~January News~

A WESTERN BLUEBIRD...THIS COULD POSSIBLY BE
A NUTHATCH. THEY HAVE BLUE BACKS AS WELL.

NORTHERN FLICKER...NOT SURE IF THIS IS A MALE
OR FEMALE...THEY ARE VERY SIMILAR

A FLICKER, AGAIN!

HOPE AT THE BARN!

OUR COLLAPSED BARN....

YOU GUYS WON'T BE ABLE TO TELL WHAT THIS IS...ZANE
FOUND A RACCOON HIBERNATING IN A DEN OF BRANCHES
AND THAT IS THE FUR YOU SEE...I TRIED AND TRIED TO
GET A GOOD PICTURE AND THIS WAS THE BEST!

HERE IS A WILD TURKEY...NOT A VERY GOOD
PICTURE, THOUGH! WE HAVE A FLOCK OF ABOUT
TEN HERE, NORMALLY...I NEED TO GET A BETTER
PICTURE OF THEM!

A MALE BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE...THEY ARE
IMPOSSIBLE TO PHOTGRAPH...THEY DO NOT HOLD
STILL FOR ANYTHING! THIS WAS THE BEST I GOT!

THESE ARE THREE MALE DOWNY WOODPECKERS...
THEY ARE EASY TO PHOTOGRAPH BECAUSE
THEY ARE SUCH PIGS AND DON'T FLUTTER
AROUND ALL OVER! THEY ARE EATING OFF
PINECONES THAT WE COVERED WITH PEANUT
BUTTER AND BIRDSEED....IT'S MOSTLY GONE NOW!

HERE IS AN ART PROJECT THAT WE RECENTLY DID...
BREAD SCULPTURES (THESE WERE NOT BAKED YET)...
THERE WAS ALSO A SECOND TEDDY BEAR, A DUCK
AND 2 SNAKES... THEY WERE REALLY YUMMY, AND I KEPT
SOME OF THE BREAD IN THE FREEZER TO MAKE BREAD
PUDDING WITH, LATER! :)

FINGERPAINTING!

THE KIDS ON THE PORCH MEASURING THE
SNOW...IT MEASURED 36 INCHES, BUT THIS
WAS VERY PACKED DOWN....I HAD NEVER
SHOVELED THIS SECTION, SO IT HAD WEEKS
TO PACK DOWN!

CASH RESTING!

Most of the month of January was so warm! It was so spring-like and gave me such a needed break from shoveling snow! We didn't use a lot of firewood, either. Last night, though, it was negative 10 degrees, but I made it a point to get both wood stoves blazing hot the day before and we didn't wake up to a freezing cold house! We also got a lot of rain on the 6th of January, which melted 2 feet of snow, leaving us with about 18-24 inches left! Glory! :) It will melt fast, once spring arrives. We are supposed to get snow later this week, but we'll see!

My mother-in-law was here the first week of January and we had a lot of fun, and mostly relaxed. I still had snow shoveling to do and wood-splitting to do, while she was here, but we still had fun. She bought us a new TV which was much needed! :) Ours was an old 1987 Radio Shack tv, and we found a 1997 one at a thrift shop...it skips a little bit at times, but I think I may be able to fix it, if I tinker with it.

On the 7th of January our barn collapsed from the weight of the snow and rain. It was really disappointing because all my hay was underneath, but luckily I am able to get to it and Hope wasn't hurt in the process.

AWANA started back up on the 15th, and has been enjoyable! Zane has 5 more sections, which will only take him two more weeks, and he will be done with his book! He has really begun to memorize scripture pretty well. He still needs reference helps, a lot, but otherwise he has greatly improved! :) Abigail memorizes his verses a lot, too. She is not allowed to go ahead in her book, so she helps Zane with his! So funny! Sheldon stays in the nursery while I am leading, and has finally stopped screaming when I leave him in there! :) Such a sweet little boy....ha has really grown up!

The other night I wrote my whole fruit of the spirit study on my live-journal, and was like two sentences away from finishing it and lost the whole thing! I cried! So, I'm sorry, but I will have to re-type the whole thing later this week! James says it will be ten times better than my first one! My fruit of the spirit for 2009 is Gentleness, and my word study revealed so much to me and I was very convicted! I can't wait to get it on my live-journal and here! This time, though, I will write it on Word, and copy and paste! :( What a waste of my precious time!

