And just when you thought Thanksgiving would never come!

This past Saturday night, Orie, Katie and I drug out all of the Christmas stuff and turned on the Christmas music on the tv and got busy. We set up the Christmas tree, put the lights on. Okay, so, I thought I'd start the lights at the top and work my way down. Four strands of lights later we're at the bottom of the tree and Orie went to plug the tree in and he attempted to use the female end of the lights in the socket. Okay, give the lady a break here! Soooooooo, Orie unwrapped the lights off of the tree to the very last strand and he found my mistake. We had to redo putting the lights on. The tree turned out gorgeous.





After decorating the tree, we proceeded to go outside, and decorate the door, the railings up the stairs, the master bedroom, the master bathroom, Katie's bathroom and the living room. Awww it looks so festive around here.





Once all of that was done, Katie and I sat down and made Christmas cookies. We made peanut butter kiss cookies, haystacks, sugar cookies and candy cane candy. We are going to be making more this weekend too. Nothing is better than the house smelling like baking sugar cookies and other goodies.

Here are a few pictures from around the house.

Here is the corner of the master bedroom, see even the bears get in the festive mood.

Here is one side of the tree closest to the kitchen. Mr. Snowman is guarding the tree and presents.

Buddie got into the act too!

Out on the porch the faces our stairs.

Here is the kitchen and dining room area.

How cute is that?!

My sampling of snowmen.

So there ya have it folks. I'll be posting more pictures later too.

God bless

Cyndi

Well....we're in Vegas

On Novmeber 19th we loaded up the UHaul with the help of wonderful friends from church. It was loaded in no time. It was loaded in there soo good that nothing shifted even in the ride down here. Spent Friday night at the Hopper's house cuz everything else was packed and ready to go. It was really nice spending time with their family and having a soft bed to sleep on instead of the hard floor in a sleeping bag. Saturday morning we headed out early and we got here to Vegas there were 4 guys from Calvary Chapel Lone Mountain waiting at the condo to help us with the unloading of the truck on a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon. Janeen, Orie's mom came down from Salt Lake City on Friday to help with all of the activities, because just a few days before that, I got my ug boot off. Dr said, my reinjury rate is really high the first 6-8 months. He also said to take it easy, meaning no heavy lifting, bending at the waist or long periods of walking or standing. Well, that kinda shoots the whole moving adventure to heck now doesn't it! lol Anyway, Janeen was amazing and so were all of the other helpful hands. Thank you!

The house is all decorated and company ready. The majority of the boxes are emptied or stored away. We're looking forward now for Christmas. Haven't gotten the tree up yet, hoping to do that this weekend.

Here is our new address if you didn't get it before.

The Goudge's
10620 W Alexander Road
Unit 240
Las Vegas, NV 89129

If you're ever down our way, please stop by and say HI!

Pictures to come!

Cyndi

Getting closer to "M" day

The boxes are getting packed, the house is looking more bare and hallow and we're eating off of paper plates and plastic silverware. Just a couple of more days, till we start the new chapter in "The Goudge Chronicles." I am personally looking forward to the move, however, it's the packing of the lifetime of the past that is hard. So, if you get a minute on Friday or Saturday say a prayer for us as we start this new journey.

I will post pictures of the new condo and the move when our internet is up and running.

Here is our new address:
10620 W Alexander Road
Unite 240
Las Vegas, NV 89129

Our phone numbers will all remain the same.

Gotta get busy and pack.

Love you all,

Cyndi

when God made you

I love you, Babe.

Happy 10th Anniversary

To the Love of My Life

Ten years ago today, I stood before a church full of people and God and commited my life to you. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I thought I loved you that day, but I never knew that I could love you even more, but I do. God knew that I needed you and when He gave me you, my life was made complete.

It has been an adventure ever since.

We've.....
- grown as a couple in the Lord
- moved from Wisconsin to Utah
- changed careers (a couple of times)
- served the Lord in and out of church
- adopted a daughter
- are moving from Utah to Las Vegas
- replied on one another
- have had good times and bad times
- never stopped loving one another

Babe, I would go anywhere with you, to the ends to of the earth if you asked me too. You've been my knight in shining armor, my angel in the night, the love of my life and I couldn't have asked for one thing more in you. You bring out the good in me, and I love you with all of my being.

