Photo of nature

A fellow blogger asked that we show pictures of nature this week. These are a few that I chose from when we lived up north in Happy Jack, Arizona.

The first picture is a picture of my silly family in one of the many trees that was in our front yard. This picture was taken in December of 2007...it was one of the first BIG snow storms that we got that year.
This a picture of all the snow and trees that surrounded our home.

This is one of my favorite pictures...this was at the end of our property. Elk could always be found somewhere around our house. We had a HUGE tub of food that we would leave out for the elk and they would come into our yard to eat.

Gold Canyon Promo

Gold Canyon has a special promotion going on right now...they are offering 15% off and FREE SHIPPING with any order of $50.00 or more. Visit my website to place your order, then at checkout use the following promo code GCSC722BK. You must hurry as this special is only good from today until the 29th of July.

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Here's to happy shopping and good smelling homes!

The first year of being a mommy...

The first year of my mommyhood is coming to a close...but the rest has yet to open. Even though I was considered a mom before I had Morgan, to my step-son Zach...it just isn't the same. I did not get to experience this part of life with Zach. So being a mommy has been ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL this past year. It all began when we found out I was pregnant on December 6th, 2007. Even though the morning sickness was HORRIBLE and lasted ALL DAY, I still LOVED every minute of being pregnant. Shawn took monthly photos of my belly for my "Belly Book". We were able to have 5 ultrasounds done and 4 out of the 5 were 4-D. I was able to share my happy moments with my first grade students each day, who by the way just LOVED having a pregnant teacher. They were ALL such BIG helpers everyday. I had 2 AMAZING baby showers that were given by friends and my mom and sister. At the end of my pregnancy I was REALLY READY for Morgan to be here. My feet became REALLY swollen from the HOT Arizona heat and I was just really uncomfortable. The day she was born was BEAUTIFUL. She had perfect color, A LOT of hair, and the chunkiest little face ever. I was surrounded by family and friends that day. I began nursing Morgan right away, but only 2 months into I developed Mastitis and was no longer able to continue nursing. My plan was to substitute teach the first year...after my 12 weeks were up...Shawn and I decided that staying home was the best thing to do. So, I did. I watched a little boy 3 days out of the week and stayed home with Morgan. Towards the end of the school year I was asked to do a 5 week long sub job...I discussed it with Shawn and we decided together that I would take it. It was a LONG 5 weeks. I was so happy when school was over. This summer we have stayed busy with playdates, traveling, and just plain ole hangin' out at home. Being a mom has so many new adventures everyday. I am sad that she is growing up so fast, but I thank God for allowing me to be able to stay home with her everyday and teach her all the fun things she is learning. My mom LOVES making Morgan all sorts of things. She made us burpers when she was born, she has made Morgan a few books, and she also made her a dress. The 2 things that are in the process of making are Morgan's little mermaid outfit for her birthday and her quilt. My mom is using 1 outfit from all 12 months of Morgan's first year and sewing them onto quilt squares. I cannot wait to share the photos of the finished quilt. It is going to be one of Morgan's Christmas presents...so we will have to wait till then! This first year of mommyhood has been a TRUE BLESSING! I cannot wait for every year to come. My kids are my world. I LOVE you both soo MUCH!

Side note: Show us a room Monday will be back next week...waiting on the hubby to finish his room or "man cave" as he calls it. :)

Well, we are officially ready for Morgan's first Birthday party. I made the invitations for her party. Our theme is "Under the Sea". My mom is working on Morgan's Mermaid outfit, and I am finalizing the food list. Here is a picture of the invites I sent out. (I blocked out all of our info for safety reasons). :)

Morgan and I went to lunch at Ajo Als with my mom, aunt and friend.

This is one of the many cactus displays they have at this restaurant. They are all glass cacti...I just LOVED it .

On Saturday morning we had our women's breakfast at church. Morgan went with my mom and I today...she was VERY interested in her new sippy cup instead of the breakfast.

Christie, Lisa, and Julie were all at the breakfast as well. It is great to know that we get to spend every third Saturday morning together. Today at the breakfast we discussed how we could serve where we are needed. The table my mom and I were at today decided we would put together a care package for our military friends that are away now. My cousin's husband and his friends were just deployed in May for a year. My cousin and her husband just had a baby in May, and now he is away for the first year of her life.

Zach is FINALLY home now for the rest of the summer...well he only has 2 weeks left now before he starts school. He asked to watch T.V. tonight and I told him that reading a book would be better, because school is starting soon and he hasn't gotten a lot of reading in this summer...he said okay...but I think he thought a nap was the VERY BEST idea! Caught on camera! (At least the book is in his lap...right??)

Now for a restfull Sunday. Starting the day at church then home to relax with the family. My sister invited me over to make Captain Crunch Treats... I guess they are like Rice Krispy Treats...wish us LUCK!

Blog Game

Blog Game!
I was tagged by a friend to do this!

