I Need Your Help!

Ok, this Saturday is officially Yard Sale Day. The pile in the garage has been multiplying and it's growing in every direction. I've been through the crawlspace and the kids' closets and in the cabinets and everywhere I can imagine to find the stuff that we've accumulated over the years (and before those years, too- Tim had a lot of bachelor stuff, too.) It feels so good to get everything cleared out and cleaned up. The part that I love is that we really aren't parting with anything either. I went through the kids books and found that I had 2 of some books, so we keep the nicer copy and maybe someone else can use the other. And we have been given so much! Things that we've been given and can't use are also in the yard sale. I really can't wait until after Saturday and reclaim my garage as well. You all come in here, while I have the little price sticker tags and help me with price suggestions. This is my biggest dilemma. I really don't want to give everything away for really cheap just to get it out of the house and on the other side, I don't want to keep the prices too high and not sell anything. This is my very first garage sale and I don't even visit them to buy things ~ honestly, my sleep on Saturday mornings is way too precious in this time of my life. (Keep reading...)

Please help with any yard sale suggestions that you may have:

Rebecca, you are the queen of these things- help a Sista out!
Mom and Dad, C & J, you all just had one last summer- you know what sells and for how much!
Everyone else, I'm desperate!

One cue I took from Rebecca is doing a bake sale, too. Who doesn't need a cinnamon roll in the early morning hours? I'm also doing potato crescent rolls for those like me who need a little dinner inspiration. Tim suggested I try my "Better than Pop Tarts" (Dabney calls them Top Tarts.) And large snickerdoodles. Everyone needs a cookie or two. Again, I need someone to hold my hand. What would you think these things cost at a bake sale? I'm pretty sure we'll have sodas, too.

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On the pregnancy front, I'll be 36 weeks in 2 days and I preregistered at the hospital on Monday. Whew. Now I can go into labor without people asking me to "sign here" and "initial here" between contractions. Sleeping is not so easy these days, and not exactly restful either. The child likes to dance at night. And I have crazy dreams. Last night it was all about the diapers I will need for Joshua. Dabney's been out of bed with "dreams" too. Last night for her, there was a dream about a truck and then another about a chicken. Go figure. Night before last I had a very nice dream about Hawaii.

Bending over is becoming pretty painful these days. Hopefully, with the next pregnancy Dabney will be big enough to help me reach things in the dryer (the worst part of my week). I truly thought I was going to snap in half the other day when I reached for a pillow.

Grandma Iris will be coming in a few weeks to help us out. I think the date is the 19th. This is the other thing that keeps me awake at night~ running through possible scenarios~ like "what do I do with the kids, if they're napping and the real thing starts?" or "should I really call the Brottlunds if its 2 am?" and recently "Will I have time to wait for the Brottlunds to get to our house? What if I have a really quick labor?" I think the answer is probably just to trust the Lord for all the details. The good thing is that I think Iris timed her visit pretty well with the due date. Unless Baby Josh is really early, she should be here to stay with the kids, even in the middle of the night, and Tim and I would be off to the hospital without having to worry about the kiddos. (As you can tell, prayers for peace would be appreciated.)

I think that's all the news I have. We're trying to stay cool around here. The temp in the kitchen the other day was 84 degrees! My North Dakotan couldn't take it and turned on the AC. Thankfully, the cool winds picked up that night and he turned it off again.

Have a nice Wednesday everyone! (and I will be expecting your comments!)

Lonely Tuesday

We really enjoyed having Uncle James this past week (or part of it). I dropped him off at the airport early this morning and the house has been pretty quiet ever since. Kind of sad around here, but we'll get through. Makes me want to shop... or eat... and since I really shouldn't do either, I think the kids and I will go for a walk today in the really nice double stroller that we were given last week. And, there are a couple upcoming things to occupy my mind as well- I have an OB appointment tomorrow, and there's a baby shower on Saturday morning and I'm bringing petit fours for 35 people, and next week a friend and I are having a joint yard sale here. I've been dying to do a yard sale for a while now and it's exciting to get rid of a lot of the clutter we have sitting around. I don't want to get my hopes up to make a lot of money, but hey, getting rid of junk and possibly getting some money for it is quite a nice concept!

