A Vintage Gypsy and Her Lemonade

May your Day be Pink and Bright

2011-04-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

La stanza di giuggiola

I am in dire need of PINK and Pretty

stuff today!

i am on the verge of a RUT...

i must rebel against the rut!

so this is a just a quick post dedicated to

Pink, Happy, Pretty, stuffs!

this is the best advice i have heard in a

long time.

so...YES...I THINK I WILL!

xoxo shell

Goodbye little Brother

2011-04-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

In Loving Memory of

Our little Brother ...

Roger Lee Scherf Jr.

My heart is so FULL right now.

I have been avoiding my blog like it's the plague...

because the happenings of late have been....

...a mixture of extreme sadness and

extreme beauty.

(does that make any sense??? it will in a minute i promise!)

SO either one that i talk about will have me

bawling like a little baby.

Two weeks ago ..march 19th...

I got a phone call from my father, Roger Scherf Sr.,

he was in hysterics...

RJ , Roger Jr., was in a horrible car accident...

He was in Madigan Hospital on the Army Base of

Fort Lewis...

He was pronounced brain dead.

He was on life support.

Not expected to make it much longer...

The military was picking my father up to get him

to Washington A.S.A.P.

If he left immediately..he might make it to say goodbye

to his son...my little brother...RJ

He was packed and waiting when the military phoned to say

that the plane ticket had been cancelled...

Sr. and Jr. that is one proud papa!

It was too Late.....RJ was gone...

We were all devastated...especially for my

father and Rj's mom...

They were not going to be able to hold their

sons hand one last time... tell him they loved him once more....

Then ...just hours later.... another call came in...

It was a misunderstanding...

RJ was still alive....

on life support.. but still holding onto life.

It was a beautiful Miracle!

Just hours after My dad and RJ's mom got to the

hospital they held a small service in honor of RJ...

There was a Vigil in that hospital room that night.

30 or more of RJ's fellow soldiers and

friends were their to say their goodbyes as well.

A prayer was offered up to Heaven...

RJ was in bad shape....it was his time to go...

Lori, Rj's mom, told him he could go...

she thanked him for holding on til they could say goodbye...

As the prayer ended....and the words...

"in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN,".... were uttered...

Roger Lee Scherf Jr....took his very last breath on this Earth.

He returned to his Heavenly Father on March 20th,2011.

He had just turned 21 the week before....

He had just married a month before....

He was so young...It was very confusing...

In late 2009 he was in Afghanistan and his platoon was

hit by one of the largest IED bombs ever recorded...

He was driving the HUM V...

All of his men and their interpreter...

were killed....

RJ was the only survivor.

Surely there must have been something more in store for

this amazing young man....

He was spared ...it was a miracle for sure...

the vehicle was destroyed...

He had brain damage...a badly injured leg...

a severely lacerated tongue...and a mouth full of broken teeth...

But ....

HE WAS ALIVE!

A short year and a half later....

He was recovering well...

physically....

but struggling to hang in there emotionally..

survivors guilt...His platoon brothers were gone...

he had seen horrible things....

His heart was in a lot of pain...

And now he too is gone....

He survived the Taliban but an icy road got the best of him...

It seemed so wrong.

But here's the thing....

In the last year and a half....

RJ became very close to the mothers and fathers of his

fellow soldiers who never made it home from that war.

He was their last connection to the sons that they

would never see again...

He told those boy's stories...

He gave their parents something to hold onto and the chance to have some closure... to let go...

to heal their broken hearts.

Rj was a true hero!!!

To our Country and to those families...

He is My Hero.

I will never be the same again....

I have so much more gratitude for what those boys

and men do for us....

Rj did not become a soldier...he was born one.

They see too much....

things noone should ever have to witness...

and they do it all for us...

for you and me...

We are free because of them.

As his Seargents and fellow soldiers shared

their stories of RJ and their love for his Humor that

"kept them all going"...

My Patriotism just grew by leaps and bounds.

RJ as a boy...in camo...as always! ;)

God Bless America...

and our little brother..

xoxo shell

links to articles on RJ:

Roger Scherf http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2011/03/turn_the_page_friend_of_fallen.html

My absolute FAVORITE ONE: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/04/03/1948911/cut-short-2nd-chance-still-a-gift.html

http://www.operationward57.org/2011/03/spc-roger-scherf/

P.S. thank your soldiers every chance you get....
you never know when you won't be able to anymore!

Pot o' Gold

2011-03-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

Around here.....

We believe in ANY excuse to celebrate!

Serious!... Any reason to have an extra~ordinary day

......

Yes Pleez!

We celebrate short days at school

by getting icecream every Friday

after i pick the kids up!

We look forward to every new day really...

What will it hold?

What will happen?

What will we accomplish?

What fun will we conjure up?

What oppurtunities will present themselves?

Life Is FUN!

But

..if you tell me ...

That there is a chance that Leprichauns may show

up at my house in search of shiny treasure....

Then count me in Yo!

"I Will Decorate with Clovers,

put up Rainbows and Pots o' gold

on my walls...

and even dress the ENTIRE family IN

GREEN!!!!

We are all smiles here on st. Patty's!

some of us could barely keep our pants on!!!!

(yumm....toddler butt on the kitchen table!!!)

can u say...409 ?!!

