusher.blogspot.com/

The Flight of the Fuchsia Flusher is a fundraiser for my friends/sister in law's mission trip to Africa. If you are local, please think about someone you would like to "flush"! They hope to blog the whole flight and keep everyone entertained as we raise money for a good cause!

Almost Free Summer Fun

2011-06-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

I had big plans for yesterday. The Library was having a biologist come with snakes for the morning. I love the local Library's free summer programs. The weather was nice, so we even walked (Nate rode my bike) the mile and a half to the Library. As a treat, Lily and I stopped for milkshakes to drink on our walk home. It was a fun time, and really didn't cost much.

Then last night my brother Rob took Nate to a free concert at Mt. Baker Theater, watching Harry and the Potters perform. I really don't know who was more excited for the concert. Nate is just starting the 5th Harry Potter book (since he started reading the series in February!), and is a big fan. It was a fun event, and I'm glad they could do it together.

Lily has been wanting to see the Judy Moody movie. Now, I'm not one to pay full price at the theater. I think it's a joke how much you have to pay. I'd rather wait until the movie comes out on DVD and get it through Netflix. That's just the Dutch coming out in me. But a couple weeks ago I found a special and bought two movie tickets for $9. Great deal! So while the boys went to the concert, Lily and I went to see the movie. When we got to the theater, I started digging in my purse for the tickets I had printed out. They were nowhere to be found. I dug around in the car, nothing. In my anger at myself for losing the tickets, it never occurred to me that I could have pulled up the confirmation code on my phone and used that to get new tickets. Nope, I'm not that tech savvy yet to think of those things. I was just plain mad. So, I had an excited 8 year old with her hopes set on this movie, and I couldn't let her down. I paid full price for the movie.......that I had already paid $9 to see. YIKES. Lesson learned, won't do that again, but I have to say the movie was worth it. Lily thinks it was the BEST. MOVIE. EVER.

So my almost free summer fun turned out to be a little more spendy, but in the kid's eyes, it was a great day. I do have other almost free and totally free fun planned for the summer. I will share as we go!

Birch Bay Sand Castle Contest- Grand Champions!

2011-06-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

This is our second year entering in the Birch Bay Sand Castle Contest. Click HERE to see last year's entry. We had been playing with different ideas all week and yesterday Nate came up with the idea of a pirate ship. We grabbed all our pirate gear and bought some foam swords last night. I pulled out an old pillow case, cut it open, and Nate drew a skull and crossbones. We had some more help this year (thank goodness!), Tiff's friends Trevor and Teresa came with their kids. So we had 5 adults and 8 kids! I wrangled kids again this year, and the other 4 adults worked their tails off to get the pirate ship done in time. They started a little after 9am and judging started at noon.
It was a soggy morning, but the rain stayed away until noon, which helped. There weren't as many entries this year because of the weather (wimps!). We were prepared to be wet and even brought a small tent to put all of our food and supplies in.

We won Grand Prize! The response from the crowd and judges was great. They love how we have included the kids and made it interactive. Tiff was interviewed by the local newspaper, so I'm curious to see if it will be in tomorrow's paper. We won some great prizes and gift certificates!
We really love this FREE event! If you get a chance, grab family and friends and give us a run for our money next year!!

The End Is Here!

2011-06-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

The end of Elementary School for Nate is here. I'm really emotional about this. I truly am excited for him to move on to Middle School, and his excitement is contagious. I am so proud of him and what a great student he is and how hard he works. What's hard is that I have had these last couple years at the school with him. I can stop by for lunch with him when I'm done working, or when I'm subbing I see him on the playground (I was even his Substitute Librarian once). We walk to school together every day. Next year he will be riding the bus, and in a different school. Middle School can be rough, and Nate is sensitive. I just pray that he can make his own path and enjoy it as much as he can.

It's been a busy week with his field trip and then field day today. Here's just a few of my favorite pictures this week. His moving up ceremony is tomorrow. I'll be the one with the BIG box of tissues!

Mrs. Snow

2011-06-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I was asked by our principle if I had been in the staff bathroom. Kinda a weird question, and he immediately had to clarify why he was asking. The preschool class had made a poster of their favorite teachers, and the poster was put up in the bathroom. I ranked high enough to be drawn on the poster of favorite teachers. What's cool about this is I have only been in preschool two days this year! I guess I made quite the impression. I had to take a picture to preserve my fame.....while it lasts!!

13 years

2011-06-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

Dan has had no schedule over the last few months. We never know when he is coming or going. He had been working in Seattle doing shipyard work, and there was a chance he would go straight to Alaska when it was done. So when it was time to go camping over Memorial Day weekend, he begged for the weekend off. Not only was it great to have him for a weekend of camping, but it was also our 13 year Anniversary. I am so thankful that we actually got to spend it together. Some people go out for nice dinners, but I was thrilled to sit around a campfire and eat BBQ.

Love you honey, here's to many more years together!

Scentsy Review

2011-05-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to Sarah at Kingdom Twindom for a great review of Scentsy products. Check out her blog!

School Days

2011-05-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to go on a field trip with the first graders this week. We went to Larabee State Park and observed sea life. What a beautiful day it turned out to be! This was the view from our little hike.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Moms in my life!

We did our annual Mother's Day picnic at a park, followed by a family hike. I am thankful that it was dry and that our whole family was able to be there. I am super blessed to have such a loving family!

There's no place like home

2011-05-07T12:27:00.001-07:00

BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER

2011-05-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Lily's cat Hobbs has been missing for almost two months. Click back to March if you don't know that long story. Today, out of the blue, I get a phone call from the neighbor of the vet's office. He said that he thought Hobbs had been in his barn, but until today wasn't sure. He has four cats, and said he often gets strays wandering into his barn and eating the cat food.

He spotted Hobbs today, went over to the vet's office to check out the picture we posted of Hobbs, then went back with binoculars, and confirmed that Hobbs was hiding on the roof of his barn under an overhang. He called me, and I ran right over. I had a trap and tuna ready. I climbed a ladder to see Hobbs, and even after calling him, he wasn't coming out. I left the trap on the roof of the barn, and said I would be back with Lily. Being today is Lily's birthday, I didn't want to get her hopes up, but we needed her to get Hobbs out. So after school, I took the kids over, and Lily climbed up the ladder where she could see Hobbs. She started talking to him, and he slowly moved out. It took about five minutes, but she was able to pet him, but couldn't quite reach to get a hold of him. Plus, being up on the ladder, she didn't want to let go with one hand. The whole five minutes I was holding Lily's legs so she wouldn't fall off the ladder. I started to cry as soon as he came out and was letting her pet him. He poked his head into the trap and I yelled at Lily to close the door.

