Life List

I told you...I like lists!

I read a book about a week ago called "Next Thing on My List" by Jill Smolinski. The premise of the book is that the main character offers a girl she just met a ride home from her Weight Watchers meeting. On the way home they get into an accident and the girl dies. The main character finds, in the wreckage, a list that the girl has of things she wanted to do before she turned 25 in the next year. She has only crossed off two things on the list. The main character then sets out to finish the list for her. And I did not spoil it for you because you get all of that information in the first chapter. It's a phenomenal book.

It really got me thinking about what I would put on my list. I am at an age now that I also know what my limitations are and what sounds interesting but is something that I would absolutely not do. Like jump out of a perfectly good plane to go parachuting...sounds interesting but I would hate it and have no intention of ever trying it..even if my death sentence is handed to me tomorrow! 10 years ago I probably would have changed a few things about my body...make my chin more prominent, even out my eyes, lipo that one bulge in my tummy...but I've come to be okay with my body so that's really not on the list for me either. But I do have some things that I would love to accomplish. Here is a start:

1. White Water Rafting.
2. Run a 5K.
3. Participate in a triathlon.
4. Try waitressing.
5. Cut down my own Christmas tree (not very environmentally friendly..but just once!!).
6. Be completely debt-free.
7. Take my family to the beach for a week.
8. Find a church home!
9. Find a job that I can do from home.
10. Start Jagger's scrapbook.

My list is not complete. I realized after reading this book that I am really content. I am happy with my life and I don't feel like I would have many regrets or wants if I were told that I only had a short while to live. There are always some things that we want to try or do though and so I am thinking this might be my New Year's Resolution this year. I might make a list of 10 things that I want to accomplish in the next year and see how many I can cross off. They don't have to be big (one of the ones in the book was to go bra-less for a day!! I've had kids though and I have no desire whatsoever to do this! But small things are good is my point.). Since I am accomplishing last year's goal of reading through the Bible in a year I feel like I really want to have something big to do every year. I think this would be a fun way to go through next year...or at least an adventurous way.

This book has not left my mind since I finished reading it. I would highly recommend it to anyone. It's funny chick-lit...not a sappy Oprah find. I promise you that you will think differently when you are done. I would love to hear some of the things you would put on your list. Leave your top choices in the comments. I can't wait to see the responses!!

Another Column Done!

It’s that time of year again. Flu shots! I am still relatively new to the flu shots with last year being our first year to get the kids done. Like me, my oldest and youngest get sick all of the time. Last year I decided to get flu shots for all of them and see if it made a difference. My oldest did not go to the doctor from the time she had her shot in October until she had her first ear infection of the swimming season in May. I’m now a believer!

My kids, however, hate the shots. I was determined to have a better time this year. I even went and got one myself from King Soopers on Bromley (the pharmacist, Jim, was quick and almost painless! Thanks Jim). I had to make sure that I was telling the truth when I told my kids that it wouldn’t hurt. It really was quite simple.

I enlisted my husband for support and off we went to Premier Pediatrics. My oldest is terrifed of needles and began to cower in the corner as soon as we got into the room. My middle one was up on the table saying “yay, me first. I’m so brave! Can I get a treat mom?.” Talk about polar opposites! He did go first and said a big “ow” and then giggled and he was done. So very brave!
The nurse wouldn’t do the youngest while he was sleeping (he fell asleep on the car ride). So, we decided that the noise from the oldest would wake the youngest so we’ll just change the order and do her next. She was on her way out the door at that suggestion! My husband had to bring her over and hold her down (another nurse came in because of the noise). It was horrible and I cried through the whole thing. But she did it…my big girl!

I was right, the commotion did wake up the youngest and he was not happy with what was going on. Poor man, after being woken up by the screaming he had to get his pants yanked down and get held down on the table to get his shot in his leg. He didn’t cry so much about the shot as he did about the annoyance!

