Halloween 2010

The Pumpkin Patch

He's still talking about it!

Trick-or-Treating...

"Let's go! Let's go! I'm ready to go!"

Princess Audrey joined us again this year for the evening festivities of hayrides,

fun in the park, and LOTS and LOTS of candy. These two bounced off the walls til 9:00pm.

I have to mention Tanner's costume was only $11.99 on Ebay.

And Mr. Potato Head's features were velcro.

I'm very proud of this find :-)

Above is the only picture from trick-or-treating.

Tanner walked inside every other house when they

opened the door.

Happy Halloween

The Bowmans take Disney

I couldn't even begin to blog about all that's happened since my last post in APRIL !!! (sorry) But I thought our Disney vacation was post worthy to redeem myself.

We spent three magical days in this Land to celebrate two very special boys' birthdays

and it was WONDERFUL!!!

Seeing this place through your child's eyes is beyond words. I had no idea how much fun we'd have and I'm already hoping/planning for another Disney vacation next year. Here are a few recap pics of our trip.....

Chef Mickey's

Totally worth the early morning chaos to make this breakfast and spend time with all the characters. And the food was really good, too.

"Honey, I shrunk the kids" playground was a hit.

... brings out the kid in you.

Always important to eat healthy on vacation.

Lots of laughs

Tanner's favorite ride.

(second to Turtle Talk with Crush)

While I was busy reassuring our son that this was a fun ride,

Jon was busy shooting all the aliens and scored over 600,000,000 points all the while

oblivious to the family trauma in seat beside him.

Oh this was fun!

The boys found one of those sporadic, water fountains to run through. Tanner laughed so hard I think he quit breathing at one point. Great entertainment for all the passer bys, too.

...done for the day. I think Glenn's exact words were:

"Which one of you will volunteer to cut off my feet."

Thank you, Mickey, for an unforgettable family vacation with our best friends!

Moma, I'm a Big Boy Now

Tanner had his first haircut yesterday! and I think he actually enjoyed it. We managed to save some of the curl, while ridding ourselves of the 'fro.

BEFORE

Out of control.

AFTER

So handsome.

Just for Fun

If you saw me in the back of a police car what would you think I was being arrested for?

The Lord's Tenant

I'm so exhausted I can hardly keep my eyes open. Jon has been out of town and I'm wondering if I'll make it the rest of the week. I'm in transit from the "Rookie desk" to another office with disorganization written all over each day. Work....has been crazy to say the least and I'm running out of fuel.

I offered to take floor duty for a fellow agent last Thursday (info calls, answering questions etc.) which I did not have time for, but realistically needed the potential business. So I agreed. Well, that afternoon a man walked into the office. He didn't have an appointment, but asked to speak with someone in regards to selling his house. As we sat down to discuss his situation, I quickly realized this man was in financial trouble and in grave jeopardy of losing his home fairly soon. He eluded to a recent divorce, struggles with his new career and initial pressure to purchase his current property. I could see desperation behind his sweet smile.

I met him today at his home. We were honest in conversation and realistic in our goal to submit any offers to his collection agency in hopes of a short sale acceptance (a short sale is the last resort before foreclosure). Still, this man continued to smile. I had to tell him that the house he spent this last year renovating would recoup almost nothing of what he invested. He remodeled the entire home all by himself and was so proud of his accomplishments. He proceeded to show me all the other projects that were in his initial plan but couldn't complete since the money ran out. He was such a nice guy. Genuine and appreciative.

We walked outside to post the sign in front and I was shaking his hand on my way to leave. Well, out of nowhere comes the Holy Spirit. You know, when you're heart starts racing and you KNOW you've gotta do it and you really don't wanna? I try real hard not to ignore the Spirit, but sometimes what he wants from me is just completely inappropriate. There are laws about my verbiage in Real Estate that will revoke my business license and others that can land me in jail. I admit I hesitated for a good 30 seconds before making the decision. Whatever. It's the truth and so I said,

"I want you to know that I'm a Christian. And I pray over my listings. So, in case I can't do this alone.... well it just doesn't hurt to ask God to intervene."

(There. I said it. Goodbye.)

He could tell I felt bad for him. Not pity, but sympathy and compassion. He smiled and responded:
"Honey, this is not my house to lose. I never owned it. The Father does. I'm just his tenant."

He said before driving to our office last week, he prayed for help. He decided to Google 'Christian Real Estate Companies' in our area and we continued to pop up. Don't know why. Many of us are Christians, but we don't market that way. We proceeded to talk for a nice 30 minutes or so about Solomon and Job. Endurance and attitudes. Times of sorrow vs times of joy. All in giving God the glory he deserves.

It's just so neat how when we least expect it God reveals himself in little, subtle ways like this. And it's also nice to get confirmation from him on obeying the Holy Spirit and what might just come of it.

The Lord's tenant. I wish I had as much joy and peace during one 'bad day' as this man has weathering the storm. Guess that explains his smile.

Easter Money

Happy Easter!

What a great time we had at our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt last week.

The "money" came and danced while we gathered eggs and played.

"Nicks" are more fun to find and gather, though.

He refused to release the nick...even for candy filled eggs.



The only thing worth trading a nick for...?


...cookie!
Works like a charm every time.

The REAL Easter Bunny came to visit and left a few goodies behind.

CANDY!!!

Sunday was such a pretty day so the men planted flowers for mommy :-)

What a big helper. Notice the nick?

Happy Easter!

Beth and Ebay sittin in a tree

Guilty pleasure with little remorse is my longtime friend, Ebay. Recently I've stolen these deals that just couldn't be passed

such as...

"Da Doe!" (he's not RaRoe anymore) but I HAD to get this one! Don't you agree?

Also found this lot of 5 for summertime daycare fun.


All Jon wears now' days is Dry fit shirts. It was new and usually these suckers are $50-$60 each, but not this one...nope. Only $14 buckaroos.

Ok. here's the deal. I already have these shoes and have worn them at least every other day for 4 years. I found them when Jon and I went to Vegas in 2006 and was about to give them a nice memorial ceremony until EBAY came to the rescue once again. They arrived yesterday and are now placed on a shrine in my closet ready to go for spring. How much you ask? $9.99 for another 4 years of bliss.

and yes
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT ?!?!

We're going to Disney in the fall and I just happened to stumble upon these already monogrammed and one size up cutie pie outfits! PERFECT. The gods are on my side.

(that's a joke. there's only one God. just had to add that disclaimer)