Taylor Party of 4!!!!

Windows & Doors

2012-02-10T12:13:00.000-06:00

Since my last post, which you can read HERE, things have changed. It is funny how I decide to no longer be quiet and then within a few days I get an email requesting a meeting. 3 days ago everything changed. The family that attacked me has been silent these past three months nothing has been said to anyone… So what has been happening these past 3 months? I have no idea, nothing as far as I can tell. I was supposed to end up having a mediation with this chick and our spouses… or so I thought… But in our meeting on Tuesday I was told how amazing I am with the kids and how wonderful I am as a person and how much they miss me… So they would love for me to come back into the ministry…. As a volunteer. Not as the leader I was before all this transpired. Why not as the leader? I am not too sure. But all I know is those words were a slap in the face. In our original meeting 3 months ago, “D” agreed with me that this was an attack from Satan, and they must have done the right thing because he was causing a ruckus… But 3 days ago she has now decided that this was God telling them I am better suited for a classroom. I don’t understand how we went from an attack from Satan to this being God having the issue… the only thing I can come up with is this is just a copout response to a really poorly handled situation. Not only that but I asked the obvious question…What happens if she sees me working a room and throws yet another fit? “D” and “K” both said that at that time we would push the mediation… Soooo… Basically we are not addressing the issue… We are hoping it has just gone away. Well that is not going to fly. I was told they were working towards a resolution -not waiting 3 months to apply a Band-Aid and hope that all is ok. I want to know why I cant be a leader… Why cant I be restored to the position I was before… How am I to face the women I lead, but have not seen in three months, and tell them not to worry why I am not leading… Not to worry where I was for 3 months… and for goodness sake if I am good enough to work in a class then I am good enough to lead. I am a leader… The position was perfect for me… except I am beginning to think that it wasn’t. I am beginning to think that through this process God is closing a door. slamming a door … Now I am just waiting for him to open that window. Waiting is so hard… I told my husband last night that being a part of a church is so important to me, it helps me focus and reconnect, and after 10-11 years of being at a church you would hope that in any situation they would have your back. They would see turmoil between two families and immediately sit us both down and talk to us… Not dismiss us, rarely to follow up with us, and then 3 months later have nothing changed or corrected. I feel as though I have been punished for a crime that I did not commit. How is it fair that someone can call the church, spread lies, and I AM THE ONE PUNISHED! I just feel so betrayed. Betrayed by the people that I thought would be there for me no matter what… What would happen is someone made those accusations about “D” or “K”… Would they be asked to go on leave for 3 months only to return to find out that nothing has been done and BTW we are demoting you from director to volunteer… No I was not paid for my leadership role. BUT it is just an example of how differently things would be handled. At the end of our meeting “D” told me she hoped I had learned something in all this, they had for sure, and for me to watch what I say to people… And to that I thought WHAT?!? ME?!? What did I say that was soooo awful! Needless to say I am still processing all this. Today I will tell “K” that I need more time to think and pray… and when I am ready I will give them all my questions… Things I want answered. It is sad to say that my time at FOTW may be coming to an end… but I am just a little curious to see the window He has left open for me…

I must say that my Faith is strong and I could not be happier that this attack happened to me, yes I still believe this was an attack. As far as the way they believe I think that maybe they have taken the easy road and their vision may be a bit clouded, how do they know that this was not a test on their leadership? Exactly! I believe that if this attack had happened to someone who was weak in their faith that they may have lost their faith… They may have lost their walk because who in their right mind would want to be part of something so amazing that could yield such negative results. But my faith is strong… I can worship anywhere at any time. (Just ask the guy who looked over to see me rocking out in my car this morning, yep that is a God thing right there. A church is a building, yes it is a place to come and be fed, but that building does not define me as a Christian, it does not make me who I am. God Does! We have been hurt by a church in our past when my parents got divorced… the segregation was clear. Then we found FOTW and all was well…But in that transition I learned that faith is not something that your church defines, it is a walk, a walk that we may not always know which direction to turn. The light in that tunnel may only be that of a match sometimes but the light is there… You just have to turn towards it to be able to see. But you know… all good things come to an end. Doors are closed… Windows opened and through all of it… God has a plan.

Censored no more

2012-02-01T15:08:00.000-06:00

I know that I have not blogged much lately… In fact I can pin point the day that my blogging declined… It was the day that an individual tried to use something in my blog for evil. Pure unadulterated evil. This person is not a bad person… at least not that I could tell… she and I just didn’t see eye to eye so I felt it best to walk away. I sent a message on facebook explaining my reasoning and that I really felt it best to end it now. (our kids were friends) She felt it best to write a 9 page letter telling me I was the devil, and that I am an awful person. That very same day I accepted a leadership position at our church, (yes the same church she attends, and no I rarely see her) I was so excited to start my position and that first Sunday was wonderful and I made connections with my team and I just knew that God was at work, I believe that the devil tries to tear us down and that maybe her email was just an attack from him… Wanting me to doubt my faith, but I chose not to. I chose not to even respond to her email, and I chose to move on with my life. But after my first Sunday as the leader they pulled me aside to tell me that the attack continued… At that moment my heart broke as they told me how she had told them I beat my kids, and I am an awful parent. The church stood behind me… Then two weeks later I was asked to step down from my position and asked to step away from the ministry all together until some kind of resolution could be met. Well…

This all started back on 11/6. Well the emails were actually sent earlier in the week but the church first brought it to me on the 6^th… That is 3 months ago… Three really long months. I have stayed quiet waiting on resolution… But I have also had to censor my feelings and not be truthful on my blog because she took my words and spun them to her own use… Yes the words I wrote on MY blog. No I do not beat my kids, nor do I treat them poorly… Come on! Have you met my children? Do you know anything about my past? There is just no way…

I have worked in that nursery for 3+ years, faithfully, every Sunday, with bells on my toes. I worked when I was pregnant and couldn’t lift anything, I worked up until I was induced because my heart and soul is in that ministry. I believe in the work we do. I believe that God is moving in amazing ways in the children’s ministry. I was so honored to be a part of it only in an instant to have it all taken away.

I have had a long time to think about what transpired between us. Guys I am not talking about some hot head chick my age, she is a 40+ year old woman! I would expect this kind of retaliation out of a teenager or a chick in her early 20’s but come on. Going after something I love so much not because you feel I don’t belong there but because you need to feel vindicated is just plain cruel. She doesn’t volunteer at the church, nor is she a member of a small group… But everyone worships in their own way… SO LEAVE MINE ALONE! I mean seriously. If she really thought my kids were in danger then CPS would have been knocking at my door. But they didn’t, and if they did I would welcome them into my home with open arms, because I have nothing to hide. I am brutally honest, it is a gift but in the same token it is a fault. Sometimes I say too much, sometimes I don’t say enough, and other times I don’t sugar coat things enough but that is me… Most people love that about me… Until it is turned on them… So the buck stops here... Censoring my blog just made it ~~difficult~~...next to impossible to blog... So I wont do it anymore... If she takes my words fine! But I can print my blog... I can pull it up on my phone and show what was said... I wont be censored anymore... Because I am deeply hurt, not by the things she said... But because I should be there... I should be there every Sunday... I should be holding up the commitments I made to my team and instead? Instead I am sitting ~~quietly~~ censored waiting on a resolution... Will it ever come?

I miss MY ministry… I miss MY team… I miss MY church family…

New Years Post... 25 days late...

2012-01-25T10:29:00.002-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! Wow… It has been a long time since I have blogged and I apologize immensely for that. So if there is anyone out there still reading (queue crickets… waits… waits some more… COME ON! NOT EVEN THE CRICKETS STILL READ!) thank you for sticking around… Alright… So where to begin… SOOOO much has happened since December 20^th! Seriously… I can’t believe it has been that long… Ok well first things first we should talk about Christmas… Tis the season right? I did much better than I have in years past… I enjoyed watching my children rejoice in all that Christmas had to offer and it was such a blessing to hear Abs talk about Jesus’ birthday with such fondness… We did the elf on the shelf this year and it was a huge hit… That crazy elf did all kinds of stuff… He toilet papered our Christmas tree, he put streamers in Abbey’s room, he constantly was ending up in the silliest places… he even gave Abs a parting gift! Abbey still talks about “Chippy” and can’t wait till he comes back again… Sometimes if one of us is not listening she will tell us that she is going to tell Chippy… It’s kind of cute… The kids made out like bandits this Christmas so just like years past we went through all their toys and donated a significant chunk of the old ones to make room for the new. We have Abbey help so she gets the feeling of giving. Christmas was a little different this year. This was the first year that I did not volunteer for any services. It was really hard on me to know they needed help and I couldn’t be a part of it. I truly hope all this with the ministry can be resolved soon so that I can be restored in my rightful place with my tiny little babies. I got some really awesome Christmas gifts this year… My all time favorite had to be my craft center that Tim made… I am not too crazy about the color but it is absolutely beautiful. Pictures to come on that one… Another close favorite would have to be our new mattress. Yep Josh and I bought each other a mattress and it is amazing… We spent more than we ever had on a bed. It has coconut foam on top and it’s like heaven when you lay down…It has provided many nights of great sleep so far and we couldn’t be happier with our choice. Before Christmas I had the joy of working the daycare for a week while Liz had knee surgery. It truly was awesome to see the kids in their environment. We did projects and a Christmas craft every day. We had pajama day, pizza day, movie day, paint day… and every day the kids went home with something crafty to show their parents… It truly was an awesome experience… While I was there I had the lawn service come and mow and clean out her gutters, I cleaned the kitchen really well, and I am working on getting her windows fixed in the front of the house. Liz is truly a wonderful woman with such a gentle soul. My kids love her sooo much so it is the least I can do to help her out when I can… and she, in return, helps us out when we need help. You can really tell how much she is loved by the innocent eyes of a child. Jacob runs to her door every morning and pushes me out the door to leave waving bye… He has even had to go on a Saturday and had just as much excitement. I love that he is so happy with her… Anyways back to Christmas… I will have to do a few posts with pictures… just to show you our Christmas. New year’s came quickly after that and we didn’t do anything except take it easy… We came back to a short week and then all hell broke loose. We were hit with the plague at my house and it was AWFUL! Jake was acting fussy because he had shots on the Thursday he was grumpy most of the weekend and then I woke up Sunday and just felt miserable. It didn’t get any better until I started to perk up on Thursday… Then Thursday night Mom called… she was having severe abdominal pain. I rushed her to the ER only to wait for 2 hours with her crying and moaning (loudly) in pain before we were seen. IT was AWFUL! Knowing there was nothing I could do to help her. Finally around 3 am they discovered that she had a perforation in her bowel. 2 hours later she is having major emergency surgery and they ended up removing quite a chunk of her bowel. The first few days after surgery I was seriously worried she may never make it out of that hospital. She was pretty bad off, later she told me she had the same fear. Then all the sudden she took a turn for the positive and now she is at resting at home and doing well. Praise God. I am in no way ready to lose my mother… Especially not that way. But I did learn a lot during all this. I learned that some things aren’t worth arguing about. That there are certain people who would walk through fire for me to be by my side. Adrian and I hadn’t talked in ages… and any correspondence we had was strained and usually ended in us angry with one another… But when Mom was not doing good and I needed someone, she came without a question or a discussion. She was there for me. It was probably the best thing that could have ever happened. I didn’t realize how much I missed her. She is like that sister that you love but you buttheads because you are both so stubborn. She sat with me for awhile in Mom’s room, then we sat in the lobby for forever just catching up, talking about us, talking about a recent loss she suffered, realizing that everything else was just water under the bridge… In the end I am glad I called to tell her about Mom. I was broken, hurt, and so alone. She was there for me. It’s funny how people see you. They see me as strong, stable, and pretty much able to handle anything. But this… this had me broken, and so hurt, and I felt alone. I told people about Mom looking for prayer and support. Some people I thought would come to my rescue didn’t, others texted me all weekend about random things, occasionally asking about Mom, and that was wonderful. It wasn’t until many many days later, and after calling a few people out, that I realized the lesson in all this. I can’t help but think that God was nudging me in the direction I needed to turn, to the friend that would know exactly what to do. Even Mom was ecstatic to know that we were talking again. I guess it makes it all worth it. Another thing I got out of this experience was realizing how truly amazing the man I married is. He was there for me every step of the way. He shuffled kids and did bed times without me. He took both kids to Abbey’s swim lessons, he was willing to help any way possible so I could see Mom and it meant sooo much to me. I love that man… He truly is a compassionate, loving man. Well if you actually kept reading and made it to the end of this post I promise that the next one will be full of pictures and such from the holidays and so on. Thank you so much for all your love and support and Happy 2012!

Totally Random Tuesday

2011-12-20T11:23:00.000-06:00

Where to start… Hmm… gotta love when you have so many thoughts to put down that you can’t decide where to start. Ha!

We will start with Jacob. Jacob got his hair cut this weekend and it went so much better than the first time! AND it looks like a little boy cut which makes me very happy! He sat in Daddy’s lap and even though he was moving like crazy she still got a great cut. Ruth is amazing like that… She also cut EVERYONE else’s hair that same day… My Mom’s too! She made her hair look fuller, she put glitter in Abbey’s hair, and she gave me some much needed shape! If you are looking for Ruth you can find her at http://www.haircreationsalon.com/

After his hair cut Jake went to my mother in laws for the rest of the day and to stay the night. He had a blast. He discovered the stockings that made noise and since they hang above his reach he made Mimi and Papa get up and down quite a bit to turn them on LOL.

Abbey joined him later that evening for a slumber party at Mimi & Papa’s. But first she went to hang out with Aunt Peppy and Uncle Shaun. They went ice skating at The Woodlands rink… it was so cute she had a walker and she actually did pretty good… Uncle Shaun didn’t ice skate though because his knee hurt, or so says Abbey LOL. After ice skating they built a bear named Chrissy, she is purple, wears a dress, high heels, and has a heart. Abbey had such a great time with them. It is so funny to listen to her tell us about it.

So if you’re keeping tabs then you may have noticed that all this boils down to Josh and I had no kids most of the day… So… We went and got a couples massage that was much needed and very very wonderful! Then we ate some yummy sushi, finished our Christmas shopping and some returns, and then we went and did my least favorite thing… shopped for clothes! Believe it or not I found a couple of things I really liked, Josh too! Over all it was a success! It was a busy weekend but it was very enjoyable! The countdown has begun and I am so excited to have most of my presents already wrapped, (usually I end up doing this the night before) and ready to be put out. We also bought all the stuff we need to make Christmas cookies and my cabinets are filling up with cards… Our elf has been busy busy as well. He toilet papered our Christmas tree on Saturday, Abbey about died. Then he bought her some lights for her Christmas tree in her room and left them for her, so very nice of him. That Chippy sure has been busy… something tells me he has a few more tricks up his sleeve before he flies home till next year… Tomorrow’s wordless Wednesday will consist of lots of pictures… and a video too!

Finally Friday

2011-12-09T11:54:00.002-06:00

Well it is Finally Friday! Felt like today would never come… Tonight is Girls Night In at my house… So excited! We will be stuffing our faces with all the goodies and we are making and decorating things for Christmas… I love it when we all get together… there is so much laughing going on I must burn at least 1000 calories… The kiddos are staying at Ma-D’s tonight… and I am so excited! Mama needs a break… I love them to the moon and back but Jake has teethed for 4 weeks now and Abbey is going through this phase right now… The kind you’re not too sure if she will make it out alive LOL. Josh and I are taking advantage of the fact that we will have no kids and we are going Christmas shopping. By the end of this weekend we should be almost done! LOVE IT! Last night I took Abs with me to the store to buy the goodies for tonight… she was sooo cute! All excited about girl time. We had a good time wandering the aisles and talking about the things I was putting in the basket. Then we moseyed down the Christmas aisle where Abs found antlers and a nose for your car. She looked at it for a minute and then she figured it out and her entire face lit up. MOMMY WE NEED THIS! I told her no and she said but O please Mommy… It will be so funny and her face was so excited and… There was a sign that it was 25% off… So I sucked it up and bought it. The look on her face when it was on the car was priceless… I may have been a scrooge in my past… But this year I am warming up a bit. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Wordless Wednesday... (with captions ofcourse!)

