Blessings and Bargains

Three Cheese Pasta Bake...yummers!

2011-11-08T21:27:00.000-08:00

Yet another amazing Pinterest inspired recipe! Once I found this I knew it was a perfect fall recipe! I made one change to the recipe and I have included it below. Long story short it was a hit with the whole family...kids included! Anytime all 4 kids like a recipe I put it in my "make often" category! Brian's mom is visiting too and loved it as well. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) package penne pasta
10 oz. alfredo sauce (we used Ragu classic alfredo)
10 oz.marinara sauce
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preparation

Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot.
Stir together Alfredo sauce and sour cream; toss with pasta until evenly coated. Spoon half of mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
Stir together ricotta cheese and next 3 ingredients; spread evenly over pasta mixture in baking dish. Spoon remaining pasta mixture evenly over ricotta cheese layer; sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Enjoy!

Time to start blogging again...

2011-11-07T21:49:00.000-08:00

It had been 2 1/2 years since I have blogged and I am thinking I need to start again. Not sure if anyone will read it but it will give me a place to share bits of life, ideas, bargains and all the other stuff in between. Hopefully along the way it will bring a smile to someone's face...most likely grandmas and grandpas!

Happy 9th Birthday Jordan!

2009-05-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my baby boy Jordan....well not such a baby anymore! Where does time go? I can't hardly believe today he is 9. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital....less than 12 hours old....that was my husband's idea...not mine :o) Along with Riley who was only 19 months old. What were we thinking? And here we are 9 years and 2 more children later :o) What a blessing Jordan is to our family! He is such a passionate and kind little boy. Last night I was putting him to bed and gave him his birth story recap. I told him how we knew we were going in to have him and we were so excited. And then I told him how excited we were when he finally arrived. He asked if I cried "tears of happiness" and I told him I did! Then we had a great conversation about God...prompted by him of course. He wanted to talk about how cool and weird it is that God is the same yesterday, today and and forever. How cool is that! We are just so proud of the boy he has become and the man he will become. We are truly blessed! We are celebrating today with our usual birthday breakfast, cookie dough, as picked out by Jordan. I will also take lunch to his school and eat with him in the cafeteria. We went out to dinner last night with the Beeson's because Jordan has baseball practice tonight. And then we will have a friend "paintball" birthday next week at the City Life Community Center. So the celebration will go on! Jordan must take after me because he thinks he should get to celebrate his birthday the whole month of May! Too funny :o)

Brock catching his 1st fish!

2009-04-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

We went fishing at a local pond the other day and Brock caught his first fish! The kids all got to catch one so all in all it was a good fishing day! I also took lots of pictures so I will post those soon!

Kid's say the darndest things...

2009-03-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

So it is obvious I am sure that I am addicted to Facebook and neglect my blog. Not enough time in the day I guess. I did this questionnaire on Facebook and thought I would share it on my blog. It was so much fun to do with the kids and insighful too. If anyone still reads this blog anymore....copy and paste the following and then ask your kids to answer the questions. It is so much fun!

(I decide to try to involve Brock who is only 2...he only lasted a couple questions but he sure was funny!)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"I Love You" Jordan - 8
"I love You" Riley - 10
"Um Please go downstairs because you are too loud" Abby - 6
"Um later and be quiet at the mall" Brock - 2

2. What makes mom happy?
"When I hug you" Jordan - 8
"When we come home and give you a hug and when we surprise you" Riley - 10
"When we do what you say" Abby - 6
"Soap makes mommy happy" Brock - 2

3. What makes mom sad?
"When I yell at you" Jordan - 8
"When we argue with you" Riley - 10
" When Smokey died" Abby - 6
"Bananas make you sad" Brock - 2

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
"When you dance" Jordan - 8
"When you try dancing" Riley - 10
"You tickle us" Abby - 6

5. What was your mom like as a child?
"I don't know" Jordan - 8
"You had short hair, freckles and you smiled all the time" Riley - 10
"You had red hair and you were so pretty" Abby - 6

6. How old is your mom?
"37" Jordan - 8
"37" Riley - 10
"53 no 35" Abby - 6

7. How tall is your mom?
"Like 5 - something" Jordan - 8
"You're 5'11"" Riley - 10
"5 feet maybe" Abby - 6

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
"be with your family" Jordan - 8
"be on facebook" Riley - 10
"have alone time" Abby - 6

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
"clean" Jordan - 8
"be on facebook" Riley - 10
"you work" Abby - 6

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
"singing" Jordan - 8
"being a dancing comedian" Riley - 10
"being a model" Abby - 6

11. What is your mom really good at?
"cartwheels" Jordan - 8
"well you are good at trying to dance" Riley - 10
"you are really good at working" Abby - 6

12. What is your mom not good at?
"finding gold" Jordan - 8
"but you are not really a good dancer" Riley - 10
"Nothing - you are good at everything" Abby - 6

13. What does your mom do for a job?
"stay home and watch kids" Jordan - 8
"stay at home mom" Riley - 10
"You stay home and watch kids" Abby - 6

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
"I'm guessing ice cream" Jordan - 8
"I would have to say diet food" Riley - 10
"Salad" Abby - 6

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
"when you clean up the house" Jordan - 8
"That you try to dance and you never give up" Riley - 10
"when you do stuff so nice" Abby - 6

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"Wanda from Fairly Odd Parents" Jordan - 8
"You would be like Timmy's mom on Fairly Odd Parents" Riley - 10
"Fancy Nancy" Abby - 6

17. What do you and your mom do together?
"go get ice cream" Jordan - 8
"go out to eat and shop" Riley - 10
"go out and eat lunch" Abby - 6

18. How are you and your mom the same?
"we both have hair" Jordan - 8
"we both have good jokes" Riley - 10
"We both have red short hair and blue eyes" Abby - 6

19. How are you and your mom different?
"your a girl and I'm a boy" Jordan - 8
"we have different genders" Riley - 10
"I have baby teeth and you have grown up teeth" Abby - 6

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
"because your my mom" Jordan - 8
"'cause you make snacks for us and you give us hugs when we get home from school" Riley - 10
"You smile at me a lot" Abby - 6

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
"he makes money" Jordan - 8
"he is hysterical" Riley - 10
"he's a really good hunter" Abby - 6

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
"the mall" Jordan - 8
"any clothes store" Riley - 10
"the mall" Abby - 6

My Bargain Barstools!

2009-02-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

I finally found some barstools for our new house. I had been looking but hadn't found anything I liked in our price range. When my MIL was here this last week we did manage to escape the house for a few hours one day and found these at Shopko. I love them! The best part is they were 50% off and the cushions match our furniture perfectly....same color and same fabric. Anyway, I thought I would share a pic. Hopefully the kids will use the bar more now to eat and do projects and not the dining room table. Because of the price, we were able to buy 4 so there will be no fighting over who gets to sit at the bar....yea!

Brock is back!

2009-02-21T21:35:00.000-08:00

We had a welcome visitor, my mother in law and an unwelcome visitor at our house this week, influenza! Yuck! Brian's mom got here on Friday and I was looking forward to spending the week hanging out, maybe shopping and getting a pedi, and definitely getting some decorating tips for our new house. But no....Brock and Abby ended up with the flu. On Saturday, Brock was running a low grade fever but bounced back in the evening and was fine on Sunday. Then Sunday evening, he got the fever again and started coughing. We laid low on Monday and then Tuesday I decided to take him to the doctor. His fever had gone up to 104°....yuck! They tested him for influenza and sure enough he was positive. They said his lungs were crackly and his O2 stats were low so they wanted me to watch him closely and use the nebulizer to help loosen stuff up. Unfortunately by Wednesday after running a high fever combined with throwing up, he got very dehydrated and had labored breathing. The doctor suggested we head to the ER. After 5 hours there, 2 bags of iv fluids, steroids, chest x-rays and a battery of other tests they were advising we stay the night if he didn't perk up. Within 15 monutes of the deadline, Brock sat up in bed and started talking and laughing! Praise God! We were not looking forward to a night in the hospital! We brought him home and the next day the fever finally broke. By Friday, he was finally looking like himself. And today he really had his bright eyes back! We finally got out of the house today....went to McD's and the mall...not too exciting but out none the less. In all of this, Abby got sick as well but not nearly as sick as Brock. She did miss the whole week of school however because we didn't want to share this bug with anyone else! Needless to say, it was a blessing to have Betty, my mother-in-law here this week. She was a great help with the kids....especially when we had to go to the ER. We managed to avoid getting sick as did Riley and Jordan. Jordan had a little fever one day but is was short lived. I will definitely be getting flu shots for the family from here on out. I have always gotten them in years past and didn't this year. After this experience it is just not worth it.

Brock getting his breathing treatments.

What is this thing on my face?

Brock with his bright eyes again.

Big Sky Country!

2009-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

I do not claim to be a photographer by any means but when I was looking out our living room window the other day and saw this I had to try to capture it. I have said on many occasions in the last few months that I feel blessed to call our new house "home". Sometimes, I feel like I am sitting in some mountain lodge somewhere and not just looking out the living room window. Anyway, just thought I would share these beautiful pics!

Abby's new haircut!

2009-02-16T06:24:00.000-08:00

My mother in law came into town for the week and I took her to Abby's school so she could help with the Valentine's party. When we walked into the class of 20+ kids grandma wasn't able to find Abby in the crowd. I kept pointing her out and she kept saying where. It then dawned on me that I hadn't even told her that we cut 10" off of Abby's hair a couple weeks ago. That is why I have this blog...to keep our family and friends updated on the happenings of our life and I haven't been finding the time to do that. I even missed my 1 year blog-iversary on Feb. 14th. That is when I started last year. So with that said I decided to post some pics of Abby's haircut and try to be a little better about updating you on the Moser happenings. About the haircut....I didn't think we were going to go that short but Abby kept asking for it to be short like mine. So we walked into the haircutting place and they mentioned that we could donate it if we cut off 10" and the haircut would be free. You know that sealed the deal for me....I can't pass up a bargain! It is so much easier too and Abby just looks adorable with her new do!

Abby mius 10" of hair and 2 front teeth!

Happy 6th Birthday Abby!

2009-01-13T07:59:00.000-08:00

Can't believe she turns 6 today! Where does time go? This blog is quick because we are running out the door to catch a plane to go to Florida for the week. But I wanted to post a few pics of Abby! She has grown into such a beautiful, sweet little girl! Happy Birthday sweet girl! We are so proud of you! We are excited to see you grow into a Godly woman and see all that God has for you!

Brock opening his new pj's

2008-12-24T22:45:00.000-08:00

A fun look back at 2008!

2008-12-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

The year is almost over...here is a fun look back ♥ 2008

JANUARY

1. Who kissed you on new years?
My husband of course.

2. Did you have a new year's resolution this year?
I always think of all the things I should change and then don't.

3. Does it snow where you live?
YES!! We live in MT now ;o)

4. Do you like hot chocolate?
With lots of whip cream and sprinkles ;o)

5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop?
No...I would rather just watch from my warm living room.

