In Touch

the kids...

2012-02-17T14:58:00.001-07:00

my kids can make friends with anyone! they had them named and everything. ;) crazy kids!

the kids and their "towing business", jayden and her backwards overalls (personally
i think overalls are hard enough to put on, but to manage to get them on backwards...
now that's talent!), and jacee on her"bike".

jacee's 1!

2012-02-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

well, my baby's not a baby anymore. she's a big one year old. we took her in for her 1 year check up yesterday and she's 29 inches, and 19.8lbs she is growing to be such a big girl. she's really into twinkle, twinkle and playing with her brother and sister. she's pretty good at wrestling with them. she likes to take her sister by the neck and take her down. it's actually really funny to watch. she LOVES her new big girl carseat and she kicks and giggles everytime we get in the car now. what a little cutie pie!

"mom, obviously you weren't listening to yourself!"

2011-12-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

well, i had to run some errands, paysome bills and make a few quick stops the other day. so, i decided i would take jacob. the girls were going to stay with "gwammy ynda" and jacob would come with me. well, first stop was walgreens for medicine for jacee and while we were walking around, jacob kept asking for toys. what a teaching opportunity, i thought. so, i told him that instead of thinking of ourselves we needed to be thinking of others. he could buy something for one of his sisters if he wanted, or buy for a child who doesn't have many or any toys... we went on and you could tell his little mind was working. well, we got the medicine and went on to mcdonalds... i was starving! so i got a french fry and shared it with jacob and then we went on to pay some bills. we paid the phone bill and then i wanted to stop and look at goodwill for a few minutes and i got a few crafty things and then i was ready to check out... but, not before checking out the purses. ;) so, i was looking at them and showing jacob all of them in their beauty. when, i showed jacob one and asked if i should get it for myself he pointed out the obvious... when he said..."mom, we need to have a talk...obviously you weren't listening to yourself! this is the season to think of other people not yourself! if you buy that purse for yourself that would be very selfish! so, put the purse down and lets go!" so, on that note... we left! gotta' love kids!

so it was 2 weeks ago...

2011-11-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

it was almost 11:00 at night and i was already in bed when i heard crying in jacob's room. he was supposed to be sleeping, as we put him in bed at 8:30. when i went in there to find out what was wrong, he told me he was scared to die. i asked him why, but he couldn't tell me much, but then we talked about how he didn't have to be scared. how God died for him and if he chose to accept Christ as his Savior, he would go to be with Him when he died. we talked about sin and being naughty and then we talked about Christ and forgiveness. it was right there and then that jacob and mommy prayed together and jacob accepted Christ as his Savior. PRAISE THE LORD!! what a blessing that was and is!?! afterwards, i told him the angels in heaven were havin' a party for him because they were so happy that he accepted Christ. he was so excited he said "really!?! let's tell jayden and she can pray and the angels can have a party for her too!" the joys of being a mommy!

women's ministries

2011-11-01T15:49:00.002-06:00

I didn't write this, not sure who did, but it totally captures how I feel.

Dear Women's Ministry:

The world can give me cute cupcake designs and decorating tips, scrapbooking parties, casserole recipes, and other ways to pass the time. But truly, with my respect and love, may I be honest? If I wanted to learn how to decorate cupcakes, I would take a class in it. If I wanted to be educated on strategies for decorating my home inexpensively from Winners, I would just, you know, go toWinners. Or Pinterest.

But I'm here with you tonight because I want what the world cannot give me. We're choking on cutesy things and crafty bits, safe lady topics, and if one more person says that modest is hottest with a straight face, I may throw up. We are hungry for authenticity and vulnerability, not churchified life hacks from lady magazines. Some of us are drowning, suffocating, dying of thirst for want of the cold water of real community. We're trying really hard--after all, we keep showing up to your lady events, and we leave feeling just a bit empty. It's just more of the same every time.

The women of our world aren't looking for a safe place to cry about housework and ooh-and-ahhh over centerpieces. We're not all mothers, some of us work outside the home, some of us have kids, and others don't or won't or can't. Is womanhood only about wifehood and motherhood? What about those among us that are not wives and mothers? We're not all in the same season of life.

We are - or should be - diverse image bearers of a Divine God. We need Jesus. We are seeking deep spirituality. We are seeking fellow travelers. We are hungry for true community, a place to tell our stories and listen to another, to love well. But above all, point me to Jesus--not to the sale at the mall.

You know what I would have liked tonight instead of decorating tips or a new recipe? I would have liked to pray together. I would have liked the women of the church to share their stories or wisdom with one another, no more celebrity speakers, please just hand the microphone to that lady over there that brought the apples. I would love to wrestle with some questions that don't have a one-paragraph answer in your study guide. I would like to do a Bible study that does not have pink or flowers on the cover. I would have liked to sign up to bring a meal for our elderly or drop off some clothes for a new baby or be informed about issues in our city where we can make space for God. I would like to organize and prioritize, to rabble-rouse and disturb the peace of the rest of the world on behalf of justice, truth, beauty, and love. I'd love to hear the prophetic voice of women in our church.

Please, may we be the place to detox from the world - its values, its entertainment, its priorities, its focus on appearances and materialism and consumerism?

So here is my suggestion: Please stop treating women's ministry like a Safe Club for the Little Ladies to Play Church. We are smart. We are brave. We want to change the world. We run marathons to benefit our sisters, not so that we can lose weight. We have more to offer to the church than our mad decorating skills. I look around, and I can see that these women can offer strategic leadership, wisdom, counsel, and even, yes, teaching. We want to give and serve and make a difference. We want to be challenged. We want to read books and talk politics, theology, and current events. We want to wrestle through our theology. We want to listen to each other. We want to worship, we want to intercede for our sisters and weep with those who weep, rejoice with those that rejoice, to create life and art and justice with intention.

Let's be a community of women, gathered together to live more whole-heartedly, to sharpen, challenge, love, and inspire one another to then scatter back out to our worlds bearing the mandate to be women that love. Idelette McVicker wrote:

Let us RISE to the questions of our time.

Let us SPEAK to the injustices in our world.

Let us MOVE the mountains of fear and intimidation.

Let us SHOUT down the walls that separate and divide.

Let us FILL the Earth with the fragrance of Love.

Let us be women who Love.

Thanks,

Christian Women

jacee's happenings....

2011-10-27T14:33:00.000-06:00

well, jacee is now 8 1/2 months and growing tall and strong. she is learning so many things, like how to pull herself up and how to blow raspberries. she has 2 teeth which she got in on the 2nd of oct. both on the same day. ;) the same time jacob lost his second tooth. ;) she doesn't like to sleep much at nights, well, i shouldn't say that. she sleeps from about 9:30 to 11:00, wakes up for a snack, then goes back to sleep 'till 3:00 and then goes back to sleep and wakes up at about 6:00 and then if we are home she'll sleep 'till 8:00. we praise God daily for our little surprise, the one we can't imagine life without!

"WHO ARE WE PLAYIN' FOR!?!"

2011-10-27T14:27:00.000-06:00

jacob got a whistle at cubbies last night as a reward for completing another section, so, this morning he and jayden were playing soccer. he was the coach, and she was the player. he told her they needed to have a huddle, so they went back into the corner, where we overheard this... " O.K. TEAM... WE NEED TO GO OUT THERE AND DO OUR BEST! 'CAUSE WHO ARE WE PLAYING FOR?? 'jesus' WHO ARE WE PLAYING FOR?? 'Jesus' I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!! WHO ARE WE PLAYING FOR?? 'JESUS!!' ALRIGHT... LET'S GO PLAY! " then they ran into the canter of the office space and kicked the ball around. as we cheered for them, praising them for playing for Jesus, they thanked us and said..."we're the huskers, we play for Jesus!" what a blessing they are!

