Christmas, Puzzles and FrenchFries

Merry Christmas!! I hope you all had a wonderful time with your friends and family. Here's what I've been up to...






On Tuesday evening I met Jeff's oldest sister and her husband. (They live in New Hampshire, and came down for Christmas.) Jeff and I went out to dinner with his parents and all of his siblings. It was a lot of fun. Jennifer and Butch are a lot of fun. I'm so grateful that I am marrying into a nice, sweet and fun family. (This is a random side note...but I had french fries at dinner, and they were cut so small!! Seriously, they were this width: __ and this width: _ I thought they were really yummy, but they were super cute too!)

On Wednesday morning I met Jeff and all his family at the Fruit Yard for breakfast. We ate breakfast and hung out for a while. Then I left and headed home to help my mom get ready for Christmas. We cleaned the house and prepared a bunch of food. Jeff came over around 3 o'clock and we hung out for a while, before we had to get ready and go to the Christmas eve service. We went to church that night, and from there we went to my grandparents house for snacks and gifts. Then we went home and all of us kids opened up our traditional Christmas eve gift from our parents...p.j's. Then, the kids went to bed and us older people (and Jeff) stayed up until 1am doing...nothing.

The next morning, surprisingly, we slept in until 8:30. Jeff came over at 9, and showed up in his p.j's also. He looked really cute. (Lol.) Then we all opened up our gifts. All of us kids and Jeff got our yearly converse. This year, all the girls got pink, and the boys blue. I can't wait to take pictures of us. Us girls got a really amazing cd/radio/i-pod dock stereo system. Seriously, it's amazing. The sound quality is AWESOME!! I'm betting my parents will regret that gift real soon, as we've had it blaring from our bedroom since we got it. Lol, we'll try not to overdo it. The boys got a really cool game table. It has foosball, hockey, pool, basketball, darts, and much more included on one table. That has been a lot of fun. Jeff and I are also super excited; my parents got us a down feather blanket for our bed. We were so excited when we opened it, because we realize daily that we're really truly getting married! It's like a dream come true. Jeff and I got all my siblings a combined gift. We got them six movies, and a movie ticket for them all. We wrapped the movies and put them in a giant box, then filled the rest of the box full of candy and put the envelope with the tickets on top. It was a fun gift to put together, and they were so excited! (I'm not sure what they were more excited about...the movies and the tickets, or the candy.) After presents we ate breakfast and spent several hours cleaning, baking, cleaning, baking and cleaning some more. Around 3:30 my aunt and her brother and sister-in-law with their children came over. Then we spent the next several hours, eating, talking, visiting and eating some more. It was a lot of fun. Later in the evening, we all opened some MORE gifts. The boys each got a really nice remote control truck. All of us girls got a pair of Uggs (even the little girls!!...So cute!)After our dinner, all the adults went into the living room and played the dvd interacting game: "Deal or No Deal." It was hilarious to listen to! They were so into it! While all the kids were in the playroom watching their new movies and playing with their new game table, Jeff and I decided to start a puzzle together. We picked a 500 piece puzzle and swore we'd finish it by the end of the night. We faithfully worked on it all evening long. Let me tell you...puzzles are only fun for so long. Lol. We finally finished the puzzle at midnight. But we were very confused...we had two extra pieces...yet we were missing one. Figure that out. Lol. I guess that's the problem with Dollar Tree puzzles.

This morning I slept in until 9:00. My parents had got up early and went out to go shopping and get the after Christmas clearance deals. They were particulararily looking for Hershey's Candy Cane kisses. My mom called me and woke me up saying: "Hey get up and run down to Wallmart! We need more Hershey kisses!" I jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes and rushed down to walmart. Much to my mom's disappointment, they only had one bag left. Not wanting to disappoint her, I went to Rite Aid to see if they had some. I scored big time there. I got five bags of the Candy Cane kisses, one bag of Mint (they taste like Andes chocolate...yum.)kisses. I also got two boxes of miniature candy canes, one box was Spree flavored. And the other, Jelly Belly. Yum. We now have candy coming out of our ears...literally. It's everywhere.

While I was at Wallmart, I got another puzzle...puzzles are addicting. Lol.

Jeff was at the house by the time I got home. We all cleaned the house and did chores...the whole time, while eating leftovers and candy.

After everything was done, the kids watched a new movie and Jeff and I started on our new puzzle. Grrr...talk about aggravating! Puzzles are so fun, yet so annoying! We were convinced we were missing pieces and was totally ready to box it up and return it, when we found a few of the "missing pieces." We finally finished the outside...but we're still "missing" one piece. I figure, let's just try to finish it, and maybe we'll find that missing piece. Otherwise, we'll just return it. It's a really pretty puzzle. It's got glitter all over it, and it glows!!

This evening, Jeff, Shelbie, Shaylah and I decided to go to the mall and go shopping. We went jean shopping for Jeff, though we didn't find anything he liked. Still it was fun. We people watched a lot. (It's amazing how many annoying people there are out there. Standing in the mall, it's so easy to see how we truly are different from the world.) After walking around for a few hours, we went to a restaurant and bought milkshakes and french fries. (So Yummy!) Then we headed home.

Now we're at home, in the playroom. Everyone is playing with the new game table, or ping pong in the kitchen while rocking out to Reliant K's Christmas music. Hopefully we'll watch a movie tonight or something.

Well...our puzzle is calling...

Until next time.

Twas the night before Jesus came

'Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care
In hopes that Jesus would not come there.



The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.


When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!


When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray
I knew in a moment this must be The Day!


The light of His face made me cover my head
It was Jesus! returning just like He had said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.


In the Book of Life which He held in His hand
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;
When He said "It's not here" my head hung in shame.


The people whose names had been written with love
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound
While all the rest were left standing around.


