Hipchick Happenings

Has it really been this long...

2008-12-17T00:53:00.000-08:00

since i've blogged?! Ooh my gosh, time flies when you're swamped! :)

Well, where to start, so much going on...the house is coming right along and I will be updating in a few days with pics! Sadly, Rodel is not home for the Holiday's, he is in Iraq (please continue to keep him in your prayers--we GREATLY appreciate that)...WisteriaLane has seen a number of changes, be sure to check out our blog--you won't be disappointed, it's better than ever with a GREAT new look! I'm so grateful for WisteriaLane as i've made friendships via the group that I will forever cherish and it allows me the opportunity to make new friendships too and work with some amazingly talented designers in our quest to grow our businesses and find the perfect balance of home/work. Be sure to search WisteriaLane as there are some beautiful designs available.

Click here to see the WisteriaLane blog now

Raven was recently in Miss Wiregrass Area Outstanding Teen (a scholarship pageant) and won 2nd place...which thrilled me--as the contestants were very obviously "professionally" trained in the way of pageants--though Raven is not, so for her to be able to place with such competition was a thrill for me and she won a small scholarship award (tee tiny) but it was a GREAT experience and she said she had a ball with it!

Here are a few pics...

Here is a pic of the lovely young lady that won, 1st and 2nd Runner up and the very sweet pageant sponsor...

Okay, so here it is...wee hours of the morning and I know there was a reason for me to get up and update this blog--the song..."so small" by Carrie Underwood really spoke to my heart...it's number 2 on my play list and it's so true...the only thing that really matters is "love"...funny how those mountains are not nearly as big as they seem when we see them with the right perspective...and now i'm actually dancing--LOL--at the number 4 tune..."You Sexy Thing", yes--it really does take me this long to do one post, especially when the music is this good--i'm having a ball! :)

Stay Tuned...more to come!
Merry Christmas to you and yours,
Rhonda

Wowza...what a BUSY Summer!!

2008-08-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

And I can't believe Summer Vacation is oooovveerr already!!
We've made our move from Kansas to Alabama and are currently living in an apartment while the house is being built.
We are making progress...

The school year ended in Kansas with Raven's eighth grade graduation and she was very sad to leave her friends behind as we made the move to Alabama, thanks to the internet she's been able to stay in touch with many of them though and is eagerly making plans to visit.

Luckily she can always count on her dad to go GANGSTA with her!

After arriving in Dothan, Raven met up with a long time friend and we all headed to the beach!

And that wasn't our only trip to the beach, we discovered ST. AUGUSTINE over the July 4th weekend and had a mini-family reunion with Rod, Tara, the super cute Katie and Mom Pasibe!

We had a great visit!

Our next stop was...you guessed it--Orlando, home of that magical mouse known as MICKY! We'd been promising the kids we'd take them for over a year...

Raven wasn't quite as excited about going to Disney as the younger two, though she ended up having a GREAT time!
One of the highlights of the trip for me was getting to meet up with my Florida WistaSista's!

It's hard to believe Disney was only a few short weeks ago and now Rodel has left for his training in Kansas until he deploys to Iraq and the kids are back to school!

Here are a few first week of school pics (in no particular order)!

Raven's first day of high school started out with a bang--with three arrests, a tassing and lots of media coverage.
Here's a grassroots report of what happened...click here!
We're hoping that the rest of the year is much smoother!

Update coming SOOON!!!

2008-06-23T05:09:00.001-07:00

We've been moving from the MidWest back home down South and I apologize for this gap in posting but look forward to catching this site up soon!

Rhonda

I've been TAGGED!!!

2008-04-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by: Baby Threadz and Pickles and Co. Thanks for thinking of me guys. :)

Here are the rules:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Okay...let the FUN begin...hm mm...

1. I'm terrified of snakes and sharks--which is why as much as I love the ocean, I admire it from the shore line, only getting in knee deep to get onto a jet ski or dip my toes in. I also don't go exploring through the woods because I don't want to run into snakes either.