I’m thinking next year we may pay the extra money to get the mist! My point is that if I can get it done with my three kiddos…anyone can! Jim, the pharmacist says October is the best time to get your flu shot. Your body will build up a resistance in two weeks and it will last six months. It really is painless. My daughter’s advice is to get as worked up as you can and scream as loud as you can and then you won’t even feel it! My strategy is to look the other way and take deep breaths. Either way, it will be over before you know it.

Anderson Farms

Again..I love Autumn. I love everything Autumn. And when I found out that they have corn mazes here in Colorado, which I have never done before, I knew I had to try one out. So, today after church we headed on over to Anderson Farms. I will tell the day along with the pictures.

These are my beautiful children posing under the Anderson Farms poster...my husband thinks the kids are cuter than the poster though so it's just the kids!

Could James being any happier than in this bucket train?!

Kaylee loves the bucket train and wrestles with whether she should ride and be a bit uncool or sit it out...for now she is still riding.

For all of you out there that think Jagger looks like Jimmy...check out this picture!

Here is an obvious statement...this is the entrance to the corn maze. And a fat picture of me...

hahaha!

In each maze there are six stations to punch your card with (three mazes in one with a total of 18 stations). At each station there is also a map of where you are and where the other stations are. We never figured out how to read the map very well! And after over an hour left with only five punches to our card. It was lots of fun but a bit too much walking for Jagger (and too much carrying for Jim!).

I know Jim was just playing with the camera here but this is seriously my new favorite picture ever!

They had lots of fun things to do other than the corn maze. Here is Kaylee milking (again obvious..) a fake cow.

This was an awesome train that the kids played on. James is right in the middle with the black hoodie on.

Jagger rode a bike through a little tire maze.

Oh the mean spirited people that wrote this sign!! HAHAHAHA

Jimmy and Jagger met a new friend. This was beside a poster advertising Anderson Farms' Ghost Town tours.

They had a mini maze made out of the hay. Some kids chose to actually go through it...most kids chose to jump on top of it. Apparently it doesn't hurt too much when you fall down on hay. This was probably my kids favorite part.

Again, James is the one in the black hoodie. He was in a happy place today and I couldn't get him to sit or stand still enough to take very many pictures.

Jimmy made another new friend.....

And as if I need another reminder not to wear this shirt again...another fat picture of me!! But I had to post it because the rest of my family is so darn cute I could just wrap my arms around them and never let go...but nobody stays still enough for that around here!!

And that was our day.

Our New Baby

Nope, not pregnant!

We have a new puppy!!

His name is Marley (for now, because when the kids say it, it sounds like Molly and he's a boy!) and he is 12 weeks old. My friend, Anna, is moving and needed to find a new home for the puppy and she asked my family. We have been wanting a dog since we came to Colorado and so it was all perfect timing. The kids had no idea and were so excited. There has been a lot of running and laughing in my house today!

Jagger is a little timid around dogs. He goes to pet him but runs away when Marley tries to lick him. Marley picked up one of Jagger's toys with his mouth though and Jagger was like "NO DOG! THAT'S MY CAR! GIVE IT TO MEEEEEE!" At least I know he can assert himself.

James thought it was super cool that we could go to Pet Smart and the pup could go in the store with us. It was the first thing he told Kaylee when she got home.

And get this...we swung by Chick Fil A to get Jim lunch on the way to the store. The lady inside saw Marley in the car and gave him a dog treat in a little Chick Fil A bag. How cute is that?! They really cater to the dogs here...literally!

Kaylee was thrilled when she came home. Poor Marley had gone on three walks in the first hour that Kaylee got home from school. I wonder how long that's going to last?!!

The only person not so happy with the new addition....Poncho. For now I think he'll be staying in high places to check out the enemy! I'm hoping he will warm up to him. There is enough love in our hearts for both of our animal babies!

A Moose on the Loose

I can't even believe that I forgot to post this picture! When we went to Estes Park for my birthday we pulled into the town and look what we saw. Some moose on the loose! Like right in someone's yard. Off the main street! Nuts!!

