I'm gonna' do it....

I don't normally make new years resolutions.

I can't stand the thought of making a goal and not accomplishing it......so, I just dont try.

This year I have decided that is no way to live.

Life is about making goals and TRYING our darndest to achieve them....

if we are unsuccessful, we simple re-evaluate and move forward.



I haven't decided what my resolutions will be. I just know that they are going to be goo.

I can feel it in my bones.

CHRISTMAS 2008

Christmas Eve

Christmas morning

My little superheroes (my crowning achievement.....yeah, I made those...I know, I am SO SUPER crafty)


Gabe got the Spiderman tent he was hoping for. Although......funny........I haven't gotten a picture of him with it yet (you can see it in the background in the next picture). He was the only one who REALLY knew what was going on. He kept saying, "Where's another one I can open." Obviously there were too many presents for him to handle......next year we will let Santa bring his present and leave it at that. :)

Cael got a castle from Santa. It's perfect for him. He loves little things that he can hoard. He likes to line things up or stick them in his pockets. All of the kids are REALLY enjoying this one. Way to go Santa.

Isaac got a little plastic rocking "horse" in the shape of a dog. I don't have a picture of him on it yet. He wasn't really interested in the presents. He just wanted the food/candy. As you can see..........

He spilled some of his cereal. He is searching for it here. When he found a piece he would bend down and lick it up off of the carpet. It was hilarious!

I even joined in the fun.

Truthfully....it was total and utter chaos.

Cael was sick....although he looks pretty happy in most of the pictures ( because we had not given him ibprophen or eggnog yet.....not a good combo....especially when exiting the body).

The house was a total disaster and I was as cranky as ever.

Once we got over those few bumps in the happy road......things improved.

By the end of the day, Cael was feeling much better, the house had been somewhat restored to order, and I had mellowed out.

The day actually ended quite nicely.

Rob's parents and brother came over for a ham dinner. We got to enjoy their company AND good food.

I love FAMILY. There is nothing more important.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we are on our way to Utah to visit with MORE family. We are so excited. (Thank you! Thank you! for the plane tickets......1 1/2 hours of flying sure beats 14+ hours of driving......through snow storms!).

In awe......

I am in complete and utter awe at the generosity and thoughtfulness of others.

How blessed we are to be the recipients of such love.

In the midst of our Christmas Eve celebration we were visited, once again, by a Secret Santa.

A large garbage bag filled with SEVERAL presents and the makings of a holiday meal were left on our door step.

(Someone even called a few minutes after our discovery claiming to be a FED EX driver checking to see if our packages were delivered. I confirmed that something was left on the porch. I was then asked to go see what it was and the person hung up).

At first I couldn't believe it.

Why would someone do this for us? What makes us so deserving of these gifts? Who are these wonderful people who are filled with the spirit of giving?

I had a million questions and I wanted them answered.



Then.......humility overcame me and I was left with a deep sense of gratitude for these thoughtful people.



Thank you......

who ever you are.

Thank you!

I PASSED.......I PASSED......I PASSED........

I PASSED my Primary Group Exercise Certification Exams!

What does that mean? I am now a CERTIFIED aerobics instructor.

Still.......what does that mean? It means that I will now get paid $20 a class instead of $12.

Good news for us.

I have been waiting for over a month to find out and now I have. YEAY!

It should only take 2 more weeks for my wall and wallet certificates to arrive.

Oh well, at least now I know. FINALLY!

Hooray for me!

"....You'll blow up.....like my aunt Roberta"

Okay, so now that I have deleted my "fitness" blog.....you, the readers of my family blog, may have to suffer through a bit of food/weight/exercise talk every once and a while.

On that note......I must say that this last week has not been a good one for me........NOT AT ALL.

A battle with "self control" was fought and food came out the victor.

It all started last Saturday at our ward Christmas party......

Not only did I eat WAY too much food but I ate EVEN MORE desert.....then I came home and wanted something sweet to top it off.......what the heck!

Sunday night Rob and I made a 9x13 pan of brownies AFTER the kids went to bed. That is ALWAYS a recipe for disaster.........let's just say that there weren't that many left the next morning when the kids woke up.

Monday......FHE.....more brownies, marshmallows (which were for our game) and a sweet friend brought over a WHOLE plate of cookies.....which unfortunately were consumed far too quickly.

Tuesday we celebrated Rob's graduation at home.....and, I made him a cake....because he wanted one. That, as well, was GONE by Wednesday NIGHT!

Wednesday we drank hot chocolate to our hearts content along with the cake.

Thursday we made gingerbread houses with LOTS of candy.......more hot chocolate.

Friday, someone else delivered Christmas goodies which were really yummy. Rob and I went to Outback Steak house with his family....again, to celebrate graduation, they ordered appetizers and by the time our dinners arrived I had already consumed more calories that a person should have in one day. Yet........Rob and I still came home, after stuffing ourselves, and managed to eat a whole bowl of popcorn and MORE candy while we watched a movie

Today......alas, I started Christmas goody baking........that says enough.

I feel like I have completely lost it.

I don't remember the last time I have eaten this badly for such an extended period of time.

It STINKS!

