Preview a book I made

Heritage Makers has added a new preview feature and I'm trying it out on my blog. This is a digital storybook that I made for a client of mine. It was simple to create and her grandson really loved looking at this book all about him!! Take a look...

Kysa's Here!!

After months of research and finding out about Goldendoodles form our friends Noel and Jon Kern we finally got our new baby and trust me everyone is very quick to tell us that is that we are in for alot of work. Well, we did not not walk into this lightly and we also have been met with many challenges that we did not know that we were going to have and many rewards of the same.

Kysa came a day late but we were all able to go and greet her at Delta Air Cargo. We got Kysa from Teri Fann and Goldens-n-doodles.com and she is the best and sweetest breeder out there. She had warned us that the puppy would be a little dirty. Well, she was a little dirty. We took her to a nearby park (away from as many other dogs to keep her away from possible unvaccinated dogs [Teri trained us well] as possible) to clean her up. After cleaning her we let her run for a bit and tried to give her some food and water but she would have none of it, I think she was too excited to be out of the crate and be with people. Unfortunately we had to put her back in the half cleaned crate for the ride back home.

We got home and let Kysa get the lay of the land. It was not long before we realized that we needed to be on top of the house breaking right away. She had has had a few accidents but she is getting better every day. Tonight she even rang the bell for the first time, although she is a little off on the timing, I'll just leave it at that.
Kysa has had many visitors; Bill and Janet came over the first night as well as our neighbors the Lindemanns who have been anxiously awaiting her arrival as much as anybody. Saturday Great Grandma Margaret came over then my sister, her family, Mary Jo and Ted came over to celebrate Mother's Day. My mom decided that she could puppy sit anytime, especially before she doubles in size in the next two months. We will welcome many more visitors I am sure in the coming weeks.

Kysa is a beautiful golden girl which is just fine with me because I have always loved goldens. If you asked me right now she could be a golden pup. But she is not, she will grow to have the adorable Goldendoodle look with the indistinguishable beard and unmistakeable eyes.

The girls have been a little apprehensive about Kysa as of yet. Ana, who would jump off of a two story building if you gave her the chance is even a little scared. It seems that there is a disconnect between being a little girl and being a puppy. The girls want to give hugs and kisses and the puppy wants to nip at little girls. We'll work on that, look for more in future blogs.

She is a very sweet puppy and we love her very much. She has had some accidents and she will have some more but we will help her to become a very kind and loving dog. We encourage any advise you have we have gotten alot already read alot and want to do what we can to all raise a great dog together. (Oh and we'll put in some pictures of Emily and Jenny too)

No Dog Today

Our puppy missed her flight!! That's right, a little illness in the family and the puppies didn't make their flights out to their new homes. So, we had to break the sad news to Emily and she didn't take it very well. Our hopes are broken at least for today. We went out to dinner and we all had wonderful meals and dessert! Sure to put a smile on the kid's faces!

Anyways, we go to bed still a little dissapointed, but TOMORROW Kysa will arrive (cross your fingers). They booked another flight for 2pm arrival in MN. Tad will pick up Emily early from school (she hopes before phy ed class cause she doesn't like phy ed) then they'l go to the airport together and meet Kysa for the first time face to face! or lick to lick! haha! :-)

35yrs...Older Than Dirt!

"35 years...Older Than Dirt!" That is the button that my sisters gave me to wear on my birthday. Aren't they sweet?!? We had a great weekend celebrating my birthday and enjoying the warm weather that is FINALLY here! OH, forgot to mention that I was sick with Strep Throat. So, I did stay home and miss 1 party, but I'll just have to make up for that some other time. P.S. do you like the crocheted sweater? ya, never worn it before, have no idea where I got it, and since I was so sick, I couldn't have cared less what I wore. It screams OLD lady! haha!!! Here are a few photos.

P.S. ONE MORE DAY UNTIL KYSA ARRIVES!!! (we are excited and nervous--well, at least I am! It's more nerve wracking than having my first child!!)

