The Hubbard Museum in Ruidoso, NM

I have more pictures of these statues. They are really awesome. Some of them look like they are floating. Most of them only have the tip of the hoof on the ground. Anyone know how they do this?



Until next time...

I can't think of a title to do this justice

Please pray for the Anderson family. They are friends of ours and just lost their 4 year old son through cancer. He was diagnosed 3 years ago with stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Practically his whole young life was spent in hospitals. They tried every treatment they could find and still it was his time to go.

I can't imagine losing a child; not after birth anyway. I have had two miscarriages at only a few weeks along. Somehow even though it was the death of a child, it is not the same as having four years of loving and being with someone. He was also their youngest.

If you want to read more about his illness and treatment, maybe send a message to the family you can go to his CarePage here. If you don't have an account it's free to make one. His CarePage is SamuelAndersonCarePage (no spaces just like it is), if the link doesn't work.


Until next time...

driving to Las Cruces

Please excuse the poor quality of the pictures. They were taken from a moving van. The mountains in New Mexico are dynamic. They are so rugged, yet they have a beauty that just stays with you. There is a reason NM is called "The Land of Enchantment".



Until next time...

White Sands National Monument, NM

Enjoying White Sands.

Until next time...

hot air balloon festival in NM

We saw a lot of balloons, but didn't get very many good pictures.


Until next time...

Rainbow over Sacramento Mts, NM

Remember I said I would upload pictures when I had them? Well here ya go.





Until next time...

soon

I just realized today how close it is to the baby coming. I figured out only 3 weeks and 2 days!! And of course, who knows when he/she will decide to come.

Then again...yikes...I need a car seat, more nursing things, newborn diapers...and probably some things I haven't thought of. I need to finish the blanket I planned to make.

Oh my, it really isn't that long. I need to get busy!

Until next time...

when?

Sometimes I wonder where we are going and how long it will take to get there.

But I have to trust that God is in control.

The hardest part is the waiting.




Until next time...

still here

Well, I'm still here...but we don't have internet at home, so I have to squeeze some computer time in at the library.

I am also going to change my blog a little. I've gotten some really strange comments on my blog and I'm seriously considering changing to invitation only. So here's what I need from my readers: let me know if you think that's a good idea and let me know if you want an invitation to read my blog. I'll wait a few days since I know that most of you are busy moms yourselves.

Just so you know, we're still having fun out here in this dry, New Mexico land. People are really nice and the weather is great!

I really hope to get a few pictures on here soon. How many of you have seen White Sands? It's fabulous really.


Until next time...

Hello New Mexico

I really wish I could put some pictures on here of all we have seen since we've been here. But we don't have internet yet, and I'm borrowing a computer at a friend's house. I have some pictures online, but I don't know how to get them over here without downloading to our friend's computer. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get some on here soon.

We're all really enjoying this new location. It's very dry compared to east TN. That was soooo humid! My clothes actually get dry on the clothesline here! lol

The mountains are beautiful. Also so different from the Smokies, but still they have their own beauty.

We've been to White Sands. The kids had a blast there playing in the hills of sand. They were able to borrow some sleds and sled down the hills. It's just like snow; only not cold!

The town is small enough to not get lost (too much), but large enough to meet most of our needs. We will have to travel out of town for buying in bulk like at Sam's Club or Costcos. But the Wal-Mart Supercenter is here and also a small grocery store. We've been shopping there (the grocery store) more because the produce is cheaper and they make fresh tortillas! Last week they were giving out samples. Yum! There's nothing like a warm, fresh tortilla.

So overall, we're having a good time. I'm not going to say we are living a dream; we have our problems. But I am determined to only put the positive on here. Except for the rattlesnakes...and scorpions. But those are just a fact of life around here. So ignore that part. :)

Until next time...

last update for a while probably

This will probably be the last time I post for a while. I know I have gone long stretches before without posting, but this time I don't know for sure when I can.

I may try to update on the way, but it will be on borrowed computers.

Then I don't know how long it will be once we get there to get the internet hooked up again.

So good-bye Tennessee...

...hello New Mexico. :)

Until next time...

multiple blessings in a week

The first one didn't start as a blessing. S.T. got two of his teeth chipped by one of his younger sister's head. On the trampoline. We sold it. (Not because of that, we were selling it anyway).

This happened Monday evening. I called Tuesday and our dentist was able to get us in on Wednesday. I was so glad, because I had already gotten copies of our records for the move. (Can I put in here that I hate to leave good doctors? In this case, dentists). So anyway...