2011-12-07T11:07:00.000-06:00

This kid right here… He is 14 months old… and well… His Mommy… She kinda thinks…

That he may be the cutest thing ever… Not that she is biased or anything…

Ramblings of a Tuesday…

2011-12-06T10:59:00.002-06:00

First things first let’s start with the weekend…

Friday night our elf came… If you are unfamiliar with the elf on the shelf he is this magical elf that everyday reports back to Santa whether you have been good or bad… and everyday he lands in a different spot. When you get your elf you give him a name… Abbey named him “Billy”… But then the next day changed it to “Chippy”… Which happens to be the elf’s name on the cartoon on the TV but whatever… Every year “Chippy” will come out after Thanksgiving and start his reports for Santa… Abbey loves it…

Ok so some of you are like but Santa isn’t real! Yes I know this… and Abbey knows that we celebrate Christmas because it is Jesus’ birthday… She has chosen to believe that Santa brings us presents in honor of that… No, I did not tell her that… She came up with that on her own and we are going with it because when I tried to tell her differently she was adamant about her thoughts… so… yep!

We had a lazy weekend… Jake was teething, Abbey wasn’t feeling that well, and by Sunday Josh wasn’t feeling that well either… Jacob boycotted naps most of the weekend and was a fussy pants and Abbey had a headache… BLAH! So… Saturday we redboxed some movies and just lounged around almost all day! It was nice but very boring once Sunday came around and that same thing was on the menu… Le Sigh…

Funny story… Josh and I were “making out” (we can do that you know) and Jacob toddles over and in 5 seconds grabs a lit candle, nearly burning his fingers, I say no put it down, and his response? He threw it at the wall… WAX.WENT.EVERYWHERE! Josh looks at me and says well I guess we needed something to do… Turd… (Jake not Josh)

We also started time outs with Jake this weekend… It was awesome. Seriously before you get all bent out of shape… the kid was standing in a rocking chair repeatedly. I would tell him no and he would sit down… Pretty soon he was doing it out of spite… So I took him from the chair and put him in timeout. For 1 minute… and he sooo got the fact that he was in trouble… he just sat there. Then when I said he could get up, I would give him a hug and he would go on his merry way… The kid is smart… Really smart and he likes to test his limits… So… I can test too : )

After this weekend with two children who were in horrible moods Josh and I were ready for Monday… SERIOUSLY ready for Monday LOL…

On another note… I found a dance studio that we are enrolling Abs in! SUPER EXCITED FOR HER! She will be taking Ballet and Tap. She has bugged me for months about it… and seriously has begged. So we have decided to make it part of her Christmas present… For her to open her shoes and clothes at Christmas will just be so much fun!

Yesterday I started back running… I had made a promise to myself that I was going to do it no matter what… It was cold and misting… and I went… and I rocked it… Like seriously rocked it… Since it is dark out earlier these days I can only run in our neighborhood amongst the street lights, where people could hear me if I scream LOL… But I was oober excited that I did it even though I was wet and cold when I got back. AND to make it even better… I did not have to hit my inhaler even once! I love when it is not hot and muggy… Really makes my runs that much more manageable… I started with my C25K program, which now has a new name, from the beginning but was bored… So I think that I will have to find a week that I am comfortable at and go from there…

All this running stuff came about because I had this goal… and I made my goal… and beat my goal… When I had Jacob I weighed 205 lbs. Mind you the first 10 was easy… I birthed a 9.5 oz kid! The next 10 were easy… Then at the first of the year I weighed myself and I weighed 184 lbs. I decided to lose all my pregnancy weight before Jacob was 1. Well I lost 21 lbs by September. (My pre-prego weight was 165…) I beat it by 2 lbs. But I didn’t want to stop there… I wanted to lose more… I wanted to look better… and painstakingly I lost 6 more pounds… and there I sit… at 159. Not going either direction. So… I have started running again… Jan. 1st I will start back on my Paleo diet… and my new goal? My new goal is to lose 19 lbs by Jacob’s second birthday… 140… I have not been 140 since I was 6 weeks pregnant with Abbey… I can do it… I know I can… and I will… and then… I will post pictures of the difference… on this blog… not the one that I have told no one about… : ) Because from 205 to 140 in 2 years? That would be so worth showing off.

O YES! AND…This week is girls night Christmas addition! I am oober excited to be hosting… and I have some AWESOME recipes and desserts and dips to make : ) The theme is Christmas decorating… so we will be making ornaments and Christmas items! I can’t wait to get started!!!!

Random Thought Thursday

2011-12-01T09:41:00.003-06:00

1. I love turkey for only 1 week out of the year… By the time Thanksgiving has come and gone the site of it makes me nauseated LOL… This was proven true last night at Hubble and Hudson…

2. I was not entirely impressed with the café at Hubble and Hudson Kitchen… It wasn’t bad… But… Meh…

3. I have found so many great ideas on Pintrest… Yes I am addicted… What’s it to you? : )

4. I have also made some of these great ideas and they have worked out really well for me… I love PINTREST!!!

5. My son may not make it to his second birthday… No he does not have some terminal disease but his attitude is really getting the better of him…

6. In reality number 3 is not entirely his fault… he is teething… like cutting molars… OWWWWWW

7. Last night he was hitting me with my fork, the POINTY END… Why did he have my fork? Because he was no longer screaming in public (see number 1 & 2) PS: it hurt.

8. In other news… I got a raise! YAY! I have been here for 3 years… so… yeah… It was unexpected and much appreciated… it made me happy…

9. My Christmas shopping will be complete in 9 more days…

10. Number 8 makes me happy… But what makes me even happier is the fact that Josh fixed the awful lean on our Christmas tree… (he replaced the tree stand, while it was lit, and covered in ornaments…) Yeah… he is a stud…

11. I would be even happier if all the lights on my outside trees would light up… But… 2 of my 4 trees have issues… Kind of ghetto… even more ghetto? The fact that Sean turned them on when he got home at 10:30 last night… and left them on for all the neighbors to balk at… REALLY NEED TO FIX THIS… Where is that stud of mine : )

12. Abs is super excited about Christmas this year… She loves all the decorations, and the music… and all the specials on TV… It has been fun so far

13. What is not so fun is the fact that every toy commercial on TV is something she wants or needs and she loves it a lot… to be honest most of the stuff SHE HAS NO CLUE WHAT IT EVEN IS…

14. Jake on the other hand would be happy with the boxes that the gifts come in… and that’s it.

15. CLARIFICATION OF NUMBER 13: Yes we are buying him actual toys.

16. I have two Prego friends… One who is 9 weeks… the other who is almost 27 weeks.

17. One is miserably sick the other is so excited she is making me sick!

18. Angelina… I was just kidding : ) Seriously… I am super excited too!!!!

19. The sick one… I feel so bad for… I love her and pray for relief!

20. 8 days till GNI! I am so excited… and I am working on my menu… as well as my crafting ideas… EEEK!

21. I love hosting parties… really I just love an excuse to make food for people…

22. I love to cook… and I am not terribly bad at it : )

23. Pay back is funny… Jake has started picking on Abbey… he tries and kicks her when she is near and he is sitting in my lap… he pulls her hair… and I cant help but giggle just a little bit… We warned her this was coming… She didn’t listen.

24. This random thoughts list is getting a little long… and I just went back and read it… and yes I chuckled a little bit… Have a fabulous Thursday!!!

Cleanse...

2011-11-30T11:54:00.000-06:00

I am cleaning up my reader list for the ol blog... I noticed yesterday that there are a few people on here as subscribed readers who have no business reading this blog... honestly they don't care about me or my family. It may have been an over site on their part so I will do them the favor of removing them as readers... To all my faithful readers and followers... HAVE A FANTABULOUS WEDNESDAY!!!!

Turkey Day Tuesday!

2011-11-29T15:04:00.002-06:00

So I have yet to share with you about our Turkey Days… yes DAYS… we celebrate twice. Thursday we had Thanksgiving at our house. Josh and I brined the turkey this year… We were set to do it in our huge bag and every single bag ended up with a small hole in it… So… We cleaned the bottom drawer of our fridge and brined Tom in there! It worked! Tom, who was our turkey by the way, then sat in the fridge for twelve hours after he marinated in the brine for 24 hours. The day of we stuffed him with oranges, onion, celery, carrots, thyme, sage, parsley, and rosemary, we tied up his legs flipped him upside down and started the cooking process… HE WAS SO YUMMY! We also made our own cranberry sauce from scratch, our gravy from scratch, our homemade mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. Mom made sweet potatoes, stuffing, yummy rolls and pumpkin pies. Deanne brought wine and lots of it… Mom and Deanne were feeling pretty good before dinner even began… Then there is the sweet potatoes incident. Every year we burn the marshmallows… but this year we vowed not to let that happen. Well… they started to catch on fire and we pulled them out… Laughing and carrying on the whole time… Then Josh’s parents got there right as the smoke alarm shut off… right as we stuck them back in to try again… We all got to chit chatting and Bev says.. Is something on fire??? My Mom flung open the oven and they were on FIRE… Like all of it LOL… Thankfully just the marshmallows burned though. We have never laughed so hard… Needless to say we did not try for a third time. Having everyone together is something that makes my heart so happy. I love the laughter and the stories. Friday we went to Josh’s parents for round two of the Thanksgiving festivities… and we ate till we could eat no more!!! It was soooo fabulous! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Lots to be thankful for...

2011-11-28T12:09:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for my family and how wonderful they are... I love to sit and watch them together... how they laugh and play... how they bring me such happiness... How each member brings something to the table... each member sewn together in God's intricate plan.
I am thankful for my husband and his amazing qualities... how he watches our children so I can go to the movies with friends... how he watches shows he hates because he knows I love them... how he loves on me... how he is supportive in whatever I do... how he fulfills all the promises he made to me on the day we got married... everyday of his life...
I am thankful for Abbey and the joy she brings me... her creativity, the sparkle in her eye... how she recognizes my emotions... how she loves me...
I am thankful for Jacob and his sweet nature... for his kisses and hugs even if it includes his tongue to my cheek... for his inquisitive nature... his all boy attitude... for his unconditional love... and that smile that could melt snow in the north pole...
I am thankful for my Father in Heaven and all that he has blessed me with...
I am thankful for my church no matter the circumstance... I love how they mold our children and teach us life lessons... how they are there for the community... how they have been there for me....
I am thankful for my friends who love me for me... they are there to listen... to support me... and to lift me up when I need a boost... they are there to encourage me when I am weak... and share in praise when it is there... most of all I love that they are there... even when they are not... If we don't talk that often, or see each other but twice a year... I know... They are always there...
I am thankful for this past year and all the things we have experienced... Both good and bad... The people who came into our lives... and the people who left our lives... each came with lessons to learn from... each taught me so much about ourselves...
I am thankful for me... for who I am... for who I will always be...
I am thankful for being able to get together as a family and celebrate holidays... no matter what headaches it may bring... in the end... it is all worth it...

Weekend Re-cap

2011-11-21T11:24:00.000-06:00

We had such a good weekend! Friday night Alex came home from school with us… Him and Abbey are so silly together! We walked up and down the street a few times while pushing Jake in his car and then we got out the power wheel and rode it up and down the street a few times, neither one of them is very good at driving in a straight line though! LOL… For dinner we headed over to McDonalds where they scarfed down their happy meals and pushed on us to finish eating so they could go play. They played for a little while, until I couldn’t take it anymore, and then we headed back to the house where they watched a couple of movies and played and giggled and had a grand time. Originally we had planned on taking them to the zoo BUT Josh ended up having to go to the dentist first thing Saturday morning because he was in a lot of pain… So the kids and I played games and toys and watched cartoons… Then when Mr. Josh got home we went for a ride around the block and by then it was time to eat! Chick-fil-a was rewarded for good behavior and I even let them play in the kid area… Man my skin was crawling from all the kids area’s LOL… When we went to drop off Alex we ended up staying for a little over an hour just playing in the backyard with the kids and chit chatting with Jen and Tom… Even Jacob got in on the ball throwing action! Once we headed home it was time for Jake’s nap and Abbey’s quiet time, where she chose to watch a movie, and Daddy and Mommy watched the first Twilight movie! Yep, Josh is such a great man he watched all three of them on Saturday! (I had to re-watch them before this weekend because Savannah, Heather and I are headed to the movies to see Breaking Dawn Part 1! The movies are very disappointing if you read the books but never the less I just have to see it… After Jake woke up we headed to Mimi and Papa’s and had fun just chit chatting with them… Sunday we skipped church… instead Jake and I went to the grocery store in the morning, then I cooked a homemade lasagna… Which takes like an hour to prepare then an hour to bake… AND then Josh and I cleaned everything, all the laundry got done, and we cleaned the garage and Josh got down the Christmas stuff in preparation for next week… there is just something not right about sweating and hauling Christmas stuff though… LOL... Yesterday was hard on me… But I made it through it… Mom got there right as the group went to their rooms so she didn’t have to talk to anyone and although she missed me she enjoyed getting to know Laura a bit better… Sigh… this too shall pass…

I hurt...

2011-11-17T14:37:00.000-06:00

I recently ended a friendship. A friendship that needed to be ended because of our incompatibility. Not because I hate her or even dislike her but just because we did not agree on things. By ending it, I thought, I was protecting my daughter from pain later on, I thought I was level headed in my email to her. I told her how I felt, I told her it was ok to feel the way she did, but that it was just better this way. I expected to be told a few choice words because I did say that her children needed their parents to be on the same page and that their wild behaviors were not ok with me. But if that is the way that she runs her house then that is fine... it just wasnt for me. What I didnt expect was 9 pages worth of hatrid... what I didnt expect was what happened after she sent that email... the hurt and the pain I feel is unimaginable. I have had something taken from me that means more to me than anything and it makes me so sad. Never in a million years would I ever treat another human being the way that I have been treated in this instance. Never in a million years would I intentionally try to ruin someone the way this person is trying to do to me. It saddens me because I know that this is not God's plan... I know that he has great plans for me, so I will quietly sit... and wait. I pray for her everyday. That she would see the evil that has taken hold of this situation. That she would remember the positives about our relationship and all the times we were their for one another. That she would realize the pain she is inflicting is not that of God's path but of a force so evil it scares me. Many things were said in the last week of our friendship... some hurtful... some not... But never did I denounce her credibility as a parent, never did I think she would say those things about me.... I am a great mother, I am wonderful wife, I am an amazing daughter, and I am a humble follower of my Father in Heaven. But for now... For now I will kneel at the feet of God and ask him to take this burden from me, to show me the light at the end of the tunnel, to heal my heart that has been so broken, to heal her heart and give her peace. I pray that this storm would be lifted, and that my position would be restored. But for now... I hurt...

Back on that horse!

