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 Andrew scrapbooking this machine! hanging with the family watching movies blonde hair/blue eyes gilmore girls sunshine!!! julia roberts,will smith,brad pitt,tom hanks,oprah baby animals baby people :) genealogy dwight yoakam,no doubt, the police,nirvana, maroon 5 witty dialogue office supplies photography my awesome family: 
 somebody told me - the killers hey ya - outkast i don't want to get over you - norah jones and willie nelson sunrise - norah jones an innocent man - billy joel daddy's hands - holly dunn only happy when it rains - garbage  napoleon dynamite (hysterical) what's up doc? (funny) ray (well made) the forgotten (scary-ish) as good as it gets (an all time favorite!) beautiful girls (witty) |
May 31, 2005, 12:30 pm Happy Birthday to Elijah (Kendra's son). He is 3 years old today. :)
May 30, 2005, 1:12 pm Wow. Is May already almost over??? That seems crazy to me. This month FLEW by! I need to get my site ready for June. :) Well, yesterday, I "went" to an online scrapbooking crop at scrapsupply.com. It was so much fun. I chatted online with other scrapbookers (some who I knew already, some who I just "met"), played some scrapbooking bingo (which I won some alphabet stamps that I wanted - yay me), and entered some scrapbooking challenges (entered 5, 3 winners have been announced, I was 1 of them - woo hoo. We'll see who wins the other 2!). Anyway, I'm sure for those who weren't there - you probably can't imagine all that being fun, but really, I had a blast. :) Andy watched the kids for me all day (we went to church and lunch and as soon as we got home, I got on the computer and got my scrapbook stuff out - I was on here most of the day until after midnight LOL). Andy and the three oldest kids went to see the new Star Wars last night. I'm not dying to see it or anything, but figure I will watch it eventually. Maybe once it's out on DVD, we can get the whole set - we only have one of them and it's on VHS. The kids really liked it though, although they said it was disturbing watching how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. LOL I hope everyone has a good Memorial Day holiday. We don't have any big plans - we actually are planning on doing errands and cleaning today (what fun!). But that's okay - I had my "holiday" yesterday. LOL :) Here's one of the pages I made for the scrapbooking challenges yesterday. I won a $15 gift certificate to scrapsupply for this one - had to use 2 ribbons, 2 patterned papers, and 2 embellishments. :)
May 29, 2005, 5:44 pm Happy birthday Marci!!!!! We love you!!!
May 28, 2005, 12:28 pm HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!
May 28, 2005, 11:29 am
May 27, 2005, 5:20 pm
Hopefully we'll get lots more organizing and cleaning done this weekend. Sunday I'm doing an online crop at scrapsupply.com - should be fun. :) May 26, 2005, 8:28 am I missed my journaling yesterday - oops. There was a lot going on... Justice had his awards ceremony at school in the morning, Jarvis' graduation was in the afternoon, I was tired after that ;), then I made a big dinner and cupcakes to celebrate Jarvis' graduation (I didn't eat any of the cupcakes.... well.... not yet anyway.... the leftover ones are still staring at me!!). :) The kids got to go swimming finally too ~ Andy got the rest of the pool blown up and filled up. I think it's supposed to rain today so they won't get to swim again until tomorrow. I have a feeling they'll be in that pool pretty much every day this summer! Andy won't be getting leave until August, so we are going to postpone our trip to TN until then. Andy does get a four day weekend though ~ he finally isn't out in the field or something for a holiday (Monday is Memorial Day for those that do not have a calendar?) so he gets to take advantage of the time off!!!! :) Today is the last day of school. Darby and I will be heading to Jarvis' class party later this morning (and hopefully bringing the cookies that I bought to bring... I hung them on the door, but knowing me I will walk right out and forget them). LOL :) Some quick photos I took of the boys this morning before they headed in to school (with flowers and gifts for their teachers):
May 24, 2005, 5:59 pm Tomorrow is Jarvis' kindergarten graduation. It's not going to be near as big a deal as Brittany and Justice's graduations were. Oh well. It'll still be fun. Then on Thursday his class is having a party and I think Darby and I are going to go join in on the fun. That's the last day of school - woo hoo! I LOVE summer. Not having to get up and take the kids to school every morning, not having to make sure uniforms are clean - sleeping in, letting the kids play outside all day. Summer rocks!!! Congratulations to the other kindergarten graduates too - Ethan and Tanner! Also to the high school graduates - Charmaine, Cory, and Andrea! :) And to Thor for completing his Masters Degree! :) May 23, 2005, 1:26 pm We took some photos before church yesterday morning... here are a couple that I like. :)
Yesterday afternoon, Andy took the three oldest kids for a hike - they came back with some good photos (because of course I made them lug the camera with them). :)
May 22, 2005, 9:10 pm Today was Gabrielle's birthday (Kendra's daughter).
