Food for my soul!

This years Ladies Advance was wonderful and such a good time! Not only was it fun to visit with all the other women but we learned alot too! This years advance was up at a campground and we stayed in cabins which was fun!  I was able to bring Chloie and Cullen, the 2 middles stayed home with daddy! I was nervous to leave Myra since she still nurses, but she did fine....but was really happy to see me return!













When i get excited about the ladies advance (happens bout the time i get home from the previous years advance) i also get excited about the drive up to and returning from the advance. You see there is at least 2 hours of driving to the advance so that is some nice time to fellowship with whoever you ride with. This year my mother in law, Annette and a sister in Christ, Lindsay rode up with the kids and I. Our ride was great...especially the return trip....we got to reflect on the advance and also talk about our assembly and our hopes for pressing on to the Goal!!

I dont want to give away all the fun of the ladies advance...you have to be there to fully understand how amazing the time is. BUT I wanted to share a few of my favorite ladies I look forward to hearing from and talking to each year! All the speakers are wonderful and bring something new to us thru their messages, i appreciate all the hard work and time they put into sharing with us. There is nothing better than hearing scripture from ladies grey haired (mature, um silver lined or what did we agree on?) and younger moms.




I will start with a woman who helped bring my 3rd child into the world, Jennifer Icenogle. This woman is such a great example to me and she is always smiling and encouraging...how could you not want to be around her! I love to hear her opinion on things and just talk with her. She is INTERESTED in me and what i have to say, she makes me feel like i am important. Jen opened our advance this year with the scripture verse Better Things Concerning You - Hebrews 6:9-12 this is the verse our advance was based on, our theme. To be honest i didn't get to take notes thru her message....i have a certain 1yo who likes to be chatty and move around alot! But what she said was encouraging to me and helped get the scripture spinning in my head for the rest of the advance. (I suggest for anyone reading this who missed the advance to get the Cd's everything was recorded. This is how i will review what was said...with out an antsy baby on my lap!) Jen also led us in a song and it was wonderful to hear all the women SING!


Next is a Lady who i am always excited to see and wanting to spend more and more time with! Denya Jacobs!!!! She is so fun to be around and listen to! I was lucky enough to share a cabin with her and her sister plus their wonderful mom, who cracks me up! Love all 3 of these ladies! When i first moved to MT and we went to bozeman for anything Zac and I stayed with them....this was back when it was the 3 of us (chloie, Z and I) and i was always in awe at how she ran her house and was a FUN  mom to 3 cute kiddo's. She is a busy lady but always does the right thing....it shows thru her kids.  I was lucky enough to take a few notes from her message. She spoke about how to  Work in love towards HIS name. She reminded us to appreciate each other...sometimes there is a delay in this appreciation...also that God is in charge of our blessings and we are to be patient. In Galatians she pointed out that we must not lose heart or grow weary. I really liked this reminder to appreciate everyone in the assembly ...sometimes we forget how important it is when someone does the little jobs, but we all work together for the Glory of God and while we arent up preaching on sundays we are in the schools, cleaning the building and watching children. ALL are so important. Also she talked about finding someone to imitate. Find a person either in the bible or in your assembly who you would like to be like, imitate them...learn and grow from them! I like to pull from several ladies to imitate... :)

Lastly i am going to talk about a woman who gets me excited to teach my kids and i am always hopeful to hear how she does it!!! I am talking about Sarah Ashley!!! This friend is such an encouragement to me and gets me excited to teach my kids the word. I first heard her speak  at the billings ladies advance 2 years ago. I remember listening to her thinking YES, i want to do that, i can do that! She had one of her babes on her back in a moby, and i just remember thinking she was such a good mom to be able to do that! at this years advance she was able to teach a small class during free time on friday. I was lucky enough that Annette had Cullen so i could focus and take it all in.  She taught us how children think and learn at different levels. She showed us how to teach them the scripture and why its important. We know its important but to hear it again and again is always needed! I am excited to take the tools she has given me and run with them. Sarah, i think you need to do a blog on your awesome teaching skills. Your kids are lucky!!!




