Reflecting on 2008

I've been working on this post for several weeks, but have not had time to put it all together until today. I reflected back on 2008 and realized we got to have a lot of fun last year!!

The two oldest children got to play Upward Basketball at our church.

They had a great time!

We witnessed a cool lunar eclipse, and I got pictures.

It snowed.

We broke child labor laws (not really).

The kids got cute haircuts (and they keep growing, no matter how hard I try to stop it.)

The Easter Bunny visited our house, as we celebrated the Sacrifice that we do not deserve.

We dressed up in pastels (Hunkahubby is wearing a purple shirt, isn't he handsome?)
to go to church.

We got to dig for dinosaur bones at the Children's Museum. And experienced other hilarity.

Daddy and #1 Daughter went on a Daddy/Daughter date - out to eat (CHINESE) and to school for a Math program.

I fed the other two kids McDonalds and them spun them around at the park until they yakked.

(Just kidding on the yakking thing . . .)

We celebrated our Family Birthday (Adoption Anniversary) by going to a WaterPark Hotel . . .

. . . and to the Children's Museum for their comic book exhibit.

The kids goofed off outside for a great photo opportunity.

We celebrated my 4th year as a Mommy.

My son lost all his teeth!

It got warm enough to play in the sprinkler!

We took our almost annual trip to Holiday World.

My oldest rode her first (and last, according to her) real roller coaster with Daddy.

The kids found their favorite ride, and rode it over . . .

. . . and over, and over.

On our way home, we visited the Gus Grissom Memorial and learned about astronauts.

We visited the Children's Museum . . . again . . . (gotta love memberships).

Grandpa gave his grandson a hair cut. BZZZZZZZ

We got a new kitty. I am now banned from any and all animal shelters and pet stores.

We went to the Zoo and Boo had a butterfly land on her head.
(I can't believe she held still long enough.)

Willow continued to be adorable, and I was forgiven for bringing another animal into the house.

We watched fireworks with our new neighbors!!!!

Best friends pretty much since birth, we've worked together, lived together, and now we get to raise our children just down the street from each other.

We went swimming . . . a lot.

Daddy had another birthday (and the candles are dyslexic.)

Hunkahubby and I went on a date to see the American Idols in concert. Hunkahubby drooled over Carly singing Heart.

And I screamed my head off for David Cook!

My oldest went to church camp for the first time, and loved it!

Boo turned 5 and had a Mexican Birthday Party.

And my oldest turned 8 and had her first big slumber party.

Her party was High School Musical/Basketball themed.

The two oldest started school and left Boo home with Daddy for ONE MORE YEAR.

We took matters into our own hands and took our own family photos.

And saved a ton of money by having them printed at Wal-mart.

As a special treat, we went to the local pizza/arcade place that also has outside rides and rode this ride over and over and over.

My oldest learned about gardening.

And Boo was eaten by a fish. (She survived, just like Jonah.)

We took a family vacation to Shipshewana over Labor Day
and took Michelle's daughter with us.
(Gosh they're cute.)

And they got their gangsta on . . .

The kids gave up their allowance at the orchard to ride a horse for the first time.
(And Hunkahubby snapped an incredible photo.)

We visited Uncle Bobby at the Antique Mall. (and purchased some cool old school lockers for the kids to keep their books and backpacks in at home.)

We relished Indiana in the fall.
(and again Hunkahubby got some great photos.)

I love the fall . . .

My son turned 5 and had his twin buddies spend the night.

I dressed up my cats for Halloween and they're just now starting to speak to me again.

The kids had a great time trick or treating in our neighborhood.

We ate too much at Thanksgiving, but were so thankful for what we had.

I survived another year. (this is my yummy birthday cake that Hunkahubby made me.)

Hunkahubby finally made me a BLUE Christmas tree (complete with matching presents!)

Willow played Santa, but was kind of a Scrooge about it.

We made Christmas cookies. A LOT of Christmas cookies.

Santa came to our house!

We had our family Christmas, and snapped a photo of the whole motley crew.

The kids camped out in the living room and had a blast.

We visited the Zoo and marveled at all the really cool lights they put up in December.

(These three are the best gifts I could ever receive . . .)

We had a Build-a-bear outing and added to our fuzzy family.

And we celebrated the new year in a laid back way - together.

All in all, we had a really good year. Even though there were some stressful times - the good outweighs the bad. And we are so thankful.

We're thankful for each other and for all that we have.

So if you're reading this - the one thing I hope you take away is that you don't have to have a lot of money to make some great memories that last forever. It isn't the "stuff" you give to your children . . . it's the time . . . and the love, that will make the biggest difference.

So here's to 2009 - and more great memories to treasure . . .

Update on Hunkahubby's Gorgeous No Matter What Face

In an earlier post I talked about Hunkahubby's diagnosis of Bell's Palsy. I thought I would show you how it has affected him so far - he is doing so much better, but you can tell it is not 100% back to where it was.

