Spring Break!!!!

“Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down with Love, so be careful little eyes what you see.”

Not sure why that popped in my head just now, but it did so I thought I would share. I love that Casting Crowns Song that includes this song at the end. How true it is; how true it is. Amazing that the little songs we learned in church as kids can have such an impact on us even as adults….or in some cases, especially as adults.

You know, God is just really working in my life right now. Being a Christian for so long, I have definitely experienced times in my life where I know that I was far from God. And I have definitely experienced times where I know that I am close to God. This is one of those close to God times. I don’t know why we allow ourselves to move far from Him when it feels so good to be close to Him. I know that Satan orchestrates that, but we allow it to happen. So, anyways….I really think that our new church is challenging me in ways I have needed for a while. It has a lot to do with timing too. But when you spend time in His word and in prayer and you deepen your relationship with Christ, other things fall into place.

So, what is going on with me? Well, I am on vacation next week…can I get an Amen!?!?!? I am so ready for a week away from work. I was originally only planning on taking three days off, but just changed my mind yesterday that I wanted the whole stinking week! Now, I am sure I will pay for it when I get back…so I will take my laptop and do some work from home next week, but a whole week of not getting up at 3:45 is so exciting to me! We are heading to Gatlinburg with my parents on Sunday and will come back from there on Wednesday. We don’t really have a lot planned while we are there – other then spending time at the WaterPark at the resort that my parents own a time-share in. The kids are excited about vacation! I haven’t even started packing or getting stuff ready for that yet. So, I am going to be busy on Saturday!

Well, according to Jodi’s facebook note…we have less than 49 days until our cruise. WA-FREAKING-HOO! I can’t wait! We had a fabulous time this past weekend with our “cousins’ sleepover” at Jodi’s house. Although, I fell asleep before the end of the karaoke, but we had fun! We always have fun when we are together…we need to do it more often! I am telling you what….God has blessed me with some awesome people in my life. If you read Mandy’s post, you can tell that we had some deep conversations on our way home (sorry that you missed it, Jodi) about what a difference God has made in our lives. It was just so powerful and we were all in tears at one point because the magnitude of what one young girl did for our family hit us all at the same time. It was very cool. One of the things that we have really been talking about in my Bible Study group is that it isn’t always our responsibility to cultivate the seeds that are planted, but it is our responsibility to plant seeds. It was just a powerful conversation. When you can look back in time and see where one person planted a seed and then another cultivated it and then to see the ripples and how God works….amazing.

Our adventures with Buckeye are going pretty good. He is a very sweet little puppy and he is getting the hang of how/when/where to go potty. We still don’t let him have the run of the house, but soon he will be able to go where he wants. He is going to stay with a very nice family from our church while we are on vacation. They have a bunch of animals and live out in the country, so he should have fun there. Oh, plus they have 4 sweet kids to play with him. We went to lunch with them after church last Sunday and we had a great time. They started going to our church about the same time or a little bit after us and so we have formed a friendship over the months. They are a very sweet family. It is funny because we really don’t have anything in common with them, but we all get along great. Anyways, I am sure Buckeye will have fun there. The kids are going to miss him, but taking him on vacation would NOT be fun!

Yesterday, I picked Isaac up from his Student Council Meeting and the advisor came over to me and told me what a great kid Isaac is. She said he is her most dependable and responsible kid on the Student Council….which is amazing considering there are 4th and 5th graders on there too. She said that he is always the first to volunteer to do anything to help and he constantly asks her how he can help her. Talk about making a Mama proud?!?!? I told her thank you and then she said…”No, thank you for raising such a fine young man.” Now, that fine young man doesn’t always reside at my house, but it was so nice to hear that from a teacher! Wait until she has Faith and Gracie! HA! Boy will she be surprised! LOL

I was so mortified by Gracie the other day. On Saturday night after we got home from Kentucky, my family loaded up and went to Rita’s (the most yummy ice/custard place around) for their free ice day. So, we get up there and are standing in line and I pick Gracie up and pretty loudly she says (with her hand on my chest now)…”Look Mommy! I can feel your big boob!” I about died right there in the parking lot. Of course everyone around us heard that…..and they were all snickering but trying not to look too much. The lady behind me was dying laughing. Scott was like…did she just say what I think she said? Umm..yes…she did! That girl is infatuated with my chest and hers now too. The other night I was giving her and Faith a bath and they both just kept saying boobs over and over and over again. And Faith used to call them “chubby-chubbies” and she remembered that and was like…well, they are kinda chubby mom. Oh, this is going to be fun.

Well, I am going to go eat my lunch! My mother-in-law is going to keep the kids tonight so I can go out to dinner with some football moms and then I am going to check a few more places for a swimsuit. I am so sick of swimsuit shopping….wonder if I could just wear a bag! LOL

Love you all!!!!

Warning: A Rambling Lunatic Wrote This Entry

Seriously…is it Friday yet? Let me tell you, this has been a week! For some reason, work has been extremely stressful this week and home has been busy – so I feel like I am spinning my wheels but not getting anywhere! I know that you all have been there before too! Can I get an Amen?!?! LOL

((Insert girl squeal here)) We are having our “Cousin’s Slumber Party” next Friday night and I simply can’t wait! The Ohio Cousins need to talk about the driving situation, but I am so excited! I need a little get-away! ((Insert girl squeal here))

My kids crack me up….I have been thinking about this today and I just keep giggling about it. The school is doing a fundraiser and for some reason, Isaac and Faith decided that they would only return one form and then share the prizes that they get. Not sure what made them decide to do this because I never even mentioned it, but fine by me! So, yesterday I asked Isaac which of them would actually return the form in their name and he said… “Well, we had a drawing and Faith Anne won, so I put her name on it.” So stinking funny. There is no doubt in my mind that he literally wrote his name down and then Faith’s name down and pulled a name out of a hat. I was at Bible Study when this transpired, but it cracked me up!

So, I have had a couple of melt-downs this week and I just think that the stress of work…well, that I allow the stress of work… to get to me too much. And then trying to be a good mother and a good wife and a good Christian and a good housekeeper and a good….well, you see. The list goes on and on! Again, I know this is something that we all struggle with and I am not alone, but sometimes I just feel like throwing in the towel because I just can’t do it all! I really liked that “invisible” post that Mandy put up because that is often how I feel! Sometimes it all just gets to me and then what I don’t like about myself is that I take it out on the people that I love the most. The other day…Monday…was just NOT a good day for work. All around…just not a good day. Well, it happened to be one of the days that I “leave work early” and go get the kids from school and then work from home for a few more hours. Well, Isaac had a club after school and Gracie was at the sitters so it was just me and Faith Anne. I literally just looked at her and started crying because I feel like I am failing her so much. She was happy as a lark cutting and coloring while I was sitting across from her working. But I looked at her and thought….here I am working when I should be spending time with her. UGH. There are times, as a mom who works outside of the home, that I just feel so guilty. Then there are other times that I know I would not be a good stay-at-home mommy….but Satan just knows what buttons to push and how he can help me bash myself. I know I am rambling….so feel free to stop reading. But it just helps to put this out there…ya know? I think that as moms….well, not even that….as women, we will always feel guilty about something. Not cleaning enough, not exercising enough, not being a good enough mom, not being a good enough wife, not being a good enough cook, not spending enough time here or there or anywhere. Anyways….Satan uses those feelings and then piles on inadequacy and insecurity and before you know it, you are feeling worthless. Which is the exact opposite of how God views us and wants us to view ourselves. He treasures us like rare jewels and he treasures our efforts and uses them for His glory. How can I let Satan tear me down over and over and over again? I bet that hurts God’s feelings. Then I begin the questions (or Satan pushes play again) of how can He love me so much…why would He love me so much?

