Kimberly Dawn

I can really only think of two people that I prayed for before I met them. One of them is my husband. He got years of prayer.
And then there is another. The summer after I graduated from highschool, 1995, I prayed for my new college roommate. I prayed we would get along and become good friends. I prayed that we wouldn't fight and we could make it the whole year. Then the day came where my parents drove me up to school and dropped me and my belongings off. It is so exciting and scary. I met my future roommate and her very friendly parents. they immediatelly invited me to go with them to the State Fair that evening. I declined. Thankfully they still invited me to things through the years to come. Kim and I ended up becoming good friends. Of course we had ups and downs but I truly believe God had His hand on us when admissions grabbed two names and put them together. Kimberly has been a dear friend to me. She has been there when I fell in love for the first time, she was there when it didn't work out. I learned that she loves to stay up late and can party with the best of them. She can't handle her Nyquil and prefers Pepsi over Coke. She may not always have the cleanest car but she will willing drive ANYONE anywhere they need to go. The two of us also tried to have our own Science class in our dorm room, it may have smelled all the way down the hall. I was blessed to be roommates with her my senior year as well. This time she was there at the beginning of my love for my future husband. She has been with me through all of it. I am so blessed. Last night we had her bachlorette party! It is her turn to get married. I too have seen her go through a few relationships and am so pleased that she has found Dylan! He has many qualities others did not have and I know he will make her a good husband! I wish we lived closer so I could spend more time with her. I believe she will always be my close friend but I do envy those who can see her every week. But they too will gain things only being friends with her can bring to their lives.

13 years ago God answered my prayer with Kimberly Dawn! LOVE YOU!!

Moms

Thanks to my friend Beth A., I have this funny and very true video about and for moms. If you are not a mom but someday you will be -please watch.

Have a great Saturday playing with your presents!

Merry Christmas.

It is amazing all the work that goes into this day. I love Christmas. I love the time we make to do fun family outings all month. The food we allow ourselves to eat one time a year. Making sure we get to see family that lives far away. My mom's chocolate cake and homemade frosting for Jesus' birthday. I also love buying gifts. Ben and I are not big present buyers through the year so at Christmas we make up for it. We also wrap everything and anything they may need. So there was panties/underwear and pajamas (and lots of them) that the kids opened, besides the wanted gifts. This year the kids loved all their presents. They had such a great day with cousins and family. Ethan had a hard time falling asleep tonight because he wants to play! What's great is that they will get 6 days to play with their toys before we fly out and then when we get back they will feel like new toys again!

And there were a couple presents this year that were extra special. My dad made Alicia's American Doll a bed and mom made a quilt for it! It is so nice. And then Alicia wanted Ariel's wedding dress for WDW. Well, they do not make that dress anymore so my mom made one. It is so pretty.

I hope you all had a Christmas to remember. I know this year we did.

UPDATE

So as of now, my siter is in the Les Schwabs up ther getting the snow tires they have for their car put on. They really wanted to find chains for the van since that is so much better for traveling with kids but they couldn't find any. So they are settling. They are going to leave a day early and head down a way that adds hours to the trip and they won't some spend the night here they will head to our parents but they should be here for Christmas. I hope.

I have wanted snow. I have pouted and thrown quiet (and some not so quiet) fits about not getting snow. Saturday night I watched hours of news hearing about how everyone got snow. Even Salem. Not here though! I wanted snow. I wanted snow for the 2 weeks BUT I wanted this week to be RAIN. What did I wake up to today? Snow. Now I know you would think I would be happy for snow . . .finally. No, I am not. It was supposed to rain this week so that my sister could actually make the trip from Spokane down and spend Christmas Eve night at our house. The kids are so excited about a sleepover but it looks like it may be canceled. The Gorge is closed and more snow is to come. I am sitting here watching the snow that is just so pretty but I just want to cry. I want Christmas to be perfect and right now it looks to be that picture card perfect white Christmas that ruins my Christmas!