Here is Hunkahubby in July of 2008.



And here is Hunkahubby a few days after his diagnosis - this was probably the worst it got. In this picture he is trying with all his might to smile, but as you can tell, one side of his face is overcompensating, while the other side is doing nothing.



This is Hunkahubby today.



He still has issues with one of his eyes, and he isn't completely back to the way he was - but I think he is more beautiful today than he's ever been. We are so thankful that it wasn't something worse than it was.

Take time to tell the ones you love that you love them - and count your blessings - as even in stressful times . . . there are many things to be grateful for.

-Izzy

Soon to be back at it . . .

I have one long 2008 update post coming soon, and a promise for more frequent postings thereafter.

Stay tuned . . .

I'm so behind . . .

I'm trapped under a lot of papers. Can someone dig me out?

Until then - I'll give you a few pictures to update you on our lives . . . can someone please get me out of here? ;-)

A short recap -


a month or so ago - my oldest ended up in the hospital overnight with pneumonia. I had such fun sleeping on a hospital cot with a night nurse who I swear was typing a novel on the room computer at 3 a.m.

A couple weeks after that - my Daddy had to go and scare us all and have a mild heart attack. He is doing TONS better now and we are all really glad he is still here to be ornery and make us laugh.

About a week later, Hunkahubby woke up with no feeling in one side of his face, which was (after a fun trip to the ER) diagnosed as Bell's Palsy. (Of course, he is still sexy even when half of his face isn't cooperating.) He is doing better - and if I can get him to hold still long enough - I'll add a current picture of him.

Somewhere in all of this - we destroyed a turkey. (And boy was it GOOD.)

My children decided what they want to be when they grow up.

My awesome talented husband participated in two art shows.

We had another baby.

I got a BLUE tree in my bedroom this year. (YAY!!!)

And I grew out my hair . . .

Okay - a couple of these aren't exactly correct . . . but it makes life interesting, right?

Hope you are all enjoying this holiday season - and just in case your friendly neighborhood retail clerk hasn't told you - I will . . . MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's Elfin' Time Again!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I won something!

One of my favorite blogs The Pioneer Woman had a contest in her photography section yesterday. And I actually WON!!!! Woohoo!!!!

It's a good day!!

Thanks Ree!!

Promised Halloween Pictures

The kids had a great time Trick or Treating - especially because their cousin is close and can go trick or treating with them again.

Here they are on our first Halloween together in 2004 with their cousin when we all lived in a different town:


(yeah, I have a much better camera now . . .)

And here they are this year . . .




(she is so getting locked in a closet . . .)

Great fun was had by all!

Excitement - and not necessarily the fun kind . . .

This weekend was pretty exhausting . . .

My dear 8-year old daughter who was just a little bit sleepy on Thursday night, woke up with a fever, coughing, and wheezing so much I could hear her from across the room on Friday morning. SCARY.

I went to work while hubby took her to the ER - he later called me to tell me they were keeping her overnight for observation because she had pneumonia.

It was so scary to see my beautiful daughter looking so little in that big hospital bed, but she took it all in stride. All 3 of her nurses commented on what a polite and sweet girl she was. Mommy got to spend the night in the room on a very (NOT) comfortable cot. Neither of us slept much - but it was a bonding experience. She apologized for keeping me awake with her coughing and I apologized for keeping her awake with my snoring.

Sunday I declared it stay at home in our pajamas day and we vegged out and watched movies all day long. It was nice. And we all had naps. I love naps.

She is doing better - but I'm still being overprotective and not sure I'm ready for her to have outside recess at school. Luckily - her fall break is this weekend, so she only has 2 more days of school. I'm taking Thursday and Friday off as well so we can all have family time.

All the kids are looking forward to Trick or Treating, they've had their costumes for almost a month. Me . . . I love this time of year - and even though my aunt would be upset with me for jumping the gun . . . I started listening to Christmas music today . . . I can't help it!!!

Well - this post jumped around quite a bit - but I wanted to catch up . . . AGAIN. I'll be back soon to post pictures of the kids in their costumes.

Have a great week!!

Something to think about

Today Mark Salinas posted this about how we should not let things like politics ruin friendships.

I agree wholeheartedly with what he had to say in his very timely post. As I read through the comments though, someone else had something very profound to say.

Audra Krell from Krellfish said, "One other point is for people to look inward. As we get closer to the election, people become desperate and do and say things that they normally wouldn’t. We should all do an emotional check and see if possibly, our fears and other emotions are coloring our words and actions a little too much."

So far, in most of our conversations - those on the opposite side of the political fence have been able to have civil conversations with me, even when we disagree. And then there have been those times where I just wanted to enjoy being with my friend and I've said, "let's not talk politics today, okay?"

This election seems to be more charged than any other that I remember, and I hope that some people are not forgetting that we are all Americans and in the end - we have to all figure out how to work together whether we are liberal, conservative, democrat, republican or some combination of all of these things.

