5 Question Friday

1. What do you give teachers for gifts? Baked goods mostly, maybe a pretty ornament. We homeschool so it is more teachers at scouts. 2. Do you text? One finger texter or total pro? Totally pro, both fingers and half the time I look down at the key pad just to make sure I have it right. 3. Do you give back during the holidays? If so, in what way/which is your favorite charity? I love Salvation Army and all they do. I love to pick angels off the tree. But really it is so much fun to give to someone you know and not tell them. 4. If you would've been the sole winner of the 575+ million dollar Powerball jackpot, what would you have done with all that money? Giving aside. I would buy a big farm, I would hire a cook and maid and a assistant. I would build my dream home, I would have my mom and MIL build a home on the property. I would then spend a lot of time traveling the world with my family. Education everywhere. I would also higher a tutor for the kids. Oh I have a list of small things that I would buy for friends and families (cars and appliances). Oh my, I could spend months just shopping for others. I would enjoy my time with my family more. 5. Will you please take just a moment to spread the word and pray about my friend's missing family members? There still is no news, and I can't imagine their pain and worry. Facebook prayer page: Prayers for Trista, Shy and Matt This breaks my heart Pamela

Feeling Beachie

This week’s statements: 1. I have always dreamed of _opening my own bed and breakfast and cooking all the baked goods myself.___ 2. My love affair with no bake cookies___ is my _downfall this week and I am up in pounds___ 3. I love to _snuggle in a bed under a pile of blankets___ when I _stressed or sick.___ 4. I will never forget _have a love affair___ with __salad, because they look slimy and gross. __ Pamela

Christmas baking

How do your children shop for Christmas? Do they shop for one another? Do they shop for friends? My girls always have a list of things they want to buy for one another or for someone else. This year I allowed them to have a bake sale. They sold Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and carrot cake, they also sold various cookies. They did a great job. I do not think they expected the amount of baking it would take or the amount of dishes they would have to wash. I think next year we will let the kids draw names. We have always drawn names until this year. I really enjoyed baking with them. Sometimes life gets busy and we do not take time to just relax and do fun things together. I really like to have most of my Christmas shopping done before December so that way we can enjoy the Christmas season and spend time getting to know one another. Pamela

Our first real tree

Do you have a live or artificial Christmas tree? We have always had a fake one? I am OCD about it having matching everything too. I do not like colored bulbs and I do not like handmade ornaments. I know I am a bit of a scrooge. Well that is all changing. This year we went to the Christmas tree farm with other families from church. We picked out a tree and brought it home. We went back out and bought colored lights. We are making all homemade Christmas ornaments. Guess what? I do not mind. I am excited about making ornaments together. The Christmas tree farm was wonderful. They had hot chocolate and a bon fire for smore’s. They had a train ride and a wagon ride. I think they said there was 38 acres of land to find the perfect tree. You could cut it down yourself or ask them to. The kids had a great time, the employees were awesome, and the hot chocolate was great. I will keep you updated on how the ornaments come along. I would love to hear your ideas for homemade ornaments. I would also be open to knowing why we cannot get the tree to stand up straight. We have bought a second stand and it still falls. Pamela

Miscellany Monday

We had a great week. I love Thanksgiving because I love having friends over. I love setting and baking. This year my girls are having a bake sale to raise money to buy gifts for each other and a are doing something else really neat. They baked and baked, I baked and baked. We cleaned and cleaned and went back to the store about a million times. So now we decide how to handle the things that did not get picked up. Several people were not there to pick up their goodies. We also went to the Christmas tree farm. This is our first year with a real tree. I am open for any suggestions on how to take care of it. Pamela

Feeling Beachie

The statements are: 1. I put ketchup and maybe cheese_ on a hot dog 2. when it_rains__ I _go nuts with the kids in the house. ___ 3. If my house_self cleaning___then I would be able to_nap daily and invite more friends over. __ 4. If I was getting married tomorrow I would __not have taken the word obey out of the vows______ differently so we could __respect each other____differently now. The code is:

