Looking Forward

Christmas has come and gone, and I can hardly believe it. Now that the anticipation of seeing happy girls enjoy their gifts is over, I am back to wanting time to go by as quick as possible. I remember hoping the next Christmas would come quickly as soon as that year's Christmas was over...I am very excited to celebrate Christmas 2009 with Justin. It definitely felt strange not having him around.
At least we got to talk to him...after 4 dropped calls and both of us getting frustrated, we finally got to have a full conversation.


I have lots of pics to post, but I think I will wait until I get home and have my own computer to work with.

Grandparents Day

Ok, I have been complaining about how much I have to do before tomorrow and yet here I am...on the computer.

Sydnee brought home this book she made a while back, and I have to admit I put it aside with all her papers from school without really looking at it. As I was cleaning up today, I stopped and read it. I definitely got a kick out of it and had to share.

Sydnee's feelings about her (maternal) Grandparents:

(I give Grandpa his food when Grandma can't.)

My Grandma sometimes gets me ice cream at night and she gets ice cream for Grandpa sometimes at night.
My Grandma made a blanket when I was a baby.

I love that she came up with these things all on her own.

I Spy Bags

A while back I made some of these bags for my girls at an Enrichment activity. Making them sparked a creative bug in me, and I decided it would be fun to make holiday themed bags. I went out and bought stuff for some Halloween bags and some Christmas bags. I also decided to make a couple boy ones for a friend of mine. I got right on the boy bags and the Halloween ones, but then I put the sewing machine away, and the Christmas bags were left undone...
That is until yesterday.
I made 3 small bags and two regular ones:
Here they all are (minus some of the Halloween ones that I gave away.)

Char and Justee were a lot of help.

This is how they contributed to my efforts.

Napping is the biggest gift they can give me. ;)

Busy Busy

I have so much to do before heading home for the holidays. I have a long to-do-list that must be completed in the next few days, and being the procrastinator I am, I am blogging instead of doing something productive.

Justin's mother called me yesterday to inform me that Justin's grandfather had died. Sad news I had to pass along to my husband. He called yesterday from Spain and is getting ready today to board a flight into Afg. It is harder now that I hear from him less, but it will be nice once I have a better idea about how often I will get to hear from him and a bit of a schedule evolves.

Now, I best get back to that to-do-list.

Are you kidding me???

I just got back from the post office. I have always heard horror stories about the lines at the post office around Christmas, but I have never needed to mail packages before, so I haven't witnessed it myself. I got to the post office and couldn't believe my eyes...No way was I waiting that long, but I really needed to get Justin's package shipped and a few other family members' presents sent. So, I went to the UPS store to see if the lines were better. The lines were a lot shorter and I like the way the UPS store is set up much better than the PO. I knew I could survive the wait there.
After about an hour I walked out, packages shipped, weight off my shoulders, and $99.31 poorer.


*My car thermometer said it was -1 degree today. It is cold outside.

Chocolates

This past week I got to work on my favorite Christmas candy...Homemade chocolates!
My Grandma always makes these and they are soooo good. A few years ago, my sisters and I decided we wanted to learn how to make them, so we went to Star Valley for a lesson. It was a lot of fun, and so great to get to spend time watching a talented woman in action.
This is my third year to make them and I still had to call my Grandma for help with the fondant. I dipped over 225 of these things! I ran out of chocolate after these, and I still had some fondant and carmels left; so this is not all my friends, this is not all. There are mint, maple, carmels (homemade of course), strawberry-banana, blueberry (real blueberries in them, Justin's fav), and marshmallows. They are no where near as pretty as my Grandma makes them, but I think I'm getting better at that too...just give me a few/ten more years.

My Husband...

