Winter is Fast Approaching

Well, the cold has come to stay. It has not been as bad as it was last year by all means.
Last year we were under feet and feet of snow already, as I am sure we will be soon, but
for now I will enjoy the chill in the air and the good driving conditions out on the roads!

Thanksgiving has come and gone.....
We had a week of the flu....started with a friend ended with Dan, Leann flew out to Colorado for a week and missed the opportunity to get sick, she was pretty happy about that. Me too, it would have been awful to be sick on vacation. Dan worked on Thanksgiving day so it was just me, Tristen and Samantha. It wasn't quite the same without Leann and Dan, we still had some ham and stuff, which we shopped for that day....Best day in the world to shop at Walmart! Plus we got a little sneaky peek at the 10pm and 12am sales happening for Black Friday.

At about 11:30 I headed out the door back to Walmart because of a few awesome deals they had. It was sorta scary at first, there were at least 75 people standing right where I wanted to get my prize I was looking for, thought for sure they would be totally gone by the time I got up there. There were PLENTY yessss! There was even enough I was able to buy 2 in different colors for two different people, it was awesome. Then I had to hope my other great deal was still around once I got done there....It was....this was the best shopping experience ever! :)

So I was actually done with most of my major shopping by 2 am the day after Thanksgiving! What a difference that has made. Now we just have to wait another week and I get to watch the kids open them :) We will actually be celebrating Christmas on the 22nd, Dan has to work on Christmas day, but we have friends coming over for dinner and a gift exchange. Plus the best part of Christmas this year, CHURCH! I love it when it falls on a Sunday, especially when you love the church you go to!

I suppose that is all that is happening right now. Looking forward to a wonderful new year!
Oh and here is a prayer for 2012:

Dear God,
My prayer for 2012 is for A fat bank account & a thin body. Please don't mix these up like you did last year. AMEN!

Life goes on........

Our lives change so much, but in tiny bits at a time so sometimes we don't even notice.
We have been going to New Song Church in Bismarck since last Feb. It seems like yesterday, but has almost been a year. We are all fitting into our niches. I have started greeting new visitors, Leann and Tristen are in full swing with the youth group and Samantha is a huge help in the children department, she is in their group but likes to help, okay likes to be in charge! LOL Dan is still working up north 5 days a week comes home on his week ends. Life goes on.......

Leann is taking a break from boys for a year and entering into a serious relationship with Jesus....this girl, sorry young woman, is so full of the Spirit, she amazes me every day! She is working about 30-35 hours a week at a day care, actually our churches day care. It has been a huge opening in her life, new friends, new love for her work, she loves her kids, new opening in her heart for more Jesus! Been pretty amazing watching it all.

Tristen is growing leaps and bounds......he too amazes me every day. He loves to hang out with the youth group and never misses an event. He an Leann both went to a fall retreat, Face to Face, it was pretty life altering for both of them.

Samantha is well, wow! She is growing up to fast, my baby isn't a baby. Really hasn't been for a while,  but moms like to pretend sometimes! She is in the 4th grade and should be in the 5th if you ask me and her dad. She is smart as a whip and sometimes I just don't understand where she gets it from LOL.

All my kids are growing up and changing in so many ways, but Life goes on.......

Our church had their annual Trunk or Treat, we are patiently awaiting the results of who won for best trunk. They are making us wait until next Sunday. Seriously it doesn't matter. Dan and I were Smurfette and Papa Smurf, I decorated our van as the Smurf Village.....we felt like super stars.....parents wanted to take pictures of us an their kids and some just wanted us, it was a lot of fun! Tristen went and "no one" Leann was a hippie and Samantha was a mime, so together they were peace and quite. We all had a blast. Then all the volunteers were invited to a pool party yesterday after church. Which hanging out with all of our church family is always a blast. We think we should do it monthly! :)

Good night sleep well! :)

Summer fun an all that.......

So been a while since I updated our blog. I keep forgetting to actually, but here are some things we have been doing....... Dan has been working, working, and did I mention working? LOL summer is always busy for an oil hauler. Hmmm winter is to come to think of it. We thank God every day that he has a job, we know a lot of people are without that luxury and count our blessings!

Leann has been working at the Pizza Ranch here in Mandan since Jan. and this week was her last week there. She is now going to be working at our churches day care. She decided the food industry wasn't really where she wanted to be and LOVES kids so applied with the day care and got the job. No more smelling like old pizza when she comes home. Of course she will be taking care of 1-5 year olds, not sure what she will be smelling like when she comes home...LOL just kidding. Kids love her and she loves them, perfect fit for her at this moment! She is still dating Chris, her bf from Florida. She is still creating great art, we made an art book 2, but with a different site and I can't post it for some reason.

Tristen is now in the 9th grade and has a girlfriend. Big ahhhh from mom :) I love him and just can't believe he is almost 15 years old! He still loves the video game world, riding his bike, and well boy stuff. Talks non-stop about ideas and we think he is for sure going to have a great future! He is involved with our youth group at church and actually gets upset when we don't go, great change!

Samantha is well, my beautiful smart 10 year old, going on like 20 something LOL. She is very quick with thinking and lets you know when what you have done or said isn't quite right. She started the 4th grade this year and pretty much has the same classmates as last year. BIG change for her. We've moved around so much she always started with new friends the last few years. She is enjoying her class and her teacher is awesome. She seems to always get great teachers!

We started going to a church in Bismark, New Song....We all LOVE it! Maybe soon Dan can get a job closer to home and we can all enjoy it together! This is something we have been thinking about for a while, a job closer. But we are waiting and praying hard about our decisions. We have made many that never seemed right to others, but we always knew who was leading us, we depend on the Lord for all of our choices. And when and if we make a wrong one, He seems to lead us back on the right path :)

Here are some links that you can view some of the photos taken over the past few months! Love to YOU all! 

Colorado
Family Visiting
Old Friends
Ocean Journey
Ocean Journey 2
Grandmas and the trip home

Leann's Artwork

Click here to view this photo book larger