Hiles Happenings

crazy beautiful life

2008-02-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

Hello there,

Well life is officially CRAZY!!!! We are expecting baby #2 in late July. I am working part time as is JEremiah who is also going to school full time. Brendon is growing and growing and is just the most adorable boy ever. I love my life, but it is so crazy right now!

new photos

2007-09-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

Fishy Lips
Papa and me at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison
My First Fat Lip.... lost my footing on the driveway ...oops
Mama and Me

Papa in Town

2007-08-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well papa is in town and brendon is having a ball. There is someone to follow him around all over creation! As a parent we try to put kids onto our schedule and run all over the place, but as a grandparent, you can get onto the kids schedule and just let them walk at their own pace, stop and pick up rocks and examine all things colorful! It is such a joy to watch Papa and Brendon hang out together.

Things, They are a changin'

2007-08-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

Well life never sits still very long and for us that seems to be especially true! We have decided to close the store. We are liquidating everything trying to at least make back the money we put into it. We are praying hard to work out our lease issues. God is in the business of miracles and that is what we are praying for at the moment. Smooth transitions, so we can get back to California, where God really wants us to be! Brendon needs to know his grandparents, we feel that this is very important, so we are coming home to California. Jeremiah is going back to school to get his degree and find a job he loves (and is good at). If you are in the business of praying, add us to your list please!

Hiking at Silver Jack

2007-08-15T11:03:00.001-07:00

Monday we decided to do a family day and get out of town a little. We drove up to Silver Jack Resevoir which is just beautiful. Brendon had a great time walking on the trails and picking up rocks. It was a great family day. Brendon posing on the fence
The Resevior from the Vista Point
My two favorite boys... walking the trail together
Brendon and Mama
Look at all that water.... so neat!!!!

2007-08-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

water, rambo.

Brendon playing in the sprinklers with his camo shorts on his head (keeping his hair dry, i am not sure)

mama and me
eating a pb&j.... my favorite
riding on the back of dada's bike

pictures

2007-08-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

playing in the rain
eating some yummy yummy corn
i WANT starbucks, but all i get is ice!!!!!
hehehe.... such an evil grin
Anns, J and Brendon at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

For reference I don't recomend taking a toddler to a canyon... all they want to do is run around and there is about a 2000 foot drop if they fall. This is when toddler leashes are a GREAT thing.

Moving along

2007-08-08T13:05:00.001-07:00

Well life seems to be getting into a bit of a routine ... and I am begining to hate routine! I guess I am finding I like the surprizes that come through the day, both good and bad. Jeremiah is now working full time at Office Depot (for a steady income) and I work at the store full time. Brendon is either with me or with his "intown grandparents". He has a lot more fun with them, since they let him run around outside and play!
I was given a couple hours last week to go do whatever I wanted, during the day, without the boy.... and I cried because I could not think of anything I wanted to do. I am not used to not working or having the boy with me... I guess I need to rediscover things that I (just Annsley) like to do!
Well that is all my complaining for the moment. Life is good, I am just restless and want it all right now... but in God's timing it will all come together, I am sure.

Some pictures

2007-07-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Learning to Walk
Posing
Waiting for the Water to Shoot Out of the Ground
Happy 4th of July

Hello Again

2007-07-21T14:00:00.001-07:00

Well it has been a while, not that there hasn't been anything to write, just no real desire to write it all down. We have been busy here at the Hiles house. We spent a week in California, showing Brendon off and having a good time. Brendon is getting teeth #3 & 4 (the top two) the boy seems to teeth in two's... painful! Makes for a cranky baby. He has also started walking and is quite good at it. It is really cute! Jeremiah got hired at Office Depot (a job to bring in some cash)... if you are a praying person, please include us and our store in those prayers.... we are doing all right, but could do much better!

Anyway, we keep getting surprize visitors and just LOVE it!

photos

2007-06-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

walking around at daddy's softball game
peek a boo... i found my baby rocker... a bit to big
nice outfit!
daddy teaching brendon how to golf

hey, howdy, hi

2007-06-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well I am still here, I haven't gone anywhere, just to tired to type it seems. Anyway, we had a good but quick visit to California at the begining of June. One week is just to short for a real vacation. Brendon did great on the flights, we are so proud of him. He has also started walking since then... it is still weird to see him come walking around the corner instead of crawling.

