Checking in from North Dakota

Well, it is official (well kind of) we are now residents of North Dakota. We left Columbus, Ohio at 4 pm on Thursday August 18, and arrived at our new home at 5 pm on Saturday, August 20. Yeah, it was a long trip, but not bad at all. (Actually very good considering we traveled with 2 vehicles, 2 kids, 2 dogs and 2 cats!!)
 So we have been in ND for over a week now....... and all of our furniture and "stuff" is still in Columbus. The truck was supposed to be here no later than Friday, but it could be next Friday before it gets here!! I did bring 2 lawn chairs with us, but they really are not meant for long term use. I have an air mattress, but again, not for long term use. :-)
 Hunter started school on Tuesday. The entire First grade class has 21 students!! (His Kindergarten class last year totaled 90!!) He loves his new school. (We will see what he thinks of it tomorrow after his first test. LOL)
In the evenings we have been doing some exploring.

Rolling hills, it is funny that you come upon a view like this when just minutes before the land was as flat as a sheet of paper, or maybe cardstock. LOL

I am very surprised at how much water there is in ND. There is a lot of water here!! Any way, we found this Nature Reserve, It had a huge amount of nesting birds on little islands (Strangely enough called "Nesting Islands" LOL) If you look above the sign in the photo you can see one of the nesting islands.

This is a picture of a smaller island. Not sure what kind of bird this is, but they look like pelicans. (Do Pelicans live in North Dakota?? PS- I just googled Pelican, and YES they live as far north as western Canada, so they could be pelicans.)

Friday evening we drove to the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. This is 4 Bears Bridge over Lake Sakakawea. Lake S is the 3rd largest man made lake in the US.
Until my stuff gets here you may have to endure more non-scrappy post. (Oh, I hope it gets here soon!! I really miss my Copcis!!)
Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

All she wanted for her birthday....

THIS is what Hailey wanted for her birthday...... "West Birginia!!" The kids love West Virginia, they would move there in a split second if possible. (Hubby tried very hard to get a job there before finding a job in ND.)
The kids have so much freedom while we are there, something they do not get in Columbus. They are free to come and go as they please, and they do. LOL There are lots of cousins there to spend time with, and in West Virginia they have a "Mawmaw" and "Pawpaw" "aunts, uncles and cousins."  And on this trip they got to spend lots of time in the pool.

This is our water loving girl!!

Hailey was content to float all day.

Hunter totally amazed me!! He was doing cannonballs right away. This was their first "real" pool, but Hunter started treading water quickly. He used the floaties for maybe 20 minutes and then he was done with them. The little stinker was swimming underwater like he had been doing it forever.

And there he goes again!! LOL The kids were waterlogged by the end of the weekend,but very happy.  Hailey went to Vacation Bible School one night, then we all went to see the program, in the little church where my daddy grew up. After the program and back at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's everyone gathered for birthday cake and ice cream. Hailey was so surprised!! We all had a great time!!
 It was hard saying good bye this time. I know that it will not be 3.5 hours away any more, but instead it will be 25 hours away. West Virginia is a place where I spent a lot of time during my childhood summers, a place that holds lots of memories, the place where I came from. It is a place where I always feel loved and at home, a place I never want to leave. A place that causes me to have a huge lump in my throat, my eyes burn, and the tears flow every time I say good bye. My kids now are having the same hard time when we leave, but I know why....... Because West Virginia is in our blood!!

And now she is 5.......

So, last week in the middle of all this packing, moving craziness she did it. Without my permission, I might add. I can not believe it, without a second thought my baby girl turned 5!! F-I-V-E!!! Hailey is growing up right before my eyes!!

She picked out her own cake. She went with a brown and pink one with butterflies. She completely surprised us by not choosing a Princess cake or any other Disney/Nickelodeon character available in cake form. Nope, just pink and brown with butterflies for our five year old.

She almost blew them all out with one puff.

And just after I put the camera away she stuck her finger in the icing..... as always. :-)
She has grown so much, and changed so much in five years. Hailey definitely has her own ideas on EVERYTHING!! She has already given me more than enough Haileyisms to write a book. LOL
The cake she chose was a surprise, where she chose to have her Birthday dinner was no surprise- Golden Corral, for some reason she loves that place. (Maybe it is because she can help herself to a soft serve ice cream cone once she has finished her dinner. )
You are not going to believe what "gift" she asked for this year!!!
To be continued............
Until later~

Away we go......

