I'll Be Home For Christmas!!!!

Well, this is it...the last blog entry before I will see most of you! I was hoping to get the kids Santa Picture posted, but that doesn't look like it is going to happen. We are running around like busy little bees. You know how it is before you go out town. Gary has been working late to get all his hours in so he won't have to go in on Friday! The kids are counting down and driving us crazy! I am just trying to get in all done. The good thing is I will have 18 hours to catch up on sleep in the car.

For those of you who like to keep up with travel plans, we are planning on leaving here between 6 and 7 Friday morning (which is 7 or 8 MS time). Right now we think we will try to drive straight through and hopefully be in KO by 2am. However, since we are traveling with 3 kids and 2 dogs, we are flexible. We might end up stopping and spending the night along the way. Either way, we will be in town in time for Christmas at Mamaw Bobbye's. Everyone keep us in your prayers for both safety and sanity.

That's it for now...as I type Ella is crying, the boys are fighting, the dogs are barking, and supper is boiling...needless to say, I better go. We will see you all soon.

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!

What a weekend we had. First and Foremost...Chance lost his front tooth! He is officially a snaggletooth. He looks so funny, but so BIG!

And then there is Miss Ella Bella who has figured out how to make people laugh. This is one of her new favorites. Her Daddy calls her a little "pot" head!

We had our first big snow this weekend...about 6 inches between Friday night and Saturday. The kids are loving it. The boys got out and played in it a little bit on Saturday morning, but we didn't make it up to the mountains yet. Friday night Gary & I had his company Christmas Party. We had a great time and found that there are actually people here we could be friends with.

For those of you who don't know already, we turned our house over to a property manager who will hopefully find someone to lease it in the next few weeks. We are hoping to start seriously looking for a house here in Denver after Christmas.

Gary left this morning for North Dakota. . . HA HA HA . . . it's even colder there. He will be gone until Thursday and then we are at a week and counting until we come home. Can't wait to see you all. Love you!

Elf Babies!

Jackson & I played on the computer this afternoon and made some elf babies! You have got to see how funny they are! If you need a good laugh, check out the link below!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1201433834

What Do We Look Like???Garbage???

Okay so the title of this blog is a little strange! Let me explain...It is Jackson's new favorite thing to say and it seemed appropriate since Gary and feel like we are living in pig sty most of the time. We just have too much stuff for this tiny apartment. I have to give a shout out to my mom though, she helped me find a good way to deal with it. I had gotten to a point that my mantra was I hate this ******* apartment. (I refuse to even type that word because it is not one I ever say.) So the fact that it would go through my head at least twice a day tells you how bad it had gotten around here. My mom made a suggestion that I wake up every morning singing "This is the day that the Lord has made." Well, I'm not really one for singing first thing in the morning, but I have replaced my daily motto with this song. Now, every time I hate this apt. I just burst out singing. The kids think I have gone crazy, but it works for me and I am not quite as miserable.
We have turned the house in Madison over to a property management company. They will find someone to lease it and keep it up for us. This takes a huge pressure off of us. So, as soon as we have a lease on it, we can find something else here! HALLELUJAH!!!
Kids are doing well. Chance asks every day if it is Christmas yet and when are we going to Kosciusko. They are very excited about seeing everyone. We went to the mall last night to see Santa...and he wasn't there. What kind of mall doesn't have a Santa. So, we are going to find one this weekend and I will post a picture as soon as we have one. I hope everyone is full of the Christmas Spirit! We will see you all soon!

It's the Final Countdown!

26 days & counting until we head HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!!

