So, Christmas was so good! We had such an awesome time with family! Teagyn was a riot unwrapping gifts! He was really in to it! Gavyn just couldn't wait to rip into them Christmas morning! He came running into our room shouting, "Santa was her, Santa was here". It was so cute! We finally had to go in and wake up Teague b/c Gavyn just could not take the suspense! Santa brought them both couches (the ones in the pics) the boys LOVE them!

There was a cadbury egg in Teagyn's stocking and he insisted on eating it! It was Christmas, I let it slide! ;)

Gavyn and Soraya, kissing. So CUTE!

Like our family picture?!? I am sure that they were a little overwhelmed, and this proves it, lol!


Last but not least this pic is a little blurry, but that is our back yard....flooded. Yes it cam into the basement, AGAIN!! UGH! It was not so bad this time as the last but still a mess. Last time I went and bought totes for all of our "things" ie. JUNK. Anyways it is done. Tim had to go and rent a pump that is sitting in the back of his truck in that pic. That actually was the 2nd one he rented! $150 later! Not a fun day! Then I went out to my Jeep to run to the store on Sunday and oh, it wouldn't start! The battery was dead! Not chargeable, dead~another $100. What an expensive weekend!
Hope you guys have a Happy New Year! We are going to a hotel with friends and the kids. Swimming, the boys are very excited! Drive safe! ;)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This week is not my ideal week leading up to Christmas this is my 3 in a row week at work! Tim will be all by himself tomorrow night putting out the cookies and milk with Gavyn & Teague! :( I am bummed, but I do have an entire week off after that! Tonight was so S-L-O-W at work! That makes for a very long shift and I am sure that tomorrow will be about the same. Oh well it is holiday pay, lol!

So the presents are all wrapped and waiting -downstairs, hidden! Gavyn and Teague wouldn't leave them alone so I took most of them and put them out of sight! My presents are normally done with perfection! I did not embellish them this year. 1 for lac of time, and 2 Teagyn would have just ripped them all off. Bottom line is it is all done! I cannot wait to see their little faces Christmas morning! That is when all of the hard work of shopping pays off.

It is my hope that each of you have a wonderful Christmas! Remember the true reason, our Lord and Savior's birthday! Cherish your loves ones and have a wonderful time spending it with your family!

Merry Christmas!

Let it snow...

OMGosh, I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of snow outside of my windows! Wow, this is by far the most snow at one time I think I can ever remember! I do love the look but he driving is about at a stand still for me! I am supposed to work tomorrow! YIKES! I was supposed to have a class @ the hospital, @ 7:30, not going to that! I will see about work! It all depends on the plow trucks! They have not even plowed our road since Friday!! It is virtually impassable right now! Tim just left the house to go out for his second round of plowing for the night! He called me sitting in the driveway, I was already watching him out the kitchen window! He was hesitant as to whether of not he should try to drive thru the 4 feet of snow in our driveway! He made it! At least tonight he was able to lay down and get a few hours of sleep after we got the boys in bed! But he was gone again by 11:30!

Last night we finally got to get out, just the two of us! It was so nice! I cannot remember the last time. It has been months! We went to Grandville. Red Lobster for dinner! Mmmm. It was delicious! And so was my cranberry and vodka! I don't drink very often, but I had been craving that drink for awhile! Then we went off to finish up the last few things for Christmas! It was FUN, just the two of us. No getting after the kids, or them screaming at the dinner table or saying "sit down" (this is our most famous line with Teagyn right now) just a peaceful dinner! Ahhh! The stressors that come along with this time of year just melted away! I have the best husband ever! ;)

So here a few pics. The one of the snowman is the one I said I was too lazy to post last week! So no...we have not been out in this blizzard building snowmen! :)

Teagyn taking a piggy back ride on Daddy when he got home from work!

Look at that belly! He cracks me up! He is carrying his "Kuck". And it says "kak, kak, kak"!

Loveys for Daddy! So precious!

Good luck to you getting all of the Christmas wrapping done! :) I finished up the last of mine tonight! Yeah! If you go out...Please drive safe! Hope you have a great week! Merry Christmas!

I just have to say....

Shout it out, actually! I am DONE with my classes! Yeah!!!!! I went today to take my last final exam! What a wonderful feeling! I have the next few weeks to just enjoy Christmas! And be with all of my boys! And family! I love the thought of that! NO homework or deadlines! For a whole month! And then they are just online classes for winter semester, so I can at least be home.

I just had to share my excitement with you! ;) I have pics to post, am feeling far to lazy to upload! Maybe tomorrow! C-ya soon!

