Diet is working!

Errr should I say I am making the diet work?
I feel great - energy - not deprived starving feeling anymore. YEAH!
Medifast is working for me. Down 6.4 lbs & it's only the beginning!

Alan's 1st Modeling Job

Famous in a small town is my Alan Crombie....
a local builder chose to put a photo of my burley
man on the side of their company van. Once you
click on the link just scroll down to the photo.
Click on the photo to enlarge. He's the hairy one
installing big metal duct.

http://mirandahomes.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-should-be-in-every-new-home-and_14.html

Mini Update

Had to buy new battery charger . . . .fried the old one by accidently trying to charge nonrechargeable batteries. Sooooooo hopefully will be able to start snappin' pics again soon & posting on here.

Today is day 2 of my medifast diet & I dont know what it is about this diet but I am always startving it seems. ARGH! Gotta stick with it - have our 20 yr reunion this next summer & I want to go.

Alan & Darla in the multi-church choir . . . . we look forward to their performance later this Fall. Payton is building his mama a jewelry box in his woodworking class (what a sweetie). Darla started basketball this week & Elijah's basketball will hopefully start in a month. Nolan wants to do martial arts but we have to wait & ask the DR on Oct 13th, when we learn more about his heart murmur. Happy Autumn to all!

Heart Matters

Joy, smiles, & more joy are critical!

In the ugliest of days,

or in the deepest of sorrows...

we must still seek joy!

Dont ever withhold telling someone

how much you love them,

because one day you may not

have the opportunity.

Who Knew?

1970's Stars & Stripes Motorcycle Helmet:

This is listed for sale on craigslist for $200.
Who knew it would be worth $200?
Growing up my Pa had a helmet like this. I cant say I remember him wearing it when he rode his motorcycle but I think us kids did when he would give us rides. I definitely know I played superheros wearing this big helmet. Funny to think this could possibly be the same one I played with as a kid. Seems I remember picking at the black padding on the inside, and the ad mentions needing new padding inside. Moderately bummed I dont have an extra $200 that I could thrown down for ol' nostalgia sake . . . . I know my kids would love to play with this as well.

Happenings

Alan enjoyed the annual men's roundup a week ago. For more info:
http://www.mensroundup.com/
Alan been working late often, which is a blessing but also difficult not getting to spend times with the kids. We know it is just a season.
We are committed members of Next Church in Brightwood. Alan, Payton & Darla may be joining a multi-church choir. I will be attending Wednesday eve Womens Bible Study.
Our church is very casual & welcoming. . . . everyone invited to check it out. For more info:
http://nextchurchministries.com/ You can even listen to Pastor Keith's sermons online.

Amy starting medifast diet again. Please pray that I can remain committed to this goal. In all areas of my life I can be sooooo motivated, committed & an encourager to others. This personal goal of losing weight is my personal battle I have yet to really fight.

Payton is on his 2nd week of no available work at DQ. . . . slow season. He was successful in saving $1500 over the summer towards his 1st car. We are very proud of him! Amazing to think he is a JR in HS. He's off to a great start! He just announced that his college/career goals are to pursue mental health tx. He hopes to treat / serve the mentally ill in his profession. We are currently researching local openings for volunteerism and/or paid PT work in this related field. Keep your ears open for us! Payton will begin college Fall 2011, the same Fall where I will get to return to the workforce since Nolan will be 1st grade & in school FT. I could possibly finish my college degree at the same time. The thought did dawn on me that perhaps Payton & I could take some college classes together?! Isnt this any boys dream? LOL

Darla is loving 3rd grade & having a male teacher for the 1st time! He is very funny & a great teacher. Her BF Tierra is in her class, which is icing on the cake. She has decided to play basketball which starts in a week.

Elijah is in 1st grade & says it is a lot more work. He lives for recess so he can play basketball of course! He is very bummed out that Mtn Storm Basketball is not open to 1st graders yet. In a month they may offer an open gym for his age group tho. We hope so! This boy of ours literally wore out his black outdoor tread basketball so extensively it had zero tread & several holes. He was crying when his papa said he couldnt inflate the ball anymore. We will keep this ball forever tho for him, as his "1st". The boy could be famous someday. So that kindergarden ball was retired & now he has his black NIKE 1st grade ball.