2. I'm a sweet tea drinker and have to have my sweet n low fix each day.

3. Love the smell of men's cologne (not to wear myself of course, but enjoy it when my husband wears it).

4. The quickest way to get a rise out of me is to be ugly to one of my children, I'm overly protective when it comes to my children .

5. I appreciate how my husband provides for our family and the type of person that my husband is: he's honest, would never gain anything through dishonest means, is faithful and loves the Lord. He can also be crazy and super annoying with his wild and loud playing around--which makes him the fun parent--all of our children's friends are crazy about him.

6. The traits I admire most in others: funny sense of humor, insightfulness and natural intelligence (some people just naturally relate to everyone, have the ability to see into situations and bond with people--and the people I've met that have this gift have been down to earth and make everyone around them feel at ease--I totally admire these traits). I also admire my WistaSista's ...they are such a talented group of ladies, my husband for his youthful good looks and hardworking ways, and each of my three children as they grow and explore the world around them without fear and full of confidence...I believe they can each reach any goal they set for themselves, they are truely a blessing.

The traits I admire in myself: I cannot hold grudges-I'm quick to forgive and ask for forgiveness even when it means swallowing pride, I can laugh at myself (and usually end up having to), and I genuinely care about others and would not purposely hurt anyone. I've learned to like myself and not worry too much about what others think. I was previously very embarrassed by my southern accent, but now that i'm 30 something (not going there), I've overcome that embarrassement and am comfortable with the accent and even my freckles! UH OH--never thought I'd say that, LOL, but these things are really not all that important anymore.

7. Quick pick me up on a dreary day: fresh flowers and a new scented candle for the house.
I love to add fresh flowers to the living room and kitchen and light scented candles, makes the space feel extra special.

Seven People I'm tagging:

1. Bumble Bee Designs
2. Sweetpea Totes
3.Cinnamon Girl Studio
4.Purely Princess Jewels
5. Cherry Tree Graphics
6. LilyandEbony
7. Red Shutter Photography Studio

Friends, Fun & Soccer...what else is there?

2008-04-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a busy weekend! Between sleepovers, play dates, soccer games and chauffeuring to a school dance, this weekend was non-stop, but fun!

Raven had three friends spend the night after her school dance on Friday, and then spent the night with one of the girl's on Saturday night and only just got home a few minutes ago and though she's not looking forward to the room cleaning chores on her agenda or the laundry folding party we're going to have tonight, she's all smiles!

Raley and classroom buddy Audrey, spent the weekend together except when it came to bedtime! Raley went home with Audrey on Friday, and had a great time until bedtime and decided she wanted mama! Audrey spent Saturday night with us until bedtime, then it was an instant replay of Friday night--mama time again--LOL--both of these buddies bailed on one another when bedtime rolled around but there were no hard feelings as they were happy to have another after church play date today and were busy scheduling their next few get togethers!

Rannon got to have his football buddy Ricky over for the weekend and couldn't be happier to add a little more testosterone to the house as he gets sick of all the girls in and out of the house. Ricky showed up with the black eye (didn't acquire it at our house, and I hear the other kid looks rough too--I'm sure there's a story behind this but I'm afraid to ask).

Rodel illustrates how he handles bullies...he scares them off with the EVIL EYE!!

The GAME was ON, with THREE soccer games on Saturday, Rodel and I got our sports fill for the week and it was as EXCITING and FUN as ever!!

Rannon's team, the JAYHAWKS remain undefeated following Saturday's 7-1 win and prove that they are THE TEAM to beat in the U10 division. Rannon was thrilled to score a goal on Saturday!!

Famous game quote: An older boy that had watched Rannon's game said to Rannon after the game..."Hey, you play pretty good, is this your first year?" Rannon: "Nah, I been playin for years!"
Rannon has been playing since he was 4 years old so the statement is true but to over hear it in the conversation, sounded very funny...maybe this is one of those ' you had to be there moments?' ;)

Raley's team, the ORANGE ROCKSTARS!! were happy to score their first victory on Saturday with an ending score of 6-2. A huge turn around from the previous weeks game!

