River Rising

We have this lovely river and water fall near by, and normally it is this peaceful place to go and watch the beauty of the river....

But right now with all the rain and flooding going on, the river is raging

This is one of the lookout points and the water is lapping up over the edges of the concrete on the right of this photo

There is also a salmon fish latter that you can see in front of that lookout in the picture above,

But the water is so high you can't even tell it is there


My friend Renee took the raging river pictures this week. What an amazing sight!

The 12th Man

GO SEAHAWKS!!!!! It's only a few days away - OUR superbowl! There is alot of contraversy over the phrase "The 12th Man". It really is too bad that Texas A&M has to try and take away from our special time. Oh well! Even if they do win the court case, Seattle fans will still use it!

www.seahawks.com

Love Those Lips!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Benn, I love his lips! He is dressed up to be an usher at my cousins wedding. He didn't want to smile for any more pictures and was walking away.

Science Center Field Trip

Wednesday we went to the Pacific Science Center www.pacsci.org for our annual homeschool field trip. This is such a great picture! Kaiden & Steven sitting at a giant table and chairs. It really puts into perspective what my toddlers at home have to go thru everyday to get to the table!

One of Kaiden's favorite things was playing chess with Steven. He wants us to get one of these life size sets, but I think it is bigger then my living room floor!

The butterfly gardens never cease to amaze me at the simple beauty!

NORTHWEST AFTERNOON

Monday, January 16,2006 I had a fun and exciting time going on our local talk show when the Kirkwood family, who got a EM:HE home was going to be on tv. I asked my friend Kristy to go with me. It was really neat to see all the behind the scenes things of how a tv show works. I was really excited to maybe get a chance of meeting Dawne Kirkwood face to face. We have spoken on the phone, and via email. I ran into her actually in the bathroom before the show started! We shared a hug and then she was whisked away to the show. I got in there, and my name was taken on a list of guest who had shown up for NWA who had volunteered for the house. In the end none of the volunteers got to be interviewed on tv because they ran out of time, but after the show we got to share our stories. Preston called in, and so did Ty. It is one of the funnest things I have ever done. Kaiden tells me I looked goofy because I smiled so much! But you are told to sit up, smile, and be engaging (like I wouldn't do that!) Even during the soap queen stuff!

Sunday * 1/15 * 7PM * 2 Hour Special

OOOPS! MY MISTAKE! This week they made the show into a two hour special, so it will start at 7pm NOT 8pm! Don't miss it!

The House!

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

The next few posts you will read are all about my trip to Port Orchard, Washington, helping a local family who deserved a new home! Their old home was filled with toxic mold when a contractor started a job, then took off with the $. The house got so bad, they had to move out and were staying in a local hotel. One of the daughter's applied 2 times and got turned down both times by ABC. She then contacted Sweet Alice (a woman in CA who got a EM home) and asked how can she make her family more known to ABC. The girl followed Sweet Alice's advice and contacted her local mayor and city officials, ask them to apply for her as well. Well, as you can see, they finally got ABC's attention.

OK, so I am still getting the hang of this blogging thing. I totally forgot that when you keep adding posts the previous posts scroll down. Oh well, I wanted to put these pictures in order of when they happened but it is backwards. Woops!

Anyway, there you see the house. I love this shot. So serene. The family has gone inside to see the house. All the spectators are leaving, and it is just quiet and peaceful. The sun is almost set.... just a few colors and clouds remain.

I am so excited to watch the show tomorrow night. Then, on Monday afternoon I was asked to come be in the audience of our local TV show, Northwest Afternoon (3pm live, on ABC). The Kirkwood family will be on the show, and they wanted to fill the audience with as many volunteers as possible.

Extreem Home Makeover - Viewing area

This was day two. I stopped and went back to the hotel to pick up Kaiden and bring him out here so he could see the house. We are up on a hill above the house so you could see things really well. Kaiden wanted to take my picture, so here it is. It was cold, so we did not stay long. I took him back, and then went back to the worksite.

Volunteers

Just across the street (a very tiny street, barely one car wide) was the staging area for the volunteers. (see all the blue shirts and yellow hats) this is where we went when we didn't have a specific job, and a foreman would come over and grab one of us for a new job. All the trucks that were coming going barely had room to make it through. The neighbors sure had to put up with alot that week, trucks coming and going, noise, lights 24-7, stuff in their yards.... And boy was it COLD and MUDDY!

Working So Hard!

This is just day 3 into the project. I went up to the spectator viewing area to take this picture. At any given time there were 400 people all over the inside and outside of the house working 24-7.

To The House

I know it's hard to see but I am just on the other side of the fence from the Kirkwood's. They are waking up the walkway to their new front door.

To the top right of the pic you can see even more crowds of people and signs. Alot came out to see this thing happen!

Meet The Design Team

The family finally gets to meet the design team! Lots & Lots of Hugs!

After The Bus

The Kirkwoods are SO excited! Some are running around, others just standing in awe...

"Bus Driver, MOVE THAT BUS"

Here it is! The moment we ALL have been waiting for! The bus is moving, the camera crew is in place!!

Preston

Preston talking with the camera crew for some last minute details. I am still standing up in the driveway guarding the cement walkway. The crowds in the back are eagerly waiting!

Ty & Paul

Here is Paulie in the winter hat, next to Ty in the yellow coat. They are getting things set up with the camera crew to the right, in the blue coats. The family is almost here!

House Almost Done - Family Coming Soon

The house is pretty much done, excpet the cement edging I am next to is still wet, and people keep steping on it. I am here to guard it so we don't have to fix it again. The family is 20 minutes away from coming home!!! The sun has almost gone down it is SO COLD!!! But, the excitement is almost more then I can take.

EXTREME MAKE OVER: Home Edition

A few months ago I went to help out a local family when their house was chosen for the extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

When I found out it was happening, there was something inside me...... I just HAD to be there, I NEEDED to help.

I begged my husband, told him if I could go, it could count as Christmas and Birthdays and whatever else for years to come!

So, next I called my mom, and she is just as spontatious as me! We found a hotel in Port Orchard, (which happen to be the same hotel the family had been living in, and the same hotel that the design team was in) We packed up my 4 kids and headed north.

I was an amazing experience, truly profound. 24hours a day all week there was at least 400 volunteers working on the home in order to get it done. At times I just felt like a small cog in the bigger wheel, watching the world go round. It was cold, wet, and exhausting work, but I would not have traded the experience for anything. Even the two hours I stood guard over a hole so no one would sink in.

The family came home..... The air was just electrified with anticipation. The crowd went wild, as did the Kirkwoods as they saw their new home!

Later on I got the courage to look up Dawne's phone number and call her. I had taken about 50 pictures and I wanted to see if she would like me to email them. After talking she asked me my story, how did I come about helping. When I got to the part about my mom and 4 kids in the hotel all week she started to scream. "I heard about you, I've been praying to meet you, expcept no one knew your name!" I had no idea that anyone knew my story, let alone told it to Dawne. I think I only told two people there.

All in all it was one of my most favorite things I have done in my life so far!

Meet the family

Meet the family. Robert my dear husband, our oldest son Kaiden he is 8. A great big brother. The darling blond is Benn he is 3. Next comes little miss Kate she is 2. Then, our Manna Baby - Seanesey she is 11 months old.

This Is Me

Well, this is me! Jennifer S. got a new Nikon camera and was playing around with it at church, the Sunday before Christmas. This is my one to two times a year I don on a dress. I prefer my jeans, t-shirts, and birkenstocks!

New Blog

OK, so finally switching from my aol blog to blogspot. Will take some getting use to, but the format is so much prettier!