FIREPROOF

It doesnt matter if you are newly married or have been married for 5, 10, 25 or more years, EVERYONE should watch Fireproof!

With our recent trip to Italy, David is worried that this will be POMPEII PART 2!!!!! :)

RUN FOR THE HILLS AND HEAD FOR HIGH COUNTRY!

And just thought i should let everyone know that i plan on winning the 2000 dollar easter egg that KSRM does every year... So if you plan on finding it, you might just wanna give up because i am DETERMINED! We owe like 1,000 bucks on taxes this year which -sounds horrible but really it is just because i get paid by my 'clients' if you call them that (the moms) tax free by my 'self-employed busines'. I know there is a way of paying each month but that is just TOO MUCH organizing for me and i now i would forget and get behind and it would end up just being more of an annoyance than anything. SO im just going to start setting aside a little here and a little there on each check. It sounds like a huge ugly amount, but really in perspective God has WAY blessed us A LOT especially since we have been back in Alaska.

As we were getting closer to our date of EAS (end of active service) in the Marines, the time was a-ticking for David to find a job in the Kenai area for when we would moveback. GOD WAS WAY IN THE WORKS BEFORE WE EVEN KNEW ANYTHING! A close friend of Davids parents (who owns his own construction/home builers business) heard that David was in need of a job and said that he would hire him right then and there! -NEVER meeting david before, NEVER talking to him before, Not knowing ANYTHING about him except that he was a Christian man, serving our crountry in the Marine Corps and went off the reputation that his dad has as a working man. And if you knew John Nussbaum you know he is nothing short of a HARD WORKER. So when we came back to Alaska, David had a job to get right into when we came. After a year or so of working there he decided to move on into the Oil Field. He now works for Peak where God just plowed he way through everything and put david in a position and environment where he really wants to excel and where is hard work DOESNT go unnoticed! God has blessed us with extra money we were able to put towards a DREAM VACATION to Germany and Italy, and little bits of extra money here and there that were -as david likes to say- 'A Blessing Incognito'.. I have a job at home that still allows me to get house work done, do as i please in town, and really allows me the time to still serve others, and gives me GOOD PRACTICE for that one day when im a REAL LIFE MOMMA!

I LOVE "Taking the time to Smell Gods Blessings!"

dnuss.blogspot.com

As i was cruising around on people blogs i made a new discovery! I found this WAAAAAAAY CUTE guys blog! HE is quite the handsome man!

dnuss.blogspot.com :)

PICTURES

THIS IS ME AND MY PACHEY ON MY WEDDING DAY

THIS IS DAVID IN HIS BEAUTIFL GOWN IN ST. JOHNS HOSPITAL IN OREGON ON OUR ROAD TRIP BACK TO AK. FROM NORTH CAROLINA 2007. (he just got done telling me how ridiculous it was that they made him put on this gown, and just as he turned his head i had to snap a picture)

DAVID IN LIKE A 4FOOT HOLE HE DUG AT THE BEACH IN NORTH CAROLINA ONE OF OUR LAST DAYS THERE. THIS ACTUALLY IS THE SAME HOLE THAT WE ENDED UP BARRYING OUR BELOVED FISH NAMED 'CLARK KENT AKA SUPRMAN'

(YOU WILL HAVE TO IGNORE MY CHUNKYNESS IN THIS PICTURE) THIS IS US INFRONT OF OR 206 N. CAROLE DR. JACKSONVILLE, NC. HOME :)

THOUGHT I WOULD POST SOME PICTURES UP SINCE I SPENT LIKE 2 HOURS ON THIS DARN COMPUTER LAST WEEK ORGANIZING ALL OUR PICS INTO FOLDERS...

Gun Safety

So I took a class this Saturday, that you could easily call it 'Pistol 101'. Just all the basics for new beginers. I am not a beginer shooter or gun handler but i took it anyways. I grew up in a home that had guns. My dad is a gun guru. He loves to buy them, sell them,trade them, collect them, tinker with them, make handmade leather holsters, he melts his own lead and reloads his own rounds. ...I have heard that women try and search for "THE MAN" in her life that resembles same qualities and traits that their dad is like, and WHAT DO YOU KNOW!? ..... If you have even been in a room with my husband for more than 2.2 seconds you would know he is EXACTLY the same as my dad. He thinks guns, talks guns, breaths guns, and i would even go as far as saying that he farts guns! :) ..REALLY he does!