May 22, 2005, 1:58 pm The last couple of months, we have had gorgeous weather. I figured, Texas weather isn't too bad - what was everyone talking about? Um, this weekend, it is scorching (and it's only May). Wow - it is super hot. Even the kids think so! I guess we'll think about trading in the van for one with air conditioning, especially if it continues to get hotter. We tried a new church this morning. It was okay, the people were very friendly. We will keep looking though. We passed by a couple more that we didn't know existed, so we have more to visit. It will be nice when we can find one we really like and get involved (we especially want to find one before Andy leaves for Iraq, so the kids and I have a good support system while he is gone). Andy is about to take the three oldest kids on a hike (in the scorching heat). Darby and I will stay here in the cool air conditioning. :) It's so nice having him home! Hopefully he won't have to go anywhere else for a while - as of now, he is here until mid-July (when he has to go to CA for a month). We're hoping to take some leave sometime in June and travel to TN to visit family and friends. :) May 21, 2005, 3:57 pm Happy birthday to Kendra's son, Levi. He is 10 years old today!
We are getting ready to go get Andy from the airport in a few minutes. Yay. We missed him and are ready for him to come home! :) May 20, 2005, 8:45 am
May 20, 2005, 12:21 am (why am I up???) Darby asked me the other day, "Mom, why does water come out of people's eyes when they cry?". I gave my best guess and that satisfied her for the moment. Where is Andy when I need him? He comes home in two days - YAY! :) Brittany had her band concert tonight. She did a really good job - the band sounded much better than I had thought from the way she talks about band class (apparently her band in TN was MUCH more organized). We had an enjoyable time - Darby danced wildly in front of the entire audience without a care in the world (she is a nut and loves attention!). My camera doesn't take good photos indoors, but I managed to get a couple of halfway decent shots:
May 19, 2005, 3:04 pm I've been doing some scrapbooking lately and it is so fun. I forgot how therapeutic it is, and it is such a creative outlet (not that I feel I have my creative juices flowing quite as much as they should, but they are slowly coming back to me). :)
May 18, 2005, 3:54 pm
Darby and I decided to paint our nails with sparkly nail polish. The bright teal is a bit much for me, but Darby loves her purple. :) I had a meeting with Jarvis' teacher today and felt the need to explain the color of my nails (she probably didn't even notice, but whatever). LOL Today for lunch I had some fish, steamed squash and zucchini, 1/2 a green apple, and a bottle of water. Then I got my order from scrapsupply.com and there they were staring at me - a miniature bag of M&M's. I am happy to say that I resisted, mostly. I didn't EAT any, but I opened the M&M's and smelled them for a while. How sad is that???!!! Me, standing at the island in my kitchen smelling M&M's. I think I will always crave sugar, but I feel so much better not eating it (it is that knowledge that keeps me from eating it - most of the time). :) May 17, 2005, 11:30 pm I think a lot of people forget that we aren't the only ones that are here on Earth. There is spiritual warfare going on all around us. Someone sent these verses to me today, and they are very powerful - maybe someone reading this can use them too... :) "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints...." Ephesians 6:10-18 May 17, 2005, 2:23 pm I was just getting some greeting cards ready to mail, and I realized that I did not say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brother, Joel, on my blog (I did send an e-card so I didn't forget completely)! Anyway, better than late than never, right? Happy birthday Joel (6 days late!!!!). :)
May 16, 2005, 10:47 pm I made some greeting cards today. Half of them will get to the receiver late, but hey, better late than never? I vowed at the beginning of the year that I was not going to miss any birthdays or other holidays this year, but here I am, making some cards that are more than a month late. Oh well. Now I'm going to vow to be on time for the REST of the year. :) Well, I gave in today. I have been so good - resisting ice-cream, peanut butter fudge, and other things for the last several days. But today, I ate a Little Debbie chocolate cupcake. I don't really even like them! But I wanted the sugar. I guess it's time to cut out the white flour products too - I think eating them is making me crave the sugar more! Josh got me a breadmaker while he was here. I can't wait to go buy supplies (maybe tomorrow?) and bake some delicious (healthy) bread!!! :) I think running out of some of my healthy snacks made it more tempting to eat the cupcake too. And I know that eating it is just going to make me crave MORE sugar, but did I care? No. Not at the time. LOL Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day - I will eat better tomorrow. :) Andy comes home in 5 days. I miss him! I wish he were here. I stay up too late when he is gone, and all the kids pile in my bed when he is gone, so I don't get much sleep (with them kicking me in the head in the middle of the night). I need Andy to come home so I can get some sleep!!! :) May 15, 7:20 pm We went to Crawford, TX today - home of George and Laura Bush. This was the smallest town ever! We drove by his ranch, but there are signs that say "no stopping, no standing, no parking" and you have to keep driving. All we saw was where the Secret Service are and a locked gate, the rest was hidden by trees. Oh well. We did go into the shops in the town though and that was entertaining.