Happy Birthdays

2007-05-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthdays going out to the May Birthday group... well May is a busy month for the birthdays around our house

Happy Birthday Jeremiah (my one and only love)

Happy Birthday Jack... my father in law

Happy Birthday Nancy... my mother in law

Happy Birthday Annette, Mark and Katerina... great friends of ours

Happy Mothers Day

2007-05-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Mom's Day to all you moms out there

I got the greatest mother's day present ever!! Brendon took his first couple of steps. He did it 3 times and took 2-4 steps each time before collapsing in giggles. It was so adorable. It won't be long before he is walking all over the place. He can go long distances with his walker, he just grins and takes off, it is really quite fun to watch.

He walked from where I took this picture to the house that are in the background....

heading around the corner and taking off

pix

2007-05-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

Climing into the magazine basket and just chillin
Help I am being buried in paperwork!!!
Swinging on the swings at the park... i loved it
ohhh.,... what's that!!!

So Happy for Spring

2007-05-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Ahhh how I love spring, it means summer is coming! I love it! Rec league softball started this week and Jeremiah's team won their first game. Yeah for them. Brendon had a blast playing catch with all the other kids. He is just a magnet for attention, even the teenagers are playing with him, it is just so cute.

I am also so excited because the farmers market has started. Yummy fresh fruits and veggies locally grown! So good I can't stand it. Plus it is fun to walk around with Brendon. He loves to be outside nowadays and just can't stand being couped up all day in doors. We let him take his walker toy outside the other day and he was walking down main street sidewalk like that is where he was meant to be. The drivers were getting a kick out of it. We will get pictures next time.

Well the house should close on Tuesday, fingers and toes crossed with all prayers going to heaven nothing goes wrong!

2007-05-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Cinco De Mayo to everyone!!!!!

Have a margarita or a Corona to celebrate!

And Happy 125th Birthday to Montrose, Colorado!

Some New Pictures

2007-05-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

I can stand up on my own
And then I fall over because I am laughing to hard!

Does this diaper make my head look big ?
ohhhh BUBBLES!
The next American Idol!
Helping out with the laundry
Just Thinking!

Funny Side Note

2007-05-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

So Jeremiah quit his 9-5 job so we can all be together and he can see all of Brendon's developments. So what does our little one do... takes 2 steps when he is with his "in-town grandparnets" who watch him for us for a couple hours on Tuesday nights so we can do a parenting class. We get him home and NOTHING!!!! He crawls everywhere! That is our little stinker for you.

A New Day and A New May

2007-05-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

I am so glad April is over, we had some good events... Brendon's 1st Birthday and Jeremiah and mine 2nd wedding anniversary.... but other than that April was a rough month at the Hiles house and business. As you know we still have our old house, since the buyers backed out and April was a SLOW shopping month, I mean it had us questioning what was going on. But now it is May and April showers bring along May flowers (physically and spiritually) You must go through some down times so that the good times are that much sweeter. I am hoping for a great May!

3rd time a charm???

2007-04-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

Well we have our 3rd contract on the house... lets see how this one goes!?!?!?!

I have not been blogging much lately because I have been in quite the pesimist mood lately and I am tired of complaining about my little problems when there are other people with real problems. So here I am yappin away about it all.

Well the weather has turned gorgeous here, I wore shorts yesterday, that is how lovely it was. Clear blue skies with the temp around 70-75. So lovely. We can actually go for walks and not freeze our little butts off.

The store has been really slow lately, so I brought my scrapbook stuff down here and am plugging away on Brendon's scrapbook. At least at the end of the day I am feeling like I have got something accomplished! That is a nice feeling. I can't believe how quickly you can get behind on that stuff. I have been thinkin about ways to make things to sell in the store, maybe make my own kind of baby cards... who knows!

We have started using a menu each week and I am LOVING IT!!! No thinking about what's for dinner and do I have all the ingredients... we just set a menu for the week, shop for all the ingredients and we are done.