I probably took my first couple of shots around age 10 or 11 maybe? I never was sat down and taught all the different parts and pieces, and terms for guns and gun accesories, i just kind of thought i knew them already from hearing my dad and husband say them so often. So untill satuday i was never truely CONFIDENT holding a gun. I mean i knew what i was doing, but i just felt that i was missing 'something'. I have no idea what that 'something' was, but i deffinetly know that i FOUND IT this saturday!!! The class was kind of boring at first just because we were reading out of a book, but once we got into the hands on stuff it was REALLY GOOD! I knew the majority everything they went over except for a few things, but i was never really 'tired' of hearing the things i knew. Gun safety can never be drilled enough so the more the marrier! Knowing that you can't rely on anything but your own knowledge when you are handling a gun, really makes you WANT to know as much as you can about them.

Being sat down, forced to read a manual, talk about it, review it, practice, practice, practice, and then go to the range and show what you have learned, REALLY drives it into your brain and shows you that there really isnt much to it, its just knowing what you need to know. Some people think that just not introducing guns to their chidlren IS gun safety-ITS NOT!!!!! The children who dont know REAL GUN SAFETY are the children who are more likely going to have an 'accident'. The kids who know REAL GUN SAFETY are the ones who know that if you are not with an adult and in the correct setting and you see a gun you should
STOP
DONT TOUCH
LEAVE THE ROOM
TELL AN ADULT


*****Protecting your kids from guns, is to educate them on guns*****

I feel different knowing now that if something were to happen while david was gone and i was here alone, or with little monkey boy, i would be able to stand some ground! Women really dont need to feel intimidated by guns. Its all stuff that we are capable to learn and to know. Every women should know how to defend herself and her children incase of a home intruder, whether it is a hungry bear or an drunk man! Especially in Alaska, where you run into wildlife everyday, or you live miles and MILES away from your closest neighbor and the fastest reaction time of calling 911 is up to an hour.

.....................................................OK REAL LIFE SCENERIO..............................................


Your husband is at work for the day, or gone for the night, or maybe you just live alone. You hear someone in your house. ......................WHAT do you think that person is going to be more scared of?

A. He walks into the room and you point a phone in his face and with ALL your might you scream "IM CALLING 911!"

or

B. He walks into the room and you point a gun at his face! -And really at this point you dont need to say a thing Because Everyone knows what the cocking of a gun sounds like!

You can either HOPE he wont do anything, OR you can MAKE SURE of it!. I didnt write this to scare anyone, i just wrote it to maybe help encourage you to learn how to comfortably and confidently handle a gun.... Its just something to think about! .... IF YOU EVER WANT a shooting buddy YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME! :)

New Uses for OLD dog toys!

So i got tired of throwing away 10 dollars for everytime my puppy would destroy her toys so quickly! as the saying goes "DOG TOYS DONT GROW ON TREES!" and our puppy Leia is a freak show and has made up her mind that anything smaller than a baseball MUST be eaten.. so i will spare you the details but i will jsut say this , when i do my poopy-scoopy chore i have noticed RANDOM objects pokin' out of her little nuggets! things that include but by NO MEANS LIMIT to; Her brothers booties (that i hand sewed), Washcloths, Ropes, Sticks, Bark, String, and dog toy parts,pieces,fuzz and stuffing ...... SO once her toys get so worn down they are trash.................... UNLESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS..........................?.....................

OLD-NO MORE STUFFING-GIRAFFE + OLD WEINERDOG PUPPY










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!!SUPER 2 HEADED GIRAFFEDOG!!

Only 5.99 EACH!

!!!!!RED HOT SALE!!!!!!

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THE BEGINING OF A NEW ERA!

Well, like i said, TODAY is the first day of a new era! The era of "NAP TIME WITHOUT BOTTLES!". Many have been faced with this hard and difficult time in their life and have survived and lived to tell about it! I am one of them. It was a long time ago, back when teased bangs and frizzy dos were in, acid washed jeans with matching jean jackets were the normal street threads, and an alien named ALF was on everyones TV set, Some say the 80's were a mistake?....