Raley scored 4 of Saturday's winning goals, though she didn't let it go to her head. At the end of the day it's all about having fun with friends for this lil RockStar!

And the Rockstar coaches agree!!

Raven's team, with one loss under their belt, are proving to be a force to be reckoned with in the U14 division following Saturday's 6-1 win! Raven had the opportunity to play both defense and forward at Saturday's game and got to spend a lot of time on the field.

The week ahead will be just as busy as this weekend was, with dance recital practices for both girls, soccer practices for all three, track for Raven and another game for Raven's leavenworth/lansing reds on Thursday night. Trying to get ahead of the busy week's activities, I'm hosting a house cleaning throw down tonight on the home field with a bit of laundry folding, vacuuming, dusting and dishwasher emptying...sure to be a task plan my three athletes and I can have victory over...after some basic warming up and 1,2, 3 count downs...ready, set, GO!

Time got away from me!! Quick Updates...

2008-04-16T21:06:00.001-07:00

And I have so much to catch up on, quick update and pictures to come soon!!
Raven is doing good, on the school track team and playing soccer. She's kept her grades up all year and gotten all A's except for one B+ in Honor's Algebra, so we're proud of her hard work.
Rannon is a little soccer dynamo--and is enjoying playing soccer now too, and Raley is also on a soccer team so between getting the three of them to various practices and games, we are spreading it thin. Rodel is the assistant coach for Raley's team, so it's official--he's coached all three children at soccer at one time or another.
Raven and Raley are also getting ready for a dance recital in May and Rodel has been roped into doing a special daughter father dance performance with both girls (that is, if I can get him to the rehersals--LOL). We've been super busy trying to decide on whether to stay in Kansas or move to Alabama and it's not an easy decision as the kids have really settled in wonderfully here and we all feel part of this unique community. On the downside, there are no beaches nearby, it'd be good to be back in Alabama since my mom is not in good health and I could be a help if I were there. The Kansas schools are ranked 12 in the nation, while Alabama rotates between 48, 49 and 50 depending on the year...hmm...
Raven tried out for the highschool dance team here, the Lionettes, only two girls were chosen and Raven WAS one of them--YAY!! Another reason to stay, however the high property taxes (3x more here than Alabama scares the beejeevies out of us). We are talking with a builder about building a home in Dothan and I guess that will be the deciding factor, the quote and allowances are due in on Friday from the builder (from what he's said so far--it's promising, but of course we have to have things written down and weighed out to know for sure) and that will most likely determine if we move back at this time or not. We are excited about building and if we do then the decision becomes whether to move this summer or to wait until the house is ready and move back. Plus to being here is that there is a chance Rodel can come home some weekends prior to deploying to Iraq. So this post is full of question and indecision and we're just praying for the answers and to have God's peace, blessing and favor and know the path he would have us to take.

Promise some updated pics are coming--(took a boatload of soccer game pics this past Saturday only to realize half way through--the cf card was not in the camera--a BLONDE moment for sure!) Will get some this coming weekend but in the meantime, here are my BROWN Eyed Babies...

And here's where those brown eyes came from (my husband Rodel!)

Ebay strike opens the door to Etsy....

2008-02-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

and WisteriaLane is busy listing away with some awesome deals to be had! Here's a sneak peek....

To see all of WisteriaLane's Etsy listings click hereWatch for more listings to come! Happy Shopping from Wisteria Lane.

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You...

2008-01-23T03:52:00.000-08:00

Due to some school events this weekend (Father and Daughter bowling), Raley will spend this Saturday with daddy and a 100 other Kinder girlies and their daddies bowling and we will have her skate party Feb. 2nd!

I decided to celebrate your day with a look back at your baby pics...

To see just how much you've changed over the years!

It's remarkable how fast time flys (and scary) but one things stays true, you're still Mommy and Daddy's little Princess!

How about some Birthday Party Memories...

We spent your 3rd birthday in Singapore at the water park. Some of your guests were: Abbey, Delaney, Avery, Taylor, Tarrin, Shane, Raven and Rannon (of course) and a slew others that I just can't remember the names! (My age is showing!)

