Welcome 2ND TRIMESTER!!!!!

I know I must look like a complete emotional lunatic by my crazy posts lately and that really describes what I've felt like! EMOTIONAL, EMOTIONAL, EMOTIONAL. Gotta love being pregnant, LOL. I swear, I'm like a freakin' lightswitch! I don't know what happened to me today but God must have done something to me while I was sleeping, because believe me, I sure prayed alot yesterday and today? Well I feel like a new woman!!!!

Having my mother in law here has helped a ton. She is the type of lady that never sits still. She's always washing something, picking something up, playing with the kids, she never stops. And SHE is what I've been needing, I completely pulled from her energy and was totally motivated. And the result??? Well, let's see...

* not one stitch of laundry dirty, all folded AND put away
* pantry cleaned and organized (you know how important that is to a nut like me!)
* menu planned for the week
* calendar updated
* bills paid
* closets cleaned and organized
* my office, CLEAR OF BOXES, dusted and vacuumed
* kitchen cabinets, wiped down clean
* all the doors around the handles and below . . .free of dirt and fingerprints
* upstairs, clean and vacuumed
* kitchen counters, all cleaned and clutter free
* junk drawer, organized
* dining room, cleaned with a flower arrangement in the center
* windows, clean
* blinds , dusted
* bedding, washed
* floors washed
* bathrooms cleaned, even the floors!
* stairs vacuumed

I'm serious, I'm a nut, my MIL is a nut! And it was a GREAT day! I'm making some gumbo (Paula Deen's recipe) and may even bake cookies, if I don't run out of energy first, LOL! I have the shopping list ready for New Years Day lunch which is usually seafood (good luck) and am looking forward to a seafood marinara and some fried calamari for sure!

What a great way to end the year, on a high . . . THANK YOU GOD! Thank you my wonderful mother in law! I have my outline for our New Years letter along with a list of my personal favorite moments of 08 which I will share with you soon!

Here's to a WONDERFUL DAY!

PEACE in 2009

I totally stole that title from a blog that I read and love here. This lady is so inspiring to me and sort of reminds me of the woman I am slowly becoming as I age and mature. It was a very encouraging post to read for me this morning as most of her posts are.

When I was lying in bed this morning I was thinking about our 2008 Year in Review letter that I wanted to mail out to family and friends since I didn't do cards for Christmas. We have experienced many highs in 08 and lots of lows as well. I'm actually really looking forward to ending this year but am a little nervous about what 09 will bring us. The biggest joy of course will be our sweet little baby #3. But I also can't help to think about how I worry about finances, I worry about the rest of this pregnancy and how I will feel in the upcoming months, I worry about my mom, I worry about my sister, and I fear that my family (Chris's family) is slowly drifting apart from each other, I'm scared about our economy, I stress over health issues in our family, let's just say I'm full of stress and worry. "Worry" isn't usually a word that I use, usually "Excited" is, but lately I seem to be unable to connect to that feeling. Call it "post holiday blues" or maybe "pregnancy blues", not quite sure exactly what it is,but I am sure that I don't like it.

I need to find peace. I need comfort. I want to get back my joy. I'm not sure how this will happen or when it will happen, I just know that it NEEDS to happen. I need it it happen, my family needs it to happen. I am so very lucky to have the husband I do with his perseverance, loyalty and support but it's not fair for him to be taking on the brunt of pretty much everything these days.

As I change my blog design from Christmas to New Years and slowly take down the holiday decor, I sit here hoping and praying for some Peace for me and for my family in 2009.

I wish all of you a Happy, Healthy, Peaceful New Year!

The Important Things

As I sit here thinking about Christmas, I can't help but reflect on this year and think about what 09 will bring us. The past few months have probably been the MOST stressful months in my life. I look back to Aug/Sept and think about how "simple" life seemed, how everyday and normal it seemed. Then we decided to move, I got pregnant on the first try (didn't expect that!), Adrianna started school, our church began to grow and everything moved at a pace I just couldn't keep up with!

Now, the morning sickness seems to be letting up. I'm feeling my energy creep back and am able to have a different perspective on things. We've spent over $300 in medical expenses this month with the kids being sick, there isn't any extra money saved or in the checking to spend but I know it will all be okay. I have been forced financially to think of Christmas in a different way this year. I am focused so much more, for the very first time, on the "important things", on the things that matter the most to me. My husband, my children, my family and our health. Listening to my two little stars belting out Christmas Carols from behind the curtains on the huge windows in the living room, watching them dance together upstairs both dressed up as little girls, it's all just too precious for words. I think about how lucky I am to have my sister here, helping me, loving my children, loving me. I think about my friends and my church family. They were all so wonderful to me and my family during this tough time and were so happy to see me at service Sunday, it just touched my heart so much!

And most of all, I think about my loving husband. This man is my soul mate, my dream come true, the "one" sent to ME from God. He knew where I needed to find healing and who would be the one to help me get that. Chris is the most understanding, compassionate, loving man I know. He has worked so hard these past couple months taking care of me, the kids, the house, all on top of putting 120% at work each day to provide for us. He asks for nothing in return, but our love. He isn't selfish, he is patient, he is kind, he is giving, he is humorous, and he is my very best friend!

Although I wish things were a little easier on us financially, I know that we go through things for a reason and have faith that we will be taken care of. As long as we love each other, take care of our family and give life to others, all of this stuff will work its way out in 09, I just know it.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

A Mother's Letter to Santa

I saw this on another blog and had to share it, LOL!