Homeschooling is going SO well! Zane is reading now, and has finished his history, science, numbers and letters drill book, and is two weeks away from finishing his Studying God's Word book, and his handwriting book! I am so excited! His math book will be done by March 31st and his Phonics book, I am afraid will have to be finished after we move. It will probably be done by June, sometime! We also have a few projects left in the Art book and we will be finished with that. After we finish it, I have several art projects of my own that we might try.

James will be home in 72 days! I will be so glad when we are 60 days out! I have so much work to get done in the basement, though! I just have to sort through all the boxes again and get rid of anything that we really don't need, and start re-packing it all for moving! We are on the list for housing (actually we have been on it since James got to Korea) and we are thinking of possibly moving on post, but we need to hear back from a friend who has a horse, and see if she would like to board Hope. She has a rental with horse property and one older horse that would probably like some company! :) We'll see!

I am so thankful that my life is changing! As I said in a recent post...I never dared hope that my life would ever be the same again, and now within 60 days it will be. I know everything will not be the same, and I am not so naieve to expect that, but still...it will be very similar to the life I knew before! Praise the Lord! I will sorely miss my friends and church, here! I have moved a lot of times and it is never easy, but I am happy to say that I can go ANYWHERE! I have nothing that ties me down mentally, to a certain place, anymore! It is so naieve to let things like that hold you back from the life God wants for you! I love my friends...I would not have made it through without Lori Lynch, Donna Neale, and LeeAnne Bonds! :) I love you, you guys! But, it is time to move forward, and I will see you all again...we are only going to be 6 hours away! :) When we moved from KY, I left LaNette Chittenden there, and God knows that I would not have made it without her phone calls and encouragement...her mentorship....through 2006 and 2007. Even though she wasn't here, she by-far, aside from the Good Lord, was the only person who even made sense to me!!! :) So, thanks you guys! :) You are the best!

As you can see, we have had a fair share of bird watching....a huge waste of time, but something I dearly love! :) And I was SO happy to get the pictures of the Northern Flicker! He/she is so beautiful!!! They are so shy and will actually hide behind tree trunks if you are watching them from the window....they will peak out from behind the trunk and dart their heads back behind it if they see you! So cute! They are a huge bird, actually! :) Compared to others, anyway! All those pictures were from inside the house, through the kitchen window, so I'm sorry about the glare on most of them... Sheldon loves to bird-watch, and sits forever on the counter and watches them! :)

Kid updates.... Sheldon is out of his portable crib and has moved on to Abbie's Toddler bed! :) He is so proud of himself! He is getting the rest of his teeth and has been very disagreeable, but understandably! No more sippy cups, either....not even in the car. He quit using them at the house like 9 months ago, but still used them in the car. Now he has a water bottle! :) He peed on the toilet the other day, too! It is so hard to remember to put your later children on the toilet, which is the only thing holding me back from him being potty trained! He still isn't saying many words...he, like Zane, has his own language, which only I and the kids understand. Sometimes the kids understand him better and have to translate for me! Funny! He turns two on February 10th! I know that James will be so happy to actually get to see him grow, from here on out! He has missed out on pretty much everything Sheldon has done, and it's so sad! Sheldon has also figured out that he likes to watch movies now! He will sit and watch about 3/4 of one and loves Thomas the Train movies! Thomas is really clean and very moral (the stories are written by a Reverand, for those of you who don't know and have little kids, and are searching for clean entertainment). Even girls love Thomas! :)

Abigail is still pretty much in the middle of everything all the time, sort of lost in the sauce...poor girl! I have to carve out time for her....I am really hoping that the challenge of having a middle girl child goes away slightly as they get older.... It really is hard to make time for one on one with her. I have had Donna watch the boys for me recently so her and I could go grocery shopping together and that was really nice! :) She has been so helpful and obedient, lately, and her and I do a lot of cooking and cleaning together. I read a lot to her, as well as do preschool stuff with her! She loves Barbies and her and I dress the barbies and do their hair a lot, which is fun. Our favorite thing to do is paint our fingernails and do our hair the same way! Sometimes we try to dress the same for church, too! :) I love having a girl!

I talked about Zane up there quite a bit already, so there isn't much else to report on. He has been quite bored, lately with not being able to go outside much! My brother comes over sometimes and plays with him....otherwise he spends his days doing school, playing with his army guys, watching movies and playing around on the computer...he does help me so much with anything at all that needs doing...bringing up wood from the basement, getting things for me or the others, cooking and some cleaning, etc. Basically, very bored right now and waiting for Daddy to come home! They run around the house A LOT and ride their bikes in the house sometimes, too. They burn off a lot of energy that way!

