Day trip to Alyeska

So I haven't been skiing in probably 15 years, but this past weekend my in-laws kept the kids so that Chris and I could go skiing at our local resort. It was such a beautiful day and we had such a blast. The gear has changed so much since the last time I went. I was able to stay in much more control and only fell twice towards the end of the day, simply because I'm a wuss and am OUT OF SHAPE and couldn't control my speed. Our friend Scott Sexton went with us and he took these pictures. Afterwards we splurged and went out to eat at a little restaurant in Girdwood called the Double Musky. They were featured as having one of the best steaks by Jill Cordes on the travel channel. Great cajun cuisine...it was a special, albeit spendy treat after a day on the mountain.

Can you say Chuck E. Cheese?

Okay, so to start Thomas' Spring Break week off we took the kiddos up to Anchorage this past weekend so that they could see my sister, AKA "Auntie". Included in the trip was a trip to Chuck E. Cheese much to Thomas' delight. And much to my dismay the place was PACKED. There must've been 4-5 birthday parties occurring simultaneously and we later learned that a church group had dropped off 80 kids unexpectedly. I walked around juggling tokens, drinks, everyones coats and had both kids in tow for 15 minutes looking for a TABLE. It was crazy. You might ask where was Chris? He was out in the parking lot installing a new ski rack on our vehicle. Not any help to me at all! Long story short, Chris has said he'll never set foot in there again as he hates crowds of people. But Thomas and Rebekah did have a great time. I guess I can suck it up to give them memories of this childhood ritual...but maybe only if we go on a weekday!

Snow much fun!

Just a few pictures of Thomas and Rebekah playing in the snow. Thomas had his friend Spencer over for a playdate yesterday and the deal was that before they could plug into the Star Wars Wii game (Thomas' new favorite thing) they had to play for awhile. So they chose to go outside and "snowboard" on their sleds down our very miniscule hill. It was so funny to watch these two boys be boys. Rebekah didn't last very long before she came in and wanted "warm" cocoa.

IRW Closes :(

Well it's hard to believe that it's been just one week since my business life was turned upside down. I'd been with I Remember When for over 5 years when I received notification that as of last Monday, IRW was closing it's doors. Well now that I've had time to process the news and made peace with everything you might ask where do I go from here? Well after much prayer, lots of looking at several other companies and asking for wisdom from others I have signed up with another direct sales scrapbooking company called MemoryWorks. I don't feel like this is going to be a permanent home for me...but it's a window that I feel was open and one I could go through with a clear conscience when the IRW door closed. So to all my IRW friends who may now be looking to keep in touch with me via my blog I'll try to keep it updated better. And of course you're always welcome to e-mail me.

Rebekah's Christmas Recital

Okay, I just had to post a few of the photos from Rebekah's Christmas Program at her school. Thomas was so painfully shy at this age and he never participated (at least happily) in the programs the school put on. Rebekah on the other hand is the exact opposite. She was very excited and more than willing to get up and sing (and do a few other little extras which I didn't include)! It was so funny to watch her antics...she was entertainment in and of herself. And she must already know her mother is a nut with the camera because she kept waving to us and looking for me and my camera! ENJOY!

Welcome 2009!

Wow...hard to believe that it's 2009 and another year has come and gone! I'm looking forward to see what this year will bring for my family and a little nervous about the changes that will probably have to be made in response to the incoming President. I'm really excited about my IRW scrapbooking business and the changes that will be coming with the new changes to our company and of course to see the growth in Thomas and Rebekah! One of my hopes is to keep up better with this blog...I'm hoping that you, my friends and family will leave me a comment, so I know you're visiting. :)

A Huge Summer

What a summer Thomas had! There were lots of firsts and lots of growth. He had swim lessons all summer and is now much more comfortable in the water, he learned to ride his bike without training wheels (and with NO help or coaching from us) and of course...

Thomas started Kindergarten this fall. This is a picture of him on his first day of school. I had a talk with his teacher, Miss Rosin a couple of days ago and feel much better about his placement in the K-1 split class at Redoubt. I was pretty uneasy when I found out that this was where he was placed on the first day of school. But according to Miss Rosin he is a model student, is well liked by all the other students, listens and follows directions well and is on the verge of reading. She reassured me that if he was in a standard Kindergarten class he would probably be bored as they learn just one letter/week and are still learning how to line up, school routines, etc. He informed me today on the way home from school they had finished the alphabet (practiced the letter "Z")! He does his homework willingly and seems to truly enjoy school. For that I am truly grateful.

My dad is having back surgery at Providence in Anchorage tomorrow to have his 5 lower vertebrae fused, so if I'm absent for a few days, that's why. I'm not sure how often I'll be up to Anchorage to support my mom, but I would covet your prayers. Please keep us lifted up in prayer. I struggled with it late into last night, but finally have some peace. Everything is in His hands, and my fear was about the horrible possibilities of a botched surgery...but I know I need to trust AND believe that God is good and he will work this out for His glory. I'm saying Philippians 4:4-7 over and over!!