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

Halloween 2011

I love halloween! It's so much fun to go to the pumpkin patch and pick our pumpkins, carve them and cook the seeds and finally getting our costumes on and going out for the long walk to get treats! We bought two bags of chocolates to hand out but we must live too high up in the small community cause we only had a few trick-or-treaters. So mama got that candy!


Boys couldn't wait to carve their own pumpkin!



Our finished product!

They boys finished product all by themselves they did their own! So proud!
My beautiful daughter and her beautiful friend Emily
never too old to trick or treat

Pirate Jack Sparrow aka Gabe
Angry Bird aka Gideon
We got sooooo many comments about
the angry bird costume people either
had no clue or they loved it cause they
play it! Funny


We got a lot of candy. Walked for two hours. And had a wonderful time! Mama was the walker this year and she was glad to get the exercise but being out of shape really showed on her feet! We all had a wonderful year and another wonderful memory for the books!