There are a couple of husband tags going around and I thought my husband deserves a little spotlight...
1. Where did you meet your husband? Game night at the Crosby's house.
2. How long did you date? On and off for about 2 1/2 years
3. How long have you been married? 8 1/2 years
4. What does he do that surprises you? Nothing Justin does should surprise me.
5. What is your favorite feature of his? His broad shoulders. I find a lot of comfort in his strength, and for me his shoulders symbolize his strength.
6. What is his best quality? Probably that he is easy-going, he is very easy to get along with. It also helps him put up with me.;)
7. Does he have a nick name for you? He has always called me Baby or Babe, but he has been calling me Lover a lot more lately.
8. What is his favorite food? MEAT, but more specifically ribs and steak
9. What is his favorite sport? Football
10. When and where was your first kiss? Winter of 98/99, in Scott F.'s car, by the pond below my parents' house.
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? I would have to say going to sporting events. After having kids, it hasn't been as much fun. I spend more time watching the kids than the game, but when the kids aren't around we have a great time. We also love to just watch tv together.
12. Do you have children? 3 girls
13. Does he have hidden talents? Justin is a lot smarter than he looks or acts for that matter; he is very good at trivia games. I think most of his talents are pretty obvious.
14. How old is he? 32 years OLD ;)
15. Who said I love you first? He did of course. I said it over a year later. Justin is the only guy I have ever said those words to.
16. His favorite music? Techno. Strange but true. He likes all kinds of music though.
17. What do you admire most about him? How dedicated to his family he is. He is a selfless, hard-worker, who just wants to see to it that his girls are happy. Justin will do anything for anybody, all you have to do is ask. He is definitely a people-pleaser.
18. What is his favorite color? Blue
19. Will he read this? Of course he will, that's why I'm doing it.


Five Things He Loves:
Food
His girls
Football
Flying
and Dozer

Five Things on His To-Do List
The only thing on it should be to come home safe and sound

Five things you may not know about him:
He is huge softy...he cries at more movies than I do.
He gives everyone a nickname
He likes to vacuum
He likes to sing to his girls (including me, but I usually tell him to shut up. I know, I'm a sweetheart.)
He loves his daughters and is fine with not having a boy except he's a little sad that he'll never get to watch his son play football...Good thing he has nephews.

Five quirky things about him:
He hates the bed to be made. He likes the covers really loose and messy.
He falls asleep in less than a min. Once the TV is off and his head hits the pillow, he is out.
He doesn't like to share a drink with anyone. If anyone (besides me) takes a drink, he won't drink it anymore.
He rinses dishes (or doesn't rinse them) and sets them on the counter...not in the sink. Drives me crazy...Just put them in the sink Babe.
If he can't find something, he stops everything until he finds it. Even if we are going to be late somewhere and he doesn't need whatever it is, he has to find it.

Charlee's Hair

This girl and the things she gets caught in her hair...

Last week I thought she woke up with gum in her hair. I was wondering how the heck she got gum; then I realized it was silly putty...Just as hard to get out:

Two days ago she got a comb so tangled in her hair I didn't think I was going to be able to get it out. It took a good 15 mins of hard labor to get that thing out.

She suffered minimal hair loss:

I seriously can't believe this girl has any hair left.

Silly Sydnee

Sydnee said our family prayer the other night, and she said something that was pretty cute...

"Please bless Santa and his reindeer that they will be ready, so they can give presents to the world." I had to smile to myself and be thankful that she didn't just ask for the presents for herself...she wanted the whole world to get some. ;)

Sydnee also came home from school with a Christmas card yesterday. She told me a boy in her class gave it to her. She said, "He doesn't like me, but he gave me a card anyway, cause he gave the whole class one."

"Why do you say he doesn't like you?" I asked

"Because he is always staring at me. When we are supposed to be working, I look at him and he is staring at me, so I look away and he keeps staring. I don't know why he always stares at me."

Hmmm sounds like he doesn't like her to me. ;)

12 Days of Christmas

Since I am a good sport...and I'm being extra lazy today, I am doing this tag. What better way to spend my time than avoiding things that really need to get done?