Instructions:
"With as much creativity as you can muster, show your heart in: a picture, a poem, a song (or piece of music), a phrase (or quote), an item of clothing, a place, and (just for fun) a Disney princess. If you want to join in, tag 6 more blogs.

Picture: This is a family photo of us getting ready for a Cardinals game when they were in the playoffs. We are ALWAYS trying to find fun things to do together as a family!
Poem:
A Ring
© Heather Twining
It's a symbol of everlasting love
A symbol of forces bigger than us from up above.
Ones undying commitment & trust in another
A special bond that never gives up hope or faith in the other
We wear it show our loyalty and to let others know we are taken.
This little band with a huge message that's never meant to be forsaken.
Its a kiss or a hug at the end of a long day
Its a sympathetic heart when there is no longer anything to say.
Its a standard that has come unglued in the previous years,
A word taken to loosely- a huge commitment taken so lightly it now appears
But for the lucky few, we take this commitment very serious
We know everything about our partner-nothing is held in or mysterious.
We care for our "better half" in ways we never thought we could
Dream big things together-things we never thought we would
We are in fact better with our other half
They are what make life worth it-the things that make us smile & laugh.
In a cold world, its nice to be able to look down and remember that special day in your tux or wedding gown.
Its amazing what a gold band on your left index finger can mean
Its not really about the beginning or end-its about all the memories in between.
One life shared together

Song:
At our wedding we danced to "Better Together" by Jack Johnson. I remember when Shawn and I were first dating we were driving from Strawberry, AZ to Phoenix and Shawn said..."I want you to listen to this song...This is my song to you". Ever since then it has been our song. Here are some of the lyrics.

There's no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard No song I could sing But I can try for your heartOur dreams, and they are made out of real thingsLike a, shoebox of photographsWith sepiatone lovingLove is the answer,At least for most of the questions in my heartLike why are we here? and where do we go?And how come it's so hard?It's not always easy andSometimes life can be deceivingI'll tell you one thing its always better when we're together[Chorus:]MMM its always better when we're togetherLook at the stars when we're togetherIts always better when we're togetherYeah, its always better when we're together.

Phrase:
Formula For Life
This life is yours, take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to make your life better!

Item of Clothing:
Tank tops. I love the sun...not the heat. You can almost always find me in a cute tank top and of course a pair pf flip flops.

Place:
Colorado! This is where I was born. I have ALWAYS wanted to move back there, but my life has taken me down a different path and I have not quite made it back there to live yet. Maybe one day. This is a picture of Pikes Peak. From almost any home in Colorado Springs you can see this from your back deck. It is a beautiful site! The red rock in front are part of Garden of the Gods. This is a beautiful hike through read rocks and trees.

Disney Princess:

Well I know she is not one of the typical Disney Princesses, but Ariel is my FAVORITE! I remember when my Grandma first gave me the movie...she opened it and watched it first, then VERY carefully put the sticker back on and gave it to me. We laugh about that all the time now. Stay tuned for pictures of Mermaid Morgan's Under the Sea First Birthday Party as well!

Now that I have shared a little about me with you...these are the people I tag to do this too:

Jen Morgan

Paige

Catina

Amanda

Jen Chang

Brenda Lee

Private Blog...

Hello all!
After talking to a friend to confirm stories that I had heard, I have decided to make our blog private. There are WAY too many crazy peeps in this world for me to have it open to the world. So, please email me at chrissyls1006@yahoo.com with your email address if you would like to be added to our blog followers list. I know this will be more of a pain...but it is A LOT safer for me and my family! Thank you for understanding. I will keep it open until Saturday and then we will officially be PRIVATE!
Love,
Chrissy

Show us a room Monday...Today's pick is Zach's room and bathroom

Today I am showing you Zach's room and bathroom. It used to be a battle between him and I on how his room was organized and cleaned. Now that he is ten, he wants his own space, how he wants it and that's....that. So this is Zach's room and the things that he LOVES. First he likes to skateboard, so we took some skateboards and made shelves out of them.


This is the headboard to his bed. Shawn, Zach's dad, made him this bed for his birthday this past April. Zach LOVED it.

Zach LOVES to play air hockey, so for Christmas Santa brought him his very own air hockey table. On top of the table is a piece of deer or elk antlers that Zach and his Papa found when we lived up north. Zach LOVES to play outside. Above the bulletin board is a Kasey Kane flag. My parents and Shawn's parents are all Nascar fans, so of course Zach is too. His favorite driver is #9...Kasey Kane.

For Christmas Zach also got a mini drum set. He LOVES to bang on it...me not so much! :)

A few more mementos of Zachs.

Zach absolutely LOVES monkeys. His bathroom is in just that. The furry monkey on the shelf was given to him for his birthday a few years age and it acts very life like....kinda scary at first. My goal is to start painting a monkey on the wall and a palm tree or two.