We set up the crib for Joshua this past week and we're starting to gather things for his arrival. Exciting times. It feels like he grows an inch a day. He's squirming all the time and I'd like to think he's making me taller by the way he stretches his feet into my ribs. I'm 35 weeks this Friday.

Here are some more good pictures from our trip last month. The ones of Cait and James are rare since they don't like their picture to be taken.











A message from Dabney:

To "Gwamma and PopPop and Caitlin and James and Rosie",

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbuuuuuuuuuuuukkkkkkkkkkkkbbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ttttttteqqqqqqqsssssggyyyyddddddddssssssss wwwwwww gghhhhhhxxxxxxxxxxxxrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeqqqqqqqqqqq 11564449879=====-8rrreee433333221111111111` vvvvijjzooooil uuuuuuuuuuuuuuujvyuygfty eddddddddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
6tyuuuijjooooooooooooooooooooooooooooogiiiiiiiii llll


"Dear Pop Pop,
Happy Dad's Day
I'm you pixie stick.
Love, Dabney Giedd"


"Dear Gwamma,
Thank you for sharing Uncle James. Hapa Mother's Day.
Wuv you so much, Gwamma. "

"Dear Caitlin,
Wuv you so much. It's my birthday. I'm 4."

"Dear James,
Thank you for the bear gums. Wuv you so much!"

"Dear Rosie,
Wuv you Rosie!"

Not a Coincidence

This is a picture of my next door neighbors' house. Last Saturday while we were all resting during a nice, afternoon thunderstorm, we heard the loudest clap of thunder we had ever heard. Ear-splitting. Our house shook. Dabney woke from her nap and started screaming. Seconds later, our doorbell rang. Our neighbors' house had been struck by the lightning and the mom smelled smoke. She called the fire department and brought her kids on over to our place. The FD and police came and checked it out and there was no fire, but there is a big hole in their house.

Maybe because it was a lazy afternoon, Tim and I got to thinking. This was not an accident. It could have been our house, but in His mercy, God chose the location of the lightning to be about 30 yards from where our very heads lay sleeping peacefully. It reminds me that we think we have things figured out, but truthfully, we control nothing. Our lives and our children's lives and our homes and the multitude of blessings we have are God's gifts and not coincidences. We have so much to be thankful for.

My Latest Project

I've had a great time planning this and then assembling it. My very own clothesline! As you all know, we cloth diaper and to offset the cost of the extra water for the extra load of laundry every now and then, we decided to put up a clothesline on which to dry the diapers (at least the diapers, probably bed sheets and other things, too). Also, clotheslines are big with cloth diaper moms because sunning the diapers also removes stains. I can't wait to have fresh outdoor-sy smelling laundry!

I had a whole corner of the yard that wasn't being used at all and so I set up the line on that side of the house. It won't be obtrusive for the kids and still will get plenty of sun. Hopefully the neighbors on that side won't even notice. I got some 5" lag bolts (the longest Lowes had) so the line won't be so close to the fence. I'll probably use this side of the line for sheets. The whole thing is sort of L-shaped- I was trying to rig it so depending on the time of day, the laundry can get maximum sun exposure.

^I think I will Scotchgard this.^ Does the fabric look familiar? It used to be David's old curtains.

David at Salt Pond

I think the jury is still out as to whether dirt tastes better or sand...

Picture time!

These are just a few of the ones I love best (I have about 450 more)...

This is one of my favorites...

Spouting Horn

Dabney's "Wish Come True!"~ Surfing (almost) like Lilo...

