New Fun Celebrating A Birthday!

We just got back from a fun trip to Houston. I'll blog about that soon, but I have to write about today before I forget. So, today was my awesome friend Tiffanie's birthday. It started out great. We had a stake Relief Society temple day with a delicious lunch served to us afterwards, and babysitting taken care of. Wonderful! Afterwards, Tiffanie wanted to go see a movie to continue the celebration. You know me, any excuse to play and I'm all over it. Well, it just so happened that there were several cute movies we could see while taking three of our children too at a dollar theatre that was supposed to be 3 miles away. So, we raced from the church to try to get to the movie on time. I recall as we left someone wished us luck and hoped we'd be safe. I wasn't quite sure what that was all about. SO, we got loaded into the van to take off on a journey following our wonderful Mapquest directions. Now, I know you all are saying to yourselves, I see where this is headed. It's Mapquest. Mapquest is reliable probably only 75% of the time. We soon found out, these directions were WAY off. We started zooming through the streets trying to get there on time and were wondering where in the world we were. It was taking us on these windy streets that were so weird. I don't even think the signs even knew what they were doing. They had 3 different signs going three different ways showing us that they were the street we were looking for. Tiffanie finally stopped at a Walgreens to ask the guy there where the street was. Besides not understanding the native born Bartlett man, he really didn't seem to know what he was talking about and didn't help us at all. Tiffanie finally realized that we did have an actual map on another piece of paper we had with us. I finally figured out where we were and navigated us in the right direction. I know, amazing. We ended up getting to this theatre, that ended up being in the complete opposite direction that Mapquest said, after all the movies started. We decided to go see the Bee Movie, even though we weren't that excited about it, just because hey- we labored so much to get here. So we get into our seats and hear all of this crunching under our feet from a very unclean theatre. I realized how bizarre it was since we were seeing the first showing of the day. EWW! Did I want to know what was on the floor? A little bit through the movie we ran out of popcorn and I went to go get refills. Kinda took me by surprise to see a big man with a jacket on lying face down on that nasty carpet apparently taking a nap. But, I continued to walk around him to get the refill and then around him again to get back into the theatre, thinking, "That's strange!" Then, a little later,a lady that looked homeless came in right behind us and asked in a very loud voice if we had $2.50 because she wanted to buy some candy. So, I gave her $2.50 since that was really all I had. I'm not much of a cash person. She apparently didn't think it was enough because she proceeded to ask Tiffanie if she had any money. Tiff just happened to be on the phone at the time so she just said, "Thank you. Have a Happy New Year." That was strange, I thought. Then, as we walked out of the movie theatre at the end of the movie, there was a line of about 9 homeless people sitting on some seats in the lobby eating candy from money they must have gotten from all of the other patrons of the movie theatre. "Very Strange!" I thought. But, as we were about to walk out, our homeless lady from earlier recognized us and very enthusiasticly waved and said good-bye to us, obviously very content with the candy she had. Now I think we understand a little more clearly why someone hoped that we'd be safe. All in all I'm sure Tiffanie will think that this is the best birthday she's ever had (ha-ha!) Atleast it will be a memorable one!

Uh-oh Tornados!

So, I'm sure all of you have heard about the never ending tornados that we had here in Tennessee. It was quite a night, to say the least. We first got word of it as the Meteoroligst on the local news said that in all of the 30 years of his career, he had never seen anything like it. That got my attention. Then I sat and watched as 4 major tornados were in the area, some of them starting in Northen Mississippi where some of my dearest friends live. Then, we had the sirens go off in my backyard for hours as we watched them all pass through. When the sirens first went off, I calmly told the kids to get their shoes and go into my bedroom closet with me. That kinda freaked them out. But as I sat there for awhile, I thought...now I've got to take pictures for the BLOG! So, here we are enjoying the time in our closet with the tornado sirens going off. I know, I'm nuts. Brennan, Brooke, and Regan got into it with me. Jadyn, however, sat there near by with her great pouty face and said, "This is not funny Mom!" She was right, but I had to do something to get their minds off of it. It finally dawned on me that we could be in there a while. Although the sirens were going off for our city, I wasn't exactly sure where they were. So, I got out of the closet to check the news to see that they were not close enough to us. One of them was close to the other side of our city at one time, but didn't do anything but knock out the power of some schools and such. So, I got the kids out of the closet and sat for a couple of hours more in amazement of how many tornados there were. I have never seen anything like it. Deep down I knew we would be okay, but was worried about my friends, Jeff driving home, and all others who had to go through this mess. As I'm sure you've seen, it really tore the area up. After seeing how many tornados there were and how many areas were effected, it made me realize how much Heavenly Father was blessing us, and everyone else involved. Really, it was a huge miracle that the death count was so low. I truly believe that it is because the people around here are God fearing people who believe in prayer. I know that all the prayers are what got everyone through. It was truly a miracle. My heart goes out to all those who suffered losses of homes, pets, and loved ones. But, I'm grateful that overall, the damage was minimal compared to how much was going on. I feel very, very blessed! As a side note, Jeff and I sat there watching this all once he got home thinking of the thousands of people who are without power for weeks to come and were grateful we had just bought a huge generator to help us in times like this....until we remembered we hadn't bought gas for it yet. Kinda reminds you of the parable of the 10 virgins, doesn't it?

