Skilbred Photos

Good time to get pictures when we are all together. It doesn't happen too often.






All the cousins, except one. We are missing Kayla.

Cousin Time in Wisconsin

As always, the cousins have a great time when they get together.

In Memory of George Skilbred (Grandpa/Dad)

We will miss you Grandpa/Dad. You left us a good stable example to follow.

Making Cookies at the Flour Garden

And again another field trip. The preschool went to the local restaurant, and decorated cookies and drank hot chocolate. Was fun to watch that as much icing went onto the cookies, went into some of their tummys :)




Kylees creations.

Christmas Program at Preschool

Field Trip time again! Kylees preschool went to the local nursing home and sang a few Christmas Carols for the old folks. Fun times!


Shaking bells and singing Jingle Bells


"Up on the Housetop"

Interesting Bees Nest

Scott found this bees nest up in our attic. It was very cold up there, so the bees were hibernating. Was fun to pull it apart and check it out. It stunk really bad though!! The top layers were tissue paper thin, the inside was so hard you couldn't cut through it!

Our First Winter Storm

We have been very lucky so far this winter. We only had a few flurries in the air until about the middle of December. This was our first snow. Wasn't alot of snow, but it was the heavy wet kind and was beautiful!! The poor trees were weighted to the ground! We did have a few break right off. I actually had to shake the one branch off to get my truck out that day.

Christmas Tree for the Preschool

Another field trip day. Kylee's class went to a local Christmas Tree Farm to pick out a tree for the preschool. They then made crafts to decorate the tree.

Wow, Its time to catch up!!

I guess it must have been a busy month! I was reminded yesterday by someone who frequently checks my blog, that there has been nothing new for a while (smile), so its time!!!

We have just had wonderful visits and special meeting last night. Glad for the reminder again of whats most important and to spend our time on those things and have a deep hunger for those things and do them with love and with the right spirit. Everything else all ends with death.

The next few posts will summarize what happened in the last month.

Hope everyone has a healthy, happy 2010!!

A couple of house pictures

Amazing what a little stain or paint and a little TLC will do!! Will post more of the inside later, as we get the rooms done. The kitchen is all done, except I need to paint the ceiling, and we need to get a light fixture. The first pictures were taken the day we bought the house. I enjoy painting, so I could see the possiblities :)

Border Patrol position looking bleak ... far in the future now

This past week, we found out on the forum that we are watching that the border patrol position Scott is waiting for is looking like its far in the future now. They have slowed way down on the hiring - they are only replacing those who retire or quit and because of the economy, people are hanging onto their jobs as long as they can.
I will attach a portion of the posting that we read to give you more details. It is written by a bp agent named Ray, who is involved with the hiring process. Scott is one of those 2500 people he mentions whose files are sitting on his desk - Scotts TSU (accepted) date is Aug 27th.

And the other news is.. at Kalitta, they are doing layoffs again in January :( Like last time, we probably won't know til the day of layoff how many or who is going. Life is so unstable, so glad we have something more than this life to look forward too!


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Reducing the number of classes for this Fiscal Year.

A determination has been made and the classes that were on the training schedule for the 2nd quarter of this Fiscal Year (January thru March) will be reduced.

The reason for this is because we are not loosing people from the service like we have in the past. I think it is safe to say that the state of the economy has something to do with this.

The mandate or emphasis for the next few classes will be Northern Border. Those of you that applied under the Northern Border Announcement will be offered anywhere along the Northern Border. The positions we have to fill are far and few between. We have met the numbers for several of the locations on the Northern Border so when someone asks to be deferred for the 90 days don’t be surprised if and when you get another call and it’s NOT your area of preference. Since we are only filling attrition positions, we need people to leave the position for us to backfill it. It’s not happening! You may want to think twice about being deferred for 90 days. If you have a good job it can’t hurt. If you need a job I would take the offer on the table.

Just to remind people that applied for the Southwest Border you cannot change to the Northern Border. You are on a certificate that will only allow us to place you somewhere along the Southwest Border.

Things can change rapidly. I have been in this position too long and am nervous about where we will be going with offers. I want my staff and I to advise people of their options when we talk with them and hope they understand that the advice is based on what we currently know. The US Government has budget issues. This can trickle down to the point we don’t hire anymore because we have exceeded the budget for this Fiscal Year which explains why the number of classes have been reduced and the number of people we will schedule into a class has been reduced.