"jacked up"

2011-10-27T14:12:00.000-06:00

jacob was so proud of himself the other day, and i was proud of him too. he had his first lesson in couponing and found a coupon for a toy he wanted, so we went to wal-mart. he had gone home, gotten the money out of his piggy bank, and off we went. well, we got there, found the toy, proceeded to the checkout and when we got there, daddy gave him the change for the tax that we had figured out. jacob went ahead of us, very proud and placed his toy on the counter and gave the girl his coupon and the money and when she rang them up she told him the total. it was more money than he had, so i looked at her and said "you must be wrong, it should be $10.70... $10.00 plus tax." she assured me she had wrung up the toy, then the coupon and it gave her that total...$11.05 well, daddy gave jacob more money and we went out the door. i looked at his receipt and figured they charge you tax on the full amount, not the discounted amount, so i said..."well, that's jacked up!" jacob without missing a beat says, " mom, how did you know his name?"

debonair

2011-10-17T15:39:00.000-06:00

jason was in a wedding on saturday and jacob noticed his tux hanging in the truck. he said "wow daddy! you're going to be very debonair!" i asked him what that meant, to see if he truely knew, and he told me it meant daddy would be well dressed and polite. ;) what a little smarty pants.

jaydenisms

2011-10-17T15:36:00.000-06:00

saturday, on a quick shopping trip, jayden was very quick to spot the sugar factory smokestacks. with great excitement she noted... " mommy, look! it's the cloud house! the clouds come in and sleep then they eat their breakfast and go out." what a cutie!

friends

2011-07-28T08:45:00.000-06:00

last night was a real treat for me. i was able to reconnect with some old friends, by acquaintance- not age, at pizza hut, for dinner. it was a real treat for me! the group was here from my old church in michigan and they were doing work at the college that i went to. it was great getting to see old faces again and catch up and even see the "little" kids i used to babysit... they're not so little anymore. ;) what fun!?! they were brave souls and they hiked down the monument when it was 98 degrees out... silly people. ;) but what a beautiful piece of God's creation to enjoy. well, until next time...

God is good... All the time!

2011-07-20T15:15:00.000-06:00

"God is good... all the time... All the time... God is good." we've heard it, we've said it, but did we mean it? luckily, my in laws are in town and are a HUGE blessing right now. bless their pee pickin' little hearts, they allow God to use them and they cook dinner for us quite often. not only that, they've helped with the kiddos too. jacob and jayden are little home bodies and they like it when grammy and pa let them stay home and they watch them. which in turn makes for a nice quiet, or at least semi quiet day at the shop for mommy. ;) so, while they are saving my sanity in giving me a few hours of quiet, they are also helping the pocket book by cooking, which means... we aren't eating out. ;) the kids think it's fun to eat at home, which is very rare when mommy has to cook. so, God has been good to me and He always is!

memorizing scripture pays...

2011-07-07T13:48:00.000-06:00

not only does it pay spiritually to memorize scripture, but today it payed physically too. i memorized prov. 6:6-12 and i entered the scripture memory challenge at our local radio station and my name was drawn. i won a $20.00 gift card to our local Christian book store. the more exciting part is that i was able to memorize scripture and it really impacted my life. they were verses i needed to hear. ;) what fun!?!

vacay days....

2011-07-07T13:43:00.000-06:00

so, i never got back on to post anymore about our vacay, so here it is in a nutshell...we went to church, then lunch, then storybook island. we had lots of fun there... of course, there wasn't enough time. ;)

then, we came home on monday after lunch at sam's and a quick shopping trip to gordman's, michael's, target, and the dollar store.

vacay day one

2011-07-02T21:54:00.000-06:00

so we did the craft show and then the kids also did a penny carnival with grammy and pa while mommy did the craft show and jacob rode the hart train ;) jayden wouldn't go... she was too scared! after the craft show we went to the motorhome and grammy and pa made lunch. then we went swimming and then into rapid. we went to hobby lobby (thanks honey!) , olive garden (thanks grammy and pa) and sears. we had a great time and now it is almost 10:00 and time for me to turn into a pumpkin... church in the morning... wherever you are... seek HIM!

craft show

2011-07-02T21:48:00.002-06:00

So what are your plans for the weekend? We are heading up to hart ranch, in beautiful Rapid City, South Dakota. Gene and Sharon (the inlaws) are there and we are getting a cabin for the weekend. I am sooooooo excited! It’s always soooo pretty and there are so many things to do and of course, there is always mt. rushmore, the festive place to go this time of year. The firework display is fantabulous! and Saturday, I will be doing my first ever , alone, craft show. I’m really excited! I have a lot of goodies for sale and I can’t wait to see what people think of them… we’ll see tomorrow…

Some of my craft items that I am selling… purse key hangers… over the stove towels, aprons, record bowls, garden markers, and pop tab purses (that my mom made). I’ll have more for the craft show that I am doing in nov. but for now, this was all I could do on a short notice (3 weeks).

a post to follow. ;)

... so, i did the craft show and while many people were really excited about my items, i only sold 1 thing :( bummer! but i learned a few things and i made enough to cover my table fees and i have plenty of things to get me started on the craft show that i will be doing in november. :) and over all, the people thought my stuff was really cool. ;) i'll post pics later. ;)

hair-locks of love

2011-07-02T21:44:00.000-06:00

So, on Wednesday, I decided that I was going to do it… cut my hair. So, I went to make an appointment at the salon across the street and the girl told me to sit down. I told her no, I just came to make an appointment. She said are you really gonna do it? I said yes, and she told me to sit down before I backed out. So, I sat down, and she called Jason and told him I’d be back in 20 minutes. So, 20 minutes and -12” of hair later… ;) so, what did I do with my hair you ask… I donated it to locks of love, An organization that makes wigs for children who have cancer and have lost their hair. I hope that the mop that was on my head can make a little child, somewhere, very happy. It seems like many people in my life have been affected by cancer. My paternal grandmother died when my dad was 13, of ovarian cancer, my great uncle had cancer, my other grandmother had colon cancer, we’ve had melanoma in the family, breast cancer, lymphoma, and other types. What a hard thing to go thru. I can’t even imagine the long days of chemo and radiation and the kicked bucket feeling of the meds. I pray one day, a cure will be found.

jayden

2011-06-23T09:14:00.000-06:00

my little princess and i were going to play dress up the other day after we did some school work and i took a skirt off of a puffy hanger and she promptly grabs the hanger and says... "whats this?... a sword?" then she says, "look a ninja skirt!" and her gloves were superhero gloves. she really is a little tom-boy ;)

baseball

2011-06-23T09:10:00.001-06:00

jacob is really into baseball lately... he always wants to hit a "home depot" (home run) :)

wisdom

2011-06-23T09:04:00.000-06:00

so, the other night we were doing devotions with the kids and jacob heard the word "wisdom". he knew this was in one of his cubbies verses so he promptly said, "hey! that's in my verse... 'and Jesus grew and whizzed on him! " needless to say, i had to excuse myself from the room 'cause i was laughing too hard. ;)

farmer jacob

2011-06-14T14:46:00.002-06:00

while pastor scott is out of town, we are playin' farmers. jacob loves
to feed the pony and collect the eggs. wish we could have our
own chickens. ;) he sure is taking the responsibility quite well.

4month check-up

2011-06-10T16:51:00.000-06:00

she's growin'!! here's the 4 month stats from the dr. : 14# 2 oz. / 27 in. / 75% for weight / off the charts for height. what a big girl! for the second time, the nurse came back in and remeasured her, because she thought it was impossible for her to be that long. ;) she smiled the entire time we were in the dr.s office and just kept smilin' at the dr. she loves her!