We had him trapped! Hobbs totally freaked out, jumping all over. I had to get the trap down off the roof, with a crazy cat inside! The kids went nuts! They were jumping up and down, cheering that we had caught Hobbs. We thanked the nice man who called us (and I had brought him a bag of cat food as a thank you for feeding Hobbs this whole time!). Nate ran into the vet's office and told them we had Hobbs, and took the missing poster down.

When we got home, Hobbs was still scared and ran right under our bed. The funny thing is that Jay was under there. Jay is Hobb's brother that we got AFTER we lost Hobbs. We had plans to go out to dinner, so we just left them alone. When we got home, Hobbs has been sociable with us, and curled right up on Lily's fuzzy blankets, like he had never left.

What a great birthday present for Lily, to have her cat home! Thank you Lord for this miracle!

Happy 8th Birthday Lily!

2011-05-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Happy 8th Birthday to my Lily Bug! We celebrated with her friends on Saturday, and had the most beautiful perfect day. Then that night we had the family over for a BBQ and to celebrate Lily and Dan's birthdays. (Lily was born just 6 hours shy of her Daddy's birthday).
Lily is super excited for her actual birthday. We are bringing cupcakes to class today. She told her teacher that she will be getting up 5 minutes early on her birthday, so that she can do a happy dance.
As Mrs. Lehman (Lily's teacher) always tells me, "How can you not be happy around Lily?".

Spring Soccer

2011-04-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful day for soccer yesterday! Both kids scored goals (one on his own team). Lily scored her first goal ever and the sideline went nuts when she did. I think every girl on her team has scored a goal now. Nate's team hasn't won a game yet, and they are getting very frustrated. They are playing U11, but most of the kids on the team are 9 and 10 years old. We are hoping they can pull together and get a win soon!

Easter Prep

2011-04-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

My to do list to get ready for Easter (along with every other Mom and single Dad out there):

Easter dress for Lily
New shoes to match new Easter dress
New sweater to match Easter dress (because it's cold here on Easter and somehow every Easter dress out there is short sleeved.....geesh!)
New shirt for Nate
New top for me
Candy and gifts for baskets
Jelly beans to leave as Easter bunny poop
Carrots to leave out the night before, for the Easter bunny
2 dozen eggs, boiled (Don't wait until the last minute!)
2 dozen eggs colored
3 batches of rolls (homemade) for Easter dinner
1 dessert for 2nd Easter celebration
Charge camera
I'm sure there is more....I'm just too busy to keep going.

My Hubby's Prep for Easter:
Put on the shirt I pick out for him and walk out the door. (I'm just glad he's home!!! )

Scentsy Launches in UK and Germany!

2011-04-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled that Scentsy is growing internationally! As of today Scentsy is in the UK and Germany! What a great opportunity for people in these countries to be the first to share Scentsy! Scentsy has been such a blessing to me and I would love to share that "gift" with others! Click on the Scentsy logo or contact me if you are interested in this great company!

Soccer Season

2011-04-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

It's soccer season, and both kids are playing. That means 4 practices and 2 games every week. They are having fun, and I'm using their practice times to get my walks in. I bought new running shoes this week, and I'm hoping to start running again. So far it's been a cold, wet season. They actually canceled soccer games for yesterday. Hoping it warms up soon!

Meet Jay

2011-04-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

This is Jay. He's a brother to Calvin and the missing Hobbs. When Hobbs went missing, the dear friend that first gave us the cats, offered up their brother. We waited two weeks, then went and picked up Jay. Lily named him after some cartoon.....don't ask. We have had him for over a week, and this is the only picture I have of him, and also the only time we have seen him during the day. I'm convinced he's nocturnal. He hides all day and wants nothing to do with the kids. He is still fighting with his brother, Calvin. He is warming up to me, but only at night while I am sleeping. He has to come lay on me and will get right up in my face to let me know he's there. The first few nights he was having turf wars with Calvin in my room. It was so bad I had to kick them both out in the middle of the night.
I'm really heartbroken over the loss of Hobbs, and it makes it worse knowing that we can't replace him. I'm still on the fence about keeping Jay. If he can't socialize with the kids, he may have to go back. Hoping and praying he becomes more friendly.

Jumpin' Jelly Bean

2011-03-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

I see cheer leading in her future!

Lily's Dance Recital

2011-03-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend was filled with Dance! Lily had her two dance recitals this weekend. She did great, and was adorable as usual!

Tale of the Missing Cat

2011-03-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Lily's cat Hobbs, has been missing since Friday. Dan was taking both Calvin and Hobbs (brothers) to the vet to get fixed. Someone from the vet has said they would drop carriers off for us, and they forgot. Dan was in a hurry and just grabbed the cats and put them in the truck. When he got to the vet's office, he went inside and got a carrier, put Calvin in it, then took him inside. No problem. Then he went back for Hobbs. As he was putting Hobbs in the box, a big noisy truck pulled in the parking lot and spooked the cat. He went running, and ended up climbing a huge cedar tree across the road. Dan tried going after Hobbs, but Hobbs just climbed higher.

Dan didn't know what to do. See, Hobbs is not social. He doesn't like anyone but Lily. He choose Lily and only likes her. So Dan went to the school and got Lily. Imagine filling out the reason for pulling your child out of class; Need child to get cat out of tree.

So Dan and Lily went back to the vets and Lily tried calling Hobbs down. Hobbs was pretty freaked out at this point, and was not moving. So the vet left food at the bottom of the tree, and Dan took Lily back to school. When I got done with work, I went over to see if I could call him down. At that point, we couldn't even see him in the tree.

When the kids were out of school, we went back again. We talked to the land owner that the tree was on, and they said they would watch for Hobbs. We then went and got a live trap from my Grandpa, and a can of tuna from Grandma, and set the trap. That night Dan went back every couple hours, hoping to have caught the cat. Well, he caught a cat, actually two cats, but not Hobbs.

We went back many times on Saturday, but still no sign of Hobbs. Dan talked to the fire department and they said they didn't have a ladder tall enough. The people at City Hall just laughed at him. Our fire fighter friend told us that they had never found a dead cat in the tree. Still, we were worried. (More worried about how Lily was going to handle loosing her cat).

We ended up calling a friend of ours that has a tree service. He has all the equipment to climb trees. So Sunday morning he climbed the huge tree. He got to the top and didn't see a cat, so he shimmied over to the tree next to it and looked around. Still no sign of a cat. He felt really bad, and didn't even want to charge us. I had to pay him something for his gas and time.