Thanksgiving wasn't quite the same not being with the family. We had a few sad moments, but I have to say that the Martins are a pretty good substitute. They were all so welcoming to us and made us feel like we were part of the family. Gary was even assigned the job of carving the turkey (which is always his job at home)!
The kids had soooo much fun with Brenda's kids. Chance and Malik are both 6 and the two quickly became best buds! Jackson and Rhys were like two peas in a pod! They liked each other and enjoyed the company, but sometimes they were a little too alike to appreciate the other one. We had to break up a lot of arguments. (Of course the fact that they were exhausted had nothing to do with it! HA HA HA). Then there are the little ladies! Ella Bella automatically took on the role of big sister to Miss Jorie! When she wasn't looking out for her, she was bossing her around, just like a big sis should.
Brenda and I picked up right where we left off. You couldn't tell we hadn't seen each other in 4 years. You can always tell the makings of best friend! We didn't skip a beat! It was like we had been together every day for the last 15 years. I am really excited that we are going to see so much more of each other.
Corey and Gary survived it all. They really were good sports to put up with all the running around Brenda Jean and I did. They missed quite a few games on TV, including the BYU vs. Utah game that was just as important as State/Ole Miss. We got to listen to the first half thanks to XM radio, but missed all the good stuff while we ate lunch. However, I have to give a big shout to Kim for keeping us posted. The girl sent me a text anytime something happened. We got a play by play via text messaging. It wasn't quite like being there, but it was the next best thing.
We love and miss you all and can't wait to see everyone in less than 4 weeks. Please keep praying for us and our house. We have yet to sell the one Madison, but are still hopeful. Maybe the Christmas season will be good luck for us. See y'all soon!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, it's here! Our first holiday away from home! I have been really down about it. I want to be there for the food, the family, the egg bowl, and of course the Friday morning shopping! Going to see Brenda is helping though. The kids are really excited. They are so much like Gary and I...everything is an adventure.

We have packed and prepared everything ...Just In Case! It is supposed to snow here tonight. The high tomorrow is only 28! We will be driving through snow most of the drive. Won't that be fun? We will get lots of pics over the weekend and will have tons to post when we get back.

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Think of us because we will be thinking of all of you.

Alive And Ticking

Sorry it has been so long! We have been busy little bees here in CO! Gary just got back from Montana. (Or as Chance says "Hannah Montana"! He just can't understand why we didn't see daddy on tv while he was gone.) The trip was to Glacier National Park. He got some great pictures and I will put them up as soon as I can.

You all will be happy to know that we will not be alone on Thanksgiving. We are going to Vernal, UT to spend time with Brenda and her family. For those of you who don't know, Brenda is my best friend from highschool when I lived in UT. She has 3 kids right around the same ages of Chance, Jackson and Ella. We are looking forward to a great, long, relaxing weekend.

I have started my job training and things are going well. There is a lot of information to learn and practice. I think I am really going to enjoy the work though. It is a lot of problem solving which is right up my alley.

Chance is doing great in school. He is in the top math group and next to top reading group. His vocabulary is unbelievable. He is definately growing up....TOO FAST!

Jackson is.....Jackson. Actually he is doing great. He is starting to listen a little more. He is helping out more...especially cooking! He loves to help me cook. He is also showing more empathy for others! All in all he is growing too and not just physically!

Then there is my Ella Bella! She is talking up a storm! Right now she is really into copying everything we say! And talk about attitude! She is quite the little diva! We can't wait until Christmas to see her little face!

I guess that is all the updates for now! I promise to try and post more often! We love and miss you all!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!! I hope you all had a great night with your families. We had fun! It was cold! The kids enjoyed getting all the candy! I have to say though, I missed Halloween in Harvey Crossing: Kim & Corbin, Kids in Wagons, Trailers pulling families, and wine in plastic glasses. I think last night was the first time I was really homesick. AHHH the good old days. Either way though, my kids had a blast and that is all that matters.I think Chance had just as much fun handing out candy as he did getting his own.

That was short lived though because he woke up vomitting last night so he has been home all day. He's fine now. Only got sick once.

Ella is another story! I don't know what we are going to do with her. I think she has toddler insomnia...is that even a real thing. We put her bed about 8 and my best guess is that she fights sleep for an hour or two. Then she is up anywhere between midnight and 2 and stays up for a couple of hours. The worst part is: if we don't hear her door open or the tv turn on, we don't know she's up. She just roams the apartment or sits on the couch. It is scary! There are so many things she could get into. I don't know what to do. If you have any suggestions, let us know. We are exhausted and frustrated.

Here Goes Nothing!

Well, it is official...I have a job! I had my first training walk through today. I am working with a research company (From Home)! I have a month of training and probation before the real work starts, but hey you gotta start somewhere.
Keep me in your prayers and I will be sure to keep you posted.