The flu has struck!

So last Friday I came down with it. Teagyn started with the diarrhea on Wednesday! Gavyn started vomiting last night! I was at work, poor Tim had his hands full!! Gavyn called me at work to tell me that he was sick! It was so heart breaking! I wanted to come home so bad! But, Tim assured me that he had things under control! So I stuck it out! I got a prescription for the miracle "Magic butt cream" for Teagyn. He has such sensitive skin anyway and this has made his poor little bum just terrible! I feel so sorry for them! It is heart breaking when there isn't anything you can do make them better! That is what Mom's are supposed to do, right!?

I had taken today off from work for a family Christmas party in Hastings. Needless to say we are not going to that! I am bummed! I was so looking forward to seeing the Meek side of my family! What do you do! Teagyn is still not 100%, better but not himself! Gavyn is 100% better! He must have just had a 12 hour thing! I hope this is it for flu season for us! If Tim can get through this without getting it, it will be a miracle! :)

Today has turned into a day to get caught up on things around the house! Cleaning, hopefully I can get some presents wrapped and get Teagyn's blanket done. I bought fleece and am making the blankets that tie all the way around! Gavyn's turned out really good. I started and finished his all in one night, maybe about an hour and a half! I thought it would take much longer than that! This morning the boys and I worked on a project for the grandparents for their Christmas presents! (Can't tell you yet- my Mom will be reading this) ;)

I cannot believe that Christmas is only 12 days away! Wow! How time flys! Hope that your families can keep this flu bug at bay! Have a great weekend!

Amazing....

The little boy on this video is truly amazing! This time of year is always hard for me, and my whole family. Losing my brother, saying that final goodbye, is the hardest thing I have ever done. Hearing this today reminds that God had a purpose for Kris!

I just had to share it!

Birthday Fun, and LOTS of pics!!!

I am finally sitting down to post some pics! I worked tonight until 10, went and got groceries! And I am still not tired~ wouldn't have anything to do with all that Diet Coke, would it? I can hear the sleet hitting the window right now! The roads were pretty bad when I was driving home! My poor husband is exhausted! He went out to plow at @ 2:15 in the morning came home around 6:45 this morning, changed clothes and trucks, went to work all day. Picked up the boys from Julie's, and had to go plow all of his driveways! I don't think they got home until after 7 tonight! With the way it is coming down, I am sure he will be getting up in a few hours to go back out! Good money for him, but it is wearing!

So anyways, Gavyn had fun at his party!

Grammy (my Mom) got him a new bike! All he keeps talking about is going to Yogi and bringing his bike this next summer! He is going to have a blast camping this year! He loves it Mom!

Here is MY Christmas present! ;)

Wait.... Are they actually playing together??? LOL!

Gavyn blowing out his candles. I made him this "construction cake! it turned out awesome! He loved it!

Before Gavyn's party, Tim and Gav went out to play in the snow! A little while later I hear this tiny knock at the front door! It was Gavyn. "Mom put your snow pants on and come outside to take a ride with me!". It was so cute! How could I resist that sweet little face! To be honest! I had a blast! We all did Tim towed the two of us behind the golf cart! The dogs ran along! Teagyn was sleeping. He always misses all of the fun when he sleeps ;).

For those of you who had asked, Yes! We did finally get the tree up Sunday morning! It looks beautiful! Both of the boys woke up this morning in amazement! I just love to see their precious little faces so full of joy and excitement over so many different things this time of year! I am so truly blessed! I love this time of year, and I LOVE my life!

A weekend, not as planned!!!!

So this weekend turned out good but defiantly did not go as planned!! We were planning to go get/cut down our Christmas tree, get it all beautiful and decorated on Saturday. Have Gavyn's birthday party on Sunday. i had SO much to get done for the weekend and had class on Monday, and work 11-11 Tues, Wed, and Thurs. That left little to no time to get the Christmas decorations out, check for working lights :) and get the house cleaned up. All of this.... and I woke up with the flu Friday morning! Ahhh. I knew it! I helped take care of an elderly gentlemen on Wed night. He was with us for about 7 hrs. I was in and out of his room, he was such a kind man and did not have any kids, his wife had passed away! I just took extra special care of him. I should have worn a mask in there but you get busy and caught up.... you know! I cannot say for sure but a good chance that is where I got it! So instead of getting started on all of my "plans" I slept all day!!1 And I went to bed @ 9:30 Friday night! Saturday I woke up some what better but not 100%. So I mustered it up and went with the boys to get a tree! As the day went on I felt a lot better. Today we did have Gavyn's party! It was nice, we had pizza, an awesome cake (if I do say so myself- I'll post pics later) and ice cream. All was going well and then Tim said that his tummy was hurting! Oh, NO! I hope to God that he does not get this!!! I have to say. For one, it was terrible stomach cramps and body aches! For two, like most men I think, he is such a baby when he gets sick! :) I have a busy week ahead of me more work and my next to LAST (YEAHHHH) class for this semester!