I guess it is good that I realize it is Satan who plants these seeds…but I need to get better at shutting Satan down and not allowing them to grow.

Again, I know I am rambling but it feels good to put this out there. I hope I am not alone with these struggles.

As you can see, God is working on me…..THANK GOODNESS. I have been spending more time in His word and in prayer and in just “being” with Him. Now mind you, I need to spend a lot more time with Him….because it is pretty amazing how much it makes a difference. But when I feel Him working on me is when I feel the guilt and the doubt and the insecurities mount. I wish Satan would just take a hike right on out of my life! HA! Don’t we all?!?!?

Okay….I need to get back on track.

Scott is going to Butler Springs (church camp) this weekend for the Men’s Retreat. He is going with his buddy Jason and our old Minister and friend, Bob. There is a big group of men from our church going. So, I hope they have a good time. I know he has been looking forward to it and so have I, actually. It is so neat to see how God is working in both of us since we have been at our new church. Again, being pushed out of your comfort zone can be a very good thing. So, it is just me and the kiddos this weekend. We are going to go over to Mom and Dad’s house and do a little “Welcome Home” decorating. The kids are so excited to do that…and about them coming home!

Cute idea for mommies of little clutzy girls, like my Gracie. On Tuesday, she fell at the sitters. She didn’t really have any cuts or anything, she just landed funny on her wrist. So, to get her to calm down….normally a bandaid will do, but Tera told her to close her eyes and she painted her wrist with sparkly fingernail polish and told her to open her eyes and then said that it was Princess Dust and the Princess had put it there to make her feel better…..and of course, she did! LOL She was so excited and proud to show it to me when I got there. I thought that was a great idea for future reference!

Well, I have rambled enough for one day. Thanks for loving me in spite of my flaws and rambles!!!

Spring?!?!?

I think Spring might be here…at least this week it is! I don’t know about you, but the sunshine and warmer weather has me in a great mood – even though work has been extremely stressful this week. Ugh…it is only Tuesday! Seriously!??!?

Well, the adventures of Buckeye are continuing at our house. I really to believe that Scott and I are both too anal about having a clean house to have a dog, but these are the things we do for our kids! Although, Isaac isn’t that interested in the dog! The girls are more smitten with him than Isaac is! I think he would rather be playing his xBox or watching TV or playing basketball! Silly, silly boy! We need to transition the dog to going outside for the potty instead of going on the puppy pad. I put him outside yesterday and he was like…umm…now what? LOL He just stood there and looked at me. He did poop for the first time outside when Faith and I were walking to get Isaac from school yesterday. That was funny because he kinda did it mid-walk. LOL I bet you are so interested in the bodily functions of my dog! LOL He is a funny little thing. He has a pet squirrel (stuffed animal) that he loves. He will occasionally bark and growl at it. And he also barks and growls at his reflection in the window. The other night I was cracking up because he would peek his head out from around the couch and see his reflection and start barking and growling. Ferocious little thing! HA!

The family is all doing good! My parents come home this weekend…can I get a Woot! Woot! ?!?!? They have been gone since January 2nd and we all miss them terribly! Honestly, the babysitting situation has been just fine. We just miss them! And the kids really miss them. We are going to make some signs to go over and decorate their house with to welcome them home. Also, I do need my handyman of a dad home! I have a list for him to start on when he gets back. LOL Mom said he needs to feel needed…well I need him!

I have a real dilemma. Well, it may not seem like a real dilemma to y’all… but it is to me! The Vera Bradley Outlet Sale…well, the day I am supposed to go to with Jodi, Joy and her cousin Kelly is on Friday, April 30. That is the same weekend as the Women of Faith Conference in Columbus. Well, I have already made plans with Jodi, Joy and Kelly to go to Vera that day. A big group of ladies from my new church are going to WOF and leaving on Thursday night to stay in a hotel for the conference. I think that would be a great opportunity to really get to know the women at my church…and several of them have been asking me to go. I don’t really have any good friends there like I had at BCC…mostly because we haven’t been there long, but also because I need to attend more of the things that they do for women to develop those relationships. Anyways…Scott is urging me to go to WOF because he thinks it will be cheaper (HA!) but also because he wants me to make friends too. So, I am in a tough spot. I don’t want to let Jodi, Joy and Kelly down…and I don’t want to miss out on the great deals…but I do want to go to WOF…..so I just don’t know what to do! Decisions, decisions. I was actually pretty surprised that Scott would be okay with me going to WOF because I would be away from home for two nights and then just a few weeks later I will be on our cruise. But I think he knows how much I enjoy WOF and this is a neat thing to be able to go with a big group.

Onto other topics….I have to tell you that I am really enjoying being a part of the Worship Team at our new church. It is really fun!!! I actually am on the rotation with Sara’s previous MIL…which is interesting. We are the two real altos…and then there is this “tenor” who sings with us. BUT he can’t read music (not that I am good at that) and he just sings what harmonies comes naturally…which is the alto part…so Patty and I have to fight him for a part. We kinda just wait to see what he sings and then pick a different part. We have laughed a lot about it. It is fun learning all the different personalities and quirks of the groups. Scott sings opposite weeks of me, so he has a whole different team that he works with. It is just so much fun….Oh…and Sara…Patty is giving me her 20% discount on vera, so that is WONDERFUL. She brought me a new purse to church on Sunday and that was so fun! It is the little things in life that I get excited about. Have you seen the new Cha-Cha purse by Vera? It is ADORABLE!

I am all over the place today! I went swim suit shopping last week and let me tell you….is there anything more depressing than that?!?!? I literally left the store fighting back tears. ICK. Just not fun. I won’t go into all the details, but believe me when I tell you that skin that is no longer filled with as much fat is not pretty. LOL I ordered a suit from Chadwicks and HATED IT….so I sent it back. I just ordered one from Lands’ End (a friend had a good discount that I could use and free shipping) so we will see how that one goes. I thought I needed it before the cruise, but I really need it by the end of March for our vacation to Gatlinburg. My parent’s time-share has an indoor waterpark and that might require a swim suit that doesn’t fall off of me like my old one does. Anyhow….suffice it to say that I HATE swimsuit shopping.

I am very excited that next weekend we are having our Cousin’s Sleepover at Jodi’s house! Yeah! That will be a good time…and we can talk about our cruise-ware! I haven’t bought anything yet…I was thinking of wearing the dress I bought for my MIL’s wedding since I have only worn it the one time. So, we will see. I wonder how fancy everyone else will want to get. I did get my passport ordered, so that is a big relief. And I made my final payment for the cruise…so I am all set! If only May would get here sooner! Actually, I shouldn’t say that because it already seems like time is flying by!

Well, I guess I should get off of here and finish up some stuff at work. I just felt like rambling for a bit so that is pretty much what this post is! Maybe you just feel like you are talking to me.