Getting to know me-Goals

9. What are your goals? What are your hobbies? Hmm, so many goals. My first goals are to lose another 21 pounds, I have got to get strong about my exercise again. I have really slacked off and the scale is not moving. My goals are to really start blogging. I love blogging but I do not give it the time I want to. My hobbies are all over the board. I can do a lot of basic things. I can decorate a cake basicly but only did the first set of classes, I can sew but only the basic straight lines, I love baking and cooking. Only my husband does not like to see me with sharp objects. I love scrapbooking and making cards but have not done it in a couple years. One day I will get back to it all. Pamela

Getting to know me-Blogging edition

10. Why did you start blogging and what is your blog about? I started blogging because my friends told me I should. They also told me I need to write a book but I do not think that will happen. I enjoy blogging about my kids, my life, what I cook and bake and I blog about life in the military. I want to blog more about my faith and about PTSD. I want to take my time and blog about what I am thinking. I want to blog without fear. 11. What are a couple of your favorite blog tools that you use? None, I do not know any tricks, I would love to take a blogging class, I would love to have my blog redesigned with current pictures and gadgets. My dream would be to have a active blog frog community. Pamela

Getting to know me-Family edition

8. Tell us a bit about your family! UMM, let me think about what I want to say. I think I will tell you about the family in my house. Where do I start? There is the amazing man who married me over 17 years ago and continues to make me smile and pull my hair out all in the same day. There is the dog I did not want but that continues to only want me. She is a Dutch shepard. My amazing husband got her 36 hours after our dog died because he could not handle the look in my children’s eyes. There is the cat. Again my husband’s doing. Our cat died within a few days of moving into our home and a friend saw a stray kitten in her neighborhood. What she did not realize is that kitten was 6 months old and PREGNANT! Oh wait, you want to hear about my children. They are just your normal, crazy, loud, sensitive, loving, drive me crazy kids. Michael is 16, can’t believe I am admitting that one. He is my caregiver, he thinks in black and white and everyone should follow the rules. He loves to help the kid who is having problems. Faith is 12, she is already wearing my shoes and I am already wearing her jeans. But don’t tell her because it drives her batty. She is a little momma, she loves to take care of kids and they really cling to her. Hope is 10, she is my bug loving, dirt digging, OCD cleaning child. If she visits your home she is probably going to find a room to clean and organize. She is my only baby with red hair. It is nice to have someone who looks like me. Grace is 7, she is my baby girl for sure. She has decided to be shy recently and I am kind of enjoying it. She wants to do things on her own but then wants you to take care of her. She is the smallest of my children. She was born at 2.12 pounds and still thinks she needs to be little. Jason is 4, he is all boy. Running and screaming and fighting and breaking things. He repeats everything I say just to hear himself talk. He loves to wrestle and loves to be snuggled. He wants nothing more than to be told he is doing something right. James is 2, he is the baby and he knows it. He talks constantly; he loves to repeat what we are saying. He does not want to just be snuggled but wants to have your arms wrapped snuggly around him. He has definitely learned how to get his way. If he wants something he runs to Faith and just smiles at her. Very often you will find him snuggled up in her arms while she does school. He has really become his own self in the last few months. He loves to climb and play.

Miscellany Monday-formal style

This weekend was our formal. I was so excited to get all dressed up. I wish we could have a formal with friends and do fun things. Formals are CRAZY expensive and crazy boring unless you drink. It was really neat how my friend Lindsie got to help me get dressed and not laugh at me for all the things I kept messing up. Speaking of friends, let me tell you this girl has ROCKED the weight loss. Not only has she loss weight but she has toned up and looks super HOT! I am so proud of her. She is keeping me motivated. Pamela