4 months

2011-06-09T11:14:00.000-06:00

tomorrow, our sweet little baby girl will be 4 months old. my how time flies! what a blessing she has been! she has truly been a gracious gift of God. she teaches me daily of sweet innocence. she lays there doing nothing, but smiling and wanting to be loved. she loves when people talk to her and she just smiles and coos. she is the smiliest baby i've ever seen! she sure has changed our lives, and for her we are truly grateful!

tomorrow a little late

2011-06-06T12:58:00.000-06:00

oops... so tomorrow came a little late. ;) here's some pics of our week...

day 7

2011-06-02T21:24:00.000-06:00

wow!! what a fun, busy day!!! we woke up and got ready for a day on the town. ;) we went and picked jos up from work and headed to burger king for lunch. then he went back to work, but the rest of us went into town to go check out an upcycle shop. i loved it!! thanks ginger for bringing us there. :) then we walked to this little toy store that was adorable!! they had an area for little girls to dress up like princesses and have tea parties and some really cute princess things. then we went and had frozen custard again... YUM!!!! and then mom and dad went back to michigan. the rest of us went back to jos and ginger's and had nap time. then after that... jos and jason worked on the bug and auntie ginger and jayden played. we then woke jacob up and we went out for pizza. then we went to the park to play. we all had a great time!! i can't wait to post some pics tomorrow!! ;) then we came home and had more fun!! impossible, i know, but we did! we had a bon-fire and made smores and played and hula hooped and play, play, played. what a fun night! we're heading home tomorrw, but we are only going 'till about davenport, iowa and then we will stop for the night. then sat. we will stay with uncle russ and auntie vickie again... nebraska... here we come!

day 6

2011-06-01T20:30:00.000-06:00

so, it was a b-e-a-utiful day today! we woke up and hung around the house for a while then we ate left overs at home and then ventured out. we took the kids to uncle jos' work (big lots) and they met his boss and she fell in love with them and bought them each a toy golf set. then we went to goodwill and i looked for some clothing and "stuff". it was actually quite different from our goodwill... ours is stinky, dirty and messy and this one was neat, clean, very organized and if you didn't know better you'd think you were in a regular retail store. then we went to maurices, where i bought a shirt for our date ;) and then i went to walgreens for water and to check on some deals. then we went home and got ready for our date. jos and ginger volunteered to watch jacee while opa and oma were taking jacob and jayden to go see their first movie... kung fu panda 2. they loved it! we went to ruby tuesdays for dinner and then to a few different stores. we went to crazy 8s and buy, buy baby. then we went to this little small town frozen custard place and it was AWESOME!! i had the buckeye somethin' and it was TO DIE FOR!! needless to say... we're going back tomorrow for more custard!

day 5

2011-05-31T21:54:00.000-06:00

well, it was another hot and sticky day on our trip. we went to the creation museum and at 10:00 it was already 97 degrees. the creation museum was really awesome! they had life sized dinosaur replicas and fossils, creation evidence and really neat displays. we walked around pretty quickly, but with little ones... you have to. then we came back to jos and ginger's and i had put a roast in this morning so, i worked on that a bit and got the rest of dinner going. we then ate and the boys worked on jos' vw bug for a while and then we went to jos' softball game. he played pitcher and they lost, but the other team had to forfeit so it didn't really matter, but it was a good game. the kids really enjoyed watching uncle jos and cheering for him. it was cute! they would yell... "go uncle jos" and "good pitch uncle jos" and "that's my uncle" and "get him out" one time... without prompting, jacob even yelled at the other team when jos was at bat and he yelled, "well, that was a bad throw!" it was soooo cute watching them! then we came home and jos had a little more help and they worked on the car for a few minutes, taking the body off the chassis. it's been a long day and i'm ready to hit the hay... can't wait to get all these pictures loaded!

day 4

2011-05-30T21:51:00.002-06:00

so... day 4 of our trip... today we went shopping for groceries, which of course, seemed to take F-O-R-E-V-E-R !!! it of course didn't, but it seemed like it! then we came home, to jos' house, and took naps and started dinner. we had a cook out and just chilled for a while. the kids played with auntie ginger and uncle jos and had fun with their new squirt guns. then we all went to dave and busters for a while. opa wasn't going to go, but we begged him and he joined us. before we left he said he doesn't do those "fun things" but we all got a chuckle when we finally convinced him to play a few games and then we saw him reloading his card. :) jayden surprised us all by being the big winner. she hit the jackpot on one game and got 1000 tickets and then hit another jackpot and one 300 tickets. she was just as happy with those as she was the 1 ticket wins. ;) then the kids got quite the loot when we cashed in our wins... 3,970 somethin' tickets. they of course thought the candy and little things were great! overall, a good time was had by all. the kids got quite the loot and the adults had fun wasting a few hours.

as you've noticed... there are no pictures... i'll put those up in a couple days. ;)
good night all! tomorrow is another busy day!

day 3

2011-05-29T15:08:00.000-06:00

we went to church this morning with uncle jos and auntie ginger. definately not my style of worship, but ... to each his own. it did amaze me though, how much work goes into setting up their church. they meet in the local high school, but you would never know it's not their own building, except for the school book store and basketball players practicing. ;) the church has signage and a coffee shop with starbucks, free t-shirts for visitors, amazing sunday school displays for the children fancy, schmancy bulletins and print outs, visitor bags, and more. WOW! it amazed me how much energy they had.
after church we went to subway for a yummy lunch and then home to rest... well, almost all of us. auntie ginger had to go to work. :( but oma and opa went to visit her at work (for the 50% discount for 50 and olders... and because they love her! ) :) so, tonight it's off to olive garden... yummmmmmm!

day 2

2011-05-29T15:01:00.000-06:00

Well, the first day went well. We stayed aunt “uncle russ” and “auntie vickie’s” house and the kids got to play with xander. They love him! They always have sooo much fun with him and they love playing with his cool toys. ;) we slept on a wonderfully soft mattress and I felt like a princess and didn’t want to wake up, but alas, another 12 hours on the road today becons me. :( praying today goes well…

... well, it went o.k.... we arrived in ohio at jos and ginger's at 11:30 P.M. and we are all alive...

ohio or bust!

2011-05-29T14:59:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful blessing it is to have in laws that are willing to let God use them! My in laws are retired and live in a motorhome. They travel all over the u.s. and they knew that we wanted to go see my brother in ohio for a quick vacation. So, one day this spring, they called and said they would be willing to come and watch the shop for us. PRAISE THE LORD!! This gave us the opportunity to take a whole week off and drive the long trek to cincinatti.

I had that initital AHHHHHHHHHHH…. WHAT AM I DOING? I HAVE SO MUCH WORK TO DO! I CAN’T LEAVE NOW!! I AM SOOO STRESSED! IT’S THE END OF THE MONTH… STATEMENTS… TAXES…. CHECKS… AHHHHHHH!!! But God always knows how to calm our hearts in the midst of chaos. My mother in law stepped right back into her old job and took over at the shop. Poor her… it now looks different than when she was there daily. Toys have replaced tools, drawers of supplies are now drawers of diapers… hand prints line the windows and display cases… little bits and pieces of my beautiful children are all over the shop and showroom. I look at them when I’m at work and think “what in the world!?! I am nuts to bring 3 kids to work with me!” but I know I am truly blessed to be able to do so and enjoy every bit of their little lives. So now as my mother in law looks around at my messy shop, I know she is probably shedding a tear missing us and seeing my kids everywhere around her… just the way I like it! ;)

So on we go to Omaha for the evening and then on our way to ohio in the morning… OHIO OR BUST!!!!

(written on friday, but posted a little late. ;)

friendliness

2011-05-19T15:13:00.000-06:00

jacob recieved the award of friendliness yesterday evening at his school's graduation program. his verse chosen for him was prov. 17:17 i believe... "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." his character trait does describe him... he knows no stranger. as he yells "freeze" at a customer and says to him... "hey! are you a clown?" i just have to laugh... what a friendly little boy he is ;)

lil' froggy

2011-05-19T14:53:00.000-06:00

jacob had a school program last night and he was such a cute lil' froggy! i just had to share some pics... we were soooo proud of him! we love you lil' froggy. ;)

jacobisms

2011-05-04T15:50:00.000-06:00

jacob says sooooo many funny things i really should be writing these down... but because i'm not very good at that... here's a few to make you laugh...
"dear God, thank you for this food and for our family and thankyou that we could spend the day together and please help mommy to get rid of her big fat tummy and learn how to do push-ups. amen."
a few days later....
"dear God, thank you for this food and for our family... and... please help mommy to feel better. amen. .... see, i didn't pray for her big fat tummy!"

FOREVER....

2011-04-29T16:52:00.000-06:00

sorry... it's been FOREVER since i last posted.

Since the last post, many things have happened, OBVIOUSLY! Well, we had a beautiful baby girl named Jacee grace. She was born feb. 10^th at 4:35 a.m. she has changed our lives, what a joy she is!

Jacob has started school and is almost done with his first full year at a school other than home. He is doing quite well and really enjoys his teachers and the other kids. It is a joy to watch him grow in the Lord too. He is in cubbies at awanas and he does very well with memorizing his verses and teaching them to us as well. ;)

Jayden is a great helper for mommy and knows how to melt your heart. She also goes to awana and is in puggles. She LOVES it! She can’t wait for “church school” every week. Every week she tells us that she learned that “God loves Jesus”. She recently fell and hit her head on the floor at one of our local restaurants, ‘causing her head to split open, we quickly ran her to the urgent care. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity we saw the nurse and they put a staple in her head. more pictures to come later... i guess i'd better get to workin' now before the boss gets after me... ;)

just checkin'

2010-08-03T10:25:00.000-06:00

just checkin' to see if my blog is working correct... it's deleting the writing on my previous posts

busy, busy!

