~Happy New Year!~

Yes, this is the Happy New Year post. There are probably hundred of thousands of them today and tomorrow. I am glad that this year is over and scared about the new one coming.

My sister is coming into the New Year sober for 4 months...I am so proud of her!
My children will be back in school shortly after the New Year...Thank you Jesus!!
I will try to convince my hubby to let us move.

So here is to not having any money and spending my night going into the New Year with my family at home,probably in bed before midnight.

Why do they want them so big at a young age?? I have been blessed and cursed with big ones...So when Adalynne came out and started to jump up and down and yell, "look mom, they don't move." My response...oh but they will, you just wait. Then she says, "they make me look so skinny!" Oh my gosh...she is only 9 and it is starting...then she got her sister to try. As I am writing this and looking at her face...she is so proud of making herself have BIG BOOBS. I love my girls, they always make me laugh.


I also made her lay on the couch face down to show her how they feel when you are trying to sleep...always having to move them one way or the other to get them out of the way...she didn't seem to mind. I can not wait til they have real ones and then they will know the pain of having big boobs...muahhahhha!

~I Need a Vacation!~

OH MY GOSHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I feel like my head is going to EXPLODE!! My kids are driving me NUTS, my house to to small for all this SH&% that I have in my house, I feel like we are never going to get any where with our finances and a bigger house...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

*Sigh* I feel so much better after screaming like that!

I do childcare to make extra money for our family...but the only problem is, it is not enough money...totally my fault too. So now I am thinking(I already know) I really need to get a job. What do I do with the kids...I can't afford a babysitter. Adalynne and Ashley are not old enough to be home and get themselves ready for school on their own...So I am thinking about driving a bus. Yes a bus! It could be perfect...I can take the kids with me in the morning...and the days that Eddie has off he could keep the kids and get them ready. It starts off at almost $12.00 and it is Union. I can have my summers off with my kids and it would be all honky dory.
Now the only problem is...I have daycare kids! I just need to say OH WELL I need to do what is right for my family and not care...but that is hard for. Ok, I am done rambling.

~Merry Late Christmas~

This is a few days late because life has been a little crazy...As you all have read in a earlier post, our furnace went out on the 20th and we didn't get to come home until Christmas Eve night...With all of this snow my family was snowed in and couldn't make it to dinner at my home...So I had my Daddy and Step Mom and Uncle over...It was small but a great time...I was so exhausted by the end of night...I do not know how my Mother in Law does this every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

My children had a WONDERFUL Christmas. Santa brought them everything they could of asked for. I am so grateful for everything...Our power did not go out!! It could of been much worse for us. My brain is fried and I can not remember what else I was going to write about...Hehehehe!!! So here are some pictures of our day's.Ashley was so excited to get this.This is what Dossie kept asking Santa for...The only thing he asked for. It made it hard for Mommy to buy things he wanted...HeheheI love it!My 3 Santa's. They are the cutest.This is at MarMar's house....Boo Boo can't wait to open all of those presents...Dossie was no where to be found.This is what Eddie does best. No, He works graveyard. He slept through Dinner.This is our house on Christmas day. The kids where so excited. Eddie and I decided to make them wait until we had a few cups of coffee...it was funny yo watch them squirm.

~This is why I rent~

So yesterday while I was baking, I noticed that my house was getting colder...Why is it getting colder?? Well, My furnace went out..broke...no longer working!! What the heck?? Called all around, no one could come out until today. Ok, that is fine but I have 3 kids that can not stay in a freezing cold house over night...the weather outside is frightful(but dear it's so delightful)...packed the kids and Eddie drove us to his parents house in Vancouver. That is a 45 minute drive from our house. Well, it turned into over an hour drive...we had to stop a few times to get the ice off of the window wipers...Fun, Fun! Let me tell you...I prayed the whole way there because the people here in Oregon freak out when there is snow on the road! I am rambling!

Anywho...I am at my In Laws until tomorrow...the weather is suppose to be bad all the way through Christmas...I hope to God that my furnace is fixed today...I am going to be having 19 people over for Christmas Dinner and need to get the presents ready for Christmas Eve at my In Laws house... When Eddie went home, the temp was 45 in our house. BURRRRRRR!!!!!

Ok, so the whole reason why I am glad that I rent is because I DO NOT have to pay to get the furnace fixed! Hehehehe.

