Happy New Year

Life is simple and blessings are great. I'm sorry to all my blog checkers that it has been so long since my last post. Christmas has flown by, with great pictures that are on Grandma's computer, and the new year has arrived. We had to reflect on this last year and although there were was quite a list, I still think that the blessings out numbered the bad.
I have a Heavenly Father that I am close to and talk to daily, I have parents that are the best ever, I love AND like my guy, I have five children that make me laugh and frustrate me all at the same time, I know what the true meaning of family is, I know that this life is my story (and it is a great one), I know how to swallow pride (Maggie told me 'You just chomp it up into little tiny bits and then you swallow'), new haircuts will make you Christmas ready, good friends are priceless, a three bedroom-one bathroom home is perfect, home birth is awesome, fresh clean sheets are always good, groceries taste better with coupons, the Lord will always give you what you need, and the greatest of these is Love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I LOVE Thanksgiving!! It is truly my most favorite holiday. Good food, family, and just being thankful. I am blessed in so many ways.

Grandma's House

I felt as though I could do better. We went to Grandma's and a good friend offered to come along and snap pics. After loading up I thought better of subjecting good friend to melt down children and took a few pictures on my own. I am happy with what I got.

Fall Pictures.

I took the opportunity to walk around the corner today and take some pictures of the kids. The weather has been awesome and the only thing that would make it better is if it lasted until December!
The story behind simple pictures is NEVER simple! I love these faces....

A Big Peach Pie!

We had a fun weekend with ALL of the kids. We knew that Brian was coming but had not told him to bring his sister along. Lindsay surprised us and showed up anyway so we had all eight of the kids here for the whole weekend. The little kids were so happy to have them here and I have just got to say it, aside from the massive amounts of food, it doesn't feel like alot of kids. I made this peach pie for dessert and I was struck by the size of it. I love this pan and it can make a killer pie, ten peaches, and it will last one day in our house! We tye dyed on Sunday so that Linds would have her hippie shirt for homecoming on Monday and it was just nice to have the kids..........

Krazy Coupons

So I have this friend who turned me on to couponing and I have to admit it is a whole learning process. This was my first multiple transaction purchase which involved manufacturer coupons, store doublers, catalina's (coupons that print at the register) and a mail in rebate! I know, very involved right? Well I made the voyage to Ontario with all five kids to try my hand at using my fist full of coupons and was told by the girls at Albertsons that I had to actually leave the store and then come back in if I wanted to use multiple doublers (double the value of manufacturers coupons). Yeah, that seems easy enough but factor in the Tallis carrier and Molly in the seat of the cart and the rest trying to 'help' me. I decided to head over to Payette and finish my shopping there. I took this picture and mailed off my rebate forms and finally this week I received my checks!
The breakdown-
Total before coupons-$78.00
Out of Pocket after coupons-$42.00
Total after rebates in the amount of $60.00-are you ready-A PROFIT of $18.00!!!
I got to take home all these groceries and I made eighteen dollars, I like that kind of grocery shopping!

The beds are done!!!

I have been blessed with a love of organization, cleaning, utilizing one's space in the best possible way, and grand visions of how to do ALL of that. I have been blessed with a husband who is extremely talented when it comes to taking on any project I might throw at him. I have also been blessed with a plethora of children and a wonderfully 'cozy' home! So you can see where all of my blessings might join into what you might call 'The Perfect Storm'!
As to my Gand Visions, quite awhile back I had this great idea that we needed a set of toddler size bunkbeds........this is where my blessing of a husband comes into play. We threw the idea back and forth and had almost decided that maybe we didn't need the beds after all........and then Tallis decided to take to standing in her cradle at five and a half months old. Plan back on, we need the beds! Craig was a sport about the project. I know it ended up being a little more involved than he thought and their was some not so gentle prodding from me to get them done, but in the end they turned out every bit as adorable as I thought they would. Organized, functional, and cute. What more could a blessed woman ask for?



Baby needs a new bed!

Those little fists atop the edge of the cradle were causing some concern. Shortly after, and I mean within minutes, this picture she pulled herself up to standing in the cradle which was then rocking rather wildly. Yeah, Baby needs a new bed.

The beginning of making the beds.


He humored me with a smile, knowing full well that it was going to be blog material.



All finished!!!

Not quite wall-to-wall beds, but close.

Molly in the bottom bunk.

Maggie on the top bunk.

Happy Tallis in the crib.