2010-06-09T09:18:00.001-06:00

IT'S BEEN A ZOO AROUND HERE!! we've been busy anyway with just normal "day to day" stuff. we also had a hail storm... good for business, but yet, bad for business. when it all comes in at once, you get overwhelmed. luckily, jason's parents had just come into town, so they were here to help us out. PRAISE THE LORD!! i don't how we would've been able to get as much done if it weren't for them... thanks mom and dad!!

we had a garage sale and did alright.... basically i only sold some of my kids' clothes and i made $200.00. what a nice gift that i can spend on myself. ;) i'm thinking... clothes!

well, just as we thought we were starting to catch up on some of our work, we had another hail storm. WOW!! GOD IS GOOD AND OMNIPOTENT! we really didn't need the extra work at the moment, but God is so faithful, and good, He didn't want us to get to comfortable and be lazy. ;)

just a fun thought to leave with you, the other day, jacob didn't want to go to bed, so he said... " mommy, do you hear that??? that was Jesus! He said...'jennie! let jacob stay up later tonight!' " where does he come up with this stuff!?! so i promptly said... "no, Jesus knows you need your rest too. " and his reply was... "mommy, you'd better listen to Jesus!" ;) OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES!!

happy anniversary oma and opa

2010-05-18T10:02:00.000-06:00

well, my parents celebrated their 31st anniversary last week (may 12) and i was trying to explain to jacob what an anniversary was/meant. i told him this is a special day where we celebrate the day when people get/got married. since he recently went to a wedding we had already explained married to him (meaning 2 people who love eachother very much and wanted to live together for ever and be together). well, he explained to me that oma and opa are married to eachother, grammy and pa are married to eachother, mommy and daddy are married to eachother, and that he and sister must be married to eachother... 'cause they like to play together. as i told grandpa that later on he(grandpa) assured me this must be the case, becuase it's always good when a mommy and daddy play together... then we have grandkids. ;)

what a day!

2010-04-15T08:52:00.001-06:00

let me just start by saying... if today goes like yesterday... i'm switching the sign to closed and going home!
once upon a time... a time about yesterday... it was a horrid day! one thing after another happened... it started out the kids were fighting over toys... jacob would knock jayden off, push her out of the way and then run off with the toy. then at about 9:30 he decided to go across the street to the salon and watch movies over there (the little old ladies love him and spoil him rotten), so i told him to call and ask and they told him it was fine. it was nice and quite for a couple hours then i went to pick him up and things were still good... 'till i brought him back over here. then... lunch was a disaster! jayden is into laying on /across the table, because she is trying to sit in the big girl chair, so she lays in her food and gets it on her clothes, she reaches for brothers food which then gets them in a fight, 'causing brother to yell and scream, starting the lunch disaster. well, i got jayden to take a half hour nap after lunch, so i got my book work done quickly. meanwhile, jacob chose not to take his nap but, to get himself in trouble while he was supposed to sleep. he gets really tired and crabby if he doesn't get his nap. well, jason was out all day, so i was by myself with the kids... fairly normal, but stressful too at times. i decided i would try to clean in the back shop, but ever time i'd get back there, the phone would ring or a customer would come in. after an hour i decided to quit. well, then i decided i should really be a good wife and help jason out, so i was cutting a customer's glass order and while i was doing that the kids were running around and making a mess out of, my just freshly swept, shop. mind you, they were sweeping broken glass with their hands. then after i help another customer and yell at them for the danger they were in with the broken glass, i get back to cutting some more glass. while i'm cutting this glass, i hear them around the corner... where i knew they shouldn't be playing, so i decided to go look. when i checked them, jacob had managed to get the top off of a spray paint can and jayden was sucking on the tip. AUGH!!!!! i had just had it by this time, so i decided to just start closing everything up, because it was almost time to go home. well, jason called and said he was going to be late and i was on my own with the kids... GREAT! well, we dropped off a level for jason at a job he was working on and then we went home for dinner. during dinner jacob decided to talk back at mommy and then stick his tongue out and mock mommy's instructions to him. I WAS FURIOUS! i told him that if he didn't stop he wouldn't be able to go to church, so this started a meltdown. mind you, i wasn't really going to keep him back from church, because he really needs that and he loves it! i also love it, and need that hour and a half to myself, or as the night would bring it, jayden and myself. well, we fought for 20 minutes then i brought him to church. i then turn around get home and unload jayden when my phone rings and we have to go back into town to get jason from work. we go and pick him up and then bring him out for dinner and then go back to the church to pick up jacob. what a day! well, then we get him home and he fights us at bath time to get a bath. his bath/bed time is 8:00 and it was already 8:30 when we started. well, we put him to bed, sang, read his bible story for the day, prayed, and then we put jayden to bed and thought we'd do our wii fit workout. while we were working out i thought i heard some noise, so i told jason i would check. well, i just looked up the stairs and didn't see anything, so i went back to my workout. well, when we finished at 10:00 jacob was at the top of the stairs to greet us. needless to say, i think the tired boy= a naughty boy. we need sleep!
hope you have a wonderful day, and here's hoping to a better one for us. ;)

easter pics....

2010-03-19T11:34:00.000-06:00

here they are... the easter pics. i was sooooo excited to get their pictures taken with the live bunnies, chicks, and ducklings, and then jayden noticed they were real when the ducklings were quacking and she DID NOT LIKE THAT, AT ALL! she screamed her little head off and then the ducklings quacked even more! oy! that was the end of our photo session! so these are the best we got that day...

2010-03-15T11:56:00.001-06:00

saturday we got daddy to take us to burger king (45 miles away) for lunch and play time in the playland. then on sunday the kids had their easter pics taken, but beforehand, mommy took a couple pics of the kids loving on eachother... we sure love those little cuties! hope everyone is having a great day!

jason's head!

2010-03-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

well, the barber has been very busy and hasn't been able to get jason in, so we thought we'd give it a shot... it looked HORRIBLE! i started to cut it, but got a little scared as i have never cut anyone's hair before, so then i passed the buck on to brandon, the guy that works for us... or should i say WORKED for us... i think he's fired now, 'cause this is jason's head...

cookies

2010-03-10T10:06:00.001-07:00

jacob had to bring treats to awana tonight so we made cookies as a family last night. we had a BLAST... and sister enjoyed the frosting too! :) jacob was a big boy and frosted them himself and jayden helped by licking the frosting off her fingers after brother frosted her fingers. overall, i think they'll be a big hit! we have blue sprinles, red sprinkles, yellow frosting, green sprinkles, and multi-colored sprinkles. we also made brownies for us to eat at home... they were YUMMY!

home schooling

2010-03-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

well, a couple posts ago i showed a picture of jacob's first day of preschool, well, it didn't work out. so, i am home schooling him solely now. it was a little of both before and now we just took him out of the preschool he was attending. he came home with a lot of really naughty habits and i was spending twice as much time disciplining him and even one of the teachers said he was almost too smart for them, because he was getting bored and would just stare at them as they taught the other kids and he already knew it. he also started crying the other morning because he said his teachers were mean and sent his friends to time out because they wer always naughty and yelled at them, of which he said he was scared. he really didn't understand that their actions needed consequences. so, i have lost my more quiet mornings and traded them in for teaching, which i'm enjoying. DON'T GET ME WRONG... i LOVED that quiet time in the mornings and got a lot done, but i love being the one teaching my son and that i get to see all of his growth while it's happening... that is until next school year. we already had the process going for a local Christian preschool that uses home school curriculum and has a WONDERFUL Godly woman for a teacher and a close friend of mine, so i'm REALLY, SUPER excited about that, and for now i'll enjoy that time! my curriculum came in last week from a friend of mine and i've started even more than before and i'm excited to see what the rest of this school year brings.

it's been a while....