Abby and Gabby at Abby's 5th birthday

FEBRUARY

1. Who was your Valentine?
my husband and my kids

2. When you were little did you buy Valentine's for the whole class?
I think so...can't remember that far back ;o)

3. Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not?
Not really because I think winter lasts a little longer in MT weather he see his shadow or not

The kid's getting ready for our Valentine's dinner

MARCH

1. Are you Irish?
Not sure...but you would think with the red hair

2. Do you wear green every Year on St.Patrick's day?
I try....

3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2008?
Went to Abby's preschool with her and then had Sam D. over for a play date and they went outside to hunt for leprechauns ;o)

4. Are you happy when winter is pretty much over?
I am ready for spring to come and open all of the windows ;o)

5. Something special in march?
Last March was a crazy month...we were selling our house, got an offer, offer fell through, busy with the everyday stuff but we did manage to squeeze in a vacation to Montana and Bri took the kids skiing ;o) We also finishing designing our new house plan and now I am sitting in the house....amazing ;o)

Abby and Sam in their green clothes

APRIL

1. Do you like the rain?
grew up in the rain...Seattle area so sometimes it reminds me of home but for the most part I appreciate a dryer climate

2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year?
My kids played one of me....put a rubber band around the kitchen sprayer and when I turned on the water I got soaked...cute real cute!

3. Do you get tons of candy on Easter?
I give candy and toothbrushes...I figure that balances it out ;o)

4. Do you celebrate 4/20?
Not really but last year I went to Woman of Faith that weekend...what a blast!

5. Do you love the month of april?
I like when it transitions to warmer weather and the flowers start to bloom....we'll see what happens in MT. Last year I took pics in April of the kids picnicking on our lawn in 74 degree weather ;o)

The kids on Easter

MAY

1. What is your favorite flower?
white roses from my husband, gerber daisies on my porch

2. Finish the phrase "April showers...":
brings may flowers or in MT more snow??

3. Do you celebrate May 16th: National Piercing Day?
no piercings here except for my ears. I am sure there are people out there that do celebrate that ;o)

4. Is May anything special to you?
Yep....my Jordie's birthday is in May and Mother's Day of course

Jordan's 8th birthday dinner at Zany's

JUNE

1. Did you do anything fun during this month?
June was a crazy month....we had a going away party, moved to MT, Brock turned 2, and we started the church ;o)

2. Have a favorite baseball team?
Mariners if I had to say, but really whatever little league team my kids are playing on ;o)

3. Who has a birthday in June?
Brockie and my brother Henry

Brock's 2nd Birthday

JULY

1. What did you do on the Fourth of July?
Had a BBQ with the Beeson's and went to bed before the fireworks....like I said June was a very busy month...we were tired ;o)

2. Did you go on any vacations during this month?
I don't think so....still tried to settle into to the new house and new city but Grandma Betty came to see us ;o)

3. Do you blast the A/C all day?
What a/c...no a/c in the rental....blah! We did buy a window unit and used that 24/7!

Jordan with Grandma at Hoagieville eating ice cream

AUGUST

1. Did you do anything special this month?
Went to family camp, the kids started at their new school, did the "Grocery Give" and we prepared for the launch of the new church!

2. Name a birthday in this month:
My mother in law and brother in law

3. Did you have a sunburn?
Probably a little...but it was too hot to be out too long.

4. Did you go to the pool a lot?
A little with the kids.

The kids on their first day of school

SEPTEMBER

1. Are you attending college/school?
No...thank goodness I am done with that and my husband is too ;o)

2. Who was/is your favorite teacher?
Mr. O'Reilly ~ 7th grade math teacher....part of the inspiration for Riley's name.

3. Do you like fall better than summer?
I like both...usually ready for fall after summer.

Riley with his frog he found when we were camping ;o)

OCTOBER

1. What was your favorite Halloween costume?
I of course liked all my kids costumes: Riley as Elvis, Jordan as a clone trooper, Abby as Hannah Montana and Brock as a cow.

2. What is your favorite candy?
Turtles

3. Who's birthday is this month?
My husband and my dad's.

4. What was your favorite thing about this month?
Went home for a visit to see family....Brian's favorite thing was that he got a moose ;o)

Brian with his Canadian one-antlered moose

NOVEMBER

1. Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving?
We had Thanksgiving at Fairmont Hot Springs...a wonderful getaway ;o)

2. What's best about this month?
Spending time being thankful and looking forward to Christmas.

3. What are you thankful for?
So many things...God's grace and unending love, my wonderful husband and children that bless me everyday, my family that loves me unconditionally, my wonderful friends near and far, our new house that is starting to feel like home and Christmas...a time to reflect the son of God who was born so He could eventually die for us and give us new life...what an amazing Gift!

4. Do you love stuffing?
oh yes and my kids like it too...we make traditional stuffing and sweet potatoe stuffing for my husband.

The kids at Fairmont Hot Springs on Thanksgiving break

DECEMBER

1. Do you celebrate Christmas?
Of course....it has such a different, more wonderful meaning now than it did when I was a kid.

2. Do you go to a movie on Christmas day?
We usally do when we are at my parent's house...we will have to see this year.

3. Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe?
Yes...

4. Have you ever gone ice skating?
Yes...not so good. I would like to take the kids to the rink here.

5. What do you want this year?
I just got a brand new house for Christmas....I feel very blessed!

6. Do you like cold weather?
If I am dressed appropriately ;o)

Our Christmas tree and stockings at our new house ;o)

Building another house....a gingerbread house that is!

2008-12-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

We finally carved out a little time to put together our gingerbread house today. I had a bazillion other things I should have been doing but I decided to do this instead ;o) And I am glad I did. The kids and I had a great time. Riley joined us for a little while but then went on to something else....I am afraid he is getting past the age of enjoying things like this. And Brock was taking a nap so it was just Jordan, Abby and I which may be why it was a little more enjoyable...not so many hands trying to help. Brcok woke up at the very end and just admired the house. The kids said they are excited to eat the house after Christmas....we might have to wait and see about that ;o)

The best peanut butter cookies in the world!

2008-12-15T23:11:00.000-08:00

I am not sure where I got this recipe but if you like Peanut Butter cookies this is the best and easiest recipe in the world. I made them the other day for a cookie exchange and put hershey kisses in the middle.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
1 c. Peanut Butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg

Roll into balls, put on cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until done at 350 degrees. Recipe only makes about 1 dozen so I suggest you double or triple the recipe ;o)

A little Christmas cheer!

2008-12-15T22:56:00.000-08:00

We finally got our Christmas tree decorated! I have a priority list for getting this house put together and that didn't make it to the top but I was really missing that Christmas feeling when the house is all decorated. So the kids and I took a little time tonight and decorated the tree and hung the stockings (with care of course.) We even have packages under the tree which I have never done before. I usually like to wait until Christmas day to put out packages. But this year we are staying here for Christmas so we received a package in the mail the other day and the kids wanted to put the presents out. Hopefully Brock will be able to leave them alone for the next week and a half. I might get a little more Christmas stuff out tomorrow if I get some of my other projects done...we'll see.

We moved!!

2008-12-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to let you know we have moved. We started Friday and finished up yesterday. We still have a little bit in storage but the majority is moved in. Of course, we have boxes all over the house and it is a little overwhelming but with a little time we should feel settled. We should hopefully have internet hooked up this week and until then we won't have a home phone, just cell phones...thank goodness for those becuase if you know me I can't be without a phone ;o) I hope to post some new pics when we get all moved in.

Happy late Birthday Jamie B.!!!

2008-12-03T15:48:00.001-08:00

Last week we celebrated my great friend Jamie B's birthday. Her husband planned a 30th birthday with a theme "Jamie's Guide to Style." The inspiration for the theme was Tim Gunn's Guide to Style which Jamie likes to watch. So her husband had us bring her to Dillards where he had set up a grand entrance to the dressing room blocked off with red ropes and all. She was presented with a gift card and we started helping her pick out clothes. In the end, she ended up with some great new outfits and I think she had a great time! She is such an amazing friend and I am so thankful for our friendship....Happy happy Birthday J-Me! I know God has many blessings in store for you in the year to come! Thanks for being such a great friend!

Almost there....hopefully!

2008-12-03T09:15:00.001-08:00

Well, we are on the homestretch or at least that is what I have been told. We still have some little touch up stuff to do this week but we should be moving in soon. The crazy thing is I haven't really started to pack....about 2/3 of our stuff is in storage still packed so that is good but I find it hard to start packing when I don't have an exact date that we are moving...just a weird thing with my personality I guess. Anyway, I took lots of pics of the almost finished house progress so I hope you enjoy. Hopefully, the next pics will be of the house with furniture ;o)

The new house pics I promised ;o)

2008-11-17T20:13:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the new pics of the house...things are moving along so fast. Most of it will be done by next week....crazy! I will be investing in several pairs of rubber boots for the kids to play outside in as we wont have a yard until spring and it is quite muddy ;o)

The entry way that was supposed to be red but I decided to wait and just paint it "Brown Bag" like the rest of the great room.

Brian's office painted "Mountain Elk" same as our master bed and bath.

Guest bathroom with vanity.

Shower Curtain I found at Target to go in guest bath...what do you think??

Cabinets and pantry.

Kitchen with new lights, paint adn cupboards.

Soon to be kitchen island...dishwasher still to come.

Desk and drop zone...

Dining Room

Master Bath vanity

Laundry Room Cabinets ~ space at end is for the freezer.

More laundry Room Cabinets ~ space at end is for washer and dryer.

Kid's Bath ~ a little dark ~ still no lights.

Kid's bath shower and toilet room ~ linen closet minus doors.

Kid's shower curtain I found at Target...it has really cute yellow buttons which you can't see in this picture...that is what I matched the yellow paint to.

The boys bedroom...3 tan walls and 1 navy wall. I did the same in both of the boy's rooms. Riley wants a Dallas Cowboys room and Jordan and Brock's room will have a fishing theme.

New doors minus black door knobs

Abby's room....painted "Aqua Smoke" to match her new bedding.

A Moser update!

2008-11-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

I have realized that I rarely post on my blog without pictures. I think it is because I don't consider myself to be a great writer and I don't really enjoy writing...truth be told. But I thought I would update you a little bit on the Moser happenings since someone made a recent comment that my blog needed to be updated.

A lot has happened at the house but I still need to take some new pictures. We have finished painting which was a grueling task...but I think it turned out great! I did try to take some pics but the lighting was a little off so they didn't turn out that well. We do have some light fixtures now so I might try to take a few more today. We have some of our kitchen cabinets in and all of our bathroom vanities ;o) The tile has been started and is looking good. The outside is mainly done, just a little touch up and exterior lights. Carpet is scheduled to go in next Monday and Dave is hoping to have it finished up before Thanksgiving....crazy! I am thinking we will be moving stuff in next weekend and it might be Banquet frozen turkey dinners for us this Thanksgiving ;o) I am excited to be in before Christmas though. It will be so nice to finally feel settled...I know the kids are excited to have some feeling of normalcy back ;o) Oh and one prayer request...we need our plumber to finish up. Seriously, Dave has not been able to get a hold of him for 2 weeks and I am getting a little nervous. He is the only subcontractor we have had to use and you here stories about people taking the money and running. Anyway, to make a long story short we really need to him to finish the job he started so please pray that we would have favor with him and he would have integrity ;o)

And now for a church update...things are going well. We have had a steady crowd each week that seems to be the same people from week to week. It has been great to get to meet new people each week and to start building relationships with families that have been consistently coming back each week. Worship has been great and I have turned the nursery over to a wonderful, capable gal we have on our team so I have been able to be in the service, worship and listen to Brian preach. Sunday set up has gotten easier each week and it starting to feel like a routine (in a good way.)