So we have been over there multiple times a day looking for Hobbs. We have been adding more tuna, and hoping to catch him. The kids and I posted fliers around town yesterday with his picture. We posted on facebook and thought we might have found him, but it was the wrong cat.

Today Dan tried another tactic. I still can't believe he tried this. We have a neighbor cat that hangs around our house alot. We call him Psycho Ninja Cat. I have no idea what his real name is. He is a huge orange and white cat. He tried climbing my friends car one day. He jumps out of bushes and scares the kids and I as we walk to school. He chases squirrels in our yard. And lately he has become friends with Hobbs. He has been hanging out in our carport, and Hobbs gets out to play with him. Since Hobbs disappeared, Psycho Ninja Cat has been very vocal about missing his friend Hobbs. So..... Dan grabbed Psycho Ninja Cat and took him to the area we last saw Hobbs. He was hoping that Psycho Ninja Cat would "talk" and Hobbs would hear him. Of course Psycho Ninja Cat wouldn't talk, and Dan just brought him home. (On the way home, the cat pushed the button on the window and Dan almost lost that cat too. Imagine explaining that one to the neighbor....a neighbor we have never met!!!).

So that is the tale of the missing cat. If you see him, please contact us. We have a heartbroken little girl that misses her kitty!

Missing Cat

2011-03-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hobbs, who is Lily's cat, has been missing since Friday morning. Dan was taking him to the vet and he escaped at the vet's office in Nooksack. If you see him, please contact us!

Auntie is slacking!

2011-03-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

Wow I have been busy! I started my new job at the school, adding more hours onto my part time job. I had a crazy busy weekend at the Home Show last weekend, and I'm still catching up from that! Lily started soccer practice today, and I'm waiting to hear from Nate's coach. I'm pretty much slacking on everything, just trying to keep the family in the right place at the right time.

So today Dan offered to babysit the twins and Drew. They love coming over to play. I only got to hang out with them for an hour today, in between work, volunteering, and back to work again. Dan told me that Grant walked into the kitchen and asked for a cookie. He knows that Auntie Holly ALWAYS has cookies. Well.....not today. I've been so busy, and cookies are not a priority. I guess Grant left the kitchen with his head down and his heart broken. I felt so bad!

As I was sitting at Lily's soccer practice tonight, I was reminded that Nate needed snacks for a Safety Patrol Party tomorrow. I asked him what he wanted, and of course he said cookies. So I started making a batch of bar cookies (I can whip those out in 25 minutes flat!). Of course Lily wanted cookies too, so I had to make two batches. And of course had to add green M&M's because it's almost St. Patrick's Day.

Hopefully the cookies will last until this weekend when I see Grant (who's favorite color is green!). Maybe I can get back some Auntie points!

Whatcom County Home and Garden Show

2011-03-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

Stop by and see me at the Scentsy booth at the Whatcom County Home and Garden show, located at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds. And dress warm, because it's cold in there!

Can I get a clone?

2011-03-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

Crazy busy week here! I'm a little overwhelmed. Seems like March came in like a lion......roaring with a ton of work!

I started my new job yesterday. I was hired by our school district to be a Para Educator for the rest of the school year. I have been subbing, and doing an after school program, but now I am an official employee. I'm loving my new job. I am working with first graders, and they are so much fun.

I am also getting ready for the Whatcom County Home and Garden Show this weekend. I will be at the Scentsy booth! If you get a chance, come by and say hi!

Sneak Attack

2011-02-27T14:55:00.001-08:00

Last Chance!

2011-02-27T10:28:00.000-08:00

Today and tomorrow are your last chances to get your favorite Scentsy fall/winter scents. Here's what's going away (maybe forever!).

Central Park Pralines
Christmas Cottage
Christmas Tree
Cozy Fireside
Clarity
Cranberry Spice
Eskimo Kiss
Gingersnap
Guava Nectar
Just Peachy, Ginger
Peligro
Pineapple Paradise
Poinsettia Pine
Pumpkin Roll
Rainforest
Rustic Lodge
Sentimental Cider
Snowberry
Spiced Grapefruit
Toasted Caramel Sugar
Tropical Twist
Twilight
Vanilla Suede
Vanilla Walnut
Winter Wonderland

All of these scents are 10% off this month. Now is a great time to stock up! Also, if you are making an online purchase, please click on "Africa Mission Trip Fundraiser" first. I am donating my whole commission from sales on this party to my Sister in law Tiffani and friend Tracie who are going on a mission trip to Africa this summer. Thank you for your support!

Stauffer Sunday

2011-02-23T11:20:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, when my Dad knew he was going to be visiting for the weekend, he asked if I could put a Stauffer Sunday together. A Stauffer Sunday is when the whole Stauffer crew gets together. For many, many years, this happened on the second Sunday of EVERY month. I grew up with this being a given. It's what we did. Sometimes we would complain about it, but most of the time we were excited to go see all the cousins. There are 14 cousins (plus my two step brothers makes 16). Growing up, before my parent's divorce, there were 23 family members that gathered. That didn't include any "adopted" family members. The Stauffers have an open door (or extra plate) policy. The family that hosted made the main dish, and the others were given food assignments. Each month we would celebrate that month's birthday's and anniversaries. On your birthday month, you were asked to give a speech. We would all gather before lunch, and Grandpa would ask you about your year, and your walk with Christ. He would ask about school and anything else you were up to. We hated giving our speeches! It was so embarrassing! Any other family announcements would happen here to. Engagements, babies, you name it. Then Grandpa would give a little sermon about what was on his heart. He would then pray for lunch, and the rush to the kitchen would begin.

We all have very fond memories of Stauffer Sundays. It was wonderful to grow up in such a close, loving family. The last few years we haven't carried on this tradition. The family has just gotten too big.

So when Dad asked me to host a Stauffer Sunday, I said.....well......we will see. When Grandpa passed away a few days later, I knew we needed a Stauffer Sunday as a family. I planned on doing tacos and everyone chimed in with food that they would bring.

The family has grown to over 70 people now. I was really nervous about having enough food, and enough room in my house! I made 15 pounds of taco meat!

We ended up with 52 people on Sunday! It was crazy! Kids were running around everywhere, my cousin's were wrestling on the floor with anyone they could grab (me included). The bigger kids (and a great Auntie that will remain anonymous) were playing Just Dance. And we had more food than we could all eat. It was comforting to us all to be surrounded by family.

My Dad's wish is that we can do a quarterly Stauffer Sunday. It's not easy, and we need a bigger space! Hopefully we can keep this tradition going in some way or another. I want my kids to grow up with the same family time.

Here's the crew from Sunday!

