Glad to be home!

 

What a crazy weekend!  I couldn't take a good photo of the Bay Bridge in Maryland, so I googled it!  Just so you can see this massive bridge!   It is an amazing piece of art!  I've been over it a dozen times and it's never been a big deal.  This time I was almost sick!  The brigde was closed this weekend in Maryland because of the snow and wind!

  

I just wanted to you to see this site so you sympathize with me :D At least in the summer if we flew of the bridge we would not die of hypothermia?  We'd have a chance of survival!

  

 We were so blessed with this upgrade of our room at the Hilton!

  

There was so much room for the whole family.  However it was just Paul and I for the weekend.   I did skype with the girls twice while we were gone.  They loved seeing the ocean from my computer!  We didn't get to the ocean last year with our travels.

  

  

  

  

 This was our view from our room the first day I arrived.  The storm was coming.  We were on the 10th floor.  I love to sleep at night and hear the tide come in!  If the dear Lord would just call us to work over by the ocean, I'd go in a heart beat!

  

 We set up 10 inflatables for the teens and kids. 

  

This trip out there were no programs for us, just a work day.  It's always nice to take breaks from the summer kids crusades and camps that we do every day all summer long, but just about this time of the year we get itching to go again.  I think we have one week left that is not booked for summer!  Thank you Jesus!

  

This here was the kids program, it was going on in the convention center during the teen Winterfest.  They usually run about 800 kids,  only about 400 kids this year with everyone knowing the snow was coming.  This was our eighth year coming over with our equipment.  We've watched these programs grow over the years.

  

This is the youth service.   Usually they run about 3,000 crazy teenage!  Only about 2,000 this year.

 

 Finally the Sun comes out!  We had to stay an extra day because the bridge was closed and we couldn't get home.  The road were still horrible and it was a stressfull dive out of the bay.   But we made it and it's nice to be home.

Lacey has informed me that Lillie put a bead up her nose and she had to dig it out with tweezers while we were gone.  Other than that everything on the home-front went great!  Thanks Lacey for watching the girls, yet again :D

Stuck in Maryland

This is crazy weather!  Paul and I are in Ocean City Maryland, with 10 of our inflatables games for a youth  youth and kids convention. Typically there is over 3,000 youth but looks like there is less than 2,000.    It looks like we will more than likely be staying an extra night!  Even if we did leave we wouldn't make it through DC or Baltimore.  They got 30 inches of snow!   Lucky for us we have a nice cozy room on the 10th floor over looking the ocean that we can not see!! lol  I forgot my cable for my camera to upload photos while I am away so you'll all have to wait until I get home.  That is if I get home! 

I was able to Skype with the girls and show them the ocean from our hotel room.  They really like that!  And they wish they were here with us!  Next time!

more good deals

Kroger $20  

Today I saved 79% on my bill.  

Meijers $10

If you'd like to learn you can check out my other post here.

a few good deals

$3.61... Not to bad for 26 items on a quick run through Kroger.

I've set up a date for our church plant Faith Family to have their first class on couponing.  Everyone should learn.  However if the grocery stores in your area don't double $1.00 coupons then the deals are not as good.  Sometimes it's cheaper to buy off brand.    In my town it always cheaper to buy name brand.  It's funny 2 years ago before I started this coupon thing, I never filled a grocery cart and rarely bought name brand items except for cheese, mayonnaise, ketchup and a few others.  There are some things that just don't taste the same.

off subject...

My first ladies night with Faith Family I had 18 ladies show up.  I was so geeked!  It was a great time of getting to know each other.  It's so hard being in the YMCA for only a few hours on Sunday.  It makes building relationships hard.   Just a small challenge of being a mobile church.

Memory Lane Monday...

This is Winterfest 2001, where we've been for the last 9 years every February.  Paul and I will be heading there with 10 of our inflatables this weekend.  I haven't been with Paul in the last 6 years so I'm excited to go and see lots of friends that I haven't seen in years!

Winterfest is a Youth Convention with thousand of teens who gather together for service.  They have amazing speakers and bands.  We are the after entertainment!  It makes for long nights with crazy teenagers!  I'll have one myself soon!  Kinda scary to think that Autumn is turning 10 this May.

Juggling Life

So here's a quick run down in the life of the Dietzels...