~Thought this would be great to share~

I have been following this blog for a few months now...I have been feeling really upset about my life and my kids and the way I feel about everything...My kids drive me really nuts!!! They fight all the freaking time, my oldest is getting that really smart mouth...My Middle just doesn't do what she is told....I am having to repeat myself 100 times with her...and my baby boy is going threw a rip stuff,cut stuff,telling me no stage!!!! I hate money...I want a job but only waitressing my whole working career it kinda makes it hard to get a nice job...that's when I decided to read this blog..

http://imghanaadopt.blogspot.com/2008/12/some-days.html

She is a wonderful mother to 13 children, she is a God fearing woman and has raised wonderful children(I found her daughters blog when I was looking for information about Kent,Ore.), and I would really love to raise my kids like she has...Then today I also read my friends Heathers blog, and it made me feel better too...I know that other people feel the same way that I so, but I am so blessed that they have written about it...Thank you Ladies for writing so truthful.

Some Days ...

Some days my life feels like a roller coaster ...

I am lonely ...
I am hurt ...
I am angry ...
I am confused ...
I am overwhelmed ...


Yet, at the same time ...

I am blessed beyond belief ...
I am thankful ...
I am loved ...



Some days ... I could spend hours telling you all the things that completely frustrate me about our church. (And, I try to keep quiet on those days.)

Other days ... I could spend hours telling you all of the wonderful things that God is doing in and through our church.



Some days ... I can be sad and lonely and wonder "where have all my friends gone?".

Other days ... I can enjoy a coffee date with a local friend, and an email from a long-distance friend.



Some days ... I can get so frustrated with the man that I love.

Other days ... I realize that he is the MOST AMAZING HUSBAND AND PAPA that I could dream of.



Some days ... I can send all of the children to their rooms, knowing that I can't survive one more minute of "sibling stuff".

Other days ... I KNOW that I am TRULY BLESSED with my AMAZING 13 children. Not only do they all love me (their very imperfect mama), but they love each other more than anything.



Lately, my emotions have been on a roller coaster. My life has had so many changes this year, that I can hardly process all of them.

Lately, I seem to have had more of the "Some days ..." than the "Other days ...". I wonder what I need to do to turn it around.

Some days ... I wonder if it's even possible to turn it around.

Other days ... I wonder what happened to my emotions the day before.



Sorry ... just my late night ramblings ...

... wanting to be fully honest
... not wanting to "put on a front" for my blogging friends
... wanting you to know that I am just an ordinary mama
with an extraordinary God




Today was just ... one of those days ...
a day of doubt, confusion, frustration ...

Tonight ... I am Seeking the Lord ...

... for renewed passion
... for restored relationships
... for strength and endurance
... for an abundance of love to flow
... for wisdom and direction
... for the fruits of the Holy Spirit
to be evidenced in my life

~Snow time in Oregon~

This is Boo's Snow Angel...she put a head and halo on it.

~YUMMY~

This is so easy to make...Thanks to my friend Kristi I am not a scaredy cat anymore when It comes to baking these type of things.

~Dossie's Preschool Christmas Program~

First off, I forgot my camera and only had my cell phone...that is why the photo's are of poor quality. Here they all are for the songs that they are going to sing for us...SO FREAKING CUTE!

He has a bell on his wrist while they sing Jingle Bells...He was all into it and then this happens....
Yep, he decides that he is going to cover his face half way through the song...I asked him why after we left and he said because he couldn't remember the words for the song.
Waiting for the big guy to visit....

When they asked who want to see Santa, Dossie was the first one up and on his lap....He is so happy! He asked for a Guitar. That is what he has been asking for now for months. The kids had to buy a present for someone at school...Eli is opening his and Dossie is in the back ground.

~Happy Birthday ~

IT'S SNOWING ON MY BIRTHDAY...IT'S SNOWING ON MY BIRTHDAY...IT'S SNOWING ON MY BIRTHDAY CAUSE I AM SO COOL!!!! Hahahahahaha!!!!


Happy Birthday to ME...Happy Birthday to ME...Happpyyyyy Birthday tooooo MEEEEEE!!!!

I have had so many calls this morning...what a blessed day...Thank you God for all of the people that are in my life and for my wonderful family!

~Christmas Give Away~

Hey everyone...One of the Blogs that I follow put a link to this other blog that is have a Christmas give away...She is a artist and from what I saw a pretty talented one...So go now,check her out and maybe enter her give away...Merry Christmas!


http://mermag.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-giveaway.html

~Only 4 more days!~

Only 4 more days til my BIRTHDAY!!!! Also it is suppose to SNOW!!! The last time that it snowed on my birthday was when I was just a kid...I can not wait to see if it does.

~Love the Snow~

This morning after Eddie woke me up!!
I LOVE the snow.