Ok if i go on about any more amazing ladies then this will be a small chapter book! There are several other ladies i enjoyed seeing and talking with...jenna mozingo, wendy nichols, trish wilson, misty danyo, sue shaefer, cari wilson, kim o'connell, and SO MANY more.

This years advance was a huge success for me personally. I took alot away from it and my head was so FULL of wonderful things. I am encouraged and ready to take on this year! I am also excited to be are part of the Great Falls ladies because we get to plan and host next years advance!

Our Kitchen got a Makeover!

So its one of those rooms that almost everyone wants to redo when they buy the house. Unless you get lucky and find an amazing one right of the bat. Which in our case we did not! Kitchens, they are a staple in the house...everyone gathers in there multiple times a day, to prepare meals (ok, this one is me), snack and get a quick drink! And when you are the one prepare most the meals for your wonderful family of 6 you spend alot of time there, or you probably should be. SOO i have longed for a different look on our kitchen for some time now.

Lets start back when we bought our wondeful home almost 4 years ago. I was so excited about having our own home to live in just before tyler was born i could care less about the counter tops in the kitchen (or bathroom, hello BLUE!) But once the new house feel wears off, you start to get bugged by the little things. Now i am very thankful for my home and a working kitchen. But YELLOW, mustard YELLOW is not a color you want your counters...yuck! I mean i could have went w/ the 70's retro theme and put in black/white checker tile and a nice shiney red refrigerator BUT that was pretty pricey and i dont think the hubs would have loved it ;)

Here is the kitchen when we moved in...not that bad right??

Well Z knew it bugged me and there was no way we could afford new counters...we just bought a house ...so in reality we wont be able to afford really anything for a long while ...even now! So while i was back in Michigan on a visit my sweet hubs decided to paint the counters for me (yes they make counter top paint, who knew!) So i came home to new counters (to me anyways!) i loved it :)

Anyways we were wanting to paint the kitchen after we painted the dining room ( Jan '12) so they flowed well together... we debated actually removing the old counter tops. BUT the cost was absolutely not affordable. So we decided to be patient and wait... Then Z's aunt and uncle wanted to give us their old counter tops if they would fit into our space....i am so thankful for how generous they are. So Lonnie put the tops in....once they were in we agreed to stain our cabinets darker to make every thing look better.

So Z sanded and i stained and top coated everything....whew, wont do that again...wowza! Once everything was back in place we replaced the hardware on everything. And then i painted....

Onto the Before and After pics!

I still need to sew new curtains and add a few finishing touches. BUT i am loving our new kitchen and i am proud that i was able to do alot of it! We worked hard!

Family of Kettlebells!

Getting Fit! I love supporting my husband in things he wants to do for himself, his family and God. So when Z wanted to become a personal trainer I  wanted to be behind him in his journey. I wanted him to do something he was passionate about, be excited about and to excel in. Personal training has been a joy for our whole family. We are learning to get fit together and having lots of FUN.

Not only is Z certified as a Personal Trainer, but he is an Hkc (Hardstyle Kettlebell Certified) This means he knows his stuff on kettlebells, NOT to be confused w/ KettleBALLS....which they get called often, makes me giggle. Anyways once he got his certification things have taken off with his training and I am really proud of him!

So onto our family of kettlebells we will start w/ the littlest of the crew....CULLEN! This boy may not know how to swing a kettlebell yet but he sure is interested in them. If Zac leaves them out he likes to stand up to them and jump/bounce up and down laughing. Or he will crawl into a pile of them and sit happy as can be, surrounded by these wonderful iron playtoys!
(here he is up to 2 35# kb and behind him are the 2 53# kb's)

Next up is our Myra girl or as some call her "ruff tuff" (ahem papa rick!) The nickname is such a perfect fit for her. She will "swing" anything she pretends chloies rain boots are a KB and will squat and swing between her legs..or the other day i found her swinging the puzzle rack between her little legs! That girl! She also has a song all about kettlebells, its adorable and everyone needs to hear it! Its catchy....Kettlbell Kettlbell kettlbell...well you get the point ;) She has her own little 3# kb and its adorable! She can swing bigger, but we don't need her running around w/ a heavier "weapon" LOL

Myra and her 3# kb (which her uncle nathan proudly has this same size kb!)