Another Fun Sunday

This past week was wonderful. A good mix of work and fun. I got to watch friends' kids for them, go on play dates, have a girls' night out with some of my good friends at the movies, have a good camp meeting, among running kids to activities. It kept me busy, and happy. Sunday morning was fun. Jeff had left early to speak at church with his Dad in Arkansas about 2 hours away. Everything was running smoothly. We were getting ourselves ready for church, had a nice breakfast, listened to church music to get us in the mood. It was wonderful. AND THEN, Jadyn came into the bathroom where I was getting ready to tell me that Brooke and Regan had dyed their hair. Turns out that it was just Regan. You see, Brooke's best friend Sarah had gotten her a fun hair coloring thing for Christmas where you can put nice color streaks in your hair. You know, nice colors, like bright blue, and green, and hot pink. Regan apparently got into it while no one was looking and did her own hair. She came in and told me she didn't have much in her hair. I had to lift her up into the mirror to show her that she had nice hot pink hair, big thick cream, all over her head. I mean, it was everywhere!!! I was so proud of myself, I didn't even yell! I just calmly took her church clothes off, and quickly put her in the tub to give her ANOTHER bath. The whole bathtub was full of hot pink water. After I got her taken care of, the kids and I noticed that I had hot pink cream in my hair, on my arm, bits in various places on my dress. It seemed as though it just jumped everywhere. Luckily, it wasn't too bad. I then was told that this cream was on the light beige carpet in Brooke's room, and all over her bathroom, and permanently on some white church shoes. It was wonderful. I decided not to even try to clean it up until after church in fear that we would be very late for church. Turns out, the clean up wasn't that bad. AND, we made it to church 10 minutes early! Aren't you amazed! Say yes. I know, I know. I am too. Anyway, I am just kicking myself because I didn't get a picture. At the time, I was more worried about making it to church. It would have been great for the blog. Next time we have an incident, I'll try to be more focused on the bigger picture....the Blog! HA HA!

Continuation!

Two days after Christmas was Brooke's 8th birthday! She's a big horse lover and cowgirl wanna be, so we took her to a western town called Rawhide while we were in Arizona. It was a pretty cold day, so only the Krummenachers were brave enough to go. I have to admit, it's a pretty cheesy place. BUT, we had a great time. The kids got to pan for gold, go on a train ride, climb rock walls, see gunfights, etc. Here's a picture of when the kids got thrown in jail. They were told they wouldn't be let out unless they danced to the harmonica the "Sheriff". Everyone danced, except Brennan. SO, as the Sheriff let everyone out, except Brennan. He had a gun pointed at him and was forced to either dance, or ride a pink stick horse. He chose the dancing. It was pretty funny. We had a good laugh watching Brennan. Here's a pic of the kids at Rawhide. Brooke, Jake, Regan, Jadyn, Nate, Rebecca, Brennan, and Sarah. They sure are cute together! I love being home and having all the cousins play together. That night, we had everyone over (Todd/Matt and their awesome families as well as Aunt Janet and some of her kids, and my wonderful Grandma) to celebrate with Brooke. Laura & Brent were kind enough to make a 8 sub for her birthday. GO Krazy Sub! Best Subs around! Brooke had a wonderful and memorable birthday. Thanks to everyone for making it such a good one for her! Jeff also had fun playing golf with the brothers, and racquetball/volleyball with Darin and Todd. I was lucky to see my wonderful friends Heather Biggs and Elizabeth & Mitch. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. It was a much needed vacation! Just wish I had more time there. WARNING TO ALL PARENTS!!! This is a picture of Regan demonstrating the DANGERS of the Wii! Poor Reggie happened to walk by when her cousin, Johnny was playing and just happenened to walk in the wrong place getting smacked with remote, or whatever they call it.Probably scared John, but she healed quickly! Nice eye, huh? Four days after we got back from Arizona, Brooke was baptized. It was a beautiful baptism. Mom and Frank were able to get away from their mission and come. We are so grateful for their efforts. It wouldn't have been the same without them. Uncle Steve, Aunt Laurie, cousins, and all Grandparents involved in the program, and help from friends too with refreshments. The spirit was so strong and sweet there. It bore witness to me once again of how important these saving ordinances are, and how I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. I am grateful that Brooke followed Christ's example being baptized. Thanks to everyone who made this day so special!