We are packing up and heading west.....we will be making northwest North Dakota our new home. While we are beyond excited!! (a little overwhelmed with all of the packing, but very excited!!)
 I have already started packing the studio. I am not sure how long it is going to take to get things set up once everything gets there so looks like I won't be crafty for awhile. (I hope the movers do not misplace my Mojo! LOL)
 I need to get back to my packing but I am going to try and check in again before we leave Ohio.
Until later~

North Dakota

Hubby and I got to fly to North Dakota in June. Neither of us had ever been there before so it was exciting!! We also left the kids at home- a first for us! :-)

 We flew into Minot on June 10th and even from the air we could see evidence of the FIRST flood to hit the area this summer. (I wish now I would have gotten some flood pictures!!)
 We spent the day driving through country side- we were both amazed at the wide open spaces!!! So different from Columbus, Ohio!

After many, many miles and hours and tons of information it was almost time to call it a day.... but not before we had dinner.

 We chose a local restaurant that does their cooking over an open fire using wood brought in from Alaska. (The smell of the wood smoke was delicious enough... but the food, even more so!) They have 2 teepees in the yard. You can sit in them and have your dinner.
I had the Bison burger on a soft pretzel bun with buffalo chips- they were spicy, but so good. (And yeah, they give you a few more chips, but they kind of disappeared. LOL)

Hubby had the barbque chicken  and the side dishes are served family style out of crocks, the "no recipe beans" were very tasty.
 We got up the next morning an decided a road trip would be fun after a quick look around town.

We met two of the sweetest little, elderly ladies at the Scandinavian Heritage center. This is the church museum. (We were told once AGAIN that we had an accent. Funny, we sound the same as most other Ohioans!! LOL)

We hit the rode and less than 2 hours (and a soft serve ice cream cone) later.....

Now I know why it is call "Big Sky" oh my, I loved it!! We drove to the first driveway in MT (an Indian Casino)  turned around and headed back towards the hotel. We stopped at a historic fort and a visitor's center where the Yellowstone and Missouri come together. The rivers were out of the banks and the friendly lady working there told us that Yellowstone had not begun to melt yet- and the had 3 foot of snow pack- in June. (Since we have been there there has been serious problems with flooding.)

This is traffic North Dakota style. LOL (Just look at the scenery!! )We flew back home the next day, back to 3 and 4 lanes of real traffic. :-)
Since arriving back home we have been keeping up with the news in the Minot area, the end of June the middle of town was filled with up to 15 feet of water. The 2011 flood has been the worst one EVER for that area. Even today (almost a month later) parts of town have 3-4 feet of water. I can not imagine how much more damage has been done to such a beautiful community.
 Currently 11,000 people are homeless in Minot, because of a housing shortage the past couple of years these evacuees have no where to go. I would like to ask you to please keep the people in Minot in your prayers.
Until later~

Treasuring Emma- Booksneeze book review

I am currently working on a crafty project and hope to share that with you soon. In the mean time here is another Booksneeze book review.

Treasuring Emma A Middlefield Family Novel by Kathleen Fuller
Emma struggles with her faith as she is dealing with a strained relationship with her overbearing sister and must face with the man who broke her heart after leaving the Amish faith. She is also faced with the challenge of caring for her frail grandmother with no means to support either of them and to further complicate matters a new man in town has taken interest in Emma for less than honorable reasons. As you read Treasuring Emma you get a look into the lives of those closest to Emma and the circumstances that causes each one to seek God's will.
I feel the author did a very good job portraying the Amish culture and bringing the characters to life. While Treasuring Emma is a romance there are several unexpected twists and turns along the way to keep the interest of the reader. It would have been nice if Fuller would have given more information on Adam's mother, I felt as if I was left hanging. Over all, I would definitely recommend Treasuring Emma to anyone who likes reading Amish fiction/romance novels.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

Book Review- God's Love Letters to You

God’s Love Letters to You

By- Larry Crabb

The greatest love letters of all time did not come from the pen of a playwright or the mouth of a poet. They weren’t formed on warped sheets of music or with the quills of romantics. These letters come from the Word of the Almighty God.

Each of Crabb’s 40 day devotionals are based on a different book of the Bible. Each day also offers relevant scripture, a “letter” from God, thought provoking questions and a prayer. 

Once I started reading God’s Love Letters to You I had a hard time putting it down, so much so that I finished the book in just a couple of days.  (I plan to go back now and use the book as a 40 day devotional. I want to take my time meditating on each days reading and scripture.)

I would highly recommend God’s Love Letters to You to those who are seeking a closer relationship with God and not just the comforts that God can provide.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

You too can review books for free at BookSneeze!