2010-02-16T09:57:00.001-07:00

well, valentine's weekend has come and gone, and a wonderful weekend it was! jason and i don't go out very often, make that nearly NEVER and we were able to go out both saturday and sunday! what a treat!! thanks to some WONDERFUL friends, jason called ryan and alina saturday morning to see if they would watch the kids that night, and luckily they were quite willing and the kids had a wonderful time! jacob is still asking to play with them and last night he asked if he could go swimming with them... mind you, it's only 10 degrees right now... i told him maybe we could go to the ymca with them sometime and he settled for that option. so, we went to the church valentine's banquet on saturday, which we were in charge of, with 2 other couples. we had a great time!

then, on sunday, our GREAT friends cody and mary (and their son hunter) watched the kids so that we could go out to eat with our friends sonia and perfecto. we went out for a child free evening, o.k.... it ws just dinner, but it was great! so, since we've never gotten a babysitter for the kids before, and this worked out so well ... we've decided... we need to do it more often! hope all of you had a great valentine's day and tell someone how much you love them today!

xoxo

1st day of school

2010-01-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

well, our big boy is officially a preschooler at our local public schools' preschool. he started jan. 5th when we got back from michigan. it was a little rough for me, and for him, but he seems to be enjoying it the last couple days. he goes to school 4 days a week, from *8:15 to 11:15/30. they don't reallky focus on much academically, but he is getting the socializing that he needs, i think. i still homeschool him a little, about 3 hours a week, and i think he'll be ready for school next year when he gets to go to the Christian preschool that we hope to send him to. he talks now about playing a lot at school and about playing on the computers. he comes home a little crazy and wild most days, but i'm hoping that will calm down a lot, as he he gets used to school. here's a few pics of our big boy:

while we were in mich.

2010-01-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

we had a lot of fun, as i mentioned in the last post... things just keep comin' to my mind... like when we got to go out for breakfast with my good friend becky and her family... good time to catch up, laugh, and just have fun!!

Christmas '09

2010-01-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

well, we had a wonderful Christmas and i hope all of you did too. i've been EXTREMELY busy, so i haven't posted much, but i wanted to do a quick post to let you in on our fun... we made the long trip back to michigan, driving, with our new van, which was a huge blessing! the new van has a dvd player, so there was entertainment for much of the trip. we spent a week and a half in michigan/traveling and had lots of fun!! we were busy everyday with something to do and people to see. jacob made his first snowman with oma and jayden had her first carousel ride, which she loved!! we spent some time with family and friends and even got to go to the omaha children's museum with "uncle" russ, "aunt" vicki and xander. but, as i said this must be quick, 'cause now it's back to the grindstone and i have to get to work before i get fired... haha....

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-10T16:38:00.001-07:00

Here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

the big boy's 3!

2009-12-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

well, the big day has come and gone... jacob turned 3 on friday... what a big boy! he had such a great day and then yesterday he had another great day of food, family and fun! we had a yellow striped birthday party, at his request, and he had a great time! we also had the opportunity to go to the farm and ranch museum for a holiday carriage ride and marshmellow roast with our good friends mary and hunter. jacob loved saying merry Christmas to all the machinary and horses... what a cutie!

what's new???

2009-11-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

well, we've been busy in the hullinger household... getting ready for Christmas, possibly selling our old house (PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!), working on the house, crafting, and so much more. jacob has been going through a little naughty phase, but we're working on that. he comes up with some of the funniest things. he will be 3 on friday and we're gearing up for the big party on sunday with a few family members and a few friends that are adopted family. jayden is getting so big and has recently popped her 4th molar thru. she's been really crabby, as she popped all 4 within about 2 weeks. OUCH! jason and i are pluggin' away at work. i did get a new camera, and i've been learning about it, so when i get it all figured out i'll try to post lots of pics... even better than before ;) here's a few that i took this morning...

bald mouse

2009-11-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

well, it's been about 2 weeks now and we still have not caught our pesky shop mouse... however, we have some of his hair to prove he's been here and is a successful escape artist. he has now managed to get off of 2 sticky traps, but left behind a patch of hair on each... and i'm not talking a little patch. the stinkin' thing should be bald by now! augh!!! how frustrating! it feels really dirty and gross, but when you have a huge shop like ours in the back, it's almost inevitable. oh well... on another note, if your child swallows sequins... don't worry, they'll come back out and give you something to talk about... a beautiful piece of art!

jayden's newest sign

2009-10-30T16:00:00.000-06:00

it's a sad, sad, day at our house... jayden's newest sign is...FOOTBALL! i tried to get her to sign shopping, but no... football it is... :)

colorado trip

2009-10-27T15:55:00.001-06:00

the weekend of the 16th we were able to go down to colorado springs and spend a little family time together and with jason's cousins and families. we had such a wonderful time! the actual purpose of going down there was for me to get my eyes checked, which jason's cousin was going to do for free, and then we found out he could also swing jacob in for his frst eye exam. jacob was sooooo excited to get to see dr. ty! well, everything was good... i now have contacts and a new pair of red, yes i said red, glasses. i am actually LOVING them and it was soooooo nice of ty and sara to put us up in their BEAUTIFUL home for the weekend and for kayle to give us her little suite for the weekend. it was a much needed time for us! we got to stop in at focus on the family again, which the kids loved, and then do some shopping$$$ . ;) it was a great weekend overall! one of the blessings was being able to go to church with ty and sara. what an awesome church! the people were wonderful and very friendly! we had an awesome weekend overall!

big girl walkin'!

2009-09-30T15:00:00.000-06:00

oma wanted to see a video of jayden walking, so here it is... she's been walking for about a month now... what a big girl! i'll get a better video when i get a chance. ;)

potato pickin'!

2009-09-21T10:11:00.000-06:00

jacob and i had the chance to go to this year's annual fall harvest festival at the farm and ranch museum and harvest some potatos. what a wonderful time! it was a lot of hard work at first until the little "tractor" came and tilled the rows for us. ;) i love that man! then the hard work was carrying them back to the van, but about half way back a nice man with horse and buggy, who was giving rides, stopped and gave us a ride the rest of the way back. thankfully, becuase as soon as i got the bags out of the back of his buggy, the entire side and handle ripped off of my reuseable shopping bag... guess they were too heavy. :) i had to get a picture of the horses, so jacob told them to say cheese. ;)

weekend get-a-way

2009-09-16T10:13:00.000-06:00

jason and i were able to get away this last weekend and have a weekend to ourselves. what an amazing time! just my hubby and me! i am blessed! we had a wonderful time at the husker football game and then we were able to go down the niobrara river on canoe. we truely enjoyed ourselves. the scenery was beautiful and the drive together was great! we had fun, spent too much money & enjoyed eachother and that's what counts most! at the end of the husker game the team always gets down on one knee and prays... awesome! we also saw an elk ranch with some HUGE elk.

this weekend

2009-09-01T09:34:00.000-06:00

we had a GREAT family day this weekend! we haven't had much time to just relax as a family lately, so this weekend, jason had to do a little bit of work in torrington, wy. so he brought us all along and we made a day out of it. jacob was ablr to help daddy with the safe deposit lock and he had a great time. he brought his own tool box and everything.

then we did a little fun family shopping and then we went to lunch. we went to burger king... our nearest one... 45 minutes away from our house. ;( but we had great fun! jacob LOVED the play area. we don't do that kind of thing very often, so he was just in his hay day. after that we went vehicle shopping for a new van and the local ford dealership was having an espn game day party. we really enjoyed that too. jacob played in the bounce house and did the workout thing and tossed the football a bit, got his hand painted, and then we found a van... yipee!

my parents

2009-08-11T09:06:00.000-06:00

i would just like it to be on the record that... I LOVE MY PARENTS!!! they've always been wonderful parents, but sometimes they just do little or big things for me that are so great... it just shows they love me! they've come to visit for a week and in that week they've done so much work on our house i can hardly recognize it! they've painted our bedroom, laundry room, jacob's bedroom, hallway, finished the kitchen and did a few touchups... put paneling in a couple cubbie holes in our living room, put ceiling fans in jayden's room and ours, cooked cleaned and helped with jayden's 1st birthday party. they brought my little cousin hanna-banana-montana with them and she helped too. they were able to do some site seeing and the even did some of our yard work... how wonderful are they!?! as jacob's little shirt says...."my dad rocks!" i'll post pictures later on our beautiful house... and jayden's birthday party. hope everyone's having a great day!

