Now

Boy did I have a crazy busy summer. Directed VBS the last week of June. Mom visited in July. Took our BBC teens to Northwest Youth Camp the first week of Aug, which was a blast & I'm looking forward to next year. A lot more happened but I decided to go with the big events quickie.
Spent a wonderful family day in Seaside, Oregon. Finally have a reason to like Oregon :) Absolutely beautiful there. My sister & I took our kids to opening day at the Puyallup Fair. Of course it was a super hot day so we were somewhat miserable but still managed to have a great day :)
Emy started school on the 5th of September. She loves her school & was super excited about starting Kindergarten. She is definitely more comfortable this year & has made two new friends already :) Emily does keep trying to skip school, as she is not used to going to school five days instead of two yet.
I bought a Preschool book to start going through with Noah since he can't start preschool until next year. We have worked in it twice now & I can't believe how quickly he has picked up on it all. He traces lines & letters perfectly, well as perfectly as my handsome three year old can anyways :) Still working on recognition of letters but he can count to 10. Still don't know if he will be right or left handed. He seems more comfortable left handed but he keeps swapping.
Rich has finally come back home to a normal work schedule. Well as normal as a grave shift schedule can be haha. Military duties kept him away for about a week. Yes, I know I am incredibly blessed that it was only a week & that he was just a couple hours away, but its still a hard adjustment for our children who have recovered nicely with daddy back home now.
As for me, I am surviving. Had a pretty good schedule going but now with school in the mix & Rich's school schedule about to be thrown in I am trying to readjust. As you can tell me being up at 1am is not part of the schedule. Actually makes for a rough day, but I had coffee a little too late in the evening. So here I am still wide awake, typing away on a blog that I haven't written in for months & even reading through Twitter feeds so I can check up on my Y&R peeps. Yes, I am a HUGE fan of The Young & the Restless & have been since I was 12yrs old. Anyways, I have hit a plateau in my weight loss but on the plus side I have lost 20lbs since Jan. I am back under 200 which is closer to where I belong but I still have a few lbs to loose..
Well, there it is. The update of our precious little family. Now I'm going to attempt some sleep so my kids can enjoy my company tomorrow.

The Weekend

Friday Jan 20th they actually closed both Tacoma Narrows bridges. There were large chunks of ice falling onto the road from above.

I cancelled another Party Lite gathering on Sat but the weather didn't give me much of a choice.

Yesterday we finally ventured back out of the house. We went to church. The parking lot was icy but perfectly fine otherwise.

Today, black ice claimed a life. The snow was fun, but not enjoying the ice at all. Praying for the family of this lady who died trying to help another from their crashed car.

Thursday

Jan 19th we woke up to the same snow. So we decided to... go for a walk...

It took us 45min to walk a 10min walk...

A lot of falling in the snow...

Saw some very nice Snowmen, woman & bear....

What walk doesn't have at least one fit thrown?
Snow Angel on Ice...

Wednesday

Jan 18th - Woke up to about 6" of snow at my sister's house. Had Rich come "rescue" my kids and myself so I could be stuck at home. When we got home I measured our snow :)
Our backyard.
Rich decided to clear the driveway. Which later turned into ice...
Our gates were all stuck closed.
You can barely see our steps.

Emy and Noah were pretty tired after playing at Auntie Stacey's house all morning and late last night.

Love the cracks on top of the snow. The top 1/4" layer was ice.
A late night play in the snow.
This was mid-snow-war. Oh yeah, he was at war. Punching and destroying the snow.
Caught with a huge chunk of snow/ice that she was sucking on.
Our yard is normally about 2" below the neighbors. We are now equal...

Tuesday

Unfortunately I didn't take my camera with me to my sister's house on Tuesday. But we did have fun sledding on a little hill by her new house.

Monday

Jan. 16th - Looks almost like the snow was already leaving us.

Sunday

Jan 15th - Guess what happened while we were at church? Yup it started to snow! My kids wasted no time getting out to play.

