Friday, May 28, 2010

A new friend


Matthew has made a new friend.
Can you see what it is?

Mt Pleasant Champions!!



The boys had a double header for the championship last Satuday.  First game they won..then they were off to the championship.  I'd be lying if I didn't say they were nervous.  The team they were to beat have been undefeated for 3 years.  I was with Nic in the dugout and he told me how nervous he was.  I reminded him that the boys they were playing against were the same boys on their All Star team so their team was just as good they just had to believe they would win.  It was so close.  The score was 5-5 and our team went up to bat.  We got one run making the score 6-5 but then the other team was going up to bat.  The coaches just told them to hold them...and they got three outs without scoring!!  Our team won 6-5.  It was a great game.

Here's Nic at 3rd and Matthew at short stop...
Unstoppable!!


Champions!!!


Matthew-short stop
Dillon-second base
Nicholas-third base


Go Wildcats!!

Now on to the county tournaments.  Go Wildcats!!!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Avon orders due!!

Thank you for those that have placed an order I will be submitting them tomorrow morning and should have them delivered to you by Tuesday.  If you'd like to place an order still for this campaign, please visit my website: www.yourAvon.com/tkoenig.  Or you can email me at i-choosejoy@hotmail.com or call me if you have any questions.  I'd be happy to help!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Champions!

Our boy's team just won the town's baseball tournament!!!  They beat the team that has been undefeated for 3 years!
Go Wildcats!!!

I'll update with pictures later!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

House closing...

Could happen as early as Monday!!!!!!

Twins

(This a picture from 2 years ago-I had to post it because it's so cute!!)

(This one is a recent shot)
A friend of mine just posted on her blog about twins.  She adopted twins a year and a half ago from Haiti.  They are adorable little boys, albeit a little rambunctious(what little boy isn't?).  She already had three older children before the adoption.  She was posting on her frustration about the comments and questions daily about the twins and I remember feeling those same feelings when the boys were younger.  It seems that having twins to some folks is still some sort of freak show.  They are so curious about certain details which frankly, I wouldn't ask someone but to each there own.  So, I thought I'd post my most frequently(almost everyday still) questions and comments and then answer them once and for all.

Are your boys twins?

Ummmm...yes

Which one is older?

Nicholas

By how long?

One minute

Oh my...(pause)  that was quick!

It's at that moment they have a shear look of horror usually on there face and I'm embarrassed because I know what they are thinking...
I then tell them ,so they can stop thinking about my lady parts, that I had the boys  by c-section due to complications...

I bet they are a handful!

No, not really.  To be honest what 8 year old is?

Are they your only ones?

Twins, yes.

Are you going to have more children? (Usually this is said with a look of horror in the person's eyes)

Yes, we would like more children.

Did you want boys?

First of all, who would ask a question like that in front on my TWO BOYS?  What am I supposed to say? "No, but I got stuck with these two? " 
But, yes I wanted and prayed for  boys and God blessed me with boys.

Do they fight alot?

Do most siblings fight alot?  I guess it depends on your family dynamic, not whether they are twins or not and no they don't fight alot.

Did you breastfeed? (Now, this one I don't mind if a woman asks...but when a man asks..well that's just weird)

Yes

They are so handsome, I bet the girls love them.  Do they have girlfriends and do they fight over girls?

O.k. this one is fairly recent, having only been happening about a year or so. It really frustrates me because they ask this in front on my boys.  If it was away from them, well I don't get upset or angry but in front of them, I do...They are 8 years old  people!!  No, they don't have girlfriends.  And why say this in front of them so that they think it's weird to not have a girlfriend at 8?  What...  By 10 should they be paying a mortgage and starting a family?    This is the one question that grates my nerves lately and sadly we get it ALL...THE...TIME...

I really don't mind the questions as much now that the boys are older and  they can usually answer the questions themselves.  However, I do remember when they were younger, like my friend Laurie blogged about,  when I'd be somewhere and people wanted to touch them or even pick them up.  People I had never seen in my life! 
I know she will get through it as I have and really so grateful for the blessing of twins.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Avon specials

Here are some specials during this week's Avon campaign I think are worth mentioning.

*This lip gloss is light enough for summer but has some color.  I personally don't like to wear heavy lip color when it's so hot out.  I like my makeup to be soft and light.  At $1.99 and a chance to win a car, you can't beat it.


GLAZEWEAR Lip Gloss


SAVE 66% plus a chance to win a NEW CAR!