Jesus loves me

2009-07-02T14:58:00.000-06:00

jacob singing Jesus loves me.... enjoy...

mackinac island

2009-06-05T14:07:00.000-06:00

we had a WONDERFUL time in mackinac island last weekend with my parents and my brother and his wife. we were there celebrating my parent's 30th anniversary and what an AWESOME place to do that! we, of course, rode the ferry, rode on the carriage tour, ate to our hearts content, shopped and so much more. most of all we spent time with the ones we love. i realize too how much more i miss michigan each time i go back home. we went to great oma's house and had a blast swimming and visiting, went out to eat with greatoma (thanks for dinner greatoma!), saw great grandpa and played, played, played. we also went to a butterfly conservatory and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation. to sum it all up... we had a wonderful time... thanks mom and dad!

AUGH!!!!

2009-05-22T14:27:00.000-06:00

well, it happened... i got a virus on my computer! oh, by the way... sorry for the lack of blogging... i WAS extremely busy with work, but since my computer is down and i can't do anything, i'm using my assistant's computer- i sent her home- and now with nothing to do i can blog!!
well, not much has been going on here except work and unpacking at the new house and settling in. we also went to denver last weekend for a class that jason had to take, so the kids and i tagged along and had a fun get-a-way. the house is coming along, but there is still a LOT of work to be done and i don't see it happening too soon. poor jason cut his hand and with that and just the business of work, i think he is just worn out right now... hopefully we will get a little done this weekend (well i would hope a lot, but i'm thinking realistically...). we are staying close to home this weekend and not planning on much... hope you all have a wonderful memorial day weekend and have fun and be safe!

colorado springs... daddy's in school

2009-04-25T12:44:00.000-06:00

well, we came down to colorado springs this weekend, because jason had some lock classes. we left gering on wednesday afternoon and had quite the eventful trip! we got down to denver and a little beyond and the car had been run a little high on the rpms, but it was also acting like the overdrive was kicking off or something. well, by the time we got to monument pass or something like that, the car lost all power and went from 75mph to 10mph. we pulled off the side of the highway onto the ramp to get off the highway and lifted the hood and checked it out. we called the neighbor guy, as he is our mechanic, and he said it was either the fuel pump or the cadilidic converter (?sp). we waited a little while for the car to cool down and tried to drive it again but it was still doing the same thing. in the meantime, a state patrolman stopped to see if we needed help and to call us in of course, and i had told jason about a half hour before that, that i was feeling kinda' car sick and not feeling well and had to use the restroom. so, the patrol gave me a ride to the nearest restroom... i rode in the back of the patrol car... jason tool pictures. ;) so when i got back we ended up having to call a tow truck. well, of course the tow truck didn't have enough room for car seats and such, so the kids sat on our laps and we rode the rest of the way to our hotel. PTL the insurance covers the tow truck , but we found out it doesn't cover a rental vehicle. ;( so, the next day jason's cousin came to the hotel and drove our car while i followed him in their yukon with our kids, to his mechanic. sure enough he told us it was the cadilidic converter. he told us it was still under warranty and we had to take it to a chevy dealer. so, jason's cousin's wife was our taxi for the day and she drove us to go pick up the car and bring it to a dealer. the first dealer didn't work on those, so we went to another dealer and he refused to listen to me about the other mechanics testing and results and he said he wouldn't trust another mechanic, so he was doing his diagnostic and he was going to charge us $110.00 to do that. when we came back to check his status on the car, he said that it was NOT the cadilidic converter, it was nothing. he said that they could not ge tthe car to repeat what it was doing, so go on my way and it would be fine. i asked if he trusted it to go 4 hours and 2 babies down the road, and he said well, it won't do it, so i guess you'll be fine. i was NOT satisfied! so anyway i brought it back to the hotel, and jason drove it to his cousin's softball game that night. it was still acting up and he was furious! not only that, but i left my keys on the roof of the car and they flew off on the highway and we lost them... my car key is gone and the fab was smashed. another 1/4 mile down the highway a pop can somehow got punctured in my car and was spraying, so we quickly pulled over again and took care of that. then we get to the game and jacob falls on the metal bleachers and hits his head. what a crazy day!!! so, the next day i bring the car back in and tell the mechanic that there is indeed something wrong and he'd better take a look again, because jason was MAD! well, 4 hours and 2 kids in a dealership later... he comes back to tell me... well, by gollie, it's the cadilidic converter. go figure! so they have to drive across town to pick up the parts and then fix it, so i call jason's cousin's wife again and beg her to come pick us up. jacob had already had 2 meltdowns in the dealership, and we needed out of there. so we go out for lunch and then pick up the car and it is running 100% better. so we'd already wasted 1 1/2 days and haven't gotten to do anything that i really wanted to do. well, today we went to focus on the family, which i DID want to do and we played in the playroom. jacob had a blast! we then went out for lunch and now we are back at the hotel taking naps. we will go swimming when the kids wake up and then shopping and dinner with the cousins tonight. lots to do and so little time. ;( we'll have to do it again soon. oh, by the way... jason's classes are going well and jacob is still waiting to see daddy come "home" to the hotel in the school bus. ;) in all actuality, jason's down the hall and around the corner in his classes... but jacob still looks for the bus. ;)

dining room is almost done...

2009-04-16T11:17:00.000-06:00

the dining room is almost done, kids room/family room is done living room is being worked on, and the work continues. it looks/sounds like we'll try moving most everything in this weekend. then we can get the old house back on the market and KEEP PRAYING IT'LL SELL!

big boy

2009-04-09T08:45:00.000-06:00

we decided maybe jacob should try wearing his big boy pants to see if that would help him feel the need to go, instead of wetting on thomas... here he is proudly sporting them... he's so funny... he thought they were making him run faster.... he wore them for about 45 minutes before bath time and did well. hopefully we can start this routine.

i'm...yord's aaamy!

2009-03-31T13:26:00.000-06:00

just thought you guys might enjoy...

new house

2009-03-27T16:08:00.000-06:00

well we've been quite busy around here... hence the lack of blogs. we've been busy with work and "play". well, jason would call it more torture, but i think it's coming along either way. "it's" actually our house... the new house that is... here's a few pics to show you what we've been up to...
i, jennie, painted the dining room, the family room, kitchen, 1 of the bathrooms, the living room, 2 basement walls and 2 bedrooms. one of our friends has come over and laid hard wood flooring in our living room and we are still working on getting the other rooms flooring done. this weekend hopefully will be the family room/hallway and next weekend the dining room. i still have 2 bedrooms to paint, 2 bathrooms and 2 hallways... augh!

oh yeah...

2009-03-06T16:48:00.000-07:00

i forgot to tell you how excited we are that jacob is finally plug free... well, during the day anyway. he gets it at night, for bed, but that's it, and hopefully we will be done with it then too. what a big boy!

it's been forever!!

2009-03-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

well, sorry for the lack of blogging... i've been extremely busy! not only with work and the kids, but we took our house off the market with the realtor and just stuck a sign up ourselves, and i've actually had quite a few calls on it, and i've shown it 2 times in the last week and a half, so please pray with us that it will sell. we are also working on the "new house" trying to get it "livable" and up to my standards. ;) we've purchased the hard wood flooring, and it will soon be laid, we're painting, remodeling bathrooms, changing lighting, and oh, so much more!
the kids are doing well. jayden had croup and jacob has had a cold and has been REALLY ornery! i believe he's past the terrible 2 stage and right on into the horrible 2 stage! he's a GREAT big brother and loves his sister, but he choses to show her by karate chopping her and putting her in head locks. gotta' love'em. here's a few pics... jayden's 6 month and a few of jacob working...

1st day of school...

2009-02-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

just kidding! but he does look pretty darn cute! jason had to replace some windows in this school bus and it's the first time jacob's ever seen one up close, so i took him in it and he had the time of his life. it's amazing the simple things that amuse a child. :) on the other hand, there are the things that amuse his daddy, like the steelers winning the superbowl. we had a great time having a super bowl party at our house with some of our closest friends here. olivia did jacob's hair in a little mohawk. he was a little stud muffin. jason was quite excited that the steelers won, he now gets a free adjustment from our chiropractor, 'cause they had a friendly little wager of store credit/adjustment, depending on who won... GO STEELERS!!