OH! Listen to what my darling Gracie did yesterday….I went to pick her up from our Sitters in Centerville (yuppy town) and she tells me that Gracie pee’d in her backyard! LOL Apparently they were outside playing….Tera went into the house to get something and came back out to see Gracie’s bare butt squatting in her yard to pee! I about died when she told me. I am thinking that their daughter Madison showed her how to do it because we have certainly never done that….but it was so funny! Now, Isaac…I would believe in a heartbeat (thanks Dad), but Gracie?!?!? She thinks it is funny. LOL

Tootles!

Buckeye...

In case you haven't seen on Facebook...here is the newest addition to our family! I cannot believe that I let my husband and kids guilt me into a dog....but he is pretty cute. Now, if we can just get him potty trained....life will be good!!!! Thank goodness we have hard-wood floors!

All of the kids love him...even Gracie! We just got him yesterday and she is already carrying him around the house. Thank goodness he is good with kids. He just lets Faith and Gracie carry him around like a baby.

Well, not much time for a long update...just thought I would share pictures of our new baby!

Testing...Is this thing still on?!?!?

Yes, that is right. Don’t adjust your screen….this is a new post! And yes, this is a Christmas background still on my blog. Unless one of you can tell me how to change/get rid of this, I will have to live with it. I can’t remember for the life of me how I did this and therefore, I can’t remember how to make it go away! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

So…what’s it been? A year or so! Geesh! Time flies when you are having fun! To be fair, I have never stopped reading those that post….I just stopped posting. I think at first I was busy and then it was just so long that I didn’t know where to start and that was overwhelming to me…so I just kept putting it off. But I decided that I need to do more blogging…so here I am!

Life is good! I mean, seriously…life is good. Now, that doesn’t mean that life is perfect! HA! But who wants to listen to all my problems….and the problems that I have are so minute compared to the struggles that others face. I just have to look at my life and be amazed at how much God has blessed me. I have a husband who treats me like a queen…now that doesn’t mean he is perfect (who is?) but I fall more in love with him every day and I appreciate how he takes care of me and the kids. I have three beautiful kids who amaze me every day. I have a house…and lots of debt….but then we both have jobs….and God provides for our NEEDS. I feel so blessed.

My job is going good. In January, my work-load basically doubled which really threw me for a loop. I spent most of the month working 12-14 hour days. I would work all day at work with no break and then go home and get back on my computer as soon as I could. Not the best work/home-life balance, but it was necessary. I am in a better groove now, so it isn’t as bad. I like being busy and feeling like I am adding value, so it has been good for me professionally. Personally, I am going through one of my spells where I feel like a bad mother. I just go through this periodically, but some days I feel so guilty because I feel like work gets the best of my day and the kids and Scott get what is left over. I have to work really hard to not allow that to happen and to not let myself get so guilty. I know that I could never be a stay-at-home mom….but there are times I wish I could just take a break to spend more time with the kids. Ahh…like I said, I go through this every few months and then it gets better. I just have to work through it and work on cherishing every minute I do have with the kids!

Speaking of the kids…they are really doing great. I love giving a play-by-play of each of them…so here goes:

Isaac
Well, I didn’t get to share here….but he had a really great football season last year! His team was nearly undefeated (lost one due to a bad call) all season and made it to the SuperBowl! That was a ton of fun (I actually painted my face! LOL). They lost that game, but it was so cool to make it there. He had a lot of fun with football last year. He is doing really, really good in school. I laugh now at how much we struggled with our decision to send him or to not send him to Kindergarten early. I believe we made the right decision for him. He is at the top of his class and just really likes school still. He just had his first science project (or should I say WE just had it!) and that was fun. We studied the Wii to determine if playing video games can be considered a form of exercise. The three games we tested were bowling, baseball and boxing. Bowling was NOT exercise (raising our heart rate to at least 50% of our maximum heart rate) for any of us….Baseball was exercise for me and Scott, but not Isaac….and Boxing was exercise for all three of us. That was a cool experiment! I just went to google and typed in something about science projects and video games and poof….there was the idea! He thought it was really cool. So, anyways…he is doing good. I am just so proud of that little guy! He has such a big heart!!!

Faith Anne
Oh, my little DIVA! She had so much fun cheering last year for football. She took it very seriously and does a great job. Right now she is on the fence about doing it again this year because she says she gets too thirsty and hot (LOL). However, she and Gracie both still go around the house doing cheers and their cheer dance. So, we will see! I am supposed to be the assistant coach, so hopefully she decides to do it! LOL She is doing great in school too. Funny thing…on her report card the only area she received a minus on….self-control. HA! She tends to want to get her own way and not be very happy about it if she doesn’t get her own way! She is very stubborn and determined and I just have no idea where she gets it! RIGHT! We recently went to Bounce-U (an indoor bouncy house place) with our new church (another story) and there was this huge slide that all the kids wanted to go down. HOWEVER, in order to get to the huge slide…you had to climb up this insane ladder made of bungee cords. It was REALLY hard. I guess the older kids were all struggling, but were able to do it. Well, when it was time for the younger kids (Faith’s group) to go to this room….not many of them could do it without help. Well, Faith was determined that she was going to do it by herself. And by golly, she had to work at it for 15 minutes or so….but she did it all by herself….3 times! I was so proud of her and that just said a lot to me about her character! She will not let anyone tell her she can’t do something (which is not always a good thing) and she will keep trying until she can do it. This has been evident in her learning to tie her shoes and play games on the Wii and just lots of things. It is so cool to see her learn and just so interesting to see how different she is from Isaac. She loves all things GIRLY and just keeps me on my toes.

Gracie
And then…there is Gracie, our God’s great sense of humor!!! Let me just tell you that there is NEVER a dull moment when Gracie is around. It is funny…she is the third child, but she is like a little hurricane making waves wherever she goes! Where do I even begin with her?!?!? She is Faith Anne’s shadow, but also walks to the beat of her own drum. She wants to be wherever her sister is, but wants to do it her own way if that makes any sense. She definitely tests the limits and has so much spunk that I don’t know what to do with it half the time. She has all of my stubbornness and Scott’s in one little body. For example, she LITERALLY screamed for 30 minutes straight one day because she wanted to open the garage door but couldn’t because she had gloves on. So I made the mistake of opening it. Well, she was screaming and crying and so I put her in her room. She had an absolute temper tantrum for 30 minutes…then she was very quiet. I nearly went to check to see if she was still alive, but then she opened her bedroom door….walked out of her room and out to the garage door. She opened it and went out into the garage and then closed the door behind her. She opened the door and walked into the house and said…"Hi Mommy”. I was like….are you kidding me? Yeah, so that is a taste of Gracie! OMG…. Half the time, I am not sure whether to hug her or spank her, but one thing is for sure….our lives would not be complete without little miss Gracie!!! She cracks me up because she will come and find me after playing in make-up or jewelry or whatever and ask me if she looks FABULOUS. LOVE IT!

So the kiddos are great! Scott and I are doing really, really well! We will celebrate our 10th anniversary in April. That seems so hard to believe. We are planning a weekend get-away, but not really sure where yet. We are toying around the idea of going to Chicago. Scott wants to go to a Cubs game (woo-hoo) and I would like to see a show or shopping or something. So, who knows. He isn’t much of a beach person and since I am going on the girls’ cruise in May….I am not pushing him for a warm spot! I will get my beach fix in May!

