Gingerbread Time

My bestie came over today and brought gingerbread houses to build! It was so much fun. The kids really enjoyed the time and tried to sneak little bites here and there!

They all of a sudden turned it into a competition. Kids! ;0)

I took a few shots but was trying to be helpful too. In the end Jared with his gingerbread train was the best looking!

Gideon and Michelle were first runner up and Gabe and Cheyenne were second runner up!

Jared building his train gingerbread house

Gideon and Michelle did pretty good on their own!

Gabe and Cheyenne really tried and Mara did awesome helping! Gabe wanted to do the bunny ears, starts young

There must be some trick??? We can't keep this house together!

Hurry decorate before it falls!

Thank you Mara for the fun! You are so sweet! A sweet memory!

I Am Thankful

I am thankful for....................

1. My God and Savior who shows me abounding grace in all times and love in unexpected times.
2. My wonderful husband, through all of the up hills, I prayed for a Godly man and God gave me the best gift and what I totally needed.
3. Krissy, my first baby and has my heart. Your love and compassion and the way you stand up for those you love is admirable.
4. Gideon, my first son, from Dominique. I will never forget the tears of love that your daddy and I shared when you came into our world. You are precious.
5. Gabriel, my last baby and most sensitive child. Your love for the people in your world is stronger than most I've seen in adults and strong men.
6. Mom, my best friend and confidante. I am in awe of our relationship and I love you more than you can imagine.
7. Pop, growing up and maturing and realizing how much you love me in your way has been priceless.
8. Karla, you have the words to say when I need them the most. You are so wise and I don't think you even know how much we appreciate you.
9. Rachel, my baby sister. I have always wanted to shelter and protect you, I can't explain that bond we have but I am thankful through the miles how our lives take on so much similiarity.
10. Mara, my bestie...... 22 years is the longest relationship I have had! I love how time can pass and you and I will always be you and me.
11. Friends. They come and go with the different seasons of life but none are forgotten and all have meant something special in my heart.
12. In-laws. I have the best brother in law and sister in law that a girl could ask for, so loving and open and so much fun to be around!
13. My home. Sometimes locations change but God always provides me a place to stay that is above my expectations.
14. My job. I love who I work with and I love my actual job, it can be stressful but it's still a wonderful place to be.
15. My newfound interest in reading. You have saved my life in a way that I needed to have an escape to the stress of this world.
16. Food, I love food and the joy of eating and making food. God again has always supplied me with more than enough and I am thankful.
17. Car. I can go anywhere and not have to depend on someone else or the bus. So nice.
18. Me. I went through many years of not liking who I was and the choices I had made but in this stage, I am loving myself regardless of what I think I should be. I am a beautiful creation of my maker and he is not done yet.


May your reflections be sweet........

The Spirit of the Season

This week for home-school my boys are doing a food drive!

There have been times when we have needed to go to the local food shelf and they have always been very good to us. Now it's our time to give back.

My kids were looking under the tree at their presents and fighting like kids do about who has more presents. My husband decided to use that learning moment to bring up others that have no food and no presents for christmas. After he kept going on and on, I had a light bulb go off!

We should do a food drive! One of my friends Natalie, has done this before. And so I thought what a great idea. But then we've never had the time to do it, until the boys have become home-schoolers! So we created a flyer based off of the flyer my friend sent me.

Not only does it show the spirit of Christmas, it also shows my kids that you can always give back. When you need help and you receive help and then giving back when your able.

They dropped empty paper bags with this flyer attached to it on tuesday.

Bayport Neighborhood

2011 Food Drive

Dear Neighbors,

In the spirit of the holiday season, we are gathering food for the Valley Outreach Food Shelf in
Stillwater. Winter break with students home from school can be difficult for some families to feed
their students that normally qualify for free or reduced lunches at school. Valley Outreach serves
400 families per month more than 36,000 pounds of canned goods, fresh produce and dairy
products. About 50% of the individuals served each month are children, 20% are elderly, 10% are physically or mentally challenged, and the rest are adults who are either employed – sometimes at more than one job – or unemployed and unable to find work as a result of the economic recession. Those who are employed typically work at low-wage position(s) with little or no employee benefits and are unable to make ends meet..