2011-11-09T14:17:00.000-06:00

Today is wordless Wednesday, except that I have lots of words and no real pictures to share…So I guess it will just be rambling Wednesday today! The craft show last weekend was a bust. Well not entirely. I got to spend the day with 3 amazing women, I learned a lot about my booth and how to set up, and I learned from other booths as well! I was feeling pretty defeated until I learned from most other booths that no one made what they normally do and most were even lucky to break even, so I will walk away with what I learned happily. As of yesterday morning I had nothing lined up for another craft show and then I checked my email… Savannah’s boyfriend, Joe, received a flyer on his car about a craft show in cy-fair this coming weekend. Guess where we will be this weekend??? Yep, back on that horse! Last night Savannah and I went to Wal-Mart to spruce up the booth, pick up some more stuff to make, and really just to gather our ideas and thoughts… I called Mom and put her in charge of some stuff and when we came home from Wal-Mart with all our finds guess who was in my driveway? LOL Mom! She had found some cool stuff on her hunt too! It is funny how excited we all are LOL… This is going to be so much fun and I am so excited we are all doing this together… I love how when God squeezes out the bad to make room for the good, the squeeze may hurt, but the good… well it feels really good! I am surrounded by such amazing people. For that… I am thankful!~

Coaching, Leading... Loving It!

2011-11-07T12:43:00.002-06:00

I could tell you about my recent attack from Satan... I could tell you all about the way that Satan has tried to foil big things in my life but he FAILED! Instead I will tell you about my first Sunday as the coach over the infant hall. IT WAS AWESOME! I must admit I was a little bored but I am so excited to be a leader to the amazing volunteers in the infant hall. I get to interact with the parents and help grow our ministry! God is moving in amazing ways these days and I am just along for the ride! My Sunday mornings and prayers through the week will be spent ministering not only to the infants and their parents but to the volunteers who are there for this ministry every Sunday. They are all wonderful women and men that I have had the pleasure of working alongside for the past 3+ years and now I get this opportunity to lead them, and pray for them, and be there for them. I am super excited!

Wordless Wednesday... (with captions!)

2011-10-26T11:33:00.000-05:00

Today I provide you with pictures of my cute BIG boy... His sister well... she has not graced me with her pictures lately... Most of the time she moves to fast! Hopefully next week...

This BIG boy ate snack at the big kid table... The next day he pulled out a chair to sit there again!

Mind you that hat stayed on for about a nano-second... But still cute!
HAPPY WEDNESDAY EVERYONE!

A Big Splash...

2011-10-25T11:14:00.000-05:00

I have struggled with my major for school for a very long time. I don’t know what I want to be… Sometimes it is one thing other times it may be something completely different. It is a battle that is driving me crazy! I had this teacher in the fourth grade, Mrs. Arnold, she was amazing. She fueled us to read and to write and to express our feelings. She taught us it was ok to feel and it was ok to be whomever we wanted to be. I struggle so much with what I am meant to be because like every person out there I want to be something big. I want to make a big splash. But what is it that I am meant to be… When I first went to school it was to be a special-ed teacher, but I soon decided that was not what I wanted to do. With my brother I decided that I just couldn’t handle it at home and at work. Then I went to school for business and that lost its fizzle really quick, it just did not excite me. Then I decided I wanted to be a nurse but I couldn’t commit to it. I see the nurses in my life and I see the junk they deal with on a daily basis and I just don’t know if that is for me. Then I look at my friend Savannah. I see her with her students, I see the impact she makes on her students. Yes she has had tough times but she is using her faith in such a positive way. I want that. Then I can’t help but look back at Mrs. Arnold, the lasting impact she had on my life, and maybe… just maybe… I am meant to be a 4^th grade English teacher… How is one to know for sure? I love to write. I love to read. I love to encourage and help mold people, big and small. I was so blessed to be in Mrs. Arnold’s last class prior to her retiring from teaching 4^th grade. That year was the kind of year that changes people’s lives. We read books that made boys cry in class. We learned to love one another without judgment of who they appeared to be. At the end of the year we got to bring books home to add to our collection. Several of which I still own and cannot wait to read to my daughter. I will decide what I want to be when I grow up but for now, I just continue to pray about it. The answer is there…somewhere… I just have to listen.

Good God Almighty! Thank God it’s Friday!

2011-10-21T11:30:00.002-05:00

I am so happy today is Friday… Not because I have huge plans this weekend but because this week was LONG! Between Jake’s reaction to his shots and teething he was a grumpy mess! Abbey desperately needs to clean her room and last night she came to me and asked me to help her LOL… Seriously it could make your heart skip a beat! The child tore through her closet and left it all over her room! We are also transitioning between summer and winter clothes so that doesn’t help… But I plan on tackling that this weekend… I also have been nailing down my Christmas project ideas… I have some really fun stuff planned! I realize this post has been… Kind of random but I am having trouble writing these days… I figure if I write enough garb eventually I will make sense and it will come easy again… LOL… Yes lame, this I know. Tonight Josh and I are headed to my friend Stephanie’s wedding shower… The party is a costume party… We are going as a nurse and her patient… So lame… LOL… But Josh and I are really not all that into dressing up… So… On another note… My Grandma was really excited to see my love for baking and cooking and she sent me all of her cake decorating stuff! There is A LOT of it… it should allow for Josh and I to experiment with our hobby some more… Can’t wait to try it all out! This weekend I have to finish up some more wreaths so that next weekend I can set up my booth for a trial run and see where we stand. Wish us luck! Have a good weekend everyone! Hug the ones you love… I know I will.

Wordless Wednesday... (with captions ofcourse!)

2011-10-19T13:21:00.000-05:00

I realize this blog has been lacking... WORDS... But it is Wednesday and I have pictures to share! ENJOY!

This kid rocks my socks off...

He is too freaking cute!

SIGH! I love him even if he refuses to be my baby anymore...

All this stuff... Is is in...

This cake! I love it... It turned out very cute and has to be one of my favorites...

That concludes today's edition... I promise to get back to writing... Soon...

FRIDAY YA'LL!!!!!

2011-10-14T11:29:00.001-05:00

YAY! We made it to Friday… This week felt like it would never end. It may be simply that I was tired and sore most of the week but I am finally feeling pretty good… My bruising is a pretty green and yellow and only a few spots of black… and the tenderness in my rib is starting to feel better. I am excited for this weekend… The girls are coming over tonight to help me do some prep for some projects I am working on for my craft show. I am only taking certain orders until after Nov. 5^th so I can work on building stock. We shall drink wines and eat dips and really just work on getting some basic stuff done that takes me a little bit of time… That way I can decorate quicker and really I am so grateful they all have agreed to come help me! Then Saturday morning we are getting up at the butt crack of dawn to help my Mom with her garage sale… I am thinking that Josh and I are going to contribute some stuff too! Always nice to get rid of clutter… Abs is staying the night at her little friend Savannah’s house tonight… and then I don’t think we have much else planned this weekend… RELAX!!!! Have a wonderful weekend ya'll!!!

Jacob's 1st Birthday- Party Day!

2011-10-13T13:01:00.000-05:00

We had a construction themed birthday for little man and despite all that happened leading up to the day, the party was wonderful. Thanks again to all who came and made this day special... Below are pictures... Enjoy!

My banner...

The cake...

The smash cake that almost bit the dust when it was nearly pulled off the high chair... It said Jacob... SO CUTE! My Mom a.k.a. Ma-D made it...

His cute outfit I had made for his special day...

Opening his presents... He did pretty good... But the big kids helped too...

His friends were playing with his toys so he sat on them to ward them off...

Singing Happy Birthday!

He had fun...

But wasnt too excited about the mess... Mommy had to help out...

That's a messy baby!

I love this sweet face...

Digging in the dirt has become a favorite of his...

A sweet moment with Mimi...

and he is off again...

Aww he stole a hug...

Such a big boy...

In little boy heaven!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB!

Not so Wordless Wednesday...

2011-10-12T14:24:00.000-05:00

I thought I would use Wordless Wednesday to recap on this crazy hectic past weekend… In reality the weekend was actually not that busy… But well… I guess we should start with Friday… Friday after scurrying around to find a cake at the last minute (yes I had one ordered but at the last minute and some unforeseen circumstances it didn’t work out) Jacob had his one year shots and check up. The kid is a horse… he is 23 lbs, 31 inches tall, and has a big head LOL… well not that big but in the top area of his class. We have determined that he will possibly need that hearing test and I have the orders for it… I just haven’t made the appointment yet. On our way home from the Doctors office we were in an accident… I rear ended someone. Yep… sucked! Abbey called my name I turned to look and when I turned back the lady in front of me had come to complete stop. I was only going 30 mph but it still did a number. Abbey bit through or almost through her lip, she says it still hurts when she eats. Jacob bit his tongue but it had stopped bleeding 30 minutes later… and me… well… I was not so lucky… I feel like I hit a train! I have bruising on my neck and shoulder and upper chest, as well as bruising down my cleavage line and bruising underneath my bosom… IT HURTS! My rib is bruised and it does not feel so great and my neck is stiff… But it could have been a lot worse! My car… well that is going to cost a little over $6000 to fix! Thank goodness for insurance and low deductibles!

Saturday was Jacob’s one year party… let me tell you… I hurt all over… and was sooo thankful for all those who stepped up and helped out… and thank you to all who offered and I turned down! The party was wonderful… I will do a post of just party pictures tomorrow… But today’s pictures are just a glimpse… Enjoy!

Playing before his appt... He loves this thing!

Whoops...

All that is wet... came from under my car...

The next day...the bruise goes all the way down the seat belt line and across my tum tum... OUCH!

Setting up the party!

Love this girl! See the boo boo on her chin!

The banner I made of his first year...

He was in little boy heaven!

Monday morning he tried to run from me on the bed... This is what happens when he face planted into the nightstand with his eye brow... Black eye!

OWWWW~

And... Garden Ridge by the house is on fire... When I told Josh he asked what are we going to do for Thanksgiving this year??? Sad isnt it... But so true... Every year after turkey we go to Garden Ridge for our Christmas Decor!

This concludes today's edition of not so wordless wednesday!...

Jacob's cake experience...

2011-10-07T10:51:00.000-05:00

Ok so this is our little family cake experience... This weekend is his party... So that will be a whole other adventure... Josh and I made his cake for his family party... I have an awesome chocolate cake recipe, and my buttercream recipe is pretty good... But we worked with fondant for the first time... We made our own... It turned out pretty good! So glad that someone else is making his party cake though!
ENJOY!

What in the heck is this!

Hmm... Mommy broke it apart for me... Just a tiny bite...

I kind of like this...

YUM! Dont touch my cake Mom...

GRRRR....

I'm gunna put my face in it!

I love this stuff!

Messy boy!

Jeez! That's alot of cake Mom!

I know how to get rid of it!

And Mommy pulls the plug!

Happy 1st Birthday!~

2011-10-04T08:53:00.000-05:00

Dear Sweet Boy...
Today you turned 1! Wow how time flies... You are becoming such a big boy... Today I thought I would remind you of how far you have come...

This was you! Just one year ago... All cozy and warm... and safe from all the germs... But man... Mommy was uncomfy! You didnt want to come until literally the last second... when Mommy checked in at the hospital for your scheduled induction I found out that I was already in labor... and my water was leaking... GO FIGURE! You were stubborn before you were even born... You finally graced us with your presense Oct. 4th, 2010 at 12:04pm. You suprised us all with how quickly you came... Now I am not so suprised since you do everything as quickly as possible! The rest of the post will be your pictures from this past year... Don't worry Mommy will wrap it up at the end...

The last picture up top is 11 months...Not sure where the caption went... O WELL! You are such a smart little boy... You run and climb and give Mommy gray hair! You say boom, Dada, Kitty and ow all the time... There are a few other words you are working on but we are just excited to hear your sweet babble ALL THE TIME! You sleep through the night and that makes Mommy so happy. You love to eat. Seriously LOVE it... and you adore your sister, the dogs and the cats. Seriously sweet boy we could not imagine our lives without you! Below are your 12 months (so far) pictures!

First Hair Cut... Yep it went that well...

You calmed down for all of ten seconds... The hair cut looks awful but it isnt noticable to anyone but Mommy!

Hanging out in front of the fridge...

This face is the face we see all the time... No you are not crying... This is your WHAT?!?! Why cant I do that face... It is hilarious!

The morning of your birthday... running from anyone who tries to pull that thumb out of your mouth so Mommy can get a decent picture !~

Son you truly are a light to our lives... There is never a dull moment with you and your sister around... We can not wait to see how much you grow this year. We love you so very much...
Love you Always and Forever,
Mommy...

Things We Have Learned Since High School…

2011-09-28T14:47:00.002-05:00

I have grown up a lot since high school… and when I look back at high school there is one thing I can honestly say. High School Sucked! No I was not a loner nor was I an outcast but just like any teen I was awkward in my own ways… I recently had lunch with a friend and it was fun to sit back and hear her side of what I saw. I have known this girl since we were really young but we were really just acquaintances back then. Now after lots of maturing and many life changes I can say we are friends. One topic that came up was high school and how much we have all changed since then and it caused me to sit back and reflect. High School, in reality, was exhausting. You worried about so many things. The clothes you wore, the boys, the friends, what others thought of you, your reputation, and then there was actually school itself. The funny thing about it, is looking back nothing is what it seemed to be. Now you know that so and so acted out because she needed more love at home. Or so and so may have been super popular but so insecure and unhappy with herself. You just never know. Back then you think or you thought that the friends you had would be your friends forever. You acted the same. You each had your role in your group and lots of times that role carried on with you after high school. You had dreams of being in each other’s weddings and being there when each other had babies. But once again… things change. You graduated from high school and then there was college… and people change… Looking back on it now you may have stayed friends with your best friends from high school but then life happened and they turn out not to be who you thought they were. You reach out to them and they are not there and you feel alone… or you find comfort in a new friend who you never would have thought would be there when you needed someone. My point? High School is not the almighty power that be… It is 4 years of hell. 4 years of awkwardly trying to find your place, when in reality you may never find that place. Because life? It has no place or cool crowd. It doesn’t have a right pair of jeans or a right brand of clothes. Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.

A Night of Epic Proportions

2011-09-26T14:55:00.000-05:00

Last week we went on vacation… I will get to that later this week… Today I wanted to share a speech that I wrote for a wedding I was in over the weekend. This wedding changed a lot of things in my life. I had a friend desert me because she didn’t like the bride. She couldn’t balance my life and hers with the bride in my life. It hurt me so deep. I still love her dearly. I will be here when she pulls her head out of her ass and realizes what she has lost. But today is Monday and yes… Angelina and I are still friends because I don’t drop my friends. I stand by their side, I am their when they need me… anyways I digress… Below is the speech I wrote… and I meant every word of it. Love you Angelina… Thank you for doing me the honor of standing next to you on that special day… on that night of epic proportions.