Green eggs and ham for supper....

(does slightly, barely, sorta green, count ???)

oh yah.. and bacon...instead of ham???

same animal right???

and ...

Finally...Any excuse to wear my

New Gold sequin shoes from Decades!!!

I went with the "pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow "

ensamble for my St. Patty's get up.

I even attended Parent Teacher Conferences in this

very same outfit!

am i becoming "THAT" embarassing mom???

TOO BAD!

I tell my kids....

"i feed you...

you need me"...

hee hee

xoxo shell

Table for 6????

2011-03-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

I love lil boys with overgrown curly hair....

I thought for sure with my nappy lil head of hair....

that i would have a boy with curls...

But nope....

and both of my girls started out with curls...

Lou lost hers...

maybe when she ate the sheep poo pie.

Maybe that knocked the curl right outta her hair!

she really did. We were fishing near a herd of sheep

and she picked that lil "pie" up and took a bite...

(she would be very mad if i did not explain that she was like..2 when this happened)

(but it's funnier if you imagine a 7 year old eating the sheep

poo~ pie) lol

Kie, my youngest is 3 and she still has the curlies!

hers is way curlier than Kenzie lou's was though.

Kade was born with an awesome Mohawk...

Little " MoHawker".....

get it???

that's our last name....Hawker...

prefix it with the "mo"...

that gives you.....Mohawker...

check one ...check two...

Is this thing on???

(tapping the microphone...)

What is my point????

I am getting baby hungry.

i know.

i know...

i swore we were done.

after each child i swore it.

i had to do what i had to do just to survive

the baby phase.

so when i told myself i was DEFINATELY DONE...

it was to assure myself that this was the last time

i would have to endure screaming and crying in

the night and diapers...diaper bags ..and bubbas...

and lugging carseats around...

UMMMM...

it's probably still gonna be a bit before i

convince myself to take the plunge again....

babies are getting cuter to me ....

but crying TRUMPS the cute thing.

I AM NOT READY FOR MORE CRYING.

(one of my kids hasnt let up with the crying thing yet.,.....ahem...HINT: it's not the youngest

or the oldest...ahem....)

We have it really good right now....

we just get up and go... i take naps as i please...

Hubby and i go on Guilt Free dates....

and did i mention NO Diapers!!!

but..... i did tell Kade he could have a lil

brother...one with curly hair...

FIRST THINGS FIRST THOUGH!

I need a new home....

yup...keep your belt buckled hubby...

buy me a house and then we will talk!

xoxo shell

(if it turned out to be a girl...then I LIED

to kade...and thats how it would just have to be....

cuz i would FOR SURE..

BE DONE!

hee hee

Pink~ness and Nickel Auctions

2011-03-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

You won't even believe this but.....

i got the flu again....

3rd time since Jan. 20th.

(it was a doozy...i even called my sister and

asked her to take care of me and my kids for the day)

(i don't ask for help....)

so you know it was bad.

(ps i still have walking pneumonia)

I've been feelin guck!

so when i felt better on Friday night...

THE PINK SHOES CAME OUT!

I new i had to go to drastic measures to

pick myself up!

so PINK it was!!!

Pink sweater......

and Pink flower necklace!!!!......

shoes: D.I. $2.00

sweater: Rag time 2nd hand store $3.00

necklace: Downeast $5.00

Feeling pretty in Pink...

YUP! YOU know where this is going......

....

PRICELESS!!!!

oooh...

and my sister took me to my very first NICKEL AUCTION!!!

there is a whole nother WORLD out there!!!

and i'm sooo gonna host my own...

very soon...

so get ready girls!!!

****don't drop anything else off at the

D.I.****

save it for my upcoming nickel auction!!!

IT IS SOOO MUCH FUN!

xoxo shell

Thrifting for Fashion

2011-03-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

This past Friday.....

Matt called into work sick.

and SO DID I!

i've been sick for the past month and a half...

and still am.

....

But i finally figured out what was wrong!

i hadn't been thrift store shopping in FOREVER!

....

duh!

that must be the problem...

so the dr. orders would surely be a day out

thrifting with my sister!

So we hit up a secondhand vintage clothing store

downtown appropriately called ....

DECADES

behold:

my new, old, studded, bowtie, cuff bracelet

and my yumm new, old, necklace!

I also scored some

GOLD SEQUIN shoes!!!

and some earrings to die for!

(i'll get some pics of those soon!)

next, we hit up a little boutique called

RAG TIME

also a secondhand shop but with more modern clothing!

i scored 3 purses, 2 pairs of jeans and 3 tops...

oh and 2 more pairs of shoes!

these are my new, old trucker jeans and my brown leather bag

with my

lucky green shoes...just in time for

St. Patty's day!!!

Who says you gotta spend big money to pull together cute outfits?

3.99 shoes

12.00 sweater

3.99 bag

and 5.00 jeans!

NOT TOO SHABBY!

and i'm helping save the planet!

reuse reduce recycle

i'm just that kinda girl....

GO GREEN!

AND ...

i can finally wear my green dress from the Goodwill in California!

Yay!

tis the season for GREEN!

SPRING AND ST. PATRICKS...

AND

MONEY!

I have a big dumptruck job this week!

hope to pay off some bills and put some away for a house!

wish me luck!

xoxo shell

A Wierd Happy

2011-03-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

AS OF fRIDAY, fEB 25TH.....

