Bell's First Tooth!

My Bella with all her baby teeth.... ...And here she is after losing her first tooth. She was so excited!

I know she's beautiful!

Then maybe a week later, here she is again, with "#2".

And just a pic of her with a "rollie-pollie"...she loves her bugs!

Up Close And Personal

My kids are always grabbing my camera and taking pictures. I never know what I'm going to find when I browse thru them. One thing is always certain, there's going to be a close up face shot. Here are some randoms I've found throught the years...

Time To Catch Up!

A LOT has been happening in the last few months. So I thought I would catch up a bit. First of all, I've taken on more house cleaning jobs. Something I really didn't want to do, but we could definitly use the extra $$. I don't mind the extra work, but it's been all work and very little play. I did manage to get in 1 girls night out with all my favorite women! It was for my friends' birthday, and we just went to dinner and drinks at this fondue place in Reno. It was a lot of fun.

Our family had a very nice little break from all the sicknesses we've had since September...a 3 week break to be exact...then it was right back to all the coughing, sneezing and sleepless nights. Chase ended up with a double ear infection with 1 ruptured eardrum. He has since recovered from that, but then yesterday I started feeling sick. I ended up throwing up all day. Then last night I was woken up by the sound of vomiting in the kids' room. Bella threw up all over her bed, the room, and a little on her brother. After that we just took turns running to the bathroom. Now today, my husband feels sick! I'm really hoping Chase sits this one out. He's missed so much school from being sick.

On another note, we signed Chase up for baseball. He is on the Orioles, and is very excited. We got all his gear (very expensive!) and are ready for the crazy season to start. My friend has her kid on the same team so I look forward to getting to visit with her at practices and games.

What else...oh, we got another dog. We ended up getting rid of our male beagle (he just wasn't fitting in) and we got another lab! Her name is Pepper, and we just love her! Garrett really wanted another lab. We haven't had one for a few years since Shadow died so I think it was just time for another. Here she is at about 3 months old. She's probably about 5 1/2 months now, and she is HUGE!


As far as my projects have been going, I haven't been doing very much. My latest is a window panel I've been repainting. So far it's turned out good, but I'm not sure the color is right for the room I want to put it in. I'll post some pics of it finished soon.

And that's about it for now. We're just enjoying life, even all the craziness it brings!

Redneck Freezer

This is our freezer. I think, by now, everyone knows my husband is a die-hard hunter. But I often forget how die-hard. So take a look in our freezer...........From the outside it's your average up-right freezer. Then you look up............... ....and see the turkey fan sitting on top of it. This came from a turkey Garrett shot last year down in the valley. It tasted great! But honestly, what are we going to do with the feathers?!?!

So I open the freezer and look for the rack of pork spare ribs I know we have in there somewhere. Is it behind the deer steaks we have crammed in there? Nope. Then something catches my eye.

And yes folks, it's a whole duck! A buffle-head, to be exact. (I'm actually guessing, but I am sure that's what it is.) Then I remember I have to put Welch's grape juice on my grocery list. Whatever, I can get past the duck.

And then I remember where the ribs were last seen. But first I have to move the bobcat from his resting place.

And there they were! Yum, can't wait for dinner!

2010 Is Already A Bust

So I thought we were off to a great start this year. My newest niece was born New Years day! YAY! I can't wait to meet Lauren! But our 2005 Tahoe is in the shop getting a new transmission. This car is NOT old, we have taken very good care of it, and we have NOT done anything to cause it to lose the transmission! Fortunately, we did not skip out on the warranty when we bought the car. We got the best warranty they offered. I am told though, "I don't know why they covered the damage." As it turns out, our warranty company doesn't cover the damage when they can't figure out the reason for the damage. There is no reason why the transmission should've gone out. But by some miracle, they're going to cover the expenses. All I can say is THANK GOD! We can't afford $4000. But then I am told that it's going to take several weeks to fix my car! I can barely make it thru this week with no car, let alone 3 weeks. So I have to call either my car insurance company, or the warranty company and see if they cover rental cars. They should, but at this point, anything's possible.

On another note: I thought I had our last beagle sold. But then the lady called this morning and said she wasn't interested. All I could do was cry. It's not even a big deal, but every little thing is bothering me right now. I'm trying desperately to find that silver lineing, but can't quite find it yet.

I could really use some good news right about now...

2009 IS OVER!

I am so happy to put 2009 to bed! It was a stressful year full of financial hardship (thanks governor) and family up's and down's. Our financial crisis seems to be getting better. I've had to take on some work. No big deal. When it comes to sink or swim, the Giessners will ALWAYS swim. For all my family still wondering about my mom, we still haven't located her. I am confident GOD will point her in the right direction toward us. It's been hard, but I've had great friends to lean on, and not to mention my supportive husband and kids who are always there. That's been a little of the downside on family. The upside is the birth of 2 MORE nieces! Little Hadley Hewitt, and Lauren Giessner! I still have yet to meet Hadley, and Lauren just arrived yesterday! I couldn't be more thrilled! I have 8 nieces and nephews now! On Garrett's side of the family there is only 1 boy, and that is Chase. He has been disappointed that there is not another little boy for him to pal around with, but have been trying to tell him that it's pretty special being the only boy. He is responsible for protecting all his cousins, is what I've been telling him. Despite his reactions to more girls, I know he secretly adores his 2 oldest cousins, Tessa and Taydem. And I know in time when he gets to know Hadley and Lauren, they'll have him wrapped around their little fingers as well. On a different note, we've sold off all but 1 of our little beagles. We're down to 1 female! The finish line is in our sights, and I can taste freedom! What a crazy, cruddy, surprising, shocking, thrilling ride 2009 has been. And I'm looking forward to a slower, less eventful 2010, with more up's and less down's.