Well Brendon is crying and in need of a nap. So I must go.

A First Haircut

2007-04-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

In the chair with mama, just before they start to clip away
Oh no what are they going to do to me

oh ok that was not to bad and I look like such a handsome boy now!!!! (even though I was cute before)

Selling Blues

2007-04-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Ahh the selling a house blues... if there was a song about it I could sing it. As most of you know we have decided to focus on our business and therefor put our house up for sale to pay off some debt and downsize our living.... trying to live within our means, instead of on credit. Anyway, contract #1 on the house, the buyer backed out because their doctor told them they could not live in a house with stairs so they back out.... now contract #2, they had their financing fall through and look like they will be backing out as well... so will contract #3 be a winner... we will have to wait and see.

Pray for us if you think about it... we have already moved out of the house and are paying rent at our new place, so a mortgage payment as well as rent is not something we can do for long!

pictures

2007-04-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

I love this little face, we finally had a nice day again and hung out on the grass for a while
My little ham... blowing bubbles (with spit....ewww)

new pix

2007-04-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

Brendon is really not to sure about grass. he sat like this for about ten minutes, never putting down that leg and keeping his arms up!
Daddy putting together Brendon's 1st car, a birthday presant from Auntie Annette (and family)
Brendon sitting in his first car, deciding where to go!

Happy Easter

2007-04-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Well we had quite a rain storm for Easter so we were inside for most of the day. We decided to sleep in for a bit and didn't get out of bed until 9:15 (Brendon came to join us around 7). We got ready and headed to the 11 o'clock service. The message from the preacher was really good, not your typical "easter morning service". We have been doing a study of 1 Peter.. a "stand firm series" We have really been enjoing it.

Anyway back to Easter, we were invited to picnic with 2 other families which turned into eating picnic style indoors due to the weather. We had a good time hanging out and chatting with everyone. Brendon was feeling a bit sick with a runny nose and cough so he hung out mostly with mama!

we might hunt for eggs when the weather warms up, but I think he is a bit young still! We will see.

My Little Man is ONE!!

2007-04-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday my baby Brendon

Happy Birthday To You

I love you sooooo much!

Moving

2007-04-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

Packing boxes and moving stuff around. That seems to be our life these days. The heavy stuff should go tomorrow as that is when the "muscle" is coming to help out! I love the new place, it is one story so no worrying about Brendon going down the stairs!!!! YEAH! That is all, i will get pictures up when i have some

Happy Birthday To Him

2007-04-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

I just love this picture! Brendon getting his first tast of birthday cake!

A little ODD

2007-03-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

So today we had our first sale of maternity clothes that where baught (for themselves) by someone who is not pregnant.... actually this person is a grandmother... with several grandchildren! She like the display we had up in the window and came in to try them on and was totally unfased by the fact that they were for maternity ware!!! So for those of us who still wear our maternity clothes here and there (even though are kids are turning one) you are not alone!

Take Two

2007-03-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

So we are under contract again on the house, with the buyer wanting just a two week escrow. Fine by us the soon it is all signed the BETTER! At least in my thinking. Anyway we found a great house to rent for a while so we can focus on the business. God is blessing us all the time and we are happy to be downsizing our lives a bit. To much stuff begins to weigh you down and own you if you are not careful. I am looking forward to having a yard sale and selling some stuff off!
I will keep you posted as to the status of the house

the ball popper

2007-03-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

Nana bought Brendon a new toy for his birthday! This little machine is air powered and sends the balls flying into the air and Brendon just LOVES to play with it. He figured out how to turn it on and just enjoys playing with it. It is soooo cute to watch!

the "joy" of selling a home

2007-03-22T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well where to start... I swear we have the worst of luck when it comes to selling homes. We get all the crazies who come out of the woodwork. We had a contract on our house, but apparently entering into a contract is not what it used to be because the person backed out within 2 weeks. We had over 15 contracts when selling our house in California... well we are off to a start with this house! Well hopefully God will bless us with a quicker sale this time around!

We had found a great house to rent so please pray it will be available when we get the house sold, or something better will be out there for us.