Okay just talked to sister and she said that if they can somehow find some chains they will try to find other routes down. But right now all stores up there are sold out of chains! We'll see

Sadness in the midst of the wonderous holiday

Last year, 2007, on Christmas morning Ben's grandpa passed away. I found something very poetic in the fact that the day we celebrate Jesus coming to earth, John was called Home. He was able to spend Christmas day singing praises to his Lord. It also snowed that day. It did not stick but the kids were able to run outside and catch snow on their tongues.

Last night as it started to snow, and as Gordon and Martha took a time out from being with Ben's grandma at the hospital to come see the Christmas program, Ben's grandma left her sick and tired body and entered into eternity with her Savior.

So as we enter into another Christmas week the Wilson's will once again be dealing with death. I ask you to pray for them. Specifically Gordon as he has lost two parents in less then a year at one of the most wonderful times of the year. Also pray for the others grieving her loss and for the ones that watch their loved ones go through this process once again. Also with this weather pray that everyone arrives here safely as they come to say goodbye.

Enjoy your days off

. . . We are off to school. :) I am kind of glad my kids had school yesterday and today. This is a big week and they would be missing such fun things. They have so much planned the next 2 days that I also sort of hope they get to go then as well. Plus I have gingerbread house stuff for 12 kids. If there is no school Friday I will be stuck with all the makings!!!

Enjoy your day off. I will be enjoying no kids! :) also no snow. :(

Also Alicia's teacher announced yesterday that she is expecting. So cool. I think the kids are going to enjoy watching her get big through the year. Congrats Mrs. D!

The Truth

you want the truth. . .
We have NO snow. Nope not any. Sunday it snowed in the morning and then by about 2 it had all melted away. At least my kids got to play in it before it disappeared. So Stayton is dry as a bone and Salem has snow! So strange. But the bummer thing. . . the kids had no school yesterday! No reason why and no snow to play in! What a boring day. Too COLD to go out and nothing to play in if they wanted to go outside!

So hopefully tomorrow and Thursday when you all get snow we actually get some too!!!!

First snow of the season!

So this morning I woke at 4 and saw no snow. I was sure that meant they were wrong again. But my wonderful hubby woke me at 6 to show me the snow!!! It is so pretty. And I just checked and they are saying it could snow off and on through THURSDAY! WOOHOO. O, How I love this time of year. I know there are those who hate the snow but I sure don't. I am glad we live where we don't have it all winter long but get a few days a year.

Sadly I think zoo lights is out for tonight. :) I am wondering if we may have to replace zoo lights this month with a trip some snow up the pass. Not your typical December!

O, we are off to drive around town before we get ready for church!! LOVE THIS

What do you think?

So do you think we will get snow? It is hard to get too excited. I would love me some - - - but they never seem to get it right.


AND onto other stuff
Ben was supposed to work tomorrow but Ethan has basketball tomorrow and Alicia's bball starts tomorrow so he is going to just work LATE tonight. I may take the kids around town tonight to look at lights and then throw them into bed. :)

Tomorrow is a busy day. Alicia goes to get her first real haircut. I have always trimmed it and I am sure I could cut it again but we decided to do the real deal. She is super excited. We will probably cut about 7-8 inches off! Then we will go to Ethan's basketball, then Alicia's and then we hope to take the kids to Kelsey's. She is raising money for China and is having an all day babysitting day. We went to the last one she held and the kids loved it. So we hope to take them there and then go to a movie and dinner. We like to get away once around Christmas and just spend some time with the two of us.

22 days

It is 22 days from today that we fly off to Orlando. Every day I do a little to get ready. Today I bought some snacks and medicine we will take. Yesterday i saw our one leg from Orlando to Portland on Southwest had gone down $12 a piece. The nice thing with Southwest is they allow you to reschedule the cheaper price and get a credit to be used within a year. Now we have $72.00 to fly Southwest again. Not sure we will but it is better then paying the higher price. :) If they go down again I would be happy because then maybe we could have enough to fly 2 somewhere close, say Las Vegas.

I have also been buying Christmas presents that will be used for the trip. I have been trying to decide what things will be Christmas gifts and which things will be surprises for the long flight. I bought a tote from Lands End, St. Nick deal of the day a few weeks ago, that I will use for a carry on so I have been storing things away in it.

I am starting to get very excited.

ipod help

Okay you readers! I need help.