I am looking forward to many more fun-filled and adventurous years to come.

I love you, Babe

XOXOX

Your loving wife
Cyndi

It's Vegas, Baby!

Well, we made it official a few days ago, but we will be moving to Las Vegas mid November, early December. Why Las Vegas you ask? Well, the company that Orie works for is in Vegas. They opened on off sight operation about three years ago in St. George. That is where Orie started a little over two years ago. The company has bought another building and wants to bring everything back in house. As of December 15, 2010 the St George operation will be closed and the new building in Las Vegas will be ready. Shift 4 has offered to move anyone who wants to move to Las Vegas. So, it is with much prayer and seeking Godly counsel that we have decided to move. The company is paying our moving expenses, and also giving Orie a pay raise for his commitment to Shift 4. The company is growing and in today's economy job stability and security is important.

Shift 4 is located in North Las Vegas and that is where we are planning to settle down. The view of the Strip will be like the mountain horizon...we won't be close. The area that we are looking at is like living in St. George with malls, grocery stores, transporation everything real close. We are plannng on getting a 3 bedroom home, as I know we will have company! lol

Katie is coming with us, so not only do we have to look for a place to live, but finding a good school for her too is top priority! She is a bit unnerved about the move like the rest of us are, but she'll do great. She's a great kid, with a sparkling personality and she attacts friends easily.

This weekend we are headed to Vegas to get a house, that way I can start packing and knowing what I'm doing and where I'm living will ease my mind.

Okay, will post more when I know more!

Love,

Cyndi

Quiet Saturday

Orie is at a Men's Conference at church all day, Katie is working on school work and well, I'm surfing the web and catching up on the latest world and local news. The house is clean, the laundry is done, I've made my meal plans for the week and well...I can't think of anything else that is pressing that needs to get done. So, decided to jump on my blog and share my bordom you. ha ha

Last night, while Orie was at the Men's conference, I worked on a New Believer's brochure that goes in the New Believer's Bible that is given to people when they make a decision for Christ. I think it turned out pretty neat. I came up with four different designs and I'm looking forward to giving it to the pastors for some feedback. It's kinda weird, we have been going to Calvary Chapel for about a year now, and Orie and I have just been sitting in the pew on Sunday and Wednesdays enjoying being fed. It wasn't until a month ago that God led me to help on the Wednesday night Children's Ministry. It is truly a blessing to see the kiddos in grades 1-3 learning about God and His wonderful love for them. Of course, my first week there, I sat down and asked for prayer requests and one boy looked me straight in the eye and said we need to pray that God heals your foot. How sweet is that?! So we did along with a few of the other requests that were listed. Orie is helping out now with the computers at church as well. He said they are "behind" in technology and with a few minor adjustments they will be up par in no time. He's also interested in learning and doing the streaming video that is live on the internet on Sundays as well. He really was blessed by the fact that while I was up in Salt Lake City caring for his grandparents that I could be part of the service online while he was sitting in the service in St. George. I think that is soo awesome that he wants to do that.

Well, it's nearly 2pm and I'm sitting here in my jammies. Time to hit the shower and become productive. Thinking I may just have to bring out the scrapbookin' stuff and get busy on it. It has been ages since the last time I've worked on it.

Thanks for listening, have a great day! God bless

Cyndi

Triple "G" in the House

Triple "G" is Great Grandma Goudge came down on the St. George Shuttle on Thursday afternoon for a visit. We had the best of times of course, I had the camera, but never thought of takin' a picture till it was too late.

We went out for pizza, played games, watched movies and just relaxed. This past weekend the St. George Marathon was run, so driving around town was less than crowded.

We taught Gma how to play Mexican Train and Toss Up. We snacked ourselves silly that night too.

Triple G left on Monday, October 5, but guaranteed she'd be coming back soon.

Thanks for coming down Grandma, we loved having you here.

Katie's Sophomore Picture

Our precious daughter, Katie.

Katie's 2010 Tuacahn Homecoming

A couple of family shots before we left and took her to her Homecoming 2010

Now here is a beautiful young lady!

Showing a little attitude

She's a pretty as a model

Let the preparation for Homecoming 2010 begin

2 hours before

A little extra free time.

