my Thursday deals...

I keep telling myself I don't need to go to Wenatchee every Thursday (or whatever day I have off that week). It doesn't work because I continue to go every week! In my defense if I don't go then all I do is work - home 4 days a week and home - church 2 times a week! I mean a city girl has to get out of town once and a while right?? So here are the cool things I bought this week:if you are counting calories you need to look for these, they are "bagel thins". 110 calories = 2 points! Found them at Costco. I love the wheat bread thins and so now I have an option.
found this little duster that is for dusting your baseboards. OK maybe your wondering who dusts their baseboards but I do and if you take a look they do get dusty, at least at my house!

I had to have these! Cute little serving glasses for fruit, ice cream or whatever! I don't have anything to serve dessert in besides plates and sometimes it's not what you serve but what you serve it in!

OK, I HAD to have this! Don't ask me why but I have been looking for something with butterflies. Not the little girly butterflies, something a 40+ person can wear. When I saw this at Macy's I knew it was made just for me! ha. I love it. I think butterflies mean spring and I'm all about spring right now.

I also found some awesome jewelry on the clearance table. Who would pay 29$ for these ear rings? They are Lucky brand but still. But would you buy them if they were 50% off plus an additional 30% off the clearance price PLUS you had a 20% off coupon? Well I would and did! It's not about if I really needed them or not, it was a deal! Also got some great late birthday presents. (you know who are you) ;)

and last but not least I can't forget SHOES! ahhhh shoes. I haven't had much luck finding anything I like or in my size at ROSS lately but I guess it was my lucky day because I found two pair! I can't resist 13.99!

and this is why I SHOULD stay home on Thursday!

Catching Up

It's been a while since my last post! That means I am going to cram 3 or 4 posts into one, lucky you.

Let's start with some pictures...My hubby is still working hard on our on-going house project. The latest has been the laundry room. This is how he is spending his Friday night, putting tile down, removing a door and adding a small window and preparing sheet rock for paint, hopefully tomorrow. This is so we can bring our brand new washer and dryer in from the garage and hook them up! They are red and apparently have 50+ possible wash settings! Cheez.

Sorry, pictures out of order, but this last week Katie and I went to Yakima and watched the Pateros boys and girls basketball teams at the state tournament. Above with a couple friends (who happen to also be players) showing off their 5th place trophy, not bad!

The girls never get tired of making t-shirts. I can't tell you how much money I have spent on t-shirt and shirt paint!


Katie and Joslin ready to head to Yakima!

a dog's life... can it get any better?

This is our cat's favorite spot when she is downstairs. the dogs can't get her up there! don't worry I wipe the table down after she leaves. I debated whether to show this picture or not, my table is very dusty.

HOPE

Tomorrow Katie is going to her Uncle Monte's funeral. He is Kinley's youngest brother. He is not even 30. He was found by a friend deceased at his parent's home. I haven't heard the final autopsy results but he did overdose, and at this time it's not known if it was accidental or planned. I have had all sorts of emotions this week as I have thought about him, his parent's, friends and family. I guess the one that I keep coming back to is how sad our Heavenly Father must be that one his children was so hopeless, so discouraged, and so desperate. This is what I wish every person would know and understand:

"Why Does Heavenly Father Love Us?"

Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount - that is the measure of God's love for you.

God does not look on the outward appearance. I believe that He doesn't care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God's love encompasses us completely.

He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our resume but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God's love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked.

What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us.

*President Peter F. Uchtdorf

I hope Monte now understands God's love for him.

and on a much lighter note,

I am soooo happy March is here!

Just a few reasons I am soooo happy March has arrived...

1.Our weather this week has had a hint of spring in the air.

2. Softball season is officially underway!

3. Daylight savings time is around the corner (more daylight!)

4. Possibility of hope that I will feel increasingly motivated to exercise.

5. Spring clothes are appearing in the stores!

OK, that was this was a little much for one post...sorry!