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned
and cuddled my children on
demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor
and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a
shade tree on the
school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several
Christmases, since I
had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on
the back of a receipt
in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when
I'll find anymore
free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:
I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have)
and arms that don't hurt or flap in the
breeze, but are
strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy
aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in
the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd
like fingerprint resistant
windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a
television that doesn't
broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a
refrigerator with a
secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to
talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that
says, 'Yes, Mommy' to
boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who
don't fight and three
pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use
of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting
'Don't eat in the living room' and 'Take your hands off your
brother,' because my voice seems
to be just out of my children's hearing range and can
only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd
settle for enough time
to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or
the luxury of
eating food warmer than room temperature without it being
served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas
miracles to brighten the
holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare
ketchup a vegetable?
It will clear my conscience immensely.
It would be helpful if you could
coerce my children to help around the house without
demanding payment as if
they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son
saw my feet under
the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.
Have a safe trip
and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come
in and dry off so
you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the
table but don't eat
too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,
MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you
can keep my
children young enough to believe in Santa.

My current loves(at the moment) . . .
Lay's Limon Chips (God forbid I find Lay's Salt and Vinegar in TEXAS!!!ugh!)

Those of you who know me KNOW I choose sweet over salt . . . not right now! LOL

This is a LIMEADE :o) {next best thing to a rita!}
Candy Canes, Great for the nausea!

My friend posted this up on her facebook page today and it brought me to tears. It has taken me 30 years, but I've finally developed a circle of friends, some closer than others, some I talk to everyday or once a year, some we can only get emails out to each other with our busy schedules and raising young families, but no matter what, these ladies are my "friends", my "girls" and I really can't say much more without breaking down and crying again. So, watch the video, my hormones are driving me nuts!:o)

Keeping it Simple

Well, a little over a week and it'll be Christmas. I can't believe it! I have spent the last month in bed feeling horrible and the time has flown by!!! I was feeling so depressed about sitting back while everyone else rushed around to all the sales, all my friends worked on our city's biggest charity project (Orange Santa) providing gifts to over 300 kids, playdates, dinner dates, parties and more. What did I do?!?!? Well, ummm let's see made a couple of arms, legs, ears....you get the picture. :o) I've been hard on myself for no good reason! I am feeling a bit better today. I only threw up once so far AND made it through two stores in the freezing 40 degree weather today with my sister to finish up Christmas shopping. It felt great!! I did half of my shopping on Amazon and finished up today.

We are keeping things simple, and those of you who know me know that "simple" isn't really one of the words used in my vocabulary. :o) Simple usually means boring to me, but being forced into doing it has been a blessing in disguise. I've been able to sit and do some soul searching. I've been able to realize a bunch of things about myself, my relationships and most importantly, my family. I am so appreciative of my husband, the most patient, loving and giving man on this earth. Adrianna is doing so wonderful in school, I couldn't ask for more out of her. And my little man, well he is ALL BOY and although it's exhausting, I wouldn't have it any other way. Money is very tight for us this year so there is alot that we didn't do because we just can't. We've decided on 4-5 gifts for each child and a $20 limit on each other. We didn't do Christmas cards, didn't throw any holiday bashes, crazy decorations, or buy gifts for grandparents, aunts/uncles, or cousins. That was the tough decision since I love to give and I love to buy for people to see their faces when they open the presents. Adrianna made adorable picture frames and ornaments for her grandparents accompanied by the picture I already posted of the two of them, hey those are the gifts we cherish the most anyway, right? :o)

The worst part for me was making the decision to KEEP IT SIMPLE, but now that I did, I feel free. I feel good. I had only $5 on me today and gave it to the Salvation Army guy at Walmart and when he took the money, he said "I hope you have a very blessed holiday Ma'm" and I told him I already feel I like I had. I have been more than blessed by the people around me, taking my kids, bringing me meals, showing me love in whatever way they could. I've even reconnected with an old friend that I didn't leave things well with and it feels great.

I hope that all of you take a moment to reevaluate your schedule over the next week and give yourselves a break. Many of us women like to be "Little Marthas", but it's okay to keep it simple. :o)

More Pics:

This was taken right before we went to Adrianna's first school performance. All the kindergarten classes got together and performed their adaptation of The Nutcracker. She was a choir member and my camera took HORRIBLE pics so I didn't get even one to post up here except for this one we took before we left. She was so adorable, shy but sweet!! She fiddled with her little jacket the entire time but did know every single word to all the songs and even did the hand motions, which not many kids did. They were adorable!

Just got this in an email from a friend and had to pass it along....


Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Love the ones who don't just because you can. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Kiss slowly. Forgive quickly. God never said life would be easy. He just promised it would be worth it.

Trying to stay POSITIVE

I really am, I'm really trying to stay positive but it is SO HARD!!! I miss my "normal" life, I miss my energy, I miss my health, I miss my husband, I miss my friends. This "all day sickness" is KILLING ME. I knew it was coming. I have experienced it twice already. I have been blessed with the opportunity to bring another beautiful baby into our lives. I shouldn't be feeling so depressed, but I am. I want to be out in the stores. I want to smell the holiday scents (no way I can smell anything right now). I want to be attending the fun holiday playdates. I want a date night. I want the energy to be running around doing all the fun stuff I normally do during this time of the year. But I can't.

I just make it through the day, counting the hours down until bedtime. I feed the kids, drop/pick up Adrianna from school, take care of baths and teeth and that's about all I have in me. I do have good moments, an hour here and there but that's it. I wake up every morning and lay in bed thinking it's gone, setting my mind that it's done, no more sickness, but then within 30 minutes or so, it's all over. I am having a good hour right now. I'm about to eat lunch and take a nap. I had a good hour last night after dinner but then had a 15 minute vomitting episode that was torture which made that hour seem non existent.