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Well we haven't had any snow in Denver yet, so we
set out to find some on our own. Saturday, we grabbed
our hats, gloves, and boots; and we headed to the
mountains. It took a while, but we finally found a
good patch of snow for the kids to play in. Okay, so
Gary and I played a little bit too. There is nothing like
snow to bring out the kid in you. We should have
brought the snow bibs and coats because we were all
soaked when we got back in the car, but as Nanie would
say, "We made a memory" I don't think Gary and I will
ever forget the pure joy on our kids faces when they
finally got to play in snow for the first time! For all
you skeptics out there, this is why we did this! I hope
the pictures bring a smile to your face and that you have
as much fun looking at them as we did taking them.


Are You Talking To Me? Boys Will Be Boys



MY SNOW BUNNIES!!!

Home Again Home Again Jiggety Jig

Okay we are back home safe and sound for all of you who were worried. We had a wonderful time with Nanie and SuperDaddy. The drive was a little long, but nothing we couldn't handle. The kids did great both ways.

We did a bunch of relaxing. And of course we made the mandatory trips to Toys 'R' US and Mr. Gatties. The kids can't go to Midland without visiting each of these at least once.

We also got to go to a pumpkin patch, well, the boys did. Ella fell asleep in the car and missed it. The boys picked her a pumpkin though. The best part was watching them all decorate their individual pumpkins (we painted them so they could make the trip home).

Jenny was in town visiting Webb, so we got to see her too. All in all it was a great trip.

Updates

First, let me say sorry that it has been a while since I posted. Gary left Sunday going to Toronto, Canada for a class. He will be home tonight...THANK GOODNESS. Then, the kids and I leave early Thursday going to Midland. We are really excited about going to see Nanie and SuperDaddy. Chance has been marking off the days on the calendar since October 1st.

I did want to say thank you to everyone who sent Ella a birthday card. It means a lot that you remembered. We had a small family party and then we all went to the circus. The kids had a blast. I do have a few pictures that I will post when I get the chance.

I also wanted to say Thanks for all the prayers on the house situation. We still don't have any nes for you, but we have faith that it is coming. God is good and so is His Plan. I think he is just waiting for all the pieces to fall into place and then BOOM...the puzzle will be complete. I am convinced that this is the right house for us...I don't think it is going anywhere.

For those of you that don't know...I have applied for a job and should be hearing any day now. Don't freak out...I will work from home. It is for a research company. I will be doing research on my computer. I only have to work 30 hours a week and only 10 of those have to be during regular business hours. So basically I can set my own schedule, which is ideal. It looks promising and I will let you know as soon as I hear something.

We miss you all. Talk to you soon.

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

Just got off the phone with a potential buyer. Word has gotten around that we just want out of the payments and that we are willing to work with buyers. This man is really interested, but he needed to speak to his wife. Everybody PRAY! We are so ready to move on. I will keep you all posted.

House Update

The prayers must be working. We got an e-mail from our realtor saying that the owners are definitely willing to work with us on the price. We also got two more calls this weekend about leasing the house. Keep your fingers crossed and keep sending up those prayers.

Prayer Request

Well, this is it! We found a house. We have actually been looking at it online for a couple of weeks, but went to see it in person for the first time today. We both feel like this is the house that we are meant to be in and that God has led us to it.
It is perfect for us! It is the most Southern looking house we have seen up here. It has a wrap around porch and 5 acres for the boys to romp and roam. It is zoned as horse property, which is not a big deal right now, but if Jackson keeps showing interest in horses, we may have one down the road. Zoning for horse property is also important for resale. We don't plan on leaving it any time soon. This would be a house that we could stay in as long as we were in CO.

Now, for you pessimists out there...THE DOWN SIDE...it needs some work. Nothing structural, mostly just updating. The house was built in 1969 so things are a little outdated. Most of the work we can do ourselves, which will gain us lots of sweat equity. You know us though and we already have big plans...including an add on one day. For now though, the house is livable and MUCH BIGGER than this apartment. It is 27oo square feet, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and 2 living areas.

OKAY, I know you are wondering about the title of this blog. We need lots of prayers to be sent up out there. We have to get rid of the MS house one way or another (Sell or Lease) before we can buy this one. We need the financing to work out in our favor. And we need the price on the house to drop (It has already dropped by $20,000 since we started looking at it).

