god salsa and life

Thanksgiving

2006-11-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful Thanksgiving! What a wonderful week we've had! I hope you enjoy the pictures I included below. Thank you Gayline and George, My half-brother Travis, my brother Todd and his wife, Trish and her 3 children, my parents and my family for making this such a great Thanksgiving!

Can you say Busy???

2006-11-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

I wish I could type as fast as my mind is spinning right now. We have so much going on, that I don't even know where to begin. Let's see... we are launching some new, incredible, fabulous products... see below...

Natural Creations Granola (with Montana-grown oats!)
Natural Creations Glacial Melt Hot Sauce (not for the weak!)

We have sent paperwork, packaging approval sheet, etc to the state level for approval and hope to hear back from them early next week. We just received approval for placement in a 4th Costco in Montana, which has their Grand Opening on Nov. 28th. I will be in that warehouse sampling on Dec. 1 and 2. I'm sampling in the Missoula Super Walmart tonight, Missoula Costco tomorrow, cleaning all day Saturday, friends and family arrive Sunday and Monday from Las Vegas to spend Thanksgiving here with us. There will be a total of 13 people here for a week. Whew, lots of people, but lots of fun too! And my parents do all the holiday cooking, so that makes me even happier!

I will be sampling again at the Missoula Costco about 5 days in December, going to a wedding in Portland in December (yay Jenna!), plus starting the marketing on our new products. We are working with a broker in Seattle for our varieties of granola. Plus we have someone who will be redesigning our website so it's much more professional looking and not home-made. We have some huge possibilities with our granola and some other products, and look forward to see how all this comes together.

We are moving back into our own house by February. Everything is good here with my family, but our renters lease expires the end of January, and they want to buy a house, preferably ours. We don't want to sell, so instead of looking for new renters, which usually sucks, we have chosen to move back. And we are all pretty excited about that, and getting back into our familiar neighborhood. We have told our neighbors that we're coming back and it feels so good to us that they are all super excited to have us back. It's nice to be loved. ;)

We have some changes we'll be doing to the house once we move in, and that's of course exciting to us. We love remodeling and making changes. It's never a dull moment around our family. We're always being busy with something or many somethings!

If you haven't watched "Heroes" on Monday night, you're missing out. We haven't watched a weekly program in so long, like in YEARS, but this one is so good. And we watch it together with our House Church community, which is pretty cool. We're all addicted, I admit it.

I need to get organized for sampling at Super Walmart tonight. I hope you have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving. I know that I have so much to be thankful for, and I pray you do too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tari

Pictures

2006-10-03T22:54:00.000-06:00

OK, let's try to share some more pictures. Either I'm computer illiterate, or my computer is slow. Hey be quiet! It's the computer!!! I just know it is!

New friend in Vegas

2006-10-03T10:23:00.000-06:00

So, to those of you who know the "Otway" family... thank you for encouraging Cat to call us. I just talked with her for a while and I cannot wait to meet her and her family. They are moving here in December and I can already feel that they will be a blessing to this community and to us as friends.

We spent Saturday and Sunday in Glacier National Park, which is 3 hours north of Missoula. I will attach some pictures, I hope, below. Sometimes it doesn't work, but I'll try.

I was going to not blog anymore. But many people have emailed me saying they enjoy reading what is going on with my family and it made me realize that blogging is a great thing.

For those of you who know the Harshman family... please keep them in your prayers as Andy's dad has just passed away. Brent and I have been praying for all of them this morning as we learned of this, and ask you to do the same.

I'm going on a field trip with Ryan's class this morning to a local garden/farm. So, I need to get some pictures downloaded on here and get ready to head out the door.

I hope and pray that you enjoy your day and that you take some time out today to have some quiet time with our Lord, praying for others and basking in His love.

Tari

Jeremy Camp

2006-08-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

Just returned from an incredible concert... Jeremy Camp! Wow, it was great! 4 of us gals went and enjoyed our evening together.

We have SO much going on in our lives right now so this is my "venting time"... I need to unload everything that is running through my head right now.

1) I realize from being at this concert that I in no way spend nearly enough time sitting at the feet of Jesus, resting in His presence, just listening to Him and loving Him... being still.
2) I just bought a new book tonight and I can't wait to start reading it. It's the first time in a long long time that I've picked out a new book (I can't wait to finish blogging so I can start it!).
3) It's 11:58 pm, and I'm getting up at 6:00 am... should be going to bed, not starting my book. But I have to, I just can't wait. AND I'm not tired yet!
4) My best friend in the whole world, Gayline, is hurting and sad right now and I can't be with her to hug her and love her. That makes my heart ache something horrible. Praying over the phone isn't the same as praying together, holding hands, and crying together and getting through hard times together.
5) I am selfish and focused on myself way too much. Time to re-evaluate my focus and my direction, and show more of Christ's love to those around me, to those who don't know him. I am my Lord's servant.
6) I deserve and need a healthy mind, soul, spirit and body... for God's work, my life and role as a wife/mom/sister/daughter...
7) I pray for a day that I am able to see my children accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, and I pray that Brent personally baptizes both of them.

My selfish prayer: We are going to move our salsa facility to Missoula... Lord, where do we even begin? Please guide us and show us...

Good night...

Blessings and Laughter

2006-06-22T10:13:00.001-06:00

So, we're home from Mexico. What an incredible journey we had! There is so much to share but the most exciting and wonderful part of our time there is 7 people accepted Christ in the villages. My emotions are hard to even try to put into words. I cried so hard for these people, I was so happy for their new decision. It was amazing and beautiful!

On a side note of our Mexico journey, my mom was emailing us the funny things the boys were doing and saying while we were gone. I'm including some of them below. We had little gifts for the boys for each day we were gone. The one big gift we had for them was "Blendy Pens". They've been asking for them for a few months, so I finally ordered them as a surprise for the boys while we were gone. I wish we could've been here just to see the reaction they had.

