It's beginning to look......

.....a lot like Christmas!

Yes! You are not mistaken. That is 7 inches of snow on our back patio!

The Seattle area has been pummeled with snow storm after snow storm, and we're expecting another one tomorrow just in time for Christmas!

I never thought I'd see a white Christmas here.

Poor tree. I think the weight of the snow and ice is about all it can handle.

We saw a little melting this afternoon.

Things are looking up.....it should just be raining by the weekend!

Deckin' The Halls

Last night for Family Home Evening we put up all our Christmas decorations. I have not been looking forward to it since Abby gets into EVERYTHING. But, so far so good.
She even helped put up a few decorations!

Now if I can get those cards done and sent we'll be in good shape!

Is this a Good Activity!?

Sunday night, Gerritt took on the task of keeping Abby entertained while I finished cooking dinner. This is what he let her do.......because he thought she couldn't possibly get too wet since she already didn't have socks on. Boy was he wrong!

She was soaked!

But, she had tons of fun, and Gerritt and I got a good laugh out of it!

Family Pictures

I thought I did everything right. Gerritt got the leaves into a pile for fun, I got the camera all set up on the tripod. I got the camera setting as good as I could(with an automatic camera). And, I set the timer for 10 seconds. I also set the camera to take 10 pictures. We were bound to get at least ONE okay picture for Christmas cards. Hmmm......here are a couple of the no's.

Abby did not want to sit still.......

......or keep that silly Santa hat on.So here it is. The BEST picture of the thirty we took!

Merry Christmas!

Funny

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We hung out up here this year....well we have never really traveled for Thanksgiving because the weekend is just too short for a drive to Utah.

Thanksgiving morning Gerritt and Abby decided to take it easy while I baked rolls.

I couldn't help but snap this picture. They are both totally mesmerized by the cartoons!

And today........ It was just before lunch time. While I was making Mac 'n cheese for Abby, this is what she was up to.

So Cute! Abby realized it was lunch time and figured her lamb and bear would be hungry too.

YAY YAY YAY!

For the past three weeks or so I have been dreading my follow-up appointment with Dr. Low (my awesome surgeon.) I guess I'm a real pessimist, and have been having a hard time with the mental and physical recovery from extensive chest surgery. (I have been planning worst-case-scenarios in my head to see how I'd deal when I might hear bad news.)

My appt was at 9:45, and I was told to check in and be to radiology for chest x-rays by 9:30. Gerritt and I drove separately so he could go directly to work(so he won't be late for a church activity tonight), and I could pick Abby up from my friend Bree's before she needed to leave. We get there and I get my x-ray's without a hitch, but when I get to the Thoracic surgery waiting area and get checked in there we wait.........and wait. It's about 10:30 before I get called back to the exam room, and there we sit...........I have no fingernails left because of stress. I start pacing and worrying that I won't be able to pick up Abby in time. Finally, a knock on the door. Sigh, it's only a nurse practitioner who asks me about the incision and how I've been feeling, and all the basics that busy surgeons don't have time to ask. She gets all her info and leaves. And we wait........what no more fingernails to bite! What to do now? More pacing, and contemplating the effects of jumping out of a sixth floor window, this tiny exam room is excruciatingly warm!! (I get a little high-strung....I'm glad Gerritt is there to calm me down.) It's 11:15 by now and finally he strolls in to tell me the good news:

My Gore-Tex patch is still in place, and my recovery has been phenomenal.

Congratulations to me!

I wasn't able to pick up Abby in time, so she got to take a ride with Bree to the airport. She seemed to enjoy it!

*Well, I guess all that worrying was for nothing. Oh, and he thinks the best 'test' for the durability of said patch is childbirth. So, maybe we'll try that again soon.

Fall time FUN

It finally stopped raining(I know I'm surprised too!) so Gerritt spent the morning outside raking up the leaves. Meanwhile, Abby and I are bouncing off the walls staying inside. So, I thought it might be fun to let Abby explore the piles of fallen leaves. She LOVED it!

Oh yeah! Abby is 16 months old today! Only two more months 'till we can send her off to nursery! (We're not excited about that or anything.....)

Cups & Blocks

Abby's new favorite toys.......Blocks, a cup to put them in, and a spoon to stir it all together!

Check out my new Blog!

Hey All!

I decided to leave this blog just to family stuff.

But, I created a new blog to showcase my coupon insanity:(and share those great deals with all of YOU!)

Check it out HERE!

Enjoy!

Deal of the Week

My friend Torrie requested that I post a "deal of the week" and this week I have a couple.
*Some of these deals are Seattle area specific

Deal #1

This week at Walgreens their house brand diapers are Buy 1 Get 1 Free. Limit 4

They retail for $8.99 a pack.

