Exercising, Haircut, Crafts and Update!!! Lots going on!

Here we are again! We have had a rollercoaster of a month. The big news lately is that James will be starting work as an Online Teacher for Grand Canyon University. He will be teaching classes for the Christian Studies department. So until May he will work 3 jobs. Nuts!!!! But the great thing about all 3 of them is that he gets to decide his own schedule. We will see how this pans out but it would be really nice catch up time if it worked. So with my job and his 3 we are definatly keeping busy and tired. But we are learning how to manage time, money and to communicate really well. Its really not as bad as it sounds. Its pretty ideal for our crazy, spontainious lifestyle anyways. The cool thing about James getting experience teaching online, is that he can eventually do that from overseas someday and it would help with supplemental support raising. We have a great plan in mind now as how the year will go, but we all also know how that goes. But we serve a God that knows us and our life better than we know ourselves and he LOVES us. Isnt that amazing.

Oh our Catherine is growing everyday! Yesterday she was playing computer games and a neighbor came over. We had her stop the games while the neighbor was there, because the games were loud and she needed lots of help. So she threw something down and stomped back to her room. James then went back to talk with her while I talk with our neighbor, and all the sudden I hear (really loudly) "can't you just tell her to go home!" My neighbor looks at me and I just apologize over and over and over again. I felt so bad. Oh my little girl. James and I laughed really hard about it when Catherine was in bed later on. We couldnt let her see that we thought it was funny or that would have started a really embarrassing trend. She also has started getting on my elliptical machine. And its scary, funny and she thinks shes pretty cool. She always says "I think Im just gonna exercise with the lliptical.

I am getting really interested in starting a booth at the famers market. I love crafts and I love knitting. So I have not stopped painting and knitting for a week or so now, so that I stock up to start that booth. I just need to get my State of AZ business license. I also chopped off my hair yesterday, its taking some time to get used to but I love it.

Here are some pics! Hope you all have a great day!

The Law

"As Christians we are not called to keep the law, we are called to fulfill the law. We fulfill the law by loving eachother, being available and becoming a living sacrifice." Romans 12:1
Bill Thrall (our pastor)

This is the message we talked about this last sunday at Church and James and I have been really learing and contemplating what this means and the reality of it in this life. Good stuff!

I wish I had a camera

We had one of the best days ever the other day and I forgot my camera! I was so bummed. Now that the weather is getting "better" here in Phoenix, Catie J and I have been walking to the park. Its about a 2 mile walk. We love it because we get time to talk and sing and look at bugs and all that fun stuff. Well the other day we were planning on walking up there and I looked outside and it was a little cloudy. So I checked the weather online and it said there was no chances of rain until that night. Well, Catie J and I get all ready to go on our walk and get on our way, it was beautiful! No sun, and a really nice breeze. So we are about 1/4 mile from the park and it starts sprinkling rain, that actually made the day feel even better. Not too much longer after that it starts pouring rain, so I book it to the park, because we were at that time closer to the park we could run for cover there. Normally when we go to the park I let Catie J get out of the stroller at the hill and we run the rest of the way together. Well, to Catherine, this day didnt make a difference. So I let her get out and she got the biggest kick out of the rain. This is coming from a little girl who usually doesnt see anything but sun. So we ran and played in the big field in the rain. It was so much fun. After we got tired and the rain died down, we played for a bit on the swings and the slide. All the sudden it started pouring again, so we hid for cover underneath one of the play structures and we pretended that we were in a castle and that we had to protect all of our people from the rain. While we were in lala land, James came to get us out of the rain. We went home and had coffee and hot chocolate and pretended that it was super cold outside and cuddled up and talked. It was really fun. Such and unexpected pleasure in our routine of life. Wish I would have had my camera so you could see us all soaked and my Catie J's laugh that is what keeps me going day to day! Have a fun day!

Catie J Cam

Oh My Catie J!!! She loves to take pictures.....Here are a few of the funny ones she has taken. She is actually getting pretty good at setting her animals up so she can get a shot of them. Here is a day with the Camera by Catie J.





here are her beautiful doggies

What movie is this???

Mr. Elephant...you can never have too many

her lovely map of the world


Mama Pooh is reading to baby Pooh

Just a random shot

again what movie is this??

her craft table

and daddy!!!!!

Hope you all enjoy! She did!

Breakfast Enchiladas???

You heard me, they are amazing!!! James and I have made an attempt at cutting flour and sugar out of our diet. At times we are great and other times its a very sorry attempt. Well I am trying now to conform our meals that we like into the "no flour, no sugar." We used to make green chile burritos for breakfast. With eggs, bacon, green chile and cheese wrapped in a big "Flour" tortilla. I was trying to figure out how to rework this recipe and little did I know I would come up with something amazing!! Heres the recipe!!!