My parents also had to deal with the basement flooding twice while we were gone. They had to take the carpet out of about 75% of our basement, take out all of our bedroom furniture, our office and closet, plus my parents' office which is also downstairs. And TWICE! What a bleepin mess this has been for them. And my parents did every bit of the clean up themselves. Ugh.

I will post again soon with some pictures of our time in Mexico and some of the people from the 7 who accepted Christ and the 2 house churches that were started. Wow, what a journey this has been!

Kid Quotes:

"I think there's head dents in the ceiling from giving them their Friday gift. They went out of their minds on the Blendy Pens. They've been coloring for over an hour. I just said to them, "I thought you guys didn't even like to color and Bryce said, "What do you think I do for a living?" They are having so much fun with them."

"Oh - I forgot to tell you the funny stuff. Bryce thinks the water is coming out of the lights in your bedroom because everywhere he steps it's wet and there's a light right above that spot! Last night Ryan actually let me snuggle with him (one morning Papa disappeared when he was going to make coffee and when he came in the kitchen he said Ryan was standing in the doorway and said "Papa, will you snuggle me" so Mike snuggled him and he fell back to sleep. Anyway, we were snuggling last night and Ryan said "If you didn't have any clothes on and you didn't have all your naked stuff then you would only have bones". He also got goofy like they do and said something about mushroom teeth (not sure where that came from) and then said "mushroom teeth smell like butt crack". Of course they were hysterical on that one, Bryce was like "go Ryan" and laughing so hard. Then Ryan was laughing and he'd say butt crack and just the word was making him crack up so I finally had to say that's enough about butt cracks."

Adios!

2006-05-31T23:45:00.000-06:00

We're heading to Mexico this Sunday! We're flying out of Spokane, so we'll be driving over there Saturday evening after Brent gets home from making salsa. We're having a yard sale with some friends from House Church, in their community. There are about 30 other families having yard sales in this community and should be a huge turn out! Time to sell some crap, eh?

We'll be in Mexico for 11 days, the longest we've been away yet. The boys will stay here with my parents. The first week we're gone, the boys finish school. Then they get to hang out with Grandma and Papa and be absolutely spoiled for a week. And some friends will be taking them to a splash park or two around town while we're gone too. I can't believe the boys only have a week left of school. That means Bryce is almost a 4th grader and Ryan is almost a 1st grader. Is that truly possible? Ugh, I feel old. AND I keep finding more little patches of grey hair on my big old head of hair. Yep, feelin' older.

On the hair thing, I have to admit, I'm enjoying having naturally curly hair. I don't think I've ever, in my entire life, enjoyed this head of hair I have. But now it's past my shoulders and a good length to just let it be curly. And it's EASY! Thank you God, for curly hair. I might change my mind tomorrow, but today, thank you.

Holy crud (as Bryce and Ryan say)... it's 11:45 pm... I'm getting up at 6:00 am. That stinks, because I'm not feelin too sleepy just yet. SO, I'm going to go play FreeCell and make myself sleepy. Enjoy your ... well... whatever you're doing. I need to sleep.

Ahhhhh, sunshine!

2006-05-16T10:21:00.000-06:00

Welcome to MT! Last week we were wearing heavy coats, this week it's in the low 90's. Go figure! I laid out yesterday for about an hour. We've decided that instead of a tanning booth this year before Mexico, we'd just spend some extra time outdoors. Sunday, for Mother's Day, we hiked a beautiful trail in the Bitterroot. And yesterday I laid out. My mom didn't feel very well, but wanted to be in the warm sun. So she came out to lay on the blanket with me in the back yard... wearing a shirt, sweatshirt, sweats and socks!!! And she wasn't hot... I was sweating in my bathing suit, she is dressed for winter and just comfortable. It was crazy! AND it was about 85 degrees out!

We are leaving for Mexico in just under 3 weeks. We will be there for 11 days, the longest we've ever stayed. We are really excited to have additional time there... 7 days just isn't quite enough. And we plan on spending a lot more time in the villages, just going house to house for visits, and helping where it's needed. Please, if you're a person of prayer, we ask for prayer for these little villages that they see the Lord through our actions and our words. We've had many prayers answered since we heard God calling us to these little places, and I don't doubt that God has many more prayers He will answer, and many many more miracles to perform. I pray we are able to experience these answered prayers and miracles with the Mexican people.

Greg and Rebekah Hubbard will be here next week. They are spending some time in Kalispell first, then will stay a night with us and fly out of Missoula back to Vegas. We haven't spent time with them for so long... it will be GREAT to see them again! Greg was here in Missoula once and stayed with us, but Rebekah was in Vegas with the kids. Now it's Greg and Rebekah... maybe next time we'll get to see the kids too.

That's it for today. I'm not in a blogging mood. We are always so busy, I'm sure I could fill 2 or 3 pages with everything that's going on around here. And besides, who even reads this thing? I surely have no idea. Maybe a bunch of strangers who don't even care. Maybe not, I don't know. Yeah, so adios.

It's Friday, and the sun is out!

2006-04-21T12:41:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday! I am happy to be coming into a weekend. Salsa business is busy, life is busy. And spring has arrived, so all I really want to do is go lay on a blanket in the grass! Ahhhhhh...

We are now in 3 Montana Costco stores... and working on some other large accounts, which will probably turn into actual placement sometime in June. I'm very persistent in my follow-up calls, I will not give up. If you know me, you know I don't "go away" very easily.

Bryce and Brent have bought a season pass to a nice golf course here. Tonight will be their 3rd time in a little over a week. They are both l-o-v-i-n-g it! So Ryan and I do fun "ryan" things together, like play with the puppies at the mall, play at the park... tonight Ryan and I will be going to his school for a "Hoe Down". I can't even say it without feeling like a redneck. You can bet we won't be dressing up for the occassion! But we will have fun and we're meeting up with one of Ryan's classmates and his family. Should be a fairly fun night. I am volunteering to host the egg toss booth for an hour tonight. Other than that, we'll just be a part of the "hoe down" crowd. Yeehaw!