I remember the day like it was yesterday when my mom laid me down in my crib without a nipple in my mouth! It was a hot sunny day, birds were chirping all around, my brother was being his normal scrubby big brother self, I ate my breakfast and was prepared to be rocked in my mothers sweet arms while she fed me and stared into my beautiful brown eyes. WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, I was chucked into the crib as a farmer would his bales of hay, as if i had to feelings at all! I stared at my mom with this confused look in my eye thinking she had gone crazy or something, while she was whispering me some malarkey about how she loved me and it was nap time! I remember thinking, "WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS!? SHE CANT DO THIS TO ME! DOES SHE EVEN KNOW WHO I AM!? OH BOY, WAIT TILL DAD HEARS ABOUT THIS! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS (yes, pun intended), I WILL CRY UNTILL I GET THE NIPPLE I DESERVE! LITTLE DOES SHE KNOW, HA- SHE THINKS I'LL JUST LIE DOWN AND TAKE IT (pun intended again)! I WILL GO DOWN KICKING AND SCREAMING (pun intended once again)!!!!! ILL FIGHT THIS, IM STARTING A 'NAP STRIKE! 'THATS IT, IM MAKING ME A PICKET SIGN "NO NIPPLE, NO NAP!" -I CANT WALK IN A CIRCLE AND CHANT THIS OVER AND OVER-BUT SHE'LL GET THE IDEA!"

Its funny cuz i dont remember much after that last thought, I never got around to making my sign mostly becuase i couldnt find a pen in my crib, or paper for that matter. But all i know is that one day when i grew a real brain and realized she did that for me because she loved me! Thanks to my mom i havent 'fallen off the wagon' yet! 20 years and 6 months later IM GOING STRONG! haven needed a bottle to go to sleep since! I think my husband is the most thankful for that out of all of us.

But there comes a time in every babys life when the day sneaks up on them as it did to me, and it catches them off guard. BUT not in my monkey boys, I was preparing him all through breakfast about what was going to happen afterwards. SO he cant say i never warned him. Monkeys mom and i have been talking about making the transition sometime soon and today while we were playing and reading books and i looked out the window and saw the sun in the sky i said "TODAY IS THE DAY!". When you live in Alaska and spring time comes around the corner and the sun is out you could face the ugliest of uglies, the hardest of hards, meanest of means, and the worst times of all the worst time in your life times 50, but the sunny beams make it seam 'HAPPY' no matter what it is! SO i seized the day! (There is no way i would have entertained this thought if it were cloudy and snowing)
Our new schedule is as follows:
-He comes at 8:00.
-We play together till 8:45ish 9:00.
-Then afterwards is independant time with his toys and then what i like to call "The Wild Adventures In The Nussbaum Outback" (or aka time in his walker).
-9:30-9:45ish is baby rice cereal and some fruit for breakfast.
-Clean up (his by now super sticky cereal/babyfood body) and diaper change and back into his clothes, and headed up stairs.
------------------------(heres where the twist comes in)----------------------------
-Then a little 4oz bottle while he is still awake but getting drowzy. Once that 4 oz. is gone ITS GONE! (Im thinking about making a sign that says "NO REFILLS" and sticking it in on the underside of his bottle, that way when he drinks his last drop he see's it) hehe:) .
-Then i rock him a little bit and just as he is alseep putting him into his crib.
AND from there on its all up to him!

I know he will cry ALOT and i will feel horrible at times- but as the saying goes "YOU GOTTA DO WHAT'CHYA GOTTA DO!" I just keep telling myself im doing him, me and most importantly his mom a HUGE favor! I'll check on him every 5-7 mins at first and then every 10-15 mins and rub his tummy "shhh-ing" him and telling him "Everything is going to be OK and its just time for a nap".. AND GUESS WHAT!? 40 mins and 4 trips up to check on him later -IT WORKED!
!!!!!!!!!YAHOO!!!!!!!!! Im reading the 'WHAT TO EXPECT THE FIRST YEAR' and it says that if you stick to your guns EVERY TIME your baby should catch on and learn to put theirself to sleep and learn the new schedule within a week. SO-One nap down and one more to go for today!

I used to work as an ISP (In School Provider-or Individual Service Provider). I 'shadowed' a 1st grader around in school and made sure he was following directions, minding his manners and doing all the things a responsible 1st-ALMOST 2nd grader should be doing. I know that there REALLY are children when issues and baggage they are carrying around with them, may the case be their homelife, verbal or physical abuse, or real mental issues that have been diagnosed. BUT in the case of my little guy and ALOT of little kids it just boils down to having NO BOUNDRIES growing up. Its either do whatever they want, or just throw an ugly fit untill they get it! My monkey is a very sweet boy and his just happy as can be! But he is deffinetly not going to have a nanny that lets him get away with anything, or a nanny that picks him up everytime he even has the LOOK on his face, that he MIGHT make a peep or a fuss! I keep telling myself "Spoiling leads to Rotten, Rotten leads to ornery, Ornery leads to ISP!" I know that means im taking a job away from a potential counseling service employee, but thats the way its gunna be!