Nolan is officially a big kid! He declates he is not shy anymore. He is attending the best preschool ever, Joyful Noise in Boring. . . same school D & E attended but new location. He has made some great new friends, and never needs me to stay with him longer than 10 minutes in the class. Amazing! Nolan's bike chain finally got repaired by his papa, so our 5 year old is in heaven without any complaints. Nice!

4 front teeth & aortic systolic ejection murmur

My poor baby Elijah had to have his top 4 baby teeth pulled, two of which were really loose & needed to come out. When our boy was 2 yrs old he bonked his mouth on the metal part of Wildwood Park's play structure chipping 1 front tooth & weakening all 4 top ones. The dentist at that time recommended grinding down the 4 top fronts & putting silver caps on them to strengthen them. Well our insurance only covered the silver crowns, but he did add this paint on white fake fronts which have only discolored & deteriorated causing our handsome boys smile to look decayed. This week a crown fell off & it would be $900 per tooth to repair. Elijah asked to just have all 4 pulled. We were blessed to be able to attend a free medical dental clinic on the mtn today where the dentist agreed with our plan. Elijah was such a trooper & finally 6 hours later his top lip isnt huge swollen. He is VERY excited to put FOUR TEETH under his pillow for the tooth fairy tonight. We ask for prayer for Elijahs swift recovery.

Our youngest son Nolan was having his ears checked when the DR decided to also listen to his heart extensively. He then got a 2nd DR to take a listen. Both DR's confirmed Nolan has a "Aortic Systolic Ejection Murmur". They were suprised to hear how active Nolan is . . . he is our runner afterall & he keeps going & going. Follow up tests to occur soon, and in the mean time Im researching online. It is very unsettling to read terms like "mortality rate" etc., To be blunt Im worried & scared. This isnt the innocent type murmur which Darla temporarily had which went away when she was very young. I have read there is a chance of misdiagnosis, which Im praying for in this case. Otherwise it sounds like surgery is imminent.

Refund Deadline TODAY Fri 9/18!!!

Only requirement to receive refund from PGE is that you were a PGE customer between 10/1/00 - 9/30/01. Avg household to receive $23 but so many people will miss today's deadline the refund could be much higher for those of us who are applying for this refund.

Click on this link to apply online - but must be done by 5pm today!!!!

http://www.portlandgeneral.com/about_pge/current_issues/trojan_refund.aspx

Here is the link with info about today being the deadline:
http://www.portlandgeneral.com/about_pge/news/09_17_2009_pge_reminds_customers_deadlin.aspx

NOTE: If you lived at more than 1 property during this time period (like we did) . . . it allows you to submit more than 1 claim. Happy refunding!! P.S. Spread the word to your family & friends.

Organized?

I'm getting there. Thought I would share a couple tips for back 2 school routines & organization.

Every start of a new school year brings loads of paperwork for mama to complete. I send back duplicates for reuse by the school. I promptly complete & return the others to the school. As I receive info from teachers re: weekly classroom schedules I jot it down on a piece of paper. Once I have all the kids schedules I form this quick reference card (shown below):

The column on the left lists the weekdays & each of the kids (P, D, E, N). This helps me help remind them to return library bks on library day, to wear tennis shoes on PE days, etc.,

If its my childs snack day I put that on the master family calendar as that ties in with our budget, grocery shopping etc.,

The column on the right are phone lists for quick reference, bus schedules, routes, etc., (blacked out for privacy), lunch & student # info, & our High Schoolers schedule which helps bcuz when contacting teachers they always need to know which period your student has them for. Also if there is an emergency & you need to contact or retrieve your child you know where to go. You would be suprised how quick you can forget the bus barn's # when the bus passes your house & keeps driving off with your kindergardner (last yr). This quick reference card is super handy in our house. I keep one on our bulletin board in our kitchen & one in my planner notebook.