If you're at your computer quite often, and enjoy listening to music, you should really check out www.pandora.com. Our friends, Bill and Amy, introduced me to the website this past weekend, and I'm really loving it! And this week, instead of doing a house meeting for house church, we were at Bill and Amy's reworking our House Church website... it's really boring and empty right now... but soon will be a great outreach... please check it out often at www.MontanaHouseChurches.org. We're excited to get it up and running once again. We're going to name the last page "crockpot" with a mix of quotes, pictures, a bunch of fun things. But there will be some good information about who we are as a House Church, what we do, how we serve, etc.

We are heading to Mexico... had to reschedule our dates because of some flight conflicts. So, we are going for 11 days this time... from June 4-15. We are praying for some major changes from God and some insight from Him to allow us more time with the people in Mexico, bringing His Good News stronger and deeper than we have any other time. We are truly praying for God to move the hearts of the people and that we are witnesses of miracles for these people. Your prayers are always a blessing to us, and appreciated.

Ok, off I go to do my hair and makeup... gotta get ready for the hoe down, ya know? And I have some more follow-up phone calls to make. Does anyone know where the Carders are moving to yet??? Amy??? Do you know yet??? Can't wait to hear!

Do I always "need" a title?

2006-04-08T09:26:00.000-06:00

I don't want to title this... seems like a lame idea today.

This is a picture of Ryan smelling some little yellow wild flowers (that don't really smell) on our hike last weekend. He is truly on his knees, getting his sweet little nose as close as possible to that little flower. He loves flowers, all shapes and sizes... he has all his life. He has great passion for life and for even the smallest things... like flowers that have no smell. But he enjoys them just the same because they are beautiful and a part of God. He thanks God for sweet things during prayer, like "the nakkins that wipe our face"... that was a dinner prayer at House Church that was so cute and way funny!

I'm trying to get myself motivated to get ready for sampling this morning. It's for our favorite and biggest customer, but the quiet of this house is lulling me into relaxation. Brent is out making salsa, the boys and my parents just headed for a drive to Idaho and I am in the house alone... for the first time since we moved in, I'm alone in the house. And wow, does that sound of absolutely nothing going on sound great! I have the radio going quietly, and my fingers hitting the keyboard is the loudest thing around me. Now THAT is a good feeling!

Today is one year that our friend George's mom passed away. Gayline and George are our very best friends in Las Vegas and on this day, I wish I was with them. Gayline and George have always had hilarious stories about George's parents and things they say and how funny they always have been. I am sad for my friends today, and I am praying for them.

We are, as a House Church community, preparing and serving Easter Dinner at Ronald McDonald House here. I am SO excited to reach out to the families staying there, and I am so prayerful that we are all able to share God with these families and give them light and hope in their lives. Please be in prayer with me, that I can share God's love with many who do not know The Father personally. Maybe this is part of my purpose in life... the purpose and reason God has placed me here. My heart has always been for hurting people, and helping them and loving them. This may be exactly where God wants and needs me to be...

And in the midst of finding my purpose, I am always hoping and searching for ways to lose weight, that don't feel like "dieting". Just saying that word makes me hungry, ya know? I have discovered something with some huge opportunity for me... ever heard of a workout DVD called TurboJam by Beachbody??? I LOVE hip-hop dancing and great music and this seems to fit my personality perfectly. Just got mine in the mail, and Brent and I are doing it together in the mornings... it is a TON of fun! It is gonna whoop my butt into shape, and I can't wait!

Ok, yep, that's it. Relax, have some Chai Tea, and get myself in gear... Chai Tea will wake me up and THEN I'll be ready for sampling.

In fact... SEE YA! I'm going to go do some TurboJam and get pumped up and ready for sampling. Wahoo! Great idea... here I go! ................................

Too busy

2006-03-31T22:13:00.000-07:00

Callie told me "it's time for an update"... I have to get up at 5:30 am tomorrow... whaa, I know. So blogging will have to come tomorrow night or Sunday night. Enjoy your weekend. My Saturday will be spent in Hamilton at a Spring Fling Fair, selling both our salsa and Cookie Lee Jewelry. It will be a very fun and busy day. My girlfriend, Liz, will be selling Cookie Lee with me, and our friend and employee, Anna, will be sampling salsa. So nitey, nitey... blog ya later.

No voice, No pictures

2006-03-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to download pictures onto this post for about 15 minutes. For some reason, it isn't working. Sometimes technology gives me a migrane!!! I'll try again later...

I have a head cold and a very squeaky voice. My voice is the first thing that is affected whenever I get a cold. I haven't had a voice in 5 or 6 days. Yep, it's been pretty quiet around here. haha.

For once in my entire history of making salsa order calls on Wednesday mornings, I have completed all calls in one morning. Not exciting for any of you, I know... but for me... WAY exciting!

I'm having lunch with a new friend today. She is a gal that used to work at the Credit Union with Brent. I met her one day while sampling at Costco, she introduced herself and we seem to hit it off quite well. We are both at home moms, have 2 kids, great husbands... blah blah blah. So we're having lunch together and I'm really looking forward to it.

I have no exciting things to tell, and I just want my DayQuil to kick in. I've been living a fairly uneventful life this week. Actually, one thing Brent and I have done a lot of lately is Corporate dinners... we've been to The Hospice Ball Silent Auction/Fundraiser/Dinner, Play-Ball Missoula Silent Auction/Fundraiser/Dinner, Trout Unlimited Silent Auction/Fundraiser/Dinner, Ronald McDonald House Open House (tonight)... lots of nice nights out, getting dressed up, having a lot of fun, and for great causes. Brent is on the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald House here in Missoula. It was just built and will open in a week or two. Our entire House Church has been helping the RM House in getting cleaned, set up and ready. We were there last night helping with finishing touches on cleaning and getting bedding on beds, setting up phones... everything needed for the Open Houses that are continuing for this week. Each night is an Open House for different groups of people. We're going tonight, we've donated salsa for tomorrow night for all the construction people and the medical staff Open House is Friday night. As a House Church, we helped out last week and did some serious praying over the house and what is happening there and the families who will enter those doors. We've been praying for it to be a Godly house, where families will find comfort and find the Lord, if they do not know him personally yet. Our House Church is cooking Easter Dinner at RMH and will spend the day and evening with all the families there. It will be a great way to get in touch with people staying there and allow us to invest in people there and pray with them, and hopefully even spend time with their child in the hospital. We really look forward to it being a time of God working through us, serving His children.