I am reading Emma, by Jane Austen, right now and really loving it! I also watched the movie Emma, as well as Pride and Prejudice (the newer one and the A&E ones). I like both versions! :)
I have also been reading my Bible, everyday! I made my own 2-year schedule....this year I will be covering Matthew through Revelation, Psalms and Proverbs, and Genesis through 1 Kings. Next year will be the remainder of the books! A one year plan is just too much for me, so I came up with my own schedule, and worked out perfectly to two chapters a day! That is a reading amount that I can handle! James decided to do the smae schedule I am doing but has some catching up to do! :) It will be nice to both be in the same place once he gets home! :) I love reading my Bible, and it is so much easier to remember to read it when you have the schedule on the calender days! :)

Well, nothing else is really going on! We are just anxiously awaiting spring and enjoying our new year! We will get our tax return in a few days and we are so excited to announce that we are paying off and canceling our last credit card! We still have our emergency fund, as well, so we are definitely feeling like we are on our way to becoming debt free! :)

Blessings to you all! Have a good rest of winter! :P

My 2009 Book List and 2009 Goals

My 2009 Book List and 2009 Goals

• Jan. 10th, 2009 at 9:55 AM

~My Goals for 2009~


I have been meaning to get these out into writing, so I would remember and I have had no time to focus this first week of January. My mother in law was here and then trying to start homeschooling back up, take down Christmas decorations and get the house back in order. And then on the 6th my barn collapsed from all the weight of the snow, on top of my horse's hay. I had to shovel off the camper and broke a sky light in the process, of doing so. It has just been a crazy week, and has left me no time to do anything but what I have had to do. So, I have had no time for reflection, and contemplation....basically no time to even think. Plus, i am so physically exhausted that it is almost impossible to even focus on anything but making it through this time. I will definitely have to post a picture of the barn....thankfully Hope was not in it when it collapsed and the shelter that is attached to the barn stayed up and she can get under that. It is just a pain to get to my hay, and it got wet in some places from all the rain we got. One good thing, though...about a foot and a half of snow melted with all the rain. Before the rain came we only had about 6 inches of our T-posts on Hope's fence visible, and now about 2 feet of them can be seen, so I know a lot of snow melted. :)
With the warm temps, our house was about 75-80 degrees and the other morning I was wearing a t-shirt. I was standing in front of my mirror and lifted my arm to brush my hair, and I discovered a lot of arm muscle (from shoveling snow) that I have never had! Whoot! :) I am impressed, since I am so scrawny! :) What will I do at Ft. Lewis with no snow to shovel all winter? I doubt the gym will get me the muscle, as well, as real honest labor!

Anyway, here are some of my musings on goals for this year...I admit, I am not even that focused right now....I have so much on my to-do list today, and I can't think of anything else......

#1 in importance.......start tithing....even if it is just $25.00 a month. I have a bad complex with tithing, or any type of giving in general...I am so worried about money all the time and I know that part of the reason that we are never blessed financially and that we are in debt so badly due to the business mess we have made, is because we have never as a couple given our money over to God, and trusted Him in that area. We also didn't go into the business deal that we got into in 2006, with clear motives, didn't pray about it, and my husband was very impulsive about it. So, we are barely scraping by right now, but God has extremely laid it on my heart to start tithing SOMETHING, and trusting Him, and letting Him guide us financially. Dave Ramsey and his debt-free program, is not enough. I want God to be in control, and it is hard to do so, but I need to try!

#2 Take out 25.00 a month (or a less amount than what I have tithed), and put it in our safe for our Christmas fund. With 25.00 a month we would have 300.00 to spend at Christmas time....with 50.00 a month we would have 600.00 to spend....but like I said, it HAS to be a lesser amount than what I have tithed.

#3 Read 24 or more books for myself, and 12 aloud to the children (they have to be chapter books....we read picture/story books all the time, but the kids are old enough now for Little House on the Prairie, etc). This month we are reading Charlotte's Web aloud and the kids are loving it!

#4 Concentrate on my Fruit of the Spirit of the year. See my other post, titled My Fruit of the Spirit Update (on http://rachellephipps.livejournal.com )to know what I am talking about!

#5 Gain Weight....I so want to get up to 105 lbs, but we'll see....so far it has been a discouraging road. I did weigh myself last night and I was 99 lbs, which I haven't been in months, so that brought a smile! I hate weighing less than before I was married. It sucks and I am trying so hard, but I am also working so hard, so I doubt I'll gain it until my husband is home and we are settled in WA.

