Oooops!

I finally started putting away MY Christmas gifts this evening....Oh my I got so many cool things. So I open up the box that has the cool Popcorn bowls....Aren't they cool...

So I find the Christmas bag with the popcorn. So excited I popped it into the Micro...punch in 3 minutes and keep putting away gifts.

All the sudden I smelled my popcorn........burned.

I couldn't believe I did that...no biggie I opened up another bag and put it in the micro for a little less time. No for real! I did it again....Thank goodness the third time is a charm ...after the whole house smelled like burned popcorn we had golden yummy cooked just right popcorn.

Have a good laugh on me!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Happy Holidays

I looked around my house this morning and said to myself....Welcome to Toys R Us. Finding a place for all the cool new toys will take a little time. I think that is a project for another day. Ok so we have had 3 christmas get togethers now and we are off to Longmont in the morning......It's snowing all around us and we have to cross a mountain pass no matter which way we go. Plans are to head out and try to be in Colorado Springs around 10:00am so the little ones can visit with their Grandma. On up to Denver...pick Maddie up in Brighton where she spent the night with her cousin Kiya. Then we will have Christmas one more time. Be back home on Sunday night to be to work on Monday.

Simple Pleasure

I woke up this morning with all this ambition....made a pot of coffee sat down to drink it and realized I felt pretty much like#*&@. At that point I scratched off baking from my list of things to do....I was feeling better already so I marked off cleaning my house too.... heck my cleaning lady was just here on Friday...wow now the headache was going away too....had my second cup of java and turned on the TV and sat in my chair with a blanket watched a movie.....That was fun while it lasted then the little ones woke up. I got them up fed them breakfast and settled them down to a movie.....yep back to my chair I went to watch a little HGTV. I did get just a little motivated after lunch and did some things around here but pretty much made this day into a pamper me day. I did take time to hold my little Annie (mini Aussie Pup) every chance I got. Now this was a simple pleasure day!

I wish you all a very safe and happy holiday.

Don't forget the reason for the season!

Enjoy your family and friends!

Final Countdown

Wow ladies it's almost here...yep have most of the packages wrapped and under the tree. Spent last Sunday baking cookies and will bake some more today and a few other goodies. Our cookies must have hit the spot because there aren't many left...oops.

Here is my right hand man when we bake. Madison loves to bake and she does a great job. She and I each made a double batch of our famous sugar cookies. She made plain ones and I made Chocolate. I came across this great recipe for sugar cookies that you make with a cake mix...oh my gosh so yummy. If you are really nice to me I just mite share it with you...it's so easy, and quick...and they taste so good.....

By the time we finished we had most of the kitchen table covered with these little guys. The little ones couldn't wait to decorate them so I mixed up my favorite glaze in pretty colors. We let the little ones decorate some for them....

needless to say I didn't get any decorated that day I was too tired. Today I will bake some more so I have some for all our Christmas.

Work was crazy this week I had appointments booked back to back with no breaks so I could be off and running to Kassie's basketball tourney....

Grown-up Christmas List

Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee.
I wrote to you with childhood fantasies.

Well, I'm all grown-up now,
And still need help somehow
I'm not a child,
But my heart still can dream.
So here's my lifelong wish,
My grown-up christmas list.
Not for myself,
But for a world in need.

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up christmas list.

As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree.
Well heaven surely knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul.

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up christmas list.
My only lifelong wish.
This is my grown-up christmas list

Christmas Tree

Dear Santa

All I want for Christmas

This year is a...

Garage

Slacker....

So I have been slacking a little. Too much going on here to write about. Maddie and I went to pick out just the right tree for us....for the next 10 years haha! We went chucked on down to the Walmart...(Only store in our town to shop) we were looking for a tall....strong....real good looking one. There it was a 9 foot tall not to fat perfect Christmas tree for us to put all our old ragged ornaments we love so much on. We just can't wait to put it up.
I am sitting her looking at my precious little Christmas lists from my darlings. I am actually not overwhelmed this time...Amen. I feel like I am getting a jump start on the Holiday....planning what kind of creations I can come up with in the kitchen. I should be able to bake up a storm this year with 4 helpers instead of 2. I am so feeling like Paula Dean this season. I think that all this inspiration came from me finding the 2 lost boxes of Christmas decorations that I had stored under the bed 2 years ago just so I could find them....right? That moves me on to New Years ....I am going to get more organized in 2009! Sending love to all my blogging sistas.

Trip to Football Game

This weekend we traveled 2 hours to watch my nephew play his last College football game for this season. We went with my sister and my mom and dad. It was so fun to get away with my girls. First I have to tell you my mom gets all worked up before the game.....usually a few days before and she doesn't settle down until kickoff! Ok so my mom and dad (who I love dearly) pick me,Kassie, & Maddie up at 7:45 we head to town to meet up with my sister. We had one heck of a game of name that tune and group on the way ..Boy did I find out that I don't know enough about music.