With that, I am going to go and I promise to take some pictures soon. Brian and I are going to take Brock on a little hike and maybe go to lunch. Hope all is well with you in blog-land ;o)

Fun with 3 two year olds...yes 3!

2008-11-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of a recent trip to the children's museum with Brock and two of his buddies, Drew and Greysen. The kids had a great time and to my surprise they all got along. They ran around a little and then spent about 1/2 hour playing with playdough and coloring in the art area. I think I am going to enjoy the children's museum this winter when it gets too chilly to play outside!

More house updates...hopefully it will be done one of these days!

2008-11-04T06:18:00.000-08:00

Our new driveway!

Brian's handy work!

The back of the house. Soon to have rock on the pillars as well.

Our deck...soon to have a glass railing.

Our entry way...soon to be painted dark red...very out of my taupe box!

Our stairwell window

The future tub deck...can't wait to take a bath!

Our kitchen and pantry.

Our kitchen and dining room.

Our living room and fireplace.

Our family room and hallway downstairs.

Abby's Pumpkin Patch field trip

2008-11-03T19:01:00.000-08:00

Abby's kindergarten class went on a field trip on Halloween as an alternative to the regular old party. They started with a trip to a local farm and picked out pumpkins. Then they went to a park for lunch and then to a gymnastics place in town. I was able to go to the farm and the park with them and then I went back to the school for the boy's parties. I met some of the other moms in the class including the owner of the new Real Deals in town...what a nice connection ;o) God bless Abby's teacher with 21 kindergartners...she is amazing! We went to her parent teacher conference tonight and Abby has been doing very well in kindergarten. We are so proud and amazed at the beautiful and intelligent little lady she is becoming!

Halloween Fun!

2008-11-03T18:12:00.001-08:00

First, I apologize for my lack of posts...things have been so busy around here! I have been taking lots of pics...just not taking the time to post them. Here are some pics of Halloween. It was a crazy busy day between class parties, our neighborhood party and tricking or treating. So much that we had the kids in bed by 8:30 that night and I don't think we heard a peep from any of them. We were asleep by 9:00 ourselves! This year Riley decided to be Elvis with a little twist....what he would look like if he were still alive...with a gray afro wig and all! Jordan was a clone trooper, Brock a cow....just because I thought it was so cute! And Abby Hannah Montana...but at the last minute she decided she didn't like the wig so she just wore the dress. Our neighbor through a party with fun things like bobbing for apples and lots of goodies. Then we gathered the kids up and went trick or treating. The neighborhood we are in is so perfect...flat roads with 500+ houses...every kids dream! Brock so enjoyed the idea that he could walk up to a house, knock on a door and just get candy! He would scream after every house, "I got a treat...look it daddy and mommy...I got a treat!" So cute!

EXTRA EXTRA...read all about it! River City Church Missoula in the News!

2008-10-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

Recently Brian was contacted by a reporter from the University of Montana's school newspaper asking to write an article about our church. Of course, he gladly jumped at the opportunity to share about River City! So last week we spent about an hour with her having lunch and talking about the church and then she visited the church this past Sunday. The article came out in today's paper and it turned out pretty good. When you are asked so many different questions you are never quite sure what is going to come of all that you have said...kind of a weird experience. Anyway, you can check out the article here There are few questionable things...like saying that we have "new age" worship music. Other than that, I thought it was well written. Hopefully it will bring some new people to check out the church! Let me know what you think!

Bring on the savings!

2008-10-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

So...I have been checking out a few money saving blogs and getting tips on how to use coupons. I already know how but I wanted some ideas of where to get more. So I gathered up some coupons mainly printed off the web and went off to Walgreen's this morning with my flyer in hand. I guess it is a challenge for me to see how much I can get for free. Anyway, the above picture is what I ended up with. Over $100 worth before the sale price and after coupons and the rebates it cost $15.75. That includes the auctomatic shower cleaner which I am not to sure about but what the heck it was free and 8 bags of Halloween candy that I will put away for trick-or-treating. The neighborhood we are in is pretty popular on Halloween so I needed to stock up. I might even have Brian hide it so the kids or I won't think we need to get into it before Oct. 31st ;o) So I was pretty impressed with my trip to Walgreen's. I might have to try this out weekly....it is only a couple blocks from our house which is nice too. If any of you want the links to some of the sites I found let me know and I will post them. Happy bargain shopping!

Kids eat free!!

2008-10-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

With Y2.008K approaching (that is what Brian is calling the failing economy) we have decided to try to tighten up the belt (the budget belt that is!) I have been trying to think of ways to save and was inspired by a couple things on Oprah this week. She has a show featuring a bargain shopping family this week and I was reminded of a few things. Firstly, they talked about restaurants that have "Kids Eat Free" deals. So I looked up the restaurants in our town and I found 3. Mondays and Thursdays IHOP has a kids eat free deal from 4pm-8pm. On Tuesdays, Denny's offers it from 4pm-10pm and lastly Perkins offers free meals for kids on Wednesday from 5pm-9pm. In most cases you get 2 free kids meals per adult which would cover our family. Granted these aren't our favorite places to eat but if we want to go out on a budget this is a good option. If you want to find places in your city, click here. Secondly, I learned that our Walmart matches any advertised prices so I can go through the Wednesday grocery ads and plan my meals based on what is on sale, make a list, and then go to just one store to buy all of the groceries. I just have to make a list with the sale prices and Walmart will match it...a good savings of time and gas not to have to drive all over town! I am also going to start being more vigilant about using coupons. Let the savings begin!!

House progress!

2008-10-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

Siding is going up this week! It still needs caulk and touch up paint and then it will be finished. The sewer guys are also finishing up and then they will bring in yards and yards of fill and cover up the front and create a hill going down the side of the house.

The living room fireplace was framed in plus insulation went in. We should be ready to drywall next week!

Our electrical and fire sprinkler systems are finished which means we can move on to drywall! We live too far away from a fire station apparently so we were required to put in a sprinkler system.

The view from our front porch. Not too interesting...I just thought I would take a picture in this direction to give a perspective of our neighborhood. We are at the end of a cul-de-sac, but our lot is 1/2 acre and our neighbors is 3 acres so we have quite a bit of space between us and them. We are planning a circular drive so we will not have much lawn to mow in the front which Brian will appreciate.

My handsome boy!

2008-10-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Before the haircut...

The after picture...what a handsome boy!!

Jordan decided a couple weeks ago it was time for a haircut. He said "Maybe, if I get my haircut you can style it...like spikey and stuff!" I thought it was so cute that he is starting to think of things like that! So we went to get it cut but he decided he didn't want to go to short this time...maybe the next haircut we will. So for now there are no spikes, just a little gel and he is off to school with the messy look. It took me a day or two to get used to. One day he walked in the door with Riley and I almost asked Riley who the new neighbor was but caught myself. Kind of funny! We are getting to used to it now and Jordan seems to really like it so that is good! Just thought I would share the before and after pics!

Happy Birthday to my Bubba!

2008-10-04T06:47:00.000-07:00

Yes I know it's cheesy...but that's what I call him! Today Brian is celebrating his 37th birthday....we have nothing too exciting planned...he will be helping our electrician friend wire our new house and then spend the rest of the day planning some more for church tomorrow. It has been a crazy week around here between house stuff, church stuff and just plain real life. Brian did take 2 days off at the beginning of the week to go hunting with Riley but came back to 98 e-mails and a wife that had 50,000+ words to say because she had been home with the kids for 2 days ;o) The kids also made him a cake last night and the Beeson's popped in for a visit. We had cake, visited for a minute and then fell into bed we were so tired. I also got Brian 4 magazine subscription for his birthday...I have been catching him reading my "Better Homes and Gardens" and "Family Fun" and thought he needed some magazines he would enjoy. I order from a company Best Deal Magazines and they always have great deals. I got his subscriptions for less than $4 each for 1 year...3 hunting magazines and 1 business magazine. We are soooo looking forward to the house being done...this building stuff is fun but exhausting! I'll post some new pictures soon of all of the updates. We are hoping to start siding the outside next week and start drywall pretty soon too. Dave just told us we will probably be ready to paint the interior the 1st of November....so we will be planning a painting party...consider yourself invited ;o)! Well I need to go for now....I am going to help with the wiring too...gotta build up that sweat equity!

River City Church Missoula update

2008-09-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would give a little River City Church Missoula update. We just had our 4th Sunday service and it was great! I worked in the nursery so I missed out on Brian's sermon but heard it was really good. We are starting life groups this week so that should be fun to get to know some of the new people in the church. Brian is going to focus the whole sermon on life groups next week to share the importance of getting connected. We have developed a great core team here. Our good friends, Corey and Elizabeth, have decided not to join us in Missoula at this time with their house not selling and although Dave is still building our house, he is spending the weekends back in Lewiston with his family so our team was cut in half. It's hard to see the team change, but God in His grace has brought us some great new team members here who have commited to helping us get this church going. The first few weeks after launch our attendence dropped a bit, but went back up this week so that was encouraging. We have had a great time meeting people and figuring out how to get a "crowd of people" to turn into a "connected body of believers." Most importantly, God continues to show us that He is in charge of this church. What an experience it has been! We are looking forward to continuing to learn more about church planting every day! I included some of my artwork I have been doing for the website. It is kind of fun to get back into the graphics thing although I feel a little rusty! My husband has been trying to do his own artwork and post it on the website and we just can't have that. I told him he is a great pastor and great wildlife biologist and he should just stick to what he knows...lol!

Windows, Doors and More!

2008-09-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Dave and the crew continue to progress on the house! Here are some pics of the recent additions. We got the windows put in last week, the roof is finished and the deck is started. We also have the exterior doors but I didn't get pictures of that. Our plumbing is roughed in which includes the showers and bathtubs. We don't have the master tub installed yet, I guess that goes in last. I did get it ordered however and I have to say I am excited to take a bath in it! Next week the siding and cedar shakes. We also have the fireplace roughed in so I'll have to take pics of that to share.

BFF - Brock and Drew!

2008-09-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Drew came over to celebrate Riley's birthday on Wednesday and he and Brock had the greatest time. They are so cute together...like 2 peas in a pod! Of course they have their moments...as most 2 year olds do. But they really do like each other! I took this pic of them and it turned out so cute (minus the pizza sauce on Brock's face.)

Real Deals baby!