Well, one of the biggest changes in our lives came last year in September. The church we had been attending (and the one that Scott grew up in…for 28 years) had some issues that we did not agree with, so we left and started “shopping”. We actually only went to two other churches and quickly found our new church home! It is funny how God had to KICK us out of our comfort zone to put us where we needed to be. Oh my. There are just no words to describe how wonderful this has been for our family. It is like a breath of fresh air….and it has strengthened my relationship with Christ and Scott’s relationship with Christ and therefore, our relationship with each other. It has just been amazing to see how this has all worked out according to HIS plan. It was certainly not our plan. And I will tell you that I still miss so many of the familiar faces and friends that we left behind, but I just KNOW that we are where God wants us to be right now. We are both part of the praise team at our new church and loving every minute of it. And I start teaching a Sunday School class (once a month) in March. We actually go to a Sunday School class together…for like the first time ever…and it is really nice. It is neat to go to a “bigger” church that has lots of things to offer and you don’t have to do everything. So, it is a new and exciting experience for us! It was really hard initially, but is so good now!

There is so much more that I could go on and on about….but I probably better get back to work. I will just add in that I have been working on Weight Watchers for 28 months now…that is a long time. I am not at my goal weight yet. That is a bummer. But I have lost close to 130 pounds from my heaviest (right after having Gracie). I still struggle sometimes, but I am sort of settling into this new way of living for me….healthier. Now my problem is that I don’t know if I will be able to get to the number on the scale or the size of clothes that I would like to without addressing a situation called loose skin. Yep, I have a lot of it. I guess that is to be expected for all the years I was not nice to my body. So…that would come by the way of surgery and that just isn’t in the cards for us unless I can figure out a way to get insurance to pay for it. So…that is a bit depressing. On one hand, I am very proud of the hard work I have done to get here…and I know that I have not done it alone. It is not by my strength…FOR SURE. But on the other hand, it is frustrating that I can’t really get past this last hurdle. Not sure if that makes any sense or not….but I LOVED something that Mandy posted not too long ago and it can really be applied to SO MANY aspects in life. She said something to the affect of… “I don’t have to be perfect, just persistent.” That is so true in my weight loss journey….but probably more importantly in my relationship with Christ. He doesn’t expect me to be perfect, because He knows that I can’t be. But He does expect…and deserve….for me to be persistent. So…thanks Mandy for sharing that! It has meant so much to me!!!

Well, toodles! I am going to try to be a regular poster again….so we will see how that works out! Any help on removing the Christmas theme would be greatly appreciated!!!!

More Pictures

So...I just wanted to share some more of my favorite vacation pictures. Enjoy!

April?!?!?

It is almost Easter! Is that crazy or what?!?!? It seems like we just had the Christmas Season and it is already Easter! I guess that old adage about time going by faster as you get older must be true! Although, I am not getting older! LOL

I am in a giddy mood today and I am not sure why, other than I just found out that they are laying off people again…and people that do what I do….so I am trying to be super positive. One of the ladies that I work with…she and I have been cracking jokes about it all morning since we found out, but it really isn’t funny. It is really scaring me to death. But….I keep telling myself (over and over and over again in my head) that God will provide. No matter what happens, He is in control and He is the Lord of my life and He will take care of me. So….enough of that “Debbie-Downer” topic!

So, what has been going on in my world? Let’ see….most exciting thing is that we had our Family Vacation last week! It was wonderful! Jodi might say differently, but don’t listen to her! LOL Just kidding…I am sure that spending a week with my 3 rugrats when you aren’t used to being around kids all the time was culture shock….but I think we all had fun! We went to Disney World!!! Mom, Dad, Jodi, Isaac and Faith Anne left on Friday and got to Florida on Saturday and Scott, Gracie and I left on Saturday and got there on Sunday. They enjoyed the beach on Sunday, we all enjoyed the beach (Cocoa Beach) on Monday and then we headed to the Magic Kingdom on Tuesday. Let me tell you…seeing it through the eyes of my kids….there really are no words for how amazing that was. I kept getting emotional all day when I would see them get excited about things. God has blessed us so much to have the opportunity to raise these 3 precious angels and to experience life through them. Now, that doesn’t mean that there were not moments that I would have liked to kill them…or give them to Mickey Mouse to take care of (LOL), but it was so neat! In fact, Gracie had a “time-out” on the steps of Cinderella’s Castle – with the Fairy Godmother looking on. Jodi took a picture of that! LOL It was MAGICAL, as they say. I will bore those of you that I will see soon with the details in person! Everyone else, there is just so much…I don’t know how I could capture it in one entry! Basically, I spent most of the day with just the girls and Scott took Isaac to do the “big-kid” type stuff. We all had fun and I think everyone got to do what they wanted to do. Most importantly for Faith Anne, we saw Snow White right at the start of the day! Very cool….although Jodi and I agree that you have to be a complete DORK to work there….part of the requirement, I am sure.

Anywho, the next day we pretty much lazed by the pool at our resort and then did some shopping. We had a lazy day to recover and then on Thursday, we went to Hollywood (what used to be called MGM). Now, there was debate as to whether we should go to Hollywood or Animal Kingdom and I won….Hollywood. We had a great time, but I think if I had to do it over again, I would go to Animal Kingdom. Since we have been back (of course), so many people have told me about all the cool things at AK. Anyways…we went to Hollywood (so there) and it was fun! Again, I took the girls and everyone else went off to do “big kid” stuff. I had so much fun with my girls! We saw Playhouse Disney on stage….VERY cool and got pictures with a TON of characters. It was so much fun. I hooked up with Mom, Dad and Jodi at lunch and spent the rest of the day with them. It was very neat. There were cool things at Hollywood!!

Friday we went to Downtown Disney and that was very cool. You definitely want to make that a stop on your Disney Tour. Maybe even go there first…they have some really cool things there. We enjoyed the day there and then had to pack up for our trip home! We left Saturday morning and got home on Sunday evening.

All in all….it was a FABULOUS Trip! I wouldn’t really call it “vacation” because I was absolutely exhausted when we got home…but it was a great trip! I can’t wait to go back! After we save up again, because MAN that place is EXPENSIVE! EVERYTHING is more expensive there….like, there is no “Dollar Menu” at McDonalds! LOL But it was worth it! The kids had a BLAST and made lots of great memories! I need to get my pictures developed! I better work on that before Easter so I can share them with the cousins!

So, aside from that major excitement in our lives…everything else is just cruising right along! We came back from vacation to the start of soccer and t-ball for Faith Anne and baseball for Isaac! Needless to say, our calendar is CRAZY these days. I actually had to post something on our fridge at home to try to keep everything straight. But Soccer is only April and May, so that will only over-lap with t-ball a little bit. Baseball/t-ball games don’t start until May sometime. I can’t wait to see how Faith Anne does!!!

Speaking of Faith Anne….she did great at her Kindergarten Screening! She scored 137/200 and the average score was 112. So….we are feeling pretty good about our decision to send her to school in the fall. We meet with her preschool teacher next week to talk about what to work on over the summer. We are going to do the full day program for her like we did with Isaac, so I am feeling very good about this decision. It was a lot easier than Isaac’s! And Gracie, we won’t have a choice…so that is good! I don’t do well with decisions because I second-guess myself so much. Anywho…so my FAB will be starting Kindergarten in the fall!!! Oh, the thing she did the worst on with her testing…Body Awareness! LOL I laughed when I read that. They tell them to draw a person and they get points for like eyes, nose, fingers, ears, etc. So, apparently she wasn’t very detailed with her drawing. Too funny.