For all of you

2007-03-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well I am always told that Brendon is such a happy baby and he is always smiling! Well this is to show you the side of him that barely makes it into picutres! I moved his balloon to get the picture and he was none to happy about that!

We were shopping at Sportsman's Warehouse for Jeremiah who took his hunter's safety class this past weekend and passed it with a 100%. We are so proud. Brendon did not like his Davey Boone hat, so maybe he won't go hunting yet!

A New Car

2007-03-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

So we traded in the truck (a Ford F-150) for my mommy mobile!!!! I love this car, it is a 2003 Subaru Outback in GREAT condition.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2007-03-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.

Do you know that St. Patrick's Day is in celebration of St. Patrick bringing the gospel to Ireland... ?

Lucky Lady

2007-03-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

My mother in law is coming to visit this weekend and help me watch Brendon while Jeremiah takes a hunter's safety class (so he can go Elk Hunting next fall with my father in law) ! We will have a great ol' time, but I might not write much this week, so see ya later....

House Selling

2007-03-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

Well we put our house on the market to see how it would do and low an dbehond we got a great offer after just 2 weeks. We are so excited! Well I know most of you are thinking what are they doing moving again... I just say I am not meant to stay put. Since moving out of my parents house (where I was for 20 years) I have never stayed in a house longer than 18 months... I am just a mover!

Well to be serious, we want to put our focus and our money into our business, the place we get to be as a family, if it fails, both Jeremiah and I will have to go to work and Brendon to day care... not at all a situation Jeremiah or I want. Therefor, we are downsizing from the big 4 bedroom house to renting a 3 bedroom place, and after paying off some debt our monthly bills will go down about 800 a month!!!! That will let us focus on what God has given us, this awsome opportunity to work together. We will get back to home ownership someday, but for now business ownership glorifies God and is what our family needs!

Just wanted to keep people up to date, because apperently I am awful at that!!!!

One last picture (for today anyway)

2007-03-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

Can you tell I have been camera happy lately. I love to take pictures of my baby, he is growing so fast and is just so cute, I can't seem to keep up! But this picture is just precious, he was so worn out he fell asleep amungst all of his toys, totally oblivious to what is going on around him.

oh to be able to sleep like that.

Eating with spoons

2007-03-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

Brendon can now eat with a spoon (if you put the food on it for him). He is done with baby food and loves to eat adult table foods. He is learning so much everyday, it is just an amazing thing to watch!

A great Father

2007-03-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

Brendon and his dad. I just have to brag for a moment.... Jeremiah is such a good dad. He is very involved in all the aspects of raising Brendon. He is having a lot of fun teaching him to play catch. Brendon can throw a ball (pretty acurately) and will wait for you to throw it back. Even though he will play this with whomever... he loves to play iwth his daddy.

Brendon is giving big hugs to his dada!

Playing with the ball

My Little Man

2007-03-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite little man. The other night he was having a hard time falling asleep so he snuggled up with his mama to watch some TV until sleep overtook him, but we got some cute pictures before that happened.

so tired but trying hard to fight it.
Smiling Pair

Product Review - Carpet Flick

2007-03-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Ok so I have to rave about this product. The Swiffer Carpet Flick! It is wonderful. It is basickly sticky tape at the end of a stick, but let me tell you it picks up stuff the vacuum just does not get. Brendon knocked over two glass hurricane candle holders on the carpet in our master bedroom ... that is a lot of glass on our carpet. I vaccumed several times, but there were still shards of glass everywhere and not being able to walk barefoot in your own bedroom just stinks. Anyway, I used the carpet flick and it picked up all the little shards of glass and was picking up all sorts of little things I had no idea where down there on the carpet.

If you have a kid that likes to find little things on the carpet and put them in their mouth I would highly recomed this carpet flick! Light weight and easy to use, no cords and you throw away the yucky part :o)

countdown begining

2007-03-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

I am so excited the supplies for Brendon's 1st birthday party arrived today! They are so so so cute. We are doing "lil slugger's 1st birthday" theme. It is through 1stwishes.com and is a baseball theme for a little boys 1st birthday. It should be a good time. I must admit I am having a hard time believeing that my little one is almost a year old!!! Where does the time go? Well his party will be Sunday April 1st, so I will post pictures once we have had the party.