1 Embarrassing moment: I was chocking at the movie theater, and while I was trying to cough the stupid piece of candy out of my throat......I farted. Yeah, it sucked. As soon as the movie was over, I put my hood up and dashed to the exit.
2 Best Friends: Justin and my sisters.
3 Things I buy regularly: milk, diapers, and paper.
4 Places I want to go: Egypt, Europe, Seattle, and the Galapagos Islands.
5 goals for the upcoming year: Stay mentally healthy until Oct., reunite with my husband, gain more patience, not be so lazy, and keep losing weight.
6 things people don't know about me: hmm I hate seeing people kiss babies on the lips, I love the smell of dust coming in through the vents when driving on a dirt road, I really am a nice person (I know...a lot of people don't realize this ;), I can't sing at all (ok most people probably know that), I want to go sky-diving, and I wish I was Judge Judy.
7 things i would never say: I'm sorry, I was wrong, this is my husband's other wife (hahaha), I can dance, I want to have more children, Michael Jordan is not the best bball player of all time. Ok on a serious note, I'd never say, "I don't believe Jesus Christ is my savior and redeemer."
8 things i love about christmas: The lights, the spirit, family, homemade Christmas candies, shopping for my girls, watching my girls open presents, Christmas Eve traditions, and reflecting on the Earth's Greatest Gift: the Savior.
9 things i say to my kids: Knock it off, I've already told you 5 times, Please listen to me, NO!, clean your room, Where are your shoes?, be nice to your sister, stop whining, and I love you.
10 things i do a lot: procrastinate, laundry, pray, make threats to my girls, forget things, go to the store because I forgot something, eat, watch tv, clean up messes, miss Justin.
11 things i would rather not live without: Justin, Sydnee, Charlee, Justee, computer, tv, camera, the gospel, friends, pets, and laughter.
12 people i tag: I want to invite anyone who would rather waste time doing a tag, than do something constructive, to do this tag. :)

Time's almost up..

The chance to win one of the coolest puzzles ever is drawing to a close. There is still time though, and since Vicki has had over 50 entries, she will be randomly picking 3 lucky people to get the puzzle of their choice. Please click here for your chance to win. Don't be shy, and just think, even if you don't have kids or kids the right age for these, they would make a great gift!

Birthday Wishes

Today is my sister Vicki's birthday, and I wanted to wish her a happy bday. I don't have my baby book here at my house, so I can't pull out any old pics of her. I have also noticed that there really aren't any pics of me and my sisters or brothers together as adults (probably because my sisters and I have never been fans of the "other side" of the camera, maybe we get that from our dad. ;)
Since I don't have fun pics of Vicki to share, I thought I'd share some stories...
Vicki has always been really creative. I remember her telling me that she could do magic. She would tell me that if I found rocks that were about the same size and shape of m&m's, she could turn them into real m&m's. I would bring rocks to her, and she would do some fancy magic chant and...presto! There would be an m&m in her hand. I would get the m&m's, but she was very picky about the rocks that would work. I spent a lot of time looking for rocks...I think that was the point. ;)
I also loved sleeping on the tramp with Vicki because she would make up a lot of fun games to play. She would sleep in between Rob and I, and hold her hands up. She would ask a question and The first one to push her hand down got to answer. (This must have been the way I got to be smarter than Rob. haha jk) I remember one question was, "What is the opposite of a tree?" ...The answer was "bush."
Vicki was also creative with her ways of torturing me...
I remember her and Rob tying me to a chair with jump-ropes and locking me in the room under the stairs. Then she would tell me some scary story and run upstairs. ...Don't try to deny this Vic, it happened...more than once.
I could go on and on, but I better save some for next year. :)
Vicki is very talented, smart, and motivated. If she wants to do something, she figures out a way to get it done. Another thing I admire about Vicki is that she is honest and sincere. She says what she thinks, and you know that if she gives you a compliment, she means it.
I love ya Vic, happy birthday!

We miss him so much that we...

made a clone...

Today was a perfect day to play outside. After breakfast I bundled the girls up and we headed out to play in the snow. I am not a fan of the snow, and I really hate dealing with the wet clothes and wet floors that the snow creates in my house. One thing I do enjoy, is making things with the snow. I love to build snowmen and forts and stuff, and the snow was nice and wet today...perfect for building a Snow-Justin!