Gracie-Girl, as I call her…she is just as ornery as ever! She has been having some bowel problems lately…don’t you love knowing that. So, I might have to take her to the doctor if that persists, but it is fun to see her personality develop more and more each day. She is definitely stubborn (no idea where that comes from) and not easily persuaded to do something that she doesn’t want to do. I can tell that she is going to be a challenge for me! We butt heads A LOT. But I still love that girl so much! She can be so sweet one minute and then punching her sister the next (literally). Never a dull moment!

And my buddy Isaac….he is doing good. We have had some challenges at school…he has brought home some D’s and F’s, but his report card just came out and he got all “E”s and “S”s. So, I am very proud of him. The teacher is transitioning from doing their work together as a class to letting them be more independent and doing their work by themselves and that has taken some getting used to for Isaac. Plus, he is always worried about taking care of everyone else (again, not sure where that comes from) and he needs to just focus on his own needs! He is such a good kid…with a big heart. He is so much like my dad at times!!!!

Speaking of worrying about everyone else…at one point on our vacation, I told Mom that the reason that she and Jodi bicker is because they are so much alike. (Jodi and I had just had that conversation too). So, mom looks at me and she says…Okay, Missy. Just for the record (because that is how I started my comment to her) it is not your responsibility to make everyone else happy and to make sure that everyone else is having a good time. And I have thought about that so much since she said that….I really do do that! I really do spend a large part of my time making sure that everyone else is taken care of and that everyone else is happy…..sometimes I forget to think about me. Now, believe me….I am not saying that I am not a selfish person…because we all are and I am no different. But I do need to find a balance sometimes. Sometimes I tend to fall to one side too much. Well, that might sound very conceited…but I am certainly not meaning it to. It was just a deep thought that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about…

Scott is doing good too. He had fun on our vacation, however I wasn’t very nice to him. I keep looking back and I was so worried that he would say something he shouldn’t or get on my family’s nerves that I didn’t let him have much fun. I kept telling him to be quiet and not say that and not do that….that wasn’t very nice of me. I guess I should just let him get on their nerves….lol. I probably got on their nerves more by telling him to be quiet than he would’ve if I would just let him be himself! LOL Oh well! Anytime you vacation with family, you love them dearly, but you realize why you don’t all live together all the time! LOL

Well, I think I have rambled about nonsense long enough! I just wanted to share a bit of our vacation with you! Love you all and I do check up on all of the journal-goddesses every day! I don’t always comment, but I do check them daily! So, I am praying for you and loving you all!!!!

I am still alive!!!

So, yeah…it has been a while! Like two months! What is that all about? I still check everyone’s journal every day…but for some reason I have a hard time taking the time to post. I think it is because there is so much to say, but yet….not enough time. I don’t know. But who cares? I am here now! LOL

Let me give you a person-by-person update before I get to me!

Gracie
Well, Gracie is growing up so fast! She is talking a lot and just changing and developing quite the little personality. She is so strong-willed and such a little pistol. I just love her to death, but there are moments that I could just strangle her! She is a screamer…she screams when she doesn’t get her way…and she likes to torture her brother and sister. But then she will also do the cutest things that just melt your heart. So, she is something else!!! She is still pretty tiny comparatively speaking….but she holds her own!

Faith Anne
I have enrolled my Faithy in Kindergarten! Can you believe that? She goes for her screening at the end of this month. She is so ready to go….but I am not sure that I am! I just can’t believe it is that time already! She is such a little drama queen. Everything with her so melo-dramatic. But she also has a very loving side….she is my cuddler and just likes to be held and told that you love her…over and over and over again. She seriously wants like 10 hugs and kisses every night – from everyone. The other day I was at Target with the girls and they were both riding in the cart and they had been hitting each other (SHOCKER) but then they started singing the “I Love You” song from Barney (HATE that show) and hugging and kissing each other. It is moments like that….I cherish and hope they really do end up being the best of friends like I am with Jodi! Oh, and Faith Anne regularly tells me that she wants to get married too. What a funny little girl! She is really liking gymnastics and looking forward to starting soccer and t-ball soon! Of course she will have to have all pink stuff…cleats, shin guards, ball, bat, glove, etc. And then she will be cheering for football too. So, she is going to be busy! But it is her turn…she has been to all of “Isaac’s Stuff” for the past few years…now it is her turn too!

Isaac
Well, Bubby-Man is doing really good too. His grades are slipping a little bit at school (not all “A’s”), but he is doing good. His biggest problem at school is talking too much (really?) and being too concerned about everyone else and not just himself (again, really?). But overall, he is still doing good in school and still really likes it. His teacher’s husband passed away, so that was rough on him because he has really grown to love his teacher and he was sad when she was out for a few weeks. His basketball season is now over…he LOVED playing! His team lost one game, so they had a great season and a lot of fun. At the last practice last week, they had the kids play the parents and so I got to play! That was a lot of fun…even though he fouled me a lot. He is excited to start baseball too and he is really excited that football season is getting closer. It was funny because in football, he just isn’t very aggressive…well, in basketball, he was almost TOO aggressive! If we can just get him to switch that, that would be great! But he always keeps us busy! He is such a “pleaser”….a lot like me, actually. He just wants everyone to be happy all the time. When Gracie is upset…or even Faith Anne, he wants to do whatever it will take to make them happy. He is just a sweet, sweet kid. Don’t get me wrong, he teases his sisters some too….but when they are really upset, he is always the one to go get their favorite book or toy or try to take their punishment for them. They are blessed to have such a great big brother!!!

Scott
Well, he is doing great at work, in spite of the economy. I guess that people are home more now, so they don’t want to give up their cable. So, that is good for our budget! We still don’t see a lot of each other, but I am assuming that most people our age with kids our ages are like that. One day we will get to enjoy each other again! I am blessed to have a hubby who is so good to me. He really takes care of me and the kids….and he doesn’t complain about it…too much! LOL He spoils me! He has been very busy at home the last few weeks because we switched bedrooms for Isaac and the girls. So, that involved a lot of painting and repairing walls and re-hanging curtains and pictures and stuff. They look REALLY nice and we are SO glad it is done! I wish we could afford a bigger house, but I do love what we have…if only we had one more room! Some day….

And me…well, I am doing good. I had a big scare with my job in January. We had a big shake-up here and did some restructuring and down-sizing. There was about one week where I really, really thought I was going to have my job eliminated….and honestly, it still could happen. But for now, my job is safe and it has changed some, but I still have a job! In this economy…that isn’t something to take for granted! I have a new boss…a woman! I really like working for her. She has a very annoying voice, but she seems to be a good person to work with and she is very appreciative of what I do. So, that is work!