ANYWAYS, im going to go enjoy my first succesful nap without a bottle attempt and go clean! (WHat a way to celebrate huh?)

So i think that i might be the ONE bridesmaid ever in history to actually reused her dress! You know the same old sayings that every bride says to her 'maids in an attempt to help comfort them in buying a WAYover priced dress for a hour ceremony and MAYBE a 2 hour reception?... "OH AND ITS REALLY PRETTY, BUT NOT SO 'ONE TIME OCCASION-EY' SO YOU COULD WEAR IT AGAIN!" .............or "YOU COULD JUST TAKE UP THE HEM AND TURN IT INTO A SUN DRESS!" .........or "AND IT LOOKS SO GOOD THAT YOU COULD ALWAYS WEAR THIS AGAIN!" ...................AND THEN lets face it, what are the chances that you are in the top of the social ladder and get invited to balls and dances and big fancy black tie events to where you even have the chance to recycle the dress. ?. chances are slim, BUT even if you are - you arent going to wear that same dress to a fancy event like that cuz lets face it, if you are on top of the social food chain you are going to take your private jet to France and get some trillion dollar couture dress anyways right?. you wouldnt go to a party and then when someone askes you the famous line "WHO are you wearing?" pretty sure you would look like a big fat old idiot if you said "OH this old thing?... I was a bridesmaid back in '06" HAHA :) I am taking WAY to much time talking about this than what i intentionally came on here to write about!.....

ANYWAYS, what i did wanna talk about was how much fun i had last night! (krystals surprised to hear that becuase she talked to me when i was stressing out an hour before with horrible non-using blinker drivers and making food) It was all the more fun becuase like i said i got to wear a dress that i paid like 200 bucks for. Dressing up is always fun! i think im going to start doing that more often, maybe break ouy my wedding dress and hold that as my new standard for 'sundays best'.. you think?....?.

I have been going to a ladies bible study by Beth Moore on the book of Esther. A very sweet friend, Sheila has been hosting it at her house and we meet weekly there and do the video segment there and talk about the previous week and share.... It's been REALLY GOOD so far. Honestly though, the first 2 weeks were a little slow but after that it really picked up. And it's surprising to me that I've been learning alot more about 'me' than i thought i was going to since i was after all studying a book based around the life of these Jews in the Persian Empire. And as you know-or maybe you dont, I am infact NOT a Jew, and I dont really live under King Xerxes :) .....I missed 3 weeks in a row becuase we were on vacation and i was really starting to miss it and actually was starting to get mad at myself that i didnt really pursue and make time for it on our vacation more than i had, but it was all apart of Gods timing! There is NO WAY i would have understood what He had for me one day -which i was technically like 3 weeks late on learning, but in Gods time frame i was just where he wanted me! Im so glad i did this study! Im still not done and everytime i crack it open im gaining more and more wisdom and knowledge and insight to who God wants me to become. Ultimately He wants me to become more CHRIST LIKE, but im begining to see the way (HIS WAY) He wants me to take.

We had our last :( bible study meeting last Tuesday, and there were actually 2 or 3 other groups of ladies that were doing the same bible study as we were around the community, so the ladies that were heading each one up came up with the idea of getting together and throwing our own little "PURIM" feast/party. If you dont know what "PURIM" means or stands for, i DARE you to read the book of Esther and find out! :) ...(im going on a 'rabbit trail' as my Pastor would stay, BUT STAY WITH ME) .....I am 21 and newly married. At the point in my life where i start carving my own little niche in the world and start becoming an 'adult' (yikes). Most of my friends that i have grown up with since we were in 1st grade have been led to leave town and start their own adventures! I did my adventuring in Reno and then as a newlywed in North Carolina. When i came back it wasnt long before most of my friends had left. So for a while i was wondering "WHO am I going to talk to? WHO am i going to hang out with? HOW could i possibly make 'new friends' in a town that ive grown up in-dont i already know everyone already? Is it possible to make new friends at 21 and then if i do will it be the 'same' as my old friends? WAAAAAAAAAAAAA?????" Iam a SUPER Extrovert so this was important to me!

AND to my shock, I CAN have new friends! *!HIP-HIP-HORRAY FOR FRIENDS!* Alicia and I went together to our little PURIM party, and i had a lot of fun! I love just talking about whatever comes to mind whether its funny things, important things, things that are troubling us, or extremely random things with friends! And im glad that God has placed Alicia to be one of my new and close friends and that He has blessed our friendship already! Another thing that is nice is when your new friends are fellow believers in Christ! Monica and Alicia really are ture blessings to have as friends.Its so nice to have friends you can just call to talk and hang out with and get together to help serve others that need that extra boost of encouragement and do it all in Christs name!

