31 Day Challenge-Day 24: A picture of something you wish you could change

If I could change anything it would be how hard Dan has to work!

Even when he has punched the time clock his work still

doesn't end, because his phone rings off the hook all hours of the night

and several times through out the months during the night he gets woken up by alarm calls and

has to get up out of bed and go fix whatever is wrong at the barn.

I am proud of Dan for the hard worker he is but I just wish he could find time to relax



31 Day Challenge..Day 23: A picture of your favorite book

I don't have just ONE favorite book,

but I do have a few books that are special to me...

I've mentioned these before..

I'm in love with my 1950's cookbook..I love the vintage farm house look of it..

and get this...I haven't cooked not ONE recipe out of it!!

I should do something about that!

and..

31 Day Challenge -Day 22: A picture of something you wish you were better at.

ORGANIZATION!!!

I am telling you I am such a mess with this topic in life!!!

I dream of everything having a place and everything being put in a place...

To come home to this..would be so dreamy...

But instead I've got this...

(Ignore the dirty mat, it's saw dust from renovating the kitchen)

A pantry ah..to be so ORGANIZED..every woman's dream..Is this really how people LIVE?..

because this is MY pantry...

Love my 70's shelf paper???....

Now I gotta know for sure...is THIS REALLY what it looks like under YOUR bathroom sink?

Mine might look like this for a day..the SAME day that I organized it but by evening it'd be a wreck!

Infact..this is a typical day in our bathrooms...

My bathroom looks like this..

And under Dan and the boys' bathroom sink it looks like this...

Gasp! You see I TRY to bring organization...see the empty toilet roll paper holder there in the back..yea..

it's not functional if you don't use it right...then the baskets...well..that defeated the purpose..(same as the basket on my sink to what is suppose to hold my "make up"..not "and some"...

and look at that 1900's game boy! Now that's poopin in style folks!

....So as you can see....I wish I was better at organization...Im pretty sure it goes hand in hand with my procrastination :)

31 Day Challenge-Day 21: A picture of something you wish you could forget

March 5, 2008

The day my brother Brad died..in a horriable car accident no less (ah hem..my car phobia!)

Not that I want to forget my brother, but the pain I experienced with his loss has been nothing like I've ever experienced before. We all expect that someday we will lose our parents, but I never gave it a thought as to losing a sibling.

I miss him all the time. Especially around Easter time when we are all at "Grammy and Poppy's" dying eggs with the grandkids. I can still see him manuvering around the table trying to video tape and photograph whoever would stand still long enough..His piercing blue eyes and big smile is something I will never forget.



31 day challenge-Day 20: A picture of somewhere you want to travel to.

There are two places I dream of going!

To some people it may not seem that dreamy..but to me

it's on my bucket list without a doubt!

I would love to travel to Maine!

I don't know what it is that has attracted me to the seaside of Maine but I beleive it

started with the movie "Sarah Plain and Tall"......

Another place I would love to go to is

Rockafeller Center to watch the ice skaters.

Another thing Im not sure so much as to "WHY"...

It just has a nostalgic sense to me..every year when I set

my ice skating pond up for my villiage I always think of Rockafeller!

I don't know as "I" would actually skate (perhaps just to say I did!) but I think

it would be lovely to just sit and watch the other skaters for a little bit. (And by little bit..I mean

not very long lol..I hate cold..lol)

As for Mr. Handsome, he has said he would love to go somewhere tropical or extravagant, some place

that you absoultly have to fly to get there..like out of this country..or Hawaii..

Thing One and Thing Two..well they will just settle for taking them to Dave and Busters in Chicago lol..

31 Day Challenge-Day 19: A picture and a letter

These are some of my favorite photos that I have seen from Dan's childhood.

He was (is) so adorable!!

So today is share a photo and a letter..today I have chosen to write a letter to my In laws...

Dear Danny and Lou Anne,

Seventeen years ago I met a boy who I thought was such a pain in the butt!

He picked on me, always made jokes that he thought were funny, and at worst...would

fart!! Who raised this boy??!!!

As time went on he became a boy that was funny...his jokes were corny but yet I found myself laughing at them..the farting..well..I never got on board with that!
Soon I saw a young man, one that I admired, respected and was quickly falling swooney over..AND he liked me enough that he was embarrassed to fart around me (yay!)