"I started writing this weeks ago… If you don’t know me, I love to write. I wanted this to be eloquent and poised and just perfect for this day. I wanted to make sure I remember everything. My poor blog this week suffered because my focus had to be on this. But it was worth it. Reflecting on the past 4+ years has been a great reminder of why I am here today standing next to her. But I am getting ahead of myself here. I met Angelina a little over 4 years ago, I like to tell people I found her in the personal ads on craigslist. Tallish white female, outgoing, loves to read, long walks on the beach… Just kidding. I had just had my daughter and needed a sitter and she had an ad for her in home day care on there. When I went to meet with her I felt at ease the moment I walked in the door… She didn’t try to hug me, and didn’t try to shake my hand. As we chatted and got to know one another she didn’t ever judge me for my oddities, she reassured my germ-a-phobic self that she kept a clean house, and that germ-x, bleach and Lysol were her friends. She embraced my crazy. She embraced me. A friendship was born. At 3 weeks old I had to return to work, I left Abbey with her for the first time and the rest, as they say, is history. Angelina kept Abs for the first year of her life, she made me feel welcomed in her home, and she even sanitized my child with baby wipes before sending her home with me, this was music to my soul. I fell in love with her babies and she fell in love with mine. She was there with me through PPD, I was there with her whenever she needed me to be and at some point we became much more than just friends. She has a way of being there when you feel all alone, really she is one of the best friends a girl could have. She pulls me out of my shell. Puts me in situations of discomfort but makes me feel comfortable. She tries to warn people about me for me to avoid awkward situations. But most of all… She knows how I like my burrito. That my friends is amore.
I am so happy that Angelina and Reagan found one another. I remember when she first told me about him. There was a spark in her eye that had been missing for so long. I remember how she gushed over him. When I realized they were serious I emailed Reagan with my third degree and he responded with poise and grace. I knew it was perfection from that point on. I realized they are the yin to the others yang, he is the Adam to her Eve, and for Reagan… the goddess of your kingdom, the all mighty trump card in your game of D&D… ( I realize I may have gotten that last part all wrong Reagan and I hope you can forgive me, I seriously tried to research it … but I hope you at least get the point)
Through the years you two will go through a lot… but you will do it together… Together you can conquer both worlds… both real and imaginary. Angelina… I love you from the bottom of my butt, because it is a lot bigger than my heart. Reagan… Be good to her… I know where you sleep!
In all seriousness… I wish you both the best. A wedding doesn’t change things… It is a celebration of the commitment you have made to one another. It is the moment when two hearts become one in front of God and everybody. I can’t wait for the days when our kids are all grown, and we are wrinkled and retired, sitting on our front porches drinking our coffee remembering this day… This day of epic proportions."

Dear Blog...

2011-09-20T15:05:00.002-05:00

Hello poor neglected blog!

I am sorry I have not graced you with my presence lately but I have been writing somewhere else! Yes it is true… I have been writing for another purpose… But I am finished now… But I hate to tell you… I am going on vacation so yet again your pages will be empty! Allow me to explain. I was writing my speech… and it is a good one… See I am the Matron of Honor at Angelina’s wedding this weekend… So I get to speak… and speak eloquently I shall…I am so super excited for her. In order to write my speech I had to take a break from you so as not to lose any emotion from my speech… I will share it with you next week… Don’t you worry. We leave for San Antonio early Thursday morning. We will be taking only Abbey and plan on having a blast. Friday evening will be dress rehearsal and then Saturday I will be committed to doing nothing but wedding stuff all day! Did I mention I am also helping out with set-up and taking pictures. Angelina doesn’t have a photographer for the wedding… or at least she didn’t… Now she does… I am shooting her wedding… MY FIRST TIME! I am super excited because I know it will be wonderful! How awesome is it that I can give her this awesome gift of the memories of her wedding day… Such great memories it will be. Well that is all I have for now… Try to get some rest… I will totally be blowing you up next week.

Love,

Your faithful writer.

My Devo...

2011-09-13T08:07:00.000-05:00

I wrote this Devotion for our volunteer circle, I volunteer in the small world at our church. We work with infants to pre-k age kids. I was asked to do the devotion because of my passion for the below song and what it means to me. I volunteer nearly every single Sunday. I work with the infants. They are in my class until they learn to crawl and then they leave me. Sometimes they come back to visit, other times we see them running the halls and we can't ehlp but gawk in amazement at how big they have gotten. But never the less our help is important. I hope you enjoy the devotion. I was so blessed an honored to do something that is normally reserved for leaders and those paid employees. I was so honored and blessed to share my words. I love my Small World. Enjoy...

When I first heard this song it was 6:00 in the morning, Abs and I were in the car and someone had posted it on FB. So I clicked play and put the car in reverse… before I was even half way through the song, I hit the first stop sign… and I was so thankful there was no one around because I sat there and I waited… and watched… and I worshiped. At 6 am I was brought to my knees by this little boy. I didn’t know what it was exactly until a little voice from the back asked me to play it again… When we got to the school Abbey asked me to bring it in to show her teacher… and it hit me. This little boy is 12 years old, he is singing in a competition, he is from Brazil and English is not his first language. He is touching lives all over the world, in fact the video on you tube has had over 1 million hits. But that was not exactly why it hit me so hard. It made me realize what we do here in small world, what impact we have. Being that he is only 12 years old someone had to teach him about Jesus and how worthy he is. Someone had to teach him the meaning of the words he sings because you can literally see the love on his face. As Christians we are called to do things we don’t always feel like doing, make choices and decisions that sometimes hurt but we are reminded that worthy is the lamb that we make those choices for. Every person here, at some point, has woken up on Sunday and not REALLY been in the mood. Not really been ready to serve. But we still come… Because worthy is the lamb. We hold and teach these children, we mold them and give them the tools they need to go out and conquer the world… Many of you have children and you know how awesome it is to hear your kids talk about what they learned in Sunday school. For me it is listening to my 4 year old pray with all her heart and knowing that she didn’t learn it all from me and to all of her teachers I am so grateful. As a volunteer on the infant side we may think that we don’t always make a difference in the kids’ lives but we do because we make a difference in their parents’ lives. We allow them to be able to worship and be fed. We see so many milestones as the kids pass through our classrooms. In the infant side we may see them begin to coo, or laugh, or even roll over… and we take pride in those moments with the parents. We see them sit up on their own and then we watch them leave us when they crawl. In crawlers we see the babble become words … and we even see them when they learn to walk… In walkers we see them become little people instead of the babies they were before… and then it moves on from there… all the while we pray over them and show them God… Sometimes for the first time. Teachers to the pre-school kids you get to see them experience God in the auditorium for the first time… you see them develop and grow… you see it as it all begins to click and make sense… and you teach them the lessons with such excitement that they can’t wait to come home and teach us the parents… and then some day… we may see them make a difference in over a million people’s lives… just like this 12 year old is. Watch his face as he sings and as he feels the song… watch as the love of Jesus pours out of his soul… and remember what you do matters… because… Worthy is the Lamb…

9-11 A day of reflection.

2011-09-12T07:57:00.000-05:00

9-11-01
I was a senior in high school at The Woodlands High. We were all sitting in spanish not doing much because we had a sub that day... Someone got a phone call on the cell phone they werent supposed to have in class so we were making loud conversation to cover her on the phone... Then she got quiet and with her phone in her hand she told us that a plane had hit the first tower... Our sub phoned the front office and within the next few minutes we were all piled into the classroom next door where we watched the horror unfold. When the second plane hit I remember the feeling of extreme horror as the people of the tv told us what this meant... As our teachers tried to explain what was going on. The rest of the day was a haze... The TV was on everywhere we went... Every computer had updates. Lunch was quiet... I could not wait to go home.

This year was the first time I watched any of the flash back stuff. It was gut wrenching. I watch an hour long show on TLC about these two men who helped free people that were trapped in floors 88-91. Those people talked about their fears. Them not knowing what had really happened or the extent of the damages. We are so lucky. We are so blessed to wake up everyday. We are so blessed to have those that vow to protect us. Who run into the danger of everyday to save us. The firefighters and police and even the everyday heros. We are so blessed to have them in our lives. Today I want to say thank you. Thank you to our service men and women who serve our country. Who leave their family and friends to protect you and me. Who fight for our freedom. Who may or may not return. I want to say thank you to our first responders who stand strong in the face of danger even here at home. I want to say thank you to anyone who volunteers because they too are important. God Bless you all.

11 months!

2011-09-09T11:05:00.000-05:00

Dearest baby boy,
I am sure you thought I forgot but I didn’t… Happy 11 months (on the 4th) It has been a wild and crazy week I apologize for the delay…

This past month you have mastered walking in shoes and you have started to jump and sprint… You no longer look like a drunk monkey when you walk and it is terribly cute to watch you stumble about… Your speech is really taking off… I am so happy you can hear! You prefer to eat what we are eating but Mommy still makes you your favorites…avocado and chicken sometimes with a fruit. Watching you play is a lot of fun… You love to chase balls and you even love to push your mail cart… You have learned how to pick it up and turn it 180 degrees to go back the other way… I drive you nuts blocking you from the dog bowl but it is for your own good! You have alot of teeth... I have lost count... Probably because when I try to count you bite me... hard... it hurts... I cannot believe it has been almost a year… Man how time flies. I have attached a video of you… Man I love you!

Love Always,

Mommy

Nut Shell Friday... Thursday???

2011-09-01T13:55:00.000-05:00

Well today is my friday so I thought I go ahead with Nut Shell Friday... GASP! She hasnt done it in so long... HUSH! I know... I have been slightly busy!
Josh leaves for Dubai on Saturday and is going to be gone on business until Wednesday. It is a great opportunity for him and I must say I am a little jealous... DUBAI IS BEAUTIFUL! The kids and I will be here... patiently awaiting his return LOL... Actually I am super excited. Abs is going to a swim party with my Mom tomorrow then off to her house on Saturday night. Jacob and I will get to spend some quality Mommy Jake time... It should be fun... Because well he is BUSY! Sunday after church I have cake and ice cream at The Taylor's for Bev's birthday... and then Monday lunch with Bailey... Then Tuesday I work and I am off Wednesday to pick the hubs up from the airport and spend the afternoon with him! So really it should go quickly and before the kids know it he will be back... Right?!? RIGHT!
Tomorrow evening we are headed to the Smith's for some grilling and just to hang out... and I think that about sums up the weekend... MORE ON TUESDAY! Enjoy your long weekend and pray that I survive!!!

Wordless Wednesday... (with the most amazing voice)

2011-08-31T07:36:00.000-05:00

Truly amazing... Watch it all the way to the end... Abbey and I listened to this in the car this morning and it brought me to tears! His voice is so pure and his face just shows he means it... LOVE IT!

Terrible Ramblings of a Tuesday...

2011-08-30T09:32:00.000-05:00

Today is day 2… some of you have no clue what I am talking about and that is ok… Just play along… eventually you will understand… Day 1 rocked it was easy cheesy… Today… so far so good…

Last night I cleaned our bedroom… Like REALLY cleaned it. I needed to make room for the good ol treadmill who is moving in there this afternoon. I love running outside but I dunno… I also enjoy living and being that it is still 100 degrees out at 8pm these days I figure I may have to resort to the treadmill… SCOWL!

Jacob is starting to talk more! Yay his ears can hear :-)

He also walks and tosses balls and laughs like a Hyena. Kind of hilarious to watch!

Abbey had her four year check up on Friday… Eyes and Ears are perfect… and she is doing great with her weight and height! Go Abbey go… She got 4 shots and did pretty good with them… BUT she must not have felt too great because she turned down the opportunity to stay at Ma-D’s! This Friday she gets to go to Ma-D’s office swim party though… She is pretty stoked about that! And tonight we are off to an Irish Dance Class open house! Should be a good time!

I got fake nails… The girl that did them… She did a HORRIBLE job… SIGH…

Josh is leaving for Dubai on Sat. He won’t be back until Wednesday. I hope to keep both kids alive until he returns, I kid I kid… I am sure we will be fine and Daddy will have a BLAST! (well sort of… he will be working)

Well I guess that is all I have for now… Till next time!

Two years and still Blogging strong...

2011-08-25T11:14:00.000-05:00

Today is my Blog anniversary! Two years :) I love to blog, it is an outlet for my thoughts and some of you actually read them! HA!~ Last year I highlighted all my favorite posts from the previous year... This year... Well this year so much has happened and changed... I just dont even know where to start. We had the end of my pregnancy, the birth of our son, Abbey and her magical sling, there was birthdays and lots lots more.
I just want to say thank you for all my faithful readers. I am so blessed that you take time to read my ramblings :)

Today... IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!

2011-08-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to Me...

Happy Birthday to me...

Happy Birthday dear MEEEE....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME~

The Ability to Laugh...

2011-08-19T12:58:00.000-05:00

I think the ability to laugh is something we take for granted. Today I laughed. I laughed and I meant it. Today I had to talk to that person who cut me off because she was jealous of other friends relationships. Her responses where short and pissy until I said something that really got under her skin... Because then her tongue lashing made me giggle... Then I just all out laughed. Because really? I am over it and now... I can laugh... and it feels good...

Wordless Wednesday... A birthday edition (with captions... DUH!)

2011-08-17T11:49:00.000-05:00

So... Our little Abbey turned 4 last week... She really enjoyed pulling the links off her paper chain until it was finally her birthday... She wore the birthday link as a bracelet all day long... Thursday (her birthday) we went to Red Phoenix ( a local Chinese joint that I have been going to since I was a kid) and she ate chicken fried rice with her Grandpa. Then Friday we had her birthday Day... We started off with The Egg and I for breakfast (o so good) with Ma-D and Daddy and Jake... Daddy and Jake went home because the next part was just for Big Girls and kids (as Abbey called it) and then met her friends and from school and Landon plus all the Mommies, Ms. Liz, Savannah & Ma-D at the Children's Museum in The Woodlands. The kids are all within one year of each other so it was fun to watch them interact. We had a total of 5 kids and 7 adults and I think we could have used at least one more! LOL... They had a blast... After we ate lunch and cupcakes at McDonald's (where Daddy and Jake re-joined us) and everyone went to the splash park... Check it out!

Miranda made Abbey's cupcakes... They were soooo good!!! We will be ordering from her again!!!

Abbey waiting for her friends... She was sooo excited!

There is so much to do at TCM in The Woodlands!

We could have spent hours at the train set

Savannah and Abs playing with sand...

Building a tower...

Eating chicken nuggets, apples, and juice... Landon in in the stripes, then Abbey, Alex, & Christian... Savannah is off the frame...

Singing Happy Birthday!

She was so excited!!!

Sadly the only group shot I got! LOL... The kids playing with their new friends toy plane...

B.F.F.'s

She had sooo much fun and we already sent out our thank you cards! She told me on the way home that this was the best birthday party ever! I couldn't help but grin! That is exactly what Mommy would hope she would say...

Tuesday's Thoughts...

2011-08-16T08:38:00.000-05:00

I love writing this blog... It is an outlet for my stress, a journal for my feelings, and a reminder of where I have come from and where I have been... I have been writing this blog for almost two years! Sometimes when I am bored I love to go back and look at the past year... and see where I was this time last year... And next week I will do my anniversary blog post.

I am at almost 10,000 hits on my blog... Now that is not since I started writing... That is since I started keeping track... and I am not sure when that was exactly...

Jacob slept all night last night! This is huge! See we were sleeping through the night pretty early... Then we had breathing issues and that stopped... Then we started sleeping all night again... Then we started teething and well when he teeths... forget it... Then we were atleast only getting up once a night... and then he got a virus... so last week I didnt sleep much! Then Sunday night / Monday morning he was up 2 times and then up for good at 3:45am... can I tell you my eye lids almost fell off yesterday I was so tired! But last night... Last night he slept all night! I dont care (really I do) if he sleeps all night again tonight because a full nights sleep goes far with me! I feel like a new woman today...

Yesterday's sting has already started to pass... especially after encouraging words from so many... and a good talk with the hubs and my Mommy...

I am working on a jungle themed diaper wreath AND a Texas Aggie Themed diaper cake... So much fun!

Jacob is a walking fool... The only time he crawls is when he is trying to get somewhere as fast as possible... like the water bowl...

Little Ceasar's opened a new location near us and it has become a Monday night favorite.... Abbey has swim lessons on Monday's so one of us takes her and the other picks up the pizza and crazy bread then we all chow down... SOOOO UNHEALTHY! SOOO FANTABULOUS!!!!

Abbey had a blast last weekend... There will be a whole post dedicated to her birthday fun!...