2008-09-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I have been sulking the past few months about missing something in Lewiston...no I am not talking about my friends, or my church, or my bigger house. I am talking about Real Deals! I was only able to go once because we moved right after they opened and I loved it! I even inquired about opening one in Missoula because I couldn't stand to leave this new found love! I then thought to myself that I might have to make a trip over to the Lewiston just to go to Real Deals to decorate my new house. Well, the good news came yesterday that they are opening a Real Deals right in here in Missoula! I am so excited and a bit releived that I don't have to open one myseld as I am already a little busy! It will be opened just in time for the holidays which will be right around when we are moving in! Of course, you now I am joking about the missing the friends thing...you know I miss you all terribly but this news did bring a little ray of sunshine to my day!!

Crepes...oh so delicious!!

2008-09-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

Today we actually got to stay home on a Saturday morning with no plans. We were thinking that we haven't had a Saturday to do that since we moved here 3 months ago. So we decided to take the oppportunity to make a family favorite...triple berry crepes. We usually save these for special occasions but we decided today was a special occasion since we had NO plans! The kids all got into, helped make the crepes, the cream filling and set the table. They were all so excited and helpful. It makes me realize how kids like routine and I think they had missed us having breakfast together. We used to do that almost every Saturday and Sunday. Of course Sundays are out now but we are going to try to be more purposeful about using our Saturday mornings to hang out. Below are a few pictures of the kids helping and the finished product! Yum yum! Warning: This is not a Muffin Top Killer recipe. Rather it produces muffin tops!

Brock and Abby helping with the kitchen aid!

I asked Abby to smile and this is what I got...what a little poser!

Jordan peeking into the kitchen!

The finished product! Yummy!

Happy Birthday Riley!

2008-09-17T08:12:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my first born baby is turning 10 today! Where does time go?? It seems like just yesterday we were heading to the hospital to have him and here we are 10 years, 3 states, 6 residences (yes we have moved a lot...poor kid) later! He has grown into such a nice young man and we couldn't be more proud! We are so blessed! Today we are celebrating his birthday by doing a few things. First, Riley was able to request his breakfast. We started a tradition with the kids a few years ago of letting them pick out "anything" they want for breakfast on their birthday and I do mean anything! So Riley picked out cookie dough and pop! Last year it was ding dongs and pop! I will have to apologize to the teacher later for any crazy behavior that results from the sugar! Later today, I will surprise Riley with lunch at school and take treats for the class. And then tonight we will have a few of his friends over for Dominos pizza (his choice) and we will walk to Coldstone for ice cream! I have defintely noticed a difference with birthdays the older he gets...gone are the days of Rescue Heros, dinosauers and trucks. Now it's video games and/or money. I guess that makes shopping for us easy :o) I found a few pics of Riley to see how much he has grown but unfortanely my older pics of when he was younger are in storage.

Riley when he lost his 1st tooth at age 4!

I think Riley still has this same look!

Riley starting kindergarten!

He has this same look still too!

My baby turns 10 today!

24 is coming back!! Party at the Moser's on Nov. 23!

2008-09-15T20:31:00.001-07:00

OK....I may be the last to know but we have missed 24 terribly! Not like we have a lot of time to spend watching tv these days but when we do we want it to be quality programming like 24 or Lost! Tonight we were really wanting to watch an episode of 24 or Lost so I got on the net to see when the new episodes are starting and I found this trailer for next season's 24. We have decided we are having a 24 party at our new house on Nov. 23 to watch this Season 7 prequel so consider yourself invited! We are so excited for the new season we might even watch it on tv instead of waiting for the DVD's to come out!

Parade of Homes...Missoula style!

2008-09-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today Brian and I went to the parade of homes here in Missoula. I told him it probably wasn't a good idea to take me because I would find lots of great ideas for our new house that would cost a fortune! Actually, we found some ideas that are doable and others that are so far out of our price range, but definitely fun to look at! One house we went to was 6000 sq. ft. and had a $125,000 media and sound system. I think there were probably 10 flat screens in the house...crazy huh? Another one of the houses was 4900 sq. ft. all on one level. You wouldn't have to go to the gym...just walk back and forth through your house for exercise. At this house, I found my dream bathroom pictured below.

The tub sits in the middle of the room with columns around it and you have a fireplace with a flat screen above it to watch while you soak in the bath. And so you don't miss your favorite show while you do laundry there is a flat screen in there too. As well as a chaise lounge so you can rest while you watch your shows and watch your laundry being done??

So obviously these were some of the over the top things, but below I have a few pictures of ideas we liked. We have trying to figure out how we want to do our fireplace so we found a few ideas for that (minus the interesting artwork.) Any suggestions??

Here is some tile I found that I liked. We are still not sure if we want tile or hardwood.

And we also found a house with concrete countertops which we have been thinking about. I had a hard time picturing what that would look like because I just kept thinking it would look like a sidewalk on my countertop. I actually really liked them when I saw them in this kitchen...I am not crazy about the color but the overall look is pretty cool.

We have to start making these decisions over the next few weeks so any advice you have would be great!!

Another house update!

2008-09-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it...I have managed to post almost every day this week! I can't promise that my laundry is done or the house is clean though! I took more pictures of the house today so I thought I would post them. The front porch was finished today and we absolutely love it! We have always wanted a "Montana" style house and this porch gave our house that look. We will stain it to look like cedar and then there will be cedar shake in the gable above the window area. We ordered siding this week to and it comes pre-painted which is nice...the color for the exterior is "Greek Olive" with cream trim. We will also be doing some rock work along the front bottom of the house as well...something we wanted to do to our last house but didn't. Next week the roof will be shingled and then its windows and siding. I'll keep posting pictures as the house progresses!

Our little ballerina!

2008-09-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

Abby started Ballet this week at a local dance studio. There were so many dance places to choose from here in Missoula that I wasn't sure what to do. After researching a bit, I found the Ballet Arts Academy. Abby started on Monday and seemed to really enjoy her class! They also do "The Nutcracker" at Christmas and recently had auditions. We gave it a moment's thought and decided this was probably not the year to take on something else! Maybe next year we will try it! I am sure she would love it! The boys will be starting flag football in a few weeks as well so that should be fun for them as well!

My 100th Post + the kids go back to school!

2008-09-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

I have been sitting around trying to think of something exciting to post for my the 100th post but to no avail. My brain is mush...too many house decisions to be made! I think I will post pics of my kids going back to school because in reality they are the reason that I am blogging. I think when they are all grown up this will be a great thing to share with them (especially since I am not a scrapper...sorry Kristi...maybe someday I will be.) I found a website blurb.com that will turn my blog into a book so I thought every year or so I can have 4 copies made and put them away for when they get older. So here are the pics of the kids first day back to school. It has been an adjustment but they are all starting to meet friends and enjoy it!

The house building continues!

2008-09-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

So much has happened to the house in the last month! We are on target to finish up by the 1st week in November. It will be fun to be in for the holidays! I haven't taken pictures in a week so these aren't the most up to date but I thought I would share the progress.

Our dining room view.

Our living room view.

Jordan and Brock's room in the basement.

Riley's view from his bedroom.

The back of the house before the roof and covered porch.

The truss truck arrives.

Our family room door.

The kid's bathroom...double sink with pocket door to shower.

Our door style minus the sidelights and the dentil shelf...if you don't know what that is I didn't wither until I started shopping for front doors. Amazing what you learn!

Our window style.

River City Church Launches!

2008-09-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

We launched the church on Sunday with 158 people!!! We had a great time and are looking forward to next Sunday. It was great meeting new people and seeing all of the families with kids! Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! We will keep you posted! I have more pics that someone else took so I will post those when he sends them. For now this is all I have of worship practice and my man vs. wild banner in the background I designed.

It's true...I'm blogging again!!

2008-09-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

I know it has been far to long since I have blogged...not because I have so many devoted readers (I know I have a few) but because I have noticed a difference in me. Something about bloggin is therapeutic for me. I am not sure why...it's not like I am a hilarious blogger like a certain friend of mine who just had a birthday...Happy belated Birthday by the way! I think the reason it is theraputic is becuase I sit down and document all the things in my crazy life and forget about the crazy day I have just had. Here are just a few of the reaons why I haven't gotten around to blogging lately:

The kids started a new school with 1300 kids! Yikes!!
We launched River City Church Missoula on Sunday with 158 people in attendance! Yea God!!
We are smack dab in the middle of our house building project! There is a new decision to be made everyday! Help!!
My laundry has been washed but hasn't been folded or put away for weeks! Seriously!!
Brock is a very busy 2 year old! Need I say more!!

So no I am not still at Glacier for family camp...we arrived back at home safe but we hit the ground running and it seems that we haven't had many quiet moments since. I am going to try to post each day to catch you up on the last month of our crazy life here in Missoula! Some people double fist it to deal with stress in their lives, below is a picture of Brock showing how he handles all of the stress!

Hi ho hi ho...it's off to camp we go!

2008-08-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we are leaving for family camp in Hungry Horse, MT (just south of the entrance to West Glacier National Park.) This is our 8th year in a row we have gone...we look forward to it all year long! It seems to be a perfect blend of time with God, family time, alone time, etc. Some years we go all out and do something every day...other years we just hang around camp and relax. And every year we stop at the huckleberry stand for huckleberry milkshakes... ssshhh...don't tell the Muffin Top Killers! So for the next week I will be blogger-free but I'll be sure to come back with pictures to post! Hope you all have a great week!

You know your a redneck when...

2008-08-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned in previous blogs that we started a Thursday night dinner group at our house several weeks ago. It started with a couple of our neighbors and a couple that had come to our church preview service. Each week we pick a theme and invite new couples. Our themes have been BBQ, Mexican, Italian and this week being fair week we decided to have "Redneck" food. Some people went all out and it was hilarious! Some of our menu items included tater tot casserole (that was my recipe), hillbilly chili, spam pasta salad, pork rinds, an elk meat and cheese whiz platter, beer butt chicken, hot dogs on bread, and of course moon pies and deep fried twinkies for dessert. I was pretty sure we were all going to go home hungry! But in the end most people tried a little of everything and went home with indigestion. I am thinking our next group should be a cranberry juice and flax seed cleansing dinner! We did end up laughing a lot however and had a great time visiting with some of the new families there this week! Hope you enjoy the pics!

The "Redneck" spread! It was all kind of the same color! No vegetables present!

Our gathering spot at our neighbors house.

My friend Michelle I met at the mom's play group who is also a neighbor.

Brandy (another neighbor) deep frying twinkies for dessert! Yum Yum!

Some more deep fried delicacies! This time it's deep fried Little Debbies!

Proof that they were actually deep fried! Who thought this recipe up? Actually, I looked it up and it was quite interesting to read about. You can check it out here.

Lindsy and the moon pie dessert! It is amazing how a can of Redi-whip and a cake plate will fancy up your moon pies!

Wester Montana State Fair

2008-08-09T23:34:00.000-07:00

The kids watching a cow milking demonstration. They were pretty intrigued!

The kids at the petting zoo. Riley is looking a little bored. I think he may be getting a little old for the petting zoo. The other kids seemed to enjoy it however. Brock was so excited to see all of the different animals and he would scream and point every time they made a different sound (see pic below.) The only bummer about the fair was that we went the first day it opened and the rides weren't open yet. I enjoyed looking at the other stuff at the fair but apparently the kids were not as interested as I was...rides sound like more fun. We did eat a little fair food and we came back in the evening to go to a Third Day concert. It was such a great concert! We took the kids as well and they enjoyed it too! All in all it was a fun day at the fair!