School project and photos of Emily & Ana

Emily had a class project that involved the whole family making a peace dove. We had to show our family heritage and family interests. We all had a fun time making it and describing what we like to do as a family.
Emily is in her 2nd grade classroom showing her book that she made all about herself. When she grows up she wants to be a teacher. You will make a wonderful teacher, Emily! Here, Ana is in Emily's classroom. She can't wait till she goes to school!!
Ana just being herself. And I think she did her hair this day, also!
Emily has had 1 front tooth since Aug 07. Although she really doesn't mind that the other tooth hasn't appeared yet, it does look a little...funny..or I mean, cute?? :-)

6 week old Kysa

What we did instead of watch TV

Our week of no TV/no screen time has ended. The kids really didn't mind it at all! Emily never once complained and the only thing that Ana would say (daily) is, "Mommy, what can I do now?"

Day 1-Monday-We read books in the evening, then got jammies on and read more books in mommy and daddy's bed and fell asleep early--did I say early? Yes, that was about 8:30pm.

Day 2- Tuesday-We sorted out 2 of Emily's dresser drawers and hung up clothes in her closet.

Day 3-Wednesday-Came home from school, practiced piano, then it was off to choir practice.

Day 4-Thursday-Hung up more clothes in Ana's closet, and sorted out more clothes that didn't fit and bagged them up to donate.

Day 5-Friday-We saw High School Musical at Anoka High School and it was awesome!

Day 6-Saturday-No cartoons this Saturday morning...instead, their cousin James came over and played with us. Oh, did I mention that it SNOWED?!? UGH! But instead we played inside and just had a good time! Although, we did have the TV on for a little bit while James was trying to fall asleep, but that was OK by me.

Day 7-Sunday-The kids woke up and said, "We can turn on the TV now!" Actually, they only watched a little bit of TV, then it was off to church (where they discussed what they did in their spare time) and then it was off to a cousin's Confirmation Party, then they came home and CLEANED THE HOUSE! They are the best little helpers there ever was! They fought over who was going to vacuum, dust and mop the floors! It was awesome! :-)

It was a great week! Tad and I might even cancel our cable to save a few extra dollars...that is if we can still keep the basic cable and our DVR! Sometimes we wonder how we could ever survive w/o it!

Happy Earth Day!

Save a Tree, Go Digital
April 22nd, 2008

It’s Earth Day! Are you craving green today? This is the perfect time for all of us to stop and think about our impact on the environment. What changes can we make in our everyday lives to help protect the Earth? Recycled grocery bags? Riding a bike to work? Planting a tree? Remember, it’s the little things every day that really add up.

At Heritage Makers, we are also doing our part to lessen our environmental footprint.

Did you know:

- On-demand publishing is better for the environmnet than traditional scrapbooking? Why? We don’t print until you’re ready…no wasted scraps.

- We don’t require our consultants to inventory goods. Again, no wasted printing.

- Digital scrapbooking allows you to get rid of those boxes and boxes of paper and embellishments that are going to waste.

With Heritage Makers, you get a tangible memory your entire family can enjoy…with the least environmental footprint.

So go ahead–save a tree, go digital!
Visit my website at http://www.ICanTellAStory.com

National TV Turn Off Week

It's National TV Turn Off Week and along with our church and the kids' Sunday School classes, we are turning off all TVs, computers, video games and anything that has a screen. Although Tad has already asked if he can read the newspaper online, since we don't get the paper delivered in paper form to our mailbox, it's delivered to our laptop at home. I told him he can find the news on the radio at the top and bottom of every hour :-)

POWER DOWN...DREAM BIG

The kids have made a long list of things to do instead of watching tv or playing on the computer. We'll blog through out the week to tell you what we've been up to!

Enjoy your day! :-)

Yet another updated video of Kysa!

Teri from Tennessee updated Kysa's webpage and also a new video of just Kysa, our puppy that we'll meet in 3 weeks. Enjoy!