Getting to know me

I am sorry I was distracted yesterday, so today you get two questions. 6. Where have you worked? I have been a nanny/babysitter for several people. I was the supervisor at a drug store. I have volunteered at a million other things. While money is nice I would volunteer any time. When we lived in Germany I ran a program called T.I.M.E., it stood for toddlers, infants, mothers education. It was one of my favorite volunteer jobs. Right now I am in charge of the meals at our church. Every Sunday after the service and Wednesday before the service we have a full meal. I love it, I love cooking, I love when other people cook, I love planning it. 7. Has your life gone the way you expected it? So much better. I would have told you 20 years ago that I would be single and not happily married. I never dreamed I would be married with 6 kids and loving it. When things get super busy and super crazy I long to just get back home. I seriously enjoy being in the house with the kids and cooking and cleaning. Don’t get me wrong if I am in the house too long I start itching to get out again. Pamela

Closest friends

5. Who were your closest friends as a teenager? Weird question but I would probably say my husband. We started dating right before my freshman year. I had other friends but between working and him there was not much free time. Why oh why did we not have cell phones back then. It would have made my life so much easier. Does that tell you how old I am?

What type of Student were you?

4. What type of student were you in school? Oh how I hate to admit this, I was one of those students who did just what she had to do to pass. Breaks my heart. My husband is so smart, he can answer any question and remembers everything. I know it is because he was taught to study to remember it not just to pass a test. My kids think I am nuts to not let them get a C and to sometimes make them re do a B. If they really tried it is one thing but I know they can do better. I think part of the reason I enjoy homeschooling is because of how much I am learning. What was your favorite part of school? Do you have better memories from Elementary or high school? I think I have more from middle school. Pamela

5 Question Friday

1. What snacks/drinks do you eat at the movies? Must have a LARGE popcorn with butter and I must eat 90% of it by myself and they must allow refills. My lips must hurt from all the salt and butter before I leave and yes I must take some home to eat the next day. Heck, I do not even care about the movie, just bring me home popcorn. 2. What’s one food you refuse to try? Salad, that is right, the only thing I will eat in a salad is the pickles. I know that is horrible but I cannot stand anything in a salad. 3. What’s your favorite nail polish color? French tip, I am addicted. Right now I get this nail polish that last about 3 weeks and because it is French tip it is hard to notice that it is growing out. 4. What is your favorite Thanksgiving Day tradition? Hmm, we use to put up the Christmas tree but not anymore. I would say it is just having everyone over and setting and talking and relaxing. 5. What are your least favorite words in the English language? Throw up, why do they not say up chuck. And Fart, SERIOUSLY if I hear it I want to crawl in a hole somewhere. Okay one more, when people say YELP.

Getting to know me Day 3

3. What's some of your favorite memories from childhood? How do I choose just one. Okay, this one makes me look like a bad child but it is comical. My mom volunteered at my elementary school. I was in fifth grade and my teacher was on extended leave (maybe she was having a baby). We had a new teacher and I did not like her. I couldn’t tell you why now except that she replaced my teacher. For some reason I sat in the back of the class. Well one day she said something to me that I did not like and I (are you ready for it), I chunked my math book at her from the back of the room. Only my aim was not good and my arms were weak. I hit another class mate. So the teacher sent me to the principle, the principle sent me to my mom and my mom sent me back to the principle. Then the principle sent me back to class. So I never got in trouble for anything. Thanks mom for volunteering at my school. Pamela

More Family Pictures

More family pictures. I wish I had the money to order a million of them all. I wish I could find just one where everyone was looking in the same direction. It is hard to get a good picture of Hope, she did a great job to get her looking right at her. Did I tell you that Kristen took our homecoming pictures, for FREE. She is a wonderful lady. One of the things that thrilled me was that she took all the little bumps off my teens faces and fixed a tooth of one of the children. Pamela