I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and this sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.


In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There's only one life and when comes the last call
We'll find that the Bible was true after all!

Winter Wonderland and Life vs Hourglass

This might possibly be the longest length between posts I've ever had!! Almost daily, I think to myself, "I should blog today...what should I write about?" I've been having the hardest time coming up with stuff to write. I'm giving up right now though, on having anything of deep interest to write about. I'm just going to start typing and see where it leads...

A few weeks ago a few of my siblings started cutting out snowflakes. They started to get very creative with them and made over 50 of them within a few days. A few days later, we had a birthday party for my uncle. During the birthday party, a few of my siblings started showing a few of the kids who were over how to make snowflakes. Before we knew it, all the adults and the children were sitting around the table cutting out snowflakes. By the time they all left, we had countless snowflakes (some of them got very creative and in depth! We had some insane snowflake makers at our house!) and a huge mess of tiny little bits and pieces of paper scraps, that we would spend the next three days cleaning. LOL. As we looked at the stack of snowflakes on our tables, we wondered what we should do with them. We came up with a great idea...



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The kids glittered all of the snowflakes, and Jeff and I spent the next two days hanging them all up. Then the kids made a few paper chains, which we also hung up. After those were hung up, they made several tiny Christmas trees and ornaments, which we also hung up. Their recent addition to the 'Christmas Wonderland' is a paper chain of little people. It's been so fun to decorate!

I'm sure most of you have already started your shopping or even finished your shopping by now...guess what? ...I haven't even begun. (OH NO!!)

I've been working 4-5 days a week for the past few weeks and it's been great. I've actually been able to start saving money, not just pay bills. So that's been really wonderful.

Shylie has gotten so adorable!! She smiles all the time. The other day I was holding her, and she had a look of amusement on her face. She kept smiling and was making little cooing noises. I'm convinced that she was laughing at me. My feelings were kind of hurt. Shylie is by far the cutest Ney Baby yet. (Other than me, of course.) When she was born, Jeff and I would say: "Oh she's so cute...but ours will be cuter..." But now we look at her and say, "She's cute...and will still probably be cuter than our babies." You know she's cute when we're saying that. (By the way...this is really random...but Jeff was the cutest boy ever!! Like when he was about 12-13...he was so adorable. I'll post a picture of him sometime.)It's been so fun to have another little baby around, but this has probably been the saddest new baby experience for me. I'm never home anymore, (whether at work, church or at home, but talking with Jeff.) so there are days, when I've gone a few days in a row without even holding her. I've gone a few days, where I don't even really see her, such as last night. I was heading off to bed, saw her and though: "I haven't seen her all day long!" I gave her a kiss on her head and headed off to bed. When I do hold her, or am home to be around her, I truly treasure those times. Because I know, my time with her is so short. I have nine more months left with family. And while I am obviously sooo sooo sooo excited to start my new life with my best friend, Jeff, it is still a sad thought to think..."9 months is all I have left with family, as life is now." Poor Shylie won't ever remember me living at home, possibly Poppet and Lolly could even forget. (This is how life is right now: I get home from work, ever one says "HI" and I get a few hugs. Around 4 o'clock, Lolly comes in and start talking to me: "Jeff come home? When Jeff come home?" When he finally gets here, she goes nuts yelling and screaming with delight: "Jeff home! Jeff home!" What happened to the days, where it was: "Shyloh home!! Shyloh home!" lol, I don't mind. Lolly adores Jeffrey.) I encourage all of my young readers...make the most out of the time you have with them now. Because before you know it, your life will change and your time with them will grow shorter and shorter and shorter. Like an hourglass...time goes by so quickly.

I thought I had so much more I could come up with to write...but I'd have to spend some time thinking about it to come up with something, and I must go get ready for work now. So...until...uh...next time. (lol, hopefully "next time" is sooner than this time!)

Pen Pals

Today I have a Shannen funny...

For this month's writing sample, Shannen's topic was: "Write a letter to a pen pal who you haven't written to in a long time." Shannen took his piece of paper, sharpened a pencil and went to start writing. A few minutes later he brought his paper to my mom to read. It read: "I am a boy. Boys don't have pen pals." My mom was confused, and soon erupted into laughter when realizing how serious Shannen was. He was convinced only girls wrote letters to their pen pals. So funny!!

The Story of the Candy Cane

Legend has it that in the 18th Century somewhere in Europe any public display of Christianity was forbidden. No crosses or Bibles were allowed and the Christians were greatly oppressed. One old man, a candy maker by profession, was particularly distressed by this. He loved the Lord with all of his heart and couldn't stand to not share that love with the world. His heart especially went out to the children when Christmas drew near and no one was allowed to have a nativity scene on display in their homes. He prayed for God to show him some way to make Christmas gifts for the children which would teach them the story of Christ.

The answer was the candy cane. The candy cane was in the shape of a shepherd"s staff to show them Jesus is our Shepherd and we are His flock. A sheep follows his own shepherd, knows his voice, and trusts him and knows that he is totally safe with him. The sheep will follow no other shepherd but their own. This is how we are to be with Jesus if we truly follow Him ( John 10:11; Psalm 23:1; Isaiah 40:11)

Upside down the candy cane was a "J", the first letter of Jesus' name. ( Luke 1:31) It was made of hard candy to remind us that Christ is the rock of our salvation. The wide red stripes on the candy cane were to represent the blood He shed on the cross for each one of us so that we can have eternal life through Him. He redeems us and cleanses us with His shed blood - the only thing that can wash away our sin. ( Luke 22:20) . The white stripes on a candy cane represented the virgin birth, sinless life and purity of our Lord. He is the only human being who ever lived on this earth who never committed a single sin. Even though He was tempted just as we are, He never sinned. ( I Peter: 22) The three narrow red stripes on candy canes symbolized that by His stripes, or wounds, we are healed and the Trinity - the Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit. Before the crucifixion Jesus was beaten; the crown of thorns was placed on His head; His back was raw from the whip. We are healed by those wounds. He bore our sorrows and by His stripes we are healed. ( Isaiah 53:3) The flavoring in the candy cane was peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is of the mint family and was used in Old Testament times for purification and sacrifice just as Jesus sacrificed His life for ours. ( John 19:29; Psalm 51:7)