Our Snow Week

Last week we were hit with a snow "storm" followed by the ice "storm", that we apparently are still sort of dealing with, then lastly the wind "storm". We were blessed with 8" of snow at our house before the other storms hit :)

Ah, Coffee...

It's always nice to be greeted with a smile, even if it is from your coffee.

My Weight

I have lost 4lbs in 4days!! I was stuck on a plateau at 213lbs for months all the way until this last Tues. I now weigh 209lbs as of today!! I haven't been under 210lbs since Feb 2010(check my blog). If you are struggling with your weight I highly recommend MyFitnessPal.com. It helps you keep track of your exercising for the day and how many calories per day you CAN and DO eat. Super easy! Don't be afraid of counting calories like I was, it literally does it for you. No more diets :) which is a huge bonus!

Thank Goodness...

...This crazy running here and there part of my weekend is over. Birthday Party #1: the sleepover for Emily went great. She had fun. I missed a Scentsy Party for me but Noah wanted to stay at the party a little longer. Party #2: Didn't even realize there was a second one but this morning apparently Emily had more cake and ice cream for another little girls birthday whom was also at the sleepover. Noah and I went to the Soup & Bread Let It Snow Ladies Fellowship at church today and had a great time :) Then straight off to Party #3: Luckily that one was right down the road from me so didn't have to go far from home. Now the kids should be waking from their naps soon, Rich is about to go to bed until work and I am going to relax(if you consider folding and putting clothes away or washing dishes and cooking dinner relaxing anyway) while I wait anxiously for the first snow to fall this winter :)

Overcompensating??

Already in this new year of 2012 I have written more posts then I did the entire year of 2011. I think it would be fun to have a post a day but I have already missed some... On a plus side I have finally broken through my 213lb plateau!! I now weigh 212.2lb. That may not seem like a huge loss but being stuck at 213lb for months makes it really huge :)

One of Those Days

You know your tired when you can't get the coffee grounds into the coffee maker. It has been one of those days for me. Hoping a walk in the frigid cold with a sweet friend will help my kids and I to take a very much needed nap today.

Ignore the scribbles on the drawers and cupboard. Noah felt they needed some color the other day and I just have not made him clean them off yet.

Why Disney Princesses Are So Unrealistic...

Well, yet again, I had some time to think. I apologize as this is a bit lengthy and probably pretty wordy as well.

I read an article the other day about how Disney Princesses teach young children unrealistic goals and therefore should be banned. That was paraphrased into my own words but that is basically what was said. The reasons being: (1) they are all super skinny, which is completely unrealistic of today's society (2) they are all beautiful and we KNOW that can't be real (3) they don't have morals (4) Prince Charming does NOT exist.
I know there were more points but these four were the most prominent ones out there. So let me explain why I believe a child watching Disney Princess movies CAN actually benefit from them. I am going to be using the main Disney Princesses such as Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Cinderella, Aurora and of course the newest Tiana.

First off, let us deal with the unrealistic skinniness.
Ariel- Swims all day long.
Belle- Takes many walks around town and across meadows.
Cinderella- Running around a two story house cooking, cleaning, serving and lets not forget the many, many stairs she goes up and down getting to and from her room in the tower everyday.
Aurora- Many hikes through the woods.
Tiana- On her feet all day cleaning houses and waitressing.
Jasmine- You don't actually see Jasmine doing many activities, however what Princess, living in a palace, doesn't have a Personal Trainer.
Yup, it is completely unrealistic to believe that exercise in any form can and will help keep you skinny.

Second, let's look at beauty.
Yes all six princesses are beautiful. They are not plastered with makeup. They barely wear enough to know its there. They don't dress like a (PG13 word coming) slut. Their clothes fit them properly and flatters their bodies without showing them off. Their hair is done in a nice fashion that fits them. It's not left in dread locks(sorry for those who are fond of that style) or unkempt. And yes, they even seem to keep their teeth white. I'm guessing by brushing them, (but shhh, don't tell your kids that).
So yet again, I guess its unrealistic to believe that if you take care for yourself, wear the right amount of makeup, wear clothes that fit properly and have your hair styled in a way that flatters you, then you CAN NOT and NEVER will be beautiful.