Now that I'm not a mobile as I would like, I've been picking up some of crafts. I started this afghan a few months ago from scrap yarn that my mother-in-law gave me. I didn't have a pattern, so I made one up as I went along. I finally finished it this week. I think it turned out pretty good.

Okay, so I post the pictures of it on facebook, and now I have like 3 orders for them. LOL We'll see....

Janeen living it up in St. George

Here we are in Pine Valley. Janeen loved it up there, it was soo peaceful.

Friday - Janeen arrived and we headed to Pirate Island Pizza. It was a great place to go as she loved the decor and also the pizza was delish! After we got home, we watched Bedtime Stories and laughed our heads off at Jeff Dunham. It was a late night....bed was at 3am

Saturday - Needless to say, slept in for a bit. Then we headed to Pine Valley to show her the beauty in our own backyard. Took quite a few pictures there. After that, headed to a BBQ over at the Blevins log home! What a wonderful treat that was. Headed home late and everyone but me stayed up late and watched tv. I'm no night owl!

Sunday - We went to church then headed home. Janeen and I ate Vietnamese homemade soup while Katie and Orie feasted on Del Taco. We hung around the house and then took a drive for Janeen to get a Sonic slushie....cranberry slushie! When we got home, we played games, snacked ourselves silly till the wee hours of the morning.

Monday - after our 4 am bedtime we slept in till 9. Janeen packed, I made brownies and I was in the mood for them and we vegged. Katie made a delish breakfast of fresh blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs. What a wonderful way to start the day. Showered and got dressed just in time to take Janeen to the shuttle and off she went.

There was a breakthru...I created a facebook account for Janeen on Saturday, so she was always wanting to check to see what everyone was saying and doing. Hopefully I didnt create a monster!

We really had a great time while she was here.

Guess who's comin' for the weekend?

Janeen is finally taking the St. George Shuttle and coming to visit! She will be here on Friday at 6:30pm and will be leaving on Monday afternoon. We are all soo excited. The house needs to be polished and cleaned. Sooo looking forward to a nice visit. We have lotsa stuff to do, places to go, people to see and lotsa food to eat! lol

Will post pictures of our fun adventures...so stay tuned!

Good News

Yesterday I went and saw Dr. Millward and he checked out my achilles tendon and ankle and said it was healing nicely. He wants to see me in a month, so that means I don't have to have surgery. So, my appt is scheduled for next month and we'll see what he has to say.

Praise God for answered prayers.

Katie's First Day of Tuacahn

Katie was up at the crack of dawn, showered, dressed and ready to go to school. As she calls Tuacahn her "Dream School".

She got home that day and talked non-stop for an hour about her teachers, and new friends that she'd met! We're totally excited to see where God leads our little lady. She is such a blessing and we love her to death.

We'll let you know when she's in a school production, she'd love to have the support of family and friends.

At the school, here is a dress code, everyone wears the same shirt and khaki pants and the shoes are your choice. Check out Katie's zebra striped shoes! She's sportin' a look, that's for sure!

08/14/10 Tore Achilles Tendon

As I told you in an earlier post, I tore my achilles tendon. I've been on crutches and have had use an ugly, black boot. I asked the Dr if the boot came in pink and he said not they chose black cuz it goes with everything! lol

There are days when it's really painful, achy and just plain uncomfortable. Then there are days, when I feel like I don't need to use my crutches and end up hurting more in the evening.

I started a new Bible study yesterday and it's on pleasing God. I was soo blessed by the first chapter! As I read it and thought about it, tears began to stream down my face as I realized, the way that I react to this achilles tendon circumstance will also bring pleasure to the Lord. The name of the book is called "Pleasing God" by Kay Smith. Here is a quote that really touched my heart yesterday. "When we live to please God, we might find ourselves in troubling circumstances and we might be very grieved in Spirit, but inside we'll have a joy that nothing else in this world can bring." Do I hear an amen?! In any situation, we are to give glory, honor and praise...Rev 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." So this is where I am wit the whole thing...God is in control. I just need to hold on for the ride!

Well, I did it good.