It's week 10 so hopefully this is on it's way passing . . . please be finished by Christmas......

This is just a reminder to me if I EVER think about getting pregnant again. :o) If I write it down, I have something to look back on.

It's Official . . . July 10, 2009!

Well, we had our first sonogram/ob checkup today. Something about the first checkup that makes me a mess until after I'm there and told all is well. Once you experience being told that there is no heartbeat one time, is all you need and something that I wouldn't wish upon anyone. When I had my miscarriage in 2000, it was DEVASTATING. I was going for my 12 week check to listen the to the heartbeat and was told it wasn't there. The baby stopped developing at 8 weeks but never passed through my system. Crazy, and unbelievable . . . a moment that will always stick with me and has made me fearful each time I've had to go for that "1st ultrasound" ever since.

But today, was joyous, the first mile marker for my pregnancy. Adrianna was at school and Christopher was with friends so Chris and I could go together. We sat there, in what Chris said was the longest 2 minutes of his life and the most stressful moment this year for him, and were shown our little "peanut". We got to hear the heartbeat and it was FAST AND STRONG, that's what we want to hear. There is no better sound than that little baby's heartbeat, the most surreal moment you can live in. It was real. We are really going from 2 babies to 3. Chris and I sat and talked about the births of our other two angels while we waited for the doctor and it was the first time in weeks that we were able to sit together and talk like normal married people. :o) I've been miserably sick, it's been debilitating and depressing. I like to got at an abnormally high pace and have been pulled down to basic bedrest . . . it sucks! But, I was given Reglan today to help with the nausea and take Phenergran at night so let's see how that helps, let's pray it does. I need to get back on my feet and back to my life. :o)

With each pregnancy, life has gotten even better than the previous one. This time I will be pregnant with lots of friends around and a support system that I've never experienced before. I have a community of people who love me and I love them. I'm so thankful for the support, the meals, the emails, phone calls and generosity shown to me and my family during this time. I am so lucky! This baby is being brought into one heck of a family with a group of some great friends surrounding us. I can't wait!!!

We WILL find out the sex on February 9th, you know me, no way in waiting regardless of what my mom says, LOL!

So looks like we will have C-section #3 in July!!! What a break for our family, this big family of ours and NO BDAYS in July yet, yeah!

I am so thankful for today . . . 9 weeks and 31 to go!

This is usually the time of year I look forward to the most. I would normally have spent today doing some baking, probably would have already made some sort of goodies early on this week, bought the kids' Christmas pjs and feeling exhausted but thrilled at the same time. Well, I've thrown it all out the window! :o( Thank you morning sickness! I can only be on the computer for moments at a time before I start to throw up. It's all I do all day, all night. Life is MISERABLE right now. All I do is throw up, sleep, eat, drink and repeat. Thank goodness it's not forever and will hopefully be gone by Christmas! :o)
I am thankful that Chris picked his mom up last night so they will be cooking the small menu I prepared. I think this year is the smallest dinner we've made to date. But at least we will be with family and enjoy some good food, laughter and making another year of memories.

This Year's Menu:
Turkey
Stuffing with apples, cranberries and sausage
Broccoli casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Pumpkin Soup
Butternut Squash Casserole
Shrimp Cocktail
Appetizer platter
Bread
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Crisp
Tiramisu Trifle Bowl

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I was sent this from a friend today who was thinking of me and I wanted to share it.

Reprioritizing, yet again!

Well, as usual once I get into a sort of "funk", I know it's time to take a look at what I'm spending my time doing, where I'm "giving" myself to, who I'm spending or not spending time with and reevaluate it all. I can always tell when I'm not completely in balance and spent alot of time praying about it yesterday afternoon. One of the biggest things I can to realize at the end of the day is that I'm spending too much wasted time reading some blogs.

I went into my Reader last night and deleted about half of them. Some blogs I read where too similiar to each other so I cut out some of those. I had way too many craft blogs that I followed so I cut back some of those too. And of course, there are those "drama" blogs that are pretty empty and ridiculous so I deleted those too. I need to fill my "spare" time with things that bring meaning, creativity and knowledge into my life and as I looked at some of the blogs I was reading, I realized they had to go. :o) It's so easy to get caught up in gossip and/or drama and I know that is where I need NOT to be so now I feel free!

I have my first "Baby" appointment today just for consultation, very exciting!!!

Today is a new day. . .

A GREAT REMINDER FOR US ALL

The New "Do"

In celebration of a new baby, I figured a new "do" was a must! :o)
(now I just need some high lights and I'm good to go!)

"Party of 5"

Well, now that the word is out, I can post it to the blogworld! We're PREGNANT!!! I tried to get a good picture but the glare just was horrible. This was the best one I could get of the test. My mom totally does NOT support sharing the news before the end of the first trimester and I understand why. Old Italians say it's bad luck. I think it's just a terrible feeling to get excited, share the news and then miscarry. Been there, done that already so I know, but I also know that I'd rather have the support of my friends than go it alone.

Enough of that talk . . . . WE ARE GROWING FROM FOUR TO FIVE!!! WOW!!! I'm still in schock. It was our first month actually "trying" and can't believe how quickly it happened. It's something both Chris and I wanted which makes it all the better. We are going through LOTS of change, new house, new dog, daughter starting school, job stuff changing a bit, new responsiblities with owning our old home and renting this one, and now NEW BABY! It can be a little overwhelming of course, but such JOY!

I sat in the car this morning driving Adrianna to school and when I looked in the rearview mirror, I almost cried, got completely choked up looking at my Big Girl and my sweet baby boy with his "Big Boy" haircut, he no longer looks like a baby. They grow so fast and it just made me want to turn around and take Adrianna back home, cuddle up with her and her brother on the couch and do nothing else. I guess that's why even though I complain about them both ending up in our bed by 3am almost every night, I don't force them back into their beds. This time with them only lasts so long, I want to savor it all.