Homefront...  
We got a new D.O.G. today.  He's a Labradoodle named Harley and he's 11 months.  Pictures coming soon.  I sure have been slacking on my photos lately.

Paul and I have made a trade with the YMCA.  They are giving us a membership to the Y and we are giving them inflatable rentals.  I think it's a great deal.  Paul and I have worked out twice now.    Paul has lost 10 pounds since the fast.  He impressed me today by running on the treadmill.   It's nice to workout together.

Autumns grades have been not so great.  Were waiting to hear back from her teacher.  It's likes he gets it or she don't.

Our 21 day Daniel fast is over and my first meal that I made, (lasagna) I burned :D  I wish I could make my mother proud.

I'm working on a new blog design.  I'd like a different name.  Something that represents our family.  Any ideas?  It's hard to find a theme because we are no longer just traveling doing kids program.  Nor are we  just church planters.  We do so many different things.  I don't want it to be to girly,  I want to keep it as our family, not just me.   So, who knows whats gonna happen.

Servant Hands (our Ministry)...
Bookings for summer are coming in!  THANK YOU JESUS!  We are booking all summer but making sure we are home on Sundays for our Church.

We'll be purchasing a few new pieces of equipment in the next two weeks.

Paul and I are heading to Ocean City Maryland in a few weeks.

Faith Family (church plant)...
This Friday we are having a girls night out.  I'm expecting about 10-15 ladies.

I'm excited that the average age of our church is between the ages of 23-35 with almost 1/2 the attendance under the age of 12.

We are planing an "I Can't Believe it's not a Valentines Banquet" the week after Valentine's Day.  Like a spoof of  "I can't believe it's not Butter "  We are trying to get away from the traditional banquet because we have lots of single parents, young, not married and a few older divorced.  We want everyone to come.  We are selling our tickets but if you buy one you get one free.  This way you have to invite others to come.  This should help in bringing in some new families,  in a different kind of atmosphere.

Well that's not all, but for your sake I'll stop! lol

Thank You Lord

This is the song that I'm sing this morning.  It's an old one but a good one.  Today I'm so thankful for being a stay at home mom.  I'm a working mom, but a stay at home one as well.  Most of you know what I mean.  Our life is crazy but we love it!  We are not your typical family.  However yesterday I did have a taste of that life!

Yesterday I experienced the life of a two working parent household!  It was not pretty!   

I went to work with a pastors wife who needed help cleaning 2 houses in Ann Arbor.    Paul is taking a 3 day crash course in Fenton to be certified as a Chaplain.  Thank goodness Lillie had pre-school and than after that she was able to be put in daycare at the center right up stairs. 

I got home just before 5:00 ran in the door and throw dinner in the oven then waited in the car at the end of the driveway to get Autumn off the bus (she never rides the bus home we always pick her up, she hates it...  her bus ride home is 1 hour).  We then headed into town to get Lillie from daycare, which I had to pay $20 bucks for out of my check that I made that day.  By the time we got home Paul had just walked in the door, we had dinner, did homework, took baths and then put the girls to bed.  huh???  There is no way on earth I could do this every day.  It was so stressful. Not to mention we has no time with the girls.   Then after the girls got to bed at 8:00,  I in no way wanted to do dishes, laundry or anything.  I was to pooped!!

I say all this because I just want to say...YOU WORKING PARENTS ARE AMAZING!  I don't know how you do it day in and day out! So my thoughts on today are Thank you Lord for allowing Paul and I to be self employed and be stay at home parents.

They're NOT just kids!!

I heart Faces... We Are Family

This week’s photo challenge theme is: "We Are Family"

i heart faces is looking for photos that show off a cool way to capture a family together...be fun, creative, unique.  Well, this is all I got!  With the Crazy Dietzel family I know that you would expect more from me!  I had a friend take this family photo on Wacky Wednesday at Family Camp in Brown City, Michigan.  It looks to me like we parents are having more fun than the kids!!  