The old candy maker told them that when we break our candy cane it reminds us that Jesus' body was broken for us. When we have communion it is a reminder of what He did for us. ( I Cor. 11:24) If we share our candy cane and give some to someone else in love because we want to, it represents that same love of Jesus because He is to be shared with one another in love. ( I John 4:7,8) God gave Himself to us when He sent Jesus. He loved us so much He wants us to spend eternal life with Him... which we can do if we accept Jesus in our hearts as Savior and Lord. ( John 1:12; John 3:3,16) Some people believe this story of the candy cane is just a legend. Others believe it really happened. We do not know for sure exactly how the candy cane was invented, but there is one thing for certain... it is an excellent picture of Christ and His love for us.

Cowboy Boots

The Cowboy Boots...
(Anyone who has ever dressed a child will love this one!)

Did you hear about the Texas teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put on his cowboy boots?

He asked for help and she could see why.

Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn't want to go on.

By the time they got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.

She almost cried when the little boy said, 'Teacher, they're on the wrong feet.' She looked, and sure enough, they were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet.

He then announced, 'These aren't my boots.'

She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, 'Why didn't you say so?', like she wanted to. Once again, she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they gotten the boots off when he said, 'They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear 'em.'

Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But, she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again.

Helping him into his coat, she asked, 'Now, where are your Mittens?'

He said, 'I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots.'

She will be eligible for parole in three years

Playdough!!

The other day, I had a crazy desire to make some homemade playdough. But I didn't want plain boring colored playdough, I wanted it to smell like fruit and be colorful!! I decided to try to use coolaid as coloring. After church on Sunday, I asked Jeff to bring me by the grocery store. I picked out four different coolaid colors and then excitedly went home to make the dough. I made the dough and it turned out perfectly. Then I divided it into four balls. I took four bowls and poured some of each coolaid powder into the bowls. Then I added a few drops of water to create a runny paste. I made a ball with the dough and poked finger prints into it, and then poured one color into each ball. Then I kneaded them to mix the colors. (Might I add...my hands are thoroughly stained now...coolaid does stain.) The green ball turned out beautifully. The blue ball turned out beautifully. And so did the pink ball. But the purple ball...turned out to be red. I decided I didn't like it, as I had wanted a purple ball. (I guess my problem was: I didn't get a grape packet, I got some fruity mix packet, like mixed berries or something. I dunno, all I know is it was red.) So I decided to try to mix some of the blue into the red to make purple. (do those colors even create purple?)So anyways, I added some blue and kneaded and kneaded and kneaded some more....by the time I was done, I realized I wasn't going to be getting the bright beautiful purple color I had desired. Instead, I got a nasty purplish-greyish-greenish-brownish color. ...Kind of like the color of your dog's poop. (Sorry to be so graphic.) It's really nasty to look at, but it smells really good!! That evening, Jeff and I played hookie from church (Something I DON'T encourage any of my readers to do) and instead played with playdough with Poppet and Lolly. We have so many playdough toys, it's crazy. We have every color. So I brought the box from the garage in. It was a ton of fun. It was like reliving my childhood. After we were done playing, we left the little girls alone to play. (Talk about foolish) About an hour later, we came back into the kitchen to find a huge mess! Poppet had decided to get creative and mix EVERY SINGLE COLOR into one big pile. (We had over 50 colors.)So now, we have 50+ containers full of a mirkybrown color. She was so proud of herself. But anyways, back to the mess...there was playdough everywhere!! Itty bitty tiny pieces were absolutely everywhere. It took us an hour to clean it. But it was a ton of fun, I want to make more sometime soon.

Here are some pictures and the recipe...

...Playdough...
3 cups flour
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups salt
3 tbsp oil
6 tsp cream of tartar

*Food coloring*

Mix and cook over medium high heat until it forms a ball. Stir out lumps. Remove from heat. Let cool for several minutes then knead until smooth. Then...ejoy!

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Here's my promised post about Thanksgiving...

Jeff called and woke me up that morning around 7:00. I got up and got ready and Jeff got to my house at 8:30. We then headed to his dad's house. We spent several hours with his dad. We ate breakfast with him and watched the Thanksgiving day parade. Around 11:00, we went for a short walk down to the nearest park. We spent a while playing on the playground and swinging, then we went back to his dad's house. While Jeff raided his brother's closet, and came out modeling different outfits, Loren (his dad's name) taught me how to play chess. I lost royally. That game is so confusing. There are like seven different playing pieces, each with different rules of how to move and what they do. (HELP!! I'M SO CONFUSED!) Around 1:30 we headed out to his uncle and aunt's house. This was his dad's side of the family, and they are all German Baptist. Everyone was super nice. By the way...German baptist food is...AMAZING. (The best food ever. And their dinner rolls...whoa...YUMMY.) After we ate dinner there and hung out for a while, we headed over to his other uncle and aunt's house. This was a very different side of the family. His German baptist side is huge, so many cousins and children. I can't remember any of their names. But his mom's side of the family was super small. We ate desert with them (I had some more of Debra's (his mom) amazing Peanut Butter Pie...so delicious. And then we went and played some pool in their family room. Again...I lost. But it was still a lot of fun. Around 5:30 we headed back to my house. We were expecting some peace and quiet, but were greeted with a houseful of people. Our house was packed full! It was a lot of fun. My uncle and aunt were over, and ALL of my aunt's brothers and sisters with their families. (We really like my aunt's family, they are so much fun. There are seven siblings, five of them are married and each couple has 2-4 children.) Plus our friends, the Silva's were over. So we had OVER 20 children running around. I don't even know how many, plus adults. It was crazy, but fun. Everyone stayed until 10:00 then they headed home. Us Ney's cleaned our thoroughly turned upside down house up, and then headed to bed for some much desired rest. Thus ending our Thanksgiving. My family all said it was their "best Thanksgiving ever." And it was, a very good Thanksgiving indeed.