This last Saturday, Orie, Katie and I were outside pulling weeds in the backyard. I was doing the clean-up when I kinda hopped across a muddy part. Well, it was softer than I thought and I hyperextended my ankle/heel. The pain was terrible and I knew I had done something bad to it. I came in the house, and Orie took me to the instacare. The Dr there said it was a mess and he recommended a sports medicine dr to look at it. So, yesterday, Tuesday, August 17, I went to see Dr Millward, he pushed and pulled on it and gave me some recommendations of what to do. At first he was going to cast it, and change the casts every 2 weeks and this would have been an 8 wk process. He however said he had a gut feeling and went and got the ultrasound machine. While viewing it, it said it didn't look too bad, and that made me happy. Then he started moving my foot around and said, oh no...it's completely torn! Dr Millward said there are really only 2 options, one is to have my foot in a boot 24/7 for 12 wks or have surgery. I don't have insurance, so we'd end up having to pay it all outta pocket, with money we don't have. I am applying for financial assistance with the hospital to see what we can do to work out something. I'm praying for a miracle healing so that I won't be stuck in a boot for 12 wks or won't need surgery. I'll keep you posted on what's going to be happening with me.

Another Priceless Date Night

After eating dinner, Orie got out the metal detector and we went treasure hunting. We went to a couple of parks, one of them had a sand volleyball court, so we combed it for a treasure. It was my turn and the detector started going off. I had Orie come with the shovel and dig it up. It was our car keys....Orie buried them to see if I'd find them! I did! HA I got excited there for a minute!! When we were done there, we went to another park that is a huge soccer field, thinking someone might have lost something there...we found lotsa metal beer and soda tops, but that's about it. Orie and Katie found a pipe, didn't wanna dig up the sprinkler system! lol After being out in the heat and the sun, we stopped and got ourselves a cold drink and went home. It was a good night!

Friday Date - Priceless

Orie and I paced up a light lunch and headed to Pine Valley for a picnic. Katie was suppose to come with us, but at the last minute decided to stay and visit with her grandma who was here visiting from out of state.

We took the opportunity of the beautiful landscape to take a few pictures.

Eating lunch by the babbling brook.

I'm no Cindy Crawford that's for sure...

Here's the Love of My Life....he's soo HOT!

Nothing better that brats cooked on an open fire....

What?

Alvin the chipmunk came and shared some of my Cheetos!

A little taste of heaven!

Our picnic area....

Here is a video Orie took during the hail storm.

It hailed in St George....

On Friday, it was nice and sunny all day, it was close to when Orie came home the wind started to blow. Then it started to rain then I heard ping, ping, ping and I thought the wind was picking up rocks and they were hitting my windows. Surprise, it wasn't rocks, it was hail!!

This is the backyard, look at all of hail by the firepit!

It rained and rained....
The gutter couldn't keep up with the rain, so it flooded over the sidewalk along with a ton of my landscaping rocks!

Couldn't believe it...then the humidity set in. I have realized I really like the desert and the dry heat.

Sunday, the day of rest

Went to church this morning, what a blessing I received from Pastor Dustin. Orie decided to make lunch at Subway and we went home. Okay, so we were at Wally World and Orie went back into the electronics department and picked up MarioCart for the Wii. So, when we got home, I took a comfortable seat and the racing began. Me against Orie, the seasoned gamer. I came in last or almost last every time, but it's a fun game even for the least seasoned gamer.

Now that I've raced, I'm pooped! The Lord was right on when He rested on the seventh day. Gonna go change into something comfy and take the rest of the day off.

This and that...

We got a call from Katie, she and the group made it safely to their destination. Praise God! It was a 24 hour trek to White Fish, Montana. We're praying for a revival in the hearts of the teens that went and for the kiddos that they work with to find Jesus as their personal Friend.

Last night, (Monday) I made steak kabobs and a nice big salad for dinner. We were just finishing up and Orie swallowed his last piece of steak and it got lodged in his esophagus. He tried for about 40 minutes to see if it would go down, but to no avail. I drove him to the ER where they called the endocrinologist in and he took it out. Okay, not just one piece, but 3 large pieces of steak. Needless to say, Orie is rather sore today and his throat hurts. Many of you don't know, but Orie has a disease and it's called eosinophilic esophagitis. You can go on webmd and read about it. Orie found out about 3 years ago that he is allergic to chicken, rice, turkey and eggs, so we've had to make some huge changes in the way we eat around the Goudge household. We have been eating quite a bit of fish, pork, lamb, beef and vegetarian. He now has to go routinely to get his esophagus stretched to prevent him from choking. He was actually due to be stretched again this month...like clock work I guess.

