A few projects...

We have been making some well needed changes around the house the last several weeks. The top pic is the main bathroom upstairs, it was a door going into a small bedroom that I use for Justinas school room. It will soon be a linen closet!!! Ahhhh more space to put stuff:) The next pic is the other side of the linen closet that is now going to be a floor to ceiling bookshelf! The bottom pic is our new french doors that we had put into the wall that goes into what used to be a small useless awkward spaced bedroom that is now the Master Retreat/Office. We closed off the other door going into this room. These are still unfinished but i will update the pics when they are done:)

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Justina!!!!

Yesterday was Justinas Birthday, she turned 10. Wow double digits!! She celebrated with a couple friends, had cake and played Boogie Superstar on the wii. She received a tote bag (thanks Nancy) filled with some fun stuff geared towards having a sleepover this Friday. One item was the Boogie Superstar game and wow that is a blast, you get to dance and sing in a microphone. Thank you everyone who gave me ideas for her gift, I Incorporated all of them, I think.

A few fond memories...

1. Justina you were truly a gift from God! I was in a place in my life that really needed to change. God used you to really wake me up and draw me close to Him. You were an incredible gift that gave me purpose, hope, faith and above all showed me Gods love and grace.

2. You were walking at 10 months!

3. You were an amazing baby!!! You almost NEVER cried. You were calm, good in stores and easy to take care of. I cant say that about ALLL my children but I wont mention any names:)

4. You have always been a social butterfly. Especially when it comes to boys!

5. You are truly a thoughtful young lady. You have always made me cards and cleaned up whenever I have not felt well.

6. Daddy calls you Justina Bobina and Justina DramaQueena

7. You use to always play chinese kitchen, you would set up the whole dining room table:)

I just want you to know I love you!

Oh Dear...

Uhmmm Im just curious, anyone want to donate to the "save Carmell from insanity, send her children to school fund"??? I only need to raise about 10,000 to send both of them to school next year:)

Justina is doing her 4 days of testing this week and I have had a non stop migraine and I went to the doctor for my phsical and found out I had high blood pressure. Im relating this to homeschool, I mean what else could it be?? Well, it could be Paul, he is a handful:)

Just so everybody knows, I was joking about the money:) Unless of course you want to give me thousands of dollars.

Paul took this one...

Paul was out and about working when the mountain erupted. He got some good pics:)

WHOOOOHOOOO!!!!

I just got pictures moment after an eruption (3:30 our time). Im so excited, it was a rather small one, only 35,000 feet in the air but its something! It was awesome to see how fast the ash cloud started to move over us. Incredible to witness a natural event like this. Gosh darn it, why have I not bought a new camera for moments like these??? Oh well these pics look ok and I hope you enjoy them. Im hoping to get more if the mountain continues to erupt. I would like to get one right when the mountain goes but thats kinda unlikely. Heres a link to the web album I just created.

http://picasaweb.google.com/carmellbarlow/MtRedoubtEruption#

Help...

Justina will be 10 on April 15th and I have not a clue on what to get her. Mercy is easy and content with most anything but Justina has higher expectations. I don't want to buy something just for the sake of buying something. I would like to be a little creative with maybe some sort of thoughtfulness thrown into there. Soooo does anyone have any ideas on what to get a 10 year old preferably staying at or under $50??? Please give suggestions! I have it set so anyone can post comments, even if you don't have a blog. So no excuses!!

Thar she BLOWS!!

Redoubt started erupting on Sunday. It has had several small eruptions and several large ones with ash clouds going up to 65,000 feet in the air. We lucked out and did not get any of the ash on us Sunday. Now the winds have turned and the Kenai Peninsula is getting ash from this mornings eruptions. Most of it going South of us towards Homer. The girls and I went to the store and got lightly dusted though. Justina and I had a little bit of a sore throat and my eyes started to burn slightly. I felt bad for taking them out but I didnt think it would drop much on us. Its mostly clear now and Im going to go see if I can see the mountain and get a few pics with the sworms of people waiting for it to blow again. The mountain is about 50 miles from us. On a nice day its a gorgeous mountain to look at. In fact if you look at my slide show to the right you will see pics I took of it a while back. They were taken a few miles from our house.

Nancy tagged me with an alphabet tag. You have to list 10 things you love starting with the alphabet letter assigned to you. My letter was "v".

1. Vitamins
2. Virtue
3. Visiting with family and friends
4. Vision (I'm so thankful to see all that is around me)
5. Variety (of everything like food and clothes)
6. Velcro (my kids have never owned shoes w/o it)
7. Various family friendly movies and TV shows
8. Verses from the Bible that encourage me
9. Vanilla bean ice cream
10. Vacation fantasies

Most people I know with a blog have been tagged already but i am going to take my chances and tag Wendy Vonderahe (H). The letter following your name is the letter you have to use.

Growing up...

Remember that post about Mercy snapping her fingers? Well, to Paul that was a "moment". Now let me share with you my moment...