27 days until my little one is ONE!!

My Fabulous Husband!

2007-03-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

I thought he was fabulous when brought me a single rose htis morning, but delivered to the store was a bouquet of my favorites... gerber daisies!!!!

He is the best and I love him so!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2007-03-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

29 never looked so good!

I have the most wonderful husband who bought me flowers, a beautiful card and best of all STRABUCKS! He is such a sweetheart and I love him so!

I also have great friends who have called to wish me a happy day even though I live so far away... you are all so thoughtful.

And of course my parents who love me so, you are the best!

American Idol

2007-03-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

Ok so I admit it, I am an American Idol junkie!!! Jeremiah and I just love this show. We have not picked a favorite yet, there are a few we really like and hope stick around for a while. We will decide who we want to win after they announce the top 12 next week!

Side note though... how is Sanjaya and Antonella still on there, isn't this a singing competition?

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader

2007-03-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

Ok this is a new tv show on the Fox network and it is just funny. Jeff Foxworthy is the host and the premise is they ask people questions from 1st-5th grad text book... stuff you think everyone should know right? Not So!!! It is great to watch these people sweat and cheat of 10 year old, because they can't answer a 1st grade spelling question. If you want some mindless laughs.... check it out. See if you can answer the questions to be smarter than a 5th Grader!!!!!

Running in Circles

2007-03-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

It seems like there is nothing going on around here, but when I sit down to think about it, we are just a flurry of activity!

First off, we are sick of winter and ready for spring. We are getting a whole lot of snow today (along with high winds... so the snow is blowing sideways), but the 7 day forcast is for springier weather... the 50's maybe even the 60's.... I can't wait I am so excited.

Business is doing all right, we could always use more customers, but we are hoping the web site will help out with all those who do not want to come out into the snow. We are getting spring stuff in stock and it just makes me long for summer to get here. I am thankful that it is still light out when we drive home from work now and that daylight savings is early this year... only 9 days away!

Selling, selling, selling... hopefully soon we will hear SOLD! Jeremiah and I have been evaluating our lives a lot latelty and have determined we need to refocus on God more than on this world. So in doing so, we are focusing on our business the place where we can be a family and hang out with one another. Therefor we are downsizing our house and vehicles. We are trying to sell our truck (which is 2005 so pretty new and very nice) for something a little cheaper and more practical. Same goes for our house, we have to much house for us. It is a beautiful home, but we don't use 1/2 of it hardly at all. We are trying to get it so we live within our means and have the business be able to soley support us... such a different concept from this "just charge it attitude" that we see in the world around us.

Brendon, well he is just growing like a weed. He can pull himself up on just about anything now and is doing it all day long. He has not attempted to walk anywhere, he just pulls up, stands there for a while and then sits back down to crawl away. It is just precious to watch. He is getting more willful now and likes to test his boundries. He will do something once told "no" and see if you will come to stop him or if it is just idol threats. He still has no teeth, but does have a bump on the bottom where I assume one day we will see teeth.

That is all the news I can think of for now.

Mom's 65th Birthday party

2007-02-28T10:44:00.000-08:00

Nathan and Jaime... ahh so cute
Mom and Nathan at mom's birthday party

(I wasn't invited (I could not make it even if I was .... so I am not in any pictures)

A Gift From Above Website

2007-02-28T09:24:00.000-08:00

Spring stuff is starting to arrive. I know it is below freezing for most of us, but spring is around the corner.... I promise. Check out our new stuff at www.agiftfromabove.net

Snow snow and yet again more snow

2007-02-28T09:13:00.000-08:00

Today we awoke to at least 8 inches of SNOW!!! That beautiful white stuff. Now if I was looking at a picture of it or I did not have to shovel it, I would love it. It is really a beautiful sight to see... but allas, we live in it, have to shovel it and it makes all the customers go into hiding! Oh well, God is good and always seems to provide.

ok so this is not our town, but this is what it looks like!!!

A New Trick

2007-02-21T14:02:00.000-08:00

I can pull myself up on the side of the play pen! My little one is growing up so fast! But we are so proud of this accomplishment.

