Everyone has a story. I am back.

So I am really back to blogging.

This time for sure with no backing out.

I need this.

I need our story told.

I need to write.

 

We had huge computer issues that we had put off for years and now with a new computer, new town, new schools, new perspective I write again.

:)

Everyone has a story if we are willing to listen.

Some are sad, painful, enlightening, joyful...the list goes on and on.

That is what makes us unique as God made individuals.

I love it.

I love to listen and ask questions about people's journey through life.

Some not willing to open up and share, but most love to share their journey.

 

To start I should share mine.

 

 



To Dog or Not to Dog

We just began a new school year and for the first time in 11 years I have six hours five days a week to help my family without distractions.  Our kids are in a wonderful public school I feel great about their education and I feel good about being home and helping our family while everyone is away.  Which leads me to my blog title:)

This last summer we picked up a labradoodle puppy.   It was kinda on a trial basis with the breeder.  She was adorable friendly sweet with kids already crate trained rarely barked.  Everything appeared to be the perfect set for us our new addition.  However, I was not a peace with it.  I'm a dog person I kept telling myself I've waited forever for a dog like this "I love this dog she is just perfect".  Still wasn't at peace I started seeing how much time the dog was taking from my husband, kids, daily chores and just relaxing.  It was another thing nbc despite everyone's efforts that I had to take care of...although it was a "good" thing it was pulling me in a different direction than I wanted to go.  Everyone kept saying it gets better and better with a dog, but I started to feel more and more depressed about my commitment to this adorable sweet animal. We also noticed that she was growling at the kids more, which was not typical labradoodle behavior.  A vet actually recommend we return her so that was causing hesitation on my part as well.

Finally I woke up in the middle in the night prayed and realized I was feeling bummed about it because it was a thing that was taking my time away from were my heart was, so I shared with my husband and we decided to take the dog back.

Now before you judge my actions we lovingly let our kids know in the most loving way possible this was the direction we were taking.  Then.  We all cried.  We love  this dog.  It was  just too much for our family at this time and it would of been neglected too much too with our busy schedule.  So we cried, but I am so thankful the kids understood and saw our hearts.  It actually brought us together as a family because it was hard.  Life is hard.
We can't protect our kids from mistakes or hard things in life.  We need to step out and trust that God will through the hard things teach even the smallest person lesson about himself.

Life has losses.

So we decided for now we "are not going to be a dog family", but we learned so much and though our hearts hurt I am so thankful we made our decision.  Our kids are only kids once.  We get one shot to make a difference in their life.

Dare to enter again...

So I've officially blow it as a blogger.

This year has been completely crazy.

I thought I could do it all and that just was not the case.

With all three in school for first time, different schedules, New area and new house plus medical emergencies it just did not happen in the blogging world for me.

But I'm back with a new perspective and new stories to share.

Life has it's ups and downs doesn't it.

Join me as I start again...

Enter our crazy life just one more time.

Starting School

Moving In

After Months of waiting we are finally starting to move in.

It has been such a journey, wow.

The movers come sometime this week, yipee!

We are done with painting and carpet and some demo.

(We filled up part of a huge dumster out front)..

We still have a ton of stuff to do, plus lots of cleaning today, but I am officially saying we are starting to move stuff in...

Crazy.

More soon...

Trampoline..demo... yardwork

All In One Picture.

Another Fun, But Hard Work Day.

While Triming Bushes Look What I found.

For Little Hands And Feet After The Beach.

This Faucet Is In A Great Location

What A Fun Find On The Property Today.

(I Still can't Believe We Were Able To Get This Home)

So Thankful.

Paint!

So All We Have Done For A Whole Week Is Paint.

Imagine.

I don't Want To See A Roller For Awhile.

We Decided To Paint Ourselves Becsuse We waNted To Afford Some Bigger Items, Like Carpet...Which Is Being Installed Tomorrow.

So Here Is Another Peak At Our BungalOw Painted "Navajo White"

More Later. So Tired.

Family

The Best Part Of Being In SLO Is Having Family Around.

I Just Love it And They Just can't Wait To Spend Time Together.

(This Is A Picture Of Some Of Kids Helping The Oldest Feed The Animals) 

Moving + Stress = Disastrous Diet

With All This Stress Of Moving And Finding A home Has Left Very Little rOom For Consistency With Diet And Exercise.

I'm Trying But it's Been Tough Especially With The Onset Of Summer.