EMAIL TIP:
I add all my kids teachers email address' to my email address book. For the highschooler I do periodic check ins w/ all 7 of his instructors w/ 1 email (so i create a email address group containing his 7 teachers, cc: his counselor & myself). This worked very well last year. Often times Esis (the online tool that shows your childs grades etc., is not current data), so most teachers prefer email coorespondence to keep up to date. It is a lot easier to help your child if you know right when they're starting to fall behind than repair damaged grades. Payton is doing fantastic this year!

ATTENDANCE OFFICE AT H.S.:
Another tip for parents of high schoolers would be to contact the attendance office about notifying you the day of any absence your child has. Otherwise you wont know till a week later by an automated phone call . Since enacting that system last yr there were no more mysterious absences from math class. Another helpful tool.

GRADE SCHOOL KIDS BACKPACK CONTENTS:
For our 8 and under kids we have one drawer in our dining room hutch which holds their homework in progress & library book storage. My kids know the minute they walk in the door they put all their papers & books from their backpack on the dining table. That way it is there staring me in the face till I deal with it, which is usally immediately. I review completed work, praise the kids, often we discuss something, and then we recycle the work. Special items I add the date to w/ note & add to their scrapbooking drawer. The weekly newsletter I have asked to receive electronically instead of hard copy. Other paperwork I take action on - some are items to add to the calendar - some are bills - if I know my kids are not going to play fall sports then I recycle the flyer, etc.,

MULTIPLE CALENDARS WITH DIFFERENT INFO:
Our School District prints a district wide calendar which only lists some basic data on each school in the district, & there is a separate H.S. planner calendar w/ sporting & HS events on it. The grade schools inform us of monthly happenings in the weekly newsletter. It all makes for a lot of highlighting what does apply to your family & what doesnt & consolidating the data all on 1 calendar. I wish our school district had these different calendars available electronically where we the parent could checkmark the items you want printed on your familys calendar & then print at home. It is quite cumbersome.

SPORTS:
Currently none of our kids are playing sports but when that happens all those practice & game times are on our family master calendar. I use a lot of color coding for quick reference.

Always Remember

List of 9/11 Victims Names . . . . even to only start scrolling thru them gives me shivers down my spine & truly helps me recall the depth of this tragedy:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,62151,00.html

Granny Garber Visits Oregon & OF COURSE ...

. . . it RAINS!! :-( But yet notice how the 7 day forecast preceeding her visit does not show one drop of the wet stuff in our area:

It didnt stop us from enjoying a nice visit with my mama. She rented a neat old farmhouse in the hawthorne district (I think that's what it's called) and we had a feast at my brother Ryan's work, a ultra cool southern style bistro. I tried for the 1st time: fried pickle, fried green tomato, banana foster pudding, & a hazelnut latte' martini. A new member to our family also joined us, Michelle, and she is beautiful inside & out. Following dinner Alan & I said our goodbyes to our 4 kids . . . they were having a sleepover with Grandma. Then the following day we had to pick them up at 3pm to rush Payton back up to the mountain to be to work by 4:30. It is sad to say goodbye to Grandma Lori but we are very grateful she was able to make the long drive up here. Perfect last summer memory....thanks Ma! P.S. She brought Nolan a super adorable "rocker/guitar" dress shirt for his birthday (he is opening the gift below) & he has already asked if he can wear it to his 1st day of school.

There Are Good Times . . . .

. . . . then there are GREAT TIMES like these:

Hibberd Family Reunion ~ Sunday, September 6th 2009 Above sits 4 generations of Hibberd men (back row L-> R) Payton's Grandpa Bob, Great Grandpa John, Uncle John (front row L->R) Payton, Johnny (son of Uncle John).
Above is the beautiful Great Grandma Delores. She is a sweetie pie & has been married to Great Grandpa John for 67 years!