I love reading everyone's blogs... so please keep blogging... except Tommy... ;)

Have a great day! Love, Tari

I'm NOT READY YET!

2006-03-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

Bryce told me the other day in the car "Mom, someone told this crazy story at school... there was a lady and her dog and they loved each other so much that they got married, had S-E-X (Bryce's spelling, not mine) and had babies."

This is the first time I've ever heard the word sex come from Bryce's mouth. I knew he'd say it one day, but I'm just not ready. He told me once (about 3 months ago) that our cats were 'mating'... they were licking each other's faces. That was as close to "sex" as he could imagine at that time. Bryce still thinks kissing is the most disgusting thing he's ever seen. But I'm sure deeper, more detailed questions are on their way. He is in 3rd grade, in public school... the questions are going to start flowing any time now. And I have to act like a mom and answer his questions, right? Whaaaaaaaaaa, I don't want to! ;(

I have so much to do today, lots of customers to call to get salsa orders placed. The last thing I should be doing is posting a blog... so bye! Oh, and thanks Tommy for changing your post. Now I regret my request... loogies don't seem so bad now.

The snow is already gone

2006-03-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

I'm attaching some pictures of the boys (finally) playing in the snow last week. There was a huge amount of it... and it's now gone. This is the craziest and warmest winter I've ever experienced in Montana... but knowing our weather cycle, we'll get all our winter snow this June. It's happened before, ya know...

Brent has taken Bryce and Ryan on separate dates today. Bryce and Brent went to the mall and had lunch, ice cream at DQ, played in the arcade and bought Bryce a Lincoln Park t-shirt in Hot Topic. Now Ryan is with daddy and they are heading to a local (and awesome) book/music store so Ryan can pick out a movie and a book, then they're having ice cream and who knows what else. Then it's MY turn to have a date w/Brent... we're going out to dinner and a movie. Brent really needs some one on one with each of the boys... and I know they are each really enjoying their individual time with their daddy. It's a fun Sunday for all of us.

I'm very blessed to hear God talking to me this week, and reminding me that he truly is hearing my prayers and the true cries of my heart. Through some things I've been asking Him, he has answered my questions and shown me through other peoples words where He wants me to seek my passion and my purpose. I heard some things on the radio the other day that I knew God had me listen to, just for me to hear him say "Tari, I AM listening, and I DO have answers." It was incredible, and brought me to tears.

Also, through my girlfriend, Elaina, God spoke to me about being obedient and respectful to my husband, no matter what. She spoke of loving unconditionally, and loving obediently and without question. I get to a selfish place many times where I want to be the boss of myself and not listen to anyone, not even my husband. God is reminding me how wrong I am, and how to make changes to be the woman God wants me and needs me to be. I am still learning to let God shape me.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. Peace to you this beautiful Sunday! Tari

Pictures of New House

2006-03-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

No time to chat... but wanted to share pictures of our new house...

These are all of the downstairs... I guess I need to take more to show the upstairs. Just had new furniture delivered and tile laid in dining room. Yeah, I guess I need to get some pics taken...

I don't know how these pics will look when I post this, but later tonight or tomorrow I'll also put on here some pics of Bryce playing with our neighbor's dog, Ryeo. And also of Bryce and Ryan playing in the back yard and of Bryce snow boarding in our backyard on our little hill. Enjoy these!

Building a Business...

2006-03-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd add this in... Brent and I in Mexico this past trip... October 2005. We're heading back in June. It would be wonderful to have friends join us in Mexico... the Mexican people truly have our hearts... and God is truly working through us to reach out to them. Come join us...

And where I am now within my little world... I am discovering a lot about myself lately. I have recently reunited w/my best friend from high school (Rayelynn). It's really been great talking with her again and talking about our lives and what has happened with each of us since high school. We were such close friends throughout high school that I feel like we just picked up where we left off. Actually, we "left off" on some not-so-friendly terms... but forgiveness is a powerful thing and friendships can be mended. So, just like back then, we are so comfortable sharing our hearts and fears with each other... it really has been a great blessing for me. Rayelynn is an Arbonne Skin Care Consultant and was in Missoula this past weekend for a conference. I went downtown to visit w/her for a bit and through her sharing of what she learned at her conference, I realized that we share some similar desires. Through our talking, I have come to realize that I have a huge "want" to be a part of something with other women, making new friends, building my own business. That's why I'm always wanting to be some sort of consultant with a Direct Sales company. I did Pampered Chef for 5 years, Usborne Books for about 6 months (I think) and now I'm a Cookie Lee Jewelry consultant. I LOVE Cookie Lee because I've always loved jewelry. It's a great fit for who I am. But the biggest thing I've now realized is that I just want to be successful... in my own way. I want to have a prosperous business that allows me to be home with our boys, take care of my family and my home, and have some time for me also. I've been seeking this for just about forever... and I have it... and it's actually our salsa business. I've been trying to give my heart to other companies and give my best to THEM. I need to be giving my best to US, our salsa company, the business that will someday support my entire family and allow Brent and I to be home and raise our family together, running a business together. THAT is where my focus needs to be. I'm still doing Cookie Lee on the side, but I have discovered a new commitment to our family business... something I didn't realize I was lacking until this weekend. So thank you Rayelynn, for sharing your passion with me. It made me realize I am placing my passion in the wrong area of my life. I'm refocused and very thankful.

We have sent vendor packet requests to 2 major companies - I won't mention who they are, just in case I decide to be supersticious and jinx myself. :) One company received our Vendor Packet about 2 days ago and the other received it just this morning. We are sending another Vendor Packet to one other major grocer tomorrow. I don't even know what to think... no idea what our chances of approval are... so I just have to wait it out. But I am not a patient girl, and have already called the first 2 companies today to see what's going on. Hoping to hear back sometime later today. We always send samples of our salsa along with our vendor packet, so hopefully they're all sitting in a big conference room snackin on our salsa, saying "where has this been all my life?!" ... I can hope, right???

