Round Two

I am finally feeling like a human being again. After a week of fever, sniffing, sneezing, dizzy spells, coughing...I am finally feeling like I may just kick this stuff. However....not much celebrating going on around here. On Tuesday, Makenzie's school called and I had to pick her up because she was running a temp. It is now Thursday and BOTH her and Caleb are sick with the same thing. They both have high fevers and the sniffles. Will this EVER END?!?!?!?! I am feeling a bit defeated. Scott and I were supposed to leave today for a weekend in McCall. Not happening. Bummer.

Looking on the "bright side", today starts a week of vacation for Scott. At least I get to be out of the house for about an hour today. I have an apt to get my hair cut. I haven't had it cut since...November, I think. I had planned to grow it out a bit, but the longer it gets the more I remember WHY it is short. I like my hair better short.

I feel like I need to mention how awesome my husband is! For the past week with all of us sick (besides him...how did he escape this??) , he has been a huge help. When he is at work he is constantly texting or calling me to see how we are all feeling, to see if we need anything. When he is leaving work he calls to see if he needs to stop at the store for more medicine, juice, soup, whatever. He has taken care of dinner each night, he has even made a special trip to the store to buy the kids each a little stuffed animal so that he could give them a special "treat" when he came home. Last night he went out to the store and came home with all the kids' favorite snacks. Those may sound trivial to some, but it just shows that he thinks about us and cares enough to do the "little things" to make us happy. He is an amazing husband and father. I am truly blessed! Thanks, Babe, for all of your help this past week. I love you!

Sick of Sickness

I hate being sick. I have SO much to do and no energy to move. I have a temp of 101, chills, am dizzy, coughing, sneezing...SICKNESS STINKS!!
Ok, I'm done with my pity party...for now.
I'm very grateful for my laptop today. Getting bored laying in bed watching nothing on TV.

Nothing

That's what has happened this week....nothing. We did go to our first meeting with our new home team on Tuesday night. That was a lot of fun. We have a great group and are looking forward to getting to know them all better. I was in bed all day yesterday with a temperature of 101. Glad to say I am feeling better today. Not sure what that was all about, but it wasn't fun. Tonight is the Worship Team party. I'm looking forward to some fun. Then tomorrow morning is the Ladies Tea at the church. Maybe after this weekend I will have something interesting to blog about. Maybe......

Quality Time

Yesterday Scott and I were able to get away and have a "date day". We started the day by going to church with a friend who was having a special ordination service. It was great seeing friends we hadn't seen in a while and catching up. After church we went to Chili's and had a light lunch. It's always so nice to sit at a restaurant and eat without the cries, arguing, and chaos of children. We ate and enjoyed a peaceful time together. After lunch we went to see The Bucket List. It was pretty funny. We had a lot of laughs. After the movie we went to the mall. I was in desperate need of new walking shoes. Here's part of the reason I hate shopping...especially for shoes: The smallest size most decent shoe stores carry is 6. I wear a 5. This means that if I want to find something that fits me I have to go to the kid section. I'm not a fan of wearing shoes that light up or have pictures of Bratz or Hannah Montana on the side. For this reason we had to go to MANY different stores before we FINALLY found a pair of kid shoes that didn't look like kid shoes. After the long and tiring shoe hunt we needed a little bit of a "pick-me-up", so we ended up at the Cheesecake Factory. What a great way to end the perfect day! We enjoyed our cheesecake and coffee and then headed back to Scott's parent's house to pick up the kiddos. We sat and visited with them for a while and then packed up the kids and headed home. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and watching TV. It was such a great day. I am looking forward to today, too. My friend, Erin, and I are going to see 27 Dresses. I am looking forward to spending some time with her. We haven't had a chance to hang out in a while.

Feeling Blessed

I was listening to this song today and was feeling so overwhelmed at how blessed I feel. I have an amazing husband, wonderful children, the best family anyone could ask for, and awesome friends. God has blessed me with so much that I am so undeserving of. Here are the lyrics to the song:

YOU HAVE BEEN GOOD
(by Scott Krippayne)

If I never get to see another rainbow,
Or share another life with a friend.
If I never stand barefoot by the ocean,
Or get to kiss my child goodnight again.
If I never have another prayer that's answered,
Or have another blessing come my way.
If this is all I know of heaven's kindness,
Father I would still have to say...

You have been good, You have been good,
And I may've wondered how could it be?
You have been good, You've been so good.
So many ways, You've been good to me.

You've shown me mercy upon mercy,
Grace upon grace, Time after time.
And I know all too well what I'm deserving,
Yet You are still so patient and kind.

You have been good, You have been good,
And I may've wondered how could it be?
You have been good, You've been so good.
So many ways, You've been good to me.

Suddenly it all were ended,
And your past sins disappear.
Looking back over a lifetime,
The evidence is clear...

You have been good, You have been good,
And I may've wondered how could it be?
You have been good, You've been so good.
So many ways, You've been good to me.

Just For Fun

This is courtesy of Mama Lisa. I love to read these because it seems I always learn something new about the person who fills it out. Please feel free to post this as well. I look forward to reading your answers!