And of course we have daddy's boy, Tyler! This boy has his own 5lb kettlebell. He is very proud of knowing how to swing and i think he even knows how to press it! When his uncle Jeremy and uncle Nathan were chatting in the "workout room" he NEEDED to go in and show them how to swing....hey his dad is an Hkc....he knows his stuff! He will swing it a few times then sigh/set it down and say "i need a break!" and then he goes back at it! He is just like his dad for sure!

This is Tyler last summer swinging his KB ( i need an updated one!) And a sweet handstand that i had to post too!

And our future Iron Maiden, Chloie ! This girl when focusing can really do a great workout. Z is careful to teach her how/why and what to do. She is clearly going to be a Girl Gone Strong! She has a 10lb KB but it is clearly not enough weight to swing anymore. Its perfect for presses and the snatch (which she still is learning). Chloie can also dead lift daddy's big boy the 53lb kb! She is determined to lift/swing/press these kb's just how Z has taught her. He is always right by her making sure she is being safe, such a good daddy!

Here is Chloie swinging last summer w/ her 10lb kb and dead lifting the 53# kb

And it wouldn't be a kettlebell family if there wasn't a mama!!! Yes i absolutely LOVE training w/ kb's. I love the fact that Z can correct me/help me and teach me right from my living room. I started out w/ just doing the swing with a 15lb kb...i now swing with a 35# kb and have even dabbled with the big boy the 53#kb...I press the 15lb and squat w/ the 15lb kb. I am getting stronger and I find lifting the car seat AND Myra at the same time is getting easier. So is lifting my almost 4yo son. I can lift him w/ ease. This mom has never been very strong but i am getting there! I have some great people inspiring me to be a stronger woman, kettlebell strong! Adrienne Harvey with Girya Girl is an amazing show of a strong woman, thank you for showing how a woman can be STRONG! And of course, thank you Z <3 You are an amazing trainer!!! Maybe one day we will be a KB training TEAM!

So there you have it the Zech family of Kettlebells!  I love training w/ my family! Also i should add that Zacs brother, sister and parents all know how to swing a Kb too! My SIL and BIL train weekly with us. Its wonderful to train with your family! I love knowing and trusting that Z will teach us how to be strong mentally, physically and spiritually! We will grow together and stay fit together!

Family Closet UPDATE!

If you missed our blog on our new Family Closet, go here and catch up ;)

Now that you know about our weekend project, the family closet we can go on. It has been almost 2 weeks and so far i am loving our new set up. And i actually just today finished organizing the kid's bedrooms since we now have more space to work with!

The laundry that holds down the couch is rarely there, and the hangers arent getting out of control around the house...yet! We have a pretty good system on getting ready for bed. And going up/downs stairs for your outfits is not a bad thing ;) Move it Move it MOVE IT! I actually enjoy folding/hanging laundry since i know i can hang it up and it will look at nice and neat once again! I am acutally doing laundry more consistantly and havent had the dreaded PILE up after a week or so!

Now onto the childrens rooms! Cullen and Myra share a room and they both are in cribs. We also have a changing table and used to have 2 dressers (can you say cramped!). Now the room is much more open and less "stuff" in there.  I am using the closet to hang up clothes the children (all) will grow into this summer. I will rotate down into the family closet once they fit. I also have 4 sterilite totes that the stuff they grow OUT of can go into. So we can pass down to the next sibling.

And just because she is so cute, miss Myra supposed to be asleep in her crib (yeah right! she never takes naps, just plays for 2 hrs in there!)