~Holiday Fun at The Bates~

Here are a few things that we have done to Holidayniz (Not a word)our house...These are easy and fun things to do with the kids also...These are Dossie's....He had so much glitter poured on them that I am still finding it all over my house.Ashley'sAdalynne'sI love making these snow flakes...they are so fun to make and are a cheap way of decorating your home for Christmas...Here is the link on how to make them.... http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-3D-Paper-SnowflakeMy new project that I decided to do this year...Once again, it is a cheap present to us to give...and not to mention fun.

~So Sad~

Today I received a phone call from my best friend...It was not a call that was good news...it was tragic news...our old Youth Pastors son hung himself...I can not imagine the pain that they are feeling right now...Pray for them please...He was only a teenager...mad at his parents...I wish they knew that life gets better...that there is NOTHING worth killing yourself over.
I am so numb right now.

~11 Days Later~

So we got our Christmas Tree on the 30th of November...Well today after I wrapped some presents and put them under the tree I noticed that there was a lot of pine needles that were falling off...LOTS!!! So I inspected the tree and my tree was DONE!!! What the H.E.Double hockey sticks!!!! Yes, this is what I spent the night doing...Oh what fun. See this ring on my carpet...this is from Ed banging the tree on the floor every step he took...I was shaking the tree and a few pine needles got done his pants when he was trying to take the tree out of the stand...I guess this was my payback.The ornaments that were on the tree...To many for the new one.The presents that I just got done wrapping that day.The finished product...Little...taking up my table...and not enough room for all the presents. I am glad that we got it because I would of hated to have a dead tree come Christmas...That would kinda of been funny.

Here are my Kiddo's Christmas pictures...My printer is no longer working so I have to take pictures of the things I want on here...So irritating!!! But dang!!!! My kids are CUTE!

~Really not sure~

For the past couple of days I have really been looking at my life and the things that I allow in it...Or that I do not allow in it...This is good and a bad thing...I have so many different feelings rolling around in my head...I just really want to move far away and start a new life...I really need a friend around or friends around me I am learning...I am learning that it is really hard for me to make new friends as an adult...I really do not like letting people get to close to me...seems like the older women get the more catty they become...It does not help that my Husband is not a social butterfly either...
I think that I am finely coming to terms that the dream I had when I was younger about my husband and my friends getting together all the time and having date nights with those friends has completely DIED! This is very sad for me...very depressing. Not sure what do,feel,or whatever about this anymore...I think that I am just going to concentrate on my marriage and kids for now...After all, that is the most important thing in my life.

~My Old Man~

Oh man...Today is my Hubbies Birthday...This is the day that he was born...This is the day that we get to celebrate his Birth...This is the day that I get to rub it in his face that he will ALWAYS be OLDER then me!!!!! I Love You Eddie! Happy Birthday Baby!

~Words of Wisdom~

Your words, your dreams, and your thoughts have the
power to create conditions in your life.
What you speak about, you can bring about.

If you keep saying you can't stand your job,
you might lose your job.

If you keep saying you can't stand your body,
your body can become sick.

If you keep saying you can't stand your car,
your car could be stolen or just stop operating.

If you keep saying you're always broke, guess what?
You'll always be broke.

If you keep saying you can't trust a man or trust a woman,
you will always find someone in your life to hurt and betray you.

If you keep saying you can't find a job,
you will remain unemployed.

If you keep saying you can't find someone
to love you or believe in you,
our very thoughts will attract more
experiences to confirm your beliefs.

Turn your thoughts and conversations around to be more positive
and power packed with faith, hope, love and action.

Don't be afraid to believe that you can
have what you want and deserve.

Watch your 'Thoughts,'
they become words;

Watch your 'Words,'
they become actions;

Watch your 'Actions,'
they become habits;

Watch your 'Habits,'
they become character;

Watch your 'Character',
for it becomes your 'Destiny'

So........To prevent any obstacles.......

GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

~What I am Thankful For ~

So this morning about 9:30 I received a phone call from my step mom....the first thing out of her mouth was "Do not freak out when I tell you this!"...."Your Dad is in the hospital....He was having chest pain this morning about 3 a.m.....I took him in and they are running test."

Ok, so I didn't freak out on the phone with her,but when I called my mommy I couldn't stop crying....I mean that is my Dad who is so strong,stubborn,and anything else a Dad could be....He was in the hospital for his heart....Kinda freaked me out you know....

