52 Blessings/ Week 5: Sleep

Me and Hannah zonked out on my bed one night and Aaron took this of us.

Ever since I can remember, I've LOVED sleeping! I love "the bed" as I refer to it. Well.....having children has altered to some degree, my time in "the bed" so therefore, sleeping has become all that more precious to me. This week has been HORRIBLE in the sleeping area of my life. My sweet little baby has been sleeping better than my other two children, who I've always prided myself on being AMAZING sleepers! Since we moved into our new home, Hannah and Nathan share a room together. For the most part it's been great. This week however, twice they've woken up in the wee hours of the morning and will not go back to sleep! I can hear them playing in their room. After 1 to 2 hours of persuading and threatening them to go back to sleep, mean mommy had to come out and get real serious. (I had to take away their night light). If only they could understand just how much sleep means to mommy! LOL I'm happy to report, last night was heaven and they slept without any interuptions and my precious baby only woke me up once. Hooray!

I'm so glad when daddy comes home, glad as I can be!

I have to admit that it is a happy time for me when Aaron walks in the door each night. After my fill of fun with the kids for the day, (lol) he comes to my rescue and plays with the kids. This is my time to clean up, rest if I want, and sometimes, I even join in the fun. Hannah and Nathan LOVE it when Aaron comes home. Games usually include, hide-and-seek, reading books, making forts, or tickle tortures. He gets them all wired before bed. It's great! I don't know how he has the energy to play after a long day at work himself, but he always does.

52 Blessings/ Week 4: Freedom

How could I not write about this wonderful country this week? I am so grateful to live in America and to have the freedoms we enjoy. Having lived outside of the U.S. for a time, I really saw first hand just how wonderful our country is. I realized while I lived in the Netherlands that our founding fathers were truly inspired by God to create a declaration that would allow for mankind to live with the ability to use their God-given agency to dictate their lives. What a blessing! I pray that our freedoms will always be protected.

Walking with Dinosaurs

Aaron took Hannah on a daddy/daughter date last week to walk with dinosaurs. Literally. I dropped Hannah off at her daddy's work where he then took her out to dinner, then down town to see the show. She was soooooo excited all day to go with her dad. A couple of times she said, "the dinosaurs are going to eat me". I laughed and told her that her daddy would protect her. She was satisfied with that.

I guess the show was incredible. Life size dinosaurs that looked so real. Hannah wasn't scared at all until the very end when the T-rex came out. Aaron said it was as loud as Jurassic Park. Very thrilling! Hannah was a little nervous by that, he said. However, daddy did protect her. :o)

Thank you Trent & Cheryl for giving Aaron the tickets. Both dad and daughter had a wonderful night out.

52 Blessings/ Week 3: Friends

I consider my friends one of my greatest blessings in my life. From childhood, to adulthood, I've made great friends along the way. I think back on my childhood friends that would play "house" with me, or "dolls", or sell lemonade with me outside. Good times! Then during my teenage years my friends were so very important to me. I look back and am so grateful that they never asked me to compromise my standards or beliefs. I can remember one time in particular when one of my friends had just gotten her drivers license and so we went "cruising" while listening to church music. Yep, that was the extent of my "wild" days. Boy my parents had it easy with me! LOL When I went away to college I made my lifelong friends. One of those gals just left my house and I'm so bummed that I forgot to take a picture with her. These women have molded me in a very real way. They are women I look up to, respect, and deeply admire. I continue to meet wonderful women and am truly thankful for each one of you ladies. Thank you for your friendship. I hope and pray that my children will also be blessed with wonderful friends.

My Best and Eternal Friend

My dear friend, Suzanna

I'm happy to say that my brothers and sisters are some of my greatest friends

Highschool friends

College Friends

Terrible 2's

How did we go from this....


to this...



He was always my sweet, cuddly, happy little boy! Now he is independent, screams at the drop of a hat (and might I add that his scream is just a few pitches higher than a high C), he likes to go around pointing his little finger at me and say "dop" for stop as he looks at me real stern like. Quite honestly, I can't help but laugh at this little one, but I am sad that he's hitting this 2 stage 6 months early. Just means that my babies are growing up and I don't like that one little bit! From time to time, my sweet little boy will come out and want me to hold him and rock him. I live for those times. Thankfully he still wants his mama when he's sick, hurt, or sad.
Here's just a few more pictures of this little guy that I soooo LOVE!!!

52 Blessings/ Week 2: Dave Ramsey

Ok, I know I should probably think of something more sentimental, but really I am so thankful for this man who preaches to whoever will listen, about the importance of living on a budget and how to get out of debt. Aaron and I started listening to him on the radio a little over a year ago and I'm here to tell ya, he's fantastic! His philosophy is easy to follow. The tricky part is being disciplined enough to stick with it, but we are here to tell ya it works if you stick with it. So, it is deffinately a blessing to be on a budget and also, if you've not heard of him before, he is my gift to you all to start out a wonderful 2009! Happy New Year!


This is what Dave Preaches
Get out of debt the same way you learned to walk, one step at a time. Dave has taught these principles to millions via radio, books, Financial Peace University, Live events, and online:
1- $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
2- Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
3- 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
4- Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
5- College funding for children
6- Pay off home early
7- Build wealth and give!

For those interested, check him out at daveramsey.com

Abby at 3 weeks

Some Pictures of our House

So, this is for you Grandma Rietfors. I've been meaning to post some pictures of our new house, for quite some time now and keep forgetting. Here are just a few. Sure love and miss you.