Brent has an incredible recipe that is our next product... hopefully to be on store shelves by May... a guacamole of sorts... we're calling it "Chunky Avacado Dip"... even thinking about calling it "Salsa-Mole" because it's avacados with our salsa mixed in and some other secret ingredients to add some extra "Mmmmmm" to it. We have had many people sampling it this past week and everyone is going crazy for it! Already have people asking how soon they can get it. Wow... we still need to design and print labels... all sorts of things. But we're working on it and we really feel it will go over quite huge! Pretty soon, we'll even be offering it for purchase on our website, just like we already do with our salsa. I'm surprised by how many people in other states are ordering our salsa... word travels quickly, I guess.

Our new house is FAB-U-LOUS! I have to find the cord to my digital camera, so I download my images onto the computer and email them out. We just had tile laid in the dining room, new furniture in the upstairs family room and a medicine cabinet, shower curtain and decorations for our bathroom. Everything looks so nice... feels good to be getting settled in!

I have been in quite a dark mood for about 4 weeks. I was talking to Brent about it 2 nights ago and had one of those "AH-HA" moments. It was actually a relief to figure this out, as I thought I was heading into a deep depression. I figured out that it's because of my coffee drinking! I get really wacko when I drink too much coffee, or coffee on a consistent basis. I've been drinking 2-3 cups every day for over 5 weeks. Duh Tari! My body has changed, and I can no longer handle coffee. And it isn't even caffeine... I drink Chai tea every morning instead of coffee and I'm just fine. No mood swings, no feeling strange and emotional... no grumpies. Something about coffee just swings me right off my rocker, and it took me this long to remember it. SO, I've had no coffee yesterday or today. I've had Chai tea and Green tea and I feel great. The thing that made me so sad, is Brent's comment to me "Not only are you not smiling with your face these days, but you're not smiling with your voice either". That was awful to hear. But I know he's right, and I'm VERY thankful that I have figured out the problem, and that it was an easy change.

My girlfriend, Jenna Maxwell, is coming to stay here Friday night. We are friends from Vegas, but she is now in Oregon and I'm in Montana. Jenna will be here for just a couple of days, but I am SO excited to see her!!!

Hope this finds you all healthy and happy. "Peace out", as my little Ryan says...

This'll be quick

2006-01-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have about 5 minutes... I am pressed for time today... getting ready for House Church tonight... need to do more packing... we are moving into our new house in 8 days. By the look of our house right now, you wouldn't know we were even moving. We still have pictures on the walls, everything seems in order. I've been packing all the "extra" stuff and sorting between keeping and selling. The "sell" pile is getting bigger and bigger. We're selling so many things... we are really excited to declutter our lives. We're selling most of decorations and candles and everything... only a few special decor things are coming with us. It's a good feeling...

For House Church this week, we are reading Leviticus 1-5... wow, what a gruesome description of burnt offerings... almost too much for me to read... a bit graphic, but also tedious detail on what the Lord asked these people to do. I don't know that I could stomach what they were asked to do. Their obedience is encouraging to me.

We are working on planning our Mexico trip for June this year... for 10 days. We're also wanting/needing to take the boys on a family vacation during the summer also. We will give them some options of places and let them choose.

I have so much going through my mind right now, I'm sure there is more I'd like to share. BUT, I have tons to do... and not much time to get it all done. Congratulations to Ramon and MaryAnn... (thanks for the update Michelle!)... I knew in my heart a long time ago, when Ramon and MaryAnn first started dating, that they would be married someday. Honestly... I just felt it.

Have a BLESSED day... drop me a quick note if you have a moment. We have some exciting salsa stuff going on... will update on that later. Too much other stuff going on right now... and I have to go bake a chicken... call the fire department... have them ready... I'm cooking!

Over already???

2005-12-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Is it really over? Christmas Day flew past me in a whirlwind of family, food, naps and gifts. Honestly, I wish I would have asked everyone to not buy one gift for me... I wish I would have been less selfish, MUCH less selfish, and given that money and those gifts to someone who has no one giving them gifts. I'm seeking to give my gifts away, to someone who has nothing. If not gifts, then my time, my heart, my Savior. I'm blessed to know that when Christmas Day passes, my thankfulness to God and to Jesus remain the same. I'm blessed to have a husband who serves the same God I do, and that together, we are showing that servanthood, love, respect and obedience towards our Savior... to our children. Christmas for us was spent on the Colbry farm in North Central Montana. It's a long way from anywhere, flat land, beautiful landscapes, deer, antelope, a bald eagle, coyotes, cows, horses... you name it. It's beautiful in a quiet, majestic way. There was zero snow, and small amounts of clouds in the sky. The morning sun coming up in between light clouds and shining over that flat land was more beautiful than I have ever remembered. Sunsets were just as incredible. Both had plenty of reds, oranges and pink hues on the horizon... just beyond words. I've never thought much of the "flatness" of that part of Montana, but this Christmas, my opinion is forever changed. The boys have stayed at the farm with grandma and grandpa... coming home on Friday night. We called the boys last night after we got back home... Ryan started crying... he thought he and Bryce moved to the farm and we came home without them. I had to reassure him a couple of times that he and Bryce were coming home w/Uncle Ben in just a few days. It made my heart ache a little that he thought we made him move away. :( Brent and I have been reading a book called "The Makers Diet", given to us from Sean O'Hair. We've officially changed our groceries in the house, read and re-read parts of the book... and we're doing it. I am so excited, personally, to change this part of my life. I can't even tell anyone, in this online diary, how I feel about myself. I am disgusted... that's all I can say.

If you have someone in your life suffering from cancer, depression, or for any health problems, I highly recommend reading this book and praying and following. I will keep personal updates weekly on this blog site and let you know the changes I feel and see in myself.