And onto the Big Kid's room! They have a nice bunkbed set that we got from WALMART, cheapest i could find and such a great price! Love it, sturdy and looks nice too. We kept the dresser in this room since it is such a nice dresser. Everyones pajama's go in this dresser. I think i have a drawer just for superhero gear too....HEY! i am the mom of superman/green lantern/Batman/Spiderman and even Wonderwoman. So they need their space too! Anyways this opened up a bunch of space in Chloie's closet! I put all the bags/blankets and extra sheets in those handy totes uptop. Thank you Micheals 70% off clearance! It just looks better when its organized i think! I moved their bookself into the closet to open up the room more. Also in the closet is her barbie doll house and barbie toys. I dont allow those in the playroom since they have small peices. All other toys are in our lovely playroom!

And there you have it! Our end result! I love it and hope the kids and I can keep up our great work on being organized and clutter free! I cannot wait until our mega garage sale this spring!!!!!!!!

I am loving how it is so far, thats not to say things cant change...if i find a way to make things easier...i am going to go for it! It works great for now! Thanks Z for supporting my crazy ideas!

Weekend Project

So last week while browsing around online (instead of doing laundry) i stumbled upon someones facebook post that talked about a Family Closet. Hmm.....what is that? So i typed up in my swag bucks search bar "family closet idea's" and BAM i got a ton of hits .....from moms that have done this...and they blogged about it. This POST HERE was such an inspiration to me and started my brainstorming process. I mean it is so smart!!! Why hadnt i thought of that?

A family closet is where you have all of your clothes in one room, not spread around the house in different rooms. And the best part you can make it ANY room you want to. If you have an extra room not being used or can re arrange to make part of a room open enough to build your dream Family Closet then DO IT! I didnt have an extra room ( with 4 kids HA!) sooo i went with another options that many moms have done. I decided to build my Family Closet in the laundry room! Zac and I have it split up i get the laundry side and he has a gym on his side. Well i had a table full of sewing stuff that i havent used in over 1 year, almost 2 years....(where to find the time!) So i went thru it all and cleared out a space. 

Now i first thought about building different shelfs and such and having hanging racks. I even went and talked w/ someone at Once Upon A Child to see if i could buy one of thier Z racks. Then went over to target to see what they had, love target! I found a small "z-rack" for MUCH cheaper, smaller, but thats ok. I used this for my lower pole and had Z install a bar from the celinig for the top rack of clothes. 

I decided to move Cullens whole dresser into the laundry room and keep all of his things in there...too little to hang up. And for the older 3 children i decided to hang everything except for pants/shorts and pajama's. We are keeping pajama's in a dresser upstairs where we get ready for bed. The boxes on top of the dressers are for each kid and contain thier socks/tights and unders.

And i didnt have near enough hangers so i had to go to shopko and buy over 100 hangers! Good thing they were 55% off :) This was after i bought the Salvation Army out of all thier hangers :) This will be so nice to just grab a hanger and hang up instead of folding, shoving into a basket and then taking upstairs to each room and putting away (sounds exhausting, doesnt it!). 

I am keeping all my stuff in my room still since i have a nice dresser and dont need the closet space for anything else. Zac already keeps his stuff down here in the laundry room, just on his side of the laundry room.

Here is my finished "Family Closet" i hope it inspires you! I sure love the idea of not keeping the couch weighted down by laundry and stuff being organized and put away. My hope is too keep the clutter down in the childrens room and have less "stuff" around. And who like actually "taking care" of laundry... not me, thats why it stays in a basket or the couch for some # of days ( we dont need to say how many!) Also this cost under $50 since all we needed to buy was the bottom rack and the hardware to hang a wooden pole.

Hope this inspires some to make a change that will simplify things!

We have a BLOG!

Welcome to our family blog! 

I would like to let you all know what i have planned for my blog. Of course i will have updates on Zac and I. And what everyone wants to read about....the KIDS. Lots of post about them i am sure. I also will include some on family fitness (this mostly will come from Z). 

Sometimes i may write about things that are close to my heart. Things that effect my family...and straight up funny things too! I sometimes write about things that may offend or make people mad. That is not my intention and if you have made decisions for your family, thats great...i have the right to do so for mine as well! We all live and learn what we can.

I hope everyone who visits our blog will love it as much as we like sharing!