Check out more "We Are Family" photos at  iheartfaces.blogspot.com 

Back from the South

Paul and I are back from a week in Georgia!   Do you know how hard it was passing chick-fil-a at exit after exit!   This 21 day Daniel fast has been hard.  It's hard to fast when your away from home.  And you know me with resturants in the South...  Chick-fil-a,  Zaxby's,  Sonic,  Bonjangles, BBQ ... ummm   

Being on the road Paul and I could have made exceptions or excuses, but this fast is so important to not only us, but for others who we are fasting along with us at our church.  We need God to do great things  and the devil is not stealing that from me by temping me with fast food from the south!  Although I must say it was hard when I stepped foot into the BBQ restaurant and the overwhelming oder of sweet BBQ smacked me right in the face!  At the moment I realized how hungry I was!   The good news is that they had a veggie platter at the restaurant.  The bad new... no BBQ for me!  lol

We did programs for a church that was having revival with several different guest speakers,  kids were coming as early as 6:00 for Choir practice.  The program started at 7:00 and ended every night after 10:00.   One night the speaker went until 10:40.  By the time we went out to eat with everyone and got back to our room it was 1:30!   Yikes.  Were getting way to old for this! lol 

Lacey came to stay with the girls, which they love so much!!  I appreciate Lacey so much and what she does for our family.  If I had an extra room I'd move her right in with me!

We seen Avatar3D one afternoon.  Wow, it was neat.  It gave me a huge head ache and by the end I felt sick to my stomach, but it was a cool movie.   It was nice for Paul and I to just get away together.

Little Miss Match

A daughter is a day brightener 

and a heart warmer.

I'm still here!

I'm sure you're all just as busy as we are!

Here is what's happening at home:

- the christmas stuff is down
- Lillie is so excited to be back in school, along with Autumn
- I've made no new year's resolution, I never do.  I work on stuff all year round. Why make it a special  time of the year? 
- sorry my blog is messed up, I'm working on that... as soon as I have time!
-  this month I want to de cutter... Paul claims I don't have much to get rid of!!  I guess that mean I want to organize and do some deep cubbard cleaning.

Here is what's happening with Servant Hands:

-sloooowww,  snowwwww  Can't have inflatable out in the winter.  Booking are few and far between.
- we leave for Columbus Georgia this weekend for a program.  We will be doing kids church while the adults have a special guest speaker name Perry Stone.  Inflatables will be going inside along with our program.
- looking to purchase 2 new pieces of equipment in the next few months.


Here is what's happening with FAith FAmily:

- we are in need of a larger trailer
- we are doing the 21 day Daniel fast (fruits, veggies and water).  We started on January 3rd, my birthday :D  Lot of our church members are fasting for the first time.  So exciting!  Autumn is fasting her Nintendo DS.
- we love seeing new families each week
- we have a special speaker coming in this week because we are in Georgia

There you have it!  Just a little to let you know the Dietzels are still around and are not slacking in any way, shape or form!!

Who needs Santa when you've got the Grinch

My dad dressed up as the Grinch on Christmas day. He sang the theme song and handed out gifts!!  The kids loved it.  I think the Grinch as to come every year now!  Granny Runt and Granddad have started a new tradition!

A blessed Christmas

Merry Christmas 2009

Christmas Pj's

Something you Need, Something you Want and a Surprise!

So Christmas morning when we got up there was no power!!  It had just went out so the house was not cold yet.  It was still dark and I wanted to hold off and little longer so I would have good photos.  I'm sure you know that their was no way on earth that was going to happen.  So the photos are bright and not the best,  but there are lots of great memories.  No video this year either because it was to dark.  The power came on about 1 1/2 hours later.

Stockings... My favorite!  I loved my stocking as a kid.

We were walking through Gordans Food Store around Thanksgiving time and Autumn fell in love with the sight of this HUGE jar of banana peppers.  She told us that's what she wanted for christmas!

Lillie love chocolate milk so as you can see... she was so excited to get some chocolate.  We had been out for several weeks!  On purpose of course!

Autumns Surprise gift.   A little notebook.

Lillies Surprise gift... a Lee Middleton doll.

Hope your Christmas was Merry and Bright!

One of our family traditions

Something you WANT, something you NEED, and a Surprise!

We started this when Lillie was born, these 2 photos were taken in 2006.

This is Chrismas 2007,  the girls also get Pj's the night before and their stock on Christmas morning.

This was Christmas last year, 2008.  The boxes work great for us.  There are times when I put several items in a box.  It just depends on the price of the items and sometimes how we are doing financially.   The girls know what to expect when Christmas comes around.  We have found that this is a great way of giving in our house!

Merry Christmas everyone!  I'll see you after Christmas!