Auntie and Drew

2011-02-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

My sister just sent over a disk with family pictures. I had to laugh at the amount of Auntie and Drew pictures she had. This last one is from a year ago January. He has outgrown calling me "Auntie Hottie", which makes me sad. I'm now "Auntie Howee". He's still my little monkey boy!

Letter to Grandpa

2011-02-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

We had Grandpa's celebration of life today. It was a great service, with so many people! I was having a difficult time this morning. My head knows that Grandpa is in a better place, but my heart still hurts. All 16 of us grandkids were asked to write a letter to Grandpa. Some excerpts from these letters were read today. I debated whether to post my letter, but decided that it's good to share what an amazing man Grandpa was.

Dear Grandpa,

You were truly one of a kind. There will never be another like you. You were a giant in your faith, with a humble heart. While others talk of their faith, you walked, lived and breathed yours. You had the biggest heart of anyone I know. You freely gave a Christ like love.

One of my earliest memories was spending the night at your house and getting colored pancakes for breakfast. You would flip a rainbow of pancakes all morning long. Us kids thought you had magical pancake powers. And now Dad flips pancakes for my kids. You started a tradition that will be passed down for many generations.

Another fond childhood memory was skiing with you. Especially when you sent me down my first big hill by myself, and Dad had to try to catch me before I hit a tree.

You never had to preach about service, you showed us all how to serve others. You gave freely of your time and talents. I will never forget the times you helped drive tractor at our pumpkin festivals. Everyone loved getting a ride from Grandpa. You did this out of love (and for a cup of coffee). You were also known to sneak out to the "bathroom" while a group of us were out to eat, only to find that you were paying everyone's tab. You never wanted recognition for your service, it just gave you joy.

As kids we never knew how lucky we were to have Stauffer Sundays. Didn't everyone get together with their families every month? I can't tell you everyone's birthday, but we knew what month they celebrated. Your birthday month was when you had to give a "speech". While we fought that as kids, we also knew we were loved and cared for. We wanted to please you and give a good report every year.

When Nate was born, you exclaimed, "5 great grand daughters and one great grandson". You called him Nate the Great, which has stuck to this day.

I feel that I am the most blessed, because I had the best last moment with you. When I saw you last week, you gave me a hug and kissed my cheek. You said, "I love you very, very much". You then asked me to pray for dinner (because you almost "sinned" by taking a bite before prayer). You held my hand as we prayed. Grandpa, I will treasure that moment in my heart forever.

You have left the greatest legacy, your family. We will do our best to emulate everything you were and stood for. We will follow in your footsteps of service and love. We will tell the world about Christ. We will do all of these things because you showed us how.

I love you too Grandpa, very, very much!

Holly

Goodbye Grandpa

2011-02-17T23:17:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Stauffer went to be with his Lord on Tuesday. He is finally pain free! While this is difficult for us left behind, we know he is singing in Heaven with his boys. Grandpa had the biggest heart of anyone I have every known. We are all blessed to be a part of his legacy. I love you Grandpa, very, very much!

Grandpa's Letter

2011-02-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, Grandpa Stauffer called and wanted to know if I knew how to "do that email thing". He wanted to email The O'Reilly Factor with a viewer letter. So I told him I would help him out. Grandpa gave me a hand written letter, and then I deciphered his handwriting and emailed this letter. The letter is a great testament to who Grandpa is and what he stands for. I'm sharing this now for his grandchildren, so that they get a chance to see Grandpa's words.

I just finished and enjoyed, Pinheads and Patriots, very much. I am 82 years old so was affected much by the depression. My Dad was affected even more. He never borrowed a dime, all cash for cars, house, ect (personally). When the war started in 1939, he was forced out of contracting and moved to a farm given to him by his father in law. I bought my own farm in 1950 and raised 4 boys and 1 girl. I supplemented farm income (dairy and poultry) by 10 years driving a milk truck, 10 years as a fertilizer salesman and 26 years as an Insurance agent. Long days and hard work, but the rewards were 5 children, 16 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren. Lots of love, a wonderful wife and no regrets. I am a regular Factor watcher.

Alvin Stauffer
Lynden, Washington

Tale of the Teapots

2011-02-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

I LOVE coffee. And hot tea. And hot cocoa. And hot cider. Ok, you get the idea. When I'm cold, I like to drink something hot. I'm always cold! So I use my tea pot ALOT!

My morning routine consists of me starting a teapot of water first thing. I make my instant mocha, and Lily gets a hot cocoa. A couple weeks ago, I was following my normal routine, but forgot to check that there was actually water in the teapot, before I turned on the burner. Being that I have a brand new stove, within a few minutes, the empty tea pot had melted the plastic handle on the lid. The tea pot was still usable, except for the fact that hot steam would burn your hand when you picked it up.

So I bought a new tea pot. What I didn't realize, was that this tea pot didn't whistle. I'm known to start something and get distracted by another project. I rely on the whistle to remind me that I started a pot of water. So just a couple days after I bought the new tea pot, I was reminded of my forgetfulness by the sound of the smoke alarm. The tea pot had boiled until it was dry, then started melting (a very stinky smell!) and smoking, setting off the smoke alarm. Thank goodness for the smoke alarm!

So I had ruined two tea pots in a week. I had posted my tea pot adventures on Facebook, and my Aunt Joni felt sorry for me. She bought me a new tea pot. But she made sure that whistled. And boy does it whistle. It's the most annoying whistle there is......and that's a GOOD thing!

A friend also brought me an electric tea pot, that turns off on it's own. I'm starting to think that people were very worried about my safety!

Africa Mission Trip Fundraiser

2011-02-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend Tracie and my sister in law Tiffani are going on a mission trip to Africa this summer. I am so proud and excited for them. They are stepping out in faith. They are scared, but know that God will break their hearts.....in a good way. Here's Tiff's blog post where she tells why they are going to Africa. She made me cry with this post!

Mission trips are expensive. Both Tracie and Tiff are going fundraisers to cover the costs. I wanted to help, and the best way I can right now is a Scentsy fundraiser. I am donating my whole commission from all sales on their fundraiser. To help them out, click on my Scentsy logo on the side of the blog, then click on "buy from party" next to the Africa Mission Trip fundraiser. Then shop away.This fundraiser will be going the whole month of February. Thank you in advance for helping me, help them.

Uncle Dan is the Man!

2011-02-03T21:46:00.000-08:00

Dan was super Uncle today. He was up early to help get our nephews on the bus before school, then went out to babysit the other nephews for a few hours. He came home and offered to take my friend's kids for the evening so she could join us for girls night. Gotta say, he scored a TON of points with a lot of people today!!!

