Christmas Cards

Ok, I'm about to send our Christmas Cards out....but I thought ya'll might like to see the pictures that "didn't make it" for the cards.

These were some warm up pictures that Daddy took of the boys before we tried to take some of all of us....they used up their smiles on these I'm afraid.....

Ok, trying to get everyone to "smile" for the camera is like pulling teeth. We took these right before going to church...since these didn't' turn out well, we tried again that same evening.

everyone is smiling except Levi....

Now everyone is smiling except Dad.....

Now we have bored Levi to sleep! haha

Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

I went this morning to take my final test. I wasn't to nervous. I had studied hard, and I knew God was with me. I've had so many friends praying with me, and I think that is why I felt so good going into this. I basically prayed and sang the whole way there. It was such a wonderful, peaceful time with God.
Once I got there, I went in and met with the lady who had my test. I then took my test into a quiet room right there where she could see me, and I got to work. It only had 50 questions on it, and amazingly I knew them ALL!!!! Thank you Lord!!!!! I actually remembered everything I had learned, and didn't get confused by the choices. There were 2 questions I wondered about, but once I got home and looked them up, sure enough, I had them right!!! Yippy!!!!!!!

Thank you all for your prayers and support. A special Thank you to Logzie, for praying with me via e-mail last night. Girl, you had me in tears! I literally got the Holy Ghost goosebumps while reading that last night...talk about a powerful prayer. That Blessed me so much!!!! Thank you T. :)

Test Time Again!

I just got a call from the lady at the library, and my final test is in! I am scheduled to take it at 10am tomorrow (Friday) morning.
Ya'll PLEASE say a prayer for me!!!!

Joy and Pain.....

Joy:

Stephen went and bought all of my Christmas presents on Friday. He came home and locked himself in the bedroom and wrapped them all (or should I say he cheated and used gift boxes/bags! haha). Then he came out and put them all under the tree. I gave him a kiss and told him I had to run to meet one of my hosts so I could collect the checks from her and close her show. He said, "Before you go, I have an early Christmas present for you to open, it is in there on the bed." I was like "What? We don't do early presents." He said "Well, I thought you needed this one early, so I want you to open it". So I go in the bedroom and see this gift bag. I pulled the tissue paper off of the top, and then I couldn't believe my eyes.......it was a NEW, Pink, Motorola RAZR phone!!!!! I about freaked!!!! My phone hasn't been working right since I got pool water in the keys this summer. The down and side arrow didn't work at all, and some of the keys didn't want to work and you had to push them multiple times to get it to work. But I was trying to hold off on getting a new one, until we re-newed our contract in Jan. So I asked him how he got it, and he said he went in and talked to them about us re-newing it early, so that he could get me a new phone for Christmas, and they let him! Woo-Hoo!!!! It is so pretty, and I can't believe how well I can hear with it! It is amazing!

Pain:

Ok, I never slept any yesterday...as you can read from the previous post I had stayed up all night and hoped to take a nap with Seth..but that didn't happen....and then I hoped to just go to bed early last night...that didn't happen either and here is why:

My son stuck a colored pencil in his ear last night, and this somehow broke off in his ear. He tried to get it out, but pushed it further inside. By the time he said "Mommy, I've got something in my ear, it was deep in there. I couldn't reach it.....So I called my husband in a panic...(the last thing we needed is to have to take Seth to the ER because he has colored pencil in his ear!) It was about 7:15 or so, so my husband said he would go ahead and leave work early (he wasn't supposed to get off until 8pm). So I kept Seth still until his Daddy got home. Then I would hold Seth's ear open, and Stephen worked on trying to get it out. Ultimately we cleaned his ear out with peroxide and loosened up the ear wax. Then Stephen was able to slide a bobby pin in (since it didn't have any sharp edges) and was able to pull this colored pencil lead out. It took us about an hour to coax Seth into letting us get it. But Thank God we were able to, and Seth was ok. He definitely learned a good lesson...NEVER stick anything in your ears! :) So after all of this, we read and I finally crawled in my bed around 9:40pm last night. I slept like a log! haha