We wanted to get there early because it was going to be a sell out. Everybody had tickets ....but not me and the girls. We could get seating but not together so we opted to have GA seating on the grass hill. Best seat in the house if I must say.

We had a fun crowd sitting by us and my cousins from Salida came to sit by us. Was a great day and we won the game. I means so much for me to have this time with my family because my own world is so crazy I don't make the time to enjoy family enough. See photos of my trip here. http://www.seehere.com/buteshop/football

Busy Busy Busy

Last week was a busy one and this one even busier. Made it through Halloween! Our High School students put on a great Safe House with games and trick or treating and even a haunted house. Kassie and her Beau Ryan gave out candy with their FFA friends.

Starting to look forward to Thanksgiving because it is such a family time for me. Headed to my nephews college football game on Saturday in Pueblo. He has done such a great job this season.Psst.....I will blog the game Sunday.

Sharing a few of my Halloween fun with you all...

Bring you up to speed on my life

This is for my family and friends who I have neglected in the past 7 months. In March a fella we know called me one evening and asked me to take him to pick up his kids in Pueblo. We picked them up and were almost home at 1am when he told the kids that they would be staying with us for a few days while he got his house ready for them. I'm thinking to myself...I don't know if I am up to this but go along with it. I will call them Jim and Sue for their privacy. Jim was 6 and Sue 10 at that time and the poor little ones were so scared and here they were left with us. I will add that Sue has Cerebral Palsy and is wheelchair bound. She has severe spastic quadriplegia. Anyway the cutest little kids and so polite and thankful for us coming for them. Anyway the kids got us trained right away on how to take care of them and I helped their dad enroll them in school. After they were with us for around 5 weeks their dad went to jail and their mom hadn't called or came so I had no choice but to go to DSS because the children had medical needs that I did not have authorization to help them with. They have been with us for 7 months now and are doing well. These two little ones have really touched our lives and we hope we have been good for them also. We had to go through training and all that to be a foster family so the kids could stay with us in our home. We don't know how long they will be with us but it makes us feel good to be able to help them out. Our girls have been so good to help and teach the kids about farm life (they came from the city). That is a great report card when you have the chance to see your own kids helping others and being responsible young adults. Greg's family and my family have been so good to accept the kids and help out. We are surely blessed and we know the lord brought these little darlings to us for a reason. Maybe it was to make us appreciate how wealthy we are even if we don't have a lot of $$$$$$.

Hard time saying goodby to Summer

Today I am having the hardest darn time seeing my flowers dead and the thought of no more weekend rodeos is killing me. I know that when one door closes another one opens but I am really holding on to this one. Maybe it is knowing that my oldest daughter is a Jr. in High School and slowly slipping out of my nest. So here I sit blogging or blubbering. This photo really hits me on how this portion of my life is flying right by. I remember when I watched my little Kassie come flying in at 6 years old in the same arena...to that same barrel

Now she is all grown up...that's enough of my pitty party so now I will get siked up for Basketball season and go on.

I will get my simple pleasures from reading your blogs and knowing someone out there is still able to ride and enjoying a little bit of warm weather.

toodles

A Day in my Life

Why I love my life.....I wake up at 5:30am so I can have the first little one on her bus by 6:30am. The showers start running...kids going through the morning ritual to get gussied up for school. Mind you we have a 1st grader, 5th grader,7th grader and a Junior in HS. My hubby drives a school bus so he leaves before 6:00am each morning. I load the last three on the bus at 5 till 7. I grab my much needed java and head out to take care of the animals. After my barnyard has their breakfast I check my e-mail then hit the shower. I love my career at a Day Spa in town. I pamper women until 3:20 when the first little one gets off the bus....next one at 4:10...then load them up in the car to go pick up the next from volleyball practice.....take her to the HS to join the oldest for basketball open gym. Then I hurry home to get the little ones on their homework while I cook supper.......by then my sweetheart has the horses all fed and watered....one of us goes into town to pick up the big girls and usually a gallon of milk. Seems like this family goes through a bunch of milk. We get the little ones in bed by 8:30 pm. Help with any homework the big girls have. Finally...my sweetie and I hash out our day and plan the next few over a cup of coffee(my hubby makes the best coffee). After a hot bath I head to bed. I thank God for all my blessings and tell myself....This is why I love my life!

Little Rodeo Princess

Madison loves the thrills and frills of Rodeo

Meet Sam

Meet Sam our 31 year old amazon parrot. We have had him for 15 years. He has quite a vocabulary and bring us much joy.

Angie

Summer Fades

As the beautiful blooms of summer fade into the colors of fall I enjoy every day. Knowing all too well that soon there will be a heavy blanket of snow covering all signs of life.

Madison

Madison turns Mac around first for a speedy run.

Kassie

I love to watch my girls in their Rodeos. It is fun to watch them take horses we raise and turn them into working machines.