We had a swim party for your 4th birthday too--at the Terror Club...this was the year you decided to give yourself a make-over, hence the jacked up bang and haircut!

And your 5th birthday too!! Ameilia, Suzanne, Simon, Delle, Soon Wan, and Jarred were there as well as many other friends like Kaylie, Ashley, Marianne, Shannon, Daniele, Mckenzie, Cassie, Uncle Sooh Hin, Aunt Jacqueline, Joey, Joelle and Miss Julie and many more!

We will no doubt have many pictures to share from your birthday this year as well because these are the sweet souvieners of the times and events and treasures (friends)- that we hold dear. Happy Birthday Baby! We Love You!

My Sweet Valentine...New Hipchick Design!!

2008-01-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

click here to see all of my Hipchick listings...

Meet my family...

2008-01-08T21:24:00.001-08:00

My very beautiful niece Katie

And my nephew Alex, who is quickly becoming a handsome young man...
(can't believe how quickly these kids grow up!)

Their father, Rod Pasibe (my BIL) is an amazing photographer and he and wife Tara have an awesome photography and web design company based out of Charleston, they are such a talented couple. Isn't it wild how much he and Rodel look alike?

Here is just a small sample of his gorgeous work and my copy and paste job doesn't begin to do it justice...

Be sure to check out his gallery at RedShutterStudio.com, the photography is truely breath taking.
Click Here to See More

Much thanks to beautiful Little Jaden...

2008-01-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

and her talented photographer mom, Jess of Purely*Princess*Jewels for the lovely pics of my current set. Thank you so much girly and much thanks to Jaden, she's an awesome little model.

I'm super excited about the upcoming Guest Launch WisteriaLane is hosting...lots of super talented Designers on board and of course the always awesome WistaSista's...woo hoo!

Watch for a fresh, fun, festive New Hipchick set for the upcoming launch...
January 21st and be sure to search WisteriaLane for some awesome boutique designs!

Much thanks to Ingrid of VintageCherries for this ad!

Christmas Day at our house...

2008-01-05T03:44:00.000-08:00

was relaxing and quiet! Rodel and I woke before the children did and got a chance to have coffee (well, Rodel did--I don't drink it) but it was nice to be able to get the fireplace going and get some Christmas tunes on. We had an early lunch and even got a mid-afternoon nap in!

WARNING BELLS...

After waking from my nap with roughly an hour and 15 minutes of daylight left I decided to take the kiddies to the park to sled as Raven had missed out on December 24th sledding due to a stomach bug. Rodel decided to stay home as Raven had passed her stomach bug onto Dad, so it was just the kids and I. There was one other family there when we arrived and without even seeing them up close I suddenly had a very 'scary' feeling, or inner warning that something wasn't right.

Still sore from the previous day's wipe outs I decide to wait at bottom of the hill and catch pics of kids coming down...after a bit, I sat on a swing to watch and the lady with the other family came over. The 'uneasy feeling' I had was growing and I was actually praying silently for protection over the kids and myself--it was a very alarming feeling. The lady sat on the swing beside me and started asking me a ton of questions, from where we live to what school my children attend. She said she was looking for a school for her teen son as she'd only recently moved into the area. I politely avoided giving detailed info on where we live as I found that really odd--when she said she was looking for a school, I (stupidly) told her about our middle school and how good we thought it was.

I guess I was letting my guard down for a second but that didn't last long because here came the man of the family and again I had an uneasy feeling and the lady shifted to the opposite side she'd been on and now I had the lady on one side of me and the man on the other and felt loud bells of alarm, so I got up and out of the middle and called for the kids to go. The other family decides to leave as well and gets into their car but they don't drive off until after we did--so the kids and I took a scenic view of the entire town before we headed home.
For some STRANGE reason and I do mean strange--I don't even know how I ended up there, I found myself on the public safety site for this state later that night and low and behold...the man from the park was listed on there as a Registered Offender !! I was surprised to find I had caught him in the background of several of the pics I'd taken of the kids that day and I'm sure they were uneasy as to why I'd snapped pics and that could have led to the questioning but I am so glad we got out of there and wholeheartedly believe in listening to your gut instinct...in this case I think the Lord was letting me know of the possible danger.