The Olympia crew comes to visit!

2008-08-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

My parents were here this last week and we had such a nice visit! It was there first visit to Missoula so there was so much to see. On Wednesday, my mom and I visited the Missoula school of massage for a little pampering which was so great! While we were relaxing, Dave took the other kids to a movie and to the carousel. On Thursday, my parents took the kids to a kid's festival at the park where they got to play and ride the carousel yet again. They took Thursday night off since we were having our dinner group and went out to dinner by themselves. Friday the boys and Abby went bowling with Grandpa and Grandma while I stayed at home and rested with Brock. That night we went out to Carino's Italian Grill, yet another yummy Missoula restaurant. We finished off there visit with a trip to the Missoula farmer's market this morning. The market is so much fun, but a little overwhelming with 4 kids to keep track of. I am so glad they made the trip even though it took them 10 hours to drive each way...most people would probably make it in 7.5 hours. They just like to go a little slower and enjoy the sights :o) Thanks for coming to visit ~ we miss you already!!

3 generations! My mom, myself and Abby. We took at least 10 pictures to get this one. Abby kept making silly faces! I should have taken my glasses off so I could see if there is any resemblance. I know for a fact that Abby has a lot of the same traits as my mom....mainly her eating habits. She has always preferred healthier foods and even asks for salads and prefers water over pop. It is a strange thing the traits that can pass through genes.

Grandpa Dave and Abby at the Missoula farmer's market.

Abby's favorite pastime when grandma is here...doing grandma's hair! And what a trooper my mom is. She just sits there as Abby tugs and pulls on her hair and puts lots of clips and ponies in!

The diva in our house!

2008-08-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures of Abby the other day after I found her in my bathroom. She had a very suspicious look on her face as she leaned against the counter as if to hide something (see picture 1.) When I asked her what she was doing she told me she was putting her makeup on but then admitted she was using just a little of my make-up too (see picture 2.) She actually looked pretty cute so I took some pictures of her and she was more than happy to pose for me (see pictures 3 & 4.) As you can see , she is quite the little diva! If she is like this at 5 what does it mean for her teenage years! Our rule as of now is that she can just put a little of her own make-up on if she is at home playing but when we go out or she plays with friends it comes off. Why do they have to want to grow up so quick?? I guess I should just be grateful I have such a girly-girl with 3 boys in the house :o)

Time to simplify!

2008-08-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

We spent most of our day filling up our storage unit with the remainder of our stuff from Lewiston. I was amazed at how much you could squeeze into a storage unit when you get creative with your packing! I am also amazed at all of the crap that one family can accumulate through the years! Gone are the days when I moved all of my belongings to Washington State University in a Suburban! I have decided that I need to simplify a bit but first I have to find the time. It seems that every time we move it is such a quick thing and we never have time to organize and purge. When we move into the new house I need to implement the Flylady techniques again!

All of the stuff was the result of our spontaneous trip back to Lewiston this weekend. We had a couple of renters we needed to meet and we decided we would just take the opportunity to pack up the rest of our stuff while we were there. The only problem was that we had underestimated how much we had left in the house and we ended up filling up our 26' uhaul truck and still leaving some stuff behind. The good news from the weekend is that we found some good tenants that want to lease our house for 18 months. We are thinking that the market will pick back up in the next 1 1/2 years and we will be able to sell the house for more. This is definitely new territory for both Brian and I, being landlords. But the people moving into our house are landlords as well so hopefully they will be good renters. We could have never imagined that we would be renting the house instead of selling right away but God had different plans.

As far as our new house goes we haven't made much progress since my last post as Dave, our builder, was back in Lewiston last week as well. Hopefully by the end of this week I'll have some more pics to post.

I did buy a fridge for our new house at Sears! They were closing out all of last years models so I took advantage of the sale and got a new stainless, side-by-side counter depth beauty of a fridge! The best part was that it 70% off! By next misson is to get a stove and dishwasher to match at 70% off as well! Hopefully I will be able to find something in the next 3 months.

We have a floor!

2008-07-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

I know these pictures are pretty mundane but to me they are progress! Today we poured the concrete for the basement floor which means the next step is framing. We needed some extra help for the concrete so Brian asked a few of our neighbors (offering to pay them of course.) They came out at 5:30am to help and then wouldn't take the money. People amaze me with there generosity sometimes! Tomorrow we are having are Thursday night dinner group with some new friends we have made including some of our neighbors. We look forward to the opportunity to get together and get to know them better. We also have a couple coming that heard about our church through some marketing we did. That should be fun to meet them as well. On Friday, we are heading back to Lewiston to pack up the stuff we left at our house and meet some prospective renters. We have not sold the house yet and think this is the direction God is leading us...we appreciate any prayers to help is make the right decision! We look forward to seeing all of our friends in Lewiston!

Nacho night!

2008-07-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Our great friends, Jamie and Eric had started the search for the best nachos in Missoula before we got here and invited us to join them and another couple last week to try a new restaurant, Sean Kelly's. They do have nachos sometimes but didn't the night we went. The food was still fabulous and the dessert was even better. For those of you that know Jamie she is a dessert connoisseur. And that's ok because she works out for a living (personal trainer and aerobics teacher)! We had a great time visiting with them and the other couple. Since moving we have met so many great people! We are still missing our Lewiston friends and keep trying to bribe them to come visit! I thought maybe this little post about all of the fabulous restaurants might entice some! Speaking of eating dessert and nachos, today we are going to check out the YMCA. They have a pretty large facility here and so we thought we might join! They have lots of activities for the kids as well as a great workout facility for adults.

Splash Montana

2008-07-28T16:45:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the end of our 2 weeks of swim lessons by staying at Splash Montana for the day. It was torture on the kids having to have lessons and then packing up to leave...longingly looking at the waterslides wishing they could stay and play! I had mentioned in an earlier post how the waterpark is only $2.75 for kids which is a great deal. I did however find our they you can't bring in your own food and that is where they get the $ back that they lose on admission. Oh well, you can't put a price on fun, can you? The kids loved all parts of the waterpark, the slides, the lazy river and especially the log walk. There are no pictures of Brock because I took him to the daycare before we went. The idea of taking 4 children by myself to the waterpark was a little much :o)

Basement Walls are up!

2008-07-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

Our future basement ~ Abby's bedroom and the boy's bedroom.

The front of the basement. This will all eventually be buried by fill dirt...lots and lots of fill dirt.

Our concrete walls have been poured. Next we will have basement plumbing and the basement floor. Things are moving along and we are excited for the framing to begin! I'll continue to post pictures as the house progresses!

The footings are poured!

2008-07-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Brian and Dave (our builder) hard at work!

Our firm foundation!

I know this isn't very exciting stuff for some people but for us it is progress! And yes Jesus is our foundation but next to that our house will be on the firmest foundation in Missoula! Truly! For some reason the county required us to jump through all sorts of hoops and make the footings extra wide and deeper than usual. When the inspector showed up, she was blown away that they had required that. She said the only place she had seen this kind of foundation requirement was in Seattle on very steep hills. We are trying to see this as a positive instead of thinking that we just spent thousands unnecessarily :o) At least we know our house is staying put and not sliding anywhere!

Swim lessons begin!

2008-07-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

We just started swim lessons today. The kids are taking lessons at Splash Montana, our local outdoor water park for the next two weeks. They were a little hesitant to go, especially Riley, as you can tell by the look in his picture. But once we got there and they started lessons they really enjoyed it. They class format was great. They moved the kids to different areas to swim which included swimming around the lazy river. Jordan thought that was pretty cool. I enjoyed the some semi-quiet time while they were in the water from 10:00-10:45 (I dropped Brock off at busy hands, a local drop off daycare that he loves!) I might even take a book and get to read the next few days! That would be a treat! We are also planning on staying at the park after lessons a couple days so the kids could play.

The new house begins!

2008-07-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

Before the digging started! We had waited so long to get our building permits for this house, I felt like I had to document every step of the building process so here is the lot when we were mapping out where the house would sit. I also took a picture of the view from the lot. Missoula sits in a valley so we pretty much have a 360° view of the mountains around our house.

The kids on the big tractor! I think they played they would have played on it for the whole day if we would have let them.

Brock was so excited to sit in the tractor. I couldn't quite get a smile out of him, he just sat there with a blank look on his face...I think he was in shock!

Once the house was a mapped out, the digging started. Most of the digging is done now and they are starting to build forms to pour concrete. It is so exciting to watch the process! Hopefully I will be better about updating this blog and I will keep you posted on the process!

2008-07-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Finally some pictures of our rental by request. It is a great little house...little being the key word! It is definitely less space then our family of 6 is used too. But we do feel blessed to finally find a rental that was in the right school district, a 6 month lease and we have great neighbors! I have done very little decorating so it feels a little plain but before I know it we will be packing up to move into the new house and I want to have to unpack and pack the least amount possible. We also left our living room and dining room set in Lewiston to stage that house until it sells...which will hopefully be soon! I did not post any bedroom pictures primarily because they are really not exciting...2 kids in each room...very crammed. And our room is the dumping place for everything. So it hasn't been clean enough to take a picture yet. Maybe sometime this week. During our preview service we had 17 people in all stay with us which included the Ranstrom's in our camp trailer in front of our house. We love having guests but were relieved to have our house back after all of our guests left. This week we had overnight guests on Thursday and Friday evening and have Corey and Elizabeth coming tonight so they can look for a house here tomorrow. Our front door should be a "revolving" door! We love it really! So please consider this your invitation to come visit our cozy little home!

Our first River City Church service!

2008-07-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

The front of the City Life Community Center, the Youth for Christ building that we are using to have our services in. It is currently under construction as you can tell by the pictures and should be done by September, just in time for our launch! It is a great building and we are so excited God has blessed us with the opportunity to use it for our temporary church home.

Another River City Church banner. We had 14 banners made in all to use in and around the building to help make it feel like our own church home!

Some of the Helena boys praying for Brian before the service. I think we had 10 or so people come from the Helena church to help. What a blessing...it took a lot of work to pull off the service. But we did...and without any major problems.

Pastor Brian sharing...oh that sounds so weird! He does look natural up there I have to say!

Our temporary set up. We will be meeting in the basement for the preview services until the upstairs is finished. It actually worked out great because it was almost 100° out that day and the basement was nice and cool!

My project...Tiny Town ~ our church nursery. It turned out so cute! We covered the concrete floor with almost 250 sq. ft. of multi colored foam flooring. We also used a few pop up tents and a fold down picnic table to make it easier to transport. We will be setting up and breaking down every Sunday. Hopefully as the church grows it will go faster and faster!

Grandma Betty, Maurin and another Helena helper in the nursery.

Our temporary Kid Way room which will move to the basement once we move upstairs.

The Lewiston worship team and Eric B., our worship leader leading worship for our first service!