May 14, 2005, 11:08 pm
We had a good time today. We went down to San Angelo to the outlet malls. They had some really good stores there, but I was pretty good - I didn't spend much. :) Josh bought a 1/2 pound of peanut butter fudge and the lady was trying to sell him more (it was buy 2 get 1 free), so Josh said "do you want some fudge?" to me ~ I have to admit that I hesitated ~ I REALLY wanted the fudge (but I knew it would make me feel like crap and I had already eaten some bad-for-me biscuits at Cracker Barrel), so I said NO - I'm so proud of myself. When peanut butter fudge is involved, I don't think I have ever exercised such restraint! :) Josh leaves tomorrow afternoon. We have had a good visit with him. We think that everyone should come down for a visit! :) Who's next??? :) May 13, 2005, 8;47 pm Aside from everyone getting sunburned (I forgot the sunscreen - I'm usually so prepared for things like that - oh well), we had a good time today. We went to the "hooplah" before the concerts started, so we missed some things, but we wanted to try to beat some of the crowds. We rode a few carnival rides (the lines were too long for most of them), got some pizza, and saw some animals. I think the kids had fun, but it would have been a lot more fun if it wasn't so crowded (it was getting even MORE crowded when we left, right when the concerts were starting). Here are a couple of photos - I didn't get many good ones because I was ON the rides with the kids, so photography was difficult. :) May 12, 2005, 10:07 pm I thought I would respond to some of the recent comments on my blog. :) Yes, Andrea, to answer your question, I do have hobbies - this is one of them! :D I know you were just kidding though, although I do appreciate Matt sticking up for me (and I'd like to think I type more than 80 words per minute, but I haven't timed it in a while - haha). Thanks, Matt, for all your nice comments. :) I have really enjoyed doing this website and I'm glad people enjoy reading it. I'll try not to miss any more days. :D :D :D Oh, Matt - by the way - I have been saying "nauseating" lately. Thanks! LOL :) Josh got here today (my brother for those that don't know - and Matt is another brother - there are 4 of them - oh and 2 sisters - wow, rabbit trail)... Anyway, Josh got here today and will be staying until Sunday. Andy will miss his visit though (he misses all the company!). We are going on base tomorrow - they are having a big hooplah (I don't really like the word hooplah, but nevertheless, I chose to use it). It's a welcome home thing for the 1st Cavalry Division returning from Iraq (Andy is in the 4th Infantry Division - they will have one of these next year when they return as well). They are having free carnival rides, free food, concerts (no one I was interested in though - 'Ja Rule' isn't my type of music?), and some other stuff. It should be fun. I'm sure I will have lots of photos to share. :) May 11, 2005, 9:55 am Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, doorbells and sleighbells and something with noodles, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and words I don't know... these are a few of my favorite things... I never can remember all the words to that song, but it's been stuck in my head. I know I have "favorite things" listed on the side of my website, but I figured I'd list some more that came to mind today... true love, movie quotes, broccoli cheddar soup, answered prayers, people that make me laugh, Jarvis' floppy hair and adorable smile, chicken/veggie stirfry, Brittany's kindness and intelligence, wildflowers, taking pictures, Darby's squishy little body and hilarious drawings of people, newborn babies, reading a good book with no interruptions (yeah right!), Justice's silliness and sensitivity, scrapbook paper, tiny puppies, good music, massages, Panera food, when my skin is blemish-free and tan, in style magazine, celebrity gossip, organization, days where nothing is planned, traveling to new places, good friends There is a line in The Sound of Music song that I referenced a couple of paragraphs ago that goes something like "...wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings..." - WHAT?!?! What does that even MEAN??? wild geese flying with the moon on their wings? Wow. I mean, I love that movie, but that line is just weird! Anyway, if you are reading this, take the time to make a list of your favorite things (even if that list includes moon-winged flying geese) - date your list and save it for future generations to enjoy. :)