15 hr course

Stephen and I were talking about my 15 hr course last night. He asked me how far I was in it. I told him I had only completed 8 lessons. I had 30 to go...but didn't know when I would ever have the "quiet time" to actually devote to getting it all done. So he said "after the boys are in bed it would be nice and quiet". So I said "Ok, I'll just stay up all night and do as much as possible, then go workout with the girls." He didn't believe I could do it! So of course then I just HAD to! haha
So I made myself a full pot of coffee at around 10pm. The boys were in bed, and I was cozy in my PJ's. I got myself a cup of coffee, and went to work. By 4:40am this morning I had completed 15 lessons, and only had 15 reviews left! So I hurried up and put on my workout clothes and went to the track to work out with my WONDERFUL Workout Buddies! We had a great workout (and I had drank a FULL Pot of coffee, so I was pretty wired! haha) Then I came back home and relaxed and ate breakfast. Then I got back on the computer and finished all of my reviews, before my hubby even left for work! Wooo-Hooo!!!! I had to jump up and do the happy dance!...and then run in the other room and share the great news with him. He couldn't believe I completed all 30 lessons in less than 12 hrs! Whew! I have COMPLETED my 15 hr course!!!! Now I just have to wait for my test to be delivered to the Library. :) I'm so excited!!!! (And I'm starting to get sleepy...and I can barely even see my computer screen without things blurring together.....my coffee is wearing off...I guess I'll be taking a nap with Seth today! haha)
Talk about such a relief to have that completed! Praise the Lord!!!!

Test Results!

I just got the following news in an e-mail:

"You have passed the Basic Appraisal course exam. Your certificate will be sent out once you have completed and passed the USPAP course exam."

This is the best news I've heard all week! Yippy!!!!!

Christmas Tree

Michelle and I picked up a new tree for her parents when we were shopping (the day after Thanksgiving sales). So that evening we sat it up, and they let the boys decorate it for them. They had a blast!

demolition crew

You can see in this picture, there is a wall right here, behind my hubby. There was a cabinet and stove here also, before they ripped it out. I wish I would have taken a "before" picture.


After they already ripped the cabinets, stove, and wall out.....the boys were helping.



Little helper....learning early.


Seth doing his "Miss America wave" while Levi is working. Stephen is laughing at Seth. :)

The boys, working hard... can you believe how much bigger this looks with a counter top here instead of a wall? It is amazing what a difference it made!

New Camera!

When we hit the sales on Friday, I got myself a new Sony Cybershot Camera! Woo-hoo!!!! It was a GREAT deal, so I just oculdn't pass it up.

here are a few of the first pictures I took with my new camera. :)

Stephen took this one of me....

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My Mom came over on Wednesday and stayed the night with us. Then Thursday morning we got up, loaded all of the food and suitcases, and drove to my grandmothers. We had Thanksgiving lunch there, and it was so great to see everyone again. After lunchtime me, my Daddy, and Levi all went for a walk. My grandmother has 120 acres, and I always look forward to walking with my Dad, exploring the land, and reminiscing of old times. I love hearing the stories of him growing up there, and about my Mom finding an Indian Arrow head out there shortly after they were married, etc. It is always such a nice relaxing time. Levi had a blast! He came back to the house with a pocketful of pecans, hickory nuts, and flint rocks. He was so proud of his "discoveries". My grandmother gave him a Ziploc to put them all in, and you would have thought he found gold or something. It was so cute!

Then we left and went over to Stephen's grandparents house, about 45 minutes away from my Grandma's. We were able to see some family that were in town, that we normally don't get to see, so that was nice. Then we went on over to his parents house, and had Thanksgiving Dinner there. It was so good, but I always eat to much on Thanksgiving. (Thank God I have friends to workout with, to help me burn all of those calories off! Whew!) :)

The next morning I got up at 3:30am. I was at my sister-in-law's house by 4:30am and we went to Wal-mart to hit the sales. We got everything on our lists. Then we grabbed us some breakfast, dropped the van off at the house and took her truck to a larger neighboring town. There we hit some major stores like Kohl's, Target, Academy, etc. It was so much fun! We didn't get back until around 3pm...by then my phone had been ringing every hour..my sons wanting to know when we would be home, and Stephen wanting to know when we would be back because the boys were driving him nuts! haha.
Thank you again for going shopping with me Michelle, I had a wonderful day!

While we were gone, Stephen was helping his Dad remodel their kitchen. He had a blast. Him and the boys love working on stuff like this, so he was right in his element....as was I (shopping! haha)

We came back home Saturday evening, and have been trying to catch up around here ever since.

