New Years Resolutions...

Uhg, I guess I will do it!

ONLY 1 and this is if it is God Willing!

GET OUT OF DEBT!

We have the resources now to be out in about 9 months, if they stay where they are we will be out... LIKE I said... God Willing...

God's Part= All of it...
Our Part= No eating out, no movies, no dates, no presents, no NOTHING!
YOUR Part= Don't ask us to do anything that causes us to spend money!


ANd to help out, we are locking up our debit cards and going strictly to Cash! WHOO it's gonna be hard, but we have been trucking at this for 2 years now!

"Live like no other, so one day you can live like no other." "Dave" Dave Ramsey... :)

Cute pics and a little updation!

Okay, so the shop is officially open wednesday. Woo hoo... It feels good to be working again.

I thought I would post some pics because I can't help it, I have some pretty cute kiddos. :)

Here is my thought for the day:

"If you think you are better than someone, you are predicting your own purpose, we all make the world go round and not one of us can stop it. We need the less fortunate, uneducated, less than us people, and who is to say we are not one of them? If you must correct, advise, and interrupt, correct only on something you have been corrected on, advise only on something you have learned from, and interrupt only when you have been interrupted."

I took this in old Fair oaks for a picture scavenger hunt, I love it!

Dustin, Casey, and Landice in the Mystery House... (The Mystery Spot) Santa Cruz

Reclica Vs. Designer Perks

So if you know me, you know I have quite the selection of replica items. Not necessarily by choice, but rather because they were left in my inventory during my off times of business.

I have been in the replica bus. for about 3 years now, lol aka the black market. It has brought me some fun times and now has lead to my newest adventure of opening my own consignment store.

I only have 1 true non replica item, which are my Coach sunglasses I bought for my birthday in 06'. When talking about Nordstrom's return policy and how lenient they are when it comes to items being exchanged, I figured I would give it a try.

I walked in with my 3 year old, worn just about everyday, in perfect condition sunglasses, pulled them out of my purse and mentioned the idea of exchanging them. To my surprise, the lady took them from me, scanned the little sticker inside the case and said, "Okay, the prices have gone up a tad since you bought them in 06' but we can find something in your price range if you'd like."

So, I just would like to make an ode, to my glasses... thanks for blocking out the sun on my brightest days, hiding the tears when I needed to run away and be discrete, and holding my hair back when the wind was at it's toughest offense. You never steered me wrong all though I lost you but you were just hiding in the stroller compartment for 3 months. I was never in love with how you looked on me, but you did your job immaculately! THANKS! If it weren't for Nordstrom's awesome exchange policy you would still be my favorite, but my new Juicy Glasses are SO MUCH CUTER... and they were even cheaper...

So I figure, I paid $160 for a pair of glasses at an impulsive moment or selfishness, But with Nordy, you can break them, scratch them, bend them, and replace them all you want... I think it is way worth it! Seeing as my fake Dior glasses ($16) Lasted me a good 3 months... It is more price effective to choose designer.

Random thoughts... :) and Updates

Well, I miss Landice at 14 months... :) She is now just under 3 feet! Some primordial dwarfs don't even get there. I love these pictures I took at the park... I need to do it again...

(14 months old)

Our shop is close to being done! We got the walls textured, they just need a little paint, and some straining of the floor and then we can start moving stuff in! Woo Hoo...

Our address is,

10140 Fair Oaks blvd

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

Here is the theme we are going with...

I have started weighing my food and counting cals... (Since I have now failed at BFing :() I lost all my weight after Landice by doing this, only I would eat junk! I'd be like... "Oh, a candybar is 250 cals! Great, there is my dinner!" Now that I am a little more health conscious this is what I have found. A bowl of Ice cream has the same cals a tiny bowl of life cereal... Uh... so I think I will go on an ice cream diet... told you I was health conscious... :)

SHORT SALE!!!!

We put it on the market AGAIN... but this time it is for real! 2 days on the market at 195K and we got an offer for 208K we signed the papers so it is up to the banks!!! Our Realtor has already talked to them so we are pretty sure they will accept. I think the guy was diggin the mannequins in the juicy couture tracksuits in my living room... I new staging the house works!

Well, I am off to pack and clean... I LOVE MOVING... Blah!

5 for 5!!!

Okay, I am starting a new thing... a 31 day commitment... I CAN DO IT!!!

I call it 5 for 5... since May is the 5th month

5 miles on foot a day (this can be anything from elliptical, StairMaster... as long as I am on my feet)

5 Fruits. 5 veggies (juiced of course) /day

NO SUGAR!!!! ( come on I can do it, it is only 31 days)
(Sugar meaning man made refined junk... Natural sugars from fruit are okay)

NO MEAT accept turkey, fish and chicken...
(Should be easy, I usually don't eat other meats... ah but I do love Bacon!)