May 10, 2005, 10:21 pm I'm ready for my hair to stop looking like a mullet! But I don't want to cut it in the back because I'm ready for it to be long. Such a conundrum ~ oh what will I do?! I guess I will continue to wear hats and try my best to style it on the days that hats aren't an option. My hair usually grows fairly fast so I figure in another couple of months it should look a little better. For now, maybe I should just break out a Member's Only jacket and some leg warmers - you know, just so it looks like my hair is styled like this on purpose? Maybe not. :) Andy made it to Alabama ~ he called this afternoon and said he is sharing a barracks room with another guy. He is going to a school to learn how to operate UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). Once he gets back, he isn't "supposed" to leave again until mid-July, but we'll see! We're hoping to take some leave in June and head to Tennessee for a week or so. Does anyone else watch Gilmore Girls? Next week is the season finale. I'm completely hooked to this show. I guess it's that way with any of the prime time "soap operas" ~ whichever ones you watch, you absolutely cannot miss! There are only two shows that I have to see each week. I won't mention what the other one is ~ I'm (almost) embarrassed to have jumped on the bandwagon of that one, but once they reeled me in, I was hooked (and now I can't wait to see what happens to Lynette and Susan each week ~ that will only give it away to other faithful watchers). Oh what will I do over the summer? I hate reruns! :) Maybe 'Friends Season 10' will come out on DVD and I can complete my collection. I don't have cable so my television options are limited. Anyway, will Luke ask Loralai to marry him next week? I think so! May 9, 2005, 4:10 pm My name is Petra and I'm a sugarholic! I decided to give up sugar. Why? Because I feel like crap a lot of the time, and I've become convinced (after many long hours researching my "symptoms" on the internet and having doctors look at me like they had no clue) that it is due mainly to low blood sugar. I have not had any real "snacks" since maybe last Tuesday or Wednesday, and I have not had sugar (other than fresh fruit) since Friday. I had some serious withdrawal symptoms over the weekend, but I'm doing better today. Not great, but better. I'm hoping this will all be worth it and my new "healthy" lifestyle will result in lots of energy. Andy's mom, Trish, who has low blood sugar, has been helping me with diet tips and so on. I have never, ever worried about what I ate. I never gained much weight, my metabolism has always been high, I never had a need to diet. Until now. My junk food diet has finally caught up with me. And I LOVE junk food! And I say that with the full, deepest meaning of the word LOVE. I crave sugar. Last night, as I was having a weak moment, I spotted a bag of lemon cookies on top of the refrigerator. I did not know we had them (or I would have finished them off before giving up sugar!). Without thought, I darted for them. Andy spotted me in time and got them from me. I wrestled him for a few minutes before he finally took them outside and locked them in the trunk of his car. It was quite comical. He said he was so impressed with how well I was doing - eating all the foods I said I was going to, checking the labels on everything, even avoiding "white flour" products - that he wasn't going to let me slip up over some cookies. At that point, I thought I might kill someone over something like Olive Garden's chocolate lasagne, but today I'm doing better. I haven't really wanted any sugar today, and I'm starting to feel better. I hope this works. I'm ready to feel normal again! Wait a minute, did I say "again"? Maybe I should have stopped that sentence after the word "normal". :) May 8, 2005, 6:56 pm I hope all the mom's had a good Mother's Day. Andy surprised us by coming home Friday night, and he had the whole weekend off! He has to leave again on Tuesday for eleven days, but it was good to have him here on Mother's Day!!! So, I did get to lay around a lot today - Andy and the kids cleaned the house for me, we watched movies (I love watching movies), and they took me to eat a late lunch at McAlister's Deli (I am a big fan of deli food - not much like a good soup and salad!):) Now I'm going to go watch Extreme Home Makeover with the kids (Justice's favorite show!!!). It was a good day! :)  Happy Mother's Day to mom, Trish, and all the other mom's I know... May 6, 2005, 6:14 pm