Reg. $6.00Sale $1.99

SPECIAL OFFERS Enter our "Now is the Time to Shine" Sweepstakes! For every full-size Glazewear Lip Gloss you purchase, you will receive one mail-in entry form!

Shine like a supernova. A glamour galaxy of 3 glossy finishes. Feels lighter than ever. Always comfy, never sticky. .15 oz. net wt.





I think the trick to a perfect eye(even if you don't put anything on but some mascara) is to have nicely shaped, filled in eyebrows.  I love that this has color and a gel to help them stay in the perfect position.
This product is regularly $8.00 but is on sale for $4.99






No more worries about sparse brows!

Fills in, defines and shapes brows. Makes brows look naturally fuller. Gel shapes and sets brows. Color-matched fibers blend easily with natural hair. .053 oz. net wt.




This is the foundation I use.  I don't like a heavy, full coverage foundation so if you do this is not the product for you.  I was used to using mineral makeup and needed something with a little more coverage than mineral but I don't want to feel the makeup, you know what I mean?  I really like this foundation. It's almost like mineral makeup but with more coverage, but still light.  It doesn't make me break out and I like the feel of it going on.  I don't feel it on after I apply it and that's why I like it.
It's on sale if you buy one for $12.00 you can get another for $1.99.

BEYOND COLOR Line Softening Mousse Foundation


Moisturizing.

$12.00

SPECIAL OFFERS BEYOND COLOR Makeup Sale: Buy one, Get one for only $1.99 on select items! Save up to $10!

Light as air, but with the impact of a super-charged champ. Enriched with 15% moisturizers and vitamins A,C and E, our soft as silk foundation provides a moist, matte finish, so skin looks smooth and flawless. The proof: 79% of women saw diminished lines and wrinkles.* Light to medium coverage. Velvet matte finish. .6 oz. net wt
There are many other great items on sale, but these are my favorites and ones that I thought were a great deal.  The sale ends May 27th and you can order through my website or with me by emailing me at i-choosejoy.com.  You can also call me(if I know you and you have my phone number).

Sometimes I'm really ugly...

This weekend was so completely stressful and Darryl received the brunt of my wrath yesterday afternoon.
And you know what is completely and utterly disgusting about the whole situation?  The sermon at church was on marriage.  The pastor spoke about choosing to love in those moments when it's hard to love.  He spoke about beauty fading and life situations getting in the way of love.
     And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
                                                                                                 Colossians 3:14

     Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
                                                                                                 1 John 3:18

We were at the property yesterday afternoon and we had to flush the well of the chlorine we had put in it because of the bacteria that was found in the test results.  So, as I'm watching the hose and thinking about all the bazillion things I have to accomplish this week.  I'm fuming about just driving all the way to baseball practice to find that no one was there due to the rain.   I'm thinking about the stupid mistake I made on Saturday when I purchased six non-returnable chairs to the tune of $450.00 that don't fit our table(this definitely doesn't co-inside with my frugal nature-we were tired and it was an impulse purchase).  So, I'm thinking about all these things and fuming in my head and I notice the water stops running out of the hose connected to the well.  I start panicking and wondering why would the well just stop working?  Darryl comes over and admits he saw that happen late Thursday night and I freak out.  I wanted to know why he didn't address the situation then? 
Then it happened, the beast was released.  It was ugly, really ugly.  I didn't choose to love and create unity between us.  I wanted to act superior like I was smarter than him(which I am not).  I wanted to spill out all my anger and frustration on him and it was ugly.  I was ugly, really ugly.
He reminded me that when I purchased those chairs and we brought them home and didn't fit that he didn't give me a hard time.  He knew I felt defeated and was upset and didn't want to make the situation worse for me.  Even though I'm sure he had a moment of anger because he didn't want to purchase the chairs then without us coming home and looking at the table first and *I* had told him it was fine.  I don't make designing mistakes(yeah right...)  Wow...punch to the gut.  He was right.....
After all my fuming and anger I sat in the car to take a breather...and then Darryl comes over after I've had time to calm down  and tells me he chooses love...
This was all my fault and he's coming to me to tell me he loves me. 
I don't deserve this man...
Today is a new day and I've had my time with my Lord to confess my sins of not being the wife he's called me to be sometimes.  He forgives me and reminds me my slate is clean but to remember these moments and meditate on scripture like Colossians 3:14 when I get in those moments and  to choose love...

Friday, May 14, 2010

Great giveaway for those that like to sew..

