4 days.

WOW....Are you finished shopping? Do you have everything wrapped? Gifts sent to places they need to be? What about your holiday cooking and baking? I'm not sure about everyone else but time for me is getting away from me. I need about 10 more hours in the day. Tonight is chex mix and icing Christmas cookies and hopefully finishing Christmas cards and wrapping a few more things that I just "happened" to find. Breathe Rhonda, you must breathe. And really I'm not sure why I feel so scattered b/c this yr I'm actually ahead of the game...last yr I started wrapping on Christmas Eve and was up til 2. When I was little I can remember my parents wrapping until the wee hours it seemed. But this yr I've done better...but I really need to finish it up. I cringe when I go into my bedroom b/c I really have stuff everywhere. I'm not kidding it really looks like a tornado went through my bedroom. Laundry needs done and put away...oh I could list a million things "to do" but as we learned in church this past Sunday we need let it go. All those things we feel that MUST BE DONE can wait. You need to sit back and think about the real reason for the season.

Happy wrapping. :)

Are you done shopping?!

So how many more days til Christmas? I always start out awesome in my gift buying, but every yr I hit rock bottom with hurrying around at Christmas for last minute stuff. I have enough gifts for my daughter to cover her next 4 christmas' and birthdays. My son not so much. As much as I think I'm ahead of the game with him I'm not. My house is a total train wreck right now trying to get things around to send to family out west, trying to get things wrapped around here. And trying to get my kids energy levels controlled b/c though they still have school til Friday they have already checked out for Christmas break. Not to mention fitting in speech, dance, and working around my husband's coaching job which makes him gone 5 nights a week and some saturdays. Did I mention it's all volunteer. I love that he enjoys it but it'd be nice to get something in return when he puts that much time and effort into it.

Each yr I swear I'll do better next yr. I'll be more with it. But then Thanksgiving hits and it is all down hill from there. So what are your tips? How do you get organized every yr for the holiday season?

It's Christmas Time

Again where has time gone. It seems as though I just wrote the blog on harvest season! I honestly can't tell you when I've had an hour to myself with nothing to do. It seems about the time I think my schedule is going to slow down it just piles right back on.

I've already started my New Yr's Resolutions...is that bad? That I can already think of things that I was bad at this yr and want to do better next yr.

And again one promise I've made my self is to be a better blogger...hmmmmmm can that actually happen. I always say I'm going to write then nothing. EEK! Let's just see......

Harvest is here!

Wow...harvest season is upon us...normally by now I've caught the kids in a picture riding with their Dad in some form of farm equipment. Usually the combine...for my 7 yr old it's becoming the only thing exciting to him anymore. Now my daughter will go in ANYTHING with wheels...heck if we had horses hooked to something she would ride. She wouldn't care one bit. I think it's her age. So anyways...a pic is to come. One of these nights I'll get one. Promise.

Right now we are mid-season in soccer...Boy it's been a change for Gracie this season. She spent spring soccer on my lap and crying this fall season she LOVES it. . Grant is all over it. He is a pretty awesome soccer player...maybe the next David Beckham?! If his Dad has anything to do with it he'll be playing for the Cubs one day. Here are the kids last weekend during picture day...How cute are they?!



Besides soccer we do dance as well for Gracie....And boy oh boy is she into it this yr. Last yr we were hesitant...this year..WATCH OUT. She is all over it.



What's exciting in my life....I've been canning my little heart away this summer/fall with pasta sauce, salsa, pears, and hopefully sometime soon apples. No pictures of that...maybe one of my shelves once I get everything put away. I know I know...the excitement for me is crazy. :)

Summer's Over.

Whew! Hard to believe summer is over already. Our summer was spent at the ball diamond. Our son was asked to play on the All Star team so we spent all of July traveling on the weekends. Boy was I glad to see that season wrap up!

Now they have been in school almost 3 weeks already. I've been busy canning, we are getting in the fields shortly for harvest, and soccer season is upon us. Oh did I mention dance. YIKES!

Trying to get organized...yeah I still feel like I live in a three ring circus.

Can you guess where I'm going tonight?! We leave in just a few hours for a girls night! Can.Not.Wait

The Month of May....

I hate it but kinda sorta have love for it. There are reasons to celebrate but also it was a time of sadness for me as well. On May 13th, 2007...Mother's Day that year...I lost my Mom. So I have a HUGE reason to hate the month of May. But on May 22, 1977 I was born so there is reason to celebrate. I try to find a happy medium in the month of May. But some days it's hard. My children keep me busy right now that I don't have much downtime which is nice. Mother's day isn't something I celebrate these days. I realize I'm a mother and that my children need to celebrate that with me but I quickly go back three years ago and remember waking up to my husband telling me I needed to call my Dad. It was like a light switch...I knew what had happened if I needed to call my Dad on Mother's Day. I can remember that day like it was yesterday. A little over a week later it was my birthday...I could have skipped it that yr but my sister planned something for me b/c she knew my mom would have and she wasn't about to let me miss out.

So this May I'm hoping it's different. I'm letting my kids have control of my Mother's Day. I might be eating peanut butter and jelly...or doing puzzles all day but in my house we are going to celebrate Kid's Day. I'll never look at Mother's Day the same...I was supposed to be celebrating my mother but instead was grieving the loss of.

So happy May. And to all you mothers out there....well enjoy your day the best way you know how. And if your with your mother this Mother's Day give her an extra hug and kiss. You just never know when she won't be there to give that hug or kiss to.