He can't quite square up his feet so he stands in the ballet pose with a tight grip on the side of the play pen.

Rain Rain Go Away

2007-02-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

Well this morning we woke up to rain! Not a lot of rain, but a steady drizzle. But I must admit I am so grateful that it is rain and not snow. I am so tired of the cold, I want to go play outside. Brendon needs to get out, I think he is coming down with a case of cabin fever!

Oh well, yesterday was beautiful and it was a good thing too! We had a group of people over for a bbq and watching of the Datona 500. It was a great time, we hade a whole bunch of kids running around the house and playing, Brendon loved the attention, but did not take a nap so he was having a melt down by the time everyone left! But Jeremiah and I decided it was time to start investing in friendship here (since it looks like we are not leaving anytime soon :o) We had a good time, watching the race, chatting, playing basketball and chasing the kids.

Jail House Rock

2007-02-17T12:53:00.000-08:00

Help me I am in jail. We finally put a baby gate up to the kitchen, Brendon is using it to pull himself up!

Brendon in the stroller

2007-02-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

I am so cute, look how I can pull off my shoe and sock!

It's Saturday

2007-02-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

well the week is almost over and it seems like it has taken quite a while to get here. We have caught the spring cleaning bug at our house, and it seems every free minute that we have is spent cleaning up or cleaning out something. We have so much clutter and with Brendon on the move, it has got to go!!!! It is refreshing to go through stuff and realize that you don't need it and you are being weighed down by it.... just let it go and you feel so much better.

I think deep down I hope that if I spring clean than Spring might show up and the snow will stop!!!!! Just a thought

My Grammy Rocks!!!!

2007-02-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

I just love my Grandma, she was my date for Valentines Day!!!! She gave me a red balloon.

Shopping In Denver

2007-02-15T14:49:00.000-08:00

This last weekend I went shopping for the stores fall/winter '07 merchandise. What I love to do SHOPPING!!! It was a good time. The weather was pretty nice for us. Mom flew out and watched Brendon so I could go to the mart, to look at all the new lines for this year. It is so much fun to shop for the store, I get my shopping fix in and then we get to sell the stuff. I love it.

On the way home, mom and I stopped at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs. They have the BEST book store there, you could spend hours there (and lots of money). It is so amazing how many inspirational books and such there is available to us. God has blessed us so!

Battle Scars

2007-02-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

Brendon got into a fight with the kitty and I think the kitty won... Brendon has two (big) scratches on his face from the cat.... oops. They played together well for a while and then the cat got bored with Brendon and ended the play time...

Pix of Brendon

2007-02-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

Brendon decided that he wanted to be like daddy, so I put him in dad's chair at the store and let him (try) to play with the laptop!

He had a ball just sitting in a swivel chair and banging on the table with his hands...

Brendon with a teething ring, trying so hard to get that tooth to come in!

Catching up

2007-02-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

Well I looked back, and I have not written in a bit. Brendon is teething (as he has been for over a month now) but now it seems to be getting painful. He is quick to cry and fuss at every little thing. We are in a power struggle at the moment of who can out last who. He does not like to be told no or have anything that he wants, to be taken away from him and when you do, the water works start, but the second you turn your head he goes for it again! oy! So a lot of my day is spent praying for patience for myself.... so enough excuses.

Sunday was a lot of fun. We got up and went to church, Brendon had a great time in the nursery playing with all the other kids. All of us went for a long walk afterwards to just enjoy the day of blue skies and sunshine (such a nice change from the cold and snow) Of course walking was an obsticle on some streets as the ice was just starting to melt away due to the sunshine... interesting to walk on with a stroller. We were invited to our neighbors house to watch the superbowl. That was a good time. there were four other boys there (4,5,6 and 12 years old) but they had a good time giving Brendon toys and running all around him. He just sat back and took it all.

Monday was mom's birthday, so we got cards off in the mail (oops, supposed to do that before the day actually gets here). I watched the store for a while so JEremiah and Brendon could go home and play together for a while. We were able to find a family that wanted to adopt our dog. We loved him, but we were unable to give him the attention that he needed, so we decided that it was time to let someone else have him and give him what he needed. We miss him, but I think it was for the best.