So Back To Eating Right And Getting In Shape For The Race In The falL.

Tis The Nature Of Life Huh.

Well Here's To A New week.

Of Effort

Discipline

And Consistency!

We Can Do It Moms

self~Control...

Happy July 4th

Tie Dye.

This Year We Made Tie Dye Shirts With The Swim team, for The Big Swim meet This Weekend.
This Is A Great July 4Th Activity Just Make Sure You Wear Gloves when Creating.
Have A Great Fourth, Off To A Picnic.

July 10th

July 10th is our big closing date.

We can barely wait.

The house was built in 1946 and the original home has concrete walls.  Yes you read correctly "concrete walls" that means no indecisiveness about putting up pictures. 

Jason said he would have to get a special drill bit just to hang a picture, too funny.

The house we purchased is not for everyone, but it is definitely up our alley and exactly the type of house I was interested in finding, but not sure we could find.

It needs work, but has a TON of character and it's in such a ideal location in SLO.

Walking distance to downtown, trails, Great schooL and much more.

I'm super excited about it, it's Been A Dream Forvever To Raise Kids And Own A Home Here, What A Blessing.

I'll be posting housing pictures once we get in and get settled.

Lots of before and afters.

Right now the house is packed with color and we are going to change it up a bit.
Stay tuned and
Have a great 4th of July.

Lots of Firsts in SLO

Note:  See prior post for a little update on our big move..

On to Firsts:)

First time off the high dive...

 First time having mini grocery store carts (love this)...

 First time spending father's day at the beach...

Wow what a face...first time loosing a tooth...

(yes those are carpet samples in the back...)

First time going to Farmer's Market...

 First time at bubble gum alley...

 First time finding a heart rock...

 First time for riding lessons...

 First time a cousin has taught our children how to catch chickens...

More coming soon...

Moved to San Luis Obispo

Yes.

It's me and I'm still alive.

It has been nuts, really nuts. 

About two months ago we move from the bay area to San Luis Obispo, my home town and where Jason and I met.

We feel so blessed and thankful we could move close to my parents and my cousin and her family.

So thankful.

It's been a year in the making and a lifelong dream.

We are currently in escrow on a 1946 coastal bungalow here in SLO.

We could not be more thrilled.

It's a crazy i mean crazy real estate market, very little inventory and lots of buyers especially in SLO.  With that said we see God's hand very clearly in being able to purchase this home.

We close in July and should be moved in by the end of July.

I'll post some pictures.

Especially during the fixing up process...
Here is a sneak peak :)

Goal with a whole lot more

Do you see this child below:

See him:)

Yes that child;)

Dylan let's be honest has not been a easy child to raise thus far.

I feel like Dylan is more in my life to teach me things than me him, but I know God put us together for more reasons than I can really grasp.

But today was such a rewarding moment I just want to journal it.

Today.

O'today.

For the first time Dylan scored not one, but two goals in soccer.

For those who have children who do this all the time, that is so awesome.

For Dylan this was a moment in time i will never ever forget.  In the Fall mid way through the soccer season something clicked for Dylan and we all saw it, but he never scored.

This was his first game for the spring season and boy was it exciting to watch.

He looked like a natural soccer star out there and I'm not just saying that; he was passing good, thinking ahead of the game and just so involved.

Our son Dylan has had many medical challenges so it's been hard for him to succeed at one sport and do well.

Soccer is a sport we have always gone back to due to the nature of activity (very active), and fairly simple, plus he loves it!

Anyway, i could go on and on.

The joy of watching him in years of soccer and finally scoring today was HUGE.

I thought for sure i would jump up and yell like a crazy "soccer mom", but instead i just cried "happy tears".

What a journey parenting is and what a blessing.

So today I'm documenting it with the hopes of looking back and remembering the moment watching Dylan score his first goal at soccer. 

The pure joy on this childs face I will never forget.



Bee Shower

Lots of projects around here lately.

The first being my sister-in-laws "Bee" themed baby shower next week in SLO.

We've got so many things in the works right now.

Hang with me and I'll be blogging some of our past and present activities.

Stay tuned

Why Do we Call It Christmas?

Why Do we Call it Christmas

Is a GREAT DVD for Families trying to teach their kids about Christmas and the history behind it.

It can be confusing to kids with Santa and Jesus and all the commercialism.

This is a awesome DVD.