I have an ipod I want to load with some books for our trip. The problem is I have no idea how to use any of this stuff. So you ipod users where do you go for books you can download onto your ipod? This includes you readers who lurk and never write. I really really need help in this please.

THANKS

Date nights with daddy

The weekend is over! Well not really but the hard stuff. This weekend was the Bizarre our school helps with. Because I am the room mom I was in charge of the first grade booth. But I was sick. So as the weekend rolled around I started to dread it. Friday night I went down and set up the booth. By the end I was pretty exhausted. Thankfully enough moms had signed up for hours on Saturday that I didn't really have to be down there. Ben took 2 of my hours (after going to work very early to get his work hours in)so I only had to be down there the last half hour and clean up. After hauling all the boxes and tables out to the van I was done. But it is over and we made it through. I am so thankful to the moms who pitched in Saturday, and the amazing dad as well.

Today was supposed to be the day we went tree picking. It is now raining so I am not sure if we will. Hoping it breaks right after church so we can make a run at it. We did move Alicia's date night up to this afternoon. Ben takes Alicia to Build a Bear every December. It is their tradition. So tonight he will take her there and then to the Cheesecake Factory. I had bought the Build A Bear gift cards this summer when I had some money and also the Cheesecake Factory gift card! We also have a 10$ off coupon if you spend 50$ at BAB! So tonight is like a free night for them. Well maybe a prepaid night. (I am hoping for a piece of cheesecake to come home for me!)

Moving this night frees up a weekend day we had originally planned for their date! We are trying to leave as many days open as we can for the Zoo lights. We will go this month but are looking for a day that doesn't rain. Last night would have been good except Ethan and I were sick. Also Ethan had his date night with daddy last night. Polar Express was showing at the Star for $1 or canned food. Can't beat that!

WIN an IPod

At focusonthefamily.com they are giving away 3 ipods a day for the 12 days of Christmas! You can enter every day, you just watch the short short video and listen to the secret word. Todays word of the day is "shepherd." There are really only 8 days left as I found about this late. I would love to win as the ipod also comes loaded with books on it! Wish me luck, I would love to have this for the Disney airflight we have in January!

Sick Day

Today, well and yesterday too, is a sick day! Yesterday Ethan was pretty sick and then I came down with a lesser version of his sickness. So we are home laying around and drinking warm cider for our throats. I wish I liked tea, cider has so much sugar in it. I have such a good husband who stayed home this morning long enough to get Alicia ready for school and take her so Ethan and I would not have to get dressed and actually leave the house. He was late to work which he HATES to be. It meant a lot to me that he did that for us.
But I am looking at this with the cup half full mentality. If we get healthy this next week and take our vitamins and get good sleep then we should be in great shape for Christmas and our vacation! Better then being sick the week before, or the week of, the big events.
And maybe if I can be sick enough to not eat maybe I can loose some weight before those events as well! OK that may be asking for too much.

Tuesday

Today is errand day. Running around town and making phone calls. The good thing is that I have put off so much that I now feel good having this stuff done. I called to get our carpet cleaned, get hair appointments for Alicia and I, tried to call about movie tickets for the Christmas movie at the Star Saturday. I went to the bank to cash in the change we have collected for about 9 months for Disney, went to the post office twice, I forgot something so had to go back! I went to BiMart and was not a lucky Tuesday winner but at least I got the dishwasher detergent I needed. So I am now running dishes. I went to the gym and read to the Stayton Christian School kindergartners today. I finally threw away the pumpkins in front of our house and will put out our Christmas mat in just a few minutes!!

But I still have so much more to do. I will have to do some laundry, more dishes, clean the kitchen, go to the Star for tickets, get Ethan ready for his basketball practice tonight, etc., etc..

I was looking at my calendar last night trying to schedule in two events that HAVE to happen this month and I am now at the point of not being able to add a single thing to our weekends through January 11! EEKK! part of the problem is of course we want Ben to be a part of our fun stuff and with him working Saturdays it takes some finessing to fit everything in. But I love December as it is all fun family events that mean so much to us.

I wish you all a fun filled December as well. And remember the reason for the season! Jesus came to earth to give us freedom and eternal life, because God loves us!