Penny the Supermodel

Meet Penny. The coolest, weirdest cat ever.

I thought I would take a picture of her weirdness since for some reason she was relaxing on the legos...maybe it was like acupuncture or something.

Anyhow, she suddenly started posing and intentionally looking beautiful. Seriously.

And she just kept posing...

 Check out the lip pucker in this shot...

She decided she wanted another photographer when I wouldn't pull the fan out to blow her fur a bit.

But she is a cool cat anyway.

And yes, of all the things I could have blogged about after the months I have been away from it, I did just blog about my cat. Weird, I know. ;)

The Ice Storm, The Interview, and the Cow-Moving to Texas

So...here we are! :) We arrived on the 2nd of February. We literally slid into town during a record breaking ice storm! It was quite the trip. Chase and our dear friend Dan, left driving the U-Haul and Dan's suv all loaded down. A few hours later, my wife (her nickname) Jen and I left with our passel of 6 kids, ages 6 and under.
Yeah. We are crazy. But it was so wonderful of these amazing friends to help us move to our new home. And I really enjoyed being able to have a looooong visit with one of my dearest friends. Plus, trial and error has taught us that two moms and six kids are actually easier than one mom and three kids. Ask the people who work at Ikea. Long story.
Anyhow...it was snowing when we drove away from our home and was storming on the east side of Albuquerque.When we stopped there for gas, I was interviewed by a news reporter about how it was, traveling in the storm. The second he turned on the camera I completely lost my mind, and Jen had to whisper to me all the answers to everything he asked, including, "What is your last name? Can you spell that?" So whether or not my clip actually made it on the air I don't know, but I doubt it. ;) But we did share with him that we had seen lots of vehicles slide off the freeway and that the blowing snow was a serious menace.
We got back on the road and several hours later, we made it to the Texas, NM border!!! :) Our drive took considerably longer than the men, because we took an excruciating amount of potty breaks. The next day, we wised up and put all the kids in diapers-yup we did. All six. And the drive went considerably faster. ;)
It was a pretty scary drive. The roads were insanely slippery and it was SO cold!!! The temp was in the negatives the whole time. At one point I couldn't see to drive because of all the mud caked onto my windshield. So I pulled over and Jen dumped a cold bottle of water onto the windshield and before I could wipe it off, it froze. At least it was clear though, so we got back on the road.

In Wichita Falls, we stopped for some lunch and to see my Aunt Debbie and cousin, Jason. It had been years since I had seen them and they had never met my kids. We slid into the parking lot, slid into McDonalds and let the kids play for a bit while I got to visit! ;) It was so nice seeing them again, they are a couple of the sweetest folks ever! I just love them! And it is so nice that they are only a few hours away and we get to see each other every now and then. :)

We got back on the road and caught up with Dan who had had car trouble. We ended up following him all the way to our new home town. It was terrifying. He drove a bit faster than I was comfortable with and really pushed me to just get there. But I was glad he did. ;) We had a couple of close calls, the one I remember the most was when a semi came into our lane and tried to push us off the freeway...scary. But God took SUCH good care of us. We got to the Day's house safe and sound...and exhausted.

This may be one of those you-just-had-to-be-there things, but I have to tell you about something Harmony said. Keep in mind that we had been driving through Texas aka Cattle Country for EVER. We saw cattle EVERYWHERE! Even the day before in New Mexico...lots of cows. Lots. For hours all we saw were cattle and fields. On the evening of the second day we were driving the car and all six kids were quiet. I think the boys were all sleeping. (Which explains the quiet.;) Jen and I are chatting it up when all of the sudden from the back of the suburban, Harmony exclaimed, "LOOK!!!! A COW!!!!!" We died laughing. We were wondering where she had been that whole drive and how she missed all the cattle. I still have no idea...

I was nervous about staying with the Day's. They so graciously provided several rooms and a bathroom and the whole house basically at our disposal! But I had never met them and wasn't sure how it was going to work. Especially with my three little ones and Jen's three little ones...all of which had been on lock-down in a car for two days. But the kids were great and the Day's were AMAZING!!! Mr. and Mrs. Day are some of the most fabulous people ever and are now some dear friends. After Dan and Jen left (which I don't want to talk about... :( ) We stayed on with the Day's for a month until we moved into a rental right across the street. I told you, they are awesome! I am not sure anyone else could have handled us for all that time. Thank you Dan and Jen! And thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Day!!! We love you all so much! Thank you for all you have each done for our family. We have been so blessed by each of you. :)

And we are loving Texas (except the tornados we are currently dodging...) the people and our church and the area....we just LOVE it here!!!

One Enchanted Evening!