I guess I'd better go and start something for supper, thinking about meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans. I loved that meal in high school...lol

And she's off

I got up at 6:30 this am to make sure Katie was up....sure enough! Got to the church by 7:30 am, and the vans were ready. Katie jumped outta the car, got her stuff outta the trunk and gave me a huge hug goodbye as if to say, mom you can leave now. I stuck around for a few extra minutes to make sure I had all of the proper paperwork signed and such. I think maybe Katie wanted me to go, cuz I was still in my jammies in the church parking lot. I wasn't the only one in my jammies mind you, but Katie quickly put her bags where they were going to get packed and I was just uncool! lol I came home and attempted to lay down, but was too amped, so got up on the computer and just vegged with Becca for a while before I needed to jump in the shower and get ready for church.

Saturday afternoon, Becca and Bryan came over for the weekend. Becca is Katie's bff. They were up soo late, Orie finally closed the party down at 2 am this morning! After Katie left, Becca and Bryan came to church with us, and their folks came and got them in the afternoon. Now it's just Orie and I, wow it's quiet around the Goudge household. Even Sadie is walkin' around lookin' for something exciting to do! lol

I'm keeping my right foot up as I tweaked my ankle on Thursday in Vegas...I'm a klutz I know! Was in Vegas visiting with some dear friends that I haven't seen since before I was married. Oh it was soo much fun walking down memory lane!

Katie's Mission's Trip

Katie leaves in four days to go to White Fish, Montana for a missions trip. She leaves early Sunday morning and will be back on the third of August. She is going with our church youth group. They will be learning how to disciple and then the following week, they will be assisting at a vacation Bible School. Katie is excited, as well as nervous. I can't wait for her to get back and tell us all about it.

We are soo proud of her, she has worked hard to raise all of her support to go, and her spending money too.

Prayers for safe travel to and from and that many lives would be touched as a result.

Sunday is the day of rest!

It was quite a long day yesterday, had a baby shower to go to, then dinner and fun with friends. Got home late and then was up early to get ready for church. Church was amazing today as usual, the worship and then Pastor Rick's message. We're going through the book of Mark right now, and was talking about Peter when Jesus asked him who to men say I am. The Jesus asked more personal, who do you say I am...and he replied, You are the Christ. Good stuff Maynard.

Got home to the COOL HOUSE it was 111 degrees outside when we got home from church. I went and laid down and took a nice nap and watched tv. Looking forward to a quiet night at home with the fam.

109 outside

It's soo hot outside, and I decided to go grocery shopping. I was fine walking around shopping, didn't sweat a bit. However, when it came to checking out that was a different story! The doors to the place are wide open and it feels like I'm entering well H-E- Double hockey sticks. By the time I've unloaded my cart to be scanned, I'm a sweaty mess and the clerk looks at me with sweat dripping off her brow and says..."It's a hot one today." hmmmm Was it my red face? The hair sticking to my forehead? or my melted mascra that gave her a clue I was slowly cooking to death! lol I agreed. I had gotten myself a couple of cold Diet Cokes, so after she rang up the cold beverages, I handed one to her and said this is on me! She opened it up and we toasted our cold Diet Cokes! ahhhh

Note to self: Grocery shopping early in the am or in the evening! NO MORE AFTERNOON SHOPPING FOR CYNDI!

Our Katie

In January 2010, Katie (the one on the right) came to live with us. We are in the process of making her a forever Goudge.

Katie is a nice mix of Orie and I and we have a blast together. She has a great sense of humor and a smile that lights up the room, of course she is 15 so they come and go! lol

The Orie vs The Facebook

Well, Orie had had enough of facebook, so he deactivated his account about 2 weeks ago. After some discussion, he has reconsidered his decision and activated it again. I'll keep you posted....lol

Thought I'd try something new.

We have family all over the country, so decided to start a blog where everyone can come and see that is happening in our everyday lives. Welcome!