Test

I haven't received my test results back yet, but I know I passed! Yea!!!! It seemed so easy, because I actually knew the answers! I made notes about the ones I wasn't 100% sure of, and out of the 6, I got 2 right and 4 wrong. So that gives me at least a 94. I have to make better than a 75 to pass...but I don't' think that is going to be a problem at all. Yippy!!!!

After my test Friday, Stephen and the boys met me and we went out to eat to Celebrate my passing the test with flying colors. :) We went to Cracker Barrel (aka: Rocking Chair-this is what Levi has always called it. When we say the name he says "No, "Rocking Chair".) It was so nice and relaxing. Then we came home and watched the movies that I checked out of the Library. I got "Christmas Child" (read about below), and Cinderella Man. Have ya'll seen Cinderella Man? It is with Renee Zellwiger (spell?), and Russell Crowe...and he is a boxer. It is based on a true story, and it was SO GOOD! I highly recommend it!

It was such a wonderful weekend.

Christmas Time!

Can you believe it is almost time for Christmas? I can't!
Levi has been begging to put up our Christmas tree, so yesterday afternoon we did.

Stephen took a few pictures of me and Levi putting up the tree. Levi was a big helper! I would straighten out the branches and he would put them on. Then after Seth woke up from his nap, he helped up decorate it. They had a blast! I love celebrating Christmas with Children. They are so excited about everything, and it just makes the holidays seem much more fun.

We have been watching Christmas movies also. We watched one that was based off of a Max Lucado book. It was called "Christmas Child", I checked it out at the Library. It was so good! Stephen's English teacher from college was in it! We were like "hey, hey! Look! Dr. Letts!" He played the Judge. It was so cool! Oh, and Steven Curtis Chapman was in it too. He played the Preacher. It was just such a good movie!

Putting the tree together.....


Say Cheese!

Fishy in the Sea

We had to do these breathing treatments with Seth, 4X a day, Wed-today. He hated it at first, but I basically told him that it was this or go to the hospital and he decided it wasn't so bad after all.
We would strap it on and he pretended to be a little fishy swimming in the sea. He looked so cute! Can you see the little fish eyes, and fins on the mask? It was adorable. I am so glad that our pediatrician's office does cute stuff like this to make it easier on the kids.






I took Seth back in today. They checked him and said his lungs are clear now, but to continue the antibiotic and also to get some Mucinex and use it 2-3 times a day until his cough is totally gone. She said it might take a full 2-3 weeks before it is totally gone and his energy levels are back to normal.
Praise the Lord that he is doing better!!!!!

Yikes! TEST Time!

I just got a call. My test is in! I can go up to the library any time tomorrow and take my proctored exam. This is for the 60 hr course. Oh man, I'm nervous....but I'm praying for God's peace and wisdom. That I will remember everything I have learned and I will be able to think clearly.

With everything going on lately, with Seth being sick, I have been a little overwhelmed and haven't had much time to study. So I am cramming now. Wow, kinda feels like college all over again! haha :)

Ya'll PLEASE keep me in your prayers on Friday!

Whew, I'm exhausted!

OK I've finally got a minute to update ya'll on what has been going on around here lately.

Last Wednesday I took the boys to the doctor because Seth was running a fever and coughing, and Levi couldn't get rid of his awful cough. The doc said they had sinus drainage and it was irritating their throats, so she put them on Antibiotic.

Then I took the boys to my dad on Friday afternoon. They spent the weekend with my parents, and Stephen and I had the whole weekend to ourselves! It was wonderful to just spend quality time with each other. We went to the Guns N Hoses Boxing Tournament on Saturday night. It was so much fun. Unfortunately our friend who was fighting in it lost his fight. He did good though. But overall, the Firefighters won the trophy this year. Bummer!

Then we went to my Daddy's church on Sunday, to pick up the boys, and for Pastor Appreciation Sunday. It is always so nice to visit Daddy's Church. The boys had a blast staying with them and going to their church. They didn't want to come home.

Seth was still sick and running fever, so I took him back to the doctor yesterday. Come to find out, his tonsillitis somehow turned into pneumonia! Poor baby. So they gave him a breathing treatment, a shot of antibiotic, and then a prescription for antibiotic. They gave me the meds and machine to do his breathing treatments here at home. We have to do these 4 times a day, and I have to give him antibiotics twice a day. He doesn't like it, but hopefully it will all help him get better. If he is still running a fever tomorrow, I have to take him back in for chest X-rays.