Moving on to a more positive note...here are a few more pics recently taken of the kids and Rodel...

WIPE OUT...Snow Play!

2007-12-24T16:07:00.001-08:00

Though we had a blast riding the snowy bank at Abel Park--we had a few wipe outs too!

It didn't take long for me to follow in Rodel's footsteps (couldn't have him feeling like he was the only one to bite the dust, right?)

Raley and Rannon had a blast, unfortunately Raven was under the weather today and stayed home to rest (nasty stomach virus going around here-we've all had it once already and thankfully it's usually short-lived so Raven should be back to normal by tomorrow).

WOW!! Great Job Rodel!!

2007-12-24T08:26:00.000-08:00

We had a major snow storm Sunday night and by Monday morning all was white (very pretty) the snow is covering the top of our shrub bushes!

My husband set out to clear the drive with his shovel in hand and what an amazing job he did with it. I can't believe how awesome it looks so I am taking a moment to brag!

Here's a view of the rest of our street...

It should not come as a surprise to me that my hubby did such an amazing job on the drive he does a good job at anything he sets out to do...last night we were wrapping presents for the kiddies and his wrapping was putting mine to shame-I was trying to steal peeks at how he was getting his neat as a pin--looked like a wrap counter had done his packages. Rannon likes to help dad shovel the drive--male bonding time-LOL. Thank you Rannon for being such a great little helper!

We're off to go snow sledding today but I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for the great job Rodel...our drive is by far the neatest in the neighborhood--YOU ROCK! :) Love Ya!

THREE PARTIES in ONE Day??

2007-12-23T01:49:00.000-08:00

What a busy, but fun December 21st!! Not only was it my baby's 14th birthday (hard to believe!!) Raley and Rannon had their school Christmas parties this day as well.

The fun starts in Raley's classroom with a book exchange game!

And in Rannon's class Rodel got to be one of four dads to participate in a fun game called decorate the live Christmas tree.
The tree's were judged on their prettiness, speed in getting decorated and ability to follow the instructions. I think Rodel definitely should have gotten best looking tree (though I am prejudice in that dept!) but another tree won on ability to follow instructions--it was a very close contest...I wouldn't want to have that job of judging!

The BIRTHDAY GIRL...
I am not sure where the last 14 years have gone--it's unbelievable how fast the years have flown by!
We celebrated Raven's birthday with a winter wonderland dance party

DJ ALBERT got the PARTY started...

We had between 60 and 70 kids to show up and I think it was a good time for all. Raven had warned us before the party to please not freak out by the way some of the kids danced as she thought it was too much funk for her conservative parents to handle but all in all, I didn't see anything new--or anything that would cause parent melt down--good group of kids and only difference from the dance parties we had growing up was that I could actually understand the words in the songs back then (sign of aging right?)...after 4 hours of 'soulja boy', 'crank that up'...let's just say I can do without Akon and Snoop for some time to come--I've had my share.
It was Raven who nearly had a melt down when her dad and I got in on the fun on the dance floor....sweet revenge--LOL! Here's a sampling of the pics taken at the party.

Happy Birthday Raven!
Flashing back only two years ago--to your 12th birthday when we celebrated with bowling/swimming slumber party, where you and the girlies did face masks and pulled an all night wake-a-thon, it's hard to believe how much you've grown over the last two years!

I want to slow the time down now--(every parent's dream) but I know that is impossible, and inevitably the next two years will bring about even more dramatic changes, enjoy the journey and make wise decisions as you go and know that Dad and I love you very much and are blessed that God entrusted us to care for you as you develop into a young lady and on into adulthood
(MUCH LATER DOWN THE ROAD)...

God Bless You Baby!

Uplifting and Encouraging Truth...

2007-12-19T21:13:00.001-08:00

Check out this link for a daily message, sure to be uplifting and encouraging from this annointed man of God, Pastor Prince of New Creation Church in Singapore.