We the People ...(the hawkers)

are no LONGER HOME OWNERS!

yep!!!

WE ARE ELATED to report....

we sold our home!!!

(goodbye friend..you served us well.)

after a very,very,very, long and grueling

2 years.... IT'S GONE!!!

We are experiencing minor feelings

of sadness at the loss of our beloved home and nieghborhood...but mostly we are:

relieved, at peace, thrilled, and excited

at the possibilities that await us!

We even looked through a few model homes
last night durning our date...

(just dreaming)

I have been pushing myself for the

past couple of trying years...not to ask the

questions like.. "why me?" but to

replace those dooming thoughts with

more hopeful ones.... like

"WHAT'S NEXT?"

i can't lie down and die with so much left to be done.....

HOPE is all i had some days....

With so much weighing us down...

job changes and financial stress and

losing a home.....

it would have been easy to retreat into

the rut and dwell there...

But the stuff worth anything good in this life...

IS NEVER EASY!

I am NOT perfect....

at all....

not even a little bit close to it....

sometimes the only thing that got me out of bed in the morning was...

the excitement to buy a new decorating magazine...
a great movie i wanted to see

or to just surprise a friend with a cupcake...

totally worldly , i know...

but hey...i did what i could and prayed for

the strength for the rest!

nope...i'm not a perfect friend, or mom, or

wife or daughter....

but boy do i wanna be some day!

i want to be comfortable in the presence of

my Savior and my Heavenly Father...

the only 2 perfect beings i know.

so i will give it my all while i am here

and have the chance....

Sooo

We do our best and hang on to hope for the rest!

xoxo shell

The thing About Kade...

2011-03-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

The thing about Kade....

He is IMPOSSIBLE...

Impossibly loud, wild, crazy, rowdy,

emotional and demanding....

but OH SO impossibly amazing, wonderful, fun, funny,

sweet, caring, obedient, darling and ADORABLE....

He is just perfectly complicated!

He keeps life around here Exciting!

THAT IS FOR SURE!!!

and kade....

JUST TURNED 5

i don't even know how really...

it kinda snuck up on us actually....

The WHOLE thing did really.

It all started in a dusty little cabin on MOON Lake...

Then he was born....crying....

(and i with no medication for the birth...was crying also!!!)

i got to the hospital a bit late for an epidural...

at 7 centimeters

wondering if i might, perhaps, could get checked...

to see if i might possibly be in labor???

goodness.... you'd think i hadn't done

it all once before!!!

kade was born into our family to

teach us so many things....

here are some things you should know about

kade:

*his middle name is Harley

after my wonderful grandpa

*his nicknames are Bubby or Dade.

("dade" comes from Drew his lil cousins adorable lil lisp)

* If he is mad....

....

HIDE!

*if he loves you...

You Know it.

his heart is HUGE!

*he LOVES him some Green.

*He loves to be heard...

and if you arent listening...

....

Run and HIDE! lol

*Kade Harley is known for his CRazy

handsome Hair.

all the young women at church crush over

his hair!

(also from his great grandpa Harley)

* Kade only eats grilled cheese,

chicken nuggets, and Bacon..

***and CHOCOLATE!***

*HE LOVES Gi joes, dinosaurs and Monster Trucks...

**kade has rode on a MONSTER TRUCK

school bus

*and kade can say the best prayers.Hands down!

.....

He is a BIG gentleman with a heart of Gold

who loves to "choose the right".....

AND that is THE THING ABOUT KADE....

He is our pride and joy!

xoxo shell

Ramblin in Le Jardin

2011-03-01T11:25:00.000-08:00

Life just cant get too much

CRAZIER around the Hawker place.

What we SHOULD be doing is

SLOWING DOWN!!!

....

but the hardest thing of all ....for me to do is....

to pick and choose from all good things!

We had fieldtrips, a daddy homecoming, and a birthday and then...

of course A BIRTHDAY PAR~TAY!

(oh and did i mention Bronchitus and Pneumonia)
(so apparently...NOT ALL good things)...

We visited a french greenhouse...

BEAUTIFUL!

Le Jardin

With Kade's preschool....

(only in Montessori theory preschool...will
you ever find teachers planning a fieldtrip for
3,4 and 5 year olds to a fancy French garden house
.......

chucked full of delicate, expensive, plants and statues...)

I love me some Montessori schooling!

If it weren't so darned expensive...

i would put my kids through their entire schooling in it.

It is beautiful to me ...

the respect and peace that they learn there.

The responsibility for one's own self....

the ownership of one's community...

things that this World could definately use more of

these days...if you're asking my opinion.

(if you're not.....well....

YOU IN DA WRONG PLACE!)

this here is my Place...

HA HA HA...

JUST PLAYIN...

sorta ;)

i love the book by Gordon B. Hinkley...

Twelve Missing Virtues that Will Heal our Hearts and our Homes.

You should definately get ya a copy off

Amazon.com....

ok then! Good talk.

Oh and another thing...

SAVE THE DATE:

I'm thinking about getting remarried....

To Matt..again...

or at least hold a re~reception

and this time I plan the reception.

and it will be here....