For a while I think God was showing me who my 'true friends' were. I really started noticing that people who i thought were my close friends, really were only calling me to hang out as kind of a 'last resort' and that i was doing more favors for them then spending time with them. WHICH i need to clarify that im not saying 'i dont like to do things for and help people'. Because Its the exact opposite!!! I love serving others and showing them a small piece of Christs love for us by doing this, BUT there is a point where people begin to take advantage of it and take your friendship for granted. So as painful as it is when you loose friends, im just glad to see that i have a God that is there for me and has friends lined up for me before i knew i was ever going to need them!

So the PURIM party was neat to experience. and Alicia made a VERY GOOD POINT, There is a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD reason baptists arent charasmatic. Im not really sure that if baptists included dance as a part of worship during sunday services, God would know what to do with it!? HAHAHA :)

Monkey business

Because my little monkey boys nanny (me) is a complete dumdum and couldnt get her little dumdum brain on track with the time change like the rest of the world and had everything off and confused by and hour yesterday, his poor little baby monkey boy schedule is way off! He is usually down for his nap at 10ish. but it is now comming up on 11:30 and he is still not asleep. I KNOW he is tired, i can see it on his face and in his sad little tired monkey eyes, but he is so tired that he is not even tired anymore..... I can only handle so much crying and screaming in his protesting his nap time! when is it time to give up and let the little monkey win?... I've rocked him, fed him and then just let him fuss-it-out which usually works, but 45 mins later- it looks as if it isnt going to work this time... its been about an hour inahalf and he is not going down without a fight! goooooooooodness gracious!! and it looks like he has decided that we are just going to move on with a sour face for the rest of the day!....... oh dear. little monkies are such a handful sometimes..... and to think- i was thinking about finding a second monkey boy to watch. ???????????????!!!!

1John2:17

SO guess what? this is probably WAY TO MUCH INFO for most of you (i have no clue who reads this thing anyways) but so to my LUCKY SURPRISE today im getting dressed and GUESS WHAT!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! i have a BRAND NEW stretch mark on each side of my hips! You are jealous i know. ?????????????????????SERIOUSLY!????????????????????????? im 21 stinking years old, no baby, and its not like i am superly dooperly obese. Ive actually lost 30 pounds in one year and have managed to keep it all off! i eat healthy, i get exercise on a normal basis (im not running marathons or anything, but who really does?) and THIS IS WHAT I GET?!?!?!?!?!? this really is upsetting to me! what is going to happen to me when i have kids? im going to become a walking stretch mark! uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuug! SO in attempt to FIGHT BACK against the stupid stretchmark i go shopping for ALL HEALTHY food. Fresh everything! whole grain everything! reduced fat and fat free everything! and then GUESS WHAT!? i get to the STUPID register and see tripple digits that MAKE NO SENSE TO ME WHAT SO EVER!! I look at my bagged grocceries and saw WAY TOO LITTLE bags for the ammount i am paying! SO on top of getting a stretchmark for NO APPARENT REASON! i get to pay OUTRAGEOUS prices for no apparent reason, oh yeah except for that minor detail of the worlds economy going down the drain. So its either, GO BROKE trying to stay healthy, or save a little and be a WALKING TWINKIE WITH STRETCHMARKS!...................... It is a good thing that i am a Jesus loving, God fearing, bible believing kind of gal, or else im sure id be out there with the rest of everyone trying to convert my body to 'worldly trash' ... throwing up after dinner getting implants here and lypo there, not eating for days, and then bleaching my hair blonde after my botox appointment and buying modest clothes that ONLY show half my stomach and boobs and then scarf down my breakfast that consists of slimfast and diet pills. 1John 2:17 The world and its desires will pass away but the man who does the will of GOD lives forever. a memory verse we had our sunday school class memorize. a verse that helps me get through most days. and especially today!!!!!!

Thank you Christ for paying our price for taking all the hurt a man can have in one life and taking it with you to die on the cross. Thank you for suffering for all of the world even though you KNEW it wouldnt love you back. Thank you for enduring everything you went through, and thank you for loving us even though nobody deserves it!
'Thank you Lord for your indescribable gift!' 2 Corinthians 9:15

Putting things into perspective really helps too. im crying over a stretchmark while others are dealing with disease, sickness, cancer,deaths spiritual and physical and more............. being thankful for a loving God really does make the difference on days like today