Well, that's it for now. Once again, I am so grateful to have come from such a wonderful family. I have been blessed to be surrounded by Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents, Cousins, Mom and Dads as well as two terrific brothers and wonderful sister who have all been such great examples to me of goodness. I feel so blessed to have wonderful sisters and a brother in law that I love dearly, as well as nieces and nephews. On top of that, I was doubly blessed to be married into a family that is absolutely wonderful. They also are great examples of living Christ-like lives. I feel so blessed to be a part of their family. I don't know what I did to deserve such blessings, but I'm eternally grateful for them. Happy New Year Everyone! May our Father in Heaven bless each and every one of you in 2008!

Catching Up!

Okay, here I go trying to make up for being a huge slacker! Novemeber was a lot of fun. Jeff's sister, Holly & family came in town for Thanksgiving. We went to Jeff's parents to enjoy the day with all of them, Laurie & kids, and Steve & family, as well as the missionaries. It was fun to have a big group together! My kids loved seeing their cousins again. We miss getting together with Holly & Ben like we used to when we lived in Houston. Here's a picture with Regan and Emma. I actually got a lot of cute pictures with the two of them. It was hard to choose. The picture with the kids and the gingerbread houses are Laurie & our kids. Laurie was nice enough to make a ton of these cute gingerbread houses for the kids to decorate - some for the cousins, others for a playgroup day. The kids loved it! Thanks Laurie! For Christmas, we took a nice 25 hour drive to Arizona to spend it with my family again. I was looking forward to warming up, but had no such luck. It was cold! We had such a good time there. We had the traditional Nativity at my cousin Tait & his wife Heidi's house. It was fun to see the tradition go on with our kids. I have so many great memories of doing it as a kid growing up with my cousins. Now, all of our kids get to follow. It was great to see everyone that night. I love my family so much! I am so blessed! Christmas day was fun as always. We enjoyed being with Grandma Diane and Grandpa Frank. They are so much fun to spend Christmas with. We had fun eating all of our traditional food, and playing games! I love Christmas with the family. The other picture above is from taking a little desert hike up a small mountain. We had fun playing in the desert, hiking, and eating lunch outside. It finally warmed up that day. It was so nice enjoying the outdoors. I know people think I'm crazy, but I think the desert is beautiful. I love all of the variety of God's creations. I have more to do, but I have to do a new post since I couldn't fit the rest of my pictures in. Pat me on the back for catching up!

Marathon at Church

Last Sunday I was asked to sing with my friend Tiffanie for a Relief Society Visiting Teaching lesson at church. I had never heard the song before, "For Good" from Wicked, but it was sounding pretty good, and I was feeling good about it. THEN, the Friday before, we got a message from the primary presidency asking for one of my children to please give a talk in primary that same Sunday. Jadyn was so excited when she heard this and begged me to do it since she had never done it before. I thought, you know, we're singing at the beginning part of Relief Society, Jadyn doesn't talk tell the end, sure I can do this. So, Jadyn and I got it all ready. She had the talk down and memorized. My assignment, was to help her hold pictures, and help her if she got stuck. SO, we're sitting in Relief Society. All ready I knew I was off to a bad start. It was 12:30 and they were still doing announcements. Hadn't even started yet. I knew the primary was going to start closing exercises at 12:45. So, I nervously looked at the clock. Time passed, and they still hadn't turned time over to sing. By now, it was 12:45, Jadyn was supposed to give her talk, I was supposed to sing, but I had all of the pictures for Jadyn's talk. I was the only one that knew her talk to help her. WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO? SO, after talking to Tiffanie, I left and literally ran down the hall to the chapel to check to see if Jadyn was going to talk yet. The kids weren't even there yet. SO, I ran back. More time passed, we STILL hadn't sung. So, I ran back to the chapel. They were going VERY slowly through announcements. Still not time for her to talk. SO, I ran back to the relief society room. SHE was still talking. I sat for a while. She still hadn't turned the time over to us, so I RAN back to the chapel right in time to help Jadyn. She did a wonderful job. She only got stuck once. I gave her one word, and she was back on track. She told me she was nervous, but she did great. SO, I gave her a kiss and RAN back to the relief society room. I sat for about 30 seconds and they turned the time over to us. As I got up to sing, my heart was beating so fast from running back and forth, plus the pure adreneline from trying to be in two places at one time, and feeling bad for getting up and walking out so many times. BY SOME MIRACLE, I was able to sing, and it actually worked out. Come to find out afterwards, they had turned the time over for us to sing right as I walked out the door the 3rd time. The Relief Society president said, "Oh, she must be nervous!" Tiffanie told everyone that I was helping Jadyn give her first talk in primary, but apparently not many heard her. Some thought it was my first time singing and thought I kept running out of the room because I was throwing up from being so nervous! NICE! No, that's not embarrassing! Next time, I will never, ever commit to doing two things in the same hour. LESSON LEARNED!

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