Pajama Day

2011-02-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

The kids had Pajama Day at school last week. I was getting ready that morning and told Lily to go get dressed. She looked at me with 13 year old attitude and told me, "Mommmmmm, it's pajama day, I don't have to get dressed!". Oops! Glad she remembered.

It hit me as we were walking to school that this is their last Pajama day together. Next year Nate will be in Middle School, and things will be different. I'm trying to cherish these last few things that they have together in Elementary School!

Tasty Tuesday...... A Few Days Late

2011-01-29T15:53:00.000-08:00

It was a crazy week, and I wanted to post a great recipe for Tasty Tuesday, and didn't have the time. So, I'm just a few days late. This recipe I have had for a few years, but finally perfected it around Christmas. A big thanks to my Aunt Joni, who made potato soup on Christmas Eve. She was listing the ingredients in her soup, and it gave me inspiration on how to make this one better. I have had many requests for this recipe, so I figure it's easier to post it and share with everyone. I was craving this all week, since we have been wet and cold. Something about warm soup is comforting on a soggy night. Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup
4 large baking potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
12 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 bunch green onions, diced
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
8 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Additional, cheese, green onions, and bacon to top

Bake potatoes until soft, cool. Scoop out pulp and reserve. In large dutch oven, melt butter, then add flour. Stir constantly until bubbly. Add milk, chicken bouillon and stir for 10 minutes on med heat until thick and bubbly. Add bacon, green onions, and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and stir until blended. Top with additional ingredients if desired.

Spring Sprint Portland

2011-01-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

I was blessed to get to travel to Portland to attend Scentsy's Spring Sprint. I had 4 of my team with me, two of which I had never met before. What an amazing time we had! We saw the new Spring/Summer products, listened to some great training, and took home new products! Really, my favorite part was being with my team. They are the sweetest people, and it was fun to hang out with them for the day. I can't wait for convention in Fort Worth!!

$1 Sweater

2011-01-24T13:58:00.000-08:00

I went to a consignment store the other day looking for a sweater for a photo shoot I was doing. I lucked out and found exactly what I was looking for on the $1 rack! I was so excited. Along with it, I found another sweater on the same rack and bought it also. I came home and threw both of them in the wash. I should know better, and SHOULD have read the labels. I guess I just got caught up in the excitement of cheap sweaters.

I pulled the sweaters out of the wash and found they had both shrunk to half of their size. I was so mad a myself! Both labels said that the sweaters were hand wash only. (I never buy things that are hand wash only, I just don't trust myself to remember that). The one "fuzzy" sweater I bought was some sort of rabbit hair? It's so small it will fit Lily now! And all that "fuz" that was once on the sweater, stuck to all the towels that were in that load. For the last few days we have been pulling "fuz" off of ourselves after toweling off after a shower.

So lesson learned, check labels when buying clothes. And it's not a bargain if you shrink the sweaters!

Visit with Grandpa

2011-01-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

I stopped by my Grandparent's house today to say hi. Grandpa Stauffer has had cancer for years. He fought the first two go arounds, and now that it has spread to his bones, he doesn't want to go through that again. He was really deteriorating over Christmas, and we really didn't know how much longer he had. This last week, I had heard he went out to a funeral and was getting up and around some. I had to go see this for myself.

When I stopped by today, Grandpa was getting ready for the visiting nurse to stop by for his bath. She showed up not long after me, and brought him back out to the living room in his wheel chair all cleaned up. He looked better than I had seen him in months! I leaned over and told Grandpa that he looked handsome. He gave me a funny look and repeated back what he thought I said, "You bought a bottle of infamil?". Grandma and I just busted out laughing. I repeated what I first had said, and he laughed too. I told him I understood, because I used to be deaf too! Grandpa might be losing his hearing, but he still has the biggest heart around.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2011-01-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

My poor husband (literally) always comes home to a big honey do list. This time there were some very pressing things that needed to be done/fixed. The oven had just broken (needed a new heating element) and the pellet stove needed a new igniter. Along with that, we were down to our last bag of pellets, and needed two tons. I had ordered the part for the oven so that it was ready when Dan got home. Ok, so I ordered what I thought was the right part. Dan headed out to get the parts needed and came home with a NEW stove and a NEW dishwasher! Happy Birthday to me! Who knew that a new stove and dishwasher could be so exciting! No more rust stains on my dishes! And my stove heats my tea pot pretty quick. Lily was impressed at how fast I made her hot chocolate! Dan also got the pellet stove fixed, and two tons of pellets in the carport. Pretty impressive!!

Birthday Weekend

2011-01-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

I had a great Birthday weekend out at Birch Bay. I had my 5th annual Girls Night on Friday night. My 8 besties came out for a night of giggles. We all look forward to our girl time, all year long! The next night the family came out to the condo to celebrate Drew and my birthdays. I had Nate and Drew that night in my room, and they stayed up late watching movies. What a memorable weekend!

Why I do what I do

2011-01-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

My Scentsy story is a good one. It's about timing and changing my life. My girlfriend had been raving about Scentsy for two years before she finally just bought me one as a Christmas gift. I loved it as soon as it warmed up. For a week my house smelled fabulous from one little cube of wax. The scent was Toasted Apple Butter, and to this day, that scent reminds me of why I fell in love with Scentsy. A few weeks later I was invited to a Scentsy party, and was the only one there who had my own Scentsy already. After hearing that I could make a business out of something I love, I signed up. At the time I was going to college full time, so I didn't have time to do parties, but still sold a bit to friends and family. After I graduated that spring, I jumped into my Scentsy business. And that's what it is, MY business. It will grow or fail, depending on ME. And while I have had ups and downs, I know I am in this for the long run.

What I never imagined happening, was growth. I have become more confident in myself as a person. I'm not just a Mom and Wife. I am a business owner. I have gained friendships, and gotten out of my circle of friends. I have gotten to travel and see new places. I get to have coffee with my Scentsy sisters and talk about our passion for this company. These same "sisters" are some of my biggest cheer leaders, and I am theirs.

There is no way I could sell Scentsy if I didn't stand behind the company 100%. What's great is that they stand behind their consultants. They work hard to help us be successful. They busted their tails to make sure everyone had orders in time for Christmas. I had a customer place an order on the 20th of December, and she had her Scentsy on Christmas Eve. Scentsy Rocks!

My financial goals have a purpose. I want to be able to make enough money to get my husband off the tug boats. It's difficult with him being gone as much as he is, and a shore side job would mean so much to our family. When you have a purpose, it's much easier to reach for those goals.

Scentsy just announced a new start up kit. It's the best one yet. For only $99 plus tax and shipping, you get his whole kit! (contents may vary)

Do you have a New Years Goal? What would a couple hundred dollars mean to you every month? Mommy money? A car payment?