I am still losing weight….but very, very slowly! I guess that I am okay with that because they say the slower it comes off…the longer it will stay off. But I do wish I could just wake up skinny and at my goal! That just isn’t happening as fast as I would like it to! I have about 25 more pounds to go to my goal. At this rate…I might make it there by next year. LOL I have decided that I am really going to try to just enjoy where I am at in this journey instead of always trying to move faster. I am way healthier now than I have ever been…way more active than I have ever been….actually wearing smaller clothes than I remember wearing since high school...so I guess I can’t complain too much! I have learned a lot about myself on this journey…but still have so much to learn. I don’t think you ever “arrive” when you are someone like me, who has had a weight issue my whole life. The moment you think you have “arrived” is the moment that you start gaining back, I think. So…anyways….that is going good! I hit a pretty big milestone in my journey last week and it felt GREAT!
I have some fun and exciting things coming up! This weekend, the girl cousins are all going to Kentucky to Jodi’s house for a baby shower. The shower is on Saturday, but we are all going down on Friday night and having a slumber party at Jodi’s house! I am so stinking excited! We are going to play karaoke and just have a great time laughing together! I can’t wait!!! Then, we are going on vacation to Disney World the last week in March for Spring Break! That is so very exciting too! I am dreading the drive down there, but I can’t wait to see the kids’ reaction to the Magic Kingdom! We are going to go there two days….and that is all, at this point as far as the parks go. Mom and Dad and our whole family and Jodi are all going…so it will be a blast! This is the last year that we can go with Gracie being free…and I was able to get 20% off the tickets through work, so it won’t be TOO bad. But I can’t believe how expensive it is!!!! So, that is exciting! Then in April, the cousins are all going to Women of Faith…and Mandisa is going to be there…WAHOO! Have you heard her new song…LOVE IT! I need to get her CD. And then the weekend after that….is the Vera Bradley Trunk Sale! I don’t know who I am going to that with or the details of that…but I WILL be there….that is FOR SURE! Oh….and then one other thing I just thought of, my cousin Michael and Kami are getting married in June and Isaac is in that wedding. That will be fun and all the Oklahoma crew will be in town, so that is another exciting thing to look forward to! And Tessa is getting married in May….just lots of exciting things on the horizon!

Well, I am sure you are bored with my rambling by now. I know there is so much more to tell you, but I will bore you with that another day! I do ‘lurk” every day! It is part of my morning routine when I get to work! Love and hugs to you all!!!!!

What a Weekend!!!

***Disclaimer*** I am doing this at work, so I know my Christmas theme is still here but I can't get rid of it at work. I need to log on at home so I can change it. Sorry!!!

Hey there! Yeah, so it hasn’t been so long since my last post. That is out of the ordinary for me…but I had such a jam-packed weekend…I thought I would share it. Really, I think there are just some things I want to “talk” about. Ya know?

So…anyways….Friday night wasn’t very exciting. Scott took Isaac and Faith Anne to a basketball game, so it was just me and Gracie and we went shopping. I always have fun when it is just the two of us. She just says the cutest things. She really talks well…and A LOT for her age! So…that was pretty much Friday night.

Saturday was like the never-ending day…but it had some great “me-time” built in too! We got up early because Isaac had his first basketball game! Wow. That gym was like MASS CHAOS. It is a big gym and they have these huge curtains to divide it into 4 basketball courts. So, yeah…four games going on at the same time. Plus, it was picture day….so it was craziness! Faithy’s preschool teacher from last year was there and I asked her if it was always like this and she said yes…sometimes worse when all the grandparents decide to come too! But anyways…his first game was great! We had the camcorder, but it messed up for some reason so we didn’t get it on tape! Bummer! But that kid (Isaac, obviously..lol) was more aggressive in basketball than he ever was in football! He did a really, really good job and he scored! The first time he tried he scored! I was one proud Mama!!! They won…although they were winning so much at the half that they reset the scoreboard and then kinda stopped tracking it. It doesn’t really matter because it is just so entertaining to watch!

We left the basketball game and Scott and the kids dropped me off at home…by myself! BLISS! He had to work down in Wilmington so he took all three kids with him to our friend’s house so they could all play together. HEAVEN. Yeah, so I ended up cleaning house some and reading some. Then my mom came and picked me up and we went to Skinny Cousin’s baby shower! That was fun because Mandy and Chelle and the other Mandie were all there, so we were able to visit and just relax. Skinny Cousin got a lot of cute and adorable baby girl clothes – lots of pink!!! She is so funny…she told me that I definitely have the title of Skinny Cousin right now because she is so pregnant. Umm.. yeah, but that won’t last! LOL

So then Mom took me home and I had another 2 hours of BLISS (aka being home alone). LOL I seriously cannot tell you the last time I was home alone! I know lots of you are in that same spot…it was WONDERFUL for those that can’t remember! I cleaned more and did laundry and read some more. Then I started dinner and then my quiet time was over. It was bliss…short-lived, but bliss nonetheless!

We ate dinner and then I went to church for PT practice. I missed having Sara there, but I had fun hanging out with Tessa! We talked wedding stuff some and just commiserated with each other when we were frustrated. LOL

I got home from there and Scott had lined up a sitter (I knew about this before) and we headed out to go to a bar to hear my Uncle’s band play! We went to the wrong place at first and talk about being uncomfortable. We walked into this little dive and everyone stared at us….it was the wrong place. So, we found the right place and talked to my Uncle and his “should-be girlfriend”. We met my MIL and her boyfriend there. Well, the invited my FIL and his wife…because the four of them hang out regularly…. At one point, Scott says…”how weird is it that I am sitting in a bar with my parents. And not only my parents but my mom’s boyfriend and my dad’s wife. WEIRD!” It was a bit strange. But the band (Diddley) was REALLY, REALLY good!!! I had never heard them with a full band before and I was AMAZED and PROUD of my Uncle!!! Go DIDDLEY!! I am ready to be a groupie!

So…the next morning, I had to sing in both services at church. Okay….so I was very emotionally charged anyways because I was all excited about Isaac’s baptism. Well, before the first service started, I hear this older woman in the congregation start to berate Jason, our Worship Minister. I mean…she was talking to him like he was a dog. At first, she was so loud that I just thought she was teasing….but then I realized she was serious and I just was astonished. I walked back to the room we pray in before the service and saw Jason and I just started crying. I felt so bad for him that she would talk to him like that. So, we prayed and waited for me to get composed (I couldn’t stop crying and that was making him uncomfortable…LOL) and then we made it through the first service. Fine…so….I was making tea and getting ready to go to Sunday School and I just was a nervous wreck! Laura (Hair Dye) had to help me with my tea because I was just shaking and a mess! So, we get to Sunday School and our teacher wasn’t there…but there was 6 of us ladies and for some reason, I had diarrhea of the mouth and just spewed out all of the fears and nerves and emotions of the day. I was in tears telling them about how proud of Isaac I was and about our meeting with Stew (the youth minister) and about Scott and I arguing last week about his dad and about his dad and about how worried I was that my dad would punch his dad and about blah, blah, blah. You get the point. So, they all prayed for me and we prayed for one of the other girls who is really going through a rotten time right now. It was just a beautiful example of how God wants us to minister to each other.

Anywho….so we walk out of there and I am feeling pretty good about everything. I head over the church and see Mandy and her family there and that was so special to me…. And then I headed into the sanctuary and I saw Chelle and Matt and Katie (Mandy’s sister) and Jodi and Jimmie and my parents and both of Scott’s sisters and Deanna and their kids and my MIL and Rob (her boyfriend) and my FIL and Patty (his wife) and I felt so blessed to have such a loving family there to celebrate this day. THEN…Scott pulls me aside (mind you, I am supposed to be praying with the PT before the service) to tell me that his dad wants to be in the baptistery with them too. WHAT? I immediately said no way. So then Scott says…well, then maybe we should tell your dad no too so we don’t cause a scene. And I said…NO WAY. I said we are doing this the way Isaac wants us to. Then Scott starts to walk off and I grab him again and say…”This is Isaac’s day. You tell your Dad for once in his life this day isn’t about him and needs to stop trying to make it about him.” I then went back to the prayer room, but they were done praying and walking out….I grabbed Tessa and hugged her and asked her to pray with me and am in tears. She hugged me and prayed (man, I love that girl) and then we head onto stage…but first, Jason sees me and is like…..are you okay? I was like…Yeah, I just need my FIL to not be here. He says…well, let’s just sick (insert name of mean old lady who attacked him earlier) on him. We both laughed and went onto stage and had an AWESOME, AWESOME service. And my baby boy made the greatest decision of his life. He chose God….and just like the song that we sang says….the angels were praising with us yesterday. It was beautiful….it was so awesome….and I had my awesome and wonderful family ALL there with me. I love them all so much.