Tuesday was an all right day, Brendon was quite the crank all day so I finally broke down and bought some baby orajel.... you should see the face he makes when I put that in his mouth, I will try to capture it on film as it is priceless. We continued our study of Growing Kids God's way, tonight was all about speaking your mates love language (and your childs too when they are old enough). It is a good lesson to learn, if you have never heard of this concept, read Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages book, it is eye opening!

Well it is Wednesday morning and the forecast looks good. Mom flies in tomorrow to drive to Denver with me so I can go buy the Fall/Winter clothes for our store! She is going to be Grammy and watch Brendon all day, so much fun. To bad Denver is buried under snow, so they might have to hang out indoors all day. Oh well, he will just love it!

Happy Birthday Mom

2007-02-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Mom!!! So I know that this is a few days late but better late than never. I had full intention of posting this on Monday February 5th but I just plain forgot. But we did chat for quite a while that day so that makes up for my lack of memory. Well happy birthday week mom, you look great and are the best mom a girl could ask for, I learned a lot about being a parent from you! Thanks for everything you do.

Reminder of our own mortality

2007-01-31T13:26:00.000-08:00

It is a sad day in our neighborhood. Our next door neighbor (a police officer for Montrose PD) was found dead in her home Monday morning. Police are not sure of the cause of death but do not suspect foul play. Our neighbor was only 27 years old. It reminds us that we do not know when God will call us home and we must be prepared, both spiritually and legaly. This got J and I thinking about Brendon and what to do if we should be called home before he grows up. I have been reading through how to prepare your last will and testament. It is kind of a downer thought process, but encourages me that if something should happen to Jeremiah and myself that Brendon will be well taken care of and go where we want him to go. It is an interesting process to decide what to do with your own child should you not be there for them. Will the person you choose raise him with the values and morals you would?

Just a thought...

Video Gamer

2007-01-29T11:44:00.000-08:00

Getting older and showing it... I remember when I was a kid video games where something you played when you were sick and could not go outside and play or the weather was to crummy and you had used up your imagination on all sorts of other games... well it is not so with Brendon's generation. Now there is a sport of video gaming, to the name of Proffesional Video Game League where there are 6 year olds competeing (and winning!!!) Well Brendon is off to a start, 10 months old and loves to play with daddy's Playstation 2... check it out.

All Church Dinner

2007-01-29T11:38:00.000-08:00

Last night our church had its all church dinner. Which means about 700 people got together at the fairgrounds for fellowship. It was a great time, kids running around playing in the jump houses, parents chatting with one another, friends catching up all while being served a great dinner. Our church now has 3 services so it is really hard to get to know a lot of people in our church family when as creatures of habit always go to the same service and sit in the same general area. We really did have a good time hanging out with so many other families!

Picking Up

2007-01-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

Things are heating up and starting to pick up. The weather is getting warmer and it is bringing out the shoppers! January has been a tough month, with the weather being in the single digits a lot of days with snow on the ground, and the shock of Christmas bills. God has been good at providing and we are starting to get good business again.

Jeremiah spent our "down time" building up our company website (www.agiftfromabove.net) and it looks awesome! A pleasant shopping experience.

Happy Anniversary

2007-01-27T15:49:00.000-08:00

Happy 7th Anniversary Rachael and Sean!!!!

Happy B-Day Sarah

2007-01-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Sarah!!!!!

29 is looking good on you! (so it's a few days late)

you are a great friend, i miss you

Meal Time Showers

2007-01-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

So Brendon's latest and greatest thing... spitting while eating. He will get a big mouth full of food and then put his lips together and spit out half of it. What is funny is he does it for the noise and the vibration on his lips, not because he does not like his food. Silly little boy, you tell him no and he just looks at you and giggles and continues to do it. It is like getting a sweet potato shower! If I can capture it in a picture, I will be sure to post it.