#6 I really want to read my Bible through this year, but right now I cannot get up early enough to get it done, because I am so exhausted. Sometimes I don't even remember turning my alarm off. My husband calls me at 3 am so I can restock the woodstove (it is 8pm for him, so it is perfect), and once I didn't even hear him call me, and the phone isn't that far from my room. This is very significant because I am usually a very light sleeper. Mornings are the only time I can really read my Bible....I could read it at night but I am usually too tired to focus on it. It's sad that my Bible reading is number 6 and my other books are number 3. It seems easier to read fiction at night, because it doesn't require much concentration...but it's not right, so I either get up early to read my Bible or forget the book-reading at night!

#7 One on one with each of my kids....a good idea that James and I came up with is to give Sheldon February, Abigail April and Zane, June. These are their birthday months and they could do something special with dad and something special with me that month. We could also do their half- birthdays in the same fashion. Sheldon would have August, abbie would have October, and Zane would have December. This leaves January, March, May, July, September, and November for James and I! :) Our birthdays are both in May, so that would be perfect! :) Only problem is that our Anniversary is in August, so maybe we could give Sheldon July instead and take August for us. I think this is a great idea and it is a great way to schedule time for each child and plenty of time for us as a married couple! Being in the Army might make it difficult though....with stuff coming up, and all....we'd have to adjust it, and that's the only downfall.

#8 Ride my horse a bit more! :) And continue to teach the kids to ride.

#9 Scrapbook

#10 Serve the Lord, serve my husband and re-connect with him, and serve my family....enjoy life and take nothing for granted! :) Work on becoming debt-free, and take it more seriously! :)


These are the books I have read in 2009...my goal this year is to read 24 or more books. I want to have a better assortment of history and political books, but still read the Classic Literature, modern fiction, practical and spiritual books, that I normally seem to read! :) We'll see how I do! :) This list I will have to remember to add to! :)

~ The Shunning by Beverly Lewis ( I am still reading this)
~ Emma by Jane Austen (this one is in the line-up)

~ More Outrageous Snow Pictures ~

HERE IS A PICTURE OF OUR CHRISTMAS TREE,
THAT I MEANT TO POST A WHILE BACK...

THE BARN AREA RIGHT NOW...I CAN WALK OVER
THE WIRE TO FEED HOPE...

HOPE WAITING FOR HER BREAKFAST!

OUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW, WITH ABOUT 3 1/2 FEET
OF SNOW!

OUR TRAMPOLINE

We have been keeping extremely busy keeping up with all of the snow, and keeping the house warm. This is more snow than Idaho normally gets (aside from last year), and I think people are really shocked that it is happening again, and may now become the current weather trend for us. I am a bit scared, as it is only still December and we have almost as much as last year, put together. My husband says that Ft. Drum, NY has 8 feet of snow, so depending on where you live, it may not seem like much, but for us, it is a lot to keep up with and I am exhausted. I am ready to move!

I am having a hard time keeping up with the housework, as I have been shoveling every morning and every evening. I am now strong enough to shovel the whole front deck and the kitchen deck, in the morning and the whole living room deck in the evening. I go to bed feeling guilty that my kids are watching movies all day, and I cannot spend much time playing with them. Lately, though, Abbie has been taking a nap during the day and thus can't sleep at night, so I put the boys to bed and we play barbies in the playroom, and then have a bedtime snack and go to bed. She has been sleeping with me a lot, which helps her. She misses her Daddy, and I don't have much time for her right now, so that has started being "our time". Sheldon gets plenty of attention, and is doing fine, but Abigail particularly needs a lot of quality time. Zane has been very busy playing with his army guys and no one wants to even go outside...

Our Christmas was so enjoyable. It was hard work, but we had fun! I had a lot of family over, and we got about 6-8 inches of snow Christmas Eve. We had a huge breakfast of Cinnamon Rolls, Cherry Rhubarb Pie, Eggs, Sausage, Cider and Egg Nog Pancakes. We had a very traditional Dinner, of Turkey, Gravy, Stuffing, Green Beans, Sweet and Mashed Potatoes, Rolls and Cranberry Sauce...and for dessert we had Apple Crisp. Everyone enjoyed the gift giving, and games, and the kids had a blast. I made everyone Rice Socks, plus bought additional gifts for everyone, and actually found a lot of it, at second hand stores... I didn't get any pictures on Christmas, as I had run out of batteries and forgotten to get more before Christmas...oh well!...

I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday season! :) I am deep in thought lately, about the New Year. I am just considering some New Years resolutions, some things I want to/need to change, and about to delve into my Fruit of the Spirit of the year, study ( I am on Gentleness this year).