Speaking of which, I have homework to get started on! I had better go! I will post the Birthday pics later! Hope you had a great weekend! ;)

What a busy~ but good weekend!

Where do I start? Thanksgiving was awesome! We had both of my parents, Grandma, brother, Mother and sister in law over for Thanksgiving dinner! It was so nice to have everyone under the same roof! ;) We ate talked and laughed! I had to work 5-11. So had plenty of time to enjoy it! Tim left around 6 to go out west on his hunting trip! My Mom took the boys home with her, to spend the night. That left me all alone after work! YIKES! I have not stayed alone in years! I was not scared per say. Just much more aware of the sounds coming from the basement, if you know what I mean! Normally you don't think twice about those 'normal' sounds. Every time I think I would drift off, I would hear something and POP! My eyes would open right back up! I even got on line and did some cyber shopping for awhile when I got home! I think it had to have been well after 1 before I fell asleep. I had plans to be at Heidi's to pick her up @ 4:30 for some Black Friday shopping. I woke up at 4:25. I called her, said just go, I would catch up with her. I got to the store around 5. It was a MADHOUSE!!!! I was thinking to myself, what on earth was I thinking?! But, no kids no husband just a morning to spend with Heidi. That is very rare for us. So we shopped until our hearts were content! I didn't get home until almost 11! I got so much done! And saved sooo much $! You might hate me but, I am nearly done! An Xbox game for my brother and a gift for my Dad and I am done! Can U believe it? I am proud! I am always the one out shopping just days before Christmas every year. Now I have 3 whole weeks to wrap!

After that I came home and packed up some stuff, headed to Hastings to my Mom's to see my Birthday boy! Gavyn turned 3 on Friday! I cannot believe it! My mom, Grandma, and brother all went to Pizza Hut to have a "Pizza Party" for Gavyn's birthday. I really didn't think that he would/could comprehend that he had not had a birthday party (we are having it this coming weekend). So when I got to my mom's and he asked me where his cake was :( I felt so bad! We spent the night with my Mom and came back late morning on Saturday because I had a girl coming over to have her highlighted.
Sunday, I was really brave and took both boys to church by myself! I was pleasantly surprised at how well it went! Gavyn loves his new Sunday school class! He is in with the "big" kids now. Teagyn is going through this whole separation anxiety thing! UGH! I cannot even take a step away from him without him crying and saying, "Mama, Mama"! Luckily one of my friends was in the nursery and HELD him the whole time! After Church we went all over creation. I had a few gifts to pick up that I had ordered on line! Wish I could share what I got for Tim, but he reads this blog from time to time :( I'll just say that he is going to be blown away! My mother in law and Soraya came over to play for awhile on Sunday afternoon, then we went to my girlfriends daughter's birthday party!

This morning I had anticipated waking up to Tim being home. Nope! I was starting to get nervous, until he finally called @ 7:30 this am and told me that he was STILL in South Dakota! Ahhh~ that was not what I wanted to hear! We are all so ready for Daddy to be home! This is the longest time that Tim and I have ever spent apart! They had car trouble and had to stay an extra night to wait for the tire shop to open up. So now he will be home tonight, but has to drive on these terrible roads, it makes me so nervous! Prayers, please :)

I had my next to last class today for this semester! I am so ready for this semester to be done!!! And to have a nice month long break! Both of my Winter semester classes are on line! THAT makes me so happy! No more driving to Muskegon in this crappy weather! Every semester is one step closer. I have to keep reminding myself of this! Some days I really question if this is the right thing for me to be doing. Working full time and taking classes for my RN!? It is alot to say the very least! But you know! It works! I don't have any idea how- but it does! I know that when I am done I will be so thankful that I stuck it out! I am very excited to work as a nurse in the Emergency! I love the hospital that I work at! It is such a blessing in my life! The people, the rush, the unexpected, the unknown- it all makes for a very exciting career! And to know that I am guaranteed a job when I finish with school is very cool! So one day at a time (as Tim reminds me almost daily), one semester at a time! I CAN do this!

