Hey Y'all!!

I know....it's been FOREVER!!! I haven't updated for a long time...I think before Mother's Day. I'm not sure how long this post will be, I have a jam-packed day today.

Right now Ashley is getting her braces off!!! YAY! YAY! I think she was up at the crack of dawn. I'll post a picture sometime this weekend. She still needs to wear a retainer with a fake tooth attached until she's about 18 when she be able to get a permanent tooth put in. Does that sound familiar, Lorrie?!---Allison still has a way to go until she gets hers off. They said she'll get them off in time for senior pictures. Poor girl. Alli still struggles with a slight lisp that she's had since childhood, and the ortho. tells us it's because of her teeth. He assured her that as soon as her teeth are fixed, she'll be able to say her words a lot better.

Today is the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!! I usually love this day, but today we're struggling a bit. The kids are having a difficult time saying goodbye, as expected. Allison wrote cards out to each of her favorite teachers last night. I told her that it's the best present a teacher could receive.

My girlfriends and I are heading out of town tonight for one last HURRAH!! We will be dancing up a storm tonight. :) The boys are going to a 'Rendevois' with the neighbors, and the girls have 'end of the year' parties. It's the perfect night to go.

Chuck will be busy painting our new home this weekend. I wish I was there to help him. I'll post pics when I see them!

Otherwise, lots of packing and giving things away has been our daily schedule.

Yesterday was my final day with Sawyer. I can't post much about that, 'cause as Sawyer would say, "Didty trying??" (Chrissie crying?) "Why, Didty, why??" Sigh..... I have a special post on the way for my Sukey boy.

Have to go see my beautiful Ashley's new smile! Have a great weekend everyone! Sorry so quick!

What I love about my 11 yr. old

It's 2 days late, but here it goes:

You act so tough, but deep down I know that you are so caring and sensitive. Your feelings get hurt, but you try so hard not to show it.

You stick by your family through thick and thin. Yes, you may fight and disagree, at times, with all of us, but you are loyal to the end. Nobody says anything bad about our family in your presence! And that includes all your cousins. :)

You are so thankful whenever you recieve gifts. You make the person feel as if they've given you the best gift in the whole world.

You are a rule-follower. You know what's right and what's wrong. You like to play fair, and will fight for justice. Some call you 'cautious', but I call you RESPONSIBLE. I can count on you to keep an eye on your brother or cousins, and trust that when you've had enough you will let me know.

You think positive most of the time--even though I know that it's hard sometimes.

I love your activity level. Your love of sports inspires me to try new things. Sorry--I know I'm terrible at football....that ball seems to always jam my fingers, I don't know what I do wrong. I can't wait to see you flying down the ski slopes! You are so brave in that way.

Trying escargot for the first time......

I couldn't love you any more than I do. I hope you have a fantastic 11th year....full of wonderful surprises, exciting adventures, and breathtaking moments.

Happy Birthday.

Whew.....it's been a while!

Time is flying by so fast. I waste my days away wishing time would slow down, and at the end of each day I'm angry at myself for not DOING something that day. Whether it be packing a single box--which I haven't done yet--to just being outside savoring the day with the kids, or going to the park, or having coffee with a friend, you name it....I haven't done it. I sit here in my house THINKING about moving, looking at pictures of our future home, being sad whenever a sad song plays on the radio, reading my book so that I don't think of things that are too painful. I find myself pulling away--from friends, our church, the kids' schools. I, wrongly, think it'll make it easier in the end to leave. It couldn't be further from the truth. I think there's also a little depression sinking in there somewhere, too.

A couple weeks ago, my girlfriends started planning an overnighter for all of us to take. It happened to fall on the same day as the kids got out of school. I, immedietly thought NO WAY...I can't be gone on their last day of school! Chuck won't be home that weekend, and I need to be here to taxi everyone around. Well, emails started flooding my inbox from my friends. They were all tear-jerkers. You know, the ones that say how much I mean to them, that it's just hitting them that I'm actually leaving. They all said that we NEEDED this night....one last hurrah for a while. I put everyone on hold until I could figure this out. My wonderful neighbor Gail (and closest friend) suggested that her husband Chad(Chuck's closest friend) take the boys camping with him that night at Gail's parents house. It's their Rendezvous weekend (I don't know if you remember that from last year--they shoot bow, tomahawk throw, etc.) and he wanted to take the boys with him that night anyway. Soooo...I thought, the girls will be doing something with their friends that night, guaranteed, so I commited to go with my girlfriends. They all continued to e-mail with such uplifting messages, letting me know that however far away we are from each other, we will always be close. We have a friend that moved away 2 years ago, and she sent me some wonderful advice and kind words of encouragement. It struck me then....Why am I pulling away from all of these great women when I need them THE MOST!! Like they reminded me, that's why we choose the friends we do. We want to be supported, encouraged, reassured that everything will be alright. I felt so much better, even though I shed more tears that week than I have in months.