At this stage of pregnancy, all I can think about is, "I'd love lots of babies" , that is until of course I start puking my guts out for 3 months. Then of course have a great 2nd and 3rd Tri , back thinking about how great it would be to have a house full of kids . . . then come the post C-section recovery, back to thinking NEVER AGAIN, and then it's back to the bliss of a newborn baby. Why in the world do we have to go through those stages? LOL

Well, I'm entering the old territory again. :o) Registering at the week by week pregnancy websites, registering for all baby freebies and stuff like that. Adrianna is wanting to see our little grain of rice :o) on the internet everyday to see how "our baby" is growing. She's fascinated by the month to month views. This is going to be a very exciting time in our lives.

Thank you God for this wonderfully, amazing blessing!

Grandma's Girl

She is "Grandma's Girl" for sure. Every time Grandma comes to visit, the two of them are attached at the hip. They eat together, snuggle together, crochet together (Adrianna tries so hard and I swear she'll be doing it soon!), and sleep together. She loves her Grandma! Monday was the first time that Grandma was at our house on a "school day" so we surprised Adrianna during lunchtime and had lunch with her. She was so excited!

Grandma Flora and her "Italian Girl" (she always calls her that.)

I am truly blessed...

I have tried to write this post since I got back from my women's retreat but have not been able to put into words what this weekend meant for me. I have felt like no matter what I said I wouldn't be able to relay the emotional and spiritual weekend I had experienced with 6 amazing women. Not everyone was able to make the trip last weekend due to schedule conflict, infants, and other commitments, but I'll assure you that I will INSIST they come next time (hopefully again in the spring) and we WILL do a weekend getaway not just a Sat/Sun thing. :o)

I just wanted to share these two beautiful photos that my friend Carrie took while we were there. I've never been on a retreat before so this was a first but will definitely not be my last. Our retreat was based on the book Captivating and we focused on a woman's 3 desires. To be part of the great Adventure, Romance and Beauty. The girls did such a great job preparing the material, personalizing each of our little journals and tons of other little details that were WAY thoughtful. To see all the work that went into that weekend, showed just how much love they have for us all. We all have a desire to be connected, we all need to be able to trust other women, allow them in and have a piece of our hearts. This past weekend did that for me. We did some activities that allowed us each to have a glimpse into the deep places we don't all share with just anyone. Through their love and their fellowship, their talents, their laughter, and the quiet peace that sorrounded us during our quiet, free time, I felt so close to God and it brought me to tears.

Our gorgeous view at Camp Buckner

My beautiful friends . . .

Front: left to right, Carrie, Me, Erika, Jen
Back: left to right, Sammi, Melissa, Cindy

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2008!

This was the best Halloween year yet! The kids are getting so big and trick or treating is getting even easier and more fun too. :o) We went trick or treating with Erika and the girls before we all went downtown to enjoy the festivities. The kids had a blast. Christopher said "Trick o Treat" nonstop and was so cute lifting his batman bucket each time, no matter how heavy it got. He kept saying to me, more "teetee bar" (candy bar), he was so excited!

I am officially EXHAUSTED! It's been a funfilled, BUSY 8 days so I am welcoming the break today. I'm heading across the street for breakfast with the ladies at 8:00 and then we're off on our Women's Retreat! I must admit, I'm excited but I am going to miss Chris and the kids. :o)

Sleeping Beauty, Mummy-cakes, "Trick or Treat"

I just got home from reading Sleeping Beauty to Adrianna's class and completed my "Mummy Cakes". Today the kids were able to dress as their favorite storybook character and parents were invited to read the story to the class. I picked the 8:00 slot so I could be home before Beni had to get ready for work today and leave Christopher with her. :o)

Adrianna dressed up as Sleeping Beauty and she looked beautiful! Let's see, she was dressed up in her witch costume for two parties this week and tonight too of course, Ariel for Riley's birthday party and today as Sleeping Beauty. IT's been a dressup week!

I'm looking forward to going trick or treating with Erika and the girls. This has been our tradition now and I'm so excited! Chris will be working at our church's photo booth downtown for the city's little Halloween event and we will meet up with them right after we are done. Grandma will be coming with us this year so the kids will be even more thrilled!

So the rest of today will be errands, fixing up gift bags for my ladies at our women's retreat tomorrow, cleaning the house . . . all before 4:30 today. WOW, busy day, but at least the next two days will be days of rest.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

She Won! :o)

"I won, I won, Oh yeahhhhhh". That is a phrase from Hannah Montana that Adrianna does this cute little move and says it in the CUTEST way ever, but to top it NOW Christopher walks up to us and "performs" the phrase too...must get on video soon for sure. :o)

Well, today my little beauty won in our Meetup Mom's Group costume contest! Looks like that hard work making that costume paid off! She was so cute up there on the little stage I just about died! Wish I brought my camera but was in such a rush! Beni and I were out shopping until 2:00, rushed home to bake cookies for the party, then ran to school to pick up Adrianna while the cookies cooled, returned home for her to change into her costume, packed up the cookies and off we went while Christopher napped with Aunt Beni. We stayed and had a blast until 5, hurried home to get dinner made and the house ready for Bible Study at 7. It actually worked out pretty well tonight. We had the study here from 7-8 while the kids were across the street at Cindy's and then we went over there for dessert. I let Adrianna have a little bit of dessert and than came right home, did our nightly routine together and she was asleep by 8:30ish, only 30 minutes later than usual so I think she'll be fine in the morning. It's only one day a week and is totally worth the sacrifice to have that time with our friends. We had a great study tonight and I really enjoy the insight into Moses, all new stuff for me - - - loving it!