When I first moved to Show Low, Arizona I didn't have much in the way of friends. I had my new husband and had a new church family. Three weeks into our marriage we got pregnant with my Pink Princess!

And then it started...friendship! I started having things in common with the women around me and many of us became fast friends! There was particularly a group of us that I dubbed "the Fab 7" several years ago. Through the years our group has grown and our circle of friends has grown but like the ladies of Wisteria Lane (I did-I just made a Desperate Housewives reference!) the seven of us have remained friends and stay close.

During the packing and moving process I have been reminiscing about all of the things we have been through and done together...

 Pretty amazing really, in the last six years we have 

had babies, 

lost babies, 

lost parents, 

battled cancer, 

dealt with our pasts, 

been through counseling, 

been through several moves, 

struggles in our marriages, 

struggles with our teenagers, 

struggles with each other, 

started homeschooling our kids, 

stopped homeschooling our kids, (: 

and just life in general. 

But what struck me as I reminisced and what is so amazing to me is how faithful God has been through everything. Here we all are-

still alive, 

still friends, 

still married, 

still in this church, 

and more in love with our Lord than ever before. 

How amazing is that? He answered those prayers that we prayed together countless times. I think those are some of my most treasured memories. Apart from all the play-dates we had when our kids were smaller, and the bunko parties, and the movie nights...(Ok, so we have had some serious fun together!!!) I love remembering the times when we got together for coffee and to pray. To pray for our families, for our husbands, for us as moms-some of the most powerful times we shared. And the times we got together just to pray for Deana and her cancer. I just get chills. I have been taking Deana for granted lately, but it really wasn't that long ago she was fighting for her life and we were all terrified of losing her. 

What amazing, special friends I have here. I will miss them so much! And yet it is so exciting to be able to move somewhere new and make MORE friends!!! :) Whoo hoooo!

So back to the evening I was originally posting about: (:

When the rest of the group found out I was moving, my amazing friend Deana (the planner extraordinaire!) decided that before I left we needed one last dinner party with the gals that started it all. Everyone pitched in and threw me SUCH a lovely party!!! They went with an Italian theme and we got to use a clubhouse up in Pinetop for our festivities! :) (Thank you Stacie!!!)

These were SO yummy!!! Thank you Misty!!!

Isn't this lovely???

Seriously beautiful!!!

Drinks and hor d'oeuvres

Shay's famous spinach dip!!!

Then in case the dinner wasn't enough, I got PRESENTS!!!!!

Here is the frame Dawn made for me and they brought pictures of us to put in there. :) BEAUTIFUL!!!! Dawn, you are AWESOME!!!

And LOOK how cute this gift bag is!!! Turns out that it held the coveted "Lynell Original Apron"!!!!! I have been secretly pining for one for YEARS!!!! You can read about it and see it on her  (fabulous watch-out-Pioneer-Woman) blog: http://wranglersandribbons.blogspot.com/2011/01/crafting-therapy.html I have pretty much been wearing it non-stop since! 

Chatting it up:

Besides seamstress, she is also a fab photographer !!! Seriously, watch out Pioneer Woman!

Main Course: YUMMO!! Deana makes the BEST Italian food!!!

And Dessert: ohmygoshamazing! :)

There was SO much laughter and food and visiting! It was a totally wonderful night!!! I am so blessed to have these woman in my life. And I love that while they are so sad I am moving, they are praying I make new wonderful friends in my new church and new home! :) They are just awesome!!!

I LOVE you guys!!! Thank you so much!!! 

Adventures with Dawn and Gina-Hutch Makeover Day!!!

Do you remember when Dawn and I turned my china cabinet into the entertainment center??? It started out looking something like this:

 And then we turned it into this:

Well we have been dying to finish it! We have had visions of painting it and adding some kind of super fun print to the back but we hadn't done it yet. Well I came back from Christmas in Texas with the PERFECT print for the back...and then when we decided we were moving to Texas, Dawn and I HAD to get one last project in! She was totally awesome and bought the paint and supplies as a going away present too!!! She is just the greatest! :)

So one day I started in and spray painted the hardware black. :)

And then did a light sanding... 

Then Dawn got to work filling holes...

We picked this amazing color! At first I was planning on going a pale teal-ish route. Then was thinking a raspberry would be a huge and fun punch of color...and when I saw this color on a card I didn't like it. It wasn't until I saw it sampled on some walls with some black accents that I went "Oooooohhhhhh" and we fell in love with it!

We chose Martha Stewart's "Washed Denim" but then when we got to Home Depot, we had them match it to the Behr's Ultra Paint and Primer Combo Paint. LOVE that stuff and the color was PERFECT!!! (Not to mention considerably cheaper!)