LE JARDIN

with a vintagey....jazzy....whimsical

band playing music while we all dance the night away!

and tiny people ARE invited...

cuz they are the MAGIC in Magical!

(and the loud in LOUD....but hey...

can't win em all!)

***

but the exact date isn't really

"set in stone" per say...

so just pretty much leave your

calendars open....

for the next..

few years...

i have to talk Matt into marrying me...

AGAIN...

...and he will probably look around ...

playing deaf....

like he can't hear me talking about something that costs money...

cuz ...

well...

HE IS A GUY.

(but fyi ...i am incredibly adorable and convincing when i wanna be...so...

there is a glimmer of a smidgeon of a possibility....)

xoxo shell

Tangent

2011-02-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

We miss hubby/daddy....

(except the part how he doesnt let us spend any money ever)
(( we have been enjoying ourselves just a lil' bit
while he's been away))

But Kenzie gave a talk in her class at church today...

It was on Families....

How families are an important part of

Heavenly Father's plan for us.

Life is kinda like this Photograph...

We are all here doing our own thing...

(some of us are just pickin our noses)

AHEM!

but we need eachother....

we need our family.

They anchor us....

They lead us...

they comfort us and love us...

The family is a support group.

We call ourselves:

Team HAWKER!

(nerdy right???)

but it really helps when the going gets tough....

to remember that we are a team.

we are on the same side.

We gotta pull together...not apart.

Hubby is still working in California.

been there since jan 3rd.

He gets a tiny weekend home with us in 5 more days...

We can barely wait til he is home...

And we are all together...going in the same direction...

(like this photo)

(( in which one of us may or may not have just ate the treasure we found from the 1st photo))

ewwwww!!!

just kidding...

my kids are not booger eaters.

i take care of that right quick if it appears it's gonna

become an issue;

It's simple really...

The very first time i see my child do the pick and lick....

I kindly ask them:

"would you like me to pick my nose and pull out

a bloody, juicy, booger....

and put it in your mouth?

Because if i ever see you eat your booger again...

that is exactly what will happen!"

and WALLAH!

they are totally cured of that habit.

I say let's nip it in the bud!!!!

I am just that kinda girl.

TANGENT.....

where were we????

Ahhhh yes Family...

......

...............

.....

nope.....

i got nothin'

guess i said what i needed to say...

Family- CHECK

Boogers- CHECK

Yup....

i think we are done here.

Do you have any tricks on how to nix any bad habits?

DO SHARE!

xoxo shell

Things Just Got A bit Scary

2011-02-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

There is trouble brewing on the

Horizon at the Hawker house.....

.....

I believe it's do to a lack of proper influence and

possibly like.....

i don't know...

a pre~mid life crisis ???

See;

hubby just bought some ....

Cowboy boots.

Wahhhhh!!!!

You might be wondering what is the big deal???

Cowboy boots can be hot....

when worn with the proper jeans and...

OH I DON'T KNow....TOPS!!!

um .....ok....

(or no top at all)

and....

well.....

My poor hubby is great at MANY things....

just not so with FASHION!

I buy him cute clothes and yet he'd just as soon wear dirty

t shirts with holes in them....

He is my working man.

He works a lot.

He is in grease all day...

(so that is kinda sexy right?)

but then he comes home and showers up...

does his studly hair....

He is lookin all FINE....

and then he throws on a T.

i think its just habit for him or something.

Now don't get me wrong...

He's a hotty!

(my big hunter man hotty)

i'm just scared to see what Boo thinks he

is gonna wear with those cowboy boots????

i promise to do my best to get him some studly clothes

to sport with his new boots....

but ...

THe Man Is Stubborn!

...

Pray for us would ya?

xoxo shell

Childhood Should be Magical

2011-02-17T08:55:00.000-08:00

I BELIEVE this from the very most bottom~est

Part of my HEART!

I struggle with depression....

just minor im sure...

but i have to REFUSE the urge to curl up in

a cozy ball in my cozy bed all day.

I have 3 precious little gifts from HEAVEN that

are watching me.....

RELYING on me....

and most of all....

EXPECTING Magical things to happen each day!

Afterall....

they only get the special wonder of

childhood ONCE!

a big smile when they walk in the room....

a tiny kiss on the forehead...

for no reason at all...

a song before bed...

our eye contact while they talk...

our heads off

;)

It's just the simple small things...

throw in a balloon once n a while

and there you have it!

Pure Magic!

Every new day holds an untold ADVENTURE....

The POSSIBILTIES are endless!

As SIMPLE or as Lavish as you please.

Don't let the years slip by.....

This very moment ~ that is all we have for sure.

Make it count.

and REMEMBER:

LIFE's An Hour Glass

xoxo shell

Valentine Daydream

2011-02-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't had a Valentines Day

without a date....

for 13 years.

My other half is in California

working.....

It's like the "sugar" to my sugar cookie is

MISSING.

If i was with my Honey on

Valentines....

this is what we would do:

*******

We would take our munchkins out for a

good time....

hmmmm..

i'm thinking Fentons Icecream parlor...

like at the end of the movie " Up"

with the old fashioned soda bar and all the

flavors you could imagine!