GOAL: Lose 5 lbs/week :) Hey I said 5 for 5!

Okay so I will update...

May 1st Weigh in:
May 9th Weigh in:
May 16th Weigh in:
May 23rd Weigh in:
May 31st Weigh in:

notes from each week:

Swine Flu Skeptic! Yup that's me!

So my pastor just started his 10 week series on the end times (Mathew 24 and 25), perfect to get our blood flowing for the upcoming pandemic of "swine flu."

It was interesting because in the beginning of Mathew 24 the Disciples are asking when we will know when Jesus' return will be. And he replies, "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left unturned, Everyone will be thrown down," (NIV) anyways, when it came time for this to pass, it was due to a fire that caused all the gold used in the temple to meld down into the rocks... EVERY SINGLE rock was gone through to find each ounce, It is funny how circumstances arise to make the prophecy come true...

With that said, I am a little Skeptical of the "swine flu" and am glad to see more skeptics out there arguing if this is the correct name for it. Skeptic scientists are already coming together and figuring out the probability of a Pig, 2 Birds and humans crossing flu's and mutating them into 1... Yeah, most of them are agreeing that the probability is not quite in the favor of what we have been sheepishly hearing.

Tom Sullivan had callers in yesterday having them give suggestions of names they would call it, from Jumping the border flu, to terrorist flu all the way to my favorite, which is " A Perfect Chance for Obama to Push Socialized Medicine Flu" As much as I love the idea of socialized medicine, it seems pretty odd that this is popping up right after the new president elect has been trying to push this so hard... SO from here on, it will be called in my blog, (APCOPSM Flu)

(OPINION HERE, NO EVIDENCE, please no offense!) The government has to get us all mad so we can make a drastic change and keep Americans on board... Hence killing our loved ones... 9/11 = excuse to keep us in Iraq, APCOPSM flu = excuse to push socialism in this oh so wonderful great awesome, FREE, everyone is dieing for me because I am a piece of shit, lying country! (Sorry no offense!)

ANYWAYS... Here is what the bible says about this...

Matthew 24:7: "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places."Divers is an old way to spell diverse. So this verse says that in the last days, there will be pestilences, in the plural. The dictionary says that pestilence is a contagious disease. Swine flu qualifies as a contagious disease. I think we can all agree on that...

So here is a quote from someone trying to say this is prophesied in the bible, but some argue if we are in the 7 year tribulation already or not... if we are, OBAMA=ANTICHRIST lol, not kidding... it is a possibility... okay so she obviously thinks the period hasn't begun but here is what she said.

"Many people look to Revelation as the ultimate book of Bible prophecy. Revelation mentions plagues starting in Revelation 9:20. Many people were killed by plagues earlier in the chapter, but they would not repent of their idolatry and their devil worship. However, this chapter is speaking about the time of the seven-year tribulation. There are no indications that we are in the tribulation, so these verses cannot be referring the current outbreak of swine flu."

To end, just know we live in an evil world... as a Christian, to argue this would be contradicting my beliefs. It is not surprising to hear of the evil around, and instead of blaming "mother nature" I think I will just stick to my "Conspiracy theories." :) But I would rather call them "Biblical Theories."

"Don't be so heavenly set, that you are no earthly good" Our pastor called us ostriches because we like to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the truth... I'd like to say our heads are somewhere else... :) So pull them out people... and get your face masks on!

REPENT FOR THE END IS NEAR! DUM DUM DUM...

You tell me...

So the constant... "I see Landice," "I see Dustin," "She looks just like you," is going around right now... You be the judge... :) I don't have any baby pics of me or Dustin on this computer but I will try to find some and scan them.

Landice on left, Brylie on right... on the way home from the hospital (Landice looks smaller but notice how the hat is a bit more snug... she had a big ol' noggin...

1 Month old... (Brylie Left, Landice Right... )

I think Landice Looked Like Dustin when she was this little but now she is my little clone in different colors. I see a ton of me in Brylie but who knows... she may just be like daddy when she gets bigger... :)

Opened Eyes of Gratitude!

Thankfulness, that is all I am feeling right now. I keep asking myself "why"? Why has God given me SO much? Why does he feel I am a good enough person to deserve a husband who looks at me as gold and treats me like a princess everyday? Why has he blessed me with not just 1 but now 2 beautiful healthy little girls that I do not deserve? For once in my life, I have so much thankfulness to God because I know that he is the only thing that has the power to keep this in my life. In an instant it all can be taken away, and at this moment he has chosen to give it to me.