Sydnee was very excited about the idea and once we got the arms on she said, "Ah, it looks like he is trying to give us a hug." Then she went right over and hugged it....very sweet.

before the shirt: (I should've put some grass on his chest for hair. hehe)

I must've been great at getting the size of our snowman's chest about right, cause the buttons on the shirt fit just right. All-in-all it resembles Justin, don't you think? ;)
Hugs for everyone...

The girls had fun making snow-angels:

Justee's attempt:
We had a great time and later today we are going to make caramels, yum!

Last night I got my porch decorations all up:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..

This is what I woke up to this morning...

...about 6 inches of snow to shovel...How fun! (hint of sarcasm)

While Justin was home I wanted to get in one last family picture to hold us over for a while. Justin absolutely hates family pics and says it is because I get too stressed...I blame him for the stress because he makes a big deal out of a quick picture. (It's like which came first, the chicken or the egg? ;)

So, I promised it would be quick...and it was. A few quick flashes with the timer set and we were done. Not too painful for anyone. Justee even had fun smiling at the camera. I couldn't believe she cooperated without having someone to get her attention.

I wanted to get some pics of Justin with the girls, but Justee wouldn't let me put her down, So Justin decided to take some of me and the girls.

Sydnee was telling Justin about school one day and she wanted to know what our first-grade teacher's names were. She came into the kitchen and asked me. I told her, "Miss Baker." Sydnee ran into the living room and said, "Daddy, Mom's first-grade teacher was Miss Cooker!"

While Justin was home, he managed to teach Justee something. She now lets you know that she has "Dropped a deuce." I guess it is pretty funny to hear her say, "Dop deuce."

I got Justin's new address today. If anyone is interested in having it, please email me and I will send it to you. My email is terijill@yahoo.com. :)

Time flew by

Having Justin home was wonderful. We made the most of every second we had him with us. I had forgotten what it was like to have someone else to change diapers and get the girls whatever they were asking for...but I adjusted quickly. ;)

On Wed. we just hung out at home. Sydnee wouldn't give Justin a break; she was constantly saying she was bored and wanted to play a game with Daddy. If Justin thought we was going to get to come home and just relax, he was sorely mistaken. The girls kept him very busy. :)

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner at home with just the five of us. We still have tons of leftovers...little girls don't eat much. I am so thankful that Justin got to be home with us for Thanksgiving. He will be home before next year's Thanksgiving too, so he won't have to miss one; that is something to be truly thankful for.

Justin and I had the opportunity to go do a little Christmas shopping on Friday. We got a babysitter and got a small fraction of our shopping done. We took a break from shopping and went to Twilight together.

On Sat. we put up our Christmas tree. Justin wanted to be able to help, and I needed him to help because our 12 ft. tree is not easy to put up. The girls were very excited to start decorating it. They had to be patient though, because it took me a long time to shape the big tree. Cash (our cat) was very excited to start taking down the ornaments. He was climbing the tree and knocking stuff off; we had to lock the pest downstairs. We finally got it finished and relaxed the rest of the evening. We watched some Christmas movies and enjoyed our Christmas decorations.

Cash finally got tired after playing in the tree all day:

The finished tree:Tada!Saying goodbye on Sun. wasn't any fun, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I think that saying goodbye isn't the worst part, it's the coming home and dealing with everyday life without him that is rough. The whole thing was made easier by my friend Renae. She and her husband Keith came up on Sunday, drove with us to Cheyenne, and stayed with me until Mon. night. Renae always finds time for me and I really appreciate that. She and Keith were very patient with my kids (and dumb cat and dog) (and yes, Renae was patient with kids, amazing but true.) They will make great parents someday...hopefully someday soon. ;)

We already miss Justin again, but I know this will all be over soon (not soon enough...but soon.)

Contest!

My sister is giving away a free Puzzlekins just in time for Christmas. All you have to do to get a chance to win one, is spread the word... post a link on your blog, facebook, or anything else you can come up with; then go to Vicki's blog and post a comment about how you passed along the message.