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

2009-01-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

jacob really had lots of fun today with our snow... have to leave work so i can't write much, but here's some pictures...

cute pic!

2009-01-13T16:58:00.001-07:00

just thought i'd send this adorable picture along to brighten everyone's day... thanks for sending it to me julie...

sorry it's been so long...

2009-01-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

to tell you the honest truth... i really shouldn't be doing this right now, because i am sooooooo busy, but i need a change and a break from my routine right now. life here is pretty hectic right now, with work, kids, and trying to get the other house ready. Christmas was alright. we stayed here this year, which was different, but was very nice in the same. we had Christmas dinner with jason's mom's brothers and their wives and children/grandchildren. we also did a small family reunion over Christmas with the same family members. it was a lot of fun. all of the kids had a great time together and we really enjoyed catching up on the news. jason's brother and wife and daughter were in for the holidays and my in-laws were still here too. well, now i kinda' feel like a country western song... i work all day, have no money, have too much to do and my in laws have left. sounds great, huh!?! other than that, if you know how to paint, do carpentry, or remodel, you'd better not come near me, or i'll put you to work. ;)

more birthday pics

2008-12-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

just thought i'd send these along... grammy just gave these to me today... i actually took most of them, but i used her camera ;) thanks grammy.

excersaucer fun!

2008-12-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

jayden found the excersaucer the other night and she did really well. big brother decided he'd try to help her experience the fun. he actually wanted to get in it himself, but i tried to explain to him that it is a baby toy and now he's a big boy, but he still tried taking sister out so he could get in. last night he was trying to show sister how to turn the handle on it. he put her hand on it and turn it with her. he's such a good big brother!

our big boy is 2!

2008-12-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

it's hard to believe that 2 years ago today i was in the hospital giving birth to our beautiful son. he's such a big boy! jacob is really into thomas, cars, tools and football. he is a great big brother, a big helper and such a joy! it's so fun to watch him as he grows and learns and tries new things... like fixing "stuff" for us and trying to imitate us... sometimes that can be scarry too. ;) tonight we'll be going out for dinner at pizza hut, per jacob's request, and then we will have his party on sunday after church, in the afternoon. i've ordered an icecream cake, per my request, and we'll have a few friends and family join us.

week in michigan

2008-12-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

well, we're back from our michigan trip. it is bitter sweet, but more bitter than sweet. we had such a wonderful time in michigan, well i did anyway, that i wanted to stay longer and i didn't get to see ruth ann but for a couple hours. we did a lot when we were there. we had a couple parties, thanksgiving, christmas, jayden's dedication, my dad's birthday, 2 year old pictures, dinner with the halls and soooo much more. it was a BUSY week! overall a good time was had. however, reality calls and we had to get back to work and responsibility, so we are "back and in business".

we're here...

2008-11-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

well, we've been in michigan for a couple days now and what a blessing it is! we were able to go to church and REALLY be fed the word of God. we also had a party to see everyone here in michigan and let them see the kids. we had a lot of people come and it was a busy fun filled night. thank you to all of you who came and spent the evening with us. we had sooooo much fun seeing all of you. oma and opa have had a wonderful time with the kids and great oma has been spoiling them too. greatgrandpa was surprised how big his little man has gotten and is pretty proud of his great granddaughter. what a wonderful time we're having. my little cousins are really enjoying the kids and jacob enjoys entertaining them too. of course, he loves to be the center of attention. ;)

michigan or bust!

2008-11-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

well, we leave tomorrow for thanksgiving in michigan... PRAISE THE LORD!! i've wanted soooooo badly to see my family and friends back home for such a long while, this will be good for me i think. you don't realize how much you appreciate your family and friends and church until you leave it and then you realize what you're missing. i can't wait to really praise the Lord with our church family there. jayden will be dedicated and we will celebrate thanksgiving, Christmas, my dad's birthday and jacob's birthday. we will also be getting pictures taken and partying some more. it will be a busy but fun filled week with family and friends. jacob was helping feed the baby the other day and decided to feed "his baby" so i took a picture and here's also a couple other cute pictures i thought i'd send on as well... hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving and just remember all the things we have to be thankful for.

sooooo sorry!

2008-11-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

i'm soooo sorry it's been so long since i last blogged! i've been extremely busy with the kids, work and training a new lady at work. i did finally get someone hired to help me in the office and with the kids. she has been a blessing in that she is willing to help me with the kids too, without complaint, and also has been cleaning and helping with the things that haven't been done in a long time... like cleaning the nasty bathrooms, washing the windows and mirrors, and sorting through things.

the kids are growing like weeds and doing well. part of my busy-ness was that i had to take jayden to the hospital for a day and do lots of things with her. she was a sick little girl, but we believe it was just a viral thing now. she also had to have a ct scan of her skull, because i found a large lump on the back of her head, but the results from that came back normal. we are just praying that they stay that way. the dr. will continue to monitor that as we go in for check-ups.

the kids got their pictures taken recently and they turned out really cute! but then again i am a little biased. ;)

saturday's garage sale

2008-10-20T08:14:00.000-06:00

saturday we spent most of the day at grammy and grandpa's house helping with the garage sale, watching the football game and painting. jacob helped with the garage sale, daddy and jayden watched the game and mommy painted. it was a LONG day! jacob had lots of fun helping out and finding treasures. one of those treasures was a "microphone" a.k.a. an old lamp and a "guitar" a.k.a. a rod of steel. enjoy the video... he was imitating uncle perry...

jayden's 2 months

2008-10-16T08:16:00.000-06:00

it's hard to believe that our baby is already 2 months old. she is growing into such a big girl. she sleeps pretty well in the night, but doesn't like to nap much during the day unless you feed her LOTS, and boy, can she eat! she likes to smile and make us laugh. her big brother likes to kiss her and she's been kissing him back by licking him. yuck! he just thinks it's love and keeps kissing her. how sweet the love of a newborn!

yum!

2008-10-15T13:06:00.000-06:00

jacob is going thru a little fun phase of eating his grammy's food. yesterday she looked down and only had half of her half a sandwich. jacob had taken the top piece of bread and the tomato off her sandwich and he was eating it. then today she went back to get some soup off the stove top and when she came back he was eating her chunk of cheese. straight off the chunk too, he didn't want to wait for anyone to come and cut it.

4 years

2008-10-09T09:06:00.000-06:00

four years ago today i married my sweetheart and we started on this venture as man and wife. how exciting! each day gets better and better and i fall more and more in love. i am so blessed to have that one in a lifetime love. as i look back and recall that day it's so fun to remember all the happy memories and silly ones too. we are sooooooooo happy and excited for the many years to come.

go, go, go

2008-10-07T15:41:00.000-06:00

today i turned around after cutting a few keys to see jacob taking his first little stroll on his tricycle all by himself. he only went about 1-2 feet, but he did it all by himself. he barely reaches the pedals, so he can't go far, but before too long he'll be all over the shop.

my kiddos

2008-10-03T08:21:00.000-06:00

have you ever had that amazing feeling that you get when you look at your kids and realize that you have the most adorable child/children in the world and you've been amazingly blessed?!? as i look at my kids, i wonder why God would entrust them to me. i'm not worthy of such an awesome blessing and privilege, but i'm going to take each day and thank God for it.

this morning

2008-09-30T13:33:00.000-06:00

this morning the kids were really cute! well, they always are, but this morning i was just reminded of it. jacob and mommy went to the chiropractor and then we went to work, or for jacob, his organized golf time...
jacob loves to golf and this morning it must have been a dangerous game, because he had to wear a football helmet, and it was backwards too. jayden was a good girl and she laid in her play pen while mommy worked for a while. when i checked on her she gave me this funny face. what a cutie!!

jayden's 1 month (& a week) check up

2008-09-23T15:11:00.000-06:00

today jayden and mommy had dr's appts. they both went well. mommy is cleared on post- partum "stuff" but still under dr's care for the gall bladder. jayden is quite the little piggy! our little princess weighs in at 11#, she measures 23 1/2 in. and her head is 15 1/4 in. she is usually quite the happy baby and she likes to keep us busy. she likes to entertain her brother by being a dolly for him to maneuver and often looks like a marrionette while her brother pulls on her arms and legs to dance with him or he tries to pick her up by her arms. we often have to watch where we lay her, because he finds her and tries to "help out". she likes to swing and be sung to. she is our little sunshine!
jacob is our big boy and is doing well. he has had a little fall cold, but seems to be getting over it. he likes to take his nap at work with grandpa lately and i don't think grandpa really minds that either. ;) grammy caught them last week in the action...

dr's report

2008-09-20T15:13:00.000-06:00

i went to the dr yesterday and she said that everything went well and it's healing well. i have to go back to the dr. in 2 weeks and she will double check everything and then i should be cleared.

about the pictures of the kids... here they are...

it's out!