I have been so in tuned to getting out of debt because it is such an obstacle to giving more to people. I always tell people that time tells all, literally. When we have a span of time to look back and stare at all the pixels of the picture, we can clearly see God's hand at work. Man, I see it... and I can only tell it is not complete. When we first learned of our debt (yes, it is something people are not educated on most of the time, their OWN debt) we were so excited to try to get out of it so we could focus on things like, remodel our house, go on vacations, etc... God has clearly been setting obstacles in front of us to show us that we just aren't going to be getting out as soon as we would hope. God's will... funny thing...

I must say that a year and two months have gone by sense debtville USA has entered our house and our motives for getting out have certainly changed...

1st thing: Everything we have is GODS! We can not contain anything without his mercy. It makes me so sad to think this because people deny him everyday and he still sends blessings. I can be considered one myself at times.

we were labeling everything we "own" in our financial class a couple weeks ago, and it was so neet to see what everyone wrote... We wrote things like our house, cars, clothes... And the other couples who don't have those things yet wrote things like, CD's, Dvd's, Guitar... It made me realize that no matter how much we have, we look at it as OURS and something we obtained so we must hold it dear. It also made me realize, that when we give it all to God, if we ever lose it... we know we never had it in the first place...

So here is my point to all this... I have been feeling so guilty lately about thoughts of material possessions. I made a list of all the clothing articles I think one person needs, all the clothing articles I would want according to a desired amount calculated not by greed but a little treat and need, and all the clothing articles I have... I was going to go through the clothes and limit it down to what I "want"... But now, I am feeling it should still be less... No matter the number, this is how my system will work...

I will have a set number for items... If I want a new one, I MUST GIVE something away... If something gets ruined... I get a treat :) I get to purchase 1 new item to replace it... If I don't wear something for more than 2 months (Not due to out of season purposes) I will get rid of it and lower my number on the list... :) (Not replace it)

I have had this idea ever since we dedicated our stuff to God... I am working on getting Dustin on board... but he swears his "need" of 30 pairs of boxers is legit... We will get there slowly... It is not that big of a deal to him because clothes are not a sacrifice to him anyways... I ultimately want to do it with more than clothes, but I figure this is a great start...

All in all, I just want to say "THANKS" to everyone who has helped us out! This week our baby was born... (Brylie Genesis De Vriend) She is more than we could have asked for!

Touching moment: Joan and Chuck (Elders in our church who work with us in Jr. High) made us dinner last night... (Very tasty) While they were here we were sharing stories of other parents in our church. There are 2 parents who are blind with baby girl twins... Chuck was telling us the Blind man's testimony and got choked up right at the end... I could see the love God has for us and how powerful he can be... I have always been a witness to others testimony's and their power when it was their own story... but to have the testimony passed though 2 mouths and still see its power was amazing!

Thanks God For EVERY(THING) (ONE) you have blessed me with in this life...

Reflections of an Eager mother...

So I thought, as I was doing hopefully what is the last of my nesting, what my next blog should be about.... As I sat down to write it, I found myself distracted by looking through myspace pics and other junk...

When I was looking at our Christmas pics of this year, I couldn't help but have good feelings about all that we did... With Liv doing the ginger bread houses, family coming over for Smore's and Dovewood Court, It just felt right... and then I realized, this was the first Christmas I have not done presents in a long time. Ever since I was able to scrounge money, I bought for mostly everyone. This year, I was guilted into spending 15 bucks on Landice because people kept saying how horrible I was... All in all, I think this was one of the best Christmas' in a while...

I also am constantly reminded on my new years resolution, which is to make a better prayer life. I used to be in tune and give thanks everywhere I went. Now, it seems I only pray when it is brought to my attention that I have not in a while... However; With the current circumstances of my cousin in Utah, Ryan, I am forced to be reminded of how much I need prayer in my life. I find my thoughts wrapped around his well being and it reminds me to pray all the time! I posted a blog on myspace about a prayer board, I am kicking myself to actually put it up... so I am adding it to my to do list now...

(Ryan was just recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, he likes to call Tina, and is expecting a baby... So we all know the big man upstairs could use some talking to from anyone else as well)

I am officially 6 days away from my due date... Sheesh... I must say, this pregnancy went by much faster than my first. Am I prepared? I hope so... I have all the necessities, but I will truly see when she is actually here. I am super excited about giving birth at Sutter Roseville. I always thought Mercy was great but when I saw the rooms at Sutter I was blown away. They also serve a menu and I actually love the way patients are catered to after birth... Besides as many days I don't have to cook or buy groceries... bring them on.. lol.

Grr... February has been tight, as you can tell by my last sentence. It is the shortest month but we are truly feeling the too much month at the end of the paycheck syndrome... We ate out a ton! which if you know us and our plans... that is bad right now...

