Love this quote....

"The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you"

Here's our retarded cat Sadee...

Well I was just doing some laundry and I guess our dumb cat thought it would be a good place to nap. When I walked it she was laying in the dryer. Of course I went to go get the camera and she moved. I guess she knew she was in trouble.

Crandall Update....

Well it's been awhile since I've updated this. A lot has changed in the last month. Brent lost his job in the middle of July. He hasn't been able to find work and has decided to go back to school for Computer Security. So I now have 3 boys in school. I never thought I'd have to go back to school shopping for him! Well since someone has to bring home the money I got a job about 2-3 weeks ago working at the new Walmart on Power and Ray. I work as a cashier usually in the early mornings. So if you're ever there come say hi. At least I get paid to shop there. Ha ha ha! You better believe between my discount and coupons I'm going to save a bundle! My boys think it's awesome that I work there. Heidi on the other hand doesn't understand the changes yet. She been with me all day long everyday of her little life. So when mommy goes somewhere she wants to go as well. When I tell her no she asks WHY??? I wanna go! Poor kid. And when I get home she follows me like a hawk. If I leave the room she wanders around asking "Where's Mommy!?!" It will take her awhile to get adjusted. Brent's doing pretty well being a stay at home dad. He's been great with helping with dinners and dishes. Who knew I married such a domestic! I'm greatful to have him. He's my hero. Other than being crazy busy and dealing with major life changes we are doing pretty well. We're still here, together and healthy. That's all that matters. The boys are doing great in school. Connor loves Kindergarten but has "issues with the other kids" I think it's funny because most kids have been at home and never in a setting where they had to get along with so many different kids. They just don't know how to act with eachother. Bryan is quickly finding out that homework is harder in 3rd grade. He likes his teacher though and is doing great with catching up on his reading. I think the boys like having eachother at school. They sit together on the bus and even walk home holding hands. Now if I can just get them to show that brotherly love at home!

Well that's about it for now. I hear the laundry calling my name! Hope everyone is doing well.

Back to School

Well our boys are back at school. Bryan in 3rd grade and Connor in Kindergarten. They were both so excited they could barely go to sleep. Brent and I were able to take them both to their classrooms.

Connor we could see was a little nervous as we approached the kindergarten playground. There were a lot of kids and parents and I have to admit the scene was a little overwhelming. We found his teacher Mrs. Trakas and she showed him where to put his backpack gave him a name tag and he was ready to go play. So we got hugs and a goodbye as he ran out the door. I can't believe my baby is in school. He still seems so little to me.

Bryan our seasoned pro was ready to go. We took him to his classroom and he knew what to do. We got our hugs and a goodbye and watched him as the door closed. I can't believe he is in the 3rd grade. Time goes so fast and he seems to grow at twice the speed.









And then there was one! Heidi is our only one still home. It's strange how quiet everything seems. It will be interesting to see how Heidi handles being the only one here. She's used to having Connor to tease...I mean play with all day.

Connor has lost his first tooth....

Connor lost his FIRST tooth yesterday afternoon. It was by accident really. He's been either affraid to wiggle the loose teeth or he just doesn't think about them. Anyway, Bryan and Connor were playing "fishing for the kitty" (a game where they tie a piece of string to Bryan's light saber and tie a stuffed animal to the other end and throw it over the wall going upstairs) Well our cat was taking a nap so Connor decided to be the kitty and would bite on the stuffed animal. Well Bryan pulled on the string and out came Connor's tooth.



Things were kind of busy for us yesterday and I guess for the Tooth Fairy too, because she FORGOT to visit our house last night. I know I couldn't believe it either. Well it's a good thing because this morning Connor lost his SECOND tooth. I'm not exactally sure how this one came out but I'm sure it has something to do with his older brother because I later heard Bryan following Connor around saying let's get that other loose tooth out. "You want more money don't you?" Followed by "Can I have one of your dollars?"


(the scratch on Connor's face was another casualty of the fishing for kitty game, he got hit in the face with the string.)

My New Favorite Quote

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning how to dance in the rain".

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

Happy 4th of July! We started the day with a family pancake brunch at Nancy and Cortney's house.(Brent's sister and hubby)

Followed by swimming and some awesome water volleyball. The water was nice and cool and completely made us forget how HOT! it was outside. Some of us forgot to put on sunscreen and are now horribly sunburned (Brent and Stephen) My poor kids were out there so long that their sunscreen wore off and their little backs and shoulders are red. (They've been running around the house the last 2 days with no shirts. Heidi I think is doing it more to go along with her brothers) After swimming we headed over to Brent's parent's house were there was some intense bowling competitions on the Wii. Later we BBQ'd and had potato and pasta salad of course; it's and American tradition! Then to finish the day off we lined up on the side of the road along with everyone else in Queen Creek and watched the fireworks from Schnepf's farm. It was a great day full of laughter and family. I can't wait to do it again next year.

When you feel short of blessings....

Things have been kind of stressful lately and I've often found myself pondering what's going wrong or things that we are lacking. So I've decided that it's no fun to be a Debbie Downer so I'm making a top ten list of things that I am truly thankful for. So here goes...

1. A Heavenly Father who loves me and knows what's best for me even when I don't see it that way.

2. A husband who loves me and is supportive. Without him things would be A LOT worse.

3. My children, even though it is often hard to keep up with them they can make your day with just a smile.

4. My entire family. I don't know how those of you who aren't close to your families get thru life. We are all about family everything we do they are the center of it all. I am thankful for this built in support system.

5. I'm grateful for the Grocery Game which has allowed me to really add to my food storage in ways I never thought possible. In the lean times (like at the moment) it is such a relief to know that there is little that we need to get by.

6. My beautiful home in which I feel safe and loved. Where memories are made everyday that we will remember forever.

7. I'm am thankful for the sunrise and sunset. With the way our house faces I can see the sunrise out of my kitchen window and am grateful to be able to start over. In the evening I can see the sunset out of both the living room and my bedroom and it makes me feel blessed to have made it thru another day.

8. Friends, they don't have to be high in number to make a difference in your life. They always seem to know when to call or when you need a hug.

9. Laughter, you can't be sad or grumpy when you laugh. And to hear the laughter of my children just makes my heart melt.

10. Believe it or not I am also thankful for adversity. It makes you grow stronger in ways you never thought possible. On that note I'm done with mine and would like to take this opportunity to share the ability to grow with someone else.

Here we go.....

Well here's the debut post for our blog. Please bear with me as I learn how to operate all of this. Right now our lives are a little crazy as Brent just got back from a 12 day business trip to CA. It was hard but we surrvived, barely. Everything that could go wrong when you are alone does, so I've learned. Just in this last week I got locked out of my house, Connor has strep (no insurance at the moment), we were playing in our little blow up pool and not more then 5 minutes after we got it filled up Connor decides to "dive-in" and hits his head on the concrete leaving a huge goose egg on his forehead. At the same time Heidi chokes on the water and throws up in the pool while we were all sitting in it. Those are just a few of the random things that happened this week. Such is life. It's times like these that I feel so blessed to have CHOCOLATE in my life.