Well that is all I have for today... See you tomorrow :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl...

2011-08-11T07:39:00.000-05:00

Dear Baby Girl,

Yes I know you hate to be called baby but just know you are always my baby girl. Today you turn 4! Can you believe it! I certainly can’t… It is hard to believe it has been 4 years… This year you are so excited for your birthday and it just makes me smile… So much has happened this past year and your life has changed forever. Not only are you my little girl but you are the best big sissy a kid could ask for. I remember the day you were born like yesterday. We checked into the hospital very early in the morning. Mommy was having back labor and was in so much pain... Then I got the epidural and all was good for awhile... Then all heck broke loose... see there was a blind spot in the epidural, your heart rate was jumping all over the place, my heart rate was not normal, and I was not dialating on one side. Then I heard the news. A c-section was in my future. At that moment I gave up. When the nurse was about to come in to bring us the gowns, she checked me one last time and there was the top of your head... You were coming... I was ready! 13 doctors and nurses filled my room, after 30 minutes of pushing, the use of the vaccuum, and a few exorcism moments. There you were... 9 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long, and perfect. Your cry sent me into tears... I cried for the next 4 hours... LOL... Mommy was a wreck... You were so amazing and I new... My life had changed forever... Below are some (meaning alot) of pictures of your last 4 years...

My "Baby" on the day she was born...

Stole Daddy's heart the moment he held her...

Your 1st birthday! You were not havin it!

Your second birthday...

Your third birthday... Look how much more hair you had!

The day you learned to share your Mommy!

You fell down a flight of stairs and broke your collar bone... Mommy had to decorate your sling so you would wear it...

Your "Big" Savannah, you got to spend some one on one time with her this year... and you ask everyday if you can go back...

She has helped grow your love for art...

My Day on the Plaza, not sure when it happened but you became a big girl...

The Fantastic Four- "little" Savannah, Christian & Alex

You really are a great big Sissy... Jacob truly adores you...

You had your first sleep over... You love your Little Savannah... She is your best friend...

Today... Today you are 4! Man time flies when your having fun!

There were sooo many other pictures I wanted to use but for the sake of this blog I chose not to post them all... Tomorrow is your party with all your friends, and this weekend you get to show off your swimming skills to Mimi and Papa and Aunt Peppy and Uncle Shaun. This year you learned how to read, write, and do math! Mommy is so impressed! You speak so clearly, and you are so creative. You love to dance and to color, and well watching movies is your favorite thing to do... But being Mommy's little helper ranks right up there too... Mommy and Daddy Love you sweet girl... I can not wait to see what you can achieve this next year!

Happy Birthday Abigail Sue...
Mommy loves you more than the whole wide world...
XOXO

Don't drink and... Walk? A Wordless Wednesday addition...

2011-08-10T08:04:00.000-05:00

It is wordless Wednesday! Today's story is about a young boy... He walks like a drunken sailor but we think we have found the problem...

Sadly he can't put down the bottle... We think he may have a problem...

It makes him act all crazy... and he will run at you and hit you with said bottle (especially when it is empty)... Don't worry we keep him fenced in... So he can't harm others...

But I can't resist this grin... so I keep filling it up...

Because watching him do this... Well it brings a smile to my face... and I am pretty sure yours too...Just remember... Don't Drink and Walk... Unless your this cute and your fenced in... Have a happy Wednesday!

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

2011-08-09T19:28:00.000-05:00

Today a friend, or atleast I thought she was such, deleted me from her friend on face book. She didnt tell me or talk to me about it... I happened upon it by chance. So when I texted her to find out why I realized something... It didnt matter. It didnt matter the reason because I was bigger than that. I was more mature than a face book delete. I deserved a phone call or a text even, not that. A good friend of mine sent me an email... below is what was sent.

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown..

This is so true... and it came at a time that I needed it the most... Thank you Mama B... I needed to be reminded of that...

Random Thoughts on a Tuesday…

2011-08-09T13:49:00.002-05:00

Jacob is sicky… He has had a fever since Sunday… Took him to the doctor yesterday and he reported that his ears look great and his chest sounds wonderful… Can I tell you I was super relieved just hearing that, but he does have a virus… and it will just have to run its course… So… This morning I took him to school… Ms. Liz will keep the others away from him and keep him happy and loved on. Mommy just couldn’t miss work today… After all I am off on Friday…

I went and picked up some stuff from a friend… She told me that she was cleaning it up the night before and her husband asked her why… She is just going to re-clean it anyways… Kris you know me and my quirks all too well…

Abs got moved to Monday night swim lessons because Mommy had some words with the manager about the Mom who is potentially going to watch her two year old drown someday… Why you ask? Because last week in our new class we were put with a 4 year old and his maybe 2 year old sister… Lets just say it didn’t go that well.. the little girl kept floating off the edge then scrambling to get back (a skill she should know to be in this class) she cannot swim underwater, she distracts and doesn’t pay attention, and don’t make me get started on her mother or her brother. The Mom kept beating on the glass and trying to get them to listen to the teacher, and her son kept splashing Abs and spitting on her… She nearly decked him. The Mom looked at me and laughed and said she is going to deck him and I (not laughing) said she will and she punches like a boy. I think you should tell your son to stop. She quickly walked around the wall and told him to leave her alone. Needless to say, yesterdays class was sooo much better… and once I said my piece I felt better about the whole thing.

One of my best friends was in an awful accident yesterday. Reminded me to always tell those that I love that I love them… But I am happy to report that after an ambulance ride, and 4+ hours at the hospital she is banged up but both her and baby bubble are ok… O yes. She is 8 weeks pregnant… today I saw the baby (via text message) and I am pretty sure it was waving to me… So excited for her.

Abbey turns 4 on Thursday… that noise is me sobbing LOL… They grow TOO FAST!!! She is so excited… The paper chain really made a difference in showing her how long she had to wait till her birthday… and it stopped her from asking me every 5 minutes! HA!

Jacob is a walking fool. He still tends to walk like a drunk monkey (arms above the head and slightly wobbly) but now when he teeters he catches himself and if he falls he gets right back up… He is into everything!

Lucy, the barrel of a dog, is sick. I am hoping it will pass and it is nothing serious. She is limping and has a lump and the other night she could not get up on her chair or out the door to pee her back legs were so weak… Dear God I don’t think I could handle you taking her from me yet… After all she was my first baby…

I have a lot of stuff in the works both business wise and health wise… I am not ready to share on either account… Business is going great so just trying to come up with ways to advertise more… and health… well… there is about to be a HUGE change in my house… HUGE I tell you… as soon as I gather all that I need to complete this change…

Well on that note… I really don’t have much left to share right at this moment… So have a fantabulous Tuesday…

Sneak Peak of Family Pics...

2011-08-08T20:34:00.000-05:00

10 months... and still growing...

2011-08-05T13:59:00.001-05:00

Dear Sweet Baby Boy of Mine,

You are 10 months old yesterday… Man how time flies… This past month you have decided that walking is better than crawling and you are getting pretty good at it… Better watch out Mamma is going to put you in shoes soon! You no longer protest the sippy cup, although I only give you water and formula. You have started enjoying pretty much everything I eat… Last night you ate like a little pig! You had a chicken nugget, French fries, and a whole serving of mango, carrot, and apple puree. NOM NOM NOM. You definitely love meal time and animal cookies. You are so different than you sister. You move ALL the time… and nothing passes by you unnoticed. I blame the fact that you couldn’t hear very well for awhile so your other senses are stronger. You love to throw things and destroy things. Savannah will stack your toys and you will immediately knock them down. It is awesome. You love to make a mess at everything and your smile could melt the tin man. We took you back to the ENT this month and they pulled 3 clots out of your ear canal so hopefully that will help you be able to hear better. You currently have 7 teeth and we are pretty sure you are working on the next one. You are 21 lbs and 29 inches long. You wear 12-18 month clothes and you wear a size 4 diaper… You are pretty much a Momma’s boy but you light up like a Christmas tree when you see your Daddy. You no longer look just like your Daddy though. We are starting to see some of me in there. And don’t get me started on your sister… You think she hung the moon and any noise she makes is hilarious! She loves to play with you and your toys… that is until you drive her nuts… which usually takes about 5 minutes… Probably because you spend more time conquering and destroying, and chunking your toys out of the room then you actually spend playing. You still do the pouty face when we tell you no, but you are starting to realize that it does not phase us. Your thumb is always wrinkly because you suck it all the time and you love your glo-worm so much that you eat his face. You love to climb and Daddy and I are re-arranging your room this weekend to prevent a future accident… I am sure I have left something out but just know that Mommy, Daddy, and Abbey love you… Here is to yet another month!

Love you Always and Forever,

Mamma

Not so Wordless Wednesday...

2011-08-03T08:03:00.000-05:00

Today is Wordless Wednesday... and of course I have some pictures for you... With captions of course...

Today we start with a sad story… the death of a flip flop…

You may be wondering why you are looking at an ugly old flip flop… well those of you who know me, personally, know that I wear flip flops ALL year long… ALL the time… and usually the same two pairs… Well sadly… the pair that I got 4 years and 6 months ago (roughly)… they died… See I got these when I was pregnant with Abbey… and the middle piece broke. I cried… Really I did… I love these flip flops… Le Sigh…

This was the final farewell…

This girl… She is kind of my mini-me…Who am I kidding... She is my mini-me! She “needed” my sunglasses and is wearing my headband I didn’t care too much for… Little Diva… Love her…

And these two together… Well… they are just smitten with one another... and... shortly after the picture Mommy took their sticks… You know… Before someone lost an eye…

This boy had a blast at a new splash pad a couple weeks ago…Did you know that water shoots out of the ground????

I delivered a diaper cake yesterday… This was the picture prior to straightening it all out… But it turned out sooo cute!

It’s a Fight…

2011-08-02T10:30:00.002-05:00

I don’t want to be chubby…
I don’t want to be overweight…
I say that as I drink my coffee with sugar and cream… and eat my bagel with cream cheese….
I hear you mumble then put down the candy bar butthead… I hear it… I do… But…
It’s a fight you see… I love food… I love different kinds of food… I love the smell… the texture… I love the taste…
Dieting? Well it sucks… if it tastes good most likely it is not good for you to eat… and well that is enough to make me cringe…
But see… I was born to fight… I was born a fighter… and fight I have and fight I will…
I wrestled in high school because most people said I couldn’t… I fought and I won…
I made weight every time… because it was hard… I fought and I won…
I will lose this damn weight… soon I will be able to say I fought this battle and I won…
Tell me I can’t… I dare you…

Say what you need to say...

2011-08-02T07:42:00.000-05:00

Sometimes things happen in our lives that we can not understand... We can't predict them and we dont expect them and it devastates us... It sends us spinning and we cant find something to hold on to... Yesterday all I could do was be there for a friend... Listen to her tears and her hurt... But I was there... I could not explain what happened and there was nothing I could possibly say to make her feel better... But I was there. I think that is so important... Alot of times people discover that when they need their friends the most they can not find them. I am so blessed and lucky to be surrounded by people who are always there for me. I am also so blessed to be able to be one of those people who can be there for someone else in a time of need. I think it is something I am good at... Listening and giving my opinion when it is asked of me... This post is somewhat vague but I am still having a bit of trouble collecting my thoughts... and well... after all this is my blog... and I can say what I need to say... God puts us in position to minister to people. He puts us in the right place at the right time... He gives us people and their immediate purpose in our lives may not always be known but they have a purpose. For me... I think he gives me those that need support. That need to be loved and held... I am a giver... I give of my ears to listen, my heart to feel, and my mouth to share the words placed there for someone else... So go ahead... say what you need to say...

Wordless Wednesday... (with captions ofcourse!)

2011-07-27T09:50:00.000-05:00

I love Wordless Wednesday but of course there are words!!! (It would seem weird without them)

Friday night was Girls Night In and our group painted wine glasses… Well it started out with wine glasses, then there were some beer mugs thrown in as well… We had so much fun just sipping wine and chatting while painting our wine glasses… Oh! And Miranda made this cake that was to die for!!!! NOM NOM… Last night I actually baked all the glasses to cure them… My house smelled like cooked paint LOL…

Saturday Savannah and I had a long overdue paint day! It was awesome… We painted 4 pieces each… I had forgotten how much I love to paint and really it was just amazing to see what we created and how much we did in that amount of time! Savannah also cooked me a fabulous dinner, overall it was a wonderful day!

Here was my first piece, I gave this to a friend at our church.

This one is for my hubby’s office…

This one is full of various textures…

This one was the last piece for the day… really the pictures just don’t do them justice.

This one I actually painted Sunday and gave it to a friend on Monday…

Wanna know what this girl did yesterday? Well yesterday was her third swimming lesson and they already are advancing her to the next level! WOO HOO! Go Abbey Go! She was so excited!

And yes I know this is an older picture too BUT wanna know why he is so excited? He is excited because the tube they thought was clogged was not clogged at all! In fact just the canal was clogged with three nasty looking clots of blood and wax… Once those were cleared they could see the tube actually looks good! YAY!!! So now we wait and see if he catches up speech wise… He may need a hearing test later on but other than that we are golden!!!

So that is all folks!!!

That's a Wrap!~

2011-07-22T07:31:00.000-05:00

So did you notice the theme this week? All pictures... Trust me there are 100's more that I would have loved to have posted but do to space constraints I did not. I love pictures... Pictures capture memories... You see a picture and suddenly you are brought back to a time or an event and you can not help but smile as you think about that moment in time. I love pictures almost as much as I love music. I am going to wrap up this week with a few more pictures that melt my heart and make me smile... Have a FANTABULOUS weekend... I know I will... (I hope to have pictures to post on Monday)

This is Abbey’s Birthday Chain… Each day she gets to take a link off until we get to her birthday…

If you ask her what she thought about it… Well she would make this goofey face… Translation: SHE LOVES IT

These eyes melt my soul…

These lips are softer than cotton and this smile… makes my world go round…

This dog loves to pose for pictures…So we had a photo shoot...

See how she pretends to not notice the camera… but ever so slightly has raised her ears… yea she loves it…

She even blows me kisses… the dog way of course.

This dog spends more time in trouble lately. She doesn’t mean it… She is still learning…

Silly girl tried hard to sit still but this was the best shot we got of her photo shoot…

This girl… Besides her blue eyes and rosey cheeks, she is blessed beyond belief... Great family and friends and she was so blessed to have so much fun with a camera lately… Have I mentioned how much I love to take pictures… Thank you guys so much for reading my mindless chatter… It means a lot to me… See you next week!

The Mixer...

2011-07-21T08:44:00.000-05:00

Nope this is not a post about a dance at our church, or about a yummy cocktail... This is a post about the literal mixer... the mixer I wanted for so long... The mixer that I enjoy putting things in just to mix... Even if it really could be done with a spoon... So without further ado...

The Mixer… with its sleek lines and it’s smooth body…

The red color just calls my name… asking me to run my hand along its frame…

All of its working parts… well… they excite me…

The buttons beg for my touch…

The sound that it makes as it spins… is music to my ears…

So beautiful…

From any angle really…

What I love most… Is the ease and grace with which it mixes my batters...

Then it calls to me as the batter drips…

Drip… Drop…

The master pieces it helps me to create…

Make my heart happy and my tummy grumble…

YUM…

This boy...

2011-07-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

This boy... He loves his Daddy... looks just like him too... especially with his spoon made go-t...

This boy... melts my heart with his popeye smile he really is mischievous you see...

This boy can walk five steps on his own at a time and loves to stand and give us what for...

This boy tells you he wants out of his high chair by raising his arms it also means "Hey woman... give me some more!..."