So two coats later we started putting the fabulous backing on:

This is actually wrapping paper from Target! I found a very mangled roll but couldn't find another one anywhere so I took it up front and got it for a mere dollar and a half!!!! :)

We just Modge Podged it up there and it was scary because wrapping paper isn't fond of being modge podged...but up it went and it eventually it dried and looks like this:

This pic is a little blurry...I was balancing precariously on the couch between boxes and electronics and holding stuff up and ...anyway the pic is blurry. Sorry!  But doesn't it look just AMAZING??? Every time I walk through the room I smile. Dawn is so amazing to help me with this...and be my friend...and hang out with me every week...and keep me sane. :) She has just been such a huge blessing and encouragement to me. I LOOOVE you Dawnovan!!! :) You are just awesome!!! I will SO miss you! As soon as we get settled I am going to have to get you out to see me and help me decorate! ;) I love you!

So dear Readers, Dawn and I can't decide...should we rough the hutch up a bit and do some black staining or leave it how it is??? HELP!!!

Books to Read in 2011

Since I became a mom I have been pretty terrible about getting books read. Unless it is Fancy Nancy or Dr. Seuss I am just not reading all that much. And it has been ok to take a few years off and have babies, but now that the kids are getting older I want to set some goals and keep in mind some books I want to read.

So here goes:
The List So Far:

 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578565812/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-6&pf_rd_r=1R3T3J9YRPF57S1XAGYZ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938731&pf_rd_i=507846
I started this one technically in 2010 but I haven't gotten too far just yet. ;)


http://www.amazon.com/Green-Goes-Everything-Healthier-Cleaner/dp/1416578455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295464178&sr=1-1
Apparently this book is everything you never wanted to know about toxins being in your food, water, clothing, mattresses, cleaning products etc....all the chemicals we put in our systems every day and how to avoid that. :) Stay posted, I will write a post someday on all that I have been learning and why I love Arbonne. :)


http://www.amazon.com/Joyfully-Home-Young-Ladies-Vision/dp/1934554502/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295464201&sr=1-1
Totally looking forward to reading this book! I LOVE her blog! Her dad's book:

(which I gave away before I even finished reading it...I need to get a new one! LOVE this book!)
http://www.amazon.com/What-He-Must-Be-Daughter/dp/1581349300/ref=pd_sim_b_1
 totally changed our church in so many ways! Fathers stepped up and became better leaders,(but not dictators) parents got more proactive in the dating-courtship process and families are just getting closer! Awesome!!!


http://www.amazon.com/Bonhoeffer-Pastor-Martyr-Prophet-Spy/dp/1595551387/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295464219&sr=1-1
Ok so my husband actually got this one for Christmas...but I think I am going to borrow it for a bit! ;) I LOVE World War II History and the fact the Hitler killed him a couple of days before the war ended-just out of spite is intriguing.

Right now in my devotions, I am going through:

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Spiritual-Gifts-40-Minute-Studies/dp/0307458709/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295465097&sr=1-5
I am really enjoying it too! :) I love Kay Arthur! Her books, "Lord, I Want to Know You" (on the names of God) and "Lord, I Need Grace to Make it Today" (about grace and applying it to your life) were huge in my life and taught me sooooo much and changed my life drastically. :)
So I think the next devotion book I will do will be:

http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Help-Grow-Spiritually-Strong/dp/0736925988/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295465124&sr=1-1
Looks good! :)
I also want to do this one this year:


http://www.amazon.com/My-Utmost-His-Highest-ebook/dp/B0049U4WA6/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295465344&sr=1-4
I have heard SO many good things about this book! I am really excited to read it...and who knows...after Bonhoffer and Chambers I just may be up to reading some Tozer! :)


http://www.amazon.com/Duggars-Counting-Raising-Americas-Families-How/dp/141658563X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295467042&sr=1-1
Someday I will write a post on the 20 and counting things I love about the Duggars...but for now, I want to read their book! :)


http://www.visionforum.com/browse/product/?productid=96752
I am dying to read SO MANY of the books that Vision Forum has to offer...this is just one of them. ;)

My "Fun Reading" List:


http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Jane-Austen/dp/1936594293/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295467131&sr=1-3
How sad is it that I have never read this book?!?!? This is the year!



http://www.amazon.com/Mansfield-Park-Penguin-Classics-Austen/dp/0141439807/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295467176&sr=1-1
Ok, silly reason for wanting to read this one...I have taken several "what Jane Austen book is your life" quizzes on facebook and Mansfield Park is always the answer...I must find out what this means. ;)


http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Dog-His-Victor-Brodt/dp/1452839948/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295467940&sr=1-1
I am SO looking forward to reading this one! It was written by some dear friends!
You MUST read the AMAZING reviews this book has gotten and read it for yourself! I am thinking I will start this one next!