The past two Christmas's (2006 and 2007), I would get Christmas letters in the mail and whenI would get to the end of them, where everyone wishes everyone else blessings and a glorious New Year, I would sigh and deal with feelings of utter hopelessness, that my life would ever be the same again, that I would never be an army wife again, and that I would have a trucker for a husband and the life that goes with that, for the rest of my life. I didn't even dare to hope that those things would/could change.

This year, though, as I read the current Christmas letters from dear friends and family, I would get to the end of them and on each one, I cried tears of Thanksgiving to a God who hears my prayers, who is never in a hurry, but is always ON TIME, who has showered my life with blessings and given me back some of my hearts desires.......everyone knows that neither james nor I considered him having to go to Korea when he got back in the Army. We were very sure of going back to Ft. Lewis, but for some reason it wasn't time to go there. Neither of us understand it, at all. That said though....in April of this year, I had HOPE! I knew that that date circled on the calender one year later signified a family re-united, and back in God's will. I am secure and happy in my role. It is hard... but being a trucker's wife is extremely harder and I was never cut out for it. Maybe I am a wimp, I don't know...

The New Year is quickly bringing changes that are putting a smile on my face, even though I don't know exactly what they are, except that we will be a family again. Possible deployments don't bother me....they are "strictly" temporary. Being a trucker's wife was not "surely" temporary. It had the possibility of being long term. Being an Army wife is what I was made for. I don't think I could function well, as anything else. I was brought up Army, and once brought up that way, it is hard to change, or find fulfillment in any other situation.

I am just seeing this New Year as a bend in the road, a new direction, a positive outlook, etc. I am happy to say that I am happy.......extremely tired, extremely burned out with everything, grouchy and hormonal, occasionally...but happy. God has given me the joy I kept asking for. I tried so hard to have joy, through 2006 and 2007, but maybe it wasn't what God wanted, actually. Maybe He had something more in mind for me...something bigger....like serving my country by serving my soldier, which is something I loved deeply and cherished....(no love for the grand state of Idaho, ever measured up to being a helpmeet to my soldier). I can either feel like a failure for not measuring up in '06 and '07, or I can realize that maybe it wasn't what God wanted for us. Maybe He wanted me to fail...so we could save our marriage and family, which is much more important. I don't know, and I don't know why Korea had to be a part of this whole past year, except to show me what life as a regular Army wife is compared to life as a Lady Nightstalker is. Who knows...maybe it happened to make certain friends, or teach me a lesson I won't realize until later....maybe plain and simple, it is just so I know what a one year deployment is like, so I can help other women who maybe do not have a military background, be strong for their husband soldiers who are deployed. I do know, that eventually God will show me why!

Well, I hope all of you are embracing YOUR New Year with HOPE , because I know how it feels to not have that. It is hard, it is depressing and it is scary. If anyone needs prayer in this area, please let me know, because I have been there, for 2 years straight! :( I know how it feels! I am thankful for 2008...it has been a good year...it has been an experience I am ready to be done with but I have made dear friends who I could have never made it through, without! You know who you are! :) Blessings, and Renewed Hope.....Chelle

~Just Outrageous Snow Pictures~

THE KIDS AFTER OUR FIRST FEW INCHES ON THE
12TH OF DECEMBER!

THE BACK VIEW OF OUR SUBURBAN THIS
MORNING!

THIS IS FROM JUST ABOUT FLOOR-LEVEL, LOOKING OUT
AT ONE OF OUR DECKS!

ANOTHER DECK, AND JUST THE SEAT AND HANDLEBARS
OF ABBIE'S BIKE SHOWING THROUGH!

WHAT OUR HOUSE AND CAR LOOKED LIKE THIS MORNING,
PRETTY MUCH BURIED!

CASH WADING THROUGH IT ALL, LOOKING CUTE!

THIS IS A FUNNY PICTURE TO ME, FOR SOME REASON...
THIS IS OUR TRASH BARREL AT THE BARN, WHICH
I HAVE NEVER CLEANED THE SNOW OFF!