I'm also following along with another blog on my own studying Proverbs 31:10-13 this week(this is a first for me, never did it before). I was told by a friend a while back that she thought I was a "Proverbs 31 Woman" so when I saw this on a blog this week I felt pulled to follow along. I've been involved in small groups over the past 2 years but this is the first time I felt that I wanted to do something all on my own. God is doing some amazing things in my life right now and the growth I've been experiencing is so refreshing.

Adrianna and I have been reading the book "Parts" by Ted Arnold, great book that shows the perspective of a 5 year old and since she has her first loose tooth I thought it would be great to work on this book this week with her. There is a part in there where he talks about his skin peeling off of his toes and Adrianna thought that was so grose and asked why hers does that too. So I went on to explain how the old skin peels away so the new skin can shine through and as she repeated that to me tonight I thought about my faith, about my entire "being". About peeling away the layers to reveal the woman that He intended on me being when He created me.

Today's Verse:

Proverbs 31:10
"A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies."

Family Pics

Here are some pics from this weekend....

We went to an awesome Halloween party on Friday and had a blast! Chris and I were dressed as a Flapper and Gangster. Adrianna was a witch (homemade costume, SO FUN) and Christopher was Batman, of course. LOL

Then to an adorable Giselle Dressup Birthday party on Saturday. Busy weekend, but SO FUN!

Being God's "Subjects"

I am so fortunate to have such an awesome Pastor and be part of a "Life Changing" movement, a.k.a. "church". Yesterday's sermon was amazing and I hesitate in writing about it because I just don't think I can do it justice, but I'll try. :o)

The sermon was based on Psalm 96, and what I took home with me was "We are God's subjects, created and given the authority to live under the Kingdom of God and make a difference while we are here on earth the short time that we are."

Now, our service is sort of interactive, different than ANY Catholic mass I have attended in my lifetime and surely from any other Christian church I've visited in the past, also different from other denominations too from what I hear from others. On of the questions Kyle threw out there yesterday was "Why hasn't God fixed this?" And by this he was referring to many examples that people were giving, both locally and worldly...hunger, genocide, disease, etc. And through the back and forth between us and Kyle, the answer was quite simple and just "struck" me. If God is King, then think of ourselves as his Subjects, sent out to do His good work here on earth and make the change! Now, I'm not saying I'm going to get out there and all the sudden all of these huge issues are going to go away, but every single one of us can make a difference in one way or another.

It can be as simple as helping someone in need, dropping off a coffee to brighten someones day, inviting friends over to share a meal together, serving at your local shelter, reading to elderly in a nursing home, you get the point I think. I get extremely frustrated by people who think that service ends with just your family, it doesn't. In fact, your children and spouse are gifts to you from God. I think our mission in life is to bring them along the way reaching outside of your family, outside our your four walls, and outside of yourself. And I don't know about many of you, but when I do something for someone else, I experience such an "uplift", such joy . . . which I KNOW is from God. I think of it sort of as a hug on my heart, that's how I try to explain it to Adrianna. Those feelings that you get, "joy" can only be from God. Not all happy feelings equal joy.

We talked yesterday about joy, spontaneous joy and what that looks like. Kyle gave a great example of his sister in law watching her 1yr old little boy getting SO excited watching Shamu at Sea World , that she just started to cry. Seeing her baby boy so happy and excited, prompted tears of joy. I think we have all experienced those feelings at one point in our lives. And by seeking to be connected and "heart" intentional, we have more and more opportunity for those amazing moments.

So, is being a Christian mean that you get all dressed up on Sundays, sing songs or what most call "worshipping", hang out with your other Christian friends and then that's it? Get up on your political podiums, talk about how horrible this world is, condemn all non-followers to hell, focus on family and only family, "preach" that serving is NOT enough, you are NOT as close to God as someone who reads their Bible every single day, and stuff like that?

I FIRMLY say that is NOT what it means to be a follower of Christ.

And what about worship? Does worship mean, singing and only that? Here are some notes that I found while researching what worship mean...

"We have forgotten this simple understanding of what worship is all about. But our English language still remembers. The English word worship comes from old Anglo-Saxon word worth-ship. Worship is worthship, giving worth to God."

"Worship is not about us. It’s about God. It is an act of service that you and I do to God. It is something that we do unto God as worth-givers."

Now, I'm NOT saying you can't worship God through song, because of course you can. But in my heart, I feel that showing God's worth, is showing his love and I just don't think a song is good enough. I don't think the title "Worship Leader" should be only given to a person who gets up on a stage and sings. ANYONE can be a worship leader, get out there and serve someone, show them God's love by loving them, THAT is giving worth to God, that is "Worth-shipping" or "Worshipping" Him. By doing that, you are just as much a "Worship Leader" as that guy or gal up on stage is. :o)

I hope this post didn't come off as strong or harsh as sometimes I do, what I'm feeling as I write this is "passion". I have the passion to serve, I have the motivation to get out and show what it means to truly be a Christian, even if it looks different then the way others around here are doing it, I have the desire to be as close to God as I can be. I am proud to be one of His subjects and will do all I can to do my very best with the time I have here.

"God is King" . . . that is Adrianna's phrase for this week! :o)

Some other verses that were referenced on Sunday were:

Phillipians 3:17-21
Romans 8:19-23
Revelations 21:1-5

Have a terrific Week!

