Dear Tyler & Kailey, thank you...

Dearest children,
Thank you for the mani and pedi tonight. You two are fantabulous!

Love you to the moon and back,

Living Fearlessly :: My Mom

My mom, is one of my best friends. Our life lent itself towards that direction from the beginning - being as she was a single mom, raising a daughter, while growing and figuring herself out. We grew up together. We've taken many steps in our lives together. While many mother/daughter duos will find there steps growing farther apart, ours continue to remain close.

Recently, my mom [Vickie], has started a new adventure and I want to share it with you - be encouraged by it!!

Her adventure starts with the threat of losing a job she has had for years. As many people have experienced in our recent economy my mom's company started down-sizing and relocating the bulk of their employees. One of the facilities they lost was her building in the Puget Sound area. Thankfully, she was spared and given the opportunity to work from home. However, there has always been the looming possibility that the company may decide to no longer support tele-commuters. Can you imagine that anxiety?

Well, we all have options in life: be procavtive, reactive, or do nothing at all. My mom, decided to be proactive - I love that about her! She started researching different fields she could train and enter into. Eventually she found herself taking a few weekend courses in the medical field [hang on, people, it doesn't end here]. After all, medical professionals are an invaluable part of our country & there seems to always be a demand for their services.

After getting her feet wet in the medical field she found that while she enjoyed it, it wasn't her passion. She continued to evaluate what her calling was, what her gifts were, and what would fulfill life long dreams?

Within two weeks she had dropped her medical courses and found a new institute of learning: New York Fashion Academy, Seattle.

She is now fulfilling a life-long dream of wanting to design clothing! Already she has begun courses in Draping and Pattern Making. How great is that!? I would love to recognize God's gifting in my life and fearlessly take steps to bring them to fruition.

You can follow her journey at: http://infashionat50something.blogspot.com/

I love you, mom! I'm so proud of you discovering you dreams, gifts, and talents! Keep going, I can't wait to follow you on this journey.

Cheers,

Snowy, Rainy, April morning....

When is snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. Prv 31:21

What a great scripture for this morning. Upon getting out of bed, making my first cup of coffee, and looking out the window I find it is snowing. Five days into April and big white flakes are falling from the sky. What a sight!

Normally, being as it's Monday and all, I would probably feel a little defeated by the snow. Well, lets be honest, those feelings were present at first glance out the window. However, after reading the above scripture I'm reminded of all the provisions God has given me and the Phifer Four. Despite the cold and the yuck - we are warm, we are clothed, and our tummy's full. Fear not, for our life is GOOD!

How are things in your little space of the world? Are you finding warmth in the midst of a storm?

Cheers,

Meal Plan Monday :: Week of 3/15-3/21

• Monday: Chicken Alfredo w/Garlic Bread
• Tuesday: Meatloaf w/Mashed Potatoes & Steamed Broccoli
• Wednesday: Turkey Tacos
• Thursday: Breakfast Burritos
• Friday: Cheese & Bean Burritos
• Saturday: Chicken Cordon Bleu w/Dinner Salad
• Sunday: Tomato Soup for the Kids & Date Night for the Parents

I'm linking up to:

Menu Plan Monday @ www.orgjunkie.com

Who Are We?

We are a family of four, living life together, in the Pacific NW. That's the short story...continue reading if you want to learn more.

The Daddy is a full time employee, student, daddy, & husband. Life is very busy for The Daddy right now. He is going to school full-time earning his AA in Visual Communications. That should be *cross your fingers* completed a year from now. Once that is complete he will be moving on to Video Game design - this is his passion! We are so proud of him for all the hard work he's doing to make a better life for our family.

I, The Mommy, am full time stay-at-home-mom that dabbles in a little bit of everything. I've found over the years that I'm good at a lot of things, but not great at any one thing. I'm currently training for multiple 5K's. This is a feat that I never thought I'd do - I'm SO NOT a runner. This year I'm planning on competing in 3 - 5K's and one 250 yard mud run. My goal is not to win, but to survive.

Together we have 2 children - Little-Man who is 6 and Baby-Girl who is 4.

Little-Man is in kindergarten this year and is loving it! He's inquisitive, funny, bright, charming, and kind. Little-man currently is into Jiu-Jitsu, Star Wars, Pokemon, and Transformers. He some day hopes to have his black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and be an animal conservationist.

Baby-Girl (4) is 90% girly-girl and 10% rough and tumble. She's silly, outgoing, beautiful, and loving. Our girl is completely loving all things fashion, music, dance, and pink - yes, lots of pink. She is in Pre-K this year and is looking forward to Kindergarten next year so she can be at school everyday. Her aspirations are to be a wedding dress designer, singer, and ballerina.

As a family we celebrate our time together. Nothing makes us happier than the days that we can spend together sun up to sun down with a nap in between. No matter where we are or where we go, we are happy as long as we have each other.

~The Mommy of the Phifer Four

Creating Christmas: Holiday Recipe

Well, I've neglected this blog once again. However, I found a blog party I'm excited to be a part of, so here I am - back in the saddle. Sure, I'll be a little achy in the morning, but it will be worth it.

This is the party that I'm going to:


Day 1: Favorite Holiday Recipe

I don't have anything that particularly screams holiday. However, once the weather cools down and we are forced inside as a family we all like to bake and make yummy goodies. Baking cookies are particularly fun (and easy) for the kids to help out with.

One of our tastiest treats we like to make are Butterscotch Oaties. My husband got the recipe from a friend, who got it from his mom, so I'm not sure if this is top secret or not. Just in case let's just keep it between you and I, huh? =)

Friend Makin' Monday: What do you do? What to you wish you did?

Good Monday morning! It's been a while since I've been here, again. Life has been quite busy. We're currently balancing 3 school schedules, jiu-jitsu, dance, volleyball, and hubby's job. It seems pretty crazy around here right now.

However, more now than ever, I need my friends. They help keep me grounded and give me perspective in the chaos. That's why I was so excited to see Friend Makin' Monday. Even so those of you who read my blog are scattered, it's nice to know that there might be someone out there who has been there, done that.

Friend Makin' Monday is a chance for my readers to get to know me a little bit better. Who am I? What makes me tick? Today's topic is: What are your hobbies? What do you wish you knew how to do?

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What are you hobbies?

* Well, I like to do a lot of things. I generally don't have time for all of them, though. When feeling crafty, I tend to knit & crochet. I'm an instant gratification kinda girl, so most projects are small. BUT I just cast on an afgan, so wish me luck in that I actually finish it.

* Paper crafts interest me: scrap-booking, card making, etc. I'm a perfectionist, though. So, I rarely tackle those types of projects.

* Home decor, I love - my budget doesn't. So, I do with what I have and my friends and family fill in the rest.

* Playing volleyball. Playing, coaching, watching - I love it all.

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What do you wish you knew how to do?

* Paint. I would love to paint something I'd be proud enough to hang in my house and let everyone see.

* Sing. I know many great singers. People who sing high, people who sing low. People who are just plain AWESOME. Me? Not so much. I'm lucky I don't kicked out of the sanctuary during worship at church. Ha!

* Write. Sure, I try my hand at it with this blog. Let's face the facts, though, I have 14 "followers". It's either because of content, quality, or quantity. I know I don't post much, but I believe that's part of my problem as I writer - I don't have time to develop it.

So, how about you? What do you do? What do you wish you did?

Cheers!

Andrea