It has basically been a blur of a week..... Please keep us in your prayers!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ME!!!!

"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED 'BASIC APPRAISAL'."

These are the WONDERFUL words I saw on my computer screen at 6:15pm last night!!!! WOO-HOO!!!!!

Now I just have to take my proctored Exam and I will be able to get my completion certificate....oh, and I have to finish the other 15 hour course too...but it is only like 36 lessons (instead of 168) so I should get it done fairly quickly. :) YIPPY!!!!!

After I get my certificates of completion I can submit my application to the state to become a "Trainee". I am so excited!!!!! I'm doing the Happy Dance!!!!!

Costumes

I think the reason we don't get overly excited about Halloween is because the boys dress up EVERYDAY! It isn't anything different for us! haha

Here was my little pirate yesterday: You can see he still has his tattoo on his cheek from Halloween....isn't he a cutie

Here he is showing me his fight stance. :)

Ok, I only have 11 lessons left and I haven't had to time to do any of them today...(had to take Seth to pre-school at the library, had to go have my oil changed and get a new inspection sticker, had to catch up on cleaning and laundry, etc, etc) so I better get busy. I was hoping to complete them all today....I still have time...maybe. If not today, tomorrow for sure. :)

Painting/Lessons

Here is the latest update:

We ran out of paint on Friday, and we are not finished with the second coat of painting yet. We have finished 2 small walls (with both coats), and they look GREAT! But we ran out of paint, and can't finish the rest of it until we can buy some more. :( So our bathroom is still all out of sorts. I can't wait to get it all finished, get the bathroom cleaned up, and get everything moved back in there and decorated. I'll definitely post my before/after pictures, once we are able to get it all finished. Talk about a night/day difference!!!!

Since we did run out of paint....I was able to get a lot of my lessons completed on Friday and Saturday. I now have 18 left!!!! Woo-Hoo!!!!! Then I do have to take a Proctored Exam, before I "complete" it. I am really nervous about that. I hope I have learned/retained everything well, so that I can pass the test. I'll update with all of that info, as soon as I know when it will be...so ya'll can all be praying for me, PLEASE! :)

Talk to ya'll again soon.....

Woo-Hoo!!!!

I have about 3/4 of our bathroom painted with the first coat...this paint-type is really tough to do...but it will be so worth it! I took before pictures, and will take "after" pictures once I get it all done.

Also.....I ONLY HAVE 38 LESSONS LEFT and I will have completed the Basic Appraisal!!!! WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!! :)
(of course then I still have 15 hours of the other class...but it should take nearly as long as these 60 hours!)

Halloween Mail for Levi and Seth

Yesterday when I checked the mail, Levi said "did I get mail Mom?" I told him no and he said "I never get mail, I wish someone would send me a letter". ......
So.....today when I checked the mail, imagine my surprise to see mail for Levi and Seth! Talk about making two little boys day!
They each had their own Halloween Cards from their Granny. It was those cute talking cards, and they both loved it! It also had $5 in each card, and you would have thought they just won the lottery! hahaa :) The smiles on their faces were priceless! I tried to take a picture of them opening their cards, but ALL of my batteries were dead. I have 4 sets of re-chargeable (ok, so they are all almost wore out) and they were all dead. I even tried some out of a remote, but they would only power it on to immediately die. So I have all of the batteries on the charger...I am bummed that I missed that Kodak moment.

Levi also came home from school with a bag full of goodies! He was so excited! It was full of pencils, toys, candy, stickers, tattoos, etc. He was even sweet enough to share it all with his little brother! What a big boy he is becoming! I was so proud of him.

Happy Halloween! We took the boys to the Fall Festival on Thursday night, so today doesn't really feel like Halloween to me. I went and got a Flu Shot with Stephen today, ran errands in town, and bought groceries. Now the boys and I are getting everything ready to have our own little Halloween party here at home. Stephen and I are both to tired to mess with trying to go somewhere tonight. We just both want to relax at home this evening...the boys are totally happy with that...as long as they can make decorations and surprise Daddy with a Halloween party! :) I'll try to get my batteries charged (literally! ha ha) and will take some pictures of the boys in their costumes tonight.