Click on the Scentsy logo on the side of the blog and visit my website. Click on Join to learn more. Contact me with any questions!

Oh, and for January, we have Bring Back My Bar. 20 discontinued scents that we voted on to bring back. Guess which one I voted for??? Toasted Apple Butter! Available this month only, in bar form!

Have a Scentsational Day!!

Tasty Tuesdays!

2011-01-04T13:47:00.000-08:00

I made a yummy soup yesterday and am enjoying the leftovers for lunch. It's a healthy soup, loaded with flavor. Hope you enjoy!

Pizza Soup

1/2 lb Italian turkey sausage links, sliced, casings removed
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
3 cups water
2 tbsp chicken bouillion
1 tbsp Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 tsp dried basil

Brown first five ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.

Goodbye 2010

2010-12-31T16:23:00.000-08:00

I always wonder how time flies so fast! It feels like I was just writing my Goodbye 2009 post. I just looked back and saw my goals for 2010. I have to say I did a great job with them. I finally took control of some health problems, resulting in two ear surgeries and many trips to the chiropractor. And I have to say, it was well worth the pain! I have been good about visiting my Grandparents more, and have plans in place to continue with that. (Side note, please pray for my Grandpa Stauffer who is struggling with great pain from cancer). While I still struggle every day with giving God control of my life, he has shown me glimpses of how his plan is greater than mine. I met goals with my Scentsy business, and have set new ones for next year.

It's been a great year, and I am thankful for the blessings we received. I feel it was a growing year, learning lessons and seeing God's wisdom.

Praying that you all have a safe and Happy New Year!

Christmas Blessings

2010-12-26T20:09:00.000-08:00

It's been a wonderful Christmas. It was only a few years ago that we would cram 6-7 Christmas celebrations into two days. Now it's down to 6 total, spread out over a few weeks. The only thing that could have made this better would have been to have Dan home. He tends to be working every other year, and this was his year. We have been very blessed and I am grateful to have this holiday season with the rest of the family.

Christmas #5 will be here today with my Dad and Step Mom. It's a wild and crazy crew, and I better go hide the breakables. Click here to see how last year ended up.

Here's a few of the pictures from the Christmas celebrations so far. Hoping you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Gifts from the heart

2010-12-18T20:24:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I was struggling with what to get my grandparents for Christmas. It's not like they need anything. I know they love to have me come visit, so I came up with a great idea. I made them certificates for the Bread of the Month Club. Once a month I made the designated bread and delivered it to them. They loved it, and were always happy to see me. This also gave me a reminder to go visit them more often. Lately I have been making a lot of soups and have been bringing some over to the grandparents to share. So for this year, my grandparents are getting certificates for the Soup of the Month Club. I printed out the schedule of soups, and bought some containers to deliver them in. I figure one big batch of soup will be enough for both sets of grandparents, and then I make the rounds to deliver it.

So maybe soup and bread are not your thing. Maybe you could do a muffin club, or cookie club. The idea to make gifts from the heart, and give your time.

Yes, I am Auntie Hottie

2010-12-13T14:01:00.000-08:00

I had to get this on video before he stops calling me Auntie Hottie!

Bad words vs Inappropriate words

2010-12-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

Lily has been the bad word police this week. She told me that her friend had to turn the volume off on the movie they were watching because it was saying bad words. I was assured that there were no bad words in that movie by her friends Mom. Lily told us the movie said the "s" word.......stupid. I have always told the kids they were not allowed to say stupid. It's just not something I wanted them to call people. Just like shut up. It's just not allowed. Problem is, Lily thinks they are bad words. So Lily and I had a talk about how some words are not bad words, just inappropriate words. I hope she understood what I was talking about. I can just see her telling her teacher that some classmate said the "s" word and the poor kid gets sent to the office for saying stupid.

Scentsy News

2010-12-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

TA DA!!!

I am super excited that I made Scentsy DIRECTOR! This is a huge accomplishment and even more that I got there a month before my goal date. I am so thankful for Scentsy and the opportunities it gives it's consultants. I now get to name my team and go to Boot Camp in March!

This summer, Scentsy had an incentive where you could earn certain prizes. I earned an ipod nano and I got mine yesterday. I spent a couple hours playing with it last night. It's super small! Lily is pumped because now she gets my old mp3 player. (What's really sad is all I had to show her was the on and off switch. She had that puppy figured out in 2 seconds flat. We won't talk about how long it took me the first day.....).

Need great gift ideas? Check out my Scentsy website. From stocking stuffers like scent circles, travel tins, room sprays and fragrance foams to great teacher gifts like plug ins and scent packs. My favorite holiday scents right now are Christmas cottage and Eskimo Kiss. And don't forget about Scentsy Buddies. What a great cuddly gift for the child on your list!

Click on the Scentsy logo on the side of the blog to shop! Thank you!

Christmas Projects

2010-12-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or are there five million projects that need to be done in the next few weeks? I'm feeling very overwhelmed (which is normal for this time of year!). Just when I think I am getting somewhere, five new things pop up. I started making lists, but then keep forgetting them at home. Yesterday I made a list of things that had to get done that day. I think I will keep this up. If I can just get certain projects done and out of the way, I can focus on the day to day projects. So what have I been working on you ask? (Thanks for asking!). Here's just a few, and mind you, I can't share them all because they are gifts!

Project Pace (after school program that I work at school). I'm filling 70 frappacinno jars with cocoa mix and mini marshmallows. The kids will decorate them and add a gift tag.
Baskets for Christmas presents (homemade goodies inside).
Shutterfly book for a Christmas present ( gotta say, it turned out so cute, I bought one for myself. Really defeated the purpose of a free book!).
Christmas shopping.....slowly but surely I will get it all done.....the list is BIG.
Christmas cards are finally done and mailed. 120 cards in all!

That's just a few things. What's your projects??

Snow Family 2010

2010-12-04T20:59:00.000-08:00

Here it is, our annual family photo. A big thank you to my sister Amy who took the picture!!

Black Friday

2010-11-26T22:49:00.000-08:00

I survived another great Black Friday. If you are new, here's the link to last years Black Friday post. This year we added a few more things to do and NOT do on Black Friday!

DO NOT go to Walmart! We went once and it was not worth our time. Today I heard that friends of mine were trampled at Walmart. Walmart shoppers are just a different kind of crazy!
Find the hidden registers! Today we got in line for the pharmacy in Target and saved getting in the line that wrapped around the whole store! At Sears we found only one person in line in the shoe department.
Make friends with the people around you in line. They may just grab you the 2nd to last external hard drive!
Make sure you double check your coupons from the paper. I thought I had a great coupon for Old Navy, only to see that it was for Thursday. Oops! We did have a coupon code that worked, so all was good.
Share coupons you don't use. Mom shared a 15% off coupon with a lady with a cart full of things at Kohls. Probably saved her $30!