Pumpkin Carving Day

We were going to go to the Pumpkin Patch today but we just couldn't do it without daddy. They have awesome pumpkin patches here with corn mazes to go through. We've never done anything like that before so we decided that we will wait until next weekend when daddy will be off and can go with us. So, today we went to King Soopers and bought some pumpkins there to bring home and decorate. And decorate we did! We busied ourselves with the pumpkin buying and snack making until daddy woke up and could join us.

These are our witches brooms. The kids and I have never made these before but we had so much fun making them...and licking our fingers....and eating them! Yum!

In fact, Jagger loved them so much that he decided to forgo what he thought was disgusting pumpkin guts to sit and eat them while we did the dirty work for him.

He did help with the drawing of the face.
We decided to paint our pumpkins after we cut them. We just couldn't let the fun end just yet!
My little tomboy was the only one that was not totally disgusted by the guts! You go girl!
Here are my three cuties with their awesome pumpkins. James was a little upset (see next picture).

My poor James was playing with his friend and his brother, chasing each other, and stubbed his toe. He ripped the end right off and it really hurt! He was very brave...he just couldn't muster a smile for the family pumpkin picture. My poor James!

New Boots

My first pair of snow boots in over a decade!! They have come a long way since I last wore them (wow..how old do I sound?!). They are so cute now and I love them. I actually went to get BearPaws but these Steve Maddens were right there greeting me as I walked in the front door. I love the knit look!

Both my mom and my mother-in-law sent me money for my birthday. My mom told me to buy some boots. My MIL told me to get a pedicure. I'm not sure why these ladies are so concerned about the state of affairs of my feet....hahahaha! I'm NOT complaining though. In fact, I think my feet are doing a happy dance at all the attention. Thanks moms!!

It's My Birthday!!!

Today is my birthday! I love my birthday. I love that it's in the middle of October and not close to any other holidays. I love that it's in the middle of fall because it's my favorite time of the year. And I love that it's all about me!! As soon as my kids wake up in the morning I remind them what day it is and as soon as they tell me Happy Birthday I start singing and dancing as if they remembered all by themselves. Then, of course, I remind them that the day is about me and they have to be perfect children all day! That usually lasts about thirty minutes if I'm lucky! haha

My one request for my birthday was to go to the mountains to see all the beautiful leaves change colors. Kaylee had an early release so we picked her up after school and headed out as a family..sans DSs. We had some coloring books in the car and good old fashioned family time. The kids did really well and we were at Estes Park in no time at all.


Since it was my birthday, the first order of business was to find us a snack! We went to a wonderful fudge/candy/ice cream parlor called Hayleys. The kids all had fancy ice cream cones while the phallic looking thing that I'm holding is a frozen chocolate dipped banana with nuts on it....holy wow!! Yummers! It is very hard to eat this thing while other people are watching though. I made sure that we found a spot in the very back of the shop for all of our eating pleasures!


We went walking through the shops after our snack. Through the back of a store we found an exit and then a little place with a stream running through it. The kids played on the rocks until mom's heart couldn't take the stress anymore because I was so scared they were going to fall in. Luckily, right across the street we found a playground and the kids did some serious playing.

The park led to a path that we decided to walk. The air was chilly and windy and the leaves were blowing like crazy. The kids loved gathering them up and throwing them in the air. This next series of pictures is me trying to time the throwing of leaves with the taking of pictures. Obviously, it took a while. And it never really turned out perfect.

Here is a picture that Kaylee took of me and my wonderful hubby!

The only other birthday request that I had was for Jimmy to make me Carne Guisada for dinner. Now if you haven't had this meal of my husband's then you have missed out on something huge!

James and Jimmy had gone shopping this morning and surprised me with a birthday cake after dinner.

Needless to say, it was a perfect birthday. I am so filled with food, family and love that I am sure I am about to burst open. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful birthday wishes, songs, duets, emails, phone calls and presents. I am not sure how I got to this perfect place in my life but I can promise you that I thank God everyday!