A Walk to Remember

A play on the words, I know (love that book by the way)...anyway today was one of those moments I don't want to forget so I'm blogging about it. :o)

Erika and I are making the girls tutus for their witch costumes this year so we met up at Walmart to get the Tulle today. I asked to take Kylie with me so we could surprise Adrianna for early release day today. So, Kylie, Christopher and I walked to school and stood outside patiently awaiting her to come through those doors. The sight was ADORABLE! Kylie stood holding A's name sign thinking she wouldn't recognize her since her face was covered. :o) When Adrianna's name was called she came running to Kylie and they hugged as they jumped around in circles, so cute!!! Screaming, laughing, hugging, jumping, pure joy, absolute joy! They proceeded hand in hand walking in front of Christopher and I and I almost wanted to cry listening to them because it was so sweet, so special, so wonderful. All I could think about is hoping that they will be friends forever! I didn't have that moving around so much as a kid and one of my heart's desires is to give that to my children. Give them the stablility, planting our roots and growing with our small town surrounded by friends and family. Before I go totally off on a tangent, here was the sweetness I got to witness today. . .

A: Kyliiieeeeee! I'm SO happy you're walking with me!!!!!!!!
K: Me too Adriaaaaaaanna! Are you going to be nice to me? (as they hugged each other like crazy)
A: Yes Kylie (hugging some more of course, jumping up and down) I'm so happy your here!
K: I'm so happy you're going to be nice to me. :o)


Me: How was school today Adrianna?
A: It was good, but I got a yellow mark on my calendar today. (Then, I got dropped from the conversation as she turned to Kylie to talk about it)
K: What does a yellow mark mean Adrianna?
A: I wasn't following directions. I ran in the cafeteria.
K: Why did you run in the cafeteria?
A: I was running with my friends, and they got a yellow mark too. But I didn't get a red light, I was able to turn it around. I have to say sorry to my teacher tomorrow, that's what my mom says.
K: That's okay Adrianna, I did something bad too today. I put an adult strip on my stomach (A Crest Whitestrip is what she was referring to) and got in trouble so I will say sorry too.

Then they proceeded to talk about the ant piles, the weeds, pick a couple of flowers, sing and skip, well the best that they could (it was so cute). Adrianna led Kylie today, not typical. But she is older and has walked home with me already so she knew the way, knew how to stop at every crosswalk at our "Red Light Spots", knew to look both ways and proceed with caution. She has grown up so much since starting school and I'm totally amazed at how SMART she is! I was worried since she's quiet, but have realized I have NOTHING to worry about. :o)

As we walked home today, I felt like this was a gift for me. This was one of those moments I realized God was smiling down at me showing me how wonderful life is when you live in Him.

I'm tired as all heck today, but it was a GOOD DAY!!!! I'm looking forward to working on their tutus for their witch costumes this year...they're going to be SO CUTE!! Here are a couple pics from the past 2 halloweens:

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2007
Can't wait to see 2008! What big girls they are now!!!!!
LOVE THEM!

Adrianna's First School Trip 10/14/08

Adrianna's first school field trip to the Christmas Tree Farm. We had so much fun and I'm so glad to have been able to chaperon! It was the greatest to see her with all her "School Friends" . . . they all act so grown up and THEY'RE ONLY 5 & 6!!!! LOL Too Cute!

Olde Tyme Days 2008

Another year of Olde Tyme Days, look at those beauties! Now, where are the pics of my handsome little man? Well, I FORGOT THE CAMERA!!!!! Chris left early to bring Christopher home for a nap and I went back and took the girls all around the street fair. They rode the ponies, sat on the HUGE live Longhorn, shared a funnel cake, played games and the most amazing part... ADRIANNA CLIMBED THE ROCK WALL!!!!!! She, Kylie and I were sitting down eating a funnel cake watching the big kids climb it and this was our conversation:

A: "Mommy, I want to climb that wall. Kylie, do you want to come too?"
K: "No way, that's too scary for me!"
Me: "Adrianna, I think you're too little to climb that giant 50ft wall! Let's just eat our funnel cake and watch."
A: "I don't want anymore funnel cake, I want to climb that giant wall"

So, I asked the guy and he said she could do it, just had to be 30 lbs. She ran over to him, stood still to get harnessed and up she went! She kept looking down at us waiving and grinning away. She climbed all the way to the top and then FREE FELL all the way down! She did it again and climbed down the second time. I WAS IN SHOCK! She LOVED it. My little ballerina/athlete..what a mix! :o)

We had an amazing day yesterday. Our church set up a table in the kids area. We had white tiles with outlines of hippos on them for the kids to color in and use as coasters or make into magnets. We went through two cases of them and had a blast! We were able to serve the community and have a family day all in one. It was great.

My little girl is growing up to be such a confident, strong and super smart little lady - - - I absolutely ADORE her! When I have my days that I feel like a sucky mom, days like yesterday show me we must be doing something right, she is amazing!

Today was spent hanging out at home with my beautiful family. Chris and I snuck out for a quick afternoon date consisting of lunch and Target and it was GREAT! Shopping with no kids, now that's F-U-N for sure, LOL.

How cute are these?!?!!?

You know I am totally making these! How cute, huh?

It's time for some reevaluation of my priorities.

I'm stressed out!

I say yes to everything, because I truly love to serve.

I honestly love to give and will give everything and anything I have.

I want to be everything to everyone.

But there are moments, I need to back away and step down.

I'm having one of those moments now....

My Sweet Girl!

This is the note I received from Adrianna's Kindergarten teacher the other day:

"Adrianna works very hard to follow classroom procedures and goes out of her way to be kind to others. She made a new student feel welcome today. Yea!"

My sweet little girl, I am SO proud of her and love her so much! She has a little bit of Chris and I both in her, the best parts of us both!