This is the day the Lord has made

2010-11-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

I have had a rough week. One of those, is it over yet weeks. Nate's bike was stolen from our carport. I over committed myself to too many things. We are in the middle of a fierce freezing wind storm, making everything more difficult. I was worried about losing power last night and couldn't find the keys to the generator. The wind broke my front screen door, ripping it right out of the frame. It's now bungee corded to the front door. I hurt my ankle trying to get the screen door to just stay closed (don't ask why I thought kicking it would work). The smoke alarm keeps going off randomly (because of the cold wind). So I haven't been sleeping well, and am fighting a cold, making everything more challenging.

As I was grumbling about all of this, the song "This is the day the Lord has made" came into my head. It's an old hymn that I haven't sung in years. It was one of my favorites at camp. At camp, everything is great, fun and perfect. So of course you can sing with all conviction that "this is the day the Lord has made, I will be glad and rejoice in it".

Of course today I am struggling with the "I will be glad and rejoice in it". I do have so much to be thankful for, that I need to stop getting caught up in the daily battle. I need to rejoice in today, even if today sucks. I may not feel like Super Mom this week, but I can be thankful and rejoice in things that I take for granted.

Everyone's been posting their thankfulness lists this month. I truly am thankful, but just didn't feel like making my list. I really think it is important to make the list, knowing that the list will never be complete. Things that are frustrating now, may just be something we are thankful for next year.

So here are just a few of my things I am thankful for. I will rejoice in these things. God made this day, and I may not like how things go, but he's made this day for me!!

I am thankful that my kids are good students. I am thankful for their caring teachers and staff at their school.
I am thankful for power. Thankful that I have heat and food and all the modern convinences.
I am thankful for a husband who makes so many sacrifices for our family.
I am thankful for my extended family and how much they help me out.
I am thankful for the technology and surgeon that were able to fix my genetic hearing loss.
I am thankful for the soldiers and their families who make great sacrifices for our country.
I am thankful for my church and the freedom to worship as I please.
I am thankful for my friends who are there to lend and ear when needed.
I am thankful that God is not finished with me yet. He's teaching me every day, and while I may not like the lessons, he knows what's best for me.

Poor Hobbs

2010-11-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

Poor Hobbs. It doesn't look like HE likes to play dress up.

Snowy Morning

2010-11-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

We have a very cold snowy morning here. We have just a dusting of snow, and my kids would be out playing in it, except for the 30 mph gusty northeastern winds. Puts our wind chill at about 15 degrees right now. Lily's dance class was canceled so we are having a lazy morning in our jammies.

I started working on Christmas cards this week. For the first time ever, I decided to look in my Christmas bins and see what I had, BEFORE I started. I couldn't believe what I found. 4 different boxes of cards, 3 packages of photo letters, and 7 packages of stationary. I already gave a heads up to all my family and friends, don't compare Christmas cards from me! My goal is to use up most of it so that I can start fresh for next year. (More like buy all of the same at the after Christmas sale).

Our family picture is done, and I have done a test run copy from Costco. I learned years ago to do a test run before printing 120 copies. I was glad I did, because my file was bad and the resolution was very poor. A big thank you to my sister Amy Parsons. The day we did our family pictures, my family had on grumpy pants. Mainly the little missy, but the "boys" weren't helping. After 15 minutes I threw in the towel. Amy did her magic and got us a great family photo. She truly is the BEST!!

So I am breaking my rule of "NO Christmas music before Thanksgiving" and listening to "Let it snow". It's fitting for the day, and I am getting in the mood to get my Christmas letter done. I will post the new photo once I get all the cards out. Everyone stay warm today and be safe on the roads!

Christmas Ideas

2010-11-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

I'm the family member that everyone calls for gift ideas. I can't always help, but I do my best. Years ago I had the idea of making a family cookbook. I told everyone to get me the recipes, and I would do the rest. I never received a single recipe. This idea has been on the back burner for years. So this year my Mom stepped up the plate, gave everyone a deadline and is putting a book together. It's a photo book, with recipes. She's doing it as a gift for Grandma (Grandma doesn't have a computer, so I can share this with you.....just don't tell her!). The rest of us can purchase a copy too.

Photo books are a great Christmas gift. My sister started making me an annual family album as a birthday gift, and now she's so busy, I make my own. We have put many different kinds of books together. One for Grandma and Grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary. One of Lily and Emma having a tea party (I will treasure that one forever). There's also one from a camping trip, and one of our award winning sand castle. Last year I made an ABC book for my nieces and nephews. I found pictures of Nate and Lily for every letter in the alphabet. It was a cute book and a fun gift. You could make your own I Spy book. Take pictures of your kids toy box, messy room, ect and add text for things to find.

I like to do my books through Shutterfly, but you can also use Walmart, Photoworks, Kodak, ect. I like how user friendly Shutterfly is, and they ship out quickly. Watch for sales, all of the site are promoting these books right now, so get a good deal!

Auntie Hottie

2010-11-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

Drew is my favorite nephew right now. I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but how can you resist a tiny little angelic face that says, "I love Auntie Hottie". It just melts my heart every time!!

He's also making up for the fact that his brothers called me Auntie Woof Woof. They were about Drew's age, and I have dogs, so to them it made sense.

The twins have also started chanting an old favorite rhyme of theirs.

Enie meanie miney mo
Catch a tiger by the toe
Auntie Holly LET HIM GO
Enie meanie miney mo.

Gotta love those boys!

Tasty Tuesdays!

2010-11-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Wooo hoo, I remembered Tasty Tuesdays!

Today's tip is about prep work. I learned years ago while working at a sandwich shop, that when you have all the ingredients prepped in front of you, making sandwiches was fun....and yummy! I hate making fresh sandwiches now, because I don't have all the options I want.

Tonight's dinner is a stir fry, and it really only takes 20 minutes (after 20 minutes of prep work). The best thing to do is think ahead and have all the prep work done. Maybe this is while the kids are napping, or maybe the night before, whatever works for you.

This helps with many other things too. Like packing the kid's lunches. I try to have things like veggies already cut up into little baggies, and easy for me to grab in the morning when I'm throwing their lunches together. So many things are made easier if the prep work is done ahead of time. So think ahead. On nights with sports practices, you know you will be rushed at dinner, so have the prep work done ahead of time. It's also great to think a couple days ahead. Say you need chicken tonight, then cook up double, so that the chicken is pre cooked for later in the week.