As a side note….Scott didn’t want his dad up there either, but he didn’t know what to do and he was trying to keep peace and not cause a scene. I guess when he told his dad no, his dad was actually fine with it and said that he just wanted us to know that he was proud and wanted to be a part of it. It wasn’t brought up again (so never to me) and he actually came up to me afterwards and hugged me and was crying and saying he loved me. And I saw him hug my dad too. Now…I still can’t stand the man. But…he is Scott’s dad and I have to learn to tolerate him. This bitterness that I harbor against him isn’t hurting him, but it is hurting me and it could hurt my marriage if I don’t let it go. That is going to be a daily struggle….but I have to do it.

So….anyways, after that, we all (and I do mean ALL) went to lunch at BD’s Mongolian BBQ at the Greene and it was so much fun!!!! We had a great time together and I think everyone liked it….we had to leave abruptly because Isaac had a football party, so I felt bad about that. But it was just so neat and emotional for me to look around that room and see so many people that I love there to support my family and my son.

When we got home…I was exhausted. Physically…but more so emotionally. It was such an emotional day….good, bad and hard….but emotional all around!

God is so good. There just aren’t words for how great He is. I am so blessed. I am blessed to be a part of a family that comes together to celebrate together. I am blessed to be a part of a family that comes together to pray for each other. I am so blessed to be a part of a church family that loves and teaches my kids. I am just so blessed. God is so good. Thanks for letting me share my weekend with you!

Love you all!!!!

Happy New Year!

Wow! So, 2009 is upon us! That is just so hard to believe! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were scared of Y2K and all that jazz! Where does the time go?

Well, we ended up 2008 with a really great Holiday Season. I am not sure why it felt so wonderful to me this year, but it was just a great time of spending time with family and enjoying all of the many blessings that God has given us. I am usually sad when Christmas and New Years are over….I don’t really get depressed, just sad. I just hate to see it all end. But this year….I wasn’t happy to see it go, but I wasn’t sad either because it was just a great time!

Umm…we hosted my MIL’s side of the family “Family Christmas” at our house again this year…that was nice. It is always nice to do something like that because my house has never looked so good! LOL We remodeled our main bathroom (thank you Dad!), Scott repainted and redecorated our back bathroom and he painted our laundry room. Oh, he also painted all of our new doors (we have had them for a while, but just never painted them) and bought all new door handles for them! I am telling you…my house looks great! Oh, we had to buy new furniture too…we got a couch and loveseat (buy one get one free offer) and so that led to a new rug and new curtains and new footstools! LOL So, our house looks really great….and that was our Christmas present to each other. We didn’t get each other anything else because we have just spent so much money on our house here lately. But anyways…..so we had his whole family over….about 45 people! That went really well. We moved a bunch of furniture around and it just worked out great and I think everyone had a good time.

Umm…Christmas Eve was at my Mom and Dad’s house and then with all my Mom’s family at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. It was just a wonderful day all around. I always enjoy time spent with my family….and this year was no different! We went caroling to a few houses in their neighborhood and I LOVED that. We used to do that all the time when we were kids…..so it brought back some very sweet memories and it was fun to see Isaac and Faith Anne having so much fun with it too. Of course, we told them it wasn’t like trick-or-treating, and the first house….they came out with a plate full of cookies. LOL But that was really fun! And I got a Vera Bradley purse from my cousin, so what could be better than that? LOL It was just a great, great time with my favorite people in the world.

Christmas Day was fun…with one exception…but the kids had so much fun opening their presents and playing with their toys. They got some really great things….and a lot of really great things. We had both of our families over for breakfast and that is always so special to me….to have everyone together. Chaos…but like Mandy said, good chaos. After everyone left, we had naps….HEAVENLY….and then we went over to my MIL’s for dinner and games and then over to my parents for snacks and games. It was just a very fun day!

The one exception to the day....my FIL. He is just a POW (which stands for Piece of Work). He and his wife were late coming over on Christmas...so we didn't wait for them to eat. Then they still weren't there by the time the kids were itching to open their presents...so we handed them out and were just getting ready to open them when they walked in. He was upset that we didn't wait for him...whatever. THEN! Scott was showing him the bathroom that my Dad and Scott worked so hard on to remodel and he says it is nice....but asks why he didn't replace the hinges because they were rusty. WHAT? We have new flooring, new toilet, new vanity, new sink, new medicine cabinet, new paint, new door, new door handle and you point out that the hinges are rusty?!?!? THEN......he gave my kids a few small toys....he gave Scott $40....he gave both of his daughters $40.....he gave his other grandson (my nephew) all kinds of toys.....and he gave my SIL's "friend" $20 gift card..........He gave me.........NOTHING. Yep, NOTHING. Now, I don't want or need anything from that man, but to come into MY house....and to disrespect me like that....what a POW!!!! Needless to say, Scott hasn't spoken to his dad since Christmas and I don't care if I ever speak to him again. My MIL says it was probably an over-sight....but it is now 2 weeks after Christmas. Don't you think he would've found it by now if he just forgot my present? LOL Oh well....just chalk it up as one more thing about that man that makes him a POW. LOL

The day after Christmas was nice because my Dad offered to keep all three kids so that my mom, Jodi and I could go shopping! We had lunch and shopped and that was really fun…we stayed away from the big crazy stores….just went to a few small ones. That was really enjoyable and a nice time with them!

Let’s see….so then New Years Eve, we ended up having everyone over to our house because my Mom was really sick. So, we had my family (the cousins and one aunt & uncle) over to our house. We had so much fun playing games and just being together to celebrate the New Year! It is so fun for me to see Faith Anne and Gracie play with Abbey and Katie and then Isaac with the boys because it just brings back so many memories from our own childhoods. We all got a good laugh out of the girls playing dress-up with real dress-up clothes and not my lingerie….inside joke. But it was just so much fun – as always – spending the evening with my favorite people (except some of them were missing). I am so blessed to have family that double as my best friends and I genuinely love them and love spending time with them. Isn’t God great?

So…those were the major holidays! The other days…I was on vacation, so they were just blissful! LOL I had a lot of time with the kids each day….a nice reminder of why I am a better Mommy because I work! LOL Just kidding…kinda. My kids just fight a lot. They actually would play really, really well together for a few hours….but they would fight a lot for a few hours too. So, that was annoying. But it was just nice to “be”. We had a lazy schedule and they got to stay in their PJs for as long as they wanted to and play with their toys or watch movies or just hang out. I read some books….saw some movies….it was just a really, really great vacation!