This boy loves to look out the window... doesnt matter which window or where...

This boy even loves his sister's oversized bear...

This boy loves the kitty... even if she hates that he pulls her fur she always is patient and treats him with care...

This boy thinks he is Hercules... he thinks he is so tough...

This boy... loves his sister more than anything in this world... I love them both ...I think that is enough...

My Day Post 2

2011-07-19T07:59:00.000-05:00

This post is a post 2... SCROLL DOWN TO MY DAY POST 1 and start there... There was just WAY too many pics to put on one post... Mind you there are atleast 70 more on my hard drive at home LOL... When you are done with Post 1 come on back... I will still be here... What are you waiting for... Get to scrolling!

She loves to show me her goofy face...

They brought out the big one!!! They all took a hook...

There is always time for a hug between bestfriends...

They all got their faces painted...

Then back to the water they went...

Alex has been with Abbey for almost 2 years... He wanted a hug... She stole a kiss...

But these girls... They are bestfriends... and they had SOOO much fun at My Day on the Plaza... Whose Day???? MY DAY!!!!

My Day Post 1

2011-07-19T07:55:00.000-05:00

I was so blessed... On this beautiful day... To be able to take my daughter to My Day on the Plaza at our church... It was a perfect day....

Of course she didnt go alone... The twins: Savannah and Christian and their Mommy Rachael came... And Alex and his Mommy Jenn met us there as well!

They started the day with a prayer...

And then the fun... Well it came flowing out like water...

This girl... she had sooo much fun!

Her and Savannah were always together... The boys? Well they came and went...

This is Alex in front of the bubble house... YES the bubble house... Awesome right?

Christian LOVED the bubble house...

Alex loved blowing bubbles...

They all got in on the action... See how high Alex can jump!

Savannah shows me how it is done...

I love to watch her spin around...

4 of the cutest little bootie patooties I have ever seen...

This was as close as I got to a group photo before they took off in 3 different directions...

Abbey's 1st Swim Lesson

2011-07-18T07:41:00.000-05:00

This week's post will be full of pictures because last week I had an awesome week with an awesome camera and I can not wait to share them with you... Today's pics are of Abbey's very first swim lesson...

Yes these are dark but I didnt want the flash to be a distraction... See her little head? Yes she swam under water...

Lunging for the side...

Having a blast!

Listening so well...

Jumping in!

Learning the backstroke...

Just to see this smile... I would do anything :)

It's my blog I can ramble if I want to...

2011-07-15T08:20:00.000-05:00

I am not always sure who reads this blog... and to tell you the truth... It really doesn’t bother me. I like to know who is reading it but it would not change anything that I would write. Sorry just had to put that out there… So if any of you are still reading LOL…. This week has been so much fun for me. I had an amazing opportunity to borrow a friends camera. The very camera I have wanted for 9 years. The only thing that has changed about my want for this camera is the mega pixels LOL. This camera is amazing. There are so many settings, so many ways to adjust the picture, and the quality is amazing… Needless to say I am in love. I may die a little when I have to go back to using my plain jane point and click! But one thing I did remember while playing with this amazing toy, was why I loved taking pictures. My trigger finger was happy has I clicked off 100’s of pictures in no time flat… Going back and looking at what I shot made my heart swell… and then it hit me… I love taking pictures. I have always loved taking pictures but for a long time I lost it. I don’t know where it went but ladies and gents I have found it. Since I had the camera I had Savannah come and take pics of my Abbey. She is one of the worst kids to shoot because she knows you are shooting and makes faces. Faces that I really don’t want her to make. But if someone else is shooting she tends to behave a little bit better… We got some amazing shots of that little girl and Savannah did a wonderful job. I cannot wait to share the pictures from this week with you but it will have to wait. I need to weed through the 150 pictures I took at her 30 minute swim lesson class and I need to edit some of the 175 pictures I have from My Day on the Plaza that Abbey attended with her friends… and Savannah needs to edit her pictures and post them before I can allow you to see those… Seriously I am oober excited… Thank you so much “Ginger” for allowing me to borrow your camera… I can’t wait to show you how to use it so you can grow to love it as much as I do… O and Heather I love you :)

It could have been worse...

2011-07-14T07:48:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was Jacob's 9 month check up. I was seriously hoping that my doctor would check Jacob's ears and tell me they looked great and I would not need to take more time off work to take him to his follow up with the ENT. Well needless to say... nothing ever goes the way I want it to LOL. But lets start at the beginning. Jacob weighs nearly 21 lbs, he is 29 inches long, his head is normal size and he is perfoming 3 months ahead of schedule. He seems to have caught up with his speech now that he can hear better and Mommy loves it when he says Mama... :) We did not have to have shots this go around but he did have to have his CBC done. He fussed a little when they stuck his foot but generally could care less... The worst part for him was having to keep the warm pack on his heel before they stuck him haha. Well the results of his CBC show he has low iron, easy fix. We are now on an iron supplement once a day. When the doctor went to check his ears we had issues. He HATES to have people mess with them. The left one looks great... The right one... Well... The tube is clogged with dried blood and wax. The right ear is the ear that bled pretty good. When the bleeding stopped it stopped because the tube clotted. Dr. B tried hard to get it cleared but stopped when it started making a popping noise. (He was pulling on the tube and it was popping when he would let go.) Needless to say in two weeks we go back to the ENT to clear the tube (hopefully easily) and then he should have complete hearing... Fingers and toes crossed. But other than those two minor issues he is a healthy big boy. Meh... It could have been worse... Right?!?

Unconditional love.

2011-07-11T12:01:00.000-05:00

Growing up I lived for the moment. I lived for the moment I was in and didn’t plan on much else. I hated planning things because I hated disappointment… I am not sure when all that changed but now I am a super planner and there is not always time to appreciate the moment. BUT… One thing I have learned as a Mom is that every moment counts. EVERY SINGLE MOMENT! If you have ever done the potty dance/song in a public bathroom because your potty training child went potty in the potty, then you know what I mean. If you have ever done anything idiotic in public to make your child laugh, smile, or do something you want them to do, then you know what I mean. But as that child gets older and our lives get busier it is so hard sometimes to remember to rejoice in those moments. Abbey recently wanted to learn to snap… She has been practicing for 2 weeks. And she has worked so hard at it… Suddenly last week she did it and SNAP… She was so excited… She did it again and again. All weekend she did it and squealed with excitement Every. Single. Time. It was a strong reminder that you have to rejoice in those moments. Rejoice I did. I was so proud of her. She put her mind to it and learned it… Mostly on her own… We guided her and showed her how. But it was all her. And it reminded me that every moment is important. At least in the eyes of your child. Abbey is a brilliant child and it can be tiring sometimes. She can count, say her ABC’s, read short sentences, read words- a total of 35 actually, words like hippopotamus, and rhinoceros, and zebra, and elephant, and she understand that carry and carrying are the same thing just different tenses. She knows how to spell her whole name and is learning her address…she can add and subtract… and so much more…did I mention she is almost 4 and most of this she has done for 6 months??? She is SO smart and I realized recently that I had quit being so excited when she learned something new. Don’t get me wrong. I praised her but to get down on her level and actually appreciate… That is different. She reminded me that every moment counts… times 10. I am not saying that I need to make up ridiculous songs every time she does something but I need to make sure that she knows I am proud. A friend recently asked me lately what I wanted for my kids when they grew up. My answer? I want to be there. All there. 100%. I want there to never be a doubt in their mind that I am their biggest fan. I want them to know that I would go to the end of this earth and back for them. I want them to know so much more than I knew growing up. I don’t care if they flip burgers or they run this country I want them to know that I will be cheering them on forever- no matter what. Abbey tells me random things. She wants to be a gardener when she grows up or a garbage man and every time I tell her she can be whatever she wants to be- and I mean it. No strings attached. So hug your kids, kiss their heads, appreciate them and make sure they know your UNCONDITIONAL love. Love doesn’t come with strings so don’t give it with strings. Remind yourself to live for this moment, no matter where you are or what you are doing. Whether you are with your kids, or hanging out with a friend, be there 100%.

Leap of Faith...

2011-07-07T14:18:00.001-05:00

Today I took a leap of faith... I emailed 19 businesses with Patty Cake Creations ideas. Most of them were baby boutiques... I found alot of them sold diaper cakes but most did not sell diaper wreaths... and I am really hoping that they will sell my wreaths in their store fronts. So... now I wait.... Below are some pictures of my latest wreaths... Wish me luck!

A day with Abbey's Nana (a.k.a Savannah... )

2011-07-05T07:50:00.001-05:00

Ok Abbey actually went to spend the day with Savannah week before last BUT I just finished hanging all of their art work and was waiting until then to write this post.
Here is their day in pictures... Abbey can not wait to go back and really... I can't blame her!

Savannah made her a picture itinerary of their day... Abbey loved it!

Give a girl a blank canvas and she will paint you the world... as she sees it...

So happy to be painting with her favorite art teacher...

She painted with brushes, fingers, oranges... and more...

They painted with their hands...

She painted with her FEET!~

She colored a tote bag!

They did their toes...

They went swimming...

She had so much fun she crashed in the car on the way home...

This was their hard work from the day...

How about a Nut Shell Friday???

2011-07-01T08:07:00.000-05:00

Ok so you’re not sure what a Nut Shell Friday is? Well then welcome to my blog... Before I had Jacob I used to do a Nut Shell friday every Friday... Nut Shell Friday is where I take all the week’s events and put it into a post... And almost always I make a joke about me in a Nut Shell… Austin Powers? No?!? Forget it… Moving on…

Ok so we will start with last Friday… Last Friday we went fishing with Heather and Ketch… Actually it was more like Heather and I were ALLOWED to go fishing with the boys… In reality they probably would have had a much better time if we weren’t there running our mouths, getting stuck on something in the bottom of the lake, asking for them to put bait on our hooks… (ok in my defense I did it a couple of times but chicken liver is NASTY and I was tired of wiping my hands on my jeans) and just in general getting in the way. But they were very patient with us and our girly conversations… Josh was the only one who caught anything and it may have just been because we scared them away with all of our giggles… I also got to give Heather this really neat bracelet I had gotten for her a little while ago… All I can say is I hope the bracelet does what it is meant to do : )

Friday Abbey attended her very first sleep over… they had SOOO much fun! They stayed up giggling and talking way past midnight LOL and the party carried over into Saturday with a visit to the splash park! After some busted knees and a couple of ice cream cones the party came to a close… She had a blast (which was good because she didn’t even notice the other party she was going to at 2pm got canceled)!!!

Saturday Lily came to join our family… She was not planned and not really something we wanted but no dog should be put down because there is no room at the shelter so! Her and Lucy get along great and she is wonderful with the kids… Her temperament seems to be pretty mild and she has her puppy moments but in general she is just a great dog…

Sunday we went to church and then it sort of hit me… I had this awful headache and really just did not feel well… Monday I came to work anyways, ended up throwing up in my trash can and came home to die… I crashed. Abs came home from school complaining her head hurt and tummy too… Needless to say we both stayed home Tuesday and she rested while I sterilized the house! LOL… Seriously I cleaned like a mad woman…

The rest of the week not much happened. Thursday I missed running with Savannah and tonight I will miss hanging out with Heather because she is leaving me for vacation for the next week!!! But I will survive… I will just miss her ginger face :D

This weekend is going to be a great weekend… Abs is going to my Mom’s tonight and Saturday night. Jacob is going to Bev and Tim’s tonight and what are we going to do? (crickets chirp) NOTHING! We are going to watch movies on the couch and do nothing… We are going to (attempt) to sleep past 6am and we will be rested! Saturday we are helping Tim deliver this cabinet that he built, it is freaking awesome. (I will take pictures so I can do a post about it.) Then Sunday is church and celebrating Sean’s birthday at my Mom’s house. Monday is our annual fourth at Josh’s parents and I pick up my Dad from his two week travel’s through Europe. I cannot wait for some downtime this weekend… It will be nice. I have three wreaths to get done, 4 pairs of flip flops (2 rag and 2 balloon), and I really want to work on some wall letters… But we shall see what actually materializes… Have a Happy Fourth of July everybody…

Wordless Wednesday... (with words)

2011-06-29T13:38:00.000-05:00

This is Lily- she joined our family Saturday, she was not planned. We are not sure what kind of dog she is… But all we know is that she is a sweet heart… and so far we are pleased with our decision.

Her and Lucy are getting along great… Lucy has even learned to share her toys and her sacred chair…

This boy… Well you can just look at him and smile… He is that adorable.

He was gifted this car from a friend of mine… he has played in one that is at my Dad’s house… Can you tell he loves it?

How about now???

Finally Friday Posts...

2011-06-24T10:29:00.000-05:00

Since it is Friday and I cannot seem to process my thought correctly… I will just share what I want to share in a couple of different paragraphs… each with its own title… Try and keep up LOL! O and you may want to grab a cup of coffee and a muffin... This post is long...

The Battery- You can call me Mrs. Good-wrench:
          So yesterday morning I came out to my car to discover my battery was dead. Yep Dead… GRRR… So Josh gave me a jump and I went about my merry way… Que 3:30 time to go home music. I walk out to my car and go to leave work… Put the key in and nothing… CRAP I completely forgot about that morning, and how my husband had mentioned I may want to go start my car at lunch… So… I go into the building and get the guy to page Roger our sorry excuse I mean the highly usable I mean the really old “security” guard to help me jump my car. He brings the charging unit and we slowly walk to my car… PAINFULLY SLOW! 3 hours later we final make it, ok it was like 5 minutes but seriously should not have taken that long, I pop the hood and he starts to fiddle with the cables… he goes to put the black on the red and I was like UM… Red goes with Red… He mumbles O yea… and I realize this is going to be bad… So he hooks them on and I look and I tell him those are not on right… You’re not going to get a charge. He tells me O yes you will go start your car… So I go to start it and nothing… So I look at him and I say ok if I adjust it now? So I re connect the cables… (the correct way) and sure enough… THERE IS A CHARGE! I could not help but smirk when my car started… I had to call my father in law because he would have been so proud… He called me Ms. Good wrench lol… Then told me how I should know how to change my battery and he was proud of me… :) Que: Sappy music here. So I make it home, I was even able to stop at the grocery store. After dinner, kids in bed, and a run. We finally make the trip and get the battery (Sean was home. We did not leave our kids home alone LOL) $100 later and a very pissy me, because seriously… I could have spent $100 on a few other things… we get the battery and get home to change it… It is now after 10… After searching for the flashlight for 20 minutes, it was under the kitchen sink… I mean someone actually put it where it belongs… We begin to try and change it… After 50 curse words, a lost piece, a jury rig that did not work, a lost screw driver that dislodged the lost piece, we were FINALLY able to get it changed… Needless to say working on your car till midnight= NOT FUN! But we did it… And this morning… It started like a dime!