We have ended up with about 21-24 inches so far, and I think we will be having a repeat of last winter! It is only the middle of December, and we already have half what we got last year! I am so thankful for great neighbors to plow me out, otherwise it would be interesting to see how long it would take to get an appointment to have someone come out!!! I would definitely be quite snowed in! Luckily, I am a great winter driver, and still venture out to get groceries and things. I am just not happy when I get my car stuck! :) The kids finally were allowed to go outside since the temps rose above zero. Zane ventured as far as the barn, somehow.....i didn't ask him how he did it, as the snow is over half his height. When Abbie and Sheldon realized they were sinking to their heads, they decided to stay on the porch where I had shoveled! :) Keep warm everyone.......by the way, our home is much easier to keep warm as long as it is above zero, so hopefully, it can stay this way for a bit! :)

From My Live-Journal

This is from my live-journal....I figured I better post SOMETHING on my blog, because I haven't recently...so here you all go... my live-journal is more like a journal than my blog is...so have at it....Rachelle

One Thing After Another This Week

• Dec. 17th, 2008 at 10:09 PM

So, my week so far, in a synopsis................So, Sunday night I happen to wash my hair...........temps are approaching below zero.......didn't really want to wash my hair and go to bed with wet hair, but for some reason did it anyway. Good thing, because Monday morning I wake up to no running water and no idea where it is frozen! It is about 14 below zero, and I am struggling to keep wood on the fires, and find out where it is frozen. Made three trips to the pumphouse which is about 400 hundred feet from the house, through 12 inches of snow, to see if the pump was frozen. It was, so I upped the heater to 1500 watts. That defrosted the pump, but still no water.... So, I call my landlord later in the day and tell her. She was kind of mad because I didn't think to keep my faucets running all night, and then i was mad at myself because i know better.
I told my landlord that tuesday I had plans that i couldn't change and that I would be gone all day. The plumbers would have to come Wednesday.
So, Tuesday I am gone all day and of course the fires go out and it is a frigid 50 degrees in the house when I get home. I have to haul water from the pumphouse for washing dishes and brushing teeth. I got my fires going and tried to warm up the house, but finally went to bed . James tries to call me at 3 am, so I can restock the fire but i think he forgot, and i never wake up until I am cold and that means it's already too late.
This house is really drafty and i didn't relaize how bad until now. So, this morning i wake up to both fires out and it is (no joke) 44 degrees in the house, UPSTAIRS...which means it was colder downstairs.......(40 degrees down there). I couldn't believe it! So now that i am sick of Idaho and being cold, because I spent the past two winters in a frickin icebox camper, and then think i will be fine in this new house, with two wood stoves, and plenty of space, I am getting pretty mad. And starting to move slow, and lethargic like. I call my friend Anne to see if she is still coming over to bake Gingerbread cookies with the kids, which we planned two weeks ago, even though it is spitting snow, and we are under a winter storm watch, until tomorrow. She says yes........she lives on generator power so decided she could do without the running water, since she has been there and done that. Anyway, so today we baked the gingerbread cookies and decorated them..........melted snow for drinking water (the pumphouse water is a little dirty), and for hot tea. Ended up having to use my treasured water down in the basement for washing dishes because I was too tired to go to the pumphouse and we had 5 new inches of snow. James put this tank of water in the basement for me, for power outages, and such. I didn't want to use it, but i was just too tired and annoyed, so now i need to re-fill it.
My brother in law shows up un-expectedly with a whole truckload of extra firewood for me, and shows me in the basement where the water pipe comes into the house from outside. We had to hunt for it, because there were some things belonging to the owner of the house that were in front of the pipe. So he suggests putting a heater near it. I had the heater going in all different areas today, trying to find out where it was frozen, so I try there, and within an hour we have water. Fifteen min later the plumber shows up, and i already have it fixed. I had called his secretary but she couldn't let him know because his cell phone didn't have service where he was at the time...
So, anyway, the water is running right in the nick of time to be able to wash all the gingerbread cookie dishes and bring peace to our chaotic home.
By the time my friend got here, I had gotten the house up to 55 degrees....i decided to get the fires as hot and blazing as I could and try not to worry about saving wood. I have no idea how many pieces of wood I used today, but by the time Anne left we had it up to 65 degrees, and by nighttime it was up to 70, finally. it was like an angel in a pick-up truck that brought me extra wood! :) I have been so worried about not being able to make it through the winter! I am praying that this is our cold snap, below zero week that north Idaho always gets each winter, and that it will warm up, but we;ll see! ...........then I took the hottest bath i could stand and relaxed!
It is 14 out there tonight which is so much nicer then 17 below zero, which was the lowest it got between Sunday and Wed. I told the kids that NOW that we have water they can fingerpaint and paint some rocks they had collected this summer to paint during the winter. They had been bothering me and bothering me the last two days to do it, but i told them there was no way, without running water that we could do that.
So, now we are still under the weather watch and they are predicting 10-15 inches of snow, and we have gotten about 6 of it so far. For some reason, Idaho has been getting more snow than it has in recent years past and seems to be acting more like it did in the 70's and 80's with over 3 1/2 feet. Weird....I'm glad we are moving because I am sick of being cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, we'll see what the rest of the week holds!!!!!!!!!