On Friday morning, Jeff came over at 8:30. We took Shelbie and Shaylah shopping. (Can you believe it? We went out on BLACK FRIDAY!!) We left at 9:00 and were back by 1:00. We went to Mervyns, Target, Walmart and the Mall. It was a lot of fun. We weren't actually going out to go shopping, just people watch, but Jeff ended up getting a few items. Lines weren't awful in Mervyns, nor in Target. Walmart was a little bit busier...but by far...the Mall was INSANE! It took us over 20 minutes to find a parking spot, and even longer to get out. Once we got in the mall, it wasn't even fun. We couldn't even really walk without getting shoved around. We left rather quickly. We ended up deciding just to go home. The highlight of that trip, was the milkshake and french fries we got from a fast food restaurant. Lol...both of the girls wanted to come with us so badly, so we willingly agreed to take them. Once we got out shopping, I gave Shelbie my phone and told them they could go on their own merry little way and shop themselves. (So that they didn't have to follow Jeff and I, as we jean shopped and sock shopped for him.) They wandered away for a few minutes, but were soon back on our heels. We didn't mind having them follow us around, but they looked so bored. They claimed they had fun, but I'm convinced they were bored. Next year, they aren't coming with us. (I was telling Shelbie though, next year, Jeff and I will be married and will be going alone. She was sad at first, but then I was telling her, that she will have her driver's permit and will be able to drive my grandmother around, which is what I did last year. She got excited after that.)

a long awaited update

I haven't actually "updated" in a long time...so here I go.







Last Saturday we all went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom again. It was a lot of fun. We all have season passes now, so Jeff and I are planning on bringing Shelbie and Shaylah at least monthly from here on out. We want to take advantage of our season passes. The weather was nice. When we first got there, it was a little cold. But it ended up warming up a little and ended up being a lovely day. It wasn't overly crowded, so the ride lines were really short. At one ride, the Medusa, Shelbie, Shaylah, Jeff and I rode it three times in a row without waiting in a line of more than three people. And yes...I rode some more roller coasters. This time it wasn't as bad. I've realized that once you know what's coming, it's easier to endure and possible to enjoy. In fact...I'd never admit this out loud...but I kind of enjoyed them. We are planning on going back again sometime next month.

I still don't have any good pictures of my kitten, but it's getting cuter by the day. I can't believe it's still alive though, as Poppet and Lolly literally fight over it. I'm feeling very irritated with all my siblings, as they are always holding it and petting it, and now it doesn't like me nearly as much as it likes them. (If you've noticed...I keep saying "it." "It" is currently undergoing a name change. Sophia just doesn't match it's personality!) It is super hyper and very frisky and playful. Sometimes downright stupid, as it calls out the older cats and even picks fights with them. If it had any sense at all, it'd run at the very sight of a few of our adult cats. Jeff won't admit it, but he likes the kitten too. I joked the first few nights I had it, that it was going to spend the next night with him. He firmly objected to that idea! But everyday when he gets here he fetches the little ball of fluff and spends several minutes petting it and loving on it. The names we are thinking of are: Tiki, Tiggy (which is what Lolly calls her) and of course we're still thinking of Sophia.

I don't think I've written about this yet...but I bought a wedding dress two weeks ago. I didn't plan on buying one this soon, I was wanting to wait until the new year, but it was a great deal, beautiful, and I couldn't pass it up. My mom and I had gone dress shopping that morning, just so we would have an idea of a size. I found the dress I wanted and the size I needed. We were going to go back in January and get it. We got home and I left to run a few errands. While I was gone, my mom called me and told me to come home to look at something. I came home and found her on e-bay looking at wedding dresses. She was watching several of them, but one stuck out. It was beautiful, same style as the one I wanted at David's Bridal (which was $500...on sale), brand new and really cheap. We decided to bid on it and see what happened. We won. We only paid $102, including shipping. I eagerly waited for it to arrive for the next week. It came on Saturday. And guess what...it barely fits! It is a corset style, (which means it adjusts)and we had it adjusted to the largest size and buttons were still pulling. Since it's an e-bay dress, and I can't return it. I'm going to have to lose some weight. My mom said ten pounds should be good. You will all be proud of me...since the declared diet beginning date, I have only eaten one spoonful of ice cream. (I'm having serious ice cream with drawls...please pray for me.)

Let's see what else...oh hey! Today I also bought the first piece to the bedding Jeff and I picked. (I included a picture of the full set, the piece I bought is the blue duvet with small flowers on it.) The two main blankets are both over $300 each!! CRAZY! But there was a sale going, and I got it for over half off. (Praise the Lord!)Hopefully next month there will be another sale and I can get the white one with pink flowers on it. It's pretty, huh?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! YAY! Hopefully I will write on Friday or Saturday and tell about our Thanksgiving over here. So for now...

Our first baby!