Alright...so besides the books I flip through on cooking, cleaning, gardening, and other homesteading topics, this is my list. Pretty daunting considering the only things I read through completely last year was "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and the "Lord I Need Grace..." one I mentioned earlier. Ok, that isn't quite true...I am having plenty of others come to mind... anyhow. FUN! I love to read!

Does anyone else have anything they plan on reading this year???

Steps

That song, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delighteth in His way. Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down for the Lord upholdeth Him with His hand." has been encouraging to me today and I thought I would find more verses on "steps" since ours are rather "unsure" at the moment. ;)

Job 34:21

“For his eyes are on the ways of a man,

and he sees all his steps.

Job 31:4

Does not he see my ways

and number all my steps?

Psalm 37:23

The steps of a man are established by the Lord,

when he delights in his way;

Psalm 37:31

The law of his God is in his heart;

his steps do not slip.

Psalm 119:133

Keep steady my steps according to your promise,

and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

Proverbs 16:9

The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.

Jeremiah 10:23

I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,

that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

1 Peter 2:21

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

And the kicker...

Proverbs 20:24

A man's steps are from the Lord;

how then can man understand his way?

Miscellany Monday-When the Husband is Gone...

Yay! I thought it had been so long since I had joined in on miscellany monday that I really should today! :)
Click on the button to read more miscellany and post your own!

So this afternoon (because it was afternoon by the time I could do it) I jumped in the shower. Once I got in the shower I realized:
1. My husband went out of town and took his razor (which I have been using-he just LOVES that we are that close.;) and I forgot to put mine back in the shower.
2. A baby that had been exploring my house earlier that morning had taken my shampoo out of the bathroom and into the living room and I had forgotten to put it back.

So...conundrum: do I now wet and naked go traipsing through the house to retreive said items or do I wash my hair with my body wash (!!! I know!!!) and not shave since the Hubster isn't home anyways....
Well, I went with the body wash and no shaving...so if I look unusually frizzy and hairy when I run into you at Wal-Mart later I apologize and now you know why. ;)

Funny, I thought going without shaving would be freeing and liberating.
It isn't. It is poky, uncomfortable and I shouldn't raise my arms to wave hello even in a short sleeved shirt. I may just shower again later. ;)
                                                                               ~
After my shower, I pulled out my new uber comfy aeropostale workout pants and threw them on. Notice I called them "workout pants" instead of "sweat pants." Sweat pants sound dowdy...workout pants sound dowdy too, but dowdy with a purpose. ;) Workout pants convey mental images of me in a perfect pony tail effortlessly jogging around the block with my dog and jogging stroller-even though I may only get some painting, packing, and photo editing done tonight when I get back from Wal-Mart. Although taking all three kids to Wal-Mart in Show Low and all the snow out there could be considered light exercise. So there we go. Maybe I will even let the dog ride along.
                                                                           ~
Last night, the kids and I played Just Dance on the Wii. There is seriously nothing cuter than watching my three munchkins dance to that game! It is also funny the songs that are their favorites. All three kids LOVE "Cotton-Eyed Joe" which is the one they do best at.
Harmony's favorite is the one she calls "The Football Dance" I have no idea why she calls it that because it is the disco song and dance "That's The Way (Uh-huh) I Like It." Maybe the character's afro looks like a football helmet???
Evan loves "The punching one" aka "Eye of the Tiger" which Chas calls "I am a tiger."
Chas also requests "Pump up the Jam" which I think she thinks is talking about the jam that goes on a sandwich.
They don't like it, but they dance to the Beach Boy's "I Get Around" just for Momma. :) What sweet babies! :)
                                                                               ~
I posted this on Facebook the other day, but should document it here in my journal...a week or so ago my extremely mild-mannered son came STOMPING down the hall way. I could tell in his step he was unhappy about something. Then he stomped up to me and angrily yelled, "MOMMA!" Taken aback at this unusual behavior, I asked him, "What is it baby?"
He angrily yelled back "I LOVE YOU!!!!" And then he stomped off! I sat there stunned for a second and then had to laugh. After a second I yelled back, "EVAN!!! I LOVE YOU TOO!" He stuck his head around the corner and yelled "I LOVE YOU!" Like he was still angry. And now it is our bit. We randomly yell angry I love you's back and forth almost every day.
Today the girl's tried to join in, but he got really upset that they were moving in on our bit. He told them to "shhhhh!" LOL Having a boy is so much fun! :)

Being a mom is so much fun! :)
Happy Monday!

~Gina