I found a website that I like. I got it (sort of) from someone else's blog (hi Susan!) - she was talking about a new magazine she discovered (Domino), and I went to that magazine's site and found the new site that I like through some link on there (WOW that was a long explanation!). Anyway, it is called chocolateandzucchini - it's a blog that belongs to this chick who lives in Paris, and there are some yummy sounding recipes on there that I think I'm going to try (and some that I would NEVER try! LOL). :)
May 5, 2005, 9:01 pm
May 4, 2005, 3:11 pm
Well, Andy went back out to the field this morning - for two weeks. :( But, after this field exercise, he doesn't leave again until July. I just remembered, I need to go to the P.O. today, I wonder how late it's open. I'm such a procrastinator - I'll just go tomorrow. :)
May 3, 2005, 8:18 am
The boys love to play in the creek near our house. On Sunday, they found a dead snake, and carried it around on this stick for quite a while - showing it to everyone. They couldn't wait to show me, thinking it would scare me (they LOVE to scare me). I think they were disappointed when I told them it was cool - they wanted me to jump and scream. I told them that next time if they bring me one that is alive I might get scared. :) I hope they know I was kidding (Boys - please don't bring me a live snake!!!)
May 2, 2005, 1:31 pm
Andy has to go back out in the field on Wednesday for maybe two weeks (not sure yet how long). But this should be the last field exercise until he leaves in July for a month of training in CA. The kids and I really miss him when he goes away. I suppose it makes us more appreciative of our time together though. Here is a photo from the last time he was out in the field (one of the guys he works with had a camera). Andy is the one on the guard rail - I think this is where they were taking a break but maybe where they were sleeping (the concrete looks comfy, no?). The photo is blurry - I had to scan it in and apparently when you buy the cheap scanner, it is evident in the scans? :-D
May 1, 2005, 9:57 pm
I hope I have energy tomorrow. I have plans to work all day on getting the house cleaned, organizing Darby's Barbies (hey, that rhymes!), and having some time to scrapbook. I didn't have much energy today. I wish I was one of those people that never even thought about it - they always just go, go, go, and get things done. My mind works like that, but, unfortunately, my body does not. I try to change my diet, my schedule, everything, but I still have days that I just cannot function properly. I'm not lazy; I have plenty of motivation. I just lack the ability. Oh well. One day maybe, I'll be full of energy all the time. For now, I'll just hope I'm full of energy tomorrow. Hey, I hope I have energy all week! May 1, 2005, 12:00 am
Randomness... Well, I'm up and it's officially May 1st, so I thought I'd go ahead and get my "May page" uploaded. :) I got some more scrapbook supplies today (or I guess it's yesterday now), and I'm excited and ready to do more scrapbooking - hopefully later today (after I sleep for the night!). I've got a new guestbook, as of a couple of days ago, since the other one kept NOT working. So... everyone sign it and make me feel important! :) (a few people already have - and I get a lot of comments from Matt, which I like - it's fun hearing back from people). :) I decided I really like hats now. I bought a cute corduroy newsboy cap a few months ago and I get compliments on it everytime I wear it (even from the dorky security guards at the base gates - "I like your hat ma'am" - LOL. Oh, and the woman bagging my groceries at the commissary told me I looked like I was 20 when I was wearing that hat - I LOVE that hat!). I wore one of Andy's floppy hats today. I think I'm going to buy a straw cowboy style hat next. Hats are good when you're trying to let your hair grow out, and my hair is in a very awkward-won't-do-anything stage!!! :) I have really been enjoying the message boards and gallery at www.scrapsupply.com. If anyone that reads this journal is a scrapbooker and doesn't already frequent that website - I highly recommend it. Everyone there is very friendly and there are some awesome layouts to gain inspiration from! AND - my best friend is on the design team over there (hi Ali!). Apparently I ramble when it's late so I'm going to go to bed now. Goodnight everyone (and happy May - one month until my FAVORITE month). :) |
note: see pages from previous months in the links below...
 for the love of money is the root of all evil. i timothy 6:10a casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. i peter 5:7 i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. philippians 4:13 do not be deceived: evil company corrupts good habits. i corinthians 15:33
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website created by petra carden 2005