We could be wrong and this may not be the house God wants us to have and we are ready to accept that if things don't work out. However, that being said, we really feel led to this house. We have great realtor, once again who we were led to. He feels like we can get a great deal on this house and agrees that it is a good investment. All we are asking you, our friends and family, is to stop what you are doing right now and say a little prayer for us that God's plan will be revealed to us and that if this is the home He wants us to buy to He will work things in our favor.

We love and miss you all. One reason for wanting this house is so we have plenty of room when all of you come to visit.

If you want to see more of the house check out this link:

http://www.cohomefinder.com/p/80465/477579.htm#

A Clean House is the Sign of a Wasted Life

Today we went to the Children's Museum with our moms playgroup. The kids had a blast, as you can see from these pictures:

This is another outfit that I made for Ella! Isn't she the cutest thing EVER???


This was Jackson's Favorite Part! He was actually pretty good!


He also liked the Grocery Store! My little shopper. I think he has spent way too much time with me!

MY LITTLE SUPERMODEL!

GOT MILK?

Just wanted to share this quick snapshot from yesterday.


I can't decide if she looks cute or scary! Maybe a little like Don King???

Welcome To Colorado!

This is what we did yesterday!
Wish you were here!

We looked at houses this weekend...Can't wait to buy one! Gary and I are a little at odds about what we want. We know we want to be in the mountains and we agree on a general price range, however Gary wants a fixer upper and I want one that just needs minor updates and personalization. The good news is we have found a realtor that we trust...unlike the first guy. So, we shouldn't be long before we find something that we both can be happy with.

My New Theme Song

Not much going on! We are going to look at a house tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. Now take a minute to watch this video...becuase this is my life now and for the next 20 years. This is my new theme song. HA HA HA !!!

Never a Dull Moment!

Today has been a roller coaster. I took Jackson and Ella to go meet some new friends at the Book Store. We had coffee, looked at some books, and played with the train table. It would have been fun, except Jackson didn't want to be nice to anyone. So, as punishment for acting so ugly, he had to take a nap when we got home.

He wasn't in his room five minutes when I heard a blood curdling scream. I thought one of the dogs had bitten him. He cam running out, clutching his silky in one hand and holding the back of his head with the other. I felt his head and there was already a knot on it. I tried to get him to tell me what happened. All he managed to whimper was that he hit it on the window. I felt his head again and the knot was bigger. I tried to calm him down, but I was freaking out myself. The knot was getting bigger by the minute.

I frantically called Gary...like he could do anything at work. Then I loaded the kids in the car and set out to find an Urgent Care Clinic. Thank goodness there is one only about 10 minutes from our house. The Doctor checked out Jackson's head and said that he should be fine. We have to watch for all the typical stuff like nausea, slurred speech, etc. We also have to wake him up every two hours tonight. He should be fine though. The Doctor did say we should watch for strange behavior. What do you think...is this strange:

TGIF

Well what a Friday it has been! Chance had an early release day, so he was done with school before lunch. Gary also gets off around lunch on Fridays. So this afternoon, we split up. The boys went to the park and the girls went...where else? SHOPPING!

We had a nice surprise tonight. Our neighborhood was having its last gathering of the summer. The had a huge screen set up on the lawn of the park and played "Cars". I took the boys. They had so much fun. We sat on a blanket, ate some popcorn, and visited with neighbors. Gary stayed home to put Ella to bed and watch ESPN!

Tomorrow, I think we may go try to get some hiking in, but we're not sure yet. The news this week showed that Breckenridge got their first snow, which means we can't be that far behind. We figure we better go enjoy the mountains before it is too cold to get out. We'll let you know how our adventure goes!

A Day at the Zoo

Yesterday, Jackson, Ella, and I went to the zoo. We were supposed to meet some other stay-at-home moms, but only one showed up. We ended up splitting up from her. My kids were just a tad more lively than her daughter, so we moved a little faster. We had a great time though. Both kids were well behaved (A Miracle!) It was nice for us to get out of the apartment.

We have been to a ton of zoos over the years and this was one of the most interactive ones we've been too.They had lots of things out for the kids to touch. When we first arrived Jackson got to pet a snake and an alligator. We took a picture with the alligator, but I just couldn't bring myself to photograph the snake. I did touch it though, believe it or not. The things we do for our kids.

The kids other favorite thing

was a life size picture of a

polar bear. They look so tiny

standing next to it.