We would order our Favorites!

the kids would color while we waited...

and in the picture in my head ALL the children

would be happy to be there!...and smiling!

and we would chit~chat amongst ourselves...

daydreaming of the future together!

then our icecream would come!

and we our tastebuds would sing!!!!

we would be sneaking bites from eachother's

sundaes....

and we would just be thankful to be together...

all of us....

even me...

though for SOME reason there is never any PICTURES

of ME on the CAMERA??????

(ahhh...

back to my happy place....)

((find your happy place shell))

and Yes it would be a lovely evening indeed.

OK...

I couldnt think of anything right off my cuff...

so i totally copied off our family date

Last Saturday Night.

but it was a good one...

and there was chocolate....

so i would happily do it again!

What are your plans this Valentines day???

xoxo shell

CAn i Take YouR ordEr siR?

2011-02-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

Kade decided one of the Valentines i

made looked like a menu.....

ummmmm....

Thank you????

So after I decided not to bite his ear

for that remark...

We decided to Play RESTAURANT!

i thought this might be a great way

to introduce a new, healthy, breakfast food

into our diets.

so i got out the breakfast cookbook from

my very own childhood.

My mother gifted it to me at christmas time!

and after kade looked through the entire thing...

He chose the homemade POPSICLES.

well.....

that didn't go as planned???!!!

so i got all betty crocker and pulled

out some NOT homemade PoPsiclES...

from our freezer.

I CANT WIN.

but i say

"pick your battles"

and in this house....

FOOD IS NOT A BATTLE I CHOOSE TO PICK.

( blame that on childhood issues)

Do something fun! Play restaurant for lunch today!

take their order in your apron.

(but make sure you preface with...

"this is only a once a YEAR thing! :)

(dont say i didnt warn ya!!!

xoxo

shell

Be Mine

2011-02-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

Gettin' ready for Valentine's Day!

Busy making valentines to save money this year.

HA HA HA HA!

if you are trying to save money....

I would not recommend MAKING THEM!

unless you're gonna go basic.

BUT That is NOT in my NAtureE!

******

i needed stickers and pretty cardstock and

ribbon and gems...

glue and gluesticks and cutouts and

colored pens!

needless to say....i shoulda stuck to the boxes of Valentines

at the DOLLAR STORE!

*****

Then we pulled out the box of

pretties to decorate for this loveliest of days!

Our candles are sweetheart scented!

yummmmm!

added festive colored bookery to the shelves!

busted out the PINK canisters

and what valentine's would be complete

without a lil' smoochy smoochy??

X's and O's

my homemade Valentine box.

It's empty.....

HINT.... HINT....

AHEM....

SOOOO...

just incase you were gonna send me a valentine:

2355 w 10950 s

south jordan, ut 84095

just incase :)

Well:

Hope you enjoyed Valentining with me!

so just one more piece of buisness to handle

before we go.....

WILL YOU BE MINE?

xoxo

shell

Delightful Travels with The Hawkers

2011-02-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

We rocked Disneyland and now...

we are back!

Me, Lou, Kade,and Kie

left for Cali at 5 am on Friday morning...

We should have been there by 5 pm

BUUUUuuuTTTTT NOOOOoooo!

We broke down just outside of RENO.

There must be a nice part of Reno....

But we WERE NOT IN IT!

Had to stay at a hotel ...

got checked in to

Aloha Inn...

not yo mama's hotel.

Matt came down to Reno from Vacaville, ca

to save us from a sure breakdown

of MAJOR porportions.

We ended up staying overnight again....

but we said "ALOHA" TO Aloha Inn...

and stayed in a very nice hotel...

Hubby and Kids had fun in the pool

I was sicker than a dog...

THE INFLUENZA.

What the Heck!

This can't be happening .

Oh but it is.

It's life. We roll with it.

But then for the good part ...

Disneyland

we decided to go inspite of the unexpected $1500

Reno stop over...

grrrrr....

Here we are Rockin Out DisneyLand...

CUz we EARNED IT!

We had a great time playing together.

Afterall...a family that

Pays together, stays together....

or wait, that is the family car repair motto....

i meant....

PLAYS together!

xoxo shell

Beautiful Mess

2011-01-25T17:28:00.000-08:00

Well it is Tuesday....

WOW!

It literally feels like i have been in some

kind of coma for the past 5 days....

I loaded up the children

and our *vintage luggage*...

(trips are better with vintage baggage....serious.)

and we headed to California on Friday.

We never made it.

YA' HURD MAY!

The old family ride did not come through for us.

grrr hmmm ^&*% blizzabur, shnagga meising,

(trust me ...it's for your own good that this is incoherent babble)

We did maked it to Perty Reno tho'...

Yeppsies!

We even got ter stay in the

world famous Aloha Inn.....

(dont quote me on the world famous part)

No worries....

Hubby drove from cali to reno to come

support his blubbering, cussing, wife.

and wallah...

just like that....

2 days and an unexpected $1300.00 later

We had us a new catalytic converter and

we was on our way....

for about 40 minutes....

til bessie let us down yet again.

yup....

her was still broked.

we dicided....

"BAG IT ALL"

we droved to cali anyhow!

we just stopped....

a lot.

This whole time i was sooo

sick.

The flu.

so it really all seems like a hot mess of a blur to me.

Which isnt how you want the first 5 days of

Your family vacation to go...

well...being the mom i am...

i dragged my sweaty, snorty, dizzy,

self outta bed and took my kids to one of our

old favorite parks around these parts.