Merry Christmas to you, to each of you who take time out of their day to read this. Let us partner together and promise to infect one person, just one person, with the love of Jesus.

Peace, Tari

Holiday Count Down

2005-12-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the Christmas season! The celebration of the birth of our Savior, the feeling of family-closeness, the hustle and bustle, the crisp weather, the snow, holiday decorations... I love it all. I don't even mind the shopping crowds. Of course, I don't spend much time in the crowds, but I still enjoy walking around the mall or downtown and just being a part of the craziness.

I spend a little time each week reading blogs of friends who we knew in Vegas. We're not all still in Vegas, so it's a nice way to catch up on everyone's lives. It's amazing how God brought us to Las Vegas, where we thought we would live for a long, long time. We were there 6 years, almost to the day, and now we're back in Montana... where we thought we would NEVER live again. Montana is so behind the rest of the country... not one person I've talked to here, friends... neighbors... house church'ers... no one knows what a "blog" is. I should send out an email to tell people here about it... get my fellow Montanans up to speed on technology! We're a pathetic little group of people, aren't we???

I'd like to tell anyone who cares to read a bit about healthy eating about a book called "The Maker's Diet". Sean O'Hare sent us a copy and we just weren't too sure about it. But we started reading it and have really enjoyed what the author has to say, and we really respect what he's been through health-wise to get where he is today. If you are looking into ways to increase your health and decrease your toxins, this is a great book!

Through that book, we have discovered a drink called "Kefir" (Keh-FEAR). Check out www.Kefir.com and read all about it. We just ordered some Kefir grains online, received them in the mail today from a gal in California. Go to www.Ebay.com and type in their search "Kefir"... there is a gal named Elena that has some great info about it. You can also email me and I can get you additional info regarding Kefir. We weren't sure what it would taste like, so we went to our local Natural Food Store and bought some Kefir w/blackberries. Oh my goodness is it ever good! It tastes like yogurt and is nutritionally extremely very good for your body!!! We are very excited to start making our own from the grains we bought online. If you're wanting to know more, just publish a post to me on this blog, or email me direct. I am excited to share this because of all the nutrition it offers. Brent and I always enjoy trying new things... and we've had a lot of luck getting the boys to try different foods along with us. (sometimes we just don't tell them... shhhhhh... like goat milk and goat cheese!)

We bought Bryce and Ryan snowboards for Christmas. Brent and I cannot cannot cannot wait to let them open them! We've really cut down on what we do for the boys and each other for Christmas... we've never done "Santa" with the boys... we want them to always know the truth of the season. Bryce said the other day "mom, I'm the only 3rd grader who knows the truth about Santa." We have made sure he knows that it's not for him to share that with his friends, if they do believe in Santa (same w/the Easter Bunny). But here's the funny thing... Bryce and Ryan both believe in the Tooth Fairy!

A couple weeks ago, I was drinking a wheatgrass/spirulina drink... it looks like split pea soup. It's a bit thick for me, so I have to add water, then I can drink it. I gave some to Ryan on the tip of a spoon one day and he threw up all over the floor. Apparently, I'm not the only person in our family with a sensitivity to food textures. Anyway, Bryce took one look at my drink and said "Mom, can I say the "sh" word?" (shit, in case you're not sure what that is)... so, I hesitantly said "ummm... ok". He said, pointing to my green drink... "that looks like my shit after I eat Fruit Loops". I could not believe he said it! My mouth fell open and I could only say "BRYCE!" He said "You said I could", thinking he was in trouble. I was just shocked that he would even think of something like that. After all, "stupid" is a really bad word in our house, let alone the "sh - - " word! Note to self... when kids ask to say bad words, just say no.

Off I go to get the boys from school. For those of you who don't blog much (like me!), blog blog blog! It's so nice to read up on the happenings in your life. If you don't have a blog yet, you should get one. If you do, let me know.

Happy Holidays to each of you, whoever you are, wherever you are. God's blessings to you. I pray that this is the season and the time for you to draw nearer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christ-mas!

Tari

Too much going on

2005-11-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

wow, is it really November 16th? Apparently, according to Cheryl Citizen, I too am a blog nazi. I suck at being consistent... there's always so much on my mind that I don't want to take the time to type it all in.

Brent's been in California since Sunday night, and home tomorrow afternoon. In that time, I have done much. Just to name a few: sent a sample of our salsa to Wal-Mart Corporate (that could be huge and scary!), went looking at new houses with my mom (LOVE doing that!), drank lots of Chai tea, read lots of books with Ryan, read my friend Tera H.'s blog tonight and couldn't stop crying and praying, spent lots of extra fun time with our boys to help them (and me) deal with the fact that daddy's away for 4 days, spent fun quality time with my parents, spent many o' hours on the business phone contacting new customers, and some old, following up with current customers, worked on hiring 2-3 additional part timers to work salsa with us, read zero books myself (bad bad bad), plus the daily stuff like laundry, dishes, getting kids to and from school, cleaning, etc, etc, etc.

I'm sampling salsa at our Costco 10 days between now and New Year's Eve. That's a lot of demo salsa! Not to mention the thousands of pounds, literally, Costco will be going through in the next 1.5 months. I love sampling... I get to be out, visiting with people, sharing a wonderful salsa with customers... it is seriously a lot of fun!

It's late, of course, and I really should get some sleep. This morning, I shut my alarm off, THEN hit snooze... see the problem with this? Needless to say, we were up 1/2 hour late this morning, which makes getting Bryce ready for school not so fun. He doesn't understand the true meaning of "hurry" and must think that it's just a word that I like to say every morning, but must not have an actual meaning. Ugh, that adorable little kid is a slow mover. Ryan isn't much better. Lucky for them, they're cute (and very tender in my heart). Bryce loves that I let him sleep with me when Brent's out of town. So, I'm going to go snuggle with my little buddy and get some sleep. I now have 2 separate alarm clocks set so I have a better chance of getting up on time tomorrow. Let's just say that don't exactly think straight when I'm waking up in the mornings.