This is one of my favorites, so enjoy!!

Cashew Chicken

1 1/2 cups boneless, skinless chicken, cubed
2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 1/4 cups boiling water
4 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 8 oz can water chestnuts
1 cup cashews

Hot cooked rice or Chinese rice noodles.

In saucepan, combine bouillon, water, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and ginger, mix well. In large wok, brown chicken in EVOO. Add bouillon mix, stir until slightly thickened. Add mushrooms, green onions, celery and water chestnuts, simmer for 5- 10 minutes. Add cashews and serve over rice or noodles.

I Survived

2010-11-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

Surgery on my ear went well. I am thankful that they listened to me when I said I get very dizzy and nauseous. They gave me a patch that helped for the first two days. I'm still dizzy and nauseous, but it's getting better. I can actually hear a little bit out of my right ear! Last time it took 10 days for the swelling to go down, and almost 6 weeks before I had pre-surgery hearing back. My taste buds are still messed up and I don't feel like eating, but that was expected. A big thank you to my hubby for being a great nurse! Thank you to everyone for their prayers, I really appreciate them!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T22:18:00.000-07:00

The kids had a blast at their Halloween parties at school. Their school has a fun tradition of parading each class through each classroom, so everyone can see all the costumes. I was a bit sad that this is the last year for Nate! This first picture is when Nate came through Lily's class.

This is the first year we have all four dressed up. Nate wanted to be Commander Cody and he talked Lily into being Ahsoka. (Star Wars, Clone Wars). Then Dan said we should be Anakin and Padme. I had to find the costumes online, but after some research, got the right costumes, with the correct weapons. Our Trick or Treating is a trek across the whole county to see friends and family. It takes all night, and we only hit 9 houses. Here's our first stop at Aunt Ruthi's.

As we headed out tonight, Dan remembered that we needed to stop for gas. There was NO WAY I was getting out in my costume, so Dan had to pump gas. Some Canadians drove by and waved, and got a good laugh at us. The kids popped up through the sunroof in the car and were "protecting" it while we got gas.

Our nephews were waiting all night for Nate and Lily to stop by.

We always get a picture of the kids together at Grandma and Grandpa Dennison's house. We had to move them to the big couch this year because the kids are getting big! Big props to my sister in law Tiff who made all four kid's costumes!

The last stop of the night was Mom's. I had to get a picture of Dan's dress (or fairy princess dress as he called it). We had a great time tonight, but I'm not making a habit of dressing up every year. I'm fine with going back to my "costume" as the paparazzi of the night.

Who are you today?

2010-10-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I was subbing at school as a Para Educator. I was in the cafeteria telling kids to eat, stay in their seats, and sneaking a bite of cookie from Nate's lunch (I was hungry!). Our principle came up to me and asked in all seriousness, "Who are you today?". Some people might get offended by the question, since he's known me for 5 years now. But I knew what he was getting at. What he wanted to know who I was subbing for that day.

That question stuck with me for days. Who am I today? When I am at the school, I wear many hats. Some days I am a substitute. Some days I am a volunteer. Some days I am PTO Vice-President. I am always Nate's Mom and Lily's Mom. Some kids call me Holly, most call me Mrs. Snow. (They can get away with calling me Holly if they are kids who come visit my house).

Those are just the hats I wear at school. Everyday I wear the hat of Mom. Everyday I wear the hat of Wife. I'm also a daughter, sister, sister in law, Auntie, Scentsy consultant, and friend. Don't forget, cook, maid, chauffeur, baker, shopper, bookkeeper, and keeper of the calendar. That's a lot of hats to wear.

I struggle with juggling all those hats. I like to keep everyone happy, and sometimes wear too many hats at once. Holidays are the worst. Seems like I need to have every hat on at once, trying to make everything work. I know this is a struggle for most Moms. I was talking to a friend the other day who said she's having hard time wearing the working Mom hat.

When I went back to college two years ago, I put on the new hat of student. Other hats had to be put aside for that year, and some hats just were put on less. It was necessary for my sanity (and GPA) to leave that student hat on and treat myself as a student.

Next week I have to put on the hat of patient. I'm not good at that hat. Other hats will have to be put away for a couple weeks while I recover from surgery. I'm feeling guilty about this. I just need to keep telling myself that it's temporary.

What hats do you struggle with?

Who are you today?

It's Offical

2010-10-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

We officially have the plaque on our wall. We get to keep this for the next year.....hopefully two because my name is going on it next year!!

Here I go again!

2010-10-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

Today starts all the pre op appointments for my surgery next week. I am having surgery on my right ear this time. Same surgery as last May. I was telling my sister in law that this is kinda like childbirth. I know what to expect this time, I know I can handle it, but I know it will suck! The pain isn't the problem, it's the 14 days of being super dizzy. And the throwing up. And the loss of taste. Speaking of.....the surgeon was telling me that they have to move the nerve that affect taste, and that's why I lose my taste buds for a couple days. I'm trying to stay positive, but I know it's a long road before I feel better and notice a difference in hearing (last time it was 6 weeks before I had pre-surgery hearing back, and 3 months before I really noticed an improvement). Please keep me in your prayers. Thank you!

A Word From My Sponsors

2010-10-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I don't really have any sponsors, but you will notice the friendly faces on the side of the blog. Amy Parsons is my sister. My very talented sister. I like to brag about her talents, but you really have to see them to believe. She is an amazing photographer. She knows how to get the natural smile out of people. No, she does not pay me to say nice things about her and put a plug on my blog (she does take my family pictures every year for my Christmas cards though!). Click on the link and take a peek at her website!

Next up is my brother Marty Stauffer. Marty is a great insurance agent, who truly cares about his clients. He looks out for your best interest. Marty saved us a ton of money this year when the insurance company raised our premiums 85%. He found ways to lower the cost without hurting our coverage. Give him a call for a no hassle, no obligation quote. (Note, Marty will take me to lunch for sending him referrals, so keep that in mind!).

Wayne Gardner is my step-dad. He's the owner and broker of Valley Land and Homes. He is a hard worker who will help you find exactly what you want in a home. He also does property management and will help you find a rental or renters. He's an honest friendly guy who will help you with your real estate needs. Give him a call, or check out his website.

And don't forget to check out my Scentsy website. We have new warmers and scents each month, so there is always something new to see. Silver Bells is November's scent of the month. I made up samples yesterday and will mail them out to anyone who is interested! There are only 7 more weeks to order before Christmas! Book your party now to earn Christmas gifts. Scent circles make great stocking stuffers. Too busy for a home party? I have basket parties ready to send out.

From my family and I, thank you for your support!