Getting to know me

It is not too late to get involved in the Blogger 15 Day challenge. I would love to see you link up and get to know you better. Here are the questions she has come up with. Please link up and tell her I sent you. Challenge Questions: 1. Introduction to this Challenge and tell us a little about yourself! 2. Where did you grow up? Small town or Big City? 3. What's some of your favorite memories from childhood? 4. What type of student were you in school? 5. Who was your closest friends as a teenager? 6. Where have you worked? 7. Has your life gone the way you expected it? 8. Tell us a bit about your family! 7. What are your hobbies? 8. What are some of your fears? 9. What are your goals? Parenting, Life, Career? 10. Why did you start blogging and what is your blog about? 11. What are a couple of your favorite blog tools that you use? 12. Your top 5 posts and why you think they were successful. 13. 3 blogs you visit and read enthusiastically. 14. Social Networks/Blog Communities you want others to know you're a part of. 15. Closing and any upcoming posts or raffles you would like to share with us.

Getting to know me

1. Introduction to this Challenge and tell us a little about yourself! I saw this blogger link up this morning and knew it was for me. Every night I lay in bed and think about what I want to really write about and yet I never seem to get there. Maybe I will set a new years goal. I do not normally set New Year’s goals. So for the next 15 days you are going to be learning more about me. I would love it if you joined up and let me know. I know I said for the next 15 days but I missed day one so today you are privileged with two days in one. Consider it a gift from me. 2. Where did you grow up? Small town or Big City? I better guide my words carefully because some of my friends may read my blog. When I grew up I would have told you it was a small town. But after I left it really grew up and I would not say it is a BIG city but it has definitely grown. Have you seen the show We Are Marshall? That was my home town. They also had The Naked Chef did Food Nation in my hometown. They went in and tried to teach the schools how to cook for the students. Honestly that show was embarrassing because so many people on the show were against it. I always say I would never live back in that town or even that state. Then we go home for a visit and I start dreaming about where we would live. Is it bad that the thing I look forward to the most is the food? So where did you grow up? Do you still live there? If not would you still like to live there? And because I want to get to know you tell me one thing you remember about your home town. Pamela

Wordless Wednesday

We took Faith shooting the other day. She was thrilled the first couple of times and then she decided to just play on my phone. Pamela

Peppermint Syrup

I recently made a yummy peppermint syrup. The first time I over cooked it and it hardened up. Then I took the time to read the directions again. I know this is not a great picture. I plan on putting them in little jars and giving away for Christmas. I can not wait to make a cheesecake and pour it over it. I already tried it on french toast and all I can say is YUMMY! I found the recipe on pinterest. It was really simple. 1. unwrap 8 candy canes 2. mix 2 cups sugar and one cup water on the stove 3. break the candy canes and put in water mixture and mix until dissolved. 4. continue cooking until boiling, let boil 3-5 minutes 5. let cool in pan and then use You can find the exact recipe at Chica and Jo What do you give friends for a Christmas gift, what do you give your kids teachers? I am always looking for something new. Pamela

Family pictures

Before I explain these pictures I just have to say someone needs to do a blog make over for me. I have so many things I would like to change and we have alot of updates. Kristin did such a great job with our family pictures. Let me tell you anytime you are trying to take a family picture with 6 kids you must have plenty of patients. I cannot wait to give these out as Christmas gifts. I have more to show you but that will have to wait until another day. Pamela

My boy is 16

Today my baby boy turns 16. The boy who is the protector of our home. The boys who struggles to not try to be the boss of our home. This teen loves to fish with dad and go on boyscout camp outs. He loves to help other people and hang out with friends. He enjoys working at church. You have to feel bad for him though, since he is the biggest the kids are always climbing on him or asking to be carried. Even during family pictures he had to be on the bottom. While he does not understand his size and oftens hurts them he loves to play with his siblings. Every morning they flock to him for attention. So how does a boy who is turning 16 spend his day. All he wanted for his birthday was to go fishing with dad. ALONE- as in no little children. So that is what he is doing. We are having him a party next weekend. Pamela