Winter Wallowing

The Sparkie's cars...Zane's is the blue with gold stripes
number 64!

Zane with his 4th place trophy and participation
ribbon!

The little ones, wanting to be a part of it!

Well, winter isn't quite here, and actually noticeably late, compared to other years! The kids are so funny...we HAVE had snow three different mornings, and they never fail to say, "Winter is here, Mommy". Only to find, that winter has left! It hasn't been staying, like it normally does, and boy was I dead wrong about snow timing! I predicted the end of October...but now they are saying not til the middle of December!

It is pretty cold though, and Hope has the water trough heater in her water tank all the time. We burn about 12 pieces of wood a day and we have been wearing a lot of extra clothing! Just waiting on the snow to insulate everything, so it will be warmer. Snow really does make winter more bearable, in my opinion. When it piles up around the house it is noticeably warmer...plus, I detest mud, and snow puts an end to that problem.

Gosh, I have not blogged for a month...of course James was home for ten days during November and it took us awhile to catch up on Zane's schoolwork after James left. When I had planned the schoolyear, I didn't know James would be coming home, and if he did, I didn't know when it would be, so I scheduled accordingly. And I really want to be done with Kindergarten by the end of March, so we can welcome Daddy home, and move to Ft. Lewis in April. Otherwise, we will have to do school, through the summer of 2009. So, anyway, we had to catch up.

Ahh.....having my love home was a breath of fresh air and totally what I needed to re-fuel and realize that I can make it until April! Days are starting to fly by again. It ALWAYS takes me a full two weeks to recover from my husband leaving, before I get back in the groove of things. I didn't think just ten days would require that transition again, but it did. At first the days were just crawling by and now I feel like they are starting to fly by again, which is so nice!

Our visit with Daddy was so nice, but we were all sick the whole time...everyone of us got the flu and was throwing up. Seems like all I did was wash puked on Laundry. It sucked...but at least when I was sick, he was not and vice-versa, so we could help each other through it all. Unfortunately, I lost the treasured 3 pounds I had gained prior to him coming, and i weighed myself the other day and I am back down to 95. UGH! You guys do not know how frustrating this is! Stupid flu...you suck!

So, starting tomorrow I am back to cereal with whole milk everynight before bed and heavy cream in EVERY cup of coffee or tea that I drink, and I am going to up the butter and meat in my diet. I hate to eat a lot of meat, but I just need to. I already eat a lot of eggs and beans, but compared to the amount of protein in meat, I don't think it is enough! Any other ideas, you all? I think that my diet is so healthy that it makes it hard for me to gain weight. Plus, I run around all day long, too.

While James was here, we worked on an oval-shaped puzzle...he couldn't sleep at night because of the time change, so he would be down here working on it at night. We also did make it to AWANA...thankfully no one was sick that day....or Sunday, either! Because we were all miserable we did not get one picture of any of us! Oh, well, we had so much to do, and we all felt lousy so we forgot to do quite a few things, or at least remembered but didn't have the motivation to do them. It was a quiet time for us. We didn't have many people over and we didn't go many places, so it was nice, and relaxing!

Oh, I so bawled like a baby at the airport when James came home and we were in each others arms (with the kids, too) for several minutes before baggage started moving in. I cried a little bit while he was here, but totally had a complete mental breakdown, about a week after he left, which I so needed. Now, I can get on with my life. There was just so much bottled up emotion, frustration, heartache, etc, that Thanksgiving night, I collapsed in a heap on my bed and erupted! That is just how I am...I only wish it had happened while James was home, because I desperately needed comforted. I feel so much better now and ready to take on the world, now! Lady Nightstalkers Don't Quit, right???

Yes, and we are officially going back to Ft. Lewis, WA, so I can officially say I am a Lady Nightstalker again! YAY! We will be moving over there in the middle of April. I am starting to contact and keep in touch with relocation people I have found, and have found good websites to keep up on in case we find something on one of them to rent. There are SO MANY rental homes, it is unbelievable! Really! There are almost just as many to rent as buy, so we won't have any problem finding something. It's just that we really want to find a rental property with an acre or so, for Hope. I found one on Craigslist that would have been perfect, but wrong timing obviously...so if you wonder what you can pray for us...maybe just pray that something like that comes up again. My horse is 20 years old and I really want her with me! <3

Eventually, ...well as soon as we sell our KY home, we want to buy, so if i have to board Hope out until we buy, I will.