This afternoon Jeff and I went down to the local pet shop. Jeff has been looking for the perfect kitten for me for a while now. We've gone to a few pet shops, he's called a few people in the newspaper, and I've even e-mailed a few people asking about their kittens. We haven't been able to find one I liked. So this afternoon, we had planned on going to look at a few kittens at some one's house. Jeff got to our house and we were planning out our afternoon. For some reason I wanted to go to the pet store by our house. Mr. Amazing that he is, agreed. We went to the pet store and walked around looking at all the birds, fish, reptiles and rodents before we looked at the kittens. They had a ton of them! Most of them were long haired. Jeff and I immediately fell in love with one of the grey tabby kittens. There were three of them, and they all looked very similar, but only one caught our eye the way this little one did. We walked out of the pet shop, as proud parents of an adorable 8 week old, female, grey kitten. As of now, it's name is Sophia. I tried to get some good pictures of her, but she is super playful and hasn't ran out of energy yet. So when she poops out, I'll take some more pictures and post more later. But for now, here's our first family photo...
Please keep this new little kitten in all of your prayers, pray that it stays healthy and guarded from what my last two kittens died from.

Flat tire...(s?)

I finally have a good story to blog...









A few days ago Jeff was driving my car, and noticed that it was "bumping" a little bit. He asked me if that was normal, and I said, "yea, I think so." The next morning my dad was out in the front yard and noticed I had a flat tire. I was like, "OK, that explains things." He aired it up and said, "Let me know if it goes flat again." The next day it was flat again. My dad went out and inspected it, and came back in and says, "Oh, you have a screw in your tire. It needs fixed." So today, my dad told Jeff to take me down to the tire store to get it fixed. I have a warranty with Big O's tires, so they repair and maintain my tires for free. (Thank Goodness!) We dropped the car off, told them what was wrong and also asked them to rotate them. Then we walked over to Starbucks and had a coffee while we waited. Thirty minutes later we walked back. The guy came into the shop, with a strange look on his face, and something in his hands. He started telling us that I need new shocks and new something something majiggers (I don't know what it was again...but my car is perfectly fine, and I don't really need any of those things.) So he talked for several minutes and then said, "We rotated your tires, and did this and this and this...blah blah blah." Then he said, "I've never seen this before...you had one screw in the same place in every tire." He opened his hand, and in his palm was four screws. None of them were bent, and I immediately knew...brothers. The guy said, "This looks like vandalism. There's no way you ran over the same screws in the same spot four times without bending any of them. It looks like they were set under the tires." Jeff and I were just smirking. Jeff says, "Yea, that's vandalism." I came home, held my hand out and asked a specific brother (no names mentioned) "Do you want to tell me something?" The guilt on his face answered my question. I'm not mad, in fact I'm still chuckling. What was he thinking!! Thank Goodness it was free! Brothers add so much color to life!

Christmas Q & A

This was a fun twist to traditional q & a e-mails. If you'd like...feel free to respond in a comment, if you don't, my feelings won't be hurt.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bag? Wrapping paper

2. Real tree or artificial? personally I like real ones, but only because they smell good. Artificial ones are cheaper, last longer and look better

3. When do you put up your tree? The day after Thanksgiving

4. When do you take down your tree? Usually New Years day

5. Do you like eggnog? No!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? um...in 1997 my grandpa made Shelbie and I wooden baby doll high chairs and a bunkbed. They were pink and so much fun! I think we still have one of the high chairs to this day.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, my favorite set was a rubber Avon set. (I liked chewing on the wisemen's heads.)

8. Hardest person to buy for? um...I've never really had a "hard" person to buy for

9. Easiest person to buy for? My parents

10. Worst Christmas gift you've ever received? umm...underwear

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail

12. Favorite Christmas movie? It's a wonderful life

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? September-October

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? lol...probably

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? the chocolate chip cheese ball and the cheddar cheese ball

16. White or colored lights? white icecycles

17. Favorite Christmas song? Mary did you know?

18. Travel for Christmas or stay home? Home, by my own fireplace

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? no, I don't even know how many he has

20. Angel or Star on top of tree? An Angel

21. Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning? Christmas Eve with grandparents and Christmas morning with family

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Santa Clause...aka Satan's Brother

23. What I love most about Christmas? being with family

24. Your favorite Christmas Day childhood Memory? oooh, hard to choose from. I've never had a bad Christmas memory though

Six Truths

I recieved this e-mail today...and it brought a stupid smile to my face...










6 Truths of Life


1. You cannot touch all your top teeth with your tongue.

2. All idiots, after reading the first truth, will try it.

3. And discover that the first truth is a lie.

4. You're smiling now because you're an idiot.

5. You soon will forward this to another idiot.

6. There's still a stupid smile on your face.


I apologize about this.


I'm an idiot and I needed company.

Six Flags

For the past few days I've been trying to come up with something exciting to write about, but I haven't been able to come up with anything. Today though, I realized that I never wrote about our last family trip. OOOPPPSS. So, anyways...on Tuesday (the 11th) we went to Six Flags Marine World. It was a lot of fun. We left our house about an hour late (which is quite normal for us Neys!) we got to Six Flags around 11:30ish. Before we went into the actual park, we ate lunch by the van. (We always make fried chicken and potato salad) After we ate our lunch, we headed in.

I hate roller coasters (and always have.) In my entire life, I've only ridden a roller coaster three times. I knew Jeff likes rides, and I had sworn I wasn't going to get suckered into riding a roller coaster. But...love makes you do insane crazy things. Yes, that's right...he got me on the roller coasters. Jeff talked me into riding so many rides that I have never (and never would ride for the fun of it!) in my entire life. I held onto his arm for dear life and squinted my eyes closed during almost all of the rides.

After we rode a few rides, and walked around for a little while, my parents took all the little kids (the boys down) and headed to the LoonyTunes kiddy ride area. Jeff, Shelbie, Shaylah and I headed our own way. First we went and watched the dolfin show. Then we went and rode a few rides, walked around, looked at the animals, went to the Shouka show, went through the butterfly exibit, and rode some more rides. I've never acually felt sick from riding rides, but that day, I actually felt sick. I was truly scared that I was going to get sick. Jeff was feeling the same way, so we quit riding rides for the day. After a few hours, we headed back to find the rest of the family. After we met up, we headed back to the van. We loaded up and went to Taco Bell for dinner. After dinner we headed home.

another quote...