As it stands we have people that reached our area in late May that we haven’t been able to place. When we are given the Southwest Border for placement these will be the first people we call. You can figure this out if you reached us after May the time frame will be longer yet. If we told you it could be 4 to 6 months before you get a call, you can add another 4 to 6 months to that. I have over 2500 people cleared and sitting on my desk for the Southwest Border. Please understand we appreciate your patience.

I cannot stress enough that you need to take care of yourself and your family. You cannot be waiting around for us to call. Please go on with your life. IF and WHEN we call please let us know your situation and we will do our best to work with you. I just don’t want people waiting for us to make the move. It won’t benefit you or your family.

Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies - Gluten Free

We also tried this recipe a few weeks ago, and its on the keeper list :)

3/4 c margarine
1 1/4 c b. sugar; packed
1/4 c w. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c gluten free flour mix (I used the featherlite mix)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp b. powder
1 tsp b.soda
1 tsp xantham gum
1 1/2 chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir until blended by hand. Stir in chips. Bake @ 375 degrees for 6-8 mins. Cool on pan for 20 mins.

Featherlite Flour Mix (Gluten Free)

This is a mix that I have tried that seems to work real well for substituting when making a regular wheat flour recipe. Just substitute for the same amount of flour - 1 for 1. I mixed up a big batch of it and keep it in a tub - ready to use when I need it.
1 cup of white rice flour
1 cup of cornstarch
1 cup of tapioca flour
1 tsp. of potato flour (not potato starch flour)

Here Comes Trouble Brownies (Gluten-Free)

I made these gluten free brownies a few weeks ago, and they were pretty yummy!

(1) Melt 1 stick of butter, 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate plus 1 tablespoon coconut oil or other cooking oil in an 8 square baking pan (I put them in the oven for 4 or 5 five minutes while it preheats and I assemble the other ingredients. Be careful not to over heat it and burn the chocolate).

(2) Add to pan:
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup gluten-free flour (I used the featherlite mix)
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 tablespoons Jell-O Instant pudding mix (I used vanilla flavor)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

(3) Stir until smooth. Bake 27 to 30 minutes at 350F. Cool before frosting.

Frosting: Gently soften 1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips plus 2 tablespoons butter in the top of a double boiler (or a metal or glass mixing bowl set over boiling water). (I did it in the microwave) When thoroughly melted, stir in a few tablespoons of powdered confectioners sugar until smooth. Spread over brownies and sprinkle with chopped nuts while still warm.

Devons 7th Birthday Party

Devon’s 7th Birthday will be
Out of This World!!

You have been selected as part of the Launch Crew for a mission to Outer Space!
Mission Objective: To help Commander Devon
have a Happy Birthday!

Launch Date: Friday November 13th
Countdown begins: 6:00 pm
Launch Site: Skilbred Space Station
Coordinates: 1075 North US 23

Communicate with Mary-Lynn @ mission control to confirm your participation in this mission at 724-6185


Yaa! I am finally 7!!!


Scrapbooking stickers come in handy for many things!




The space man hanging was made from aluminum foil formed around Devon - he thought that was so funny.


I did have a few organized "space games" but quit getting them ready as up until a few hours before the party, I thought only 2 kids were coming. (Rest were wondering if they were sick, but decided not) So here they are playing with the remote control "space rovers"

Field Trip - Hayride and Haymaze

I went with Kylee's class on her field trip to the Johnston Farm, for a hayride and haymaze. Lots of fun!






Quite a few kids were missing because of the swine flu. We have been so lucky not to get it.

Our little Ladybug!

The schools were closed the week of Halloween, so Devon missed his party at school, but Kylees teacher still had a party for her class. They went over to the courthouse and city building (as they do every year)




Again, lots of kids missing.

Field Trip to The Honey Bee Farm

I went with Kylee's class to Harmony Acres Farm - the local honey bee farm. It was a real neat experience even for the adults. Something that I have never seen before, and learned alot. The most amazing fact - in a honey bees lifetime, they only produce a 1/4 of a tsp of honey!


Mrs Harmon is showing us the honey comb that the bees put the honey.


Each kid got to choose the kind of honey they wanted to purchase and buy it themselves. Kylee chose Orange flavored spun honey. It was quite good.