Tera, if you're reading this... I love you girl. Your family and most dearly, your mom, are in my prayers. Please update your blog as often as you can... I imagine that's not the easiest thing to concentrate on during such an emotional time. But please, when you have a moment and can handle jotting down how you're all doing, it helps us reading it to pray for specifics. We love you, and we pray for you.

Peace to all of you...

Tari

Preparing for Mexico

2005-09-24T08:05:00.000-06:00

We are leaving for Mexico in 10 days. We'll be there for a week and are praying about God leading us to a 3rd village to share the gospel with. We are very excited to be there and to see our great friend, Chuy. Through our time spent with him as our guide and translator, we have built a wonderful friendship with him.

Brent's sister will be here with the boys while we're away. They are really excited to their auntie here with them for a whole week. Plus their Uncle Ben will be here for that weekend and that's even more exciting for them.

Other things going on around here... Hmmmm... well, I've been a Cookie Lee jewelry consultant since about February. I signed up under my girlfriend, Laurie Crofton, from Las Vegas. I am just now actually doing something as a consultant, hosting my first Open House this coming Wednesday. I have literally invited over 90 people, but who knows how many will actually come. I've been making follow up calls for 2 days and the response has been pretty good. I've handed out invites to many strangers, so I can't follow up with everyone... but I will be calling about 55 people over the next couple of days. It's amazing how many people we know here... but I've invited Brent's co-workers, moms from school, teachers, people we know through our salsa business, my mom's friends and employees... TONS of people! My Open House is to introduce my friends and others in Missoula to Cookie Lee jewelry, the hostess program, the consultant opportunity and to start building my business. I LOVE the jewelry!!! And it's inexpensive and very affordable... and it's beautiful! If you'd like to see a sample of what we offer, go to CookieLee dot com and check out the online catalog. If you would like me to send you a catalog, let me know. The new Fall catalog just came out!

We are working on expanding our salsa distribution into the Pacific NW... Washington and Oregon, and parts of Idaho. We're working with our Broker to get contacts made and start working on distributing samples to many corporate grocers... maybe soon you can get our salsa wherever you live!

Well, Ryan just woke up coughing and sounding nasty. I need to check on him and start my day. Hope you are all doing well, whoever you are. I pray you know the Lord and are seeking His love and His ways for your life. I pray we all find Truth, faith and encouragement in the Bible, and we each allow God to work miracles in our lives, through our trust in Him.

pack n go

2005-08-22T16:32:00.000-06:00

Ok, I have to blog quick because I have packing to do... going to San Diego for 4 days and I have plenty left to do.

We are REALLY hoping to see the Boyds while we're there, and Sean and Diane O'Hare and their new baby girl, and we're going to be visiting and maybe staying one night w/Wade and Letty. Yahoo, it's going to be a great trip! We'll be seeing so many friends that we haven't seen in at least 2 years.

Does anyone else know how wonderful my husband is? I definitely do! I can't even give you specifics... he just IS. There are just some moments when I'm overwhelmed with how much I love that man. He takes care of our family, he is my emotional rock and I just love him. Brent is a great dad, and treasures all the special moments our boys have... I love seeing the tenderness in his eyes when he's watching our boys. He has a great sense of humor and is very even-tempered (unlike his spit-fire wife!)... he sets a great example for our boys. Wow, do I love him!

School starts next week and the boys are ready. I can always tell when it's time for summer vacation to end... little tiny, non-stop bickering, back and forth all day. I just heard Ryan say to Bryce "get back upstairs, the kitty didn't follow you!!!" And Bryce said "don't be so bossy and grumpy Ryan!!" Ryan: "I'm not grumpy!" But apparently, he knows he's bossy, huh???

I still remember when we lived in Vegas and Ryan was about 2, Bryce was 4. They were playing together in their bedroom, and Ryan started crying. Before I could get to their room, Bryce came out and said "I did not just hit my brother 2 TIMES!" Ok, so how many times DID you hit your brother???

Ok, off to pack and do dishes and laundry and finish cleaning and blah blah blah. We're excited to get away for 4 days and hit the beach!

Blog ya later... Tari

Been Caught Speeding...

2005-08-05T08:19:00.000-06:00

Well, it's Friday and I am due in court sometime today... speeding ticket... first one for me... going 36 in a 25... right in front of Ryan's school... you'd think I'd be paying attention... obviously I wasn't, or I'd be doing better things with my Friday! Bryce wants to go to court with me, a curiosity for him. And he probably wants to make sure I'm not going to jail. His innocent little mind gets the best of him sometimes. I think he's a little worried about what will happen to Mom in court. Although I have already let him know all I will have to do is pay a fine and come home. I don't think he'll believe me until I am home after my court appearance.

Carder family, if/when you read this, know that you are always in my heart and we miss you very much. Bryce misses "Iceland Jake" and wants him to go camping with us when you return. We would love to take you huckleberry picking with us again, and do some backpack hiking into some remote lakes for overnight camping in and around Glacier Park.

For those of you who have been begging us to allow internet orders of our salsa... we are able to overnight it, if you order through email. Shipping is a bit of a punch in the stomach, about $15... actually, it's not THAT bad... a 5# salsa itself (medium, hot or extra hot) is $12... email if you'd like to place an order. SO, email us at BrenTariFoods@hotmail.com if you would like to place an order.

Camping was very relaxing... well, for me anyway. Brent got up early every morning and went huckleberry picking with family, to a place we call "Billy Goat Mountain" because it's so steep. I opted to sleep in. Our campsite had a small creek running right through it, so I sat by the creek a lot and read. I'm reading a book called "Soul Survivor" by Phillip Yancey... what a FANTASTIC book! Brent is reading it also, and he's enjoying it just as much as I am. We brought the boys bikes with us and one of the little cousins had his bike also... so if the kids weren't playing in the creek, they were riding their bikes around and around the dirt road that looped the entire campground. What a fun weekend for all of us!

We are going to San Diego in a couple of weeks, staying for 4 days. We're hoping to see the Boyds, Sean and Diane O'Hare, and Wade and Letty Lair. And the boys want to play at the beach. Sounds good to us!