Happy 8!

Another year, man does TIME FLY!!! Today I am given an opportunity to celebrate another wonderful year with the man I adore and get to call my "Best Friend" and really mean it. Chris is my rock, he is the center of my life, my family, my world, truly. He is my better half. He is the calm in my life, he centers me, pulls me back down when I'm whizzing all over the place! He knows how to talk to me, how to comfort me, how to get me to do what needs to be done...let's say the man knows how to handle me. And, I'm alot to handle, trust me!

He is the greatest dad I know. He's loving, gentle, involved, fun and a great listener for our children.

Hangin' with his little man!
Made sure he was there to walk our little girl to class for the first time!

He is the best friend you can have. He's honest, supportive, loyal and everyone enjoys his company.

Brandon, Jon, Chris, Davey, and Kyle

He is one of the hardest workers I know. He's never satisfied with just punching the clock. The man is a WORK HORSE! He's dedicated, driven, focused and compassionate to all of his employees, they all LOVE him!

My Chris, my sweet, dear husband is the best package you could open. He doesn't run out there trying to make tons of friends or have everyone on his side, he has a quiet confidence, a strength I've never seen in a person. When you are one of the people who know him, you can't help but love him.

This year as we celebrate 8 blissful years, we are in a new home, involved in an awesome church, surrounded by some great friends, have a sweet little kindergartener, an active little 21/2 year old and are trying to have a 3rd little angel to add to our lives. Our life is full and when I try to think of a word to describe my feeling right now, all I can think of is "bliss", pure bliss.


I love you Chris!
Happy Anniversary my love!

OUR WEDDING SONG...

Things are going pretty great right now, busy but good!

We have our "unbalanced" moments, but recover pretty quickly since Chris is one of the most open men I've ever met! Thank God for that! The past two weeks have been exciting, but also very stressful. We've been blessed with food and lots of love from friends and family.

Church stuff is moving along quite nicely.

The house is slowly coming together.

Routine is starting to get back on track a little.

We are kick starting the Orange Santa charity again this year, VERY EXCITING!

I've been asked to be Chairperson for the Hutto Relay for Life this year, HUGE opportunity, haven't said yes yet. I'll let them know in the next day or two. (everyone pretty much knows what the answer will be, wink!)

My 8 year anniversary is coming up in two more days and that's all I can think about right now!

My life is centered around my family first, our finances and budget, our new home, our church, friends and community, my magnet business, holiday parties and outings, and all the other random things too! Just trying to keep a good perspective and balance it all very carefully. :o) This blog now is secondary to my moneysaving blog and Facebook (since it's such quick little tid bits, much easier!). Once the dust settles a little more, I can get back on board with SMS!

The House

Unpacking Update:

Kids rooms - setup and almost unpacked
Our Room - always left till last. :o)
Bathrooms - almost complete
Stockpile stuff - put away nice and neatly
Kitchen - First room finished of course!
Boxes - All broken down and in a neat pile in size order
Laundry - one load in the wash, one in the dryer - - hamper empty
Game Room - as good as it gets for now until we get stuff to fill it! Put old computer armoire in there for Adrianna's computer (our old one)
Backyard - moved in with a completely setup yard, watering it on Friday
Front Porch - Bistro Set setup and just watered the yard this morning.
Closet in Master - almost finished ----LOVE having shelves for my shoes!!!
Closet Downstairs under staircase - Will be the kids' craft/game closet. Set up shelves and put out all their games and our adult games, will work on the craft drawers in there tomorrow.

And that pretty much is where I'm at, Day 5. Baking Halloween cupcakes tomorrow - - - yummmmmm!

Oh, how I LOVE FALL! Time to cook chilis and stews, time to bake and EAT! LOL I made my first batch of cookies yesterday in our new oven, BUT I didn't cook them long enough. The kids loved them and I *heart* raw cookie dough so they were fine. :o) I was so nervous using my new convection oven that I was afraid of burning them.
Here is another recipe I think I'll try this weekend.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

2 1/2 cups of pure cane sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2/3 cup water
2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup miniature semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9X5 loaf pans.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in Chocolate Chips. Fill pans 1/2 full.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from pans.

WE MADE IT! We are exhausted, have the kitchen and my beautiful pantry completely set up and unpacked, the kids rooms actually look like bedrooms and are HUGE compared to what they had a few days ago, my back hurts, my body hurts and I'm piled up to my eyeballs with empty boxes...BUT I'm soooo happy! Tired, but overjoyed.

We had an incredible moving team thanks to all our friends. I was amazed at the help we recieved, the hard work all those guys did when they ALL had other things they could have been doing, and I am just so moved, so touched. I am truly surrounded by "Christians", or should I just say "People that GIVE and serve with a good heart". Our family was provided dinner for the past three nights, help packing, moving and unpacking and I sit here thanking God for them all. He is the one who brought them into our lives, and if it weren't for our church, our group of people living out their lives the way God intended for us to do, we wouldn't be sitting on our new beautiful porch sipping coffee or watching the kids and the dog running around playing in the gorgeous backyard. We are truly blessed and "humbled". I don't even feel like I deserve to live in a place like this, it's beautiful beyond words and more than I EVER could have asked for.

God is good.

Our friends have the hearts that make our life so great and through them, I see God's love everyday.

I'm off to get some rest!

DO YOU?

I'm spending most of my time over there so if you want to chat and keep updated on my every move (LOL), sign up here. It's so much fun! An old friend of mine from my highschool days invited me to join a few months ago and then when one of my best buds here in Texas got really into it, I jumped on board! Now I'm addicted, LOL! It's a great way to keep in touch and keep it short and sweet instead of coming up with a blog post people will want to read..ha!