Our first service in full swing. We had over 50 people in attendance. Of course a lot of those people were helpers but we did have new people as well and the service went great!

Some of our team helping us set up the service! We couldn't have done it without all of the great help!
Another great helper from Helena! Duct Tape comes in so handy when setting up church...who would have thought!

Looking a little tired after the service at the BBQ! A lot of work...but so worth it!

The Moser family at the post service BBQ! I think Brock was on his 3rd bag of Cheetos and Abby looks like she was asleep!

We had such a great time at the BBQ! It gave us a chance to relax and talk to the new people about the vision of River City Church!

Our church in 5 vehicles! On Sunday we went back to the building to pack up the church and we managed to fit it all into our 5 vehicles. Quite a caravan going through Missoula!

We are getting closer to our 2nd preview service, July 26. After that we will have one more preview service Aug. 23 and then it is our launch Sunday, Sept. 7th. Our services will be every Sunday from there on out. We are so excited to see what God has planned for this church and this city! We would love to have you come visit and check us out! Our door is always open!

Thursday night at the park!

2008-07-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Moser kids sharing a gigantic snow cone!

JD, Maurin and the 2nd gigantic snow cone!

Dave and Leona and the 3rd gigantic snow cone!

Corey and Elizabeth

There are so many activities to do in Missoula it could literally keep you going every day and night. We had heard a lot about the Wednesday lunch and Thursday dinners at a local park. Basically June-August every Wednesday at lunch and every Thursday at dinner they have a big gathering in a park in downtown Missoula. They have live music, lots of food vendors and free kid's activities. We thougth we would try it out when the team was here to help with the service so we all ventured down there. It was a lot of fun...but a little chaotic with 4 kids in tow. We decided to make it a date night the next time we go. This park is also home to a "A Carousel for Missoula" which is a great carousel that we have yet to take the kids on. However, it is on our summer to-do list!

Our Pizza Project!

2008-07-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

I picked up a Kid's Taste of Home Magazine at Wal-Mart thinking the kids and I might try some of the recipes. I thought it would be fun to let them pick out some recipes and then try their hand at cooking. Brock was right their with the other kids screaming "My turn, my turn!" And then I tried to take some pictures and asked them to say "Cheese" instead he picked up the package of cheese and held it up...so cute! Anyway, the kids enjoyed making these little pizzas and enjoyed eating them even more so I thought I would share the recipe for those of you with younger kids.

LUNCH BOX PIZZAS
1 tube (7.5 oz.) refrigerated biscuits (10 biscuits)
1/4 cup pizza sauce
10 slices pepperoni
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Flatten each biscuit into a 3" circh and press into a greases muffin cup. Sppon 1 tsp. pizza sauce into each biscuit. Top each with a slice of pepperoni and about 1 TBSP. chesse.

Bake at 425 ° for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immedately or store in refrigerator and reheat in microwave.

ENJOY!!

A visit from Grandma Betty!

2008-07-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

One of our first visitors to our new home was Grandma Betty! She was able to come for almost 2 weeks which was such a blessing! Her first week here however was almost record setting heat in an un-air conditioned home! She ended up offering to buy us a window air conditioner to take the edge off the 100° weather! The other thing that helped was going out for ice cream...the kids thought that was pretty fun! Brock affectionately calls ice cream "Hice Cream." Kind of like he is talking with a middle eastern accent. I think he just likes the idea of having his own ice cream cone because he looks at it and talks more about then he really eats it.

I asked Grandma Betty when she was coming back to visit and she said maybe in September when the weather cools down...lol! Hopefully we will convince her to come back before then! Montana really isn't supposed to be this hot!

Brock's 2nd Birthday Party!

2008-07-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had a great time having Brock's 2nd Birthday! He is currently obsessed with Thomas the Train so that was the obvious theme for the party!

Missoula has a great party store minutes from our house so I could have gone all out but seeing as we had just moved here, I decided to go pretty simple! Brock kept saying "Happy Birthday Thomas!" I think he was a little confused about who's birthday it was until he got to open all the presents...mostly Thomas themed.

He did get a 4-wheeler which he likes to call a "5-wheeler" and a motorcycle. He loved anything that has wheels and goes...preferably fast...typical boy for you! He does however like to get in touch with his fashionable side as you can see by the picture of him wearing Abby's flip flops and sunglasses, carrying her purse.

Shortly after I took this picture he did a face plant and didn't even cry, he just said "Oh, my purse" because it had fallen. Brian would like to interject at this point that he does like elk and is very much a boy in that sense!

All in all is was a great party with great friends! After opening all of his presents, he was a little overwhelmed and ended up having a melt down. He ended up in bed before our guests left. I am thinking that is par for the course for a 2 year old birthday party!

A few weeks in the life of the Moser's!

2008-07-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

So much blogging to do and so little time! I am going to try to recap the last few crazy weeks and several different blogs! I have been wanting to sit down and blog for weeks now and something always comes up...so hopefully I remember all the events as they occurred and if I don't I'll just make stuff up!

Happy 2nd Birthday Brock!

2008-06-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

Brock turns 2 today! I can hardly believe it! He has grown so fast! It seems like just yesterday I was 9 mo. pregnant and thinking to myself is he ever going to come out! And after a relatively short labor, out came our bouncing baby boy...all 10lbs. 9oz. of him! We picked the name Brock because we liked the name "Barack" which means blessed in Hebrew. And that is truly how we feel....blessed! Everyday Brock brightens our day with his smiles, laughter, and constant repeating of so many different words...mommy, truck, mommy, truck,mommy, truck,mommy, truck, etc. daddy, thomas train, daddy, train, DADDY, TRAIN! His voice getting louder with each time he repeats himself. He loves his big brothers and sister so much and he can't wait to get out of bed in the morning to play with them! He has truly completed our family and for that we are thankful! Happy Blessed Birthday Brockie! We love you so much and know that you are going to grow up to be such an awesome man of God! We look forward to many more years of your smiles and laughter and even the constant repeating!

We have internet...update on the daily happenings of the Moser's

2008-06-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

After 1 week, 2 days and several hours of living in Missoula...we finally have internet. I called to have it connected before we even moved thinking I was ahead of the game...but the earliest they could come was yesterday. I have never been so excited to see the cable guy! After an hour of checking he informed Brian and I that the neighbor had cut through the cable going into our house when he put his fence in...aaaaagggghhh! I almost had a meltdown. Before the tears started I realized I missed the first part of the conversation in which he told Brian we would still have service we would just have a new orange cable running across our backyard unitl they can come bury which may be a few weeks. Wew....that was a close one! I can't believe how much I depend on the internet for daily stuff as well as keeping in touch with people!
We have had a busy first week in Missoula! Here are some of the highlights:

We took the kids to a "Sprayground" which is a playground with water features. They have 4 parks in Missoula with these and they are all free which is great when you only have an hour or two and you don't want to pay to go somewhere. The other nice thing is there is playground euipment as well so when they get bored of the water they can play on the toys and when they got to hot there they can run back to the water. They also have a great waterpark which only cost $2.75 for kids and $4.50 for adults, quite a contrast from the aquatic center in Clarkston.

Abby looking cute!

The boys and Ethan B.

The kids went to VBS at a local church. It was very well done...however a little overwhelming. They had over 400 kids there! It gave the kids something to do but I am also looking forward to next week not having to drive somewhere every day! Driving here is a little different then Lewiston. There is an actual Rush Hour and it can take 30 minutes or more to get across town!
We were invited to a play group at the neighbors. Abby and Brock joined me and the boys stayed with Brian. We had fun but it made me miss my Friday girls in Lewiston! I think they should all pack up some weekend and come see me!
We went to the Farmer's market in downtown Missoula this morning! We were so amazed at the number of vendors and the number of people. We felt a little out of place....so much culture and diversity! We felt a little like were transported to Seattle except it wasn't raining...it was sunny and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! We finished off the morning with lunch at the Iron Horse...an amazing restaurant! We are enjoying trying out the new restaurants in Missoula!
Brock is talking so much these days! I feel like to need to add that into the highlights. He is constantly amazing me with the things he says and he is not even 2 yet. Last night, we took him to a "date night" daycare at the gym where Jamie works so we could get away. When we picked him up I asked him to say thank you. Instead of just saying that, he said "Taint you for da toys and taint you for da pizza. Bye bye!" and he waved! What a brilliant little guy...I guess I am partial! He is going to be 2 next week...I can hardly believe it!

Brock in his favorite froggy towel!

Not much unpacking has been done with all of the preparations for the first service next weekend. Hopefully once we get past that we will be able to get this house organized. Probably just in time to start packing it back up to move into the new house. Actually we haven't even broken ground yet so it will be 4-5 months before we move.
We are excited for our friends to come this next week to help with the first service. Although we have met some great people here it will also be nice to see some familiar faces! We definitely miss all of our friends!

I should go for now and try to do a little unpacking while Brock is sleeping. I know my sister-in-law would be appalled at the number of boxes around my house :o) In my defense, I have been busy meeting all of my neighbors so I have someone to invite to our first service! Hope all is well with you! I should be updating more often now that we have internet!

Hello from Missoula!

2008-06-14T17:05:00.001-07:00

Just a quick blog to say hi! We don't have internet yet but Brian's laptop picks up about 8 wireless signals from our neighbors. We have one room in the house put together...the living room. I come in here to take a deep breath and remind myself that someday the house will be put together. We have already met some great neighbors. 2 houses behind us...both stay-at-home moms...one with a 4 yr. old girl and a 7 yr. old boy and the other with 2 girls, 4 and 6 and a 5 month old boy needless to say Abby is having a great time. On Friday when they started playing with the neighbor kids it warmed my heart. They had all been so sad to leave their friends! The other family lives across the street from us and they have a 3 and 4 year old girl and a baby on the way. 2 families brought us cookies and brownies...how cute is that!! We just need to find some older boys for Riley to play with. The older boys spent this afternoon fishing with Brian so that was good for them to get out of the house. Next week they will be going to a VBS that one of the larger churches in town is putting on. I figured that would help them get some energy out. Unfortunately, I have been so busy unpacking I haven't made it to Target or Old Navy yet....can you believe it? I think both stores are only 3 minutes from our house. We did walk .5 mile last night to Coldstone to get ice cream with the Beeson's. Can't make that a habit!! But I guess if we have to go walking there makes it a little better, right? Our 1st preview service is 2 weeks from today so we are excited about that! Several people we have met have seemed very interested in the new church and said they have been looking for a church! We are excited for what God has called us to do here in this new town. We do however miss all of our Lewiston friends so much!! Looking forward to coming back to visit when our house their sells and closes! Until then, we'll keep in touch in Blogland!

What color of blue are you?

2008-06-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

I should be packing but this is called avoidance!! I found this on another friend's blog and thought it would be fun!

You are Ocean Blue

You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded.

You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.

What Color Blue Are You?

A wonderful gift!

2008-06-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

My friend Jamie L made me this wonderful going away video. I thought it would be fun to share with all of my friends. I will miss all of you so much! But thank goodness for blogs, e-mail and unlimited long distance! We will definitely keep in touch!