And a visit to Grandpa Bob & Grandma Vickie's would not be complete without driving their golf cart. Pssst.....Grandpa Helps! We love this Hibberd family so much!!!

Fashion Show Becomes Flashcards

A sampling of the kids school clothes..... . . . a fashion show modeling their new clothes for Papa . . . . . . Became flashcards for the kids to pick their clothes out for the week . . . I printed & cut them out. They each have their cards.

It's their responsibility to make sure they have their chosen

clothes ready for the school week ahead of time.

This will hopefully decrease the days where the boys try

& wear the same outfits over & over again.

I hope to have it make mornings easier as well.

I will let you know if it was an utter waste of time.

A Fishing We Will Go . . . .

Trillium Lake this afternoon . . . . birthday boy Nolan using his new fishing pole from Grandpa & caught his very 1st fish (the biggest one out of all the fishermen too) !!!

Make A Wish!

Left to Right: Darla, Elijah, friend Parker, Birthday Boy Nolan, Payton, Grandpa Ricky, Papa, friends Josh & Madilyn

Nolan making a serious wish....this is the look of 75% deep concentration & 25% shyness.

Well most of his friends & none of his cousins were available to attend his party . . . but the Hopkins Family & Granpda Ricky saved the day!! (Grandma Kris was home sick) Nolan had a great birthday (this morning he came downstairs with birthday snack debris still smeared on his face) & muttered "Mom! That was the best day of my life!!!" And I asked, "What your birthday party?" And he said "Yes! Can I have my next birthday party there again?" So..... thank you Meinig Park....the castle play structure & the wonderful outdoor movie theatre! Last night Nolan asked to go home because he was sleepy half way thru the movie, so we packed it up. I thought for sure this was going to go down as his least favorite party, but I guess I was wrong. So refreshing to have a child so easy to please! Hope it lasts.

Real nasally..... "MOM!!! I CANT BREATHE!"

Nolan's 2nd Yr Preschool Open House

Our little cutie pie with his teacher Mrs Hartman, sister to Darla & Elijah's preschool teacher. This is the BEST preschool in the area!!! It is worth the drive twice a week for me to take him. He cant wait to start on September 10th. The class size is 10 students & he already knows 2 of his peers.

Welcome to Dairy Queen . . . .

may I take your order?

Swimming at Mt Hood Village

As you can see I still havent figured out how to use the "new-to-us" camera. (Sorry)

Above: Elijah king of underwater swimming . . . and Nolan bobbing around in his spiderman donut & floaties. All the kids enjoy jumping in the heated pool. Diving is not allowed.Above: Elijah & Darla behind him

Our "baby" is turning 5 . . .

Blood Drive Today - Thurs 8/20

Lots of blood drive donation time slots are open beginning
at 3pm I am told ....please stop by the Hoodland Lutheran
Church on Hwy 26....on your way up or down the Mountain.
I plan to give the gift of life tomorrow...join me!

Directions shown below at church website:

http://www.hoodlandlutheran.org/Visiting.htm

3 Lil' Monkeys Sittin' In A Tree....

The kids latest favorite thing to do????? CLIMB TREES. Elijah has zero fear factor & quickly scurries to the very tip top of the trees.

Cute Crushes

clockwise a blurry picture of Darla, Nicholas, Samantha, Tierra

When I was a kid growing up, my bestest friend Taira & I called them "Cute Crushes".... harmless lil' things where we thought someone was a sweetie or cute.

Well Darla is fully aware she cant date till she is 16, but her friend Nicholas has had a crush on her since kindergarden and has always called her "Doll Face". Darla has kindof developed a cute crush on him as well this summer. To her great joy he attended Vacation Bible School. His family doesnt yet go to church but have made it clear he is allowed to attend with us. This past weekend Nicholas joined Darla & a group of friends to a local outdoor theatre in Sandy at Meinig Park for a showing of High School Musical Two.

Also suffering from a cute crush is our youngest Nolan (above) and his adorable friend Olivia. Olivia was a classmate of Nolan's in preschool, and a neighbor. Her family has relocated to Washington but the grandparents are neighbors so they visit. When they do visit Olivia comes calling for Nolan.