15 corn tortillas
6-8 eggs
1/4 cup of milk
1 lb of bacon or sausage (whatever your liking is)
1 tomato chopped (optional)
1/4 cup of onion chopped (optional)
1/4 cup of bell pepper chopped (optional)
1/4-1/2 cup of green chiles (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tsp of pepper
2 cups of cheese
2 tbs of tabasco (optional)

First I start the bacon or sausage (whatever we have) then, while thats cooking I beat the eggs and add in the milk and veggies and spices. Then I get 5 corn tortillas and tear them up and cover the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Then I pour 1/3 of the egg mixture on top of the tortillas. Next I layer the bacon or sausage over the eggs and then I put a layer of cheese. I repeat this 2 more times. It goes into the oven on 300 for about 30 minutes and then on 350 for another 15 minutes. It should be to where you stick a fork in the middle and the eggs are cooked through. It serves about 4-6, depending on if men or women are eating. James usually eats about 1/2 of it. Its our new favorite breakfast and its super easy. Kind of like a breakfast burrito, omlet thingy. It reheats really well too.

Hope you enjoy!!!

JL

Project Detox

I love doing projects!!! I love the thrill of thinking out what I want to do and the creativity that comes along with it. I love trying to figure out how to get it exactly how i want it. Doing projects is almost like reading a book, there is a high at the beginning, I get excited to read, but i also get really excited to see how its gonna end. But when I am all done I am so sad that its over. Same with a project. I love thinking it out and excited to see the end result, but when all is said and done, i get very sad when its over. I think I may be a little weird, but its just who I am. So the project over the last couple of days......well its kind of a lot. I went into Catherines room and just got fed up! She has so much stuff. Too many toys, books, stuffed animals and waaaaaay to many clothes!!! So in an attempt to clear out her room, I went a little, (ok, a lot) bizerk!!! Project: Catherine's room. I went to target to get groceries and came back with a new bookshelf. I know, I shouldn't be adding stuff to her room but my idea is to minimize. So I put this bookshelf together, by myself, it only took me about 2 hours with the help of an amazing 3 year old. Well this is one of the shelves with the little 12"X12" squares. There were 9 squares 3 up and 3 down. So I had the insert boxes to go in them. I cleared out her dresser and got rid of a trash bag full of clothes and filled the 6 inserts with the rest of the clothes. We cleared her dresser out of her room and also her other bookshelf. I cleared out toy boxes and threw away stuff that is not used or useless anymore. After another 2 hours of cleaning, moving furniture and rearanging her room looked about 20x's bigger. Well, although i did love it, it just needed something more. So after a trip to the craft store today.....I came home with stuff to create labels for all of her clothing bins. I spent another 2 hours today painting, and hot glueing. I finally finished and I am so happy, yet very sad its done. I find myself sitting in her room looking at the shelf very pleased. I am so weird!!! Well, here are some pics.....now onto the next project!! Hope you all like it.

Oh My Girl

My Catie J says and does so many things to make me laugh so hard. Today we were about to eat lunch and I asked her what she wanted. She responds ever so serious and says "I would like to go to fred reckers house please." Of couse my response is "what the......fred recker?" Well after about 10 minutes of laughter on my part and frustration on her part we concluded that she wanted to go to Fudruckers for lunch. What a cutie pie.

She also came out singing the heck out of a song the other day. After the same phrase came out about 10 times I finally started listening to what she was saying. To the tune of the song and the words "All things are possible" My girl was singing, mind you, eyes closed, hands raised in the air, shouting and singing "I'll sneak the pasta bowl." over and over and over again! I couldnt stop laughing.

She is getting some of her grandma (jerilyns mom) in her. She is big on practical jokes and trying to be sneaky funny. So we were putting a puzzle together and I couldnt find 3 of the pieces anywhere. She starts giggling and then turns into full on laughter and I still cant find the pieces of the puzzle. She tells me to look in my pants. Lo and behold, 3 puzzle pieces. She had come behind me while doing the puzzle and put 3 pieces down the back of my pants.

One last funny one or just really cute one. I love rain and whenever it rains, which is not very often in Phoenix Arizona, I always wake up and say, "Thank you Jesus!!!" Well, We use James' tip money from starbucks to fill up our car with gas. Yesterday as we drove into sbucks to go get the tip money our low fuel light went on. I, exasperated and excited at the same time say, "Thank you Jesus!" And my Catherine says "But i dont see rain mommy?" Very cute! It is also nice to say it did rain last night and its a very cloudy day today! So "THANK YOU JESUS!!!" Have a fun day!