It really does not seem like 10 months since we

were living in a hotel room here.

But Thank MaLord it's in the past!

Our life is best described by these 2 words....

BEAUTIFUL MESS

?? What words best describe your life lately??

PLEEZ SHARE!

xoxo shell

Feelin Good...

2011-01-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

I have been feelin' good.

real honest to goodness...

good.

and that is kinda a big deal for me right now.

Dont get me wrong.....

I feel good a lot.

I just have to work really hard at it lately.

but i plain old REFUSE to just stay in a rut.

REFUSE, I SAY!

i fight for happiness....

if it aint comin easy....

well...

then it's comin hard....

cuz i like being happy.

sometimes you just gotta ...

MAKE HAPPY HAPPEN.

so anywho...

that is why i'm so geeked to be

FEELIN' GOOD

without all the hard work of tricking myself into it.

i am floating around doing a deep clean on the house...

my kids are sooo sick with the flu...

my sale of my home is put on hold

(some more) grrr

due to flooding ...

and did i mention i am sick...

and despite all of this...

i feel good.

i feel lifted up...

like on the wings of Angels.

OH YES..

and my dumptruck driver broke down on the side of the road

a good 50 miles from home and it cost me...

A PRETTY PENNY

to fix....

but still....

I FEEL LOVED.

BLESSED.

SOOO BLESSED.

I love me some life.

hard.

easy.

pukey.

fun.

tedious.

I'll take it all just for one more day

with the ones i love!

Here is to your happiness.

whether it's comin easy or hard these days...

CHEERS!

xoxo shell

It ain't Perty

2011-01-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

Imagine my excitement when our realtor

called Thursday morning to let us know

that the sale of our home was done!!!!

We would be closing in 10 days!!!

We have been waiting over a year

for this to happen!

(short sale MY BUTT!)

ahem....

scuze me...

just sayin'.

The only way i can explain my delight

is to say..

" a $375,000 burden had been lifted!"

NOW then...

IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN

THE REALTOR CALLED BACK

3 HOURS LATER...

to announce that ....

someone had stopped by and called to let him know that..

water was leaking in the kitchen.

wahhhhhhhhhh!!!

"ok. i can handle this. i'll just grab

some towels...3...no...5!

yup. that will be good."

Hubby had just left for a 4 month

stint to work in California.

I don't handle "tragic" very

well on my own....

i had to pick my kids up from school

right then.

I am not a typically "patient" soul.

I was freaking out inside.

"i gotta get there...i gotta get there!!!"

i couldnt get there fast enough.

I am a panicky lil thing.

i reallized at that point that i needed

to say a prayer and ask for some

calm feelings and perhaps some comfort too.

I felt lifted up as i finsihed the prayer.

little did i know that i was really gonna

need that COMFORT and CALM!

an estimated 6-8 days of a waterfall

exploding from a burst pipe in the kitchen ceiling....

the outcome:

2 entire floors of our home destroyed.

flooring, cabinets, walls, ceilings, 2 kitchens

all DESTROYED!

the house has to be gutted ...stripped to it's bones...

and restored.

ohhhh...

i am sooo glad there was not a

camera on me when we entered

the house to find the waterfall...

IT PROBABLY WASN'T PERTY!

i lost it.

thank my Lord above for family

and friends and the power of prayer.

By the grace of God i may get through this

life still.

xoxo shell

Onward and Upward Friends

2011-01-01T23:07:00.000-08:00

Forgive me this my friends....

i need but a moment to log my reallity check....

It is 11:33 pm ....

My heart is so full and my mind running rampant...

during our routine bedtime couple's prayer...

My hubby mentioned his gratitude for

our Father in Heaven watching over us for the past 2 and a half years through all our trials...

THIS FREAKED ME OUT!

i couldnt breath... and my eyes filled up...

Two and a half years ago it became evident that

our comfy, cooshy, life was about to take some

twists and turns...

(AND LET ME JUST SAY:

IT HAS BEEN A WILD RIDE)

We went from a dream house with large beautiful

yard to hotel rooms in unfamiliar parts of the country....

presently, we reside in a bbbbbb

(sorry, it's hard for me to spit it out sometimes..)

bbb-basement.

bitter tasting words on my tongue

We sold our successful company, our nice cars,

our fancy home, our fun toys ( 4 wheelers)....

we made sacrifices of huge proportions.

There were a lot of "boo hoo's"

and "oh woe is me's"

but we are

STRONG.

We are not your average "give up and go home" Joe's...

No siree bob!

We have trudged our way through

uncertainty and change and sacrifice

and HUMBLE PIE ....

Lot's of unfavorable HUMBLE PIE.

and we have done it TOGTHER!

AS A FAMILY.

AS A TEAM....

Along with our SAVIOR of course.

every step of the way.

WITH OUR HEADS HELD HIGH.

(mostly)

and without tears.

SIKE!!!!

THERE WERE A LOT OF TEARS.

SERIOUSLY.

LIKE....

A LOT.

(HEY , LET A GIRL MOURN HER OLD

COZY LIFE...WOULD YA!)

but in all honesty...

my heart is more full of thanks and

gratitude then ever before.

i recognize each and every simple blessing...

however small and sweet.

I have learned so much about life...about money...

about ..... ME.