Enjoy!

Just been busy I'll start blogging and updating soon.

I recently did the Peppermint brownies in a jar from iheartnaptime.

SO CUTE!

The big 40 and Dieting

Hi.

So this is a random, but candid post on the above.

Is it just me or does our (we as women) bodies change as we get near FORTY?

Okay maybe it is just me.

Anyway, I've chosen to fight it and fight it hard the last couple months.

I'm really determined.
How determined.

Well we have been married fifteen years and never owned a scale, so for starters I went out and bought a scale and it is in my room now.

This is serious.

I want to be healthy and strong for not just me, but the whole family.

I was feeling yucky and nothing was fitting right.

I was getting headaches every afternoon.

SOOOOO.

Like I said before I made some big changes.

I decided I just can't get away with eating poorly anymore.

I also decided I will not read any health books or dieting books.

I mean really after all these years and classes I know what I need to do.

If I'm honest.

So these are my rules that I posted on the frig:)

ASK GOD FOR STRENGTH
NO SUGAR

(or very little, big goal, but baby steps here.)

NO ALCHOL

VERY LITTLE CARBS

EAT BEFORE 6PM

EXERCISE A LOT

EAT LOTS OF VEGGIES

GUM IN AFTERNOONS

And you know these are working for me.

I'm so pleased so far.

My headaches and overall feeling is so much better.

I feel good and I'm starting to loose weight.

I've got eight more pds to go to my realistic healthy goal.

How are you doing?

You can do it too.

San Diego Part III

Our lodging.

This year we stayed at the Grand Pacific Palisades in Carlsbad.

It was a kid/family friendly place.

Are you kidding me it was just awesome for families.

Non stop family fun activities all week, air hockey, a couple pools, water park, park, games, special movies in the room, movie on the lawn, S'mores it was great.

Just what a family needs everything planned for them on vacation.

Oops one thing i forgot, it's across the street from Legoland, perfect.

 These were taken at the water park on site.

 S'mores with family friends

 Craft making, they made bird houses.

 Jumpy house (special activity)

Did you notice no crowds, Sept is the best for vacation and crowds.

Part four next (the beach)...

San Diego Part II

USS IOWA

On our way down to SD we stopped by and saw the USS IOWA

I'll let the website tell you all about it...

The Battleship of Presidents :)

"Built in 1940, the USS IOWA served our country for over 50 years. Designated the "World's Greatest Naval Ship" due to her big guns, heavy armor, fast speed, longevity and modernization, she kept pace with technology for more than 50 years.

Now in her new home of Los Angeles, USS IOWA is transforming into the most interactive and educational museum of her kind. Become apart of this important initiative by joining us as a valued corporate sponsor, volunteer, member or all three!"

Jason loves seeing Naval ships and old war stuff so we just had to stop by.

They have some kid things to do, but just walking around the ship was entertainment enough for the kiddos (although very excited to go to SD)
Anyway, it's pretty cool history, so make a trip there.

It's worth it.

 Kids though the cargo ship was cool as well, I told them the toys from china are in one of those big containers, they thought that was so interesting.

Waving to the boats passing by.

 The ship was huge!

Moving on to part III of our trip...

San Diego Part I

San Diego 2012

This year we went to SD a little later, actually a lot later and it was such a great decision. 

We decided to take the kids to Disneyland in the middle of the week, on a Wed since we were going to be down there for a whole week.  Disneyland in September is their least crowded time, especially Wed and there weren't any lines.  It was also so cool we got a fast pass for Dylan at "city hall" so we could progress faster in lines if need be, so helpful. 

So the night before i put a special stuff animal in their bed while they were sleeping so when they woke up they would know we were going to Disneyland.

This was Taryn and Nolan's first time and Dylan's second. 

It was a great day, Sept is my new favorite month to go to amusement parks.

 The boys participated in a Jedi academy, too fun.

 Afterwards we let them make their light sabers they had been saving their money for.  It was perfect timing after they were officially "Jedi's" and had their certificates.

 It was really cool, really.

 This was a first for us meeting the princesses at Disneyland.  We finally found her favorite towards the end of the day, Aura (sp).

 She enjoyed meeting them.

All and all a great day at Disneyland.

More pictures from our trip in a little while...

btw: Taryn and Nolan were the perfect age to go they could go on just about everything.

Four is a great age to start going to Disneyland.

And don't forget to go mid week in Sept.