Mercy received a couple shirts for her B-day, one pink and the other white. She loves clothes in fact its what makes her really smile. When we got home with her shirts she immediately went to her room to try them on. It started out with the pink one and then the white. Suddenly my little Mercy had a bright idea!! She put the pink one over the white one then she came out quite proud of herself and her idea and asked me how she looked. It was PERFECTLY layered!! My girl can layer and look totally cool!! Ohhhh, brings tears to my eyes:)

Oh, The Joys of SPRING...

I took these a couple days ago:)

Better late than never...

Heres a few picks of Mercy on her Birthday. The blue Alaska hat is officially her "fishn cap". Shes such a beautiful girl!!!

Filled with the Holy Spirit or possesed???

Neither! Today I was sitting in Sunday school listening to a teaching in Revelation that talked about the horrible locusts that will come out of the pit and torment men for 5 months in the last days. I was getting ready to stand up and make my way to the restroom when I looked down and saw a spider crawling on my pants. I stood up and completely flipped out and started screaming (as mildly as possible). I was filled with a lot of emotions at the time one of them being humiliated that everyone was staring at me and the teaching had to of course stop. Because of this I seemed to just stand there for a minute shaking my hands in the air while this screeching sound seemed to just fall out of my mouth. I finally ran out with a bunch of squealing Im sorry's. From that point I preceded to the restroom where I threw off my coat and chucked the bible and started to cry while brushing off every part of me. I left everyone speechless until someone said it must of been a spider. Apparently everyone has been seeing these spiders crawling on the pews! UHHHHH I offered to buy and place the bombs in the church. I hope I can get this taken care of before next Sunday. If not I may have to play sick at home:)
Please understand that while this seems a little extreme I have a major and I mean MAJOR fear of spiders! My mom actually wanted to have me hypnotized when I was younger thinking it would help with this fear.

Happy Birthday Mercy!!

Today our little baby is half a decade old. The Big 5!! She woke up today so excited with a big grin on her face just waiting for us to say happy Birthday and give her a big hug. Im amazed at what makes her happy. She is totally happy with a homemade chocolate cake and a few small gifts from mom and dad. It does not matter what she gets she always is so excited and thankful:) Pauls parents sent a card and she was so happy she wanted to make sure and put the card where everyone can see it. Mercy asked to be read that little card several times:) I love that about her!!
Just a few memories:
1. As soon as you were born and placed in Daddy's arms you stuck your little tongue out at him.
2. Your first few weeks home all you did all night was grunt and fart. It kept us up all night! At that time we called you Mercy Grace Grunter Barlow.
3. I called you my nursey Mercy.
4. Paul and I fight over who first nicknamed you Mercy Moo.
5. Now Daddy calls you Mooch or Moochy.
6. You traveled across the country with us to Florida when you were 2 months old. You slept almost the whole way there and back!
7. First laugh June 26th 2004
8. You love to say excuse me.
9. Your an independent little stinker. You like to comb and do your own hair and choose your own clothes. Your quick to get up and get dressed:)
10. You made up the name Papa doppa for your papa
11. You are very much a girly girl but you love to fish and whack them on the head.
12. You love seafood! Especially king crab and shrimp.

HAPPY BIRTYHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Priorities Priorities...

This Friday I am supposed to showcase my step routine to the club manager and 2 step instructors. Of course Im a little nervous about it but my biggest concern is that this is taking the place of more important priorities in my life right now. Just coming up with one routine has taken me hours and has used up a great amount of physical and mental energy. There is this part of me that says, "I need to do this to prove to people that Im not a complete flake and to prove to myself that I can become something other than a housewife". Why oh why do I seem to continuously go back to thinking that what God has given me isn't enough! Im a homemaker in this job alone I am a wife and a mother who does the job of a full time nanny, housekeeper, cook, accountant and to top it off a teacher. This is what I wanted so why do I seem to chase after other things that really take me away from these responsibilities? I feel so distraught because I dont want to be a quitter or a flake. But the first things need to come first, right?

#1 Spending time with the Lord in His Word and prayer. He is my Creator, Lord and Redeemer. Its through Him that I have life. All that I am should be given over to Him daily.

#2 My Husband. God placed him over me as the head of the home. I want to make a place of rest for him in our home. I want to please him by being a quite sweet submissive wife who loves the Lord and encourages him to stand strong and serve the Lord. This is a work in progress mind you.

To me part of being a good wife is to have a clean home for him to come home to and good meals that keep him strong or meaty I should say:) I do all the shopping, prepare the meals, clean the house, pay the bills, and make sure important things dont go undone such as taxes. This all can be overwhelming as most of you know! Sometimes I want to lay in bed a cry because my mind wont stop thinking of the long list of "things to do". The worst part is, its never done! At the same time I praise God that he has given this to me. Yes I am a little crazy! Im not going to say anything about my husband telling me I don't ever do anything. HA

#3 My children. They are gifts from God! I may not always describe them that way but really its true. Gods Word tells me that I am to teach them His Word all the time. I need to of course care for them in all aspects of life right down to hygiene. I also have chosen to homescool and I by no means am perfect at this. This to me is a huge responsibility and to much on my plate at any time can effect their schooling.