The Basket

2007-01-22T15:11:00.000-08:00

So now that Brendon is crawling all over the house, getting stuff done is getting harder. He just won't sit still long enough for me to get any work done, so last night I decided to try putting him in his toy basket... and it worked!!! The kid loved it. He was with all of his toys and he couldn't go anywhere. I was able to get laundry started, dishes washed and dinner cooked, and he just had a ball sitting in there and playing with all the toys around him!

Snow Snow Go Away

2007-01-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

Ok I have seen enough snow this winter to last me for quite a few! I mean every time it starts to melt away we get another few inches!!!! This is just crazy, even the people who have lived here for 50+ years say they have never seen it like this, of course seeing what is happening to denver (which is about 5 hours away) I must be grateful that we are getting what we are and not what they have been getting.

The worst part for us is that our store has a minor roof leak which when the ice starts to melt off the roofs leaks straight into our building and onto our fixtures! So far no merchandise has been ruined, but we are close. Pray God will send us enough sunshine to dry off the roof so the leak can be patched!

This is what our truck looks like when we go to leave in the mornings... (sorry the pix is sideways)

Our little pup is growing up

2007-01-19T13:53:00.000-08:00

Wrigley Hiles, such a cute little puppy... well he is not this size anymore (and our grass is not even close to being that green) He now looks a bit more like the bottom picture. Our little pup is growing up and today he went in for his surgery, so he can't get the pretty neighbor dog pregnant! We wish him well and a speedy recovery.... and for our sake, that it calms him down a little!!!

Motorcycle Crash

2007-01-19T12:59:00.000-08:00

Brendon's 1st motorcycle crash :o)

Papa bought Brendon his 1st motorcycle for Christmas, it is so cute and looks just like daddy's real motorcycle. Brendon likes to sit on top and can't wait until his feet touch the ground and he can push himself around (or maybe that is my wishful thinking, so I wouldn't have to push him around)

Down Right Cold

2007-01-17T14:39:00.000-08:00

I woke this morning to it being -5 degrees. Even the dog didn't want to go outside. What is going on??? This artic chill that is passing through is just getting old. Here in Montrose we have had the weirdest weather this winter. No one can explain it, everyone says Montrose is not like this! At least the sun shines with blue skies, We hope for some warmer weather soon!

Weight Loss Challenge

2007-01-17T13:35:00.000-08:00

So I figured out that since Brendon was born (9 months ago) I have not lost any weight! That was a bit depressing at first, but so it goes with life... I have not really done anything to loose it either... oops, kind of an important step!

Anyway so here is my challenge to myself. I will loose 15 pounds by my birthday (March 6) and will loose 20 pounds by Brendon's 1st birthday (April 4) and a total of 30 by the summertime. Wish me luck!

A 1st Tooth

2007-01-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

Well Brendon is working on his 1st tooth. He has had teething "symptoms" since he was 4 months old, but he is now actually getting one. There is a little lump there on the bottom. He is cranky as can be at times too, but that is mostly because he is just not sleeping!

All Smiles

2007-01-16T15:18:00.000-08:00

I just love this little face.

Well Brendon is 9 months old now and just getting cuter and cuter with every passing day.

Brendon is crawling

2007-01-16T15:11:00.000-08:00

My Little Man has started crawling, and my life will never be the same!!! He is just the cutest thing, shaking his little bootie as he crawls across the floor. Of course he is going straight for the cat's food, or the dogs, he is not picky, he just wants everything he is not supposed to have.

It's just cold

2007-01-16T15:07:00.000-08:00

Well January is just plugging along. It is unseasonably cold here in Montrose so the shoppers are all in hiding not wanting to come out. I must admit I am a bit sick of the cold. I hate bundling up myself and then Brendon, it makes getting out of the house a bit more difficult. Here is wishing for some spring like weather to come to me soon.

Happy New Year

2007-01-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

Setting goals for a new year, here we are 4 days in and now I start to think about it. Hmmm what do I want to improve, waht do I want to change and what do I want to leave alone... time to think it over I guess.

Hello there

2006-09-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

Well I have always thought it would be fun to write, but never really thought myself capable. But when I said wouldn't that be cool to my husband, he simply said "then why don't you" and so here I am. He is such a support to me, simply stating things that I try to make complex. I am so blessed to have him.