I still have to endure another two weeks of it........

The only thoughts that console me now are that.........
#1 I do this every year and I haven't put on 100 lbs yet
#2 I still work out 1-2 hours a day
#3 I am starting out a few lbs under my "forever goal weight" so I do have a little wiggle room. Although I kind of like having those few extra pounds gone. It's nice.

So....if you plan on bringing treats by my house this year, know this.........my goal is to take a nibble and drowned the rest (after I beat Rob and the kids away).....it may be my only hope for self-preservation. Don't be offended.............it's just the way it is.

I could always try hypnosis. A girl on the TV last night swore by it.

I WAS TOTALLY CONVINCED! (He he he)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Here are some pics of our first snow fall here in Spokane. It was perfect. It started snowing while I was putting up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. What a perfect way to usher in the Christmas season.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Now, this is what we woke up to this morning............

Make a Smilebox slideshow

So far, we have had 25 inches of snow (measured in our driveway before each shoveling session). Snow chains are required to get around on "the hill" where we live and the direct road that leads to our house is closed.

Needless to say, school was canceled (and all the classes at the gym too.....crappy).

Today was supposed to be Daddy day in Gabe's kindergarten class. The dad's were invited to come make gingerbread houses with the kids. In anticipation of the closure, I went to the store last night (only because I was already across the street at the gym) and got graham crackers and candy so we could have our own gingerbread house decorating party at home.



The kids had a great time. Gabe titled his house "gingerbread dance party." It's the one with the flat roof and all the "people dancing." Cael's could be titled....."eat as much candy as I can instead of putting it on the house (two for me....one for the house, etc.)."

All in all it has been a really fun day. The kids spent hours in the snow (at least Gabe and Cael did while Isaac was taking his morning nap) and loved every minute of it.

I am so thankful Rob didn't HAVE to go anywhere today. I would have hated to see him go out in this.

Another 6 inches is expected on Sunday.

We may never get out.......Our neighbor said, "see you next spring." He's probably right!

As long as we get out before next Saturday (when we will be leaving to visit my family in Utah) I will be happy.

It's a good thing I finished Christmas shopping early this year.

An extension of yesterday's.........

Rob graduated with his Masters of Accountancy..........in English that means he is aspiring to be an accountant/CPA and is now eligible to sit for the CPA exam.

For those of you who know about the "Nevada job" that is A NO GO! We are still waiting to hear back from a firm in Montana and, after applying for a job with the IRS, just found out that Rob qualifies and is going to start the whole "testing" process in January.

Don't ask me how I feel about it. Mixed feelings (especially about the 6 month training in Georgia). He's really psyched about the possibility of becoming "SPECIAL AGENT GILLESPIE." Who am I to deny him his dream. Besides, I think the Lord will open the door for us when we have found the right thing. Whatever that may be.

Pray for us.........if you know of any possibilities, PLEASE LET US KNOW!

He'sdonehe'sdonehe'sdonehe'sdone

Rob turned in his last project today.

HE"S DONE.

My Rob done gradiated from Gonzaga U!

Good Job honey.

Now.....all we need is a job!

I AM SO HAPPY I COULD JUST BURST!

For those of you who have been long time followers of my blog,

I have the most exciting news EVER!

Do you remember the post I wrote about how Rob and I met and how we fell in love over a football jersey and how (a few years ago in a fit of "de-cluttering" and "non-sentimentality") I gave that jersey away to DI? And.....then made a plea to anyone with pictures of the jersey or the "Shrine De Rob" to PLEASE get them to me? Do you remember?

Well..........someone answered that call!

I LOVE YOU TRESSA (my room mate)! I could freakin' kiss you right now (and I would if you were not in Utah and I, here, in Washington)!

(If you haven't read the other post.....you had better do it first or #1 this post will make no sense and #2 it's a good read......you don't want to miss out)

(Ahem.....you will also notice, from that first post, that Rob and I were both wrong on the # of his Snow College practice jersey.....we both thought it was #45.........but, the pictures here proves it was #40....ooops.)


So without further ado.........................

THE ORIGINAL
"SHRINE DE ROB"

(This picture was taken from my bed. I got to wake up to this wonderful sight every morning. (No, that is NOT me in the picture. It's my roommates Stephanie and Tressa(the legs))
Wasn't my room cool? I love it........ fly strip, Blink 182 poster, cowboy hat, green blow up chair and the "SHRINE")

Up close and personal to the actual "shrine"

This was the shrine in it's beginning stages. Things had just started between Rob and I but items continued to be added as our courtship progressed. Next to the jersey are tickets from something I attended with my roommates the night Rob and I had our first date. He was always amazed that I could remember the date......of course I did, I had DOCUMENTATION!


"SNOW COLLEGE PRESENTS: "SHRINE DE ROB #40"

(So the pictures aren't fabulous but it's taken with a film camera and scanned and copied.....what do you expect?)

IT MUST BE TRUE LOVE

This picture was taken the morning after our first kiss. I must have been on cloud nine (even though the kiss was.....ahem......not spectacular) because I dressed up as a super hero and paraded around for hours. Note: across the street you can see the large expanse of snowy land......that is the practice field for the football players......I told you I had a good view!