Okay end of book! Here are a few pic's! Gavyn and his remote controlled quad! This is ALL that he wanted! Tim is teaching him how to drive it.

My Dad with Teague on Thanksgiving.

Teagyn, Tim, and my Grandma.

Hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I have so much to be Thankful for! It is indescribable!

What I am....

.....thankful for! So many things! God has blessed be in so many ways! I could never list them all but, here are a few.

My faith
my wonderful, supportive, and loving husband
my dear sweet loving, cuddle bug Teagyn
my run wild child, heart of gold Gavyn
my job- an amazing opportunity
the opportunity to go back to school
our loving home, and all of the hard work that Tim put into building it
my family
the chance to have known my brother for 23 years
my mother in law and sister in law
my niece Soraya- she is such a blessing in all of our lives!
Heidi- my rock!
our dogs :)
my Mom and Dad, I would never be where I am at today without their guidance
COFFEE
my 4 wheel drive in the winter months of Michigan
a warm shower every morning
Ridgepoint/Jim Liske
that Christmas is right around the corner
to hear Gavyn sing 'Jesus loves me' - those little words coming out of his mouth are a priceless
the power of prayer & Gods constant presence in me

I could go on... but I need to get out the door for work! ;)
I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and enjoy every minute you have with your loved ones!

Too busy.....

Too busy to even post! Presents to wrap! Food to prepare for Thanksgiving! Get Tim ready to go out west! Work! I am tired even thinking about it all! Gavyn's 3rd birthday is Friday! I CANNOT believe my baby is going to be three! We are having both of our families here for Thanksgiving dinner, I am very excited for this! :) Tim is leaving Thanksgiving night for his annual pheasant hunting trip! So needless to say I had better get work rather than on this computer! Here are the boys! Teagyn got a "big boy" haircut yesterday (in the 2nd picture)! He looks so much older! Love these guys so very much!

I hope that you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving, if I am not back before then!

Another day to play in the snow...

The only reason I am blogging again is b/c I sat down last night and did 2weeks worth of homework!!! I was pretty impressed with myself. Gavyn and I even got the house all decorated for Christmas this morning! I love it! I love this time of year! It reminds me to be thankful for all of the blessings that I have in my life! And, Guess what? I finally finished up with my Math class! Yeah, I passed my test! One less thing to do! I am all about that! Teagyn had a low grade fever this morning....I think it may be teeth. I hope! None the less I thought some fresh air would do us all some good!

So went outside to play! Teagyn even came out to play with us! He had a bunch of fun, we all did! Last year at this time Teagyn was only about 3 months old. So this morning was his first real experience with snow!

Gavyn wanted to take Teagyn for a ride in the sled! Teagyn loved it. I love this picture they are both laughing so hard, b/c Gavyn fell down!

Hope you have a wonderful week!

The first snow of the year...

Gavyn could not believe his eyes when he woke up this morning! He is going to have SOOO much fun this winter! Max and Charlie sounded like a herd of elephants running in the back yard this morning! I think that they were just as excited as Gav! Teagyn was taking a nap- so he missed out on all of the fun :(

Hope you too enjoyed the new scenery!

Cuddles....

This weekend was a beautiful snowy weekend! The boys were both so excited by the big fluffy snow that fell today! Today was an awesome day for us! We went to church this morning- which by the way was an amazing service- and then we went to my mother in laws for dinner with the family! The whole weekend was relaxing and cuddley, is that a word? :) Any way both of these boys have their Daddy wrapped right around their fingers! They will BOTH cuddle with him! Me? Very rarely! How is that? We are the ones who bore them for 10 months! LOL! Gavyn brought out his comforter Sat. night and even both the boys cuddled on the floor together, in between giggles!

I have been contemplating putting up our Christmas decorations this week! I am only hesitant b/c we are hosting Thanksgiving (for both sides of our family's) at our house this year. We will see if I get time! I cannot wait! Tim and I both love this time of year, the decorations, tree, etc! I hope you all have a wonderful week! God Bless!

It is FINALLY Friday!

Hmmm. I am extremely glad that it is the weekend! I have had the longest week! To say the very least! Busy, emotionally draining, hectic- you name it! Today I had my mind set to get up and just try to enjoy the day with the boys! I waited to take a shower (not that I am ever ready really early by any means unless I have to go to work) and just played in the boys' rooms for about an hour! I have been feeling so stressed out that I have not taken any time just enjoy them in quite a few days! So we played and danced- to Itsy bitsy spider, none the less. Woo hoo!
Then we went to McD's for lunch with my friend Heidi and her daughter Jayci! It felt so good to just take the morning and just enjoy what I do have!