The Kolaches and the single bag:
          Ok so as many of you know I am a germaphobe, seriously I take meds for it LOL. Along with that comes a few quirks one of them being, I have issues with others touching my food. Kris, the girl I work with, she has the SAME ISSUES!~ We fit together like two pees in a pod on that aspect. But anyways that is not what this story is about…. In our office there is an Indian named Raj. We cannot stand him. He is so unclean. He never washes his hands (even after he uses the bathroom) He wears dirty clothes, he smells awful, and is generally unclean. Ok so now that you have the mental picture we can move on… Hang on now I have to go wash my hands just talking about him.…………. OK… So the other morning he offered to bring us kolaches from the Kolache Factory. We get them a lot because another gentleman in the office will bring them. Typically he gets each of us our own bag so there is no touching of others food. So we said sure and told him what we wanted. When he came back with our kolaches we noticed the one bag and as if in slow motion this is what happened. He tells us here is your kolaches girls, now let me just get DP’s out of here, DP is his wife, and he reaches into the bag with his bare (dirty) hands and digs around until he finds hers. Then sets the bag on my desk and walks away. I look at Kris and the look on her face is the same one that I know is on mine. PURE HORROR. Not only did he man handle our food but with HIS BARE HANDS! So we put them in the fridge telling him we would eat them later and Kris disposed of them before she left that evening. What a waste but there was no way I was eating them after HE touched them… or anyone for that matter…

The Run and throw up:

          Savannah came and ran with me last night… She was all excited because she was on the same week as me now, but then I threw her a curve ball. We went back to week one (one minute runs, one and a half minute walks) and we did a different course. The course we ran is a lot of hills, there are some steep inclines, some gradual… It was all over the map and let me tell you. It kicked our butt. Running with a partner you push yourself harder. You work together and you die together. LOL. And just when we thought we were done… I added two sprints in the end just to make sure we were officially dead. LOL… It was a hard run, I threw up 4 times! Jillian would be so proud lol… Occasionally on a run I will throw up but I will be just fine after I throw up and that is it… But last night… Man… I just couldn’t get it together. But in true form, I threw up, regained me composure, and continued on my run until the next time. Savannah thinks I am a haas lol… She says she is not sure how I can throw up and keep running… The truth is I don’t feel bad… It just happens… atleast I can make it off the trail before I do… Last night on our run though I saw a hill that intrigued me. It was steep and part of a local park… I am thinking that some sprints on that hill will be an awesome work out… O Savannah????? LOL…

Abbey’s Day and Tonight’s Events:

         Yesterday Abbey went and spent the day with Big Savannah. Savannah wrote her an itinerary of what they were going to do… WITH PICTURES so she could understand… Abbey loves things like that so she ate it up. They went to the store to get supplies for their day, they painted with their feet, with their hands, with brushes, and even with an orange. She made a purse and they went to the pools and then even had time to watch a movie… She had so much fun she konked out within 5 minutes in the car on the way home. She loves Savannah and they do such creative things together. She already is asking when she can go back LOL…Kind of a funny story: So it starts to rain on the way home and Abbey says "This is not good" Savannah "Why?" Abbey: "Mommy is going to say O crap the plants" (yes I paraphrased that a bit) BUT the day before it when it rained it flooded our plants that had just began to grow. They died. So we told Abs we would plant new ones, I did not realize she had heard me say "O crap! The Plants!" (to Josh) but it was funny to hear that she told Savannah that. Don't worry this weekend we will replant... By next week we will have new growth and all will be right in the O crap! Plant world :)
     Tonight is a big night. Abbey is attending her first sleepover. She is staying with her friend Little Savannah and her twin Christian and their friend Alex is coming too. (These four attend daycare together) They are so super excited and Rachael has some fun stuff planned for them. Josh and I are going fishing with Heather and Ketch. Then tomorrow morning we are taking them to the splash park and then lunch at chick fil a… Abbey will be so excited to hang out with her friends… I cannot wait to see the pictures from tonight!

No post would be complete without a Little Man Update:

           Little man is doing great. The world of hearing is so amazing to him. He has toys that make noise that he never noticed before and he is so quick to turn when you say his name. His smile could light up a room when he hears you talk. To be able to hear clearly must be an amazing feeling. He is still not walking but is getting braver about standing on his own and lunging at things. He is teething a bit which has made for some rough nights but I really should not complain. He sleeps all night almost every night except for when he teethes. That I will be SUPER thankful for! He also has started tossing his toys and then racing to get them… It is the funniest thing! He plays fetch with himself lol… He also likes to play chase… If you crawl across the room he will follow and as soon as he catches you he throws himself at you and just laughs… That little boy is going to be a heart breaker… You just wait!

Well that is all I have for today (one would hope considering the length of this thing!)… Have a fantabulous weekend!

Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday addition…

2011-06-21T11:20:00.000-05:00

Took this little girl to the park one early morning...

Under...

Climbing up to go over...

Running across the rickety bridge...

I love this one...

All smiles for her Daddy

Kitty wears the cone of shame (the movie "UP")

She hates it...

We are pretty sure that the dog got her... But she wont leave it alone... So... This is what happens... At this point it is actually looking better... She no longer is forced to wear the cone... But if she starts ripping at it again... Back in the cone she will go...

Letters to Daddy...

2011-06-20T09:48:00.002-05:00

(A post written for my children to their Daddy)

Dear Daddy,

I bet it is hard work to be a Dad. A Dad worth mentioning at least. I know Mommy appreciates that you are always such a good Daddy, it is such a relief to her… But I think you are pretty cool too… And Daddy there are just a few things I think you should know…

I love the way you give me hugs whenever I need one.

I love the way your chin hairs tickle my cheek with your kisses.

I love how I can sit in your lap whenever I want.

I love how you will sit and watch the scary parts of Scooby doo with me.

I love how you will play with all my girly toys.

I love how you fix my training wheels on my bike.

I love how you wash my hair with Mommy’s special shampoo and conditioner too!

I love how you take me for cheese danishes and apple juice.

I love how you let me ride up front when we go through the car wash tunnel. ( I think you get just as excited as me)

I love how you let me help you vacuum the car even though I am sort of bad at it.

I love how you always have surprises up your sleeve, whether it is a surprise to the dollar spot or something more exciting to do.

I love how you answer my million and one questions.

I love how you help me with my homework.

Most of all Dad I love you for being you and I thank you for being my hero.

Love,

Abbey

Dear Daddy,

Ljhlkjsldjoairoeirjlekfnlksndflkdsklfjdsljfoieruwsojdlakjdlwakrjoaiwjeraliwrjalklsdjaldkj

Love,

Jacob

Dear Daddy,

(TRANSLATED BY MOMMY)

Your awesome, you change me, feed me, make an awesome bottle, you give me things I want and make me SOOO happy…

Love

Jacob.

Random...

2011-06-16T13:59:00.001-05:00

I have started and restarted a post today… I had a really deep one going and saved it for later because I just don’t feel deep right now… So I thought I would give you some may or may nots , and some Abbey funnies…

Today’s Abbey Funnies… (unless specified these are Abbey talking)

1. “Mommy can I call daddy?” Me: Ok… Daddy: Hello? Abbey: “HEEEEYYYY BIRDFAY BOY!” (In the most seductive voice, really kind of disturbing but O so funny to hear)

2. At dinner at a restaurant the other night: “BBBBEEEELLLLCCCHHHH!!!! Excuse me”, Josh and I: ABBEY! “What? I said excuse me”

3. On our way to drop her off before Jacobs tubes… Me: Look baby raccoons Josh: Cool Abbey: “SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF I don’t smell them?” Me: No raccoons Abbey not skunk… “O ok… are you sure?”

4. “Mommy can I (fill in the blank)” and before I can even say yes or not… “Please mommy Please??? Just think about it… “

5. If anything happens in our house… anything gets broken or messed up… Abbey will tell you… “LUCY DID IT!” Already blaming things on the dog…

Today’s May or May nots…

1. I may or may not have let Jacob sit in a wet diaper longer than I should have because it was so close to bed time and I was going to have to change him anyway and well… Budget cuts baby!

2. I may or may not have used hand sanitizer on one of Abbeys imaginary bug bites because she refused to go to bed unless I put cream on it… and well… it was dark… she couldn’t tell the difference… the hand sanitizer is on the counter ready to pump… and yes I may or may not be that lazy…

3. I may or may not have mooned a security guard (who watches cameras) this morning when I nearly lost my pants on the elevator… and well… verdict is I need new clothes preferably ones that fit…

4. I may or may not threaten my child with the ability to see her friends to get her to move in the morning... I can’t help it… It works like a charm…

5. I may or may not have nearly thrown up when my Dad said “If it comes down to it and Abbey really wants to do cheerleading I will pay the fee’s”

6. I may or may not be self promoting my patty cake page on my FB page… EVERY DAY THIS WEEK…

7. I may or may not have convinced my daughter that her protein type drink is real chocolate milk… and well… she believes me…

8. I may or may not have purposely made my son cry by making the crying sound, because well… it is only the cutest thing you have ever seen…

9. I may or may not have handed my son to my husband and ran quickly away because he was GRINDING HIS 6 LITTLE TEETH! (IT MADE MY SKIN CRAWL!)

10. I may or may not have teased my poor cat who wears the cone of shame… and I may or may not have laughed every time she tried to lick herself but licked the cone instead…

Wordless Wednesday... (with captions ofcourse!)

2011-06-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

I realize this picture is blury... but come on cut me some slack... Mom snapped this picture of Jacob... He does this face occasionally and as soon as he does it he changes it, so needless to say it is impossible to get a photo of it! So this is the best we could do... We call it his popeye face... He is so adorable I could eat him with a spoon! Anyways... Have a fabulous Wednesday people... AAARRRGGGHHHH (my best pirate) now where is my spoon...

Case of the Mondays...

2011-06-13T13:41:00.003-05:00

Today I have a terrible case of the Mondays… So today will be mostly an elaborated list…

I am tired… Like drop dead tired… Sadly if I lay my head down I would probably fall asleep… So… Not laying head down…

Over the weekend I learned I am weird… SHOCKER lol… So many people were shocked about my attitude about anniversaries… To me it is just another day… Don’t buy me flowers or gifts, really I don’t care about the romantics… everyday is a celebration of being together so why do I need a set day? Ok before you throw tomatoes at me… that does not mean that I think less of those of you who find it important in fact I applaud you for being a romantic… Sadly it is not a strong suit of mine…I just feel as though: Flowers die, food digests, and gifts are appreciated for a time… But they soon fade too… Love… True Love…Sticks…

Recently I have been told by many that they read my blog… Thank you to all of you who read my mindless chatter and take the time to tell me how much you enjoy it… Please remember you can follow my blog by clicking the link to the right…

I had so much fun window shopping with Heather the other evening. It was so relaxing to just be… Her and I bounced off some ideas for Patty Cake Creation’s and I cannot wait to show you! Not sure what I am talking about? There is a link for that on the right hand side of my page as well…

A friend told me the other day she was lucky to have me… It sort of caught me by surprise… Lucky? It meant so much to me that she feels lucky to have me… I feel lucky that in such a dark time she has chosen to let me in. Chosen to allow me to be there for her.

I am praying for a friend… She reads this blog so I will leave her unnamed… I am praying for her weight loss journey and her fertility issues to resolve themselves. I love this girl and she has been a wonderful Mommy to her son and will be a great Mommy the second time around to a little girl… Yes I am putting in requests! We need female hormones in that house! But I am asking God for her courage and determination ESPECIALLY on the weekends…

Jacob is doing great… He finally cut that darn tooth that just would not cut through and he is happy about it… I wish he would quit grinding his teeth though… I may be forced to remove them LOL… I kid I kid… It is so amazing to watch him discover things that make noise… He has also started doing the popeye face… We call it that because it looks like the ARRRGGGGHHH face LOL…

Abbey had a blast at the Children’s museum this weekend and can’t wait to go back. I think next time we are going to the one in The Woodlands though… That one is geared more towards her age group…

Well that is it… That is all I have for today… Till next time…

The story of the boy and the girl...

2011-06-10T08:06:00.002-05:00

5 years ago there was a boy who married a girl... This was them the night he proposed...

He smiled like he won a million bucks and all she could do was cry and say yes!

Her Mom made the most amazing dress... A combination of two patterns, lots of love, and tears...

Being a bride suited her...

She couldnt help but laugh she had never been so happy...

June 10, 2006 they stood before 150 family and friends and vowed their love for one another...

It was an amazing day... Suddenly the stress didnt matter... It was them and God... This was the day that started their new life...as husband and wife...

It really was a perfect day...

Surrounded by some amazing girls who did their best to make this day run smooth...

They took a rolls royce to the party... I mean reception...

There were lots of stolen kisses...

Unforgettable moments... they only thought no one saw...

There were even some funny moments... here you can see the bride standing...

Now here she is on the floor... He pulled the chair out for her... She did not know... They laughed hysterically until finally he helped her off the floor...

There was cake... and of course cake on the face...

There was the first dance...

The wedding party ChaCha Slide...

And ALOT more dancing... ALOT...

There was a slight issue with the dress... The bride had lost weight... And the top of the dress kept sliding down... The boy gave her his vest to help cover the boob issue... And of course the shoes came off at the reception... Flip Flops were waiting... and she was happy... So happy...

Time to go... So he picks her up... and the mountains of dress...

That day... He was the luckiest man in the world... She felt the same way...

Normally you would end the story with THE END. But it is not the end... It is merely the beginning. See that boy? Still loves that girl... and she still thinks he hung the moon...

Hunnybuns I love you more today than yesterday and I will love you more tomorrow than I did today... Here is to the next 5 years... to the next string of adventures... It is all worth it...

As long as I am with you...

Surgery Day...

2011-06-09T09:50:00.000-05:00

Ok so Monday we took Jacob for his Tubes. Mommy was a wreck but I held it together… We had to be at Texas Children’s downtown at 6 am! So we got up a little before 4. We took Abbey to her friend’s house.(Thank you again Rachael!!!) Due to construction we made a circle… TWICE… But we eventually made it to valet ( in the wrong spot) There was a sky bridge that took us to the correct building though and they told us that our car could be delivered over there as well. We eventually made it to the right place and got in line to check in… Jacob was the youngest kid there. Once we were checked in we got to play… and play we did…

Jacob found the car first... He loved it!

There was this toy... at first we used it to stand on...

Then we discovered that it does things!!!

Mommy gave him a monkey on his big day...

And he kept shoving it in the box... Pop goes the monkey???

Polly was our first nurse... She was this sweet asian lady... She called us back and took all his measurements... Then gave us Jacob's scrubs and we got him changed... He was fine until a little after 7 and he realized he was hungry... NO STARVING... So Josh and I took turns walking him around. After the doctor and atleast 4 others came and talked to us about his surgery and his respiratory issues he was ready to go. It was so hard to hand over my baby to a stranger. But I did it and I only cried a little...

My not so smiley baby in his adorable scrubs!

He was back in my arms 20 minutes later! I was so relieved... Well he wasnt back in my arms... But I could see his sweet face. Josh and I let him sleep... We waited until he woke up on his own... and as soon as he rolled over to wake up the nurse put him in my arms and he sucked down 5 ounces of pedialite. At that point he was ready to go!!! Soon after they let us go home...

In the elevator on our way home!

Sweet boy did great!!

There was no immediate change in his hearing. He did not seem to actually hear better until yesterday. Yesterday we had a special moment... I was rocking him trying to get him to nap and he was almost asleep so I started to sing (the same as I always do)... He swung his head up and he stared at me with a smile on his face. He sat there for 15 minutes me staring and singing at him... him smiling and staring at me... My heart was happy. This boy can hear atleast a little...

Post Op...

2011-06-06T18:10:00.002-05:00

Jacob did just fine! He was only away from me for 20 minutes and he woke up from recovery with no problems. Longer post later :)

Tomorrow...

2011-06-05T21:11:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the day... the big day... Please pray for our boy and all those involved.

8 months old...