They were able to put a sealant on the tooth so it wouldn't be sensitive and planned to bring us back in Thursday or Friday to put on a temporary crown. (He'll have to get a permanent one when he's in his late teens). They knew we were moving by the end of the week and wanted to get it done. Sealant is on and we wait in the waiting room for dad and the rest of the children to come back from the park. While we are waiting, someone cancels their 2:30 appointment! It was 2:25! We were able to get the crown on that same day and not have to come back! Blessing number one!

Now yesterday we spent the day running a few errands and getting some things on the vehicles ready for the trip. We got home and checked the mail. Our electric bill was in there and it had an over $70 credit on it! What?! We had not paid it yet. Someone paid our bill for us! Since they didn't know the exact amount, they just paid $200 even. And it was obviously more than what we needed. So not only is our bill paid for this last month, it probably will cover most if not all of this part of the month we'll be here. Wow! Blessing number two!

I'm sure I'll find many ways in which the Lord is working through this whole move. Oh, yeah, here's one. We needed to put a transmission cooler on the van. We bought one, took it to the mechanic, and discovered it already had one on it! So we were able to take the cooler back and saved the money we spent on that. I guess that would count as blessing number three!

Well, my fingers are getting tired just writing about all these good things. :)

How has the Lord blessed you this week?


Until next time...

new friends, new adventures

It's funny. We've lived in east TN for 12 years and put off going to some places. It took a visiting family to get us to the Museum of Appalachia.

It's an interesting place to visit. And there is one price for a family with children ages up to 12. (Which we still have until December when our oldest will be 13). Our new friends also have children 12 and under. So we got a great price on admission.

Speaking of our new friends, they are in the picture above (except the dad who took the picture). They have seven children. You can pick them out because all of mine had on teal.

Don't you just love meeting new people and knowing that they will become friends?


Until next time...

Mommy Moments

Ever experience what I'd like to name a "Mommy Moment"? Let me give you an example.

Yesterday was a dental check-up for the five oldest. I take them all because we have other plans for afterward.

As we are leaving the house (with just enough time to get there), unknown to me at the time, A.L. steps in some poop. I find out as I'm getting in the van. The other kids said she had it on her shoe, so I take her shoes, wipe them quickly on the still dew-damp grass, and put them right inside the van doors. At the dentist, I decide to take them in and wash them off in the bathroom (imitation crocs wash easily). So I take A.L. to the potty and while she is busy, wash off her shoes. We go back out to the waiting room and I am still smelling it. Yuck! I check her out and find out that she had left her culottes on under her dress...and...yep...poop on the culottes. Yuck! I quickly take them off and send them out to the van with my oldest son. (I told him to just set them on the step OUTSIDE of the van).

Oh but that isn't the end of this story...oh no...I could still smell it!! So - I checked her dress. *groan* Somehow she had gotten it all over the inside of the ruffle on the bottom of her dress.


(You know how a small child when they are climbing into their car seat will climb up, then twist around to sit down? Well, that little procedure smears anything that is on their shoes all over their clothes. And since I had been in a hurry that morning, I left it to her to get in all on her own. Ha! Last time that happens! Or at least I will check her shoes first).

Ok. Back to the bathroom. I strip her dress off and proceed to wash it out in the bathroom sink. Thankfully they use really strong soap there. It took out the smell, too! As I was washing out the dress (I actually just washed the poopy spots - which ended up being quite a bit) I had to just laugh.

This incident definitely defines what I consider a "Mommy Moment".

So do share...have you had a "Mommy Moment" lately?


Until next time...

"I'm a happy girl"

And indeed she was.

(Breakfast was chocolate and pink swirl waffles).

From her birthday breakfast to her cake at Mamaw's house A.L. had a happy birthday celebration today. Her birthday was actually yesterday, but we waited til today to have cake and stuff. Whenever I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, her answer was always, "Pink". So she got it! Pink waffles, pink cake, and a pink princess. :)

Cake was strawberry cake with strawberry frosting. (Probably the worst cake I've put together...not the taste, that was good...but it's like the leaning tower of cake...lol...oh well, they loved it!)

And she got to keep the princess and horse that we bought for it.


Blowing out the candle with a little help from her little brother. What actually happened was she blew it out before my mom or I had our cameras ready, so we had to relight it. By then A.Z. got the idea to help her out.

All day she kept saying, "I'm a happy girl." She was meaning "the Happy Birthday girl", but we didn't correct her...she was so right! She was happy all day.



Until next time...

Creation Museum day 3

Saturday - back to the museum.

This time we started in the gardens. Very nice.



The sad thing is...my batteries on my camera died and my extras were dead too! So that was the last picture we took at the Creation Museum.

Arrrgggghhh...can you say frustration?!

We also went to their petting zoo. (But, of course, that was AFTER my batteries died). We all liked petting the animals. They have a Zonkey (cross between a zebra and a donkey) and a Zorse (cross between a zebra and a horse), some goats, alpacas, and other little animals.