We're moving!

2008-06-05T10:11:00.001-07:00

We are moving...finally! It seems like we have been in limbo for the last 8 months. No...our house hasn't sold in Lewiston yet but we are trusting God to work out all of the details! Most of you know that we have been looking for a rental for months now...something that we could rent for only 6 months, would be in the right school district for our kids and have a garage for Brian's business. Well, we found it! We were in Missoula earlier this week and we were driving back to the Beeson's home when we past a "For Rent" sign. We called and the owner said he would do a 6 month lease and we could come look at it the next day! Brian is most excited that the lawn care is included in the rent. No mowing until next summer when we finish the yard at the new house! We are so thankful that God has worked out all of the details thus far and trust He will continue! So for know we are busy packing up the house and we will be pulling out of Lewiston next Wednesday! We are excited for this new chapter in our lives! Remember our door is always open to visitors (even in our small rental!) Hopefully we will also break ground on our new house in the next couple weeks as well! So I will try to keep this blog updated!

First Day of Swimming!

2008-05-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the weather was beautiful! We had a going away party and a the hostess had a pool! What fun! The kids were pretty much prunes by the time they were done swimming! Riley said the cutest thing when we showed up and he saw all the cars parked around the house. He said "I didn't know we had this many friends." and Brian quickly responded "We don't...it's just hot and everyone wants to swim." Of course we know that is not true! We were so blessed by all of the people that came to wish us well! I joked that maybe we could have another party when we know when we are leaving for sure....any excuse to party is my motto!

Craft Time with Daddy!

2008-05-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

This was Brian's first full week off of work. His last official day at Potlatch was May 16. Now he is Pastor Brian to us :o) He spent most of the week trying to figure out what to do with himself. He is such a structured guy and pretty much goes crazy if he is stuck at home more than 2 days in a row. He has decided that next week he is going to use an office at the church to work. He will be working on his business stuff as well as stuff for River City Church Missoula. As for now, we are not sure when we are moving. We thought we would be going by June 1st but God has different plans. We are in the process of learning how to hear Him and hear what His plans are for us and I am learning that they don't always look the same as our plans! So for now we wait in Lewiston for Him to tell us to go. For now, Brian has a little more time to spend with the kids. Earlier this week he got to sit down with Abby to paint. She was so pleased!

She's crafty...or at least aspires to be!

2008-05-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

I can be a little crafty from time to time....most of the time I just don't have the time! However, one of my favorite things to do has been making end of the year teacher gifts. Especially because my friend Kelly takes gorgeous pictures of the kids at Cornerstone and then gives me copies to use in the gifts. So this year, I went down to CropPaperScissors (such a cute store) and got a few ideas for projects. And in typical Andrea fashion (procrastionation) I finished up the projects this morning. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. To give myself a little credit I actually started the project 3 weeks ago but just never got around to finishing. So I though I would share the pictures. The first was first for Riley's teacher. They (they being the "scrapbookers") call this an exploding box. I was first introduced to this project by my really crafty friend, Jamie B. She mad me a cute one of these a few years ago as a gift!

The second project is a chipboard purse. Who knew there was such a thing! I covered the outside and embellished it...it was trial and error and Jamie L. saved me from it looking like a Sesame Street character. Yes the purse looked like a character straight out of sesame street with 2 eyes, a nose and ribbons in it's hair but after some imagination and lot of laughs it turned out pretty cute! We also used the Cricuit to cut the lettering. Might have to get one of those for myself some day...how fun!

Hopefully the teachers will enjoy there new gifts! They were so much fun to make!

13 things I love about my husband!

2008-05-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day!"

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, and always with the same person."

Today we are celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe it has been that long. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday we were getting married and heading off to Hawaii for our 15 day honeymoon! But here we are 13 years later! If you would have asked me when I met Brian almost 16 years ago, if I would have imagined my life like this I didn't have a big enough vision! God has blessed us in so many ways I can't even count! I do love my husband more each day although I may not always show it :o) Here are 13 things I love about him (one for each year of marriage so far!):

I LOVE:

The way he makes me laugh.
That he is such a good Daddy.
When he gets up with the kids in the morning.
That he gets along with my parents and doesn't mind spending time with them.
That he never criticizes me and always supports me (even when I am not being very smart)
That he loves the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength.
That he is so smart ~ most of the time :o)
That he is adventurous.
His biceps.
When he brings me flowers and buys me massages.
He talks to me on the phone even though he is not a phone person.
Our inside jokes.
How he loves me!

Bright Beginnings Class of 2008!

2008-05-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

Abby and her teacher , Mrs. Dammarell

Abby and her teacher , Mrs. Williams

Abby and her best buddy ~ Sam

Abby and her friend Dorian

The Bright Beginnings Class of 2008!

Abby graduated from preschool tonight! It was a great ceremony full of singing, homemade graduating caps made out of bowls and construction paper and cute little diplomas. All week Abby has been asking when her "grajeeeeeayshen" is? It was so cute the way she would say it with an emphasis on the "eeee." She has one last day of class tomorrow and then she'll be done with preschool! I can't believe she is off to kindergarten next year! How quickly they grow!

Jordan's 8th Birthday!

2008-05-15T23:11:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures from Jordan's birthday that I promised a few posts back. We had a great time at the movie theaters! The movie, Speed Racer, was a little questionable...why they have to throw profanity and scantily clad women into a PG movie is beyond me but the kids seemed to enjoy it and hopefully they didn't go home repeating the words and hand gestures. I think the kids had a great time all around...from cake and ice cream, unlimited refills on pop, a tour of the projection booth to the popcorn and a movie...it was a blast! Jordan even got to start the movie. It is amazing to see how the movie technology works. I also included a picture of Jordan on his actual birthday going to Zany's...his restaurant of choice, a picture of him with his new guitar and an example of the thank you cards I sent out. I love experimenting with photo cards...they fun and easy to personalize. I can't believe how quickly they grow....amazing!

Mother's Day 2008!

2008-05-15T22:58:00.001-07:00

As I post these pictures, I reflect on how blessed my life is. 4 beautiful children and a wonderful husband and a God that loves me and gave His life for me and so many more blessings including great friends and family! I think it is easy to get caught up in the day to day and forget about the little and big blessings alike. Mother's Day 2008 was simple but still blessed and special! Although it did involve 2 trips to the Doctor for me it still turned out relaxing. The kids woke up and made me crepes with strawberries and cream cheese filling...yummo!! We went to church and then picked up a Papa Murphy's pizza so I didn't have to cook later. The kids rubbed my feet and Brian gave me a card with a certificate for a 1 hour massage....loved that! The doctors office brought a uncertain diagnosis about the rash on my arms and legs (probably Polymorphous light eruption (PMLE) which is basically and allergy to the sun) but they did offer a prescription which has since helped. Hope you all had a blessed day especially my mom and mom-in-law!

Jordan's guitar playing debut!

2008-05-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here is Jordan's birthday present ~ an electric guitar. A few months ago we were at a friend's house who plays the guitar and he taught Jordan a few songs (or parts of songs.) He was impressed at how quickly Jordan picked them up. After that Jordan kept telling us he wanted a guitar for his birthday. So we decided to try to nurture the gift he has for music and gave in. Brian bought him an electric guitar because I guess it is a little smaller and easier to learn on. I would love to find someone in Missoula to give him lessons...he is so eager to learn. Anyway, the video is of him playing the songs he learned a few months ago. I think he is well on his way to becoming a rock star....especially with that hair!

Brock's singing debut!

2008-05-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my off tune voice in the background! Brock will only sing if I sing along. He also likes to lip sync as you will see in the next video!

2008-05-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share the invitation that I made for Jordan's b-day party that we are having today. I love movie theater parties....just show up and everything is there for you. No running around getting cake, goody bags, etc. Anyway, we are watching Speed Racer so hopefully it's a cute movie. I'll post pictures of the party this week.

What am I worth??

2008-05-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

With Mother's Day around the corner I decided to see how much I am worth as a mother. Salary.com has a Mom's Salary Wizard that is kind of fun. You just fill out how many hours you do each job and it tells you how much you are worth a year. You can also personalize it with your zip code so it reflects what others are making in your area. It is for both stay-at-home moms as well as working ones. Of course I know that the rewards of being a stay-at-home mom aren't monetary and the benefits are intangible...just thought it would be fun. Here is how my hours of work broke down.

Housekeeper	17.2
Day Care Center Teacher	16.5
Cook	11.5
Computer Operator	8
Laundry Machine Operator	8.1
Janitor	6.4
Facilities Manager	6.8
Chief Executive Officer	6.4
Van Driver	6.6
Psychologist	6.9
Interior Designer	2
Administrative Assistant	2
Event Planner	1
Bookkeeper	2
General Maintenance Worker	2
Groundskeeper	1
Nutritionist	1
Staff Nurse - RN	1
Plumber	0.5
Logistics Analyst	1

All Jobs Combined	107.9

Apparently I put in almost 108 hours a week or 15 hours a day which explains why I am so tired all of the time! And all totaled I am worth $125,964. WOW! That degree from WSU has sure paid off!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms reading this...stay-at-home and working alike! I know you are all worth hundreds of thousands a year as well!!

Happy 8th Birthday Jordan!

2008-05-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe Jordan is 8 today! It seems like just yesterday he was born! They grow up too quick! I found some old pictures to share...I am convinced that Brock is Jordan's twin born 6 1/2 years later!

Today he is celebrating with a donut and pop for breakfast...his choice! And then I will take cupcakes to his class. We we finish off the evening by going to dinner at the restaurant of his choice...he is still trying to decide where he wants to go. We have postponed his party until next week because he wanted to have a "Speed Racer" movie party and it is not out until the 9th. So next Monday we will go to the movie theater and celebrate with his friends. I love movie parties because they do everything for you...very easy! The only thing that we regret is not having our family here to celebrate with us...so for now here are some pics and I will post more after the party!!

Jordan after he walked into the shower stall fully dressed and turned it on!

Brock's twin...born 6 1/2 years earlier!

Apparantly he liked to wear girl shoes just like Brock does!

Jordan's first visit to Missoula

Where Jordan's love for fishing started!

So serious!

Jordan with his Mohawk!

Growing up before our eyes!

Riley's 3rd grade project!

2008-05-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share Riley's amazing solar system project that was due today. This was his big 3rd grade project and all of the kids in his class did amazing work! Everyday I am amazed at what a smart boy he is! He has been spitting out space facts for the last several weeks as they have been learning about the solar system. A lot of the time I am like "Oh yea" and "Oh really I didn't know that" but when I stop and really pay attention I realize that he is a brilliant young man with a love for learning (just like his dad!) I really need to do that more...slow down and pay attention! But it is so easy to caught up in the business of life. So for today I just wanted to share how proud I am of Riley!

River City Church Missoula update

2008-05-01T19:27:00.001-07:00

Our church plant is moving right along and feels very real now especially since Brian gave his notice at Potlatch yesterday. Brian said his boss was so excited for his new venture and congratulated him about 20 times. There are still so many things that have to be out into place so here are a few prayer requests:

That the house would sell by May 29th because we are moving on the 30th.
That we would be able to find a newer, clean, 3-4 bedroom house in Missoula to rent for 4-6 months near the school my kids are going too.
That the bids, permits, and other building stuff would go forward smoothly
That I would be able to make this move with my sanity intact!