Happiness keeps You Sweet,

Trials keep You Strong,

Sorrows keep You Human,

Life keeps You Humble,

Success keeps You Glowing,

But Only God keeps You Going

Even More Questions

Part 1:
( ) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
( ) Been to Florida
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been lost
( ) Been on the opposite side of the country
( ) Been to Washington , DC
( ) Swam in the ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons
(x) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only?
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
(x) Blown bubbles
( ) Gone ice-skating
( ) Got a speeding ticket

Part 2:
1. Any nickname? GirlSon...don't ask
2. Favorite drink? mixed sodas
3. Mother's name? Marni
4. Tattoo? yup. a dragonfly on my back surounded by paisly ...ok, I'm kidding
5. How much do you love your job/school? job: on a scale of 1-10...7
6. Birthplace? Doctors Hospital , Modesto CA
7. Favorite vacation spot? oh...the ocean?
8. Ever been to Africa ? Nope
9. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? :)
10. Ever been on TV? no
11. Ever steal any traffic sign? you have no clue...I have a collection of them
12. Ever been in a car accident? nope
13. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? yes. a ford focus
14. Favorite salad dressing? ranch, Caesar
15. Favorite pie? chocolate, cheesecake
16. Favorite movie? probably high school musical. lol, Actually, I'm not really sure
17. Favorite holiday? Thanksgiving and Christmas
18. Favorite Dessert? ice cream of course, cheesecake and french fries
19. Favorite food? same as above
20. Favorite day of the week? Thursday-Sunday
21. Favorite brand of Body wash? wow, that's picky.
22. Favorite toothpaste? uh...Crest?
23. Favorite smell? Jeff ....yes, Jeff smells really good. You have no idea
24. What do you do to relax? sleep
25. How do you see yourself in 10 years? married with kids
26. Furthest place you will send this message? it's not an email so I'm not sending it...
27. Who will respond to this the fastest? ...Darylyn?
28. Who won't respond? Uh, Jeff or Hayden

MORE questions

Are any of you getting tired of me posting these? If so, I can quit. You all know what to do with this...





1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30

2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? High School Musical 3...whooo-hooo!

4. What is your favorite TV show? Bananas

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? I don't usually eat breakfast, when I do it's usually left overs from dinner the night before. Or I make a salad or something random like that

6. What is your middle name? Ranell


7. What food do you dislike? Anything that came or comes from water (shell fish, sea food, ect.)

8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Um...I have a favorite i-pod play list: Love Story, by Taylor Swift, Starfield, and Phil Wickham and Zac Efron/Vanessa Hudgens: can I have this dance?

9. What kind of car do you drive? a white ford focus

10. Favorite sandwich? Subway Turkey sandwich with everything but jalapenos on it!!

11. What characteristic do you despise? Arrogance, pride and haughtiness (aren't they all about the same?)

12. Favorite item of clothing? jeans

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? hmmm...I'm not sure...the Bahamas?

14. Favorite brand of clothing? I'm not into name brands

15. Where would you retire to? What? I don't even understand the question...

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? hmmm...my 15th because I had a sleepover and a few of us girls tried to carry a friend (who was sleeping on her sleeping bag) out of the room and into another room...yea, I know...it's sad.

17. Favorite sport to watch? If I had to watch anything, it'd be soccer

18. Farthermost place you are sending this? uh...Texas? (I have family in Texas who reads my blog)

20. When is your birthday? October 25th

21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Definitely a NIGHT person...don't wake me up in the morning!

22. What is your shoe size? 9

23. Pets? 1 dog...and I'm going to be feeding her some chocolate and grapes real soon

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Jeff & I are getting MARRIED!! YAY!

25. What did you want to be when you were little? a wife and a mom

26. How are you today? very happy, I spent the day with Jeffrey

27. What is your favorite candy? I love all candies, but especially anything gummy

28. What is your favorite flower? um...roses? maybe? or pansies...or...Oh, I dunno.

30. What is your full name? Shyloh Ranell Ney

31. What are you listening to right now? Robinson Crusoe on TV and Jeff calling my name from the living room

32. What was the last thing you ate? chicken dipped in ranch and bbq sauce

33. Do you wish on stars? nope

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? hot pink with sparkles

35. How is the weather right now? dark and cold!

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Jeff...of course!

37. Favorite soft drink? mixed sodas (i.e. root beer, Pepsi, coke, dr. pepper and sprite)

38. Favorite Restaurant? Mimi's

39. Real hair color? blond

40. What was your favorite toy as a child? my puffalumps

41. Summer or winter? both

42. Hugs or kisses? hugs

43. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate

44. Coffee or tea? tea

45. Do you want your friends to email you back? um, no cause I'm not e-mailing anyone. I'd be great though if you guys would post your answers as comments.

46. When was the last time you cried? Wednesday

47. What is under your bed? dirty clothes, boxes and lots of dust and garbage. and probably some candy wrappers

48. What did you do last night? babysat and then came home and visited with Jeff

49. What are you afraid of? sharks, not being able to dial 911 and spiders

50. Salty or sweet? both

51. How many keys on your key ring? one on my car key ring and four on my house key ring


52. How many years at your current job? one, I'm a personal assistant

53. Favorite day of the week? Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

54. How many towns have you lived in? three

55. Do you make friends easily? no

56. How many people will you send this to? whoever reads my blog

57. How many people will respond? I dunno...how many of you are my true friends. HA, HA...i'm kidding.

Family Outing & Cell Phone Catastrophe

Okay, so I know it's been like a week since I last posted. I'm sorry.