So...this week I'm going to have a new attitude! I'm GOING to start boxing things up, I'm GOING to spend time with friends and get outside, I'm GOING to start making arrangements.....I'm GOING to be O.K.!! Like all these great women said.....this will be a fantastic adventure......



Here's to you, ladies.....

Some pictures of our future home.

Here are a few pictures of our new house. Keep in mind that the furniture is not ours, and the colors will be different. I'll post these now, then I'll post more as we move in and make it our own.

A lovely shade of green. We will be painting it a cedar color.

The upstairs living room and eating area. I'm thinking of a warm tan or caramel color to accent the fireplace stone. Kaylyn--any suggestions?

The cozy basement fireplace. Should I change this color or keep it light? I love terra cotta (sp?) color. Should I warm it up?

They used the basement as their master bedroom. We would have to use it as our family room.

I didn't add any pictures of the kitchen. Just imagine dark cabinets with that lovely shade of green that is on the exterior, on the walls of the kitchen. Until we are able to remodel, I'll be putting on new kitchen hardware, new faucet, lights and paint. O.k. fine....here's a picture of the kitchen:

A little smaller than I'm used to....but it'll do for now.

Does the fridge look miniature to you? Chuck says it's not, but I beg to differ. That may need an upgrade...I don't know if it can hold all the food this family eats!

So, what do you think?

PROM!!!!

Allison had a fabulous time at prom on Friday. The weather was terrible...rain, wind and very cold. Here are the pictures:

Getting her hair done. Kayden and Allison right after getting dressed.

The aprons they made for dinner. A toast! Hopefully for the great food. :)

My favorite picture.

Attaching the corsage.

Showing off the garders they made. Phil helping Alli with her shoe.

Heading out to the car wash. :)

Proud Momma and Papa. Sawyer and Chuck at Grand March (with Sawyer's

"Dododo")).

She was so beautiful, I couldn't stand it. Yes, I got teary the entire day. My little princess......

We got the house!

The house is ours! Whew! We now have a future home...thank GOD! I was a little worried that we would be livin' off the land with the elk, fightin' them for a small amount of green grass that's available.....I have a feeling they would win.
We are able to move in on the 1st of June. Chuck is going to paint the exterior before we arrive....I don't think I'd be able to pull up to a sea-foam green house and be excited about it. :) It has cedar ciding, so we will paint it a lovely cedar color.
The next step is to register the kids for summer activities, and get paperwork for registering them for school next year. Tanner really wants to try lacrosse. That is one sport I know nothing about. They say it's like hockey but you are running and have to catch the ball with your stick-thingy. (What is that called anyway?) So, I'm looking into that. It's so nice to have the internet, you can register the kids online, and we don't even have to be there. Mitchell wants to do soccer, of course. I think he would try ANYTHING. He's so excited about every sport. I love that about him. :)
Ashley isn't sure what she wants to do, if anything. Allison is going to be looking for a job.

We decided to sell our camper and Chuck's big diesel truck and camp the real mountain way....in a tent! We had to bribe the boys a little, telling them we will be able to buy a really cool tent, along with some really sweet camping supplies. We also told them that we're all going to get new mountain bikes, too. (I accidentely called them dirt bikes, and Mitch thought we were all getting the motorized kind. He was a little disappointed to find out that I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Nothing new to report on the selling of this house, unfortunetly.

Send up prayers today for Chuck's Dad who is in surgery at this moment to replace a valve. He will be 'under the knife' for 6 to 8 hours. A little tough on an 81 yr. old body. He's absolutely a positive thinker, and it's helped him get through many surgeries. Praying that he will have the same outcome as the others.

Due to the surgery, we will be hosting the prom dinner at our house tomorrow afternoon! They are having chicken kiev and rice pilaf, salad, corn, fruit kabobs, strawberry lemonade and cheesecake.
Allison and I went to an antique dealer yesterday and rented some FABULOUS jewelry. It was so fun--it really makes her look like a princess. Can't wait to show you all! It doesn't sound like it'll be a very nice day, weather-wise, tomorrow, so no outdoor pictures will be taken unless it clears up later in the afternoon.
I'll try and post pictures tomorrow night, as we will be at the hospital all day Saturday. Hope everyone has a great weekend!