Goodbye 2009 Hello 2010

I haven't posted a blog update for so long! I just read my friend's (who posts almost everyday) and am now feeling inspired. So while I should be cleaning and organizing my house I sit here instead! :) December came and went in the blink of an eye! We have had almost NO snow and this is the first Christmas in a LONG time that I can I remember the wasn't a "white" one. It was actually a little sad :( I'm not sure whether I prefer this or our massive snow storms of the last few years.

We stayed in town for Christmas this year and while we dearly missed our family back home it was so nice and relaxing to not have pack, travel, repack, etc... There is something so peaceful about waking up in your own home on Christmas morning. The fact that we didn't have to wait long to visit my parents may have helped too. They came over on the 26th and visited for a few days while the boys were in Clarkston with their Grandma and Aunt. It is always so much fun for us when they visit!!! They kids all got far too many things as usual! With all the relatives they have we (Terry and I) could almost get away with not buying them anything at all. It was hard to recieve SO MUCH when there are so many people out there hurting right now. It was amazing to see the kids really appreciate what they have and be aware of the fact that they are blessed and there are others out there that don't have so much. I often marvel at how intuitive children are. They teach me just as much as I teach them, if not more!

We enter 2010 with with excitment for all that is to come. We know that this year just as any other will come with it's share of joy and sorrows, great times and days that we would like to forget but that is what makes life so incredible!!! May God bless you all this year!!! Happy 2010 from the Sanchez's!

Halloween 2009

First off I have to laugh at the fact that I posted my Elf video before I actually got Halloween pics up, but hey, that's my life. I do everything a little backward.

They're pretty cute huh? We found a neighborhood up in the south hills that we snuck into to trick or treat. 30 minutes and 5 king size candy bars later we were done!!!

EXCITING NEWS! Well, for all of you who don't already know this Terry was offered and accepted a new job working as a sales manager for the Northwest Territory for Kimberly Clarke/Jackson Safety. His official first day was on Monday but he doesn't finish up at Norco until Friday. Basically they are paying him to sit around and wait for his computer, phone, credit cards and NEW CAR to show up! They will then begin to train him before sending him out into the great unknown! Can't beat that! The job has been a huge blessing for us in this uncertain economic time. It is something that Terry has always really enjoyed and excelled it and it is a chance for him to continue to "move up". One of the really exciting parts of this job is that they will pay for him to go to school to complete his bachelors degree, something that he has been wanting to do since we met. The new job will unfortunately include traveling but pretty manageable (home every Fri-Mon with travel 2 out of 4 weeks a month) as far a travel jobs go. He will be covering MT, ID and eastern WA which means that in the summer the weeks he spends in MT will now also get to include us visiting with him. We are very excited for this new journey! Please keep our family in your prayers. We need peace, smooth transition and energy as we are about to put our house on the market (AHH!). I will keep you posted as we learn more and get settled into all the newness.

Love to you all! The holidays are quickly approaching - yeah! Remember in all the hustle and bustle to always remember the reason for the season! God Bless!

~Amy

It's that time of year again!!!

Hee hee hee!!!! Always good for a laugh! Go check it out!!!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/2CgUasEL08rrK2kQ2pgs

Love, Amy

Pumpkins and Tea

Just a quick post this morning before I head out to my Zumba class! (Latin dance based fitness for all you wondering what the heck Zumba is!!!) Last week Jordyn and I attended a field trip with my MOPS group to one of the local orchards here in town. She was SOOOOO cute trying to pick out the perfect pumpkin. It started to rain a little while we were there and she couldn't decide which one to get because they were either "dirty" or "wet'! Hee hee - I finally convinced ther that they were ALL wet! We got to ride the "Fruit Loop Express", pick apples, see how cider is made and taste some and then pick out her own pumpkin. We also got to taste some of the YUMMY apple butter they make there. It was so much fun to do something with just her and she is finally old enough to be able to enjoy it and understand it! It was a great day!

Also- yesterday my wonderful friend and I went to a local tea room and celebrated her birthday. Her actual birthday was in June but with the summer craziness and all we finally got around to doing it this month. I found this amazing ministry that helps to transition women from homelessness back into working society. They intern in this tea room (where ALL of their profit goes to the Anna Odgen Hall womens shelter) to gain work experience and have something to put on their resume as they re-enter the work force. It was in a beautiful Kirtland Cutter house on the south hill that is actually also a Bed and Breakfast. It was so dainty and fun! We drank tea and ate treats off of antique bone china. All of the teas were sooooooo yummy! It was definitley an amazing experience and such a rewarding way to be able to support this ministry. It is called Taste and See Tea Room (getting it's name from the verse in Psalms) and I recommend that you DEFINITELY go there and try it out! We were there for over 2 hours and it was only $20 a person! Plus, once you see the pics of all the yummy stuff you won't be able to resist!

I will be updating you all on the EXCITING and new things happening in our lives!!! Please keep us in your prayers - LOTS of changes in store!!!

Love you all!!!

-Amy

Nashville, TN

As promised here are some of the pictures from the trip that I took a few weeks ago to Nashville, TN. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the annual MOPS convention for the fourth time. I was amazing! Filled with dynamic speakers and and training. I felt there filled with excitment and anticipation for the new MOPS year to begin. I was also touched as a woman and mother by some of the incredible and inspiring workshops that I attended. Our last night in town we were able to enjoy a night out on the town. Downtown Nashville is filled with talented musicians with great music filling the streets! This is definitely a place that I intend to visit again someday.

When I got home I was running on 12 hours of sleep in 4 nights! My husband (aka the best man in the world) rounded up the kids and took them all to a movie and instructed me to take a nice, long nap! I love him so much!