We were blessed to be able to attend The Rock while in Singapore and continue to be blessed by the encouraging good news via the Rock's website:

CLICK HERE...

God Bless!

Loving the White Winter...

2007-12-19T20:40:00.000-08:00

The Best Gift Ever...

2007-12-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

Whether Santa comes or not, we've received the best gift ever...our dear friends Belle and George with their two lovely children came to visit all the way from Singapore.

We were soooo thrilled to have them--it was an absolute joy to see them as it'd been 6 months since we left Singapore and felt lost without the friends we'd left behind...we are now eagerly planning a return visit, since it is now our turn, and look forward to seeing all of our wonderful friends--Belle, George, Mardiana, Andrew, CKim, SoonHin, Julie, Jackie, Jason--you know who you are--we're missing you lots!! Belle and George--it was such a blessing to have you visit--we wish you could have just stayed! Love you guys!

The kids had a blast and Raley and Suzanne are quite the lil diva's. :)

Rannon and Simon are two peas in a pod, absolutely mellow fellows...

George is the KING of shopping!! I wish I'd gotten a pic of him in action but he's pretty hard to keep up with when it comes to the mall--he's a man with a plan when it comes to shopping and he can definitely outshop most women (me included)...it was a blast to have a reason to go shopping every day and George pointed me in the direction of some awesome sales, so not only does he have the get up and go spirit--he's equipped with bargain spotting skillz!
And Belle is quite the sport--she got lots of exercise by following George around the mall--LOL--you go girly!!

Some highlights from the week included going to see the Nutcracker, shopping and more shopping, visiting a ski lodge and tubing tornado alley as it was called, making a new friend at the Japanese steak house, did I mention shopping?? LOL!

We had a GREAT time sledding at a friend's house after church Sunday--totally unplanned but turned out to be a great day.

Yesterday was sooo sad as I had to see our friend's off to the airport--though I was THRILLED to have them visit, the leaving was depressing but it is exciting to plan our visit over now. I look forward to seeing you guys soon. We Love Ya!! God Bless!

And PS. getting home from the airport with that GPS was a breeze--that was tooo tooo kind of you guys--your gift of visiting was by far the best present ever!! Thank you sooo much. (((HUGS)))

Let it Snow...Let it Snow...

2007-12-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo, we are so excited to have snow...we had a bit the day before Thanksgiving but this was enough to actually play in it. I'd not been in snow since I was a child and it was the first time for the kiddies to play in snow--they'd never seen it-other than the tiny amount on Thanksgiving.

Dory wanted in on the action too...though it didn't take long for her to be ready to head back indoors to lounge in front of the fireplace!

Raley went for a sled ride down the hill at the neighborhood park with her buddy Ross!They had a blast!

And check out our er...nifty snowman...those things aren't as easy to make as they look...or so I hear, my hubby made this one while I was at the local home depot buying our first ever snow shovel! :)

Raven decides to give the boogie board some play but that wasn't meant to be...thankfully Jordan brought over some solo sleighs but my camera battery went out in the middle of their ride!!

Crossing my fingers for snow again tomorrow!

Woo Hoo ...I'm Blogging!!

2007-12-04T08:25:00.001-08:00

And owe it all to Christine and Timi,
Thank you guys for helping me get the blog started...You Rock!! (But you already knew that!)
I'm so excited to be blogging...woo hoo!

Here's my wonderful family...

My husband Rodel and our oldest daughter Raven

And then our youngest two...Rannon and Raley! :)

2007-12-04T03:01:00.000-08:00

This one of a Kind Set is perfect for any little Ice Princess and will prove stunning in family
portraits whether the background is a Winter Wonderland or even a beach setting...classic and versatile, though only one available, size 5t.

Much thanks to photographer Jess of Purely*Princess*Jewels for her beautiful pics and to the adorable Jaden, who is such the awesome model. Thanks so much, you guys rock!!

Be Sure to Search WisteriaLane Ice for your little Ice Princess!