And we went back into the museum to see another presentation and visit the planetarium again (that was so cool!).

Over all it was a great trip. And since we did get the year family membership, we can go back! And next time we plan to go to the Cincinnati Zoo also. If you didn't know, we're a zoo going family. :)

I hope you enjoyed this little trip to the Creation Museum (we sure did). And again, if you haven't ever been, I really encourage you to try to go. It's worth it!!


Until next time...

Chocolate Friday - Nutella in bulk?!

Have you ever wanted to buy Nutella in bulk?

Oh, yum!

Well now you can! That's right. I found a package of THREE jars of Nutella at Sam's Club.

The only bad thing is that it wasn't a local Sam's. I found it in Cincinnati, OH when we went to the Creation Museum last week. My hubby was so sweet, he bought it for me. (It was only $7.22!!)

Now if they would only stock it around here.



As you can see, I've already opened it up! lol

For more yummy chocolate and recipes visit Lisa at Stop and Smell the Chocolates.


Until next time...

Creation Museum day 2

We spent the night with my brother who lives on the northern side of Cincinnati. (Thanks for putting up with us).

We left his place the next morning and got to the museum again around 11:00. Don't ask me why we got there so late when we were so close this time. I guess since we were so close we were taking our time getting ready.

We went back to the walk through part and picked up where we left off the day before. Wow! So much information!

Watching one of the videos in the walk through.

Riding the Triceratops.

Checking out fossils.

Come back tomorrow for more. Remember we decided to get the year membership and ended up spending 3 days at the museum.


Until next time...

Creation Museum day 1

We left at 6:30 in the morning, Thursday.

Got to the Museum around 11:30. Yes, it took us 5 hours to drive up to northern Kentucky. (We had a 30 minute rest stop on the way).

Bought 2 day passes for the family and found out that for only $11 more we could get a year family pass which includes the planetarium. If you don't have the year membership, the planetarium is extra. We had until the end of the next day to update if we wanted to.

By the end of that day we realized that we would need to update. There just wasn't enough time to see everything!


She was seriously enjoying the toys in the bookstore. :) At one point she had about 20 little stuffed animals on the table. I had taken her to the bathroom and missed going into one of the presentations with everyone else. So we went and enjoyed ourselves in the bookstore. It was nice to spend a little one-on-one time with her. She is so cute!

For lunch we ate some food we had brought from home. (If you go and you are on a budget, I suggest bringing your own lunch. They let you eat in the pavilions out in the gardens. The food in the cafe and grill is kind of expensive).

As we were cleaning up after lunch an Amish couple came over and started talking to us. They were very nice and we learned a few things we didn't know before. There were several plain groups there in the three days we went. I guess it's a nice attraction for them.

The building is really nice.

The main walk through in the museum is soooo full of information, that we had to come back the next day and finish it. They recommend you take 2-3 hours for that part. It winds its way from the top floor down to the lower level. They have another little cafe down there too. My husband did buy a cappuccino at that one(yuck - sorry all you coffee and similar drink lovers out there - I can't stand the stuff).

The Palm Tree Cafe where hubby bought his cappuccino. Very nice. (The decor, not the drink).

More later.


Until next time...

Creation Museum visited

Back from the Creation Museum. If you've never been, I HIGHLY recommend it!

Got to meet Ken Ham.


(Now you know why I don't usually take full length photos of me).

Anyway, more later. It's soooooo humid here. I'm sticky and just want to sit in front of a fan.

Until next time...

being thankful

Today I was pondering on some things that have been happening lately. I was faced with a choice. Be thankful or complain. Since the children of Israel were severely punished for murmuring and complaining in the desert, I chose to think instead on what I could be thankful for.

My dryer is not blowing hot air. It's not completely broken, just not drying the clothes.

Well, I have five clothes lines outside to hang my clothes on...but...

It's been so humid lately that it takes all day to dry the clothes...so...

I got behind on my laundry...but...

My mom lives about an hour away and graciously allowed me to bring a ton of laundry to her house over the weekend and do it all...so...

I finished my laundry and now only have to put it away...and...

Had a nice visit with my mom (and my girls and youngest son)...and...

Today the humidity was down and the clothes are drying on the line way faster than last week.

ALSO

We are faced with moving...soon.

So. I can either lament or complain, worry and fret.

OR...look forward to what the Lord is going to bring in our life.

There are so many things that we have to decide (the main one being where exactly to go)...but...

Things seem to be falling into place...and...

I look forward to writing a post soon on how everything has worked out...so...

I am choosing NOT to complain or worry about this move.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
- 1 Th 5:18

Until next time...