Third, let us look at the non-morals of these movies.
Ariel- True love is found from the heart, not from the eyes.
Belle- If you take the time to look past the scars and 'ugliness' of others you will find their true beauty. Patience is needed.
Cinderella- Your job does not define who you are. Kindness goes along way.
Jasmine- Money can't buy you everything. Honesty will get you farther in life.
Aurora- Good may fall at some point but hang on because Evil never wins.
Tiana- Work hard for what you want and your life will be more fulfilling.
So, just to paraphrase... Being nonjudgmental, patient, kind, honest, good, loving and a hard worker are bad qualities. Right?!?

Last, but certainly not least, Prince Charming.
Ariel/Prince Eric- Eric loved Ariel from the moment he heard her voice, sight unseen.
Belle/Beast- Beast was an angry, bitter man who looked ugly inside and out. Yet Belle was able to look past that and see the true beauty inside the Beast.
Cinderella/Prince Charming- Prince Charming ignored Cinderella's title as a maid and chose to love her still.
Jasmine/Aladdin- Opposite sides of the track and yet, Jasmine loved Aladdin even when she knew he was poor.
Aurora/Prince Phillip- Prince Phillip saved the life of the woman he loved. The woman that he, at first, believed to be just a common poor girl.
Tiana/Prince Naveen- So this story might be a little on the unrealistic side with them being frogs and all. However, Prince Naveen overcame his selfishness only to fall in love with a poor girl whom he originally judged to be nothing, and in the process learned that money is not happiness.
So the title of "Prince Charming" might not truly exist, however who doesn't think they've found "Prince Charming" when the man they fall in love with is a decent person who treats them with love, admiration and respect.

Is it misguided to believe that a man can love a woman without even seeing her face? Is it terrible to believe that one who may seem completely repulsive would turn into the most handsome man you'd ever laid eyes on once you actually got to know him? Is it so wrong to believe that even if you have a "less than pleasant" job that your "Prince Charming" would still love you and want to be with you? Is it too much to believe that a woman with money would ever want to marry "beneath" her? Is it really hard to imagine that a man would love you so much that he would "risk his life" to save yours no matter what your status in life may be? Is it that unfathomable that a person can fall in love with another just over their personality? Is it terrible to be taught that even people different than you, inside and out, can be loved?

Overall, what I guess I'm trying to say is that I can't see anything wrong in helping a child's imagination grow to be harmful. Oh and how dare they want to live a healthy life by staying fit or taking care of themselves inside and out. Because what girl wouldn't want to look like a Princess or to have a "Prince Charming" to love? But I guess that last question is the reason behind the article. It's just plain unrealistic to think that you can be beautiful(inside and out, even when you are overweight or scarred), loving, kind, patient, honest, hard working and still find a man that loves you no matter what. Yup, Disney Princesses are full of unrealistic goals.

Wow Am I Slow...

It took me 3 1/2yrs, yes years to figure out that I was using the wrong plural in my blogs name. I was saying God's (God is) Little Gifts, when I was supposed to be saying Gods Little Gifts. I am definitely not getting a genius award.

Preschool

I know this post is a few months late but.... I had to share how proud I am of my little girl. She started preschool this past Sept. She a very shy little girl so it was a little rocky to start. She enjoys her school and her teacher. She is learning new things everyday and has become incredibly curious and LOVES learning how to write and spell. Which means I have become my little ones dictionary. It's such a joy to watch her as she grows and matures. I am so blessed to be her mommy.

For some reason the pictures are backwards. Silly blogger...

She wasn't too happy that I let Noah hop into the picture.
She is a poser.
Is this smile big enough mom?
Do we really need the pictures?
What a beautiful way to start her first day of school :)