Ok, so basic family news....My neighbor, Lori (you can view her blog from my bloglists) and I started a weekly playgroup, where we meet at either hers or my house to let the kids play. It is really nice to have a more scheduled time for them to see each other. We have been doing an art project most weeks, and it makes art fun for me! :) We also have tea and something yummy and try to socialize as moms...but it is hard with 5 kids...sometimes more, if our friend May, comes with her 2 kids.

Lori's husband got a deer this fall and she so willingly shared several pounds of the meat with me! Yummy!

Zane and I cut down a Christmas tree while Abbie and Sheldon were napping on Friday, after Thanksgiving. Outside it didn't look so big, but we got it in and up and it was past the open beams in our living room, so we had to take it down and cut 2 feet off of it, so we could see the star! I don't think I have ever had such a gorgeous tree! :) I will take some pictures tomorrow and upload them on here!....plus whatever else is on my camera right now! :)

We decorated with every decoration we have and this cabin is beautiful! For two Christmas's our holiday things were packed away so, I was totally itching to get it all out and beautify this house, for the holidays. I have all most of my Christmas shopping done already too, which is a burden off my shoulders! I still have the kids to buy for, though. I can't tell what we are making for everyone for Christmas, so you all will have to wait to find out. We are on a hugely tight budget right now...we havn't been getting much COLA (if any at all) most months. That is cost of living allowance for Korea, and it is so sucking...plus I have medical bills as well, for my Ovarian Cyst, from September, that I am trying to slowly pay. Stupid tricare standard...NEVER again! I will be so happy when I am in a Prime zone, again!

Really though, we are completely lucky....there are tons of people in our area who cannot even pay any of their bills. A lot of mill workers were laid off a few months back and there are virtually no lobs available and people are really hurting...some are being forced to move to find work. It is very sad and I am thankful we can pay our bills, and we have a small amount budgeted for our groceries, and we are making it! And gas prices have been slashed less than half, so instead of costing 100.00 or more to fill up it has been 50.00, which helps.......and you can see the small town business folks in Priest River, walking with just a bit more spring in their step! :)

The kids are doing well. Sheldon is so full of life and getting into anything he can. He is talking a bit more, and just as his brother is, he is finding his love for Army Helicopters! :) He tries to say Copter an Blackhawk. Pretty cute!

Abbie, has been busy playing with her dollies and Barbies. She makes pretend food and just entertains herself. She cooks a lot with me, too.

Zane has been doing well in school. He is done with his Science book. He loved it, so we went quick through that and now he just learns about things pertaining to science through other books and through things that happen during the day, or something that interests him, like bugs. He is almost done with 2 of his other books, so we just have 3 books to finish this winter. Zane raced a car in AWANA on the 22nd of Nov and came in 4th in his division and got a trophy! You wanna talk about excited! He and James put it together and painted it, so it was extra special!

All the kids are in the Christmas play, at church, too. Zane is a Shepherd and Abbie and Sheldon are sheep! :) I'll have to get pics of that, too!

Well, not much else is going on! :) Or at least I cannot remember it! I stayed up way too late making a gift for my husband and now I am dragging and had to force myself to post tonight! I bought a calender and wrote a reason that I love my husband on each day...so 365 reasons! It was much easier than I thought it would be and the reasons were just flowing out on top of each other! I encourage you all to do it! It is such a wonderful reminder of all the many reasons you love someone, that you tend to forget in the day to day, grind! Naomi (my sister), gave me the idea...I don't know where she heard it! :) But I liked it and had to do it! :) I finished it in one night, because I was on such a roll, and the thing about it that was cool...is that I was totally honest....I didn't butter it up. These were 365 real life reasons why I love that man! So cool! :P

Well, goodnight you all and get ready to wallow, especially if you are in the west! :)

More Nature

HERE IS THE LATEST WILD ANIMAL TO WANDER THROUGH
OUR YARD...A BIG TALL BULL MOOSE...VERY CUTE
I MIGHT ADD! :)
(sorry I couldn't get better pictures)

Zane saw this moose this morning while I was getting ready for church. The moose was right by our Suburban and then walked down our driveway, and over to the camper. He then, decided to change course and ran over to the barn, jumped Hope's fence and her water trough, and thoroughly spooked her, as she had no idea he was coming, much less jumping her fence! He jumped over very gracefully which surprised us all! I didn't know they could jump so high!
By the way, I snapped these shots while in my underwear and a shirt! :) I love all the wild-life we have seen thus far! It really does delight the kids and I to see such magnificent animals just wandering around! :)