Camp James

My James loves anything to do with camp. He's never gone camping (although we will be doing lots of that now that we live in Colorado!) but he loves everything about it. He loves to go to family camp every year. He loves tents....this line has a bed tent but not for a full size bed...ugh..James would have gone nuts for that! Anyways, it's done. Yay! I need to change the curtain rods and get some art up on the wall. James loves his new room!

New Favorite Kid-Friendly Meal

This was one of the Supper Solution meals this month. We had it tonight and we loved it!

Pizza Chicken....NOT Chicken Pizza!

Get your chicken breasts (as many as you need for your family) and lay them out on a 9x13 pan.
Put 1/4 cup of pizza sauce on each chicken.
Then layer with your favorite toppings: olives, pepperoni (that's what we had but you could also add mushrooms, spinach, whatever).
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Top each breast with about 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bake for another 10 minutes.

I served it with a Caesar Salad. It was simple yet filling. And so very yummy!!

My First Column

You can not read my column online, you must actually buy the paper to see it. Many of my friends and family from Texas and Canada have asked to see the column so I am posting it here. This is more of an introduction piece. My next column is already written and much more fun and focused. Anyways, enjoy!

Krista Clinton
Bright New World

I'm all about checking out the cool stuff to do in "Colorado." You know the "Colorado" I'm talking about. The one that people that don't live here think about. Like when I first visited Texas and I got off the plane expecting everyone to be wearing cowboy hats, driving pick up trucks and on their way to drill oil. When I first came to Colorado I expected mountains, rapids and hiking trails. Now, don't get me wrong, Colorado is not lacking in any of those things and has a million more small wonders that my family has been enjoying seeking out. But Colorado becomes something totally different when you move in and try to start a new life without family or friends.
Honestly, when we heard that we might move to the Denver area, we just looked at a map and started picking cities to live in. I finally picked Brighton because I liked the name...made me think of Brighton Jewelry. Don't stop reading now, I'm not really that snobby…it was just a mental picture that the name created. I liked the names Cherry Creek and Greenwood Village too but that was way out of our price range. So, Brighton it was..and is!
When we came up here to check out the area for the first time I talked to some locals and decided on the school I wanted my kids to go to which gave my husband the general boundaries in which to choose a house. Then I headed back to Texas and my husband had a month to find us a new house before the three kids and I came back to Colorado. Yes, I did let my husband pick out a house without me! I closed up the house in Texas (just in time...we missed the hurricane by only three weeks, whew! My husband started work and bought us a perfect house (except my horrible kitchen. Read: willing to have free kitchen renovations done in my house in return for raving review!!) in a perfect neighborhood. We were able to close and move into the new house the day that the kids and I arrived.
We are trying to learn Brighton. We’ve had to find the library (can’t wait until they build the new one), the bank, the McDonalds (three kids!). The kids and I have been to Berry Patch Farms and had a wonderful time. At Palizzi Farms the prices were great and the produce was absolutely yummy looking (and tasty once we got home to dig in!). We checked out the movie theater this weekend and even the kids commented on how nice it is. I love to hound anyone who will help me try to find the hidden places here in Brighton. The poor women at the bus stop...I pounce on them any chance I can. I am starving for friendship as well as pumping them for information on where to go and what to do. I'm sure they have started coming to the stop just a little later than they used to!
We’re always ready for a new adventure. Feel free to check out our other “Colorado” adventures on my blog at jkkclinton.blogspot.com. You can also email me your suggestions on what to try next at kristaclinton@hotmail.com.

Just a Quick Break

I was cleaning upstairs and as I came down the stairs I looked out my front door and saw these beautiful trees. The camera does not do it justice. The leaves are such a bright yummy yellow. How blessed am I to now live in a place where God continually changes the portraits of life for me?!