TRUE BADGER NIGHT

This T-shirt was added to the shrine a few months later. It's from "True Badger Night." Rob and I got it for standing underneath the bell tower and kissing for a whole minute (which was super hard to do, if you can imagine) while the clock struck 12:00AM, in front of a whole bunch of other people (who were also "busy"). When we got home, we circled the date and signed it. Rob still wears it (to the gym). Isn't that cute?!? (I did block our names out because there are some real crazies on the internet.)

GOTTA LOVE SPRING BALL

Tressa (left), Me (middle) and Stephanie (right) (roommates) watching spring practice. Oh, I loved watching Rob run around in those AWESOME football pants!

SUMO WRESTLING

Just a random picture from that year. We stuffed ourselves inside those blow up chairs and sumo wrestled on the driveway. Man......I miss college!

SEE DAD, I'M NOT THE ONLY UN-LADYLIKE GIRL WHO CAN PUT HER FIST IN HER MOUTH

Tressa can too. My mom thought it was pretty cool. My dad......well, he thought it was pretty un-ladylike. Especially when my mom tried to get me to do it for one of my boyfriends. Let's just say that Rob didn't get to see it until after we were married. It was too late for him to back out then.

(If you are wondering if I always dressed like a tomboy in college......the answer is.......yes, most of the time......I wore a lot of t-shirts and warm-up pants (hhhmmm...kind of like NOW). I tried not to set the standards too high and..........Rob still fell in love with me.

The Current "SHRINE DE ROB"

This "Shrine" is currently hanging on the wall of our bedroom. (It's Rob's high school Jersey in which he actually WAS #45.)

In the 8 years that I have known and loved Rob, there have been too many memories and too many significant happenings to "document" on the wall (unless we could tack our children up there.....TEMPTING).

I put this up on the wall to #1 try to score points with him after getting rid of the "real" jersey, #2 fill up the bare walls and #3 to let my hunk of a husband know just how much he means to me (and to remind myself how awesome his "g-booty" looked in those tight football pants).

I wish he would have kept a pair of those.

Yowsers!

So there you have it! I hope you are just as excited as I am!

THANKS TRESS.......YOU ARE THE BEST!

Our very own "Secret Santa"

Rob and I are so blessed!

We have been blessed with beautiful children and family and friends who love us and are tremendously supportive.

We also seem to have a "Secret Santa" looking out for us.

These last two Christmas's we have been the recipients of some very mysterious post. Each year a letter containing a Christmas card and very generous gift certificate has been found in our mailbox.

Neither time has there been any way to identify the sender....except a return address (which is not listed in the phone book.......we tried). We do respect their desire to remain anonymous but wish we could thank them personally.

So........if you read this blog I want to say thank you. A million times over, Thank you. We are very grateful for these gifts and feel very blessed to be the recipients of your kind heart. Your example of generosity is one we will never forget and hope to pay forward some day. May the Lord bless you for your kindness.


Merry Christmas!

An update on our crazy lives!

Rob has started his final projects this week. He will be DONE with school COMPLETAMENTE (completely.....for those of you who don't speak Spanish) in less that two weeks and we couldn't be more excited.............

......If we had a job, that is.

Still no news on the job front. It's really hard for us not to get discouraged. We do have faith that things will work out according to the Lord's will. It's just really hard to patiently wait and see what the Lord intends for us to have to go through BEFORE we receive the blessings. It's scary. But.......whatever it may be....I'm sure we will survive it.

We couldn't be prouder of Rob, though. He has worked LONG and hard to get here and are excited to have him home ALL DAY (there are some perks to unemployment).

I'm still doing the aerobics thing. I haven't found out whether or not I have passed my certification test but at this point, I'm just glad it's over with.

The lady I took over for has decided that she has had enough of a break from her classes and wants them back.......so we are going to rotate weeks. Although it means I will be able to hold onto my routines for A LOT longer, and not have to buy new music as often, it also means I will be bringing in less money (not that $120 a month made all that much difference in our economical void but it was something). Hopefully after I get my certificate (supposing that I do), I will be able to pick up more classes. Anything helps.

The kids continue to make us laugh and drive us crazy (depending on the moment). They are either getting into trouble together or fighting.......oh yeah, occasionally they sit still without making any noise but it's rare before 8:00 PM (as in, when they are asleep in their beds). They have been practicing a lot of Kung Fu on each other lately after watching Jack Black's latest Panda movie several times. Don't ask me how I feel about it. It depends on the moment.

That's our life. Crazy, Stressful, Busy.

Wish us luck!

So many Christmas projects.....

unfortunately it doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging.

So......because we are economically challenged this year I am doing a lot of Christmas "projects" rather than buying gifts.

It sounded great in the beginning.

Now I am feeling a little overwhelmed by it all.

I just got done with one very time consuming thing (my group exercise certification) and now I have about a million LITTLE things to do (I guess I can forget about "nap time" for a while....dang it).

So.....you may notice a slow down in my blogging.

I guess you lives will just have to go on without me.

Unless, of course, there is some good news to report........as in Rob FINALLY being offered a job. I will be sure and blog about that!