A - Available or single: I am very happily married!
B - Best friends: Scott is my very best friend. We laugh all the time and have so much fun together.
C - Cake or pie: I would have to say cheesecake. I guess that would be a cake and pie at the same time.
D - Drink of choice: Coffee & tea. I like them both hot or iced.
E - Essential item I use everyday: Well, there are the obvious...toothbrush, deodorant, etc. But seeing as this is so you can learn something you may not know about me, I would have to say...chapstick. I cannot go to sleep without putting chapstick on.
F - Favorite colors: In clothing I like blacks and browns. Boring, I know. Other than that I don't really have a preference. I am drawn to very bright colors, but I don't have any in my house.
G - Gummy bears or gummy worms: I am not a fan of gummy anything. My kids LOVE gummy worms though. I will try to eat one once in a while but I have a hard time getting past the texture.
H - Hometown: I was born in Portland, lived in Wyoming from the time I can remember until I was 9, then moved to Boise. I consider Boise my hometown.
I - Indulgence: HOT bubble bath with a good book. This is my "me" time at the end of the day.
J - January or February: February. It is closer to the end of winter!
K - Kids and names: Makenzie Denae and Caleb Bishop. I also have 2 step-daughters that I adore. Brittany Nichole and Camille Ashlyn.
L - Life is incomplete without: God and Family.
M - Marriage date: October 21, 1995
N - Number of siblings: 2 sisters and 1 brother
O - Oranges or apples: Apples. I like really sour green apples with a sprinkle of salt on them. Mmmm...my mouth waters just thinking about it.
P - Phobias or fears: I hate being dirty. I don't think that is a phobia, but I hate it when my kids or myself get dirty. I hate when there is a mess, clutter, or chaos. It stresses me out. But I am freaked out by snakes. They give me the creeps. And I have a fear of my children getting hurt. Crazy, I know, but I can't help it.
Q - Quote I love: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
R - Reason to smile: I am loved and blessed with an amazing family!
S - Season: Summer. I LOVE the heat!
T - Tag: I tag anyone who reads this. I love to learn more about people.
U - Unknown fact about me: Hmmm...this is a tricky one. Everyone knows so much about me already. Ok, so, I won an award for playing the piano in a competition when I was a teen.
V - Vegetable that you don't like: Beets. They taste like dirt.
W - Worst habit: Telling my kids to be careful. And worrying.
X - I just noticed there is no question for X. I will make up my own. X-rays: Once when I was a kid and I sprained my wrist Indian leg wrestling with my sister. Lame.
Y - Your favorite food: I love Chinese food. But I could eat popcorn everyday.
Z - Zodiac sign: Scorpio. But I don't put a lot of stock into signs.

Not much...

I haven't done anything exciting lately and felt there was really nothing to blog about. Since I look at everyone else's blog each day and am bummed when there isn't anything new to read, I figured I could at least update my own. That way the one or two of you who are reading this (thanks mom!) have something new! :0)

I too was won over by the new store, Steve & Barry's. I went twice this past week and bought some fun stuff. You can't beat a new pair of jeans for $8.98! There was also a great sale going on at Old Navy. We were able to get a lot of stuff for CHEAP! Gotta love that!

Our friends, Tom and Lorene, came for dinner on Thursday night. We had a great time catching up with them.

Yesterday was a relaxing day. I was feeling the need for a little "me time", so I left the kids at home with Scott and I went to my parents house where my mom, sister, and I spent the afternoon playing Canasta. I haven't played since I was a kid, but it all came back pretty quick. I am looking forward to many more Canasta games with them!

White as Snow

I admit, I am not a big fan of the snow. I hate being cold, and I hate driving in it. However, today I am feeling an overwhelming sense of God in the snow. Corny? Maybe. But there is something about looking outside and seeing everything in a new light. The dirty, empty, brown field behind my house is now clean, full, and bright. It brings to mind all the songs that use the word picture of being "white as snow" when God forgives our sins. Snow makes even the most ugly of things beautiful. The dark looks bright. The dirty looks clean once again. Today I am thankful for the snow. I am thankful that I have a wonderful, cozy, warm home to be in. I am thankful that I have a safe and warm vehicle to drive. I am thankful that my family has warm clothes, shoes, and coats to wear. I am thankful for coffee! :0) I am most thankful to God for making me white as snow.

Whew!

Our friends, Kerry and Sara, left today to fly back to Oregon. They have been here for the past 8 days. We had a lot of fun. We played Wii, ate, laughed, went to the movies, had a blast at my parents on New Year's Eve, and basically just had a great time laughing and hanging out. It was nice having them here, and now I am ready to get back into the everyday routine. Makenzie is back to school. She went back on Thursday. I am looking forward to this weekend. Scott doesn't have to work and has no obligations with the worship team at church. We get to sleep in tomorrow and veg all day. Then we will head to church tomorrow night, and after that we are going to our friends house to hang out. We haven't been over there in a while, so it will be nice to catch up after the hoidays. Sunday we have NO PLANS! I love days when we have nothing scheduled. We usually find something to do, but it's nice to be able to just wing it. Well, seeing as I really have nothing exciting to write about, I will go and snuggle with my kiddos for a bit before they head off to bed. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Welcome 2008

It is officially 2008. We had a great New Year's Eve. We spent the evening at my parent's house. Our friends K & S from Oregon are still here and Mike, Brenda, and Taylor Fick joined us for the fun. After a delicious meal of homemade mexican food (thanks mom!) and fabulous homemade cinnamon rolls (thanks Brenda!), we spent the evening playing and laughing...lots of laughing. Most of the guys ended up in the living room playing golf on the Wii and the rest of us played a dice game in the dining room. It was the most and hardest I have laughed in a long time.
I can't believe that 2007 has come and gone. So much happened for us in that year. We were blessed to be able to come back home. I am thankful every day. I hope that no matter how bad or good 2007 was for you, that 2008 will be a year to remember. My motto for 2008 is "Pray Big". God has so much that He wants to give us, He is just waiting for us to ask. Let's ask!