Please add non-perishable items to this grocery bag and place it at your front door with the flyer
facing the street. We’ll pick it up on Friday, December 23, 2011 between 4:00-5:00 PM. We cannot accept glass containers, perishable items or home-canned foods.

Want to do more? Funds go farther! Financial donations go far to serve our neighbors in need.
Through our food bank partners, Emergency Food-Shelf Network and Second Harvest Heartland, we are able to purchase between 6 to 9 times more food per dollar than can be purchased through retail grocery stores. We spend an average of $6,000 each month to purchase food and other inventory to keep our shelves stocked.

Thank you in advance for participating! Please let us know if you have any questions!
Sincerely,

Gideon, Gabriel, Dominique and Dominique
Dandk75@juno.com

We will see what happens! This is the first year that I really feel good about the holidays coming and not stressed about having enough money for gifts for everyone. This has been good for all of us!

I'll post pic's of the collection and when we weigh it!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Baby

Saturday, December 10, 2011 was my husband's birthday. This year seemed very sweet. We cleaned up the house from all of it's disrepair it's currently in and had a little get together for family.

We made homemade spaghetti. I made the meatballs and since we were having guests, I made them big and delicious! Dj made his famous homemade sauce, which is always very tasty! He also made his original garlic toast which really is something to behold!

I made Dj a homemade carrot cake. He likes them so I thought what better one to make. With cream cheese frosting, also homemade!

So we gathered for a good day and a good memory. Christmas tree made the ambiance. Dj gave a little speech for us before we ate, he won't let me post what he said but it was very beautiful and touching. About how he is blessed with all of us that love him. Very nice.

Birthday boy

Carrot cake that I made just for Dj's birthday!

Gabriel Indiana Jones and Gideon from Mary Poppins

Grampa being funny with Gabe's new hat

Chocolate covered bacon!

Gramma Pam!

Nice pic of Grampa and Gabe

Nice pic of me and my pop

My mom and me

Happy 45th birthday love!

Happy Birthday Gideon!

Today is my son's real birthday! He is 8 years old today. We are still in Alexandria for celebrating Thanksgiving with our family. So we were able to open a little something for him and the kids and then we had DQ blizzard cake! Yumm so delicious.

Waiting patiently for presents

Good ice cream cake!
Gideon doesn't enjoy real cake so he picked ice cream,his fav!
The blizzard cakes are by far better than the regular ice cream cake!
Gabe got to open a little something something....
Present from Krissy,so sweet
Emily got a little something something


It was more enjoyable being with close family. Hard to believe 8 years have passed. I can still remember the day Gideon was born. The joy that was shared between my husband and myself as we held our little Gideon, our first son together was indescribable. One of the greatest days of my life and one of the most precious gifts from my Heavenly Father.

Happy Birthday Gideon.......

Beautiful Day In Alexandria

The day after Thanksgiving, I took the kids out to an area park in Alexandria. This one was a really nice one and I bet in Spring it's even more beautiful. Right on a lake. Alexandria really is a beautiful area.

I love shopping at Target! I usually go to Walmart for the best prices but love looking at Target. Yesterday after the black friday craziness I went in to look for Gideon's birthday present. He wanted a baby sock monkey and the only place that sells it is Target.


Krissy originally picked this ring out as something she wanted. I owed her a few bucks so I agreed to buy it for her. Then later she saw some Hello Kitty ear muffs and picked that instead of the ring. So I was supposed to put the ring back. After we got home, Kris was like oh you still bought me the ring?? I was like no?? Then she pulled it out and I was like oh shoot I meant to put that back! So I told her I'd just keep it!


So we both got something we liked! I love this ring! I like gaudy jewelry, I don't know why but this is right up my alley! Merry Christmas to me!

Kinky

It's not what you think..... my friend Amie posted this drink to facebook once. It got me intrigued, I wanted to try it! So at Thanksgiving with my favorite in-laws, we are going to try it! yahoo party time! Happy Thanksgiving!

My Baby Got her Permit

It is so surreal. When Krissy hit 16, it was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that she is getting so grown up! Then she got the chance to start Driver's Ed. I never really thought too far ahead on her getting through the class and getting her permit. It went sooooo fast!