I got a call later this afternoon and my step mom said that they found a blood clot in or around his heart(cant remember which one)....starting to freak out a little more at this point....called my mommy again and was crying more...got another call and was told that no it was not a blood clot it is just the way his veins are made that make it look like a clot...Thank you God!

So one more phone call and I was told that he was going in to have a stress test to see what happens...got a call that he failed that...Oh holy crap!!!!! They want to do one more test that involves running a thingy up his leg through his vein to heart....

Got to my dad's house so I could go and see him with my step mom and we get the phone call that he is coming home tonight...Wait---are you sure this is a good thing seeing how he failed his stress test....needless to say my Daddy got to come home tonight...

Turns out that he has been having heart palpation's...the reason why he failed his stress test is because there was a small part in it that his heart was not getting enough oxygen at the end of the test...Ok, my dad is almost 70 years old and he was running for 7 minutes on a treadmill...then the last part of it they sped it up and made more of an incline...I tell you what....I would of passed out!!!!

My daddy is fine...he has to take a beta blocker to help with the palpation's,aspirin, and have nitroglycerin....then he goes back in in a few weeks to see the Cardiologist....

I am thankful to GOD and to all the prayers that where answered to day regarding my Daddy...I am not ready for him to leave this world...I don't think that I ever will be....I am just Thankful that he ok!!!!

I was going to my friends church tonight for the dedication of her kids...and I saw so many house with Christmas decorations....how exciting!!! I know this is a hard year for so many people...but it is so nice to see so many people excited about Christmas! We don't have a lot for our kids this year...but I am so excited about getting to spend time with my family for the day.

~Continue On~

A woman once fretted over the usefulness of her life.
She feared she was wasting her potential
being a devoted wife and mother. She wondered if
the time and energy she invested in her
husband and children would make a difference.

At times she got discouraged because so much
of what she did seemed to go unnoticed and unappreciated.
"Is it worth it?" she often wondered. "Is there
something better that I could be doing with my time?"

It was during these moments of questioning that she heard
the still, small voice of her heavenly Father speak to her heart:
"you are a wife and a mother because that is what I have
called you to do. Much of what you give is hidden from
the public eye. But I notice. Most of what you give is done
without remuneration. But I am your reward. Your husband
cannot be the man I have called him to be without your support.
Your influence upon him is greater than you think and more
powerful than you will ever know. I bless him through your
service and honor him through your love. Your children
are precious to Me - even more precious that they are
to you. I have entrusted then to your care to raise for Me.
What you invest in them is an offering to Me.

"You may never be in the public spotlight.
But your obedience shines as a bright light before me.

CONTINUE ON.

Remember, you are My servant. Do all to please me."

~From a Friend~

Dear Friend,

How are you? I just had to send you a note to tell
you how much I care about you.

I saw you yesterday as you were talking with
your friends. I waited all day hoping you would
want to talk with me, too. I gave you a sunset to
close your day and a cool breeze to rest you -
and I waited . You never came. It hurt me - but
I still love you because I am your friend.

I saw you sleeping last nigh and longed to
touch your brow so I spilled moonlight upon your
face. Again I waited,wanting to rush down so
we could talk. I have so many gifts for you! You
awoke and rushed off to work. My tears were in
the rain.

If you would only listen to me! I love you! I
try to tell you in the blue skies and in the quiet green
grass. I whisper it in the leaves int he trees and
breathe it in colors of flowers,shout it to you in
mountain streams, give birds the love songs to
sing. I clothe you with warm sunshine and
perfume the air with natures fragrance. My love
for you is deeper than the ocean, and bigger than
the biggest need in your heart!

Ask me! Talk with me! Please don't forget me.
I have so much to share with you!

I won't hassle you any further. It is your
decision. I have chosen you and I will wait -
because I love you.

Your Friend,
Jesus

~Oh What Fun~

So a few days ago I decided that I was going to make some homemade cinnamon rolls for the family....I had one left over and told Ed to go ahead and see if he could cook it in the microwave,so he did....we were out side having a conversation and then he decided that he was going to go into the house....SMOKE!!!! The house was filled with SMOKE!!!! He had cook the cinnamon for 6 minutes.....so it has now been 3 days and I still can not get the smell out of my house....To day I spent the morning scrubbing the walls,cupboards,floor, and washing the curtains in the kitchen....I have even scrubbed the heck out of the microwave and the smell is still in my kitchen.

I am not the one who decided to put it in the microwave for that long....why am I the one who has to clean up the mess????

~Dossie and Brennan~

Where are you Brennan?
Dossie
Brennan

I think that Brennan thought that the leaves were going to hurt him.
Are you ready???
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!