It's good to be Green!

Last year our family made a good(not great) attempt at going green, this year is going to be better. I really do want us to try to do more vegetarian... not sure why all green blog sites seem to be vegetarians...is killing cows, chickens and pigs not Green?



Anyway tonight NO HEATER..okay that is so easy since it is warm today, but we are so spoiled by the heater, even though it makes all of us get a cold. Tonight it is flannels and blankets.



Also I am ordering my family water bottles maybe here http://www.mysigg.com/ but need to still look around. We are going to get rid of all purchasing of water bottles and start caring around our own...it will also help put more pennies in our bank account.



I have been following this blog http://prayforthelamberths.wordpress.com/, and it appears as though things have gotten worse in the past 24 hours. It is very sad he is so young and with a young family. The silver lining in the whole story is the amazing love for the Lord they have and their friends have, I read it everyday, and it just reassures me of the great love we have in Jesus Christ, and there is a reason for everything he does in our lives... The story hits home with me since Mark was injured in a motorcycle accident...another reason I pray my sweet husband will accept Jesus into his life.

I found out about the Lamberth's at this website, which I LOVE to read daily, 2 even 3 times a day...http://whittakerwoman.typepad.com/. She is funny and has great stories and obviously great friends.

Mike just called and he has to be up for work at 11:00PM - I need to go make him soup and grilled cheese and give him a nice back rub. He is working his buns off this week. He is a good egg that man of mine.

No Awana for the kids tonight...we are going to shower and pj it early, and finish our thank you cards.

Happy Wednesday!
Cars

Welcome 2009

Happy New Year! I have been trying to think of my "word" for 2009 - there could be so many choices: Believe, Faith, Peace, Drink ( just kidding), Simple, Focus, Organize, throwawaycrap (okay so do made up words work?), Family, Love etc... you get the picture.

I think for me personally - "simplify" would be my personal word. Really I would want it to be "selfish", just so I made time for me this year, but I know the word "selfish" is not good, and I know putting others first is what the bible tells me to do. Which would lead me to Mike's word for me ( or really a phrase)..."just say NO". I know Mike thinks I spread myself too thin at times.

I think my word for Mike would be - "Faith", I know God has a plan for Mike to come to know him, my hope for 2009 would be for Mike's faith to grow stronger, and that we could pray together.

My word for my kids would be "Focus"... just so they could pay attention to what they are doing, if it is homework, bike riding, playing in their rooms, cleaning, etc... Just focus on the task they are doing.

But if I had to pick just one word for our Family for 2009, it would be GRACE! Giving and receiving. Sometimes it is easier to give grace then to receive it.

Mike and I want to get our house and garage cleaned out and throw away some stuff, and there is going to need to be alot of giving and receiving of GRACE during this process. The good news is we both have alot of "stuff", the bad news is we both think we "might" need it someday. We need that clean house lady to come and help us determine what stays and what goes.

2009 is my year to get rid of the extra 50-60 pounds of "stuff" on my body as well. Mike's 25 year school reunion is in August and I want to wear a cute black dress - so that is my goal. 2008 I didn't even try to get rid of the "stuff" and that has never happened before, typically I'm always trying but last year I just gave in to it, accepted it and knew I had to concentrate on other issues. I will be healthy (and thin) this year!

My words for my work are all 3 - FAITH, FOCUS and GRACE...funny how they all applied to me at work! Faith that I will not be layed off, Focus on the task, and lots of giving and receiving of Grace...

Happy New Year my dear 3 readers ( oh that should have been my goal for this year, increase that number to 6)... I did put our blog on my Christmas card so you never know.

xxox
Caroline

Snow

Mike went to work on Wednesday and got stuck at Kramer Junction due to SNOW...who would ever imagine? This is off the 395 and on the way to where we camp for Thanksgiving. I love this picture, you can see how long of a trailer my (brave strong) husband drives for a living. I love the snow on the excavator and the truck..oh and Astro Burger in the background. Mike loves that place and is now officially "friends" with the owner, since he and coworked spent the entire day "snowed in" at Astro Burger. They did find a hotel for the night (priase GOD) and he was able to drive home yesterday.

We were a bit worried he wouldn't make it home for the kids play, we prayed that he would be home in time and more importantly he would be safe. Isabella was really upset before school and Mrs. Willis prayed with us (she is the best prayer warrior), and God answered our prayers - he is so great...don't you think? Mike was home safely, and the machine was safe and the play was awesome (next post with pictures).

This is out of his truck window, trying to find a motel in Boron. Pretty wild snow storm, in So Cal.

I drove home from work on Weds through a Blizzard on Ortega hwy (okay you east coast people, I know it was just a bit of snow, but a blizzard to me), It was amazing and I wish I could have pulled over and taken photos but I just wanted to get down the hill. 2 of my friends from work got to the top and they turned them around, so they have to go back to the 91 and it took them 5 hours to get home...ugh!