My handsome guys at Poipu Beach

Pop Pop's little Pixie Stick

Well, I finally loaded all of the vacation pictures last night so I suppose it's time to show you all! Although I took so many pictures, it really doesn't seem like a lot. Actually, I came away thinking, "Why didn't I get a shot of this and that?". Oh well. ~*Insert contentedness here*~ I'm having quite a bit of fun though with the photo-editing software and it really is bringing out the best in the pictures that I took. My mother can point and shoot the best pictures I've ever seen, but I have to crop and enlarge and zoom and brighten. I'm so thankful I can at least do that!

Tomorrow should be a fun day. There's a big homeschool curriculum sale in town tomorrow and we plan to be there before the doors open to get the best books. (Yes, I know Dabney's only 3, but good curriculum never goes out of style. And besides, we're not shopping for science or history texts just yet. Actually, I'd love some ancient history or Bible flashcards from Veritas Press and all of the cheap books on the K, 1st and 2nd grade reading lists I can get my hands on.) And our good friends the Whites will be there too! Shopping with friends~ is there anything better?

And tomorrow is grocery shopping day and also Bible Study at our house. It's always good to get back in your groove after you've been away. If I don't post again tomorrow, have a great weekend!

We're Back

Yep, I wasn't posting because we were off the continent. (Don't you feel bad now, thinking I was a lazy blogger!)

We had a fabulous time in Hawaii. I really can't say enough about it. Mom and Dad and Cait and James were so good to us! They took us around and introduced us to their friends (and weren't embarrassed) and endured crying babies and let us eat their really good food and so many other things. All I can say is that the week passed way, way too soon for us.

I took a ton of pictures so prepare to be inundated in the next few days. I wanted to take a lot so we can remember everything we did (since I doubt very much that we'll be going back often) and the total topped out around 450! Yay! And that's before I use the photo editing software that I love so much. Actually the last of the pictures are being uploaded right now to Shutterfly and I already can't wait to get them back. (Now to find an album big enough to house them before I put them in a scrapbook...)

It's that time of year again...

I love this time of year. Things can finally grow outside and, yep, you guessed it, we finally eat dinner outside and enjoy the weather! I love it. Something I'm missing though is planning a party. I had so much fun planning the luau last year but this summer, I guess I have my own "coming attraction" at the end of July.

Today was just a run of the mill Thursday but I thought I'd post, since I haven't done so in quite a while. I did, however, deep clean all the windows and mirrors of the house (along with every other "Thursday"thing that has to be done). Not just a spray and a wipe, but unlatching the windows and cleaning them inside and out. I also used newspaper instead of a paper towels, and voila, no streaks at all and I love looking out my "new" windows. Our windows get incredibly dirty and dusty from all the construction around us, but I must admit, they look pretty spiffy now! Talk to you all later!





Recently transplanted outside. I actually have 2 kinds of pumpkins growing (1 for decorations, 1 for pies). Actually, I also have zucchini growing too-the more squash the merrier I guess.


One of our lilacs. This is one of the most reliable plants and I just love it. The other lilac is green and leafy, but it doesn't have any buds yet.

Just Another Day in Paradise

This is "Mom! Look!" pose. If you can't tell, she's being a ballerina. Usually, she's prancing so fast that the shots are blurry, but this one was semi-acceptable. We call her Dabney Nimbletoes and it makes her smile.



I love this! Dabney's mothering instincts at work. Simba is her baby and she frequently puts him down for naps and she rocks him and she takes him everywhere she goes- even the little basket on her tricycle.



David is looking for something to dig up in this picture.

Grow, Baby Lemons! Grow!

My beloved citrus tree made their yearly move outside yesterday.

Preparing for Baby Bubba

These are prefold diapers (remember these Mom?) that I bought last week on Craigslist.com. I got a crazy good deal for so many! (You can buy them online for $3+ a piece, plus shipping.) And the lady sold me 6 Prorap covers too! Anyway, I washed them a few times in really hot water and then I dyed them the colors of the rainbow. (There are a few more colors out there, but I'm quite satisfied with these.) The colors will hide stains better and they will make diapering quite a bit more fun, than with just the regular white. The covers are white and that's enough for me. (Can't dye them, they're made of pul.)






