Trip to Oregon

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??

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

School Days

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!

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

BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

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

I see cheer leading in her future!

Lily's Dance Recital

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

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

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!

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

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?

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

Last Chance!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!

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.