The Perfect Afternoon

My husband is finally off for four whole days!! We are on day three and it has been really nice having him around. I will say, though, that when you only have four days off and you know that he will be going back for another ton of days in a row, it puts a lot of pressure on making the four days perfect. Which, of course, always ends up with someone's (me) hopes being shattered. Because even though he is off, life does go on. Meals still need to be made, children still need to go to school, the house still needs to be cleaned. As much as I want to linger in his love and be showered with his attention for the whole four days..it never happens that way.

Surprisingly my favorite moment came this afternoon. This morning we had gone to Target and found footballs for only $3. Today after lunch the boys wanted to try roller skating. James has roller skate shoes and Jagger has the kind that you slip over the running shoes. It was a hoot watching them go up and down the alley way. I tried to hold on to both of them at the same time and I couldn't stop them from ending up on their bums! Watching Jimmy watching us was also quite funny.

Once the roller skates came off the boys headed for the footballs. Jimmy and I tossed to each other and then the boys started to toss to us. We practiced kicking (I'm surprisingly good at that!). James tried to do the hutt hutt and ended up hiking the ball between his legs with the momentum smacking his head into the ground. He was such a good sport about it. Jimmy tried to teach me how to take ten steps, hang left and catch the ball. Y'all...I'm not so good at that! I have a lot more respect for the pros after today!!

I wish my husband could be home with us everyday!! And 20 years from now when the kids have grown and are off starting families of their own and my Jimmy is retired and we're running my dream business of a bed and breakfast....I will be showered with attention as much as I need it and linger in his love as long as I want to...for now, it's stolen moments in the craziness of our chaotic lives!!

Another Big Milestone

And this time it's ME!!

I finished reading the Old Testament last night. I was sooo thrilled and proud when I got to the last chapter and verse of Malachi!

Some highlights.

I was surprised by the book of Job...you can read about that in an earlier post.

King Solomon was my favorite king. I loved his wisdom.

Proverbs needs to be read much slower than what I did!! Like maybe a proverb per day until you get through them all. They are so full of wisdom but I think you lose some of that when you lump them together as I did.

I loved the book of Esther. I've read that one before and I think Esther rocks! It's a short book and if you are looking for a great read, Esther is it. She could still be a modern day hero!!

My favorite verses are
Psalm 4:8 "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."
This one has been repeated many times over when I am trying to fall asleep!!

Proverbs 30:8-9 "Keep falsehood and lies from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."
It's tough to be faithful. It's tough to not want to have more...especially in this world that we live in. It would be nice to keep up with the Jones'! But truly, I don't want to. I want enough to get me through today. God got me through yesterday and I have faith that He'll take care of me tomorrow. So, I just need to know that the here and now is taken care of. That way I can remember to always give God the glory!!

In the end, I feel like I need to read it all again! I had a hard time getting through parts and some parts I still don't understand. I would love a bible with commentary so that I can dissect the passages. I also would love to read it in the Message version (it's on my birthday list, hint hint Jimmy). I love knowing what preachers are talking about now when they make references to the Old Testament.

I will say that my view has changed about reading the bible. Before I just wanted to read it to say that I've read it. Now, I want to know it. Inside and out, backwards and forwards. In Texas everyone I know goes to church and are Christians. Here in Colorado I see so much more diversity. This morning I had breakfast with a Mormon and with someone who does not go to church. We had an easy conversation about why we each chose the road we chose and exactly what it means to believe in each of our particular faiths. It was in this moment that I knew that I wanted to know everything that I can possibly know so that I know what I truly stand for and why I stand for it. It's easy enough to say I'm a christian and give my testimony about what God has done in my life, it's much harder to have a debate on my beliefs and answer questions about God unless I've read the bible.

I still have until the end of the year to read the New Testament. I'm kind of excited because one of the bus stop moms invited me to join her weekly bible study. I went this week and it's a Beth Moore study titled Jesus: The One and Only. How awesome that I would be reading through the life of Jesus now in Matthew, Mark. Luke and John while getting to study his life in bible study at the same time! This, I know, will be an awesome experience!

God is so good!