2011-06-04T23:14:00.000-05:00

Dear Sweet Darling Boy,

Today you are 8 months old… ! 8 months can you believe it! Man how time flies. This past month you have been busy. You’re learning so many new things every day. You keep trying to walk… You have gotten much braver when you stand and actually let go and hold yourself up for a few seconds before sitting down. You have a love affair with your thumb and it makes me laugh… We constantly pull it out of your mouth but you smile and pop it right back in. You spent the last two weeks teething and you cut 4 teeth! Yes 4… Now you have 6 teeth… 4 on top and 2 on the bottom… You love Avocado’s and Banana. I puree it with a little bit of water and you eat it like it is going out of style. We have all tried it and determined that it would go great on a Mexican dish of some sort and that really it is not that bad. You also LOVE yogurt bites. But who wouldn’t love freeze dried yogurt… We have also decided that you are in love with Savannah. We haven’t quite figured it out but you are absolutely smitten with big Savannah. You love little Savannah too but big Savannah rocks your world. Lately your favorite toy has been anything ball. Just the other night you climbed over another toy to get to the hidden ball. You are also a climber. You climbed stairs at Grandpa’s the other night and you are constantly trying to climb on top of random toys. You love riding in the toy car at Grandpa’s it is adorable to see you try and climb in it. But I must say my favorite thing is to see you get excited at people you recognize. You do this thing where you go to them then back to one of us then back to them again. It is cute. This month you also started separation anxiety, it kills me when you cry as I drop you off but you love Ms. Liz so it only lasts a second. I wish I could say that your speech has gotten better but it has not. You still really only mean to say Da Da or Da but sometimes it comes out Ba and that is a surprise. You make the MMMM shape with your mouth but it comes out Da. Monday you go for your ear surgery. Tubes it is. They say since you passed your newborn screen your hearing will clear up and instead of hearing WAWAWAWAWA when Mommy talks you will hear me say I love you. Your speech should catch up as well. Mommy is scared to death about Monday but I have faith that God will guide you through. Just remember to use those lungs no matter how week they may be. All those breathing treatments we have done should have made them stronger with as much as you scream during them. I know if you could talk you would tell me you will be fine. But it is Mommy’s job to worry… and worry I will… Until the moment you are back in my arms safe and sound… I cannot wait to see the difference these tubes will make. We will bring your bebe and Mommy will rock you when we get home… still our favorite time of the day ;) at least it is mine… I love how you rub my hair as you fall asleep… It comforts you even if you pull it sometimes I know these moments won’t last… I relish in every single one. Ok so there you have it… That is all I have to say about the past month on to the next one! So you have a month to learn to walk. Daddy and I just know you will be walking by 9 months. Prove us right big boy! Here is to another month!

I love you sweet darling boy…

Love Mommy…

Finally Friday...

2011-06-03T10:06:00.000-05:00

Today there will be lots of pictures... really because I am too lazy to write a "real" post today...

I mean come on… JEEZ it is finally Friday and this week has been the longest short week ever…

See this girl and her fantabulous smile? Yes I love this smile… She caught a fish and was SOOO excited…

I love this smile because most of the time I get smiles like….

THIS… so not into Mom taking yet another picture…

OR THIS…

These are two of Abbey’s friends… Savannah and Christian. Savannah is her favorite friend but I am not supposed to tell because she doesn’t want to hurt Christian or Alex’s feelings. But she loves her the most because she can play barbies and boy’s cant.

But Savannah and Abs… are pretty inseparable… They even try to dress alike everyday… Abbey has decided to grow her hair out because Sav has long hair and wears it in a ponytail. Can I tell you I have had to put Abbey’s hair in a ponytail everyday this week!

Savannah loves Jacob… She is enamored with him. She wants to be where he is, even if it means missing out on the fun the other kids are having LOL… To tell you the truth... He loves her too!

And of course speaking of the little man… Here he is with his best friend… (HIS THUMB)

He loves this little car… He gets so excited just to drive it but he takes it very seriously. Who cares that he has no idea the horn makes noise but hopefully he soon will. Monday he has his ear surgery. Momma is not to excited about the surgery. I am excited about the results but not about the surgery. Actually I am scared to death… But I have my faith. So I shall pray…

I mean come on… This kid… He is just too dang cute! Quick grab a spoon you know you want to eat him up!

Popularity by definition...

2011-06-02T13:39:00.000-05:00

Ok a friend and I were conversing about yesterdays blog… You can read that HERE if you missed out… A friend that I love very dearly... who in my mind should have known that she was on one of those fingers I could count… but she didn’t… instead she said this:

“When you said you had 5 dear friends I thought “there is NO way I am one of the 5 because Julia is so POPULAR!!!!!”

Ok… WHAT??!!?? When did that happen… When did I become ahem… “Popular”? I am so not popular. If I had a lunch table no one would sit with me except for a select few because there are always way cooler people than me… But then it got me thinking… What makes us popular? Is it who sits with us at the lunch table? Is it how many FB friends we have? Is it how much money we do or don’t have? Who set that social norm? But then the thought crossed my mind. What kind of friend am I if she thought that I could not possibly be counting her? We talk 5 days a week atleast. We send each other cards…We email all day long… I am in her wedding that is coming up in Sept. but she still didn’t think that I could possibly count her. Reality check for me. Am I in my top 5 friends top 5? Do I do enough to let those people know that I am talking about them? Now I know that two of them know I was talking about them. One of them being my hunny and well he is required to be my best friend LOL… and now I know that she knows because of our conversation earlier… But “SN”, “HS”, and “UD” do they know? Life is not as simple as having your favorite friends on myspace, remember myspace? How you could re-arrange your friends to show who you love the most? Well life is harder than that… It takes work, commitment, time, and effort. Most of those things are hard to come by because I don’t remember the last time I had “free” time. It is hard enough to juggle the responsibility I have now… But to be popular must be a full time job and well I am not looking for another full time job that drains me… I am looking for a full time job that I enjoy… so I will stick with my fabulous five and the other friends that grace my life… I wouldn’t ever call myself popular. I would just call me blessed. Blessed to be surrounded by so many people who love me and that I love. Blessed to have so many people that have touched my life in some way or I have touched theirs. I may have 5 friends that are always there but I do have a bunch of others who mean the world to me each in their own way. I guess if that makes me popular by definition… Then so be it.

Friends

2011-06-01T08:07:00.000-05:00

"What is a friend? A single soul, dwelling in two bodies" - Aristotle

I often look at the people who surround me and try and really see them. I try to understand them. To see how they feel, what they need. I try and see if they get me. If they understand me as a whole. Sometimes I don't like the answer I get back. You see your friendships change daily. You have those friends that for the longest time you were inseparable. You talked all the time. You made efforts to see each other weekly. Then it became every two weeks. Then once a month. Now you can’t remember the last time you talked. Then there are those friends that you have known for YEARS. At first you were just friends. There was always something special about your friendship though. Then one day you realize that person is so much more than just a friend and the love grows. Now that friend is the person you call when you feel down. She is the person that you can just hang out with and know that it is ok. She is so much more than a friend. She gets me. She can read between the lines…

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.” Unknown

These days I can count on one hand the friends who I talk to on a regular basis. The friends that are there for me when my little world comes crashing down. The friends who are not tired of my endless crap that seems to be my life. The friends that are ok with me not being chipper. The friends that understand that medication fails me. They understand that dark place. That place that seems to consume me lately. But yet they are still there for me. I am sure it can be exhausting.

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." Walter Winchell

I try not to complain. I try to be the shoulder for people to lean on. But sometimes I get tired of holding others up. I want someone to hold me for a change. I want someone to call me out of the blue and truly want to know how I am doing. And to those that do… Thank you. I am not fishing for a card or a note. Nor am I asking for comments or compliments. I am just noticing a trend. Friendship is something that changes all the time. I can say she is my friend. I can say lots of things. But my actions… those speak louder than any song I could ever sing.

“true friendship isn't about being there when it's convenient; it's about being there when it's not.” Unknown

Friends come and go with time. You have different hobbies, and different lives. You try to be there for one another but sometimes that is not possible. You meet new people and a friendship grows as another fades... One thing I know for sure... Aristotle was right...

Just keep swimming...

2011-05-27T09:57:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I imagine there is a person inside my head. That person is a tiny little me… She writes out my thoughts… She makes my mouth say the things that I want to say and when I am bored she does cartwheels till we are both dizzy… Which is kind of funny considering she is me and I am her… and well… Anyways… But sometimes she crouches in a corner… her chin on her knees. She looks sad… she fidgets with her flip flop… she looks lonely… she feels all alone… as I watch her she fades away and suddenly… I am empty… The loneliness fades to emptiness… I cry out to her… I try to get her to come back but I cant… When I am medicated and the medication is doing what it is supposed to do… She dances and she is happy and she twirls on her toes… She thinks happy thoughts… she is nice to those around her… she doesn’t feel alone… she doesn’t fade to empty… But today there is a struggle… between not being medicated and being medicated… She wants to run… but she is still there… she is fading though… Will the loneliness follow? What happens when the med is completely gone… I have been here before… Swimming, treading water, trying to keep my chin, our chin above the water… I can do it… I can make it… just keep swimming…

That's not supposed to happen..

2011-05-25T07:59:00.002-05:00

OK so I started a new antidepressant recently. When I went off my meds awhile back I mainly went off because I could not handle the dizzy spells, the headaches, or the nausea anymore. I had never had that problem with that particular med in the past but within a week of stopping taking it I noticed a huge difference. I thought I could handle it, I thought I could live without it. But I couldn’t. So about a week and a half to two weeks ago I called the doctor’s office and started a new med. Lexapro. Have you ever read the warning on ALL antidepressants? If this med makes you feel suicidal or makes you feel worse STOP taking it. I always kind of chuckled about that. Well I am not laughing now. No I do not feel like jumping off a bridge. I do not feel like harming myself but really… I do not feel at all. I am tired. Like so tired it is hard to type this. I have no desire to work, no desire to screw around online, no desire to play with my kids, no desire to cook dinner, no desire to do anything but sleep. My symptoms? ARE WORSE. That’s not supposed to happen. So needless to say. I stopped taking the med. I am back to square one. Even my husband said he would rather have the mean me then this me… sad isn’t it? Really sad. I will wait for my system to regulate then I will go see a doctor. Hopefully this feeling will go away soon. I would rather feel all alone in a crowded room then feel nothing at all… Because this? This is not supposed to happen…

Letters between a Blog and its writer...

2011-05-24T10:52:00.000-05:00

Dear Julia,
It’s me… Blog… I am lonely and long for the strokes of your keys on my blank paper. Please write on me soon…
Love,
Blog

Dearest Blog,
I will try… I keep trying to write… I start, I stop, I lose track of my thoughts… Sigh… I miss you too…
Love Always,
Julia

Dear Julia,
Excuses, Excuses… Always with the excuses…
Blog

Blog,
No need to be ugly! I will write when I can… I don’t have to write I just do…
UUGGGHH!
Julia

Julia,
Blah, Blah, Blah! I was happy for the break for a little while, you got kind of depressing and it is irritating.
HA!
Blog

Blog.
You crossed a line…
This conversation is over!
Julia

………………………..
…………………
…………
….

Julia?!?
I am sorry… Come back to me… I miss you so… I promise I will behave… My clear white pages long for you… SIGH…
Love always and forever and ever,
Blog

Blog,
I am working on a post for you soon.
Much Love Always,
Julia

Welcome to the dark side...

2011-05-19T07:48:00.000-05:00

No this is not a depressing post LOL... I got my hair done yesterday and after several attempts to correct a bad hair job several months ago... I decided to go dark and I am so glad I did! I forgot how much I love it dark!!! So here you go... !!! Welcome to the dark side. Who says blondes have more fun?

Aiden's Wall Letters...

2011-05-16T21:08:00.000-05:00

Theraputic...

2011-05-14T08:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterdays post may have seemed dark. But it was real. It was merely me putting my thoughts on to paper. Thoughts that I had not yet voiced. It sucked to read them back but it is what it is.
Last night Heather, Savannah, & Miranda came over for dinner, wine, and movies. We had so much fun and such great conversation. We watched Bourlesque and Dirty Dancing. We drank way too much...4 bottles of wine to be exact... I made a yummy mexican casserole and we laughed so hard when Miranda's son took his pants off at the dinner table to show us the rock in his pocket. It was so funny! He kept his pants off for the rest of dinner... Even little boys feel the need to show off their stones... LOL! As the night wore on we drank and laughed at some other funny things that you just cant repeat because that breaks the unspoken code LOL... After everyone left Heather and I decided that we were going to crash the boys fishing expedition but they were already headed back to Ketch and Heathers... SOOOO we went over there and met them at the house. Two glasses of wine later (half of one that ended up on the deck) we headed home to pass out... I never realized that a few glasses of wine with friends could be so theraputic... I am not healed I am not better... I am still me... But... a little bit of therapy, some laughter with friends, and a great husband... made me feel just a little bit better...

That Place...

2011-05-13T12:29:00.001-05:00

There is this place that lives in my heart… It’s a dark place… cold and lonely… its painful there… It’s easy to hide that place, to tuck it further down but the pain is always there… It can be a simple thing that sets it off… it can be a mood or a person… a bad day or a wrong email. Really it is never far away… A lot of times those of us with that deep dark place think that no one else has it. No one else understands it. But some do… They may not understand where your dark place came from or what sets it off but its there and they get it. Usually the ones that get it have it too. Then there are those that judge you for having that place. They think you are just wrong. That you should bend over backwards for them because they don’t even try to understand that dark place. They look at your life and think it is perfect. You have no reason to be the way you are. Snap out of it… Straighten up… In reality they fear that place, because they don’t have it, they have never fought it. Sometimes it feels like the place has a rope tied to my emotions… Just when I think I have it IT reminds me that it has not gone anywhere… That it is still waiting for me, sometimes it pulls me under… I recently went off my meds they were making me sick. Giving me headaches and belly aches and generally not making me feel good. Instead of changing meds I decided I could do it on my own… I was determined I was going to make it… But in reality, I don’t feel sick anymore… now I just feel lonely. In a room full of people I feel all alone. How is it possible? Because my dark place has consumed me… it tries to dictate how I feel… I struggle so hard to keep my head above it but it keeps pulling me under and I am drowning… I called the doctor today to tell them I failed… To tell them I couldn’t do it on my own… and it hurt. It hurt to admit that no matter how hard I try I can’t keep that place at bay… Damn place… GO AWAY…

Mean Girls...

2011-05-12T12:59:00.000-05:00

Today I heard something that broke my heart. How do you stay friends with someone forever then fail them in a time of need. But then I found out that the same girls who were mean to me in high school were mean to her too, her support her friends... They let her down yet again… In a weird sort of way that was soothing to me… Yes I was different but I was the same on the inside… For months I have wanted to reach out to this person, to let her know I was here but my own fears got in the way… my fears of rejection... But I did and come to find out we have more in common then I would have ever thought… Strange how we grow but certain people never change. Reminds me of a very dumb movie… Mean Girls… I wanted to be a part of them so bad… But in reality… They weren’t who I wanted to be at all… I was me… Plain and simple, slightly eccentric and crazy… but still me… Today I don’t care what you think of me… Love me or not I am still me… I am a great listener, a shoulder when it is needed, I have a heart the size of Texas, and I would give you the shoes off my feet and the shirt off my back if you needed it. I am lots of things, I wear many hats… But in the end… I am still me…

Wordless Wednesday... (with captions ofcourse!)

2011-05-11T13:01:00.000-05:00

I love this… Great reminder of the struggles of our brain and our heart.

This cool kid was my running partner Saturday morning. He did so good just hanging out and laughing at Mommy. (not because I am funny but because I am funny looking!)

Swinging at the park...

Having a blast!~

My chunky Monkey!

Grandpa (Pampa)

Distracted...

And just for giggles... Josh and I at Ursy's wedding only a couple of month's after we got married... Sigh... to be young again... lol...

That's all for not so Wordless Wednesday!