Happy Friday everybody :)

6 months

Six months from today he will be boarding a plane and comin home! but who's counting? :)

Today

Today started off, well, not so great. I will be considerate and not give you too much info but apparently Maddy had too many "treats" last night so her gastro-intestinal system rebelled overnight. It was raining. Bob forgot to take the garbage down. The outfit I had picked out last night just wasn't quite right when I put it on this morning. (you might think this was a joke but seriously I get up just in time and so little set-backs are a big deal like having to figure out something else to wear) OK so moving on... the flowers. No they didn't come from Bob. A friend at work came by last night and took an old couch of ours that had been out in the little shed behind our house for at least the last 4 years. Today she brought me this bouquet and a thank you card for "giving" her our couch. I almost slipped and told her what Bob said after she had left which was: "well slowly we are getting rid of our crap!" haha, you know the saying, one person's junk is another person's treasure...the flowers will be perfect for my little window sill where I like to decorate for the current season. I am thinking it will work for St. Patrick's Day (tie a green ribbon around the pot), Easter and spring as long as I can keep it alive!

And then another great piece of news from Kyle:

he got accepted back into BYU-I!

So today wasn't so bad after all.

Happy Valentines Day To You

and me!

I've been really bad...

at blogging that is!

In no particular order some of the things we've been up too.

Believe it or not, this is a Spanish 4 project! Seriously, I never had projects like this in my foreign language class. They are having a chocolate party tomorrow and somehow this relates to Spanish??
Young Women's New Beginnings. It was a nice evening with the girl's and their families.

And last but not least I can't not post the newest pictures of Sean!

This toy should keep him busy for a while, maybe.

Grandma and Grandpa got to meet Sean too!

Have a happy Valentine's Weekend!

Becky's Top Ten

First let me start by saying that just because it's Friday, and I'm just finally getting around to blogging my "10 things that make me happy" does not mean that it was hard for me to think of 10 things! Actually, just the opposite I have WAAAAAAY more than 10 things so the challenge was finding time to blog it and trimming it down to 10!
OK, here we go... (no particular order)
1. A good nights sleep! You know the kind of sleep when you fall asleep fast, no interruptions during the night, and waking up just before your alarm does feeling rested!
2. Walking the "hill". Which by the way I haven't done in months and months and months! I have a hill on the other side of town that when I leave my house and walk to the top and back is a little over 4 miles and it is an awesome workout! Katie and I did it quite a bit last summer but winter has taken it's toll...
3. This might sound silly but I love being organized. One of my dreams after our house is completely done is to have each drawer, closet and cupboard organized with "everything in it's place"! I realize that this might take a while but in the meantime I am happy that at least some of my drawers and cupboards are that way. Oh, and one junk drawer is O.K.
4. Being prepared. Enough said, prepared applies to all and any areas of my life.
5. Finding and wearing the perfect pair of jeans. I love jeans, maybe border on obsessed, but nothing like putting on a great pair.
6. My weekly e-mails from Elder Richardson, and an extra bonus is when there are pictures attached to the e-mail.
7. Surprise picture/text messages of Sean! It is so awesome to be sitting at work and suddenly I have a new picture/text message and it's from David or Tiffany and when I open it there is a new picture of my grand baby :) Makes my day.
8. Getting a kiss and an "I love you" each morning from my husband before he heads off to work. ) I'm still cozily tucked in bed enjoying my last few minutes of sleep.
9. This one is rather broad but I love watching my kids play sports. Of course with David, Brian and Kyle it is past tense, LOVED, but I still get to enjoy two more softball and one more volleyball season with Katie. It is stressful, frustrating, and at times disappointing but I still love it.
10. And last but not least I want to include the lines from a favorite primary song, the fact that I "know who I am, I know God's plan" and can hopefully "follow him in faith".

I could go on and on, really. There are so many more. Thank you Shannon for helping me to count my blessings. Sometimes we forget.

Can You See It?