That's all you have to do and she will randomly pick someone who left a comment on her blog to win the puzzle of their choice.

...A house or a pirate ship...

These puzzles are really great and kids love em! :)

So Funny!

I was watching the Amazing Race last Sun. when I saw this little incident. I was laughing out loud at this poor guy. Hilarious i tell you.

Highs and Lows

There has been a lot going on in the past couple of hours...
First Justin's flight was supposed to land in Cheyenne around 10pm, then it got moved back to 1am. If that wasn't bad enough, I got an email informing me that the new plan was for the soldiers to spend the night in Reno and come to Cheyenne on Wednesday!!! I was beyond upset and I still don't understand why the Air Force would take the Nevada guys home first when Cheyenne is closer.
After tons of stress, aggravation, and (I'll admit) a few tears, things turned out ok. Justin, and a bunch of other men, got commercial flights into Denver. The only downside is that they have to pay out of their pockets for the flight, but I feel like it is well worth it. I will see Justin in less than 4 hours!!! :)
(The girls have to wait until tomorrow morning, because we got a hotel for tonight.)

Tomorrow!

I can finally say that I will get to see Justin tomorrow!

I'm trying to stay busy and there is plenty that I could be doing, but I can't seem to stay focused.
Today is going to be a long one. ;)

Dancing makes cleaning more fun!

I started up itunes on my computer so I could enjoy some music while I tackled our office. The office is definitely our catch-all room. Plus, it has all of Justin's papers and stuff from work and military, and I never know what is important and what isn't, so I don't dare move anything let alone throw anything away...and of course, he doesn't put things away. ;)
Anyway, it was full of clutter and needed an overhaul.
The music was pretty loud and it didn't take Justee more than 10 seconds to come running. She immediately started dancing. Sydnee followed shortly after Justee, and then Charlee came and joined the dancing party. We had fun dancing and I didn't get much cleaned for a while, but eventually I got it done.


This evening I got a babysitter and went shopping and then met some friends for dinner. It was a lot of fun. I even got the girls some Christmas dresses on sale for 50% off!

Who I thought he looked like...

The first time I saw the guy in my previous post, he had a scowl on his face and he was marching through the gym...I seriously thought it was none other than Mr. Haugenoe. I'm so glad you saw it too Tashie!
After I saw him a few more times, and he was smiling and I got a better look at him, I thought he looked like Bruce Morrison.
There was always someone else that I thought he kinda looked like too, and I just couldn't put my finger on it...I think most of you may be right and he kinda looks like Ottis, but I'm still not sure if that is who I am thinking. It might just be because I see a combination of Bruce and Doug Haugenoe. I can see Ottis a little, but I think my mom and Kristy nailed it with Bruce...it's in the smile. :)


I found this pic online. It's better quality than my phone pic, so I thought I'd throw it in. If anyone has a pic of Bruce, I'd love to be able to post it on here. ;)
*Justin thought Bruce.

Another Look-a-like...

(This really only works for people from Lovell)
I saw this guy a few weeks back and thought he looked like someone I knew...Then I saw him again and thought he looked like someone else I knew. Anyway, before I disclose who he reminds me of, I was wondering if anyone else would see it without me pointing it out.
So...who do you think he looks like??? P.S. I took this pic on my cell and sent it to Justin. He replied with the name of the person I thought he looked like. Great minds think alike. ;)

* 4 more days

Two Thumbs Up

I have seen the movie Twilight and I just wanted to say that I give it 2 thumbs up. Movies are never as good as the book they are based on, but I really enjoyed it. I don't want to give a full critique because personally, I would prefer to just see it for myself before hearing all about what someone else thought. So there you go...both thumbs are up. :)





*5 days until Justin is home.

The Simple Things

I was in the laundry room, doing the never ending cycle of laundry. After I cleaned out the lint catcher, the light hit the dust that went in the air. Justee was in awe...she kept saying, "Bubbles! Bubbles!"
She was entertained by the "bubbles" for quite a while. She kept trying to catch them.
I remember doing the same thing when I was little. It's fun to see the world through a child's eyes again.

*6 days left