Before I even knew what was happening I was in love with this young man and I knew that he was without a doubt the man I wanted to marry, the man I wanted share children with, the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

I am proud of this man and I am proud to call him my husband.
His morals are strong, he knows how to treat a lady, he is a great father, a hard worker, and strong family provider, and anyone who is lucky enough to call him a friend is truely blessed.
He did not learn this all on his own, he was taught this by two parents that raised him to be the awesome man that he is today.

I thank you for that!
My one hope is that we are raising our own sons with these same values.

Dan is very lucky that he has you both for parents and has expressed that to me several times.
There is nothing that you two wouldn't do for your kids, grandkids or in-laws.
In a sense we are all truely blessed to have you both as "our parents".
So today I thank you for Dan and all that he is, without your influence, love and support he would not be the most awesome man I know!

I know that I am truely blessed to have Dan as my husband and I try every day to not take him for granted!
Thank you to you both!
I love you!
Shawna



31 Day Challenge-Day 18 A picture of your biggest insecurity

I can't speak for the rest of my family on what their

insecurities are but for me, if you are reading this and you know me

you will not find this surprising...

My insecurity is DRIVING!!!



31 Day Challenge...Day 17: A picture of someone who has made a huge impact on your life

I'd have to say that my kids are who have made the biggest impact in my life.

Before kids my life was nothing but day in and day out partying...It took a little while for us to adjust and grow up but eventually kids have a way of changing you..I like to think for the better :)
 
Some days are hard, with them fighting and bickering all the time, and some days are nothing but joy.
The trials you go thru as a parent are sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad..it makes my day when they share their day and their life stories with me. When they come to me and tell me things that they are going thru in life and share with me things that I never shared with my parents it makes me feel like I am doing my job.
I love my boys so much and would never trade them for the world!



31 Day Challenge...A picture of someone who inspires you

I am just going to speak for myself on this one..

Shawna Bates ‎31 day challenge-Day 16: A picture of someone who inspires you.

The person who I am inspired by today is Angell Lundy. She has worked so hard in bettering herself and standing her ground in following her faith. Her walk with Christ is very ...inspiring and I am so proud of her. She is doing her best in her journey of life and works hard and is a genuine friend. I ♥ you Angell McLundy!See More

31 Day Challenge...Day 15: A picture of something you want to do before you die.

I am going out on a quick limb here and deciding for everyone lol...I might not be right down to the exact but I know Im darn close to things they would choose lol..

For me, I dream of going to Maine to see the sea! I've been told

so many times that the sea is the most beautifuliest sp? in Maine..

Dan would love to go to the Daytona 500

And Caleb and Carter have been begging to go to "Dave and Busters" lol..all atainable dreams..now to get a plan in action :)

31 Day Challenge...Day 14: A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

I could go on and on and on listing the people we couldn't live without!

But I only added pics from what I already had on my computer.

So if you aren't in one of these photos don't get upset..you are special to us and we love our friends

and family very much!

Shawna's sisters...

Thing 1 and Thing 2..we couldn't live without them, and they couldn't live without each other!

Me personally I couldn't live without Mr.Handsome!

He is such a wonderful husband!

Our lil' family..

and our big families! Many of the ones we adore aren't in these photos but wouldn't ever

want to live without them. We are very lucky that we have the families we do. God has certainly blessed us and continues to do so!

So to family..and friends..we couldn't live without any of you.
You make our lives enjoyable. Love you all!

31 Day Challenge...Day 13: A picture of your favorite band/artist

Our whole family loves Nickelback!

31 Day Challenge...Day 12: A picture of something you love

Some of the things we LOVE...are...

Caleb-Loves his ripped up faded jeans-infact sometimes I have to remind him he already wore them to school during the week lol..

Dan loves his chair, and can often be heard saying
"I can't wait to get home to my chair"..

it's a love affair in the making!

As for me..my dark coffee..it can't ever be

too dark or too strong!!

And Carter, loves his psp...any of his gaming devices for that matter..

He is grounded from his psp at the moment but I hear him now over on the couch

playing his DS...I think just grounding him from the psp kinda defeated the purpose..lol..ole well live and learn...



31 Day Challenge...Day 10: A picture of the person you do the craziest things with.

Day 10: A picture of the person you do the craziest things with.

If I had to pick for Dan and I, I would say we do the craziest things with our bike riding Toy Run crew!

We love this group of people so much. There is NEVER a dull moment with them. Even when you are doing nothing but sitting around the bon fire ...it's always a ass laughing good time!!

For Caleb he does all his silly crazy stuff with his best friend Dylan..these two are a riot when they are together!

As for Carter he is just crazy on his own!

He needs no side kick to do crazy stuff, he's the one usually bringing the crazy!