Let's see...On Monday and Tuesday I worked. Nothing exciting happened. On Wednesday my family and I took a trip to Cover's Apple Ranch and Columbia. It was a lot of fun, but it was also sad, because Jeff wasn't able to come with us, as he had to work that day. We ended up bringing my aunt Lynette, with us and that was a lot of fun. It would have been way more fun though if Jeff would have been with us, I missed him like crazy all day long, and it was an awful texting day, as we were losing reception off and on all day long.

At Cover's Apple Ranch we walked around and looked at all the animals. My mom and siblings were very concerned with the baby goats, because of how hungry they were acting. Shadd kept scooping up small handfuls of hay (which was in the walkway and on the ground) and pushing pieces through the bars, which the hungry babies would devour immediately. I had found where they kept their bales of hay in a hayloft and offered to my family to go get them some hay. They all agreed, saying, "Yea, if you can find any, that would be great." They all started cracking up when I came back with a flake of hay. The baby goats were so happy. Then they (my family) started looking around at the other animals and were feeling bad for them also. We ended up feeding all the animals flakes of hay. By the time we were done, we were covered with hay pieces and were laughing so hard at what the owners of the place would say or think to see us feeding their animals. After we were done feeding all the animals, we gawked at the chickens for a while. NONE of the chickens had tail feathers!! They were all chopped off or something. They had ugly little butts too. In fact, they were just ugly chickens in general. I think they were sick or something. Then we went and ran around in the hay maze, took a million pictures and my siblings chased the ducks around for a while. As we were loading up to leave, Shaylah and Shayden caught a kitten and it's mother. They were so sweet! The kitten was adorable and so cute and sweet. Everyone was encouraging me to bring it home (since I'm supposed to be getting a new kitten anyways, the deal was I could get one for my birthday, remember?) but I decided to leave it there, because I want Jeff to get me a kitten. (Which by the way, he has promised to get me one, and he is looking for the perfect one. I'll definitely write about when he finds one.)

After Cover's Apple Ranch we went to Columbia. My siblings ran around climbing on rocks and getting into trouble, while I wrote Jeff a letter and pouted about him not being with us. (My family all made fun of me and complained that I couldn't even go one day without seeing him or writing him a letter or texting him, ect. ect. Yea, it's pretty pathetic.) After they played on the rock for a while, we walked around in town. We hit the candy store and loaded up on sugary stuff. That was a lot of fun. The Columbia Candy stores are so quaint and cute. Then we loaded up and headed home. The day was fun, but it was also sad, not having Jeff with me. Jeff makes any situation any day better.

On Thursday I worked some more, nothing new to write about with that.

On Friday, catastrophe hit. Horrors of all horrors...my cell phone croaked on me. Nooooooo... It quit letting me text, or dial numbers, as something is wrong with the key pad. I panicked and immediately programed one of our other old phones, just so I could have something to keep texting with. (I can't live without texting Jeff.) The phone I am using now is a piece of garbage, it's like four years old and can't hold a charging and looks like it's from the 90's or something. But it will do for now. I'm trying to track down someones old Razor or Chocolate that I can use until I buy a new one. Which will hopefully be soon. But I'm bummed about having to go get a new one, as I'm trying to save for a wedding and dropping $100 on a new phone right now isn't a great idea. But what choice do I have? Oh well.

Well, that's all I have for now. Jeff is over and is sitting waiting patiently for me to get done. We're going to watch "Get Smart" (on clear play) with my parents. WooHooo...that will be fun! So...for now...

To rewatch just click the "X" in the corner.

Jeff & Shyloh slide

Click the "x" in the corner to start again. If you get impatient click: 'View all images' to view at once.

We're Engaged!!!

Jeff and I are engaged!! Yesterday Jeff, his mom Debra, his sister Julie and I all went to Monterey for Debra's birthday, which was on Thursday. We drove up there and decided to walk around on Fisherman's Wharf. That was a lot of fun. Julie followed behind Jeff and I all day long taking pictures of us. (It was great, we have SO many pictures of the day!) After we walked around there for about an hour or two, we got back in the car and started driving around looking for a nice spot to take our picnic lunch. Julie drove us and Jeff was helping pick out nice spots for us to stop at. We ended up stopping at a cute little area that overlooked the ocean. We were kind of on top of a rocky hill, but we were easily able to walk down to where the water was. It was very beautiful. We ate our picnic lunch, and spent some time talking. After lunch, Julie said, "Okay, C'mon you two, let's go down to the water and get some more pictures. You guys can pose for me." (Like I said, she had been taking pictures ALL day long, we were her models and she was really enjoying taking pictures of us.) So Jeff and I headed down to the water. We got down there and we were just hugging each other and sweet talking to each other. Jeff was talking about how amazing it is that we both know that the Lord is calling us to marriage and how he's been so awesome in our relationship, ect. ect. (This is a common conversation, as we've known for some time that the Lord is calling us to be married at some point in the future. It was just a matter of when.) So this talk went on for a few minutes, and I kept thinking to myself about how cute Jeff was and how amazing he is and things like that. Then he turned to face me and said, "Well let's make this right." My first thought was, "Oh no...what does that mean?" (Don't ask why that was my first thought, since there is no reason I should have been scared!) Then he unzipped his jacket and reached into his sweatshirt pocket. I was thinking, "What is he doing?" Once he pulled out a small box it started dawning on me. (I'm so slow.) He got down on one knee and opened the box and said, "Shyloh...Shyloh Ranell...will you marry me." I almost started crying as I said "yes" and threw my arms around him. We hugged for a minute or two (as our first kiss is going to be on our wedding day, hugging was all that we could do) before Jeff finally said, "Um...do you want to put this on?" I was like, "Oh! Yeah!" I had completely forgotten about the ring! It's absolutely beautiful, he did a great job picking it out. We stood there and hugged and talked for several minutes while Julie stood near by and took a million pictures of every single second, she did a great job capturing the big moment. After we were done talking we went back up the hill and talked with Debra and Julie, both of who are very excited and happy for us. Then I called my mom and he called his dad. We cleaned our picnic stuff up and went back up to the car, where Julie had a bottle opener on her key chain. We all had a glass of sparkling cider to celebrate. It was an absolutely perfect set up, as the ocean has been the theme of our relationship pretty much from day one. (That's where our feelings towards each other developed, and since then we've gone there several times together with family and the College and Career group.) When we first realized that the Lord was telling us that we were going to be married to each other some day, Jeff took a "proposal request." My main request was that I didn't want to know when he was going to pop the question. Basically that meant, he couldn't ask me out on a date. (The reason for that, was because we rarely go out together alone, so if he asked me to go to Mimi's with him, I'd suspect something.) Needless to say I was completely shocked and surprised, I had absolutely no clue he was going to propose to me yesterday! Looking back on it now, I realize how stupid I was to not have picked up certain clues that could have hinted at what was going to happen. Lol. Sweet guy he is, also ordered a dozen roses and had them sent to the house, so that when we got home again, they were already there and wating for me. He's a hopeless romantic, and I love it! Anyways, so now we are engaged and planning our wedding! We already set the date: September 19, 2009. I'm sure I'll be posting all about our wedding details as we start the planning process!!