She was a little nervous and really excited! She was one of 5 kids that showed up to take her permit test. I asked the people that worked there how long the test was and he said generally about 20 minutes. I saw kids go up and get their test corrected and most passed, this one kid did not pass. I felt so bad for him and his mom as I could only imagine that ride home. When another kid passed and his mom was there with him, I gave a little congrats and a clap for them. We were all in the same boat hoping our kids would pass and so the comraderie between us, or at least us parents was fun.

Krissy was not overly confident that she would pass. My mother's intuition was quiet, so I was a little nervous for her sitting in the chairs. I sent up a prayer to my Father to ask him to allow her to pass the first time. Show her how smart she really is and give her confidence!

40 minutes later, Krissy walked up to have her test corrected. I stood beside her. Seeing the lady put down the mapping of correct numbers on top of Krissy's it didn't look too bad. Krissy really thought she didn't pass by the looks of it, not sure why???? She counted up the errors and both Kris and I counting to see if she went over 9 incorrect. She never got to nine. Then she told us pass!

I had tears in my eyes. Thank you God for answering my prayer and showing Krissy she can do anything she puts her mind to but he kept her humble. I patted her on the back and told her I knew it! Krissy was in a good mood and smiled. And then couldn't wait to get her paper permit so she could drive home!

She asked twice if she could drive now and they assured her that she could. Paper in hand we walked out of there and I passed over the keys. My sweet little Krissy is so grown up now. The license is just around the corner now. I cannot believe it.

She did great behind the wheel! She likes to chit chat about everything she is doing and why she's doing it. I'm not sure if that's more for me or for her? I know I should have been nervous but I really didn't feel nervous. It was nice! She is going to be such a good driver. I'm proud of her. I hope it all sticks with her. Safeway did an excellent job of teaching her! Now for her behind the wheel instructions with them.

She has to have so many hours of practice on highways, downtown, around town and at night. I think it's so reassuring if we do all this practice for when she finally is on her own, I can feel more assured she will be alright on the roads.

Thank you God for such a blessing!

Birthday Blast

We celebrated the day of Gideon and Gabriel's birth today! We went to the Wooddale Fun Zone this year. They love the rollerskating and the arcade! Our wonderful neighbor Steve gave the boys like $15 dollars in quarters just for the arcade. What a great birthday present.

We got our first snow fall of the season this day. I could not believe it! The roads were so slippery. I felt so bad having anyone drive over there. But they did, such Minnesota troopers! We all made it and were safe! The boys were happy and got so many things they wanted. It was a great deal for what we got!

Gideon's in heaven!

Cory my camera isn't that fast! Keep smiling!

Gabe hit a jack pot!

Oh look boys your famous!

I was going to make cake pops but stayed out too late the night before, thank the Lord for Walmart's pre-made cakes!

Gideon loves his shirt from Gramma!

Our buddy Jared!

My friend of 18 years, Mara!

Oh the cutie and my sissy!

This is a good one of Kris and me!

Another Vikings fan, Uncle Rob!

Smile ladies!

My sister and my mom...

Idrese our buddy!

To My Darling Daughter

When I first heard this song, I thought about my sweet Krissy, she was little then. This has always been a song that I have wanted to dedicate to her. Now that she is 16, I think she can finally understand the lyrics and words. And that her mama loves her with all her heart!

If Tomorrow Never Comes
by Garth Brooks

Sometimes late at night
I lie awake and watch her sleeping
She's lost in peaceful dreams
So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark
And the thought crosses my mind
If I never wake up in the morning
Would she ever doubt the way I feel
About her in my heart
If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way
To show her every day
That she's my only one
If my time on earth were through
And she must face the world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes
'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance
To tell her how I feel
If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way
To show her every day
That she's my only one
If my time on earth were through
And she must face the world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes
So tell that someone that you love
Just what you're thinking of
If tomorrow never comes

Being a Mom ain't always fun

So this weekend I had a couple of mom moments. Ones that I would like to forget and wonder if my kids ever will.

One was with my daughter, 16 and a wonderful girl. We bumped heads we'll say this weekend and I got really angry. I let her know all the things that I currently allow, I could take all away and make her more like her friends parents. For example, delete facebook, take away her cell phone, make her come home afterschool and some other stuff.