What makes this deal sweeter is a $2 coupon (takes off $2 for each pack) in the pharmacy coupon packet you can get there at the pharmacy for asking about their Rx rewards program.

So here's how the transaction breaks down:

Buy (4) Diapers: $35.96

BOGO discount: -$17.98

Pharmacy coupon: -$8.00

Total: $9.98+tax

For FOUR packages of diapers!!!!

Deal #2 *area specific

There is a coupon in the Fred Meyer ad from the Sunday paper for Fred Meyer brand 1/2 gallon milk 10 for $10. Limit 10

That equals $2 a gallon which is a really great deal for milk these days!

I bought 10, and put some in the freezer. (I usually have to buy 8-10 gal a month. My hubby and daughter are baby cows I swear!)

Deal #3

Every month Rite-Aid has a rebate program with different deals every week. This week there is a rebate of $5.00 when you buy 10 SoyJoy bars. They happen to be on sale this week 10 for $5. There is a few coupons out there from previous Sunday inserts. (Can't remember which one specifically.) The coupon is for $2 off the purchase of 10 SoyJoy bars.

Here's that transaction:

(10) Soy Joy Bars: $5.00

MQ: -$2.00

Total: $3.00 with a $5.00 rebate

Total OOP(out of pocket): -$2.00

Enjoy!!!

Just one more: This Saturday 11/8 ONLY at QFC:

QFC brand milk .99 a gallon

Limit 1

(you have to use your QFC card to get the price)

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was such a busy day that I started this post that night, and am now (Nov 3) just getting back to it!

Abby and I started our morning with a playgroup at our house. It was a costume party, but Abby only lasted a few minutes in her costume. And, she was not too happy about standing still to have her picture taken.

After nap-time she was a bit more pleasant, and I was able to snap some better pictures of my little skunk!

After dinner, Abby and Gerritt had some fun carving a pumpkin!

Okay, well.....Abby just wanted to taste the pumpkin!

The finished masterpiece!

Gerritt took Abby for a walk......She's still a bit too shy to go trick-or-treating. (Plus, she can't say it yet either!)

And the best part of her costume was this little patch on her bum!

We hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Just an Update

So it's been too long since I last posted. We have been pretty busy, and then sick.

Well, on the 17th, A few of my friends and I loaded our kids into cars and drove up to Marysville to check out a pumpkin patch. We went to Biringer Farms because the information we had said that it was open on Fridays. We got up there and it looked totally deserted! But, the gates were open so we went to check out the pumpkin patch. Abby was very upset that she couldn't push her stroller, so we spent most of the time having a tantrum. I finally gave up and put the stupid stroller back in the car! Needless to say, I didn't get any pictures of her with the pumpkins. But, she did calm down enough to roam around and see other things.

Running free on the grounds!

Look! I'm driving!

Hmm.......I don't think I trust that goat!

I was able to get another great deal on apples! This store sells things in large amounts, and I got 2olbs of Honeycrisp apples for .49 a lb. So this last weekend was spent canning. I made applesauce, and then was able to cook down the apple water from that into apple juice. I made apple mint jelly with that! I LOVE apple mint jelly! And, on the plus side......it actually set, and tastes great!

Abby has picked up a new hobby! She loves to color. We tried it out on Saturday, and she was occupied for long enough for me to finish up the canning!

What a silly kid!

15 months **UPDATED**

**So here are some new stats for our growing girl:

Height: 31 in 65%

Weight: 22lb 1 oz 40%

So, she's still a tall skinny kid!

Yep this is Abby! Doesn't she look so much like a toddler now, and less like a baby!
Abby LOVES food!

But here's the catch.....if you want her to eat anything besides vegetables you have to give her the other food first. Because once she gets veggies it's like the rest of her tray is empty. Some of her favorites are: peas, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, cucumber, and zucchini. She even ate beets like crazy the other day!
She's also getting really silly!

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Who doesn't love a FREE handbag!?

Fall is Here!

Well, we have said our final farewell's to the Sun. I don't expect to see it again until at least March. But, earlier this week Abby and I tried to make the best of what semblance of summer was left.

We went to a park on Monday with friends!

And then off to McDonald's for cheap lunch and more fun! The Playplace is great to run around in!

And yet again on Wednesday the sun was out. The last and final day! We went to a park again. It's so nice to get out and enjoy the weather!

Earlier this week I got a great deal on apples! So today I canned Apple Pie filling. I hope it tastes as good as it looks. (This was my first canning experience without parental supervision, yay!) We also canned some tomatoes from our garden. Yum!