Happy 41st Alan!

Alans birthday present this year was a full-blown Thanksgiving Feast in August. He loves the turkey holiday meal more than any other . . . . so that's what we did & had a great time. The dessert was not good tho. He wanted a cherry pie - I ran out of time so made a cherry crisp without following a recipe & it showed.

Change

Change sure can stink awful bad sometimes, hurt even.

Out of the mouth of our baby....

Nolan: "Mama! We saw a lot of honey birds! I love honey birds!" (hummingbirds)

Nolan wanted to challenge me to a thumb war (he is the Champion in this house, psycho strong & fast thumbs this preschooler has). . . . . in his dramatic but joking tone we do the normal "1-2-3-4-I declare a thumb war" . . . . then he bellows "Oh yah, you're going down old lady!" He uses this unidentifiable accent/drawl.

Nolan's classic announcement before tackling his brothers or before busting out in a break dance is "Lets get this party started!"

He is like his older siblings and loves to make up songs & perform almost every evening for us . . . only Nolan's songs are unique in that they all begin the same "Once upon a time...." My favorite is about God and as he calls Him.... My Lord!

I have to add more to this posting later.....but this "baby" of ours will be 5 at the end of this month and he is just an amazing child. Love you Nolan Ricky!

Welcome to Club 30

Our adorable niece/friend Shawna turned 30 last month, joining fellow Club 30 relatives like her husband, Jake, Lanelle, & myself..... I think everyone else is in their 20's or younger or in their 40's or older. We celebrated this glorious milestone by "attempting" to throw her a suprise birthday party. She is too clever & figured it out . . . but we still love her.

Shawna....if you ever find yourself wondering ....why does my family love me so much? Here are only a few of the millions of reasons why:
YOU...
1. ...wear your smile on the inside & outside more regularly than most.
2. ...are a loving, attentive, playful, creative, nurturing, & unselfish mother.
3. ...love God, & are raising your family up in Him.
4. ...have a fun sense of humor - our lives would be a bore without you.
5. ...try to always see the best in others.
6. ...are a caring generous sister to your siblings, & daughter to your mom.
7. ...are grateful & humble.
8. ...are all around incredible person!

Special thanks to King Family for opening up their home to hold the party there, Lauri for the cakes, Joy & Jason for the water balloons, & everyone who was able to join us that day (Jake, Lauri, Rachel, Sarah, Alan, Darla, Elijah, Nolan, Jason, Joy, James, Lauri, Jenica, Brian, Tommy, April, Robby, Robert, Austin, Alyssa, Ethan, Lily, Chris, Alloma, Grandma, Aunt Judy, Uncles, Mary, & Emma)

True friends are priceless.

Sprayground at Blue Lake Park

2 moms & 10 kids.....good times!

Back Row of Boys: Nolan, friend Tanner, Elijah
Front Row of Lil' Ladies: 4 sisters (our friends) Karissa, Kiana, Kyra, Keturah, our Darla, & friends McKenna & Samantha

Nolan hammin' it up as always.....

Darla, friend McKenna (getting a bucket of water dumped on her), & Samantha bracing for her bucket to spill a big splash atop her lil' head too.

Heat Wave 2009 . . . . was good enough reason to drive down the Mtn to Fairview's Blue Lake Park. Only $5 admission per car . . . . great bargain for an SUV stuffed full of kids.

Darla running to the rescue . . . .

Friend Samantha . . . our Darla,. . . . and friend McKenna. SUMMER OF SMILES!!

Where do horse flies come from?

A favorite creek side spot, which we usually have to ourselves, was invaded yesterday.

Yep, invaded by giant biting, stinging horse flies!!! We had to leave. The kids kept asking me where they came from, etc., and I have no clue.

A half mile from the creek spot is a small horse farm, so Darla thought it was their fault?!

I dont know....but this is the only photo I captured before I was too busy slapping away the evil winged biters.