My son, Gideon was also having a time this weekend. He was playing with his spit, it's hard to describe. But he somehow can make spit come out of his mouth and then it dangles to a certain degree and then he sucks it back up. Oh just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. So I have asked him not to do this and last night again I asked him to stop. He then blatantly does it in front of me and smiles about it. So again I get mad that he's being so disrespectful on purpose. He's almost 8 and he knows what he's doing. No way would he do that for dad! So I disciplined him. Then he gets super mad at me. Runs to the living room and starts throwing stuff on the floor. So I follow him and tell him to now pick it all up and go to his room. He picks it all up and on the way to his room tells me that I'm always so mean to him. Like I never do anything like this to Gabe or Kris. Ok..... well in fact I tell him that I did it just yesterday to Gabe but he must not have been paying attention. Little drama king. Then later when he cooled down, I went to try and talk with him and give him some love to let him know that it's over and I love him. But he pulls away from me. Purposely. And then I let him cause I feel like it's valid that he is still upset but at least he's being respectful. And then at bed time, boom, when we're laughing and goofing around and finish praying then he won't let me kiss him goodnight. Some of this is that he's not comfortable as much with me hugging on him and kissing him. I was similiar as a child so I want to be respectful. Oh but my heart. It just breaks thinking that my kids are still holding it against me. Some day maybe they will understand but for now, it's hard.

So it just makes me question my parenting. Am I doing what I should be? Am I doing enough of what I should be when I should be, probably not. I lack like any parent in some areas and I know it. I could do so much better. And with my 16 year old and her decisions I think, where does this come from? Didn't I raise her differently? I have really failed her.

I just had to vent. I love my kids with my soul. I only want what is best for them. I hurt when we go through these times even though I know it's for their good. And someday I pray they see it through my eyes. I just hope they see that my love for them is stronger than the little bad times. And I'll never understand the boy in my sons. Good that they have their father around to help me understand. I am thankful for that.

Mini pumpkin whoopie pies.

Tonight I made mini pumpkin whoopie pies. They are very delicious! I have never been a fan of pumpkin so I've been Leary but then I made pumpkin bread and I loved it! Then I tried a red velvet whoopie pie from Starbucks and that was ok. But I felt I could make it better! So I found a recipe and tried it! Oh yum! Everyone should try this once!

Next I will figure out how to do a red velvet and that will be even better!

End Times Funny

My husband is big on the end times and signs. Yesterday we had a nice pink like sunset. And he was telling the boys about Jesus coming back soon. When I arrived home the boys came running up to the car all excited to tell me that Jesus is coming soon! We get to go to heaven soon.

Gabe says, maybe he'll come tomorrow during homeschool time. ;0) Precious.

It's nice that they are excited versus wondering what the heck. Glad that my hubby can talk about it openly and in a way that gets them pumped up!

I too await anxiously for Jesus's return, however I don't think he'll come during work time today. ;0)

Trevor's birthday.

The weekend of November 5th and 6th we went to my sister's house again for her son's birthday, Trevor! We had a blast! He turned 12 year old. It's hard to believe that 12 years have passed, especially cause in my mind I am still the same person. Funny your brain doesn't age.

Gabriel swimming at Gramma Pam's hotel pool!

Krissy in the hot tub

Gideon being stubborn about taking his pic

Marissa knows how to take a good pic with a smile and everything

Marissa and Gabe in his new hat from the Zaleski's

Kris and Marissa posing with Gabe

Group Shot!

Gideon with his sock monkey and his new hat from the Zaleski's

Krissy being cute

Mom and Pop, should've warned them I was taking the shot

The boys eagerly awaiting present time!

I didn't get very many good pic's this time. I missed the cake and pic's with my sister and family. Oh well. It was a very fun weekend. We made memories. And my heart was bonded even more with my sister, Rachel Anne Zaleski.

Uncle Jason showed the kids a good time watching the cowboys football game, again another good pic that I missed. He is a D.J. and he gave a sound and lights show for the kids while watching the game. He is such a good sport at times and my kids will never forget all the fun!

Trevor I hope you had a great birthday! Thank you for inviting us and all the fun we were able to have with you. I hope your 12th year is good to you.

Sock Monkey

Crazy pic of Gabe

Auntie Rachel

Gideon acting silly