Bad Blogger take 2

Okay I have to say, there are several blogs I check and read daily, 3 maybe 4 okay make it 5 times a day...and when someone goes a few days with no update it makes me sad...and then I opened my blog and realized it has been almost 1 month (sorry Shelley...you are the only one that really cares). I did include our blog address on our Christmas cards this year, so I will be forced to do a better job updating.

Thanksgiving was FANTASTIC - 1 week in the desert with family and friends, 52 of us sat down for dinner all together...it was amazing. Mike's hard work on our camper roof paid off, Tuesday night it rained for 6 hours and no leaks (thank you GOD).

The rain is lovely but Mike doesn't work when it rains so it is bitter sweet. And Mike doesn't do "stay home and do nothing" very well.

My Christmas shopping is not done, the good news is I don't have many to buy for, and we told the kids this will be a small Christmas this year. Since they are 8 and 6 they really don't understand what that means, and quite frankly they really won't care. If they get what they asked for from Santa (nintendo DS) they will be thrilled, and then a few things for us. That is one thing my kids aren't that greedy at Christmas time - I guess because they get what they want throughout the year. There are a ton of things I can think of I would love to get them, but this year I am sticking to 2-3 gifts - nothing major. I really want them to know the meaning of Christmas and that it isn't about getting a bunch of presents. This is when I wish Mike was saved, so he as the head of the house could sit down and read to us the story from the Bible - Oh well, there is always next year.

Please pray for my dear friend Jacquie this Christmas season - she is experiencing a "gliche" in her marriage and it isn't an easy time for her. Pray her family will draw closer to her and to God.

Thursday is the big night - the kids play at school - Isabella has a lead role, I will update Thursday night, which is the eve to me being 44...ugh! It just means 50 is getting closer and since my mom died at 50, I want to celebrate every year I have on earth.

Mike just left for work 2:15am, praise God he is working today. I couldn't sleep, starting to have the "wake up Christmas morning with no gifts bought" dream.... I hate that one.
Oh and the dreading homemade gift - we are not done with ours yet...wait.... we haven't even started them. I do know what we are doing and that is 1/2 the battle.

I have a few days off this week and then next week as well - I need a break, work isn't that busy but just need some down time with the kiddos.

Just wanted to say HELLO - and post a cute picture from Thanksgiving, but realized they must not be downloaded yet.

Good night or good morning - whatever... I'm going back to sleep for a bit ( I got new sheets 400 thread count...who knew they would be so lovely, Cami was with me when I bought them and I said "oh is that good 400 thread count" and she replied "really 800 would be fantastic" but they were over 100 bucks - no thanks. Since we have been sleeping ( and I'm not kidding) on sheets with -100 thread count, and 1 of our pair of sheets was from my mom's house.... 400 thread count feels like 800. I said to Mike this am, didn't it feel great and he sort of grunted "yea I guess" . See my man is low maintenance. There is a NO DOG rule in our bed now.) end tangent!

xxox
Caroline

Stuck in a blog rut..

Okay so I have been a bad blogger, I think I am in a RUT with alot of things these days, and I need to snap out of it. It is the holidays and I have so much to be thankful for... First... my Love, has put a new roof on our camper ( our old we paid 4k camper, but it is worth 100k to us) we will now not have to put a tarp on it when it rains. He was not happy about doing it but once he got started he has done a great job. We all helped out, the kids got up there and scraped and I helped him tape on Sunday night, even though I didn't want to get up on the roof, he said he really could use my help so I got up there.

Second... I got all the food figured out for our Thanksgiving in Red Mountain, we leave this weekend. 50 people eating dinner together, how great is that? Can't wait and so far NO DRAMA like this time last year....

Third...Work is much better - so thank you if you prayed for me. I had a talk with my boss and he gave me some good tips. I am trying to really be focused at work and make it my career and quit treating it like a job. It is such a balance of being a working mom and trying to be a MOM - especially being involved at school.

I promise to be a better blogger! I HATE when my favorite blog buddies don't update their blogs...I mean what do I have to look foward to? My budget has cut out People magazine...so blogs is it for me ( okay I sneak over to Cami's and use the bathroom to get my People mag fix). The good news is my 3 readers already know my life stuff anyway so I don't have to worry about people being upset that I'm not blogging.

I do have several things I want to post - and I will "tomorrow".

In the meantime.. have a great night!

PS..

my new favorite songs are Taylor Swift - "Love Story" and...(don't laugh) The Jonas Brothers - "Lovebug" - Beyonce -"If I were a boy" and Caedmon's Call - "Hands of a Potter". All downloaded and ready for Isabella to put on my ipod...yes my 8 year old does that for me.

oops!