And then..... we went grocery shopping!!! AHHH! Seriously, I get so stressed out taking the boys to the store to get groceries! Really it is just Gav (I feel terrible saying that). Teagyn will just sit nice and suck on a sucker, even if it takes me an hour, he is just so patient. Not Gavyn he is running around like a freaking mad man! Talking in a much louder voice than I think appropriate for a grocery store- or anywhere for that matter! Then to top it off I walked away from the cart to grab something off the shelf, mind you a foot away, and Gavyn decides he is going to push Teagyn! He pinched his fingers in between the cart and a fire extinguisher that was on the post in the isle way! The tears came before the heart wrenching cry did, it hurt him so bad! Ugh! It just spiraled downward from there! I just wanted to get out of there! I almost always go and get groceries after I get out of work, but this week I was just not in the mood! It is pretty sad that I would rather go @ 11:30 at night than have to take them along! Whatever! Note to self.... ALWAYS go after work, no matter what my mood is!

We have a pretty blank slate for the weekend! I am good with that! Just to relax, and get some much needed home work done!

I have no pics to post b/c I have not even been in the mood to take any pictures! So maybe this weekend I can work on that!

Hope you have a good weekend! It sounds like it may be a somewhat snowy one! Needless to say- I will NOT be driving anywhere! ;)

Yummy brownies....

Today didn't go as planned. No church this morning. Teagyn has got yet another cold! Actually I am not sure if it is just his teeth and then his resportory problems on top of that!? When ever he gets a cold/runny nose~ out comes the nebulizer! So last night he was laying in bed having another coughing spasm! I went in and gave him a neb and that seemed to help alot! It usually only kicks in at night! Poor little guy! So we decided that the nursery would be a good thing today! I was in a baking mood this morning. I had these brownies done and homemade beef stew in the crock pot by 9:30 this morning! Wow- I am motivated today!

So here are the brownies I made today! They are amazing! I have to share the recipe! They are called, Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mallow Bars!

Here is what you need:

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2/3 cup milk, divided
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 jar (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme
1/2 cup PLANTERS Salted Peanuts
6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped

Now to make it:

HEAT oven to 350°F. Mix dry cake mix, butter and 1/3 cup milk until blended; press 2/3 onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Bake 12 to 14 min. or until center is almost set; cool 3 min. Meanwhile, mix peanut butter and remaining milk.
SPREAD peanut butter mixture onto crust; top with small spoonfuls of the marshmallow creme and remaining cake mixture. Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate; press gently into cake mixture.
BAKE 18 min. or just until center is set. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Hope you have a good Sunday!

Superman and shaving cream

So earlier this week I got to Julies to pick the boys up after class and Gavyn is decked out in this Superman costume. He wanted to wear it home, Julie didn't mind. So later with his Superman still on he asked me if he could shave. "My face has pokeys like Daddy's". How could I resist! He is hilarious! I had to pry it off him to put jammie's on! :) He cracks me up!

This is my weekend off and I am loving it! The boys and I went and got some Christmas shopping done this morning. Tim and I cleaned out the garage and got the patio table and chairs put away. We have had a very productive weekend. Tonight Tim was in the mood for Subs-N-More, downtown, so off I went. Any chance to get me out of cooking, I am all about! It was so very good. Teagyn even loved it! Tomorrow is church, and hopefully a nap!! :) I love Sundays!

On a different note. I need to just vent a moment!! Have you ever known someone who seemingly has 2 very different sides to them?? I am just irked by this one that I know.... it is just beyond me how someone can lead this self proclaimed "christian life", be a very decent person at times, turn around, and do very spiteful things- all in one day! I just cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to lead a life like that. I know enough about Christianity to know that acting like, and truly leading, the walk beside Jesus are two very different things! And in the end, will put you in two very different places!!!

Okay I am done "venting" :) Thanks for the ear! I am off to make my boys some ice cream sundaes! Yum!

Here the Trick or Treating pictures! We all had alot of fun! The boys made out like bandits with candy this year!!! That will keep the sugar high going for the next month! LOL!

Tim...posing!

Gavyn and Teagyn were having so much fun in the wagon on the way back!

Teagyn was soooo good, like always (I am so blessed). I asked him if he had fun Trick or Treating on the way home and this is the big smile he gave me!

Here is a video of Teagyn when we put his costume on him for the first time! Hilarious- even Gav is cracking up!!!