We spotted an eagle in one of our trees the other morning. I joked with Bob's employee's that we should lure the neighbor dog out and see if the eagle is hungry (just kidding, sort of). The neighbor dog is at our house 24/7 lately. We have a certain female dog having her time of the month! Ugh! I was leaving for work and only had the chance to grab my camera for the picture.

Happy New Year

We didn't get a white Christmas but a white New Years!
Here's to 2010! Time will tell what this year brings...

A Second Celebration

We had a second Christmas with David, Tiffany and Sean. They came Sunday night and stayed until Wednesday. he's still a cutie and David seems to always be able to make him smile!
we had presents

lots of baby holding

and picture taking

and naps!

Just in time!

When I say "just in time" I really mean just in the knick of time! We literally finished decorating the tree Christmas eve morning. Bob was running to Wenatchee picking up our furniture and some other odds and ends that morning. We had Bob's two employees (plus Kyle) here all day as well finishing up trim around the windows, putting in two of our new doors and they helped bring the furniture in and assemble it that afternoon! Whew!Tree is leaning a little to the left, oh well!
my pictures didn't turn out very clear but I think you can get the over-all idea of the space

This is our new living area, just missing the big screen! Bob said we are too broke now for him to afford one. We'll see...
New dining room table all ready for dinner. You can't see them very well but I got new dishes (Christmas dishes). I have always wanted Christmas dishes and I decided this was the year!

Finishing last minute dinner preparations, Mia is standing by waiting for any small scraps to come her way!

the girls, aren't they beautiful! Joslin joined us again this year. Katie has a big heart and it made her sad that her family wasn't really doing anything. We scrambled around and got a few gifts for her as well.

Bob carving the delicious prime rib roast. It was sooooo good. I will make a long story short and just say that with all the craziness around here I had forgot to take out the $100 prime rib roast I had bought at Costco the week before from the freezer. We discovered this at 3pm Christmas Eve! Bob said God was shining on me because he ran to Brewster and found a nice prime rib roast at the small grocery store there (even on sale)! So dinner was saved and we didn't have to have hamburgers.

Christmas means family pictures in front of the tree... can hardly wait till we have our missionary back home next year! We got to talk for over two hours Christmas morning. I think he was a little homesick but overall doing really good! He is really enjoying his current companion and area.

a good looking Toolson family...

everyone getting comfy for the evening after dinner

playing games...

pj time!

The End.

SURPRISE!

Katie's friend's managed to pull off the impossible! Keep a secret from Katie and throw her a little surprise party last night. They managed to keep the plans from the ultimate planner. I was excited all week for her, the mess upstairs...that's is a different story!

True Meaning of Christmas

As I rush about shopping, wrapping, stressing, and just "doing" I always appreciate a little reminder...

drum roll please...

After weeks and weeks we finally have countertops! They are beautiful and worth the wait.the pictures don't do them justice but at least you get the idea
it's after ten on Saturday evening and my hubby is still working away...

still a lot more to do, stay tuned...
(for some reason the same picture above loaded twice)

Our Thanksgiving

We had a great week-end. The only bummer was Katie was not with us, she was having Thanksgiving with her dad in Hawaii. Can't feel too sorry for her! We went to Bob's brother's house in New Castle (near Bellevue). We got up and left Thursday morning to head over. Spend the day at his brother's house with his family, Bob's mom and his other brother and his kids. We saw the movie "The Blind Side" that evening and LOVED it. Stayed overnight at Kurt's (thanks!) and spent most of the day Friday shopping and eating some more. David, Tiffany and Sean joined us for lunch Friday at the mall. They back to Pateros Friday night.the kid's made the table decorations
the whole gang

the boys...

Kyle got to meet Sean!

Bob finally held Sean when he was actually awake! He thinks you shouldn't hold them when they are sleeping (you might wake them up). He has a lot to learn :)
He's still cute...and last but not least shopping (these are just a few of the bags)