I just realized I never did my 2nd post about our wedding... Oh well another time. Our anniversary was great, and Neil Diamond ROCKED - even Mike had fun.

We just got back from Weldon for opening weekend of bird hunting and I'm sad to report, still no deer for Mike. He is going back again this weekend for one last go at it. He is very determined. We had a great relaxing weekend and took a few days off as well. Mike actually did a late hunt on Monday so we drove home at 3 am on Tuesday morning. I think the kids and I are still recovering from that - we are exhausted.

Isabella did shoot her shotgun but she did not respond the way Mike would have hoped. She is a bit afraid of it and it is going to take time. I doubt she will be shooting her first pheasant at the kids hunt this year. She does not want to let her dad down so she really was trying but on Monday made herself physically sick, she doesn't like to talk about it, and kept telling me that she isn't afraid etc... She is only 8 so we may have to wait until next year. Mike was bummed but he would never push her to do something she is not comfortable with, the hardest part of that learning experience is - she is our fearless child, so this is very out of character for her. I reassured her it is okay and she can try another time. - UGH!

Work is well...work. Mike's work is very very slow, so please pray for us, we need at least 50 hours a week to survive. My work is okay and I know there is going to be a layoff but I just need to have faith it won't be me. I am really trying to be my best at work and be more organized, my caseload has gone down so I am doing a bit of housekeeping now.

I almost forgot - Mike shot a rattlesnake, while hunting with ISABELLA...we had gone out that morning to shoot her gun and I asked "are there any snakes" and he replied "in 10 years I have only seen 1 gopher snake" - that afternoon the 2 of them went out and sure enough a huge rattlesnake that Zoe was pointing at in a bush. It was 4 feet long, with 10 rattles. He brought it home and skinned it, and Risa is going to make rattlesnake chili this weekend. Soren is going to hang the skin in his room and is now turning his room into a Cowboy room. Garrett let Soren borrow one of his old cowboy hats for his costume for Halloween, Soren was so excited he has not taken the hat off since. He really wants to take Garrett to school one day for share - because he is a "real" cowboy.

Have a great Thursday!
cars xxox

Our love story - part 1 of 2 posts

October 3rd, 1998 we said "I do", it was a great day and at the time 10 years seemed so far off. Here we are 2008 and it feels like it went by in a snap. Yes I joke all the time it feels like it has been 20 years, but only because I feel like Mike and I have always been together. We have accomplished alot in the past 10 years and there are never any dull moments.



We got engaged on September 27, 1997 at Foley winery in Santa Barbara - it is my favorite story to tell and if Mike is around and hears it, he still jerks a tear. I knew we were going to be getting engaged soon (I wasn't getting any younger), and he had the ring made and was in the process of paying it off, he knew only that I wanted a saphire and platinum the rest was up to him..oh that I had chubby fingers so it couldn't be some danty setting. We went away for the weekend with Shelley, Mark, Cami, and Chris, and rented a limo and went wine tasting. I honestly had NO idea he would propose this weekend. Mike is VERY private (i have wore him down a bit in the last 10 years), and he would never propose in front of my 2 best friends - that was way too predictable. We got to Santa Barbara and got in the limo and headed out to the wineries. (Side tangent - Mike was acting wierd that morning but I didn't think anything of it.)We had gone to several wineries and feeling a tiny bit "happy" and spending way too much money on wine (we were very novice wine drinkers at the time). We were are the lovely Foley winery and enjoying our tastings. I said to Mike "my ring will have to wait a few more weeks" - because he wanted to pay cash, every week he would take money out of his check to pay for it (we had combined our money at this point too). He said "let's go outside" and I thought oh crap I'm going to get a money lecture. We walk out to the porch and he gets on one knee and says "Caroline Diane Sorensen will you have the honor of being my wife" HELLO I freaked out and started crying right away....I could not believe it, he caught me completley off guard - I said yes!. I walk back in and yell out "I just friggin got engaged" - everyone was cheering and Cami started to cry. Here is the best part - I said "we need to call my dad" (side tangent - my mom had died the year before and it had been tough on all of us). and then Mike replies "he already knows" - Okay I have to say that was the best part of the entire engagement, Mike had asked my dad for my hand in marriage...for those of you who don't know Mike, he beats to his own drum, he does things his way and doesn't comform to the normal. We all cried harder - The owner at Foley gave us the phone and we called my dad (who was sitting by the phone waiting to hear from us). It was an amazing weekend, which then led up to our amazing wedding.


The rest of our weekend was a blast, we got back to our hotel and called our friends - they all happened to be in Arrowhead together and they were very thrilled. I was one of the last in my circle of friends to get married. Then we had chicken fights in the pool (another story) before we set out to a nice dinner.

It is my favorite story to tell -even better then the wedding story because it was so out of Mike's character.