So come on my friends, sign up so we can catch up!

Say hello to my little friend....

I'm a sucker, of course, so don't say anything!

New house,
New yard,
New doggy...

"Cooper"

When is our cool weather coming?!?!?!?!??!?!?!

Why is TODAY the longest Hump Day ever?!?!?!

I cannot wait until this week is over and we are settling in the new house. I want to get back to a normal routine, if there is such a thing as normal, LOL! I'm surrounded everywhere I go with a taste of fall here and a taste of fall there and just can't wait until it actually feels like fall! I want to bake some pumpkin bread in my new oven, it won't be as good as Erika's, but I WILL copy her recipe! (she makes the sweetest, tastiest around I swear!) I want to make a pumpkin roll again, did it a few times last season and had it down by the 4th time! I want to plug in my apple cinnamon plugins and light my pumpkin spice candles, ahhhh I just want to feel that feeling of fall, the excitement of the holidays, that is just pure bliss for me!

I can't believe September is almost over! OMG!!! Looks like I must add my Christmas counter now! :o)

Just some random thoughts today....
Happy Fall!

I LOVE this!

So what's going on with us?

Okay, so I just placed my first "real" Scholastic Book Order for Adrianna! It's so much fun! These small things bring me such joy! I've had alot of pain from my childhood that I carried with me and still do have the scars, but the greatest healing of all is having my turn. The homelife I so yearned for as a child, I NOW can have with my children. It's so great to do the little things like order books and know how excited Adrianna will be when they arrive and the teacher calls her name to pick up her order. Or to go to school and have lunch with her on Fridays which is Ice Cream Day! To be able to volunteer for her classroom, collect Box Tops for Education, to serve at her school with our church, to start WALKING HER TO AND FROM SCHOOL NEXT WEEK, sitting down after school with her and reviewing her take home folder, going over homework while we eat a snack, initialing her daily calendar which always has a smiley face for her behavior (at least so far), having a real routine now. . . a "school routine". . . . this is what really matters to me, THIS IS MY LIFE and I couldn't wish for anything more.

Oh and the HIGHLIGHT of my week . . . GIRL SCOUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED LOVED LOVED being a Girl Scout and was devastated when I had to leave after my second year because my parents divorced and everything changed then. Adrianna and I went to our first meeting on Sunday and it was so great to listen to the speaker talk about how she had been doing this for a LONG time, her daughter is in college and is a troop leader also, and she spoke of how wonderful it was to do all the great things with her daughter through even the tough years when girls don't want anything to do with "Mom", all the values it instilled in her daughter and just how awesome it is to be part of such an amazing organization. It's no wonder I HAD to volunteer to be Troop Leader...LOL, like you didn't know that was coming! This is right up our alley with our family and church values, I mean just look at the pledge . .

"On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law."

"The Girl Scout Law:
I will do my best to be:
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout."


This is an amazing chapter in our lives we are starting. New house, School, Major Church growth, Community Involvement, Girl Scouts . . . I am so excited and will share lots as we embark on this journey of ours!

Today has been an exhausting, stressful day starting at 4:30 this morning. It's too much to even blog about! All I can say is I'm so excited that it's 7:00, Adrianna is in bed, Christopher is soon to follow and the best part of this day is the return of "Heroes". I am not a tv nut but there are a select few shows I CANNOT miss, like this one!

Thank you to all my friends, their warm wishes and their help today! I love you all so dearly.

Here's to a quiet night and a better day tomorrow....

My sweet friend Jen sent this to me while she was reading some scripture this morning, and it's these little moments that I KNOW just how lucky I am to truly have all the amazing support I do!

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." - Luke 10:38-42

A thought for heading into the weekend...

2 Peter 1:5-8
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Is it Thursday already???

I was sitting here sipping my hot cup of joe thinking about sorting the bills out since payday is tonight at midnight and I just realized I MADE IT through my two week shopping budget!!!!!! It was a trial run for me, my first time, and I cannot believe I followed through with what I set up here. I'm talkin' menu and all! WOW!

I did use my leftover $20 for a Sbucks and to stockpile olive oil (clearanced out for $1.52 at HEB) and sugar free smuckers (.52 plus I had $.55/1 qps)! I was also able to pick up some fresh spinach, romaine and tomatoes on Sunday to use this week. I bought my milk, bread and eggs (3 dozen in 2 weeks) at Walgreens and/or CVS during my two trips. I was out of "grocery" money as of Monday evening and we ran out of Splenda yesterday so my sister picked that up last night for me on her way home.

With moving into a new home and incurring a little bit higher monthly bills I have to buckle down. I am ready to stick to a much more strict budget, now that I know I can do this! I not only did a 2 week menu, but also a weekly breakfast and lunch menu for Adrianna that I just reuse every week, Free Day on Fridays (she buys school lunch). Now I'm just envisioning some cool white board or some way to have it written out that looks nice. I plan on doing a monthly menu after I give this 2 week one a shot and look up/try some new recipes. Erika told me about a friend of hers that does this and it's a success!

Now, a concern of mine is, how do I provide dinners for people when I'm on a strict budget? And I figured, it's by stockpiling some items like Chicken Breast, Pasta, Sauce stuff, crescent rolls and things of that sort. I'm doing a dinner for a family that has family in town from the Ike Tragedy and don't have to take anything out of pocket since I have stuff stocked to make a simple Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo for them. So what I have to plan out with this check is taking a certain sum for stockpiling so if I come across a deal, I have that money in a section of my wallet to take advantage. I'm thinking $20 maybe? We'll see.

I will share more on my journey along. You can check out more deals as I find them here.