Monday night, I finished making one of Ella's outfits I was working on. Of course she had to wear it to the zoo, but not without giving a little fashion show and photo shoot first. What do you think? Do we have a future model in the family?

All in all we had a great day! Of course the kids were exhausted. But for some reason, they weren't the ones who crashed last night...But look who did:
I am working on getting all of our pictures put in an online album so y'all can see them all. As soon as I do, I'll let everybody know where to find them.

New Cars for a New Life!

Well, I am no longer one of "those people" as Jake says! We got rid of the van and Gary's "Pimp My Ride Monster Truck!"

We used the equity in Gary's truck to help lower what we owed on the van. We decreased our monthly payments and lowered our overall debt by almost $11,000.

Gary is now driving a red, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee! (Chance loves it b/c it is red). I have a silver, 2004 Saturn Vue. Both are all wheel drive (Good for the mountains and snow). We gave up some of the space we had in the van, but in all honesty, it was just more space to junk up.

The house is still for sale! Everyone keep praying! God has a plan, we know that! We just wish he would let us in on it! HA! Too bad it doesn't work that way! We are considering the possibility that we might have to lease it for a year. Tammy, our realtor, suggested waiting until the end of October and if it hasn't sold, putting it up for lease. We are thinking about it and praying about it! There are a lot of risks, but also a lot of benefits.

This week should be much of the same: homework, laundry...life! We love hearing from all of you! Talk to you soon!

Another Day, Another Dollar!

Not too much going on here! I am being a little lazy with the pictures. We really haven't taken any more good ones! The kids are good! Ella is talking up a storm. We just wish she would say something besides "Mama" & "Daddy" Who would have thought you could hate that word so much?

Chance is doing great in school! We should have Parent/Teacher conferences next month. He is making friends with the kids in his class, but nobody special! Right now everybody is his friend!

Then there is my Jackson! What can I say...He's just Jackson! Wild as ever! He is getting better at listening though.

I have found a stay at home mom group that gets together with the kids and does different kinds of things around Denver! So, next week are going to our first outing at the Zoo!

That's it for now! BYE

Quick Hello

Just wanted to let you all know we are well! I've had a few complaints about not writing enough, so here I am again. Not much going on here. School, homework, laundry. Same old Same Old! I have bought the cutest material to make Ella a X-mas dress. As soon as we get it made, I will post a picture.

This weekend we went to a harvest festival. The kids had so much fun riding the ponies, petting the animals, and doing a reverse bungee jump. I will try and post some of those pictures later this week.
I will talk to all of you soon.

Great Labor Day!

I hope everyone had a marvelous Labor Day! We had so much fun with my parents here. The kids were so excited to see family and I think it set mama and daddy's minds at ease that we really are okay!

Saturday morning we all met in Colorado Springs for the day! We took the kids to "The North Pole" which is an amusement park geared directly at small kids. They had so much fun!

Even Ella got to experience some of the rides! We learned that she is going to be a little dare devil! She wanted to go on every ride we saw. The good thing is we didn't have to say "no" too much.

After the amusement park we went to Pikes Peak! You can't go to Colorado Springs without seeing Pikes Peak. The kids loved the train ride up.

They were exhausted by the time we headed back down.

Sunday brought a whole lot more to do. We decided to split up the boys and the girls. The guys went to Estes Park to hike. However, if you ask the boys, their favorite part was feeding the chipmunks. Mama and I took Ella shopping. She was in Heaven (So were mama and I for that matter)!

Sunday night we all met back up at Trail Dust. For those of you who don't know, it is a steak house that has a 2 story slide for the kids.

And if that wasn't enough, there was also a band. So, needless to say the Tanksley kids danced the night away!

Monday morning Joel and Lawanna left early. We decided to spend the day riding around Evergreen, which is in the mountains right outside of Denver. This is where we have decided to look for a house (as soon as the other one sells!) We didn't find a house, but look what we did find:

These are just a few of the 11 elk we saw that day. I don't know who was more excited, the kids or Gary! It was a great way to end the weekend. It reminded us why we opted for this move. And it convinced us even more that Evergreen is where we want to live!

I guess that's it for now! Thanks for keeping up with this blog and for keeping us in your prayers. If y'all ever want any of these pictures, just let me know! I can e-mail them in a heartbeat! We miss you all! Talk to you soon!