Debt... We are trying desperately to reorganize our thoughts away from Dave Ramsey... we are advid followers ever since we were introduced to his plan January of 07' Since then we have been on "Gazelle" intensity of debt payoff and find ourselves thinking about it NON STOP. We are now going through Crown Financial, which is a more biblical approach to money management and debt payoff, and were quite resistant when hearing what is had to say... BUT, we have come to learn, that debt is our fault and we can't let it take away from sharing our resources with others. It might take a little longer to dig out of, but fellowshipping is much more important than fixing a temporary problem. The bible says, we are slaves to our debtors, and man are we feeling it... But it also says, he who sows abundantly with reap abundantly... So, who knows... it could mean getting out faster... but God's will be done... you know... lol Blessed are those who are POOR, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven... WOOT WOOT!!!

A cute last note... Dustin goes to a Tuesday night leadership class at our church on Tuesdays so Landice and I get some hang out time... Last night I decided to try putting rag curls in her hair... She hates having her hair done, but surprisingly she was up for it. I put her to bed reassuring her that in the morning her hair would have "Curlies" in it, not really thinking she would understand. Low and behold... she wakes up at 2:30 am, (something she does about once a month) and wanders into our room... Dustin did not get to see her before she went to bed and was curious what was all over her head... " What the heck is in your hair...?" He said...
"Curlies!"... "Mommy Dood it! She my best friend." It made waking up in the middle of the night, all the more special... lol

Random Randomness but it's my thoughts....

My 1st Creation

So I started with this simple crib set, just a basic bumper, quilt and skirt...

I must say, I am very happy with the bumper, the skirt is okay and the quilt, not so much. So I listed it for $150.00 on ebay. We will see... people are paying rediculous amounts.

It was great practice and I know exactly what to and not to do on the next one... but I must say, I LOVED making it... :) I am ready to start another one! :)

Methuselah (When he Dies, it will be sent)

Our pastor is going through Genesis this month and instead of skipping over Genesis 5:1-32 because it is merely geneology, he decided to make it interesting.

He had a little key for us to fallow so it was a bit more interesting, but I will try my best to show you what he showed us.

If we start at the year 0 with Adam... And work our way from there... (You can do all the math from Genesis 5... it really does work) They don't do the math for you, they just say how old they were, that is why this is not obvious unless you do a little brain work.

Adam Lived 930 Years, Died in 930
at 130 Adam Had Seth
Seth Lived 807 Years, Died in 937 (See because he was born in 130... stick with me 130+807)
At the year 235 Seth had Enosh (it says that Seth was 105 when he fathered Enosh 130+135)
Enosh lived 905 Years, Died in 1140
at year 325 Enosh had Kenan
Kenan lived 910 Years, Died in 1235
at year 395 Kenan had Mahalalel
Mahalalel lived 895 Years, Died in 1290
at year 460 Mahalalel had Jared
Jared lived 962 Years, died in 1422
at year 622 Jared had Enoch
Enoch lived 365 years, Died in 987 (Poor Enoch)
in year 687 Enoch had Methuselah

Now before I go on, you can look it up... all hebrew names in the bible have interesting meanings. The meaning of Methuselah means: When he dies, it will come or When he dies, it will be sent... (Just keep that in mind...)

Now Methuselah lived the longest out of all these men... (Just maybe because of what his name ment)

Methuselah lived 969 Years, Died in 1656 (KEEP THIS NUMBER HANDY!)
in year 874 Methuselah had Lamech
Lamech lived 777 Years, Died in 1651
in 1056 Lamech had Noah...

It does not go on to say how long Noah lived until after his story... (We all know the story of Noah...)

But here is what it says, Genesis 9:28 After the flood Noah lived 350 Years. Altogether Noah lived 950 years, and then he died...

So if we do the math we can see that Noah, since he was born in 1056 he died 950 years later... he would have died in year 2006

The scripture says he died 350 years after the flood...

2006-350=1656...

This means the flood came in the year... 1656

Remember when Methuselah died???
Remember what his name ment???

I LOVE IT!!!!

An almost Due, House Wife's To do List...

To do: (Today)

Bring in all baby clothes and organize by size...

Move all craft boxes from big closet to office

Label all craft boxes

Label all boxes in baby room

Organize hall closet, make room for new baby stuff

Wash car seat cover and basinet cover

Do ALL laundry

Fold ALL laundry

Put away ALL Laundry

Find a way to convince husband to go through his socks and boxers before the drawer busts from the seams

Clean Bathroom

Vacuum out car

CAN YOU SAY NESTING???!!!! :)