2008-09-19T14:30:00.000-06:00

the gallbladder is out and i'm kinda' back in business. i had the gallbladder out last week and have been at home relaxing. i go into the dr. today for my one week check up after the surgery and we'll find out if i can be off restrictions.
i have pictures of the kids to post, but i am running late for my appt... i'll post them later.

i deleted the last post

2008-09-06T19:26:00.000-06:00

because of some comments that were made i deleted the last post, but i would like everyone to know that jason's grandma was fully ALIVE when those pictures were taken, she was just sleeping. they were not meant to be morbid. i am truely sorry for upsetting you. it was when we went to visit her on jason's birthday and she was sleeping and she wouldn't wake up for the pictures. please forgive me.

happy days

2008-08-29T15:48:00.000-06:00

well, jayden is 13 days old today and we praise God daily for this new little life. what a joy she is and will be. big brother has done so well with her! he loves to kiss her and hold her and wants to play with her lots, but he needs to learn to be a little more gentle. it was adorable last night he found one of my neckwraps and put it on his neck and then he got into the drawer and pulled out some oven mits and put those on and he walked around clapping his hands like a seal. ;) he is such a joy! we are soooo blessed!

the nurse came to the house this morning and weighed jayden and checked on me too. jayden is now 8 lbs. 6 oz. she gained a lb. since last week when the nurse came to the house. at least we know she's eating enough. ;) well, i hope everyone has a wonderful labor day weekend!

she's here!!!!

2008-08-19T13:13:00.000-06:00

well, she's finally arrived! jayden elizabeth hullinger arrived saturday the 16th at 10:16 a.m. weighing 7 lbs 14.8 oz. and measuring in at 20.5 in. what a blessing!! we are celebrating her arrival with her brother daily. i think he is so totally in love with her we won't have to ever worry about her being able to date, because he's going to take care of any other boys. ;) he loves to kiss her and hug her and hold her any chance he can.

please pray with us as she is a little jaundice and she will be under billi lights here at home for a little while until we can control that and she has also lost some weight... she is now 7 lbs 3 oz. i am sure she'll come back from this quickly though.

we went to the dr. today...

2008-08-13T16:04:00.000-06:00

so, the new news is... if i don't have her naturally by monday, i will be enduced monday morning. the pains in my gallbladder have been enough, and the dr. has decided that enducing would be good. i will be 39 weeks and 2 or 3 days by then, so it is pretty much full term and everything, but even one day sooner for me is good! that is one day sooner to my gallbladder being taken out and that will be a great day too! so, we'll try to keep you all updated.

dr.'s report

2008-08-06T16:11:00.000-06:00

well, we just came back from the dr. and everything looks good. the dr. said that jacob looks well and she didn't even hear his little heart murmur and she said that the baby sounded good and i am now dilated to 3. we'll see our little girl soon hopefully.

dr. today...

2008-08-06T11:40:00.000-06:00

well, both jacob and mommy have dr.'s appt.s today so i will let you all know how everything goes. i forgot to mention in the last post that as of a week ago, on the 30th, my cervix was thinned to 80%, so we are just waiting... we'll let you know what she says today.

bed rest

2008-08-04T13:16:00.000-06:00

so, i started a post 2 weeks ago, but i got bumped off the internet, so i lost everything. i'm trying again...
i've now been on bedrest for almost 2 weeks, at that time, i was dialated to 2 and my cervix was thinned 50%. the dr. could feel the baby's head in position already. so, another week has passed and on friday (the 1st) i was in a car accident. i had gone to the dr. on thursday and she told me i could do a little bit more, but still to lay low. so i thought i would go to my students graduation. on the way, i thought i would stop and see the boys at work, so i was about a block away from the shop and a girl ran a stop sign and i hit her. it was her fault, so she got a citation, but i was transported to the hospital immediately and they checked both me and the baby and we both seem to be fine. the dr. has now taken me off of the contraction medication that was stopping my contractions and said if i go into labor, i go. she feels perfectly comfortable delivering the baby now and all is well. i also found out on wednesday that i have gall stones, so after the baby is born, they will be taking out my gallbladder. what fun!! hope all is well and if you don't hear from me in a while... that's why. please pray for jason as this is extra work for him.

oregon trail days

2008-07-21T11:15:00.000-06:00

where we live, in western nebraska, we live right on the old oregon trail. so, every year it is a big thing here to have "oregon trail days" where we have parades, a carnival, a craft show, an art fair, and other activities. it's always the 2nd weekend in july. this was jacob's first time going to anything related to "ot days" really. we went to the international food fair on friday and of course jacob wouldn't eat anything because he was too busy watching people, but mommy enjoyed "nebraska twisters" which are homemade potato chips/french fries. they were really good! daddy got hotdogs and potato chips... how exciting... but they're his favorite and it benefitted the alzheimer's association. then on saturday, we got up and went to the otd parade. this was jacob's first parade ever and he seemed to really enjoy it. he loved whinnying at the horses and honking at the firetrucks. there were a lot of really "normal" style floats with the ribbons and kids just sitting on them and waiving, but there were a couple really cool ones too. one of my favorite floats was the one from the bank, they posed as the statue from the twin towers. jacob also really enjoyed watching all the people. he is definitely his mother's child. at the parade, one of the banks was handing out ice cream push pops, so jacob tasted a push pop for the first time and devoured it! he also enjoyed it when the people threw candy, because even though he was too little to go and fetch it, he had his own little fetching mate. one of our friends from church would run out and get candy for him, so it was even better, because he didn't have to fight through the other kids. that was about all we went to as a family for ot days. i went to the craft show, by myself of course. ;) it was a great weekend overall.

my other kids...

2008-07-10T13:48:00.000-06:00

as many of you know, i teach a sign-language class for high school students at our local community college during the summer. i am pretty proud of my kids there and i just wanted to share with you some of their "letters". we did these to make a sign-language alphabet book. the kids formed their letter that they chose and then they had to bring an object in to represent their letter. some of them did really well, while others just grabbed something when they walked in class, but regardless, i'm still pretty proud of them. and for those of you who are wondering... it's plaster of paris inside of a powder-free latex glove. here are the w (is for water), the d (is for dollar), and the f (is for frog).

4th of july weekend

2008-07-07T14:35:00.000-06:00

well, we hope all of you had as much fun as we did over the fourth!?! we did go up to hart ranch in rapid city, s.d. but we did not end up going to rushmore as planned. we found out that they actually did them on the 3rd at rushmore and we didn't know that 'till it was too late. it was good anyway, because afterward we were watching the news and they said that they hoped to get the last of the cars out of the parking lot of rushmore by about 3:30 a.m. on the 4th. it's always packed on the fourth. we watched the fireworks on the t.v. on the 3rd and on the fourth we did a little shopping and relaxing and swimming. jacob of course loved the swimming! he was not happy when we decided to leave after about an hour/hour and a half. then on saturday, we went to "storybook island" in rapid and jacob had the time of his life! there are a bunch of characters and objects to climb on and play with and a park area and train that the kids can ride for .75 and lots more. we were only there for a couple hours, but could have spent MUCH more time there and the best part is, it was free except for the .75 train ride. then we went out for lunch and back to the cabin to rest and take naps... haha! jacob was soooo wound up after that, that he didn't want to sleep until it was about time for jason and i to go on a little date. so, we had to wake jacob up to go stay with grammy and grandpa for a couple hours while mommy and daddy went out to play glow in the dark putt-putt and go out for dinner. we had a great time being alone, which doesn't happen very often. then on sunday we got up and went to the restaurant for breakfast with grammy and grandpa. they went off to church and we played hookie and went swimming instead. we wanted to go at least one more time before we left and we kinda' wanted to get an early start back home, so we went swimming and then met up with grammy and grandpa for lunch before we left town. over all we had an awesome weekend! hope yours was good too!?!