I am one tough cookie.

I have been part way to hell and back....

(well... almost back...)

( give me til May ok!)

It's true...I cannot take all the credit for my

toughness...

I am nothing without my Savior Jesus Christ.

We are nothing without Him.

I knew we had been through a very rough year....

I just didnt reallize that it had been 2 and a half!

HOLY COW!

No wonder i am soooo tired.

I went from 29 to 65 in two years flat.

I just had to bear my little testimony...

that there is

HOPE.

In all things there is hope.

The sun will come out tomorrow.

The best is yet to come.

Let us never give up hope.

We are strong.

through Him weak things are made strong.

I know this is true.

Onward and Upward my friends!

On our knees looking upward.

I say these things...in the name

of Jesus Christ...

Amen!

xoxo the Hawkers!

Me and My Peeps

2010-11-20T16:47:00.000-08:00

We apparently had a rough time getting situated for this

photoshoot.

We just kept switcherooing...

we couldnt all look in the same direction

at the same time either....

It was a rough afternoon...

not sure we got any "blower uppers"

if ya know what i mean...

well...that is except for the one above! lol

Me and my big sis....

We married boys that were brothers...

and our daughters were born 5 months apart.

We all have lots of fun!!!

My girl is Lou lou(left)

becca's daughter is Boo ( right)

awwww...young love

lol

young my butt ..

it's our 10 year anniversary this month.

weve been together for almost 13 years.

all the girlsin the Hawker/Coon family.

how precious are they!

**take special note how my cutie sister

put pearls on my niece's boot! YUM YUM

xoxo shell

Chaos...just part of my day.

2010-11-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

so....

i am like most of you...

busy.busy.busy.

I cannot find a slow day to catch my breath!

and.....

as i'm sure you well know....

when life gets put on high speed....

an angry lil' , unpleasent, monster shows his face...

Chaos

is his name.

and

making me wanna run and cry ...

is his game.

Here's an example for ya:

Rushing Lou to school on thursday

after a very late night of homework on wednesday

thanks to 5 trips to the dance studio, 4 trips to my sisters,

volunteer reading at the oldest's school for 2 hours,

taking kade to afternoon preschool,

a 2 hour Dr.s appt for me, then picking up youngest

from my M.i.l. (at a department store)

rushing to get the oldest on time from school...

then 5 minutes to get kade from preschool before i owe the

teacher for getting there late......!!!!!!

then here is where the 5 trips to dance comes in.

The last being at 9:20 pm...then home for homework.

(i'm not in a homework mood at this point.)

(neither is the 2nd grader that is suppose to be doing it)

**so in comes rushing lou to school thursday morning**

then i'm off to sisters for a part of kade's costume.

He is in a play today. It's his school Pow Wow.

Thanksgiving celebration.

Did i mention i have 2 hours to shower myself and bathe

2 children, get together face paints (im painting 35 kids faces at the party) and blankies for the lawn and

get said boy's costume together....

Oh yah!

and ...

i forgot to order the cheese cube platters.

and i need apple cider ...lots of apple cider.

head to the store to see what i can pull

together...

CHEESE CURDS!

with cute tooth picks in them of course!

i buy about $30 bucks worth and

then $16 worth of apple cider.

Jump in the car and head straight to the party...

opening cheese curd bags in the car on the way over...

SLAM on the breaks (idiot driver at 12 oclock) :)

$20 of cheese curd FLIES into the air.

and lands on the dirty floor.

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

(i choose not to cry)

(cuz my eye makeup looks really great today)

but i can't hold back a couple of choice words....

NICE.

hope that 50 people don't mind sharing 12

tiny chunks of cheese curd.

Upon arriving...

I step in a large pile of

DOG CRAP!

(dont mind that they dont even own a dog)

I'm just that lucky.

before reallizing i stepped in the poo...

i walked ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE CARPETED

PRESCHOOL!

It was not pretty.

It stunk bad too.

It could be smelled throughout the entire

Pow wow party.

Race off to pick up Lou.

Head home to BREATHE.

OOPS_ Parent teacher conferences!

back out the door!

*** so here is the question;****

How does one run a home and run errands without

running AMUCK????

HELP!

XOXO SHELL

BOO belated

2010-11-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

Happy

Belated

Trick or treat!

Mad hatter Me!

My neice madison

the Genie!

My Vampire daughter LOU lou on the right.

and madisons neighbor friend on the left..

(cant remember her name sorry cute girl)

Sally. I mean my sister becca.

Dressed like Sally from

Nightmare before christmas

Spooky treats!

Spider webs!

...and candlelight

We had so much fun with the family at

our annual Halloween party.

My big sista has been such a "doll"

(no pun intended)

She knows how much i LOVE Halloween

And how important our annual party is to me.

This year we dont have a home of our own.

Becca wasnt about to let my tradition die.

She worked her butt off to host this for us!

Love you long time becca!

xoxo shell

Fashion Savvy Youngstas

2010-10-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

Lou Lou had a sleep over

this weekend.

The girls decided they wanted to be fashion designers.

They wanted to make a real dress!

(so guess who got to make a dress.....hmmmm)

We took an existing tank top and hand sewed it

to the pink and black polka dot fabric.

The girls each took turns puttin on the dress while

the other one added thier own touches to the design!