Ummm…but now back to reality! I didn’t do great with my eating plan while I was on vacation. I pretty much just ate whatever I wanted. I did go to the gym every day – actually more than I normally do! But I still gained weight…not much, but enough to kick my butt back into gear. I would like to hit my goal and lose 28 more pounds this year. I would like to be a WW leader or at least in the training program by the end of the year. So, I have to get focused and I really need to jazz up my exercise routine to help with my problem areas! It is so neat to be able to buy clothes at whatever store I want to now! But I need to lose more off my top half so that I can fit more comfortably in those clothes! LOL My momma cursed me with a big chest, so I am not sure how to get rid of that…but I am going to work on it! LOL

Other goals for 2009….just to live each day to the fullest and be positive. There is so much in my life to be grateful for and I often lose sight of that. God has blessed me beyond my comprehension…..and He always provides. He has blessed me with a husband who loves me…and although he gets on my nerves sometimes, he really treats me so wonderful and does so many little things for me that I too often take for granted! He has entrusted me with three beautiful children….and I don’t deserve them…that is for sure. We have a home, we have two cars, we have all of our basic needs provided and we have the promise that He is coming back for us one day soon….God is so good and I don’t say that or think about that often enough.

One more note….Isaac is going to be baptized…probably this Sunday. We have to meet with Stew to make sure that he is ready for this….but he has been asking us for a few months now and to hear him explain what it means….oh my gosh. It is so precious. He “wants God to take the yuck out of his heart and replace it with good stuff.” He knows that “all of the yuck won’t come out…and more yuck will come in….” but he wants “God to live in his heart and help him take care of the yuck.” So precious. How ever did I get so blessed?

Have a great day! Love and hugs to all!!!!

December Greetings

So, Happy Holidays! I cannot believe that in two weeks, it will be Christmas Eve! Boy, do I have a lot to do between now and then! But I am going to do it all with a joyful heart and the knowledge that we are celebrating the most wonderful time of the year…the birth of our Savior! It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and stress of the Holidays…but I am not going to let that steal my joy this year! God is good all of the time and all of the time, God is good!!!!

It seems like so much has happened…and yet my life isn’t that exciting, so it is probably a bit boring! The most exciting thing (at least that I can remember) is that I completed the 5 Mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day! Hope, my friend from work, and I walked/jogged the 5 mile race and DID NOT FINISH LAST!!! It was an AMAZING experience and one that I know I will do again! I really want to do the Jingle Bell Run this weekend…so we will see. But the coolest part…..Scott, Isaac, Faith Anne, Dad, Jodi & Jimmie all came and cheered us through the finish line! It was so cool to be coming up on the finish line and see my family there cheering for me! What an AMAZING thing!!! Never in my life did I ever think I would have the will or the desire to do that…but I had both and it was awesome! And again….very awesome to have my family there cheering for me at the end. I was surprised to see them all there and very touched!

Umm…this Facebook stuff is pretty addicting! I have had a lot of fun reconnecting to people from the past! One really neat person that I have been talking to was a good friend of mine at college and now he is a youth minister and it has been really need to chat with him. God puts people in our lives when we need them….and he was such a great friend to me then and now. It is neat to see how God has worked in his life. And the people from high school….and just this morning a lady that we know from the small church I grew up in contacted me….it is WILD! The bad thing is…it is a big time-waster! I have too much to do to sit and play on it…but I do when I can!

Another very exciting thing is our bathroom is being remodeled as we speak! My Dad is doing it for us! I am so excited! We have been wanting to do it for a while, but he has been busy with “paying” customers. Well, he just finished a job and we are going to be hosting Scott’s Family Christmas (about 50 people) at our house, so he said he would get it done for us before then! It is going to be BEAUTIFUL! I wish we could’ve gotten rid of our blue tub, but that is major renovating – like tearing down walls and stuff…so we just went with new flooring, new vanity, new sink-top, new toilet (a tall one!) and new medicine cabinet! And he is going to put wood trim to match the vanity around our mirror so it will look better. I am so stinking excited! He started it yesterday and should have it all done tomorrow, I think. It will be so nice…and didn’t cost that much. The labor is usually the most expensive part…and he gave us a discount (lol) and then Scott’s aunt works at Lowes, so she got us a great discount on that stuff….so it only cost a bit over $500. That is a lot since we are tight for money at the holidays, but so worth it in the long run. I will have to post a picture of how beautiful it is! LOL

And yes….Christmas is almost here! I am totally done shopping with Faith Anne, although if we had the money I could just keep buying her all kinds of stuff. She was the easiest to buy for this year for some reason. I need to get a few more gifts for Isaac and Gracie….and a few other people. I have only really been out shopping once – the day after Thanksgiving. This weekend, my boss is having his Christmas party….we might try to get some shopping done after that if my parents don’t mind keeping the kids a bit longer.

We had our family pictures done last week at Walmart. I was really upset because we had an appointment t Portrait Innovations on a Sunday at 4:20. So, we got all dolled up and got there at 4:15 and they told us it would be over an hour wait. What? We had an appointment? What is the point of having an appointment if I have to wait over an hour? So, after speaking to the manager….we just left and got an appointment at Walmart. We actually went straight to my parent’s house and had my Mom take our picture for our Christmas cards…it was alright. I am not sure how you get a good picture of two adults and 3 kids under the age of 7. Anywho…the last family picture we had….I have lost at least 100 pounds since then and had my eye surgery….and Gracie was 2 months old! So, I can’t wait to get them next week!

Ummm…this past weekend was my Annual Girls’ Weekend with my friends at work. We went to Indianapolis and had a great time – shopping, food, dancing…just lots of fun. One of the girl’s mom just passed away in September, so this was a very needed trip for her. It was nice to be able to just be with friends and be ourselves. We laughed together and we cried together. It was a lot of fun. I can’t wait until next year!

Here is my person-by-person update…

Scott
He is doing great in Cincinnati (his new work “place”)! He is already moving to the top of her their sales people and just doing a good job. He is much happier with his boss and seems to like it. The drive isn’t too bad….and it helps that gas prices went back down. We don’t see a lot of each other because of our schedules and the kids, but things are going great!

Isaac
He is doing really good in school still. We had his football party and he loved seeing all those friends again. Basketball has started…but right now it is only one day a week and in January it goes to two days….that is nothing compared to football! He likes it so far – we will see! This is his first year playing this sport.

Faith Anne
She is good – just lots of drama with this little girl. She is definitely the middle child! She is doing well in preschool and we still haven’t gotten her in dance or tumbling yet. I need to get something secured for the first of the year. She is very creative and loves to color and create things. Deanna (our babysitter) always brings arts and crafts for the girls and Faith Anne loves that. She talks about it for days!

Gracie
She is such a funny little girl. She keeps us in stitches. She makes the cutest expressions. I can’t believe how good she is talking…she says Hannah Montana (oh dear lord) and just is really good for her age with talking. She is very demanding and throws a fit if she doesn’t get her way…typical baby! Oh wait, I was the baby…did I say that? LOL

So, there is never a quiet or dull moment in our house! Oh…we had to get a new couch too! We went to Morris and they had a buy the couch, get the loveseat free deal. So, we got that. It looks really nice…but still needs broken in…ya know? But our old couch broke…and again, since we are having Christmas at our house, we had to get a new one. One good thing about hosting a party is that your house gets really clean and fixed up! LOL

Well, I have to get going to get Isaac from school. Hope all is well with you all! I think most of us have migrated to Facebook because this is becoming a ghost-town…except for Kelley!!! I love keeping in touch with