As for the fish pictures- those were our "dinner guests". On Friday night we ate at a restaurant called The Aquarium. They have an enormous fish tank in the center filled will every sea creature you can imagine. It was a very neat place to eat and the food was yummy! What did I eat? Grouper!

Love you all - HAPPY FALL!
-Amy

Here Come's Fall

With our first official trip to the orchard over with I can safely say good bye summer, HELLO fall! My FAVORITE time of year! Just a few quite pics for you to look at.

School is going great for the kiddos. Elly is the Kindergarten Student of the Week - an accomplishment that she is very proud of! Chase is going the the first dance of the year this weekend. PRAY that he will use his brain and stay out of trouble! We have had enough of that to last a life time. Madyson has joined orchestra and decided to play the violin. I REALLY didn't have anything to do with her choice. She came home last week and told me about it. I was just a little excited! We took her to the rental shop to have her measured over the weekend it turns out that with her long arms and legs she already fits a full size violin so my old instrument is finally going to get some use again :) Cameron is doing well in school too! We got an email from his teacher last week talking about how great he is doing so far this year and that he has seemed to have made some positive choices and is a role model to the other students in the program. Who would have thought? Needless to say Terry and I are very proud of him.

On Sept. 12, the girls and I particated in the first annual Out of the Darkness what to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I lost a great friend last summer to suicide and 2 of my friends AMAZINGLY got together to put their grief into something positive. I can only imagine the countless hours they put into planning this event and it was awesome! We walked 3 1/4 miles from the U of M Circle down the Kelly Williams trail and back. It was great to spend some time just remembering our friends and all the other people who were and weren't represented there. It was eye opening to see what a huge effect suicide has on our society. It is tragic and preventable!!! I encourage you all the log onto the AFSP website and find an Out of the Darkness walk near you. Suicide truly needs to come out of the darkness and be dealt with and spoken about!

Tomorrow I will be getting on a plane and flying to Nashville, TN for the annual MOPS convention. I am not feeling mentally prepared to leave as it was kind of a last minute decision made by our group but I am excited to be refreshed and reenergized for the new year. I've signed up for some workshops that I'm looking forward to - one about blended families and the other about "writing" during this season of motherhood. Terry will have his hands full taking care of the whole brood! But you know me and if you were at my house right now you would see the detailed lists and notes that I have taped around the house to make things "easier" for him (or at least for me!!!)

I hope life is treating you all well! Ours is quite crazy as usual. If you think about us say a prayer for our family. We have some unexpected "things" going on right now. We have been and continue to pray that God will make His will clear to us and that we follow Him regardless of how "SCARY" it may seem.

Love to you all!

-Amy

Back to School Time!!!

I was watching TV a few weeks ago and I happened to catch a VERY funny commercial. This dad was taking his son and daughter back to school shopping at an office supply store. As he was perched on his cart (with a HUGE smile on his face), gliding down the isle randomly throwing items into it the Christmas song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the the Year" was playing in the background! It then shot to a view of the two kids who looked less then excited about the whole experiece. :) I laughed to myself thinking that this was just about how I felt after spending the summer at home with 5-6 kids!!! (6 because Chance spent about 1/2 the summer here as well) I remembered back to how I thought it was so strange how excited my mom got when we all went back to school. I now have a much greater understanding and appreciation for that!!!

Last week Chase entered his junior year, Cameron his 8th grade year, Madyson 4th grade and Elly into full day kindergarten. They all seem to be adjusting pretty well. Chase seems a little less than enthusiastic about it although he is excited about his new art class. Last year he completed an incredible prisma drawing and his teacher was amazed that it was his first year in art. This year he wants the do graphite and has been looking for the perfect picture to use. Cameron is hoping and praying to be able to transition out of the alternative middle school (there are only 3 students there - and NO girls! Torture for an almost 14 year old boy!!!). Right now it is the best place for him and we have told him that if he is able to prove himself and keep his behavior and grades in check that we will sent him back the the regular school at semester. I am cautiously optimistic after dealing with the middle school staff and principal A LOT last year. It is unfortunate the they claim to treat all students equal although it is clear that some are very obviously singled out. I do not think that Cameron's behavior was acceptible last year at all but I was also surprised and saddened by some of the things that I witnessed the teachers doing as well. He is doing well and had a pretty unbelievable turn around toward the end of summer. He even came to me on his own accord to apologize for his behavior over the summer. It gives me a little home that all this hard work and effort counts for something! Madyson loves her teacher - but then again she usually does. She has spent the entire Labor Day weekend wishing that she could go to school. She is such a good student and it is nice to not have at least one kiddo to not worry about at school! Elly is adjusting incredibly well to the full days at school. She came home the first day and told me "it was all just baby stuff Mom!" I explained that it was only the first day and after they figure out what level all the kids are at that it will be less boring. She particularily likes being able to eat lunch at school like the big kids!

Chase also celebrated his 17th birthday on Sept. 4th! He feasted like a king as I made him steak, baked potatoes and salad followed by a homemade ice cream cake! He was a little dissapointed that he didn't hear from more of his friends from home - (or his own mother! enough said about that one!) I guess it's just part of growing up - birthdays get less and less exciting! I did my best though and I think he appreciated it!

Well - I'm off to a good workout at the YMCA! I am officially starting my new "non-diet diet" today. The summer and all the stresses of life have gottent he best of me and I have gotten to a point where I need to reign it back in. Soooo in an attempt to keep me accountable I will be posting updates of my progress! Please pray for me and cheer me on! Day one - so far so good!

Love you to you all! I miss you!

-Amy