#4 My church along with my brothers and sisters in Christ. This could entail any number of things. Whether its to serve in Sunday School or even to just pray for them. Right now I am participating in a women's bible study on Friday mornings. This is a priority over being a fitness instructor any day. This is an opportunity to spend time in Gods Word together, to study and make yourself more accountable to others. Studying Gods Word is a blessing that cannot be described.

Yeah I could be a step instructor but at what cost. Thats what Im weighing at the moment. Can all these things be covered with enough time left over to choreograph routines every 2 or 3 months. Can my mind handle another thing on my "To do List". Am I making a big deal about nothing? After all my husband thinks I don't do anything:) All I know is Im already tired and worn out (with chin splints) and I really want to make fresh healthy bread. Really my question to myself at this point is, "Am I doing this to bring glory to the Lord, or to me?" The 4 I named above is for the Lord and to his glory.

Just a few funny memories

When Justina was about 2 1/2 she approached me in the bathroom where I had some nice new underwear from Costco sitting on the counter. She said "mommy someday when I have a big butt can have these."

When she was 3 she sat in the back of the car and asked Paul and I something about idiots. We were a little confused as it didnt seem to make sense, finally we realized that she was asking us about Indians. Just so Im clear on this Paul and I have never called Indians idiots.

Mercy when asked what she wanted for dinner said, "hmmmm I want some King crab!". She has very expensive taste and usually orders shrimp when we go out:)

Thats all I can remember right now but whenever I remember those little jewels I will write them down for future reference:)

A wanna be Suzy

When I moved up tp Alaska I thought I would have a lot more time to do new things. In Oregon I was surrounded by places like Target, Wal-mart, Bed Bath and Beyond, 2 big malls and a bunch of little ones. I loved to shop! And eat out! So I move to a place where there is one big store and thats Fredmeyer. So you would assume that I would have a lot of time on my hands considering now I only have returns to take to one store:) I have been here for 2 years and I feel as busy as I ever have. Life is sooo consuming! All I want is to be is a beautiful skinny loving quite submissive wife who showers her children with love and praise, bakes fresh bread from scratch daily, always has wonderful fragrant roasts ready for dinner at 5pm and has a house that could withstand the white glove test. Is that to much to ask? I love the 50's ideals with the woman standing in her kitchen with fabulous hair and perfectly pressed dress with a delicate string of pearls and her hand made apron with a wonderful presentation of roasted chicken and corn on the cob. I could do with out the high heals she always seems to wear!
Anyways Im veering off the subject now. The last couple of days I have decided to try new things. I made morning glory muffins and for the first time tried my hand at making clam chowder. I made the clam chowder with the clams we harvested this summer! If anyone comes up they must go clamming, its a blast. The next day I grinded my own flour and made 4 loaves of bread and a big batch of fresh whole wheat cinnamon rolls (with the fresh ground flour), this was my first time ever grinding my own flour. Did I mention I used freshly ground flour (Im so excited). This was right after I made a wonderful apple pie with a pretty lattice crust. I feel so good:) Next time Im going to wear a dress and paint my lips red!

Now 10 things about Justina...

I have explained below my reason for doing this already. Its just fun:)

1. Wakes every "school" morning complaining that she doesnt feel good! She seems to be fine on the weekends though:)

2. Been boy crazy since she was 5 years old! She started by trying to make another little lad give her a kiss! We are keepin a close eye on her!

3. Sings while she brushes her teeth:)

4. Extremely thoughtful. She will make a get well card for almost anything.

5. Home schooled for 5 years. Tested very well for her first state testing last year. shwwww i though I was going to be in trouble:)

6. She does not have a sweet tooth. Weird I know!

7. Loves pink EVERYTHING.

8. Flew on a plane by herself in First class. I have never myself flown first calss, but thats all that was available. It cost me an extra 10,000 points so I told her she better eat every stinkn bite of whatever they feed her!

9. She does NOT like PB&J sandwiches. Its just not right.

10. Loves to do anything that involves hanging around lots of people (especially boys). Shes very social.

10 Things about Mercy...

I loved the whole 25 things off facebook so I decided to do at least 10 on each my girls for fun from my perspective of course. So I will start with Mercy.

1. Hungry Hungry Hippos and Sequence our her favorite games.

2. Favorite color is pink but purple will do in times of crisis, green tends to make an appearance as well as it is the neighbor girls fave color.

3. Extremely picky about clothes! Usually it needs to be a stained shirt and a pair of mismatched capris.

4. Loves chocolate!! The other day she ate all the hot fudge out of my sundae (I had EXTRA fudge put on it to) by the spoonful. She called it a fudge volcanoe.

5. Throws a tempertantrum about EVERYTHING!!!

6. Wiiling to kill a cute little duck if it trys to peck at her fish.

7. Loves to fish rain or shine:)

8. Wants to marry her daddy.

9. Makes huge messes and trys to play the Im to little to clean this up card.

10. Loves to give out kisses and hugs!

Pauls Perspective...

This is the name of Pauls new blog!! He doesnt always agree with everything I post, so he protested and started his own. Actually if you want the truth, he tried to make me post corny stuff:) I wouldnt have it! There you go a new blog is born.

http://psbarlow.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!