They loved learning how to sew by hand...

and i loved teachin em!

this is them at the end of their fashion show....

(....and this is how they normal look.....)

ha ha LOL...JK

It turned out pretty cute...

but then they started talking about who got to

wear it to church/school first......

HA HA HA

that was my Cue to leave the room.....

love those lil ladies!

xoxo shell

Loves Polkadots.... Has Dumptruck

2010-10-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy ride....

this past year and a half.

It's funny to think that two years ago

i had my own online boutique.

Vintage frills and fabulous home decor...

that is what i sold.

I loved every second of it.

It felt good to contribute to the family finances...

(and i got to shop for inventory...guilt free)

good times. good times.

In my plan...

(you know, the plan we make for our life, the fabulous picture

we see in our minds)

i would just raise my lovely children, shop, and re~vamp old furniture...

It was a nice plan.

But it was not to be.

i closed up my shop....

packed away all the pretty stuff...

and now....

a year and a half later....

I am the ~~crying~~ .... proud owner of

Hawker Landscape Services...

yup.

thass right...

i run

A DUMP TRUCK COMPANY.

(you think i'm kidding dont you...)

No jokin ladies.

I take the calls and give quotes

for delivering topsoil, gravel, roadbase, boulders....etc

QUIT LAUGHING.

I'M SERIOUS.

I book out our dumptruck and B.S. with

Construction guys all day.

It's not what i pictured.

at all.

ever...

never...

not

even

close!

but it is where i'm at right now.

I could get a part time job but....

let us just say....

i'm not so good with customers in retail.

(history shows)

i may have mentioned the word "GUN".

loudly.

in a bank.

that i worked at.

and i may have got 5 customer complaints in ONE day

at the department store i worked at.

i am not big on..

"the customer is always right"

infact...

i believe the exact opposite is true most of the time....

SOOOO...

AS YOU CAN SEE:

i am not cut out for the retail world.

so i may fit in quite nicely among the

hard hat guys.

me and my polkadot boots!

just along for the ride,

xoxo shell

The Little Ones Around You

2010-09-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

I was once told .....

that a child won't likely remember all the lovely words

we told them.

BUT

they will remember that your eyes lit up

everytime they walked into the room!

xoxo shell

visit Notes from a Cottage Industry for

more lovely words to live by.

Storybook Paper Lanterns

2010-09-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

I sent my lil buddy to Preschool Last week....

He is the sweetest lil....cutest lil...

muffin ever!

and having him and Lou lou gone for a few hours

a day has caused a lil void in my day.

so i have been Crafting with my youngest, Kie!

fresh outta the bath!

These lil babies are so easy and fun!

I got the idea from my sister!

This is the stuff you will need!

*scrapbook paper

*2 types of ribbon or trim

*glue dots and a glue stick

*super cute yarn or string

*scissors

(preferrably pink)

cuz they work better.

...ok...not really...they are just CUTER!

*whimsical thrift store book

*and last but fo' sho' not least....

Puppy Chow!

(the chocolate peanut butter and powder sugar crispix kind)

it's essential to the project.

i promise.

scouts honor.

********************************

1. rip out a page of the book....

I KNOW. I KNOW.

for the sake of the project...

RIP IT OUT.

2. fold it in half.

3. Cut along the folded edge about every inch.

4. Open it up ...it should look like this :)

5. pinch the edges together like sooo!

and GLUE with GLUE DOTS...( i used ZOTS)

on the top and bottom of the lantern.

6. cut strips of yummy scrapbook paper.

mine was cardstock for better form.

7. roll the paper strips up to help it form

itself around the lantern.

9. use glue stick to adhere one edge of strip

to top of the lantern.

10. wrap the strip around and overlap the strip on itself just a bit.

cut any excess.

GLUE in place WITH GLUE STICK!

10. take a small strip of ribbon

about 4-5 inches....and glue dot it on each end

to the lantern.

11. Finally, use your yarn to string

the lanterns along. keep them in place with

the other ribbon or trim you chose. tie the trim around the ribbon and yarn to lock in place on the garland!

These would be great for a birthday party or

a kid's bedroom..... or a

VINTAGE Camping trip!

OOOHHH try hanging them on a string of christmas lights

for UMMMPH!

xoxo shell

P.S. now eat all the puppy chow.

You done good!

Labours of Love

2010-09-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Labour Day Weekend to YOU!

These are a few "labors" of Love i just had to share.....

Do you see that uggggly camper in the background ?

Well....

believe it or not....

that hunk o' uggggly just happens to be my

Prized Vintage Camper!

I begged hubby for her...

and surprisingly got my way...back in May.

I did a lot of work inside Her Majesty...

(thats her name)

....

But this weekend....

I "LABOuRED" over her exterior!

First she got a white prime job to cover that uggg blue...

and then:

She recieved 2 lovely coats of

Happiness!!!!!

She is a 1969 road runner....

and she has been given New Life this weekend!

The inspiration for the paint color came from

My Lou Lou's eyes...

and you thought you needed front teeth to eat corn

on the cob.....LOL

Not this girl....

where there's a will there's a way...

We have been "labouring" over grampa's

corn jungle for quite some time now....

and

FINALLY:

iT'S time to EnjOY the

FruiTS of our Labours!!!!!