Another great quote

Watch your thoughts they become your words;
Watch your words they become your actions;
Watch your actions they become your habits;
Watch your habits they become your character;
Watch your character it becomes your destiny.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Shylie Rayell and peppered lasagna

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted. This will probably be another really random boring post, but at least I'm posting something, right?

The baby's name is Shylie Rayell. (In my last post I wrote: "as of right now...") She is doing very well and is so beautiful! She's very alert and very observant. My mom and I were commenting a few days ago how she's our only baby who has been this observant this young. I think her vision perception is also more than the other babies. When you dangle something over her face, she'll notice it and start looking at it. Then if you start moving it side to side, her eyes will follow it. That's amazing and very unusual for babies her age. She also follows voices, and when she's staring intently at you, her eyes don't cross or drift like most babies. It's been so fun to have a baby in the house again!!

It was my birthday on the 25th. My siblings, Jeff, Catie and I went to see the High School Musical 3. Out of everyone who was invited, only Catie showed up...sniff sniff. I see how I rate. (Thank-you Catie for coming!!) I had originally planned on giving you all the guilt trip for standing me up, but after watching the movie, I can't harass you guys. The movie STUNK!! It was extremely disappointing. I'm not going to go into details, you'd have to watch it yourselves but I was sorely disappointed. After the movie, Jeff and I brought my siblings home and went to grab a bite to eat. After we ate, we went to Target and returned a bunch of blue and green baby clothes for my mom. Then we got to pick out a bunch more pink clothes. It was so much fun!! After we went to Target, we ran next door to the shoe store. Jeff tried on a few pairs of Converse and finally settled on the basic black and white pair. I think they look great on him! When we were done at the shoe store we headed home. My mom had invited my aunt and uncle over for dinner, which was fun. We hardly ever see my uncle (only on birthdays,) so it's always a treat to see him. My mom had made lasagna for dinner. It was amazing tasting. Everything was going great--the food and the fellowship--until my uncle decided to use a pack of Round Table pizza pepper on his lasagna and salad. (Don't ask why...he's strange like that.) He did this on his first serving and thought it was delicious. Then he also did that on his second serving. He was scarfing his food down like a starving animal...when he suddenly stopped, fork in the air. He stared at his plate for a long time. My aunt (seeing his face) says, "Micah...are you okay? Are you going to get sick? Micah?!?" Someone else says, "Is there something in there?" My uncle nodded his head, unable to say anything. Jeff, jokingly asked, "Is it moving?" My uncle nodded his head again, and everyone jumped out of their seats to look at his plate. (Before I go on with this story, I want to add...My uncle is a sheriff, a detective and also on the swat team. All his co-workers know him as: "Officer Green." He gets sick so easily and so often!!) A few moments go by, as everyone is staring at his plate and announcing with horror that his lasagna has little larva on it. (From the pepper packets, which we've had in a drawer since May from Round Table!! eeewwww...)Without a warning, he jumped up from his chair and rushed to the front yard and got sick everywhere! Those of us in the house were laughing so hard, yet we were so disgusted! After my uncle gained composure and came in, we all started cleaning out the drawer. We dumped absolutely every sauce packet, cheese packet and pepper packet in there. Then we boiled the utensils and wiped out the drawer. My uncle didn't lose his green shade of color for several minutes after this situation occurred.

I'd write more...but I'm supposed to go to a meeting at church and I need to leave in about ten minutes. So I'm off to get ready...

High School Musical!!

Okay...so here's my plan for the movie tomorrow:

McHenry Regal theater @ 11:30.
I'm going to be there at least 15 minutes early to get good seating.
I hope to see you all there!!

It's a GIRL!!

On October 23rd at 11:27am we welcomed a little baby girl into the world. As of right now, I believe her name is: Shylie Rayell. (Spelling might be a bit off.) She weight 8lbs and 2-3oz. She is absolutely beautiful and perfectly healthy! I haven't had the chance to get any good pictures of her, but when I do...I will definately post them. For the mean time though, I will post these... (Sorry that most of them are blurry, the lighting was really bad.)





After the baby was born, my mom kept repeating: "It's a girl!!" "We have a girl!" "A girl!" We were all so surprised, we would have bet money she'd be a boy!