I found this great giveaway on a blog I love Cultivating Home.  It's a giveaway for an e-pattern to a site called Sensibility patterns.
Here is a link to the website:
http://sensibility.com/

If you love period dresses like these:

You will love the website.  It was my first visit to this site and I love so many of the patterns.

Here is the link for the giveaway for an e-pattern:

http://www.cultivatinghome.com/2010/05/sensibility-e-pattern-giveaway.html 
Check out her blog as well it's wonderful!

I hope I win but wanted to share it with my blog readers as well..good luck!!

I'm officially an Avon representative

Well, I've signed up and built my website.  You can check it out at www.youravon.com/tkoenig.
I'd be happy to give you a catalog if you are local.  I can also mail you one if your not local.  If you'd like information on the sales(like this campaign has lipgloss for $1.99 on sale reg. $6.00) please email me at i-choosejoy@hotmail.com and I'll put you on my email list.  There is free shipping right now so stock up on your favorites! (Hold up on ordering your Skin So Soft products there is a sale coming!)  I may also do some vlog posts on products I like and why since I won that fancy new camcorder...I may also have some giveaways in the near future, so stay tuned.  
In saying all this, this blog is not going to turn into an advertising for Avon blog.  That is not why I started this blog and I will continue to post on my family, my thoughts, our crazy adventures, recipes and much more.  I may on  occasion post sales and also product reviews but it will not become a center focus of this blog.
Blessings!
T-

Monday, May 10, 2010

Ughhhh...

So we went to the house tonight to see if anything else has been done and I went right to the fireplace and....they installed the wrong mantel.  I just wanted to turn around and walk out and pretend I didn't see it...
I know this is going to involve a fight, I just know it.  The builder has made several mistakes already as well as *assumptions* on what I wanted rather than consulting me and this is one example.  It looks NOTHING like what we discussed..absolutely nothing and I'm so frustrated right now...I get so frustrated with our builder because they don't EVER ask how to make it right or apologize for making a mistake.  They just say things like ,"Tough deal with it" We have had to literally fight tooth and nail to get everything fixed that was wrong with this house.  They have never once been customer service oriented-never once and that's why I'm dreading this tomorrow...
Darryl could sense I was so done. .He told me to find a picture of what we discussed, email it to him and he'll deal with it.  He thrives on this kindof stuff-I absolutely hate it and am not looking forward to what tomorrow brings with this situation.
Good thing I had some ice cream in the freezer...

It's getting there...


Here is the house as of last Saturday.  The hardwoods were beginning to get installed and check out the new fireplace-doesn't it look great!  Much, much better than the last one they installed. ( If your curious what the last one looks like it's on some previous posts about the house.)  It did require them to take all the brick out and rebuild it all but it was so worth it.  This one fits the scale of the room so much better.  I'm so glad Darryl fought for this because it really looks 100x better.


And part of our kitchen with the MICROWAVE finally some peace with the microwave(and yes it's Kenmore Elite just as I wanted-I didn't back down)  We are still waiting on the island quartz because the island cabinets had to be rebuilt.  I'll spare you the details because really I don't want to relive it...

I can't wait to move in!!!!

What do you think?

I've been thinking about this for several weeks and I still can't come up with an answer, so I'm asking you dear reader for some help...
You see, I'm thinking of starting to sell Avon.  Why you ask?
Well, for several years I was using mineral makeup from the main company that markets mineral makeup(you know who I'm talking about).  It was fine, It did it's job but it's really expensive.  So, I started researching other companies and looking at reviews(I love to read reviews) and Avon kept coming up.  Whoa..wait a minute.  You mean Avon..like the Avon where the ladies come to your door with their little catalog and hound you, Avon?  No thanks...
So, I kept researching and got some books from the library called, Don't Go to the Cosmetic Counter Without Me hoping I could find some professional reviews about makeup products that were more frugal economical. I, out of curiosity, turned to her section on Avon and she had great things to say about most of the products sold by Avon.  So, I thought I would give it another look.  I contacted a local representative, scored a catalog, and went online to look at their website.  I loved that they had a review feature on their products(I told you I love personal reviews) and ordered several products thinking that they were cheap economical enough that I felt like if I didn't like them well..I wouldn't be losing to much and it would be a lesson learned.  Well, I received them and I loved them!!  Dare I say..more than the other expensive company I've been shelling out my money to for several years.  So, I got more and I've loved everything I've received.  I mean seriously, I bought lipstick for $2.99!  Yes, I probably could get it cheaper if I did the CVS crazy coupon thing and spent hours and hours trying trying to maximize my coupons, ECB and things in stock.  And even so, I do believe the quality of the Avon was of the same caliber of my expensive products.
So, I'm thinking of signing up to sell Avon.  I like there products and I wouldn't mind a little jingle in my pocket.  I'm really good at picking colors and hairstyles for people seeing as that was my profession for many years(and I still dabble in it).   Here's my issue though...
Don't those people drive you crazy?  You know the ones I'm talking about.  The friends that have a home based business and are always trying to sell you something.  The ones were your heart starts fluttering and you start sweating when they start coming your way because you don't know if they are just coming to talk or they want to urge you to host a party at your home...you know what I'm talking about, don't you dear reader?
I DO NOT WANT TO DO THAT.  I can't do that and I won't.  What I do like is that people can order through a website I can set up through Avon so their is no pressure there.  But, I'm nervous to even tell my friends that I sell because I'm scared they are going to think I'm going to turn into some crazy person...
So, what do I do?  How do I do this and let people know in a non-confrontational way but make them aware if they want to order something or want a catalog or want advice, great but in no way do I assume they 1. want this product and 2. that I won't be hounding them and they can rest assure that I will still want to be their friend it they don't purchase anything, ever..
Help, please dear reader...should I even do this?

My Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was so great this year.  It really is every year because I'm really so grateful to be a mother to my amazing, loving, funny, thoughtful children and feel blessed that God has entrusted me to raising these boys....  First,  I woke up to hugs and kisses and cuddles(my favorite way to wake up).  

                  Then I read these:

Then Darryl bought me a sweet present.  We have this really neat Antique Collectable store that just opened near us and I have frequented it numerous times already(you'll see some furniture we purchased from there when we move).  Anyway, I've been eyeing this painting for several weeks and brought Darryl to look at it.  He didn't like it so I didn't buy it....well..he bought it me for Mother's Day.  I love it!!

Meet Bessie...


Then after church we drove to Hickory, NC(which is the capitol of furniture making in the U.S.) for their  semi-annual after market sale.  We are in the market for a new sofa and loveseat for the living room and I thought this would be a great place to start.  We went to a HUGE furniture mall that was quite frankly overwhelming.  We didn't get there until around 4pm and the mart was closing at 6pm so I was racing around like a chicken with my head cut off.  One of the receptionists mentioned that they were having a drawing for prizes and we should enter seeing as though it was only 1/2 hour from the drawing so we figured we should.
WELL...I WON!!!.
A brand new Hitachi hybrid dvd camcorder!  I screamed I was so excited!  We have been wanting one of these for quite awhile seeing that we have been lugging around a huge, older camcorder.  We also won 4 tickets to Carowinds so the boys were really excited about that as well. 
Our day was busy but so much fun.  First, taking time to worship our Lord in a new place that I really felt God's presence.  Then, to recieve these special gifts made with children's hands and love.  And then to win something that has been on my mind for several months-God is so good!
It was a great day!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Strawberry Fields

We hit the strawberry fields yesterday with some friends for our annual strawberry pickin' trip.  The boys had a great time, mostly playing with their friends.  Matthew was great at staying consisent with pickin' but Nick..well..he was mostly interested in eating the strawberries, not picking...

Note Matthew's pants and fingers..he was covered in strawberries.  (I was worried because I didn't pretreat any of the stains on his shorts but I washed them today and all the stains came out-my homemade laundry detergent rocks!)

IMG_5856

IMG_5857




Check out Mr. Sporty...he was over this 5 minutes after we got there.  He just wanted to play with his friends but he kept on for mommy (-:

IMG_5850

We only picked 2 gallons because..well..because I was to busy socializing to pick myself.  So, we may go back next week and pick some more so I can make some freezer jam.  The farm we visited was a new stop for all of us and it was very close to where we live so it's no big deal to run out there. We just finished  our last jar of strawberry jam  from last spring and it was soooo good I have to make it again.  There is nothing like having the taste of summer on your toast in the middle of winter.

Email

If you have a question for me or need to email me for any reason, I've put my email address on the sidebar.
But..I've included it here as well (-:
i-choosejoy@hotmail.com

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

I'm still alive..

Just so busy lately.  I feel like I have so much to do and so little time.  The clock is ticking on the house and should(FINGERS-CROSSED) be finished by the end of this month.  We are finishing up our school year hopefully by the middle to end of this month(we school year round but very loosely in the summer).  But, I'm hoping to take about a month off of schooling totally(except math, Bible and reading) so that we can move and get adjusted...
Will update more later...