So in these last 2 weeks before the election I urge you to:

• be informed and research everything - if a story seems biased, it probably is - so check the facts yourself
  
• feel free to be passionate without being nasty
• don't steal signs out of people's yards (I'd like mine back please!)
• respect the opinions of others, whether you agree or not
• Pray for our nation, its leaders - and whoever is destined to be our next President - we all have an uphill climb ahead of us.

Okay - political discussion done. For real this time. Maybe.

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?

If you have a moment - please read this article - and spread the word . . .

This article was written by Orson Scott Card, a democrat and newspaper columnist - and I agree with what he has to say . . . (I'll say no more, because he says it all.)

http://www.ldsmag.com/ideas/081017light.html

Tag, I'm it! (And you might be too . . .)

My good buddy Rett tagged me - so I HAVE to do this for her (which yes, this means if I tag you then you have to do it too!)

The objective? List 7 random/weird facts about myself, then tag 7 others to do the same. I am really not sure I want to do this . . . but I will . . . for Rett.

1. I used to be able to write with my toes. I'm not sure I can do it anymore - and I'm afraid to try.

2. I don't mind some smells that others usually hate - like diesel fuel and . . . dare I say it? . . . skunks.

3. I am addicted to the crook in my husband's neck.

4. I am terrified that when some people look at me, they only see my mother.

5. I'm actually pretty shy sometimes and don't like being in social situations where I know very few people.

6. I dream of someday writing a best-selling novel, but fear that my procrastination and self-doubt about my abilities will keep me from doing it.

7. I have this reoccurring feeling that none of us actually exist and we are really just an overly elaborate dream that someone somewhere is having - even though I KNOW this is not true.

Yeah - that got a little deeper and weirder than I had planned . . . but oh well! Those were the first 7 things I thought of!!!

Now let's see - who do I want to know weird things about????

1. Barry @ Pike Speak
2. Kristen @ Shoutin from the Rooftops
3. Don Crane
4. Jaya & Arya
5. Beth @ The Funny Farm
6. Memaw @ Memaw Bake's Memories
7. Mizfit

I can't wait to hear how weird the rest of you are!!!

A lesson for those who didn't pay attention in high school . . .

I am trying to stay away from politics in my blog - but I had to post this because it is informative and may help people to understand some of the things they keep hearing about in the media.

Recently, Senator Obama spoke to Joe the Plumber who had asked him why he would get more taxes for a small business that just happens to make more than $250,000.

This was Senator Obama's response:

“It’s not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they’ve got a chance at success, too. I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

Those words "spread the wealth around" have said to confirm some people's feelings that Senator Obama has more socialist policies than democratic.

What I've realized in my conversations with people my own age is this: no one paid attention in high school civics or government class and they don't have any idea what socialism is. And they really don't care! So I ran across this blog this morning which had a great excerpt from Mike Huckabee's book.

I wanted to share this lesson with you here:

“I once heard the various forms of government described this way:

Communism - you have two cows and the government takes both cows and gives you part of the milk.

Socialism - you have two cows and the government takes one of the cows and gives it to your neighbor.

Fascism - you have two cows and the government takes both cows and sells you the milk.

Nazism - you have two cows and the government takes both cows and shoots you.

Bureaucracy - you have two cows, the government takes both cows, shoots one, milks the other, and pours the milk down the drain.

Capitalism - you have two cows, you sell one and you buy a bull!

Our system, based on the capitalist idea, is intended to create incentives so there is a return on one’s endeavors. It has it’s flaws, but ours is still better than any other system on earth.”

I am hoping that this short lesson has helped some people understand these things they keep hearing on the TV but don't take the time to learn about.

I will leave you with a quote from Former President Ronald Reagan (which reminds me of a time when people had a respect for the one holding the office of the President of the United States . . .)

“All systems are capitalist. It's just a matter of who owns and controls the capital -- ancient king, dictator, or private individual. We should properly be looking at the contrast between a free market system where individuals have the right to live like kings if they have the ability to earn that right and government control of the market system such as we find today in socialist nations.”

Main thing: God is still God.

Be informed.

Vote on November 4th (or you do not have a right to complain).

(I am now finished with my political comments . . . until the next election.)

More Fall Photos

Rearview (by IzzyBeth)

(Photo by Hunkahubby)

(Photo by IzzyBeth)

Oh - and this is me attempting to get organized,
but Gracie wouldn't let me because she liked my new organizer too much. Bummer. LOL

Have I mentioned how much I love the fall?

The leaves are changing and I'm so excited

More pictures to come in the next few days!

No dropped calls!

My cousin Laurie sent this to me and it really made me go OUCH. So I thought I would share my "pain" with you. In these kind of frightening and unsure times - this is something I needed to read . . .

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

Makes you stop and think 'where are my priorities?

And no dropped calls!