Webpage: http://www.goldens-n-doodles.com/GoldenDOODLEpupsSaleTULA-CHEROKEE-3-14-07-FEMALE-1.html

Video:http://youtube.com/watch?v=-RymZMPuP0Q

Happy 93rd Birthday, Grandma Margaret!

My Grandma celebrated her 93rd birthday. She is an amazing person--so young, so gracious, so loving and so kind to all. We really enjoyed celebrating her birthday and are so thankful and grateful for all the many years and moments we've had with her! She is in superb health and we look forward to her 100th birthday! :-) Happy Birthday, Grandma! We love you!

Emily's Piano Recital

Emily has been taking piano lessons since Sept 07 and she really loves it. Her teacher just happens to be former classmate of mine from high school! Emily sure has an ear for music. She is also in the children's choir at church. Here are some photos from her piano recital.

Chicago!

Emily and Mommy drove to Chicago the end of March (yes, I haven't posted in a while) with Tad's sister Noel and Emily's cousin Johnny. Let me tell you, they are GOOD travelers! Only once, OK maybe 10 times, did Emily ask, "are we there yet?" They kept very busy reading, playing games, telling jokes and watching movies in the car. We did a lot in a short time. We saw Wrigley Field and the ORIGINAL McDonald's! We toured the Field Museum where the kids saw a lot of interesting artifacts, walked up and down Michigan Ave., did some shopping and had a chocolate treat at the Hershey's store. We spent an entire day at Navy Pier-wow, there is so much to do there! We saw a magician, went through a fun maze that was wicked, and even saw a 3-D movie called 'Wild Ocean'. That was "cool" according to the kids! We took a super fast elevator up to the 94th floor of the John Hancock building and could see for 80 miles and view 4 states! The kids also had a FUN time at the hotel...jumping on the beds, pillow fights and of course swimming!!! It was a wonderful trip-sure to be remembered. Thanks Noel!

Hi Anita!

Thanks for being a loyal blog viewer!

This one is especially for YOU! :-)

Luv Ya!

New video of the puppies!

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lQS9fDeK6Y&feature=email


to watch the latest video of the 2 week old puppies. (copy and paste the link)

Happy Easter-Happy Spring

Ok, so it doesn't feel like spring...yet...but we are hopeful for some warm weather soon! We had a great Easter. We went to church, had a wonderful brunch at my sister's house, then went to my in-law's for another lunch with the family. It was fun even though the Easter egg hunt had to be inside the house due to all the snow outside! Hanging out with ALL the family is always so much fun. Here are a few pictures of the day.

P.S. tomorrow Emily and Mommy leave for a roadtrip to Chicago! Check back here next week to see pictures and hear about our trip! Bye for now! ~jenny

Addicted to Guitar Hero?

OMG! This is super sweet! A Guitar Hero attachment for the Nintendo DS! (coming this summer)

I think this will be on Emily's birthday list this summer, maybe Mommy will buy it sooner! I LOVE Guitar Hero and pretending I'm a rockstar!! (It's my secret dream)

Friday Fun Day

Today, Emily and Mommy spent the day together-just the 2 of us. We went to the mall and got our picture taken in the photo booth! Here are the pictures. We also did some shopping. Emily bought some earrings and hair accessories at her favorite store 'Claire's.' She also bought new running shoes because she is growing so fast that she needs new shoes every few months! The best thing that we did was get manicures! We even got matching pink polish! It was a really fun day.

Isn't she cute!!

Well, it might not be the cutest girl you've ever seen, but here is a photo of our baby Goldendoodle. She was born 7 days ago. She lives in Tennessee and she'll be flying up to Minnesota to be with us in May. Any helpful puppy tips would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome!

This is our first posting to our family blog! We are excited to have this space to share with all of you our family events, our celebrations, exciting news and maybe not so exciting news. But, let's give it a try and see what happens! Pics and videos to come...once we figure that out! Love you all!