These are the homemade diapers I've put away for Sweet Joshua (who, I am convinced, will one day be a famous soccer player from the way he kicks his Mama). I have 11 newborn fleece pocket diapers and 8 fitted diapers, size small, made just this week. Hopefully, I will be able to make at least one or two more pockets this week or next, I just ordered a little more pul (polyurithane laminate) that I need to complete the rest. I really can't wait until the little fella gets here. His brother and sister are very excited to meet him. Dabney talks about him quite a bit and David can say "Josss" ("Josh").

And speaking of David's language skills, he can also say "Thank You", "Please", "Cheese", "No" (we're not too excited about that one though), "Jesus", "Amen", "Juice", and "all done", along with the others he knows.

Our Garden Fairy

Hey Tink, spread some pixie dust over by the zucchini and the peppers please! (And the "grass" too while you're at it!)

Highly Recommended!

I picked this book up at the library to help me with my lemon and lime trees and I haven't really put it down for 3 weeks. It really is the authority on everything outside- trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables, you name it. It it grows, this book will tell you when where and how to plant it and keep it growing. I went to the used bookstore on Saturday to see if I could find a copy (or a good substitute) but they didn't have it in and nothing else in the garden section of the store even came close. I think every gardener needs this on their shelf.

Springtime in the Rockies

This is the "before" shot. The sod is removed now and half of the beds are filled with good soil and compost and I made another trellis for the climbing vegetables.

"Dirt? What makes you think I've been eating dirt?"

Finally, I think Spring is here. Dabney and I have had our little garden seedlings growing in their little peat pots for a a while now and recently the weather is tempting us to put them outside. The kids and I are just loving our backyard again; we spent a good portion of yesterday out in the sun, playing on the park (Dabney) or digging in Mama's boxwoods (David) or just relaxing in a lawn chair reading a great gardening book (me).

Last Saturday was a great family backyard day. I built a trellis or two and finished up the raised beds planted a rose bush and Tim did the dirty work- he helped me remove sod. Dabney hammered the ground and flitted around like a garden fairy and David pretended as though he wasn't eating all the dirt. We got quite a bit done and the backyard is becoming more and more beautiful and functional too. Unfortunately we were so busy, I didn't get the camera out in time and when I finally did get it out the battery needed to be recharged. So, today's pictures are from the last few days after all the hard work was put in.

I still have quite a bit left to do outside, but sadly, some of it requires money, so we'll just have to wait on a few things- more good soil to fill in the beds, another rose bush, etc. But it seems ironic that even with the garden I'm not patient enough. The whole idea of the garden is to work and sweat and toil and plant and wait and water and wait and water and wait and water and then you reap when God has blessed. Maybe this garden will help me learn more patience. And truthfully there are only a few things I can begin to sow outdoors now anyway. The rule of thumb here is southern Colorado is to wait to plant outdoors until Mother's Day- the unofficial last frost.

A few random shots

Dabney was very ready to watch "Peter Man".

David actually said "Cheese" for this picture. He loves to vacuum.


And yes, that's a cloth diaper. We decided to change over permanently a few weeks ago. I'm contemplating posting (what we call in the CD world) "my stash", but maybe that's pathetic- getting so excited about a diaper. I just had a great mail day yesterday - we got our 3 Happy Heiny diapers from a lady in Louisiana and today we received a Swaddlebees diaper from Saskatchewan. Crazy huh? You would not believe the cloth diapering sub-culture. It's crazy the amount of money some Mamas would pay for a cute diaper- seriously. The lime green one above was made by me.

For My Niece

I forgot to show you all this. This is what Tonya Chapa helped me make for my niece's 4th birthday. (Ok, Tonya did most of the work- but now I know what goes into making a sign.) I think it turned out really well.

Way Cooler than Tom Cruise!

Farmer Bubba

Why do boys only want to play with the sharpest, most dangerous objects we own?

Dabney's "Park"

THANK YOU, FINE FAMILY!


(Our grass doesn't look so hot yet... but then again, they are calling for more snow tonight.)