We're heading to Mexico October 5-12. We wish and pray that we had people joining us... hint hint... if you're up to it, c'mon, let's go! The ministry we are blessed with in the 2 villages is so incredible! We look forward to seeing our many village friends once again, and our dear friend Chuy, and his cousin Edgar, of course. The boys will be back in school and will not be coming with us. We need to start figuring out who will be here with the boys while we're gone... that's always the hardest thing for me... who can we trust to be here for an entire week with the boys... answers are only a prayer away, right?

Through our house church, we are studying, this week, the book of ACTS. We are reading one chapter each day and taking time to reflect on what we've read, what are we learning from God's Word, how can we personally share His message with someone who doesn't know Him, how it will impact us in our daily walk with Christ. I'm getting more out of these chapters than ever before and I'm loving my devoted quiet time every morning.

Ok, my boys are awake and ready for breakfast, as am I. Be blessed today, spend time quietly with our Lord if you haven't done so yet. Ask Him how he wants you to live today...

Picking Huckleberries...

2005-07-28T09:16:00.000-06:00

We're heading to Glacier National Park this weekend for our annual 4 day camping trip with Brent's extended family... lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, siblings... we spend 4 days on the edge of Glacier Park, at Lid Creek... camping, hanging out, and picking gallons and gallons of huckleberries. Bryce asked me if "Iceland Jake" is coming... the Carders came to Montana a couple summers ago and went camping with us... now Bryce wants Jake to come with us every time... and he calls him "Iceland Jake". (Yes, Carders, we miss you VERY much!)

I am understand more and more each day God's grace. The 2nd week Brent was away was sad for me, for whatever reason. Through that sadness, I have begun a journey of seeking God in a new way. I can't even explain it, I just know that I am growing closer to Him, the One who forgives me for doubting his love.

Bryce and I had a discussion yesterday about asking God's forgiveness. Bryce, under his breath, said to his brother "shut up ya idiot". Wow, was he surprised that I heard those words! Bryce and I talked and I explained how sad those words made me feel, that he was talking like that to his brother. He asked me "Mom, is God sad too?" I said I wasn't sure, but that he should spend a little time in prayer and ask God to forgive him for what was said. He went quietly to his room at his own request, to say his precious own little prayer to his Savior. He came out and told me about his prayer and it was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard. True prayer, from Bryce's heart... it was truly a sweet moment.

We have a friend from Costco coming over tonight... he makes his own meat rubs and wants us to talk with him about how to make in into a business. And he's making us bbq ribs, with his own favorites rubs as a thank you... whahoo!

If you have favorite scripture that has helped you trust God and has helped you give yourself to the Lord, will you please share with me?

Trying to surrender myself, Tari

A bit more at peace...

2005-07-20T23:22:00.000-06:00

Ok, so my Heavenly Father and my support system are incredible... Father, thank you for sending friends to help me, and to show me your love through friends. thank you for loving me through my sad moments. Through emails and phone calls and personal visits, I have been uplifted, knowing the Lord we serve together has sent these friends to show me His love. Thank you, each one of you!

I do feel much better today. Tara helped me clean the house and the playroom. Callie and Amy came over and brought some dinner. We all had dinner together, then ice cream... Mmmmmm... then Shane and PJ showed up to pick up some dishes (Amy gave me her old dishes, so I gave Shane and PJ ours). It was a fun night, and a great way to end my 2-week stint of no Brent. Speaking of my sweet husband, Brent will be home in 2 days and that makes all of us happy. The boys are more than ready to see their daddy, and they will be crazy with excitement at the airport Friday afternoon. But... our friend Tara, from Las Vegas/Tucson is going home tomorrow. She's been here for 4 weeks and the boys and I have re-bonded with her again after not seeing her for over 4 years! We have really enjoyed her time spent here with our family, and will miss her a lot.

Tara bought the boys a kitten yesterday, Bryce named the kitten "Angel". Brent hasn't even seen a picture of the little kitten yet... She is mellow and absolutely adorable! She does like to play, but when you hold her, she is floppy and doesn't care who's holding her and how you're holding her. She lets us hold her on her back, upside down, head hanging over our hands... whatever! We really should have named her "Flopsy" because she's like a wet noodle.

Ok, I want to post some pictures... we have some really cute ones of Angel and some good ones of Tara and the boys... even a pretty good one of her and I together.

I pray you are doing well today... wherever you are... whoever you are...

God Bless, Tari

A little pride and joy

2005-07-19T00:50:00.000-06:00

why am i so lost???

2005-07-18T01:40:00.000-06:00

Wow, I just want to journal my thoughts... so I got m'self a blogspot.

It's late, I'm sad inside and very sleepy. Brent's been out of town for over a week, and he'll be home this Friday. Two weeks without that man really sucks!

Ok, so I'm sad... part of it is just the fact that Brent is gone and I want him home now. Whaa! I need to get over it, he'll be home in a few short days. But without him here, I fall into laziness and impatience and I get myself off-schedule. My body feels out of whack... I can't sleep, so I wake up late... barely remember shutting off my alarm every stinking morning. I do not wake up well, and I sleep hard. Those 2 combined, without a husband as a second alarm clock, make for a bad combination. I am so off my sleep schedule... I am a mess.

I also feel extremely lost because my relationship with Christ right now is awful. Obviously it's completely my fault... not like I've been praying, and our sweet Lord is napping, right??? Not like I've been reading God's Word and He keeps closing the book, right???

Lord God, YES, I confess that I have placed everything else in my life first, including doing absolutely nothing. Father, I ask your forgiveness. I am alone and I know it's truly because my back is to you at this moment... and I cannot figure out why. Turn me around, please Father, show me you're still here. I need you here...

Gosh, I'm in a funk... and it's not good. Not like jumping off a bridge or anything, just not my original happy me... and that's not a good way to be.

Prayer is needed, and it needs to start with me, reaching out for the Lord's hand... I'm off to find HIM... again...

Peace in Christ to each of you... Tari