God has answered other prayers along the way! It looks like we have a brand new building to meet in on Sundays and it fits almost all of our needs. We still have to work out the details but you can check out the building on the Missoula Youth for Christ website. We have also been getting lots of donations in for the church plant. You can check out Brian's blog on River City Church Missoula website for more church plant updates.

My little house cleaner!

2008-05-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Brock was ready and willing to help me clean yesterday. As I was running around like a crazy woman getting ready for our 4th showing in a week....he decided to pick up the swiffer and go to work. I had to take a picture he looked so cute! Notice the sparkly shoes too! He loves to wear Abby's shoes around the house and for the most part her shoes are pink and glittery! He does usually tote his gun around while he is wearing the shoes which makes me know he is confident in his manhood! As for the showings, no other offers yet and we are still waiting on the contingent offer to go through. So for now the cleaning continues....good thing I got a little helper!

Our girls day out!

2008-04-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about having a girl is being able to do "girly" things together! Today Abby and I had a mommy/daughter date. We started out by shopping (just at Walmart....not too exciting) and then we were off to get a pedicure. My mom instilled this value in me at a young age...pampering yourself! She use to always take me to get manicures and pedicures at the beauty school. Abby is pretty much a pro now! She sticks her feet up their, relaxes while they massage them and holds perfectly still while they polish. It is too cute!

After 0ur pampering , we called a friend to go to lunch. We had a great time visiting while the girls played. McDonald's wasn't too crazy considering the yucky weather outside.

Our last stop was JoAnn's to pick up some supplies for our boy's solar system project. We found some tiaras and feather boas along the way and the girls played dress up in the store! Wendy got in on the action too! How we will miss our Lewiston friends but we trust that they will come visit us in Missoula (hint hint!) and keep in touch!!

Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails!

2008-04-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Brian went out with a friend from Idaho Fish and Game this weekend to do a "Rattlesnake Round-up." Basically they are trying to kill some of the rattlesnakes that live in the hills behind our homes. They got a few complaints last year about rattlesnakes in people's yards....yikes! They ended up beheading about a dozen snakes and then brought them back to our house to show the boys. The creepy thing is the snakes can keep moving for several hours even without their heads....yuck! Anyway, the boys thought it was pretty cool to hold the headless snakes as they continued to slither around!

Sunny and 74°!

2008-04-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

The weather is beautiful today so Abby decided she wanted to have a picnic with Brock on a blanket in the yard. They had a great time eating their lunch in the sun. After only 15 minutes Brock was looking a little pink so I made them come in. Unfortunately the weather for the rest of the week is not looking as nice. When will SPRING be here to stay....maybe in May???

I love my hippy boy!

2008-04-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

What Brian lacks in hair, Jordan is making up for these days! His hair is getting so long and he loves it! I kind of like it too because it makes our mornings much easier. There is not much fixin' to it...he just gets up, brushes it quickly and out the door he goes. When it's shorter he has an unruly cowlick that wants to stick up like Alfalfa! I am thinking as long as he likes it we will let it grow. I think it's almost longer than mine now too!

A week in the life of the Moser's!

2008-04-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

I realize this blog is suppose to be "A Day in the Life of the Moser's" but who has time for that! Especially with the crazy weeks we have been having. So I thought I would do a quick update.

Went to Women of Faith. What awesome speakers and singers! Had a great time with girlfriends. Think we're getting old...stopped at Walgreen's for earplugs, Tums, GasX (not for me) and sleeping pills to assure we would all sleep soundly (because of the snoring...once again, not me!) Ate too much food, laughed so much (almost peed our pants...again not me), got to sit in the front row (Thanks to EllaMae), got to see Kristi (great visiting) and last but not least...did a little shopping!

Nicole C. Mullen at Women of Faith ~ what an amazing voice!

Having dinner with the girls at Outback!

Our big Walgreens purchase!

Snack Mom on Monday for Abby's preschool. She is starting to read which is so exciting! She can read a few beginner books very well. It is amazing to see them grow!

Abby doing the calendar and weather.

Brock playing in the sandbox indoors (what a brave preschool teacher!)

Bunco Monday night! It is always a great time when you can get out of the house and also get out of making dinner! We has a fun time visiting. I can't wait to meet some new girls in Missoula and start up another Bunco group.
Lunch Duty on Tuesday. This is when I realized I am not cut out to be a teacher! It was fun to hang out with the boys for a little bit however.
Stayed home an cleaned on Wednesday. By this point in the week, I had been so busy my house was out of control so I spent the day cleaning and playing with the kids.
Got pictures taken for the website. My friend Kelly is an amazing amateur photographer and she offered to take pics of our team for the website. Of course, that day ended up being the rainiest day of the week. She still managed to get some great pictures!

Had Missoula group. Always a good time discussing plans and praying!
Took Brock to Dr. for well baby check. He is getting so big. 29 lbs. (70%) and 35" (85%) Got a few shots and all looks good!
Missoula trip. Brian left at 5:30am to go to Missoula for the day. He met someone about a potential building that we may be able to use for our church. The meeting went well and we are very excited to see if we will be able to meet there. He made it back at 11:00pm. What a long day!
Showed the house on Thursday It is still being shown even though we have a pending sale. Hopefully we will sell it one way or the other soon....uuuuggghhhh....I don't like the waiting!
Went to dinner Yes, I am certifiably crazy....I took all 4 children to Applebee's by myself for dinner. The showing was at 6:30 so we had to be gone during dinner time. The kids actually did really well!
Bible Study I love my Friday morning bible study! It's a great time to visit with the girls and get in to the Word.
Showing the house again on Saturday. We are trying to keep the house clean because we have another showing tomorrow morning (did I mention I am ready for this house to be SOLD!)
Looking forward to the weekend! Hopefully it includes a date night and some relaxing time with the kids!

Keys and Guns!

2008-04-17T16:51:00.000-07:00

Some children have a special blankie or a stuffed animal...personally I have always thought it was sweet when kids have security things...until you have to search for them when they are going to bed, etc. At any rate none of our kids have ever been attached to any item until now. Brock has a few items he likes in particular. His first was a set of keys that he carried around everywhere. He went to bed with them, woke up with them and carried them around everywhere. He would eat with even using them as a fork of sorts (not the most sanitary I'm sure.) He actually had a special way of holding them. He had to hold them the same way everytime. He would cry when we couldn't find them and rarely give them up. We ended up misplacing the keys recently so he now has a "security" gun. Just like his keys, he is never without it and his finger is always on the trigger. Somehow, he feels better holding on to it. I am sure it will be something else when the gun is gone. It is amazing what he can do with only one hand as he is always carrying it around!

Who's Helga??

2008-04-17T16:33:00.001-07:00

I conversation Abby and I had last week:

Abby: Mom...who's Helga?
Mom: I'm not sure what you're talking about Abby. I don't know anyone named Helga.
Abby: Well, you asked Helga to take you away. Who is she??
Mom: Oh...I said "Calgon, take me away!"

Some of you may be to young to remember that commercial but with 4 kids I frequently quote it!

Sleeping Beauty

2008-04-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

Another pic of Abby falling asleep in her room. This week both her and I had a little bug and so we were a little more tired then usual. I still couldn't get her to take a nap...she just goes and goes kind of like the energizer bunny! I wish I could bottle up that energy and have some. Anyway, she did lay down one day and fell asleep with one of her baby blankets. She looked so cute with her hands folded...I couldn't resist taking a picture!

Donut Boy!

2008-04-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Brock loves his donees as he calls them! Its not that he gets them very often but when he does he enjoys them thoroughly! Last week when we had our open house, I had Brian bring home donuts for breakfast thinking it would be an easy quick breakfast involving little clean-up....well a lot of clean up where Brock was concerned. It did at least keep him entertained for a while! For my dietitian friend(s) I do feed him a balanced breakfast most mornings but being a fourth child he definitely gets a little more sugar then we gave our first!

Chapel

2008-04-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

Riley and Jordan have chapel one Friday a month. I just love going and watching the kids perform skits, songs and get "character" awards. Last Friday Riley's class played "In the Jungle" on the marimbas. He did a great job! I recorded it using my camera so it is lower quality but you can still hear the song and see him a little bit.

We are definitely going to miss Cornerstone next year, but I know God is blessing us with another great school. We have decided to put them in public school in Missoula. We just feel like this will be a great way to get to know people and to be a part of the community. And because we have already purchased our lot, we know what school they will be going to. They will be going to Hellgate Elementary It is K-8 divided into 3 different schools. They have approximately 1200 students in all 3 schools combined. That will be a big change from their school of 90 students now. I trust God will protect them and give them grace during the transition. A lot of people have commented on the name of the school so I decided to research to find the origin. This is what I found on the internet. "French trappers, observing human bones strewn on the valley floor at the eastern canyon entrance, had a reminder of the bloody ambushes there. They started referring to the site as “Porte d’ Enfer,” translated as Hell’s Gate. The trappers claimed that it was “safer to enter the gates of hell than pass through this narrow confine.” The name Hell Gate would remain from that time on and be used to designate both the larger valley area where trading parties gathered, known as Hell Gate Ronde, and Hell Gate Village, the predecessor of the city of Missoula." At any rate, it has an excellent reputation of being a good school in Missoula so we are excited.

Our little getaway!

2008-04-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

I am writing this from the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express in Couer d'Alene. Brian and I were able to get away yesterday and today to enjoy a little refreshment time...without children. They are being well taken care of by several different people. When you have 4 you kind of have to divide and conquer. Anyway, I'll post a few pictures when we get back.

Gardening with the Mosers!

2008-04-11T18:49:00.001-07:00

Well not really gardening...but this is as good as it gets at the Moser's home! if you know me, you know I am not much of a gardener and neither is my husband. Thus the Xeriscape yard (very low maintenance.) But today it was so sunny it inspired me just a bit...I went a bought a couple arfican violets and transplanted them into some pots I already had. I know it seems a little bit of a waste of time, seeing as we are moving soon, but I wanted a little color on our porch. And since they are in pots and not in the yard we can take them with us. We are also having another open house tomorrow so I thought it would look nice. We did accept an offer but we are continuing to market our house as well. If we get a cash offer before the other couple's house sells, we could bump them. Anyway, I thought I would post a few pictures of our handy work...Abby was a great helper! She loved playing in the dirt. Brock just wanted to play in the water :o)! I am excited for the weather to finally get a little warmer and so are the kids!

A good day!

2008-04-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

It is a good day in our house when Abby lets me help pick out her outfit for school. She has such a mind of her own..which is a good thing...but can make it difficult when I am trying to help her choose appropriate clothes. So today when she said she wanted me to pick out her outfit I thought I should take a picture to document the event as it doesn't happen that often. She even decided to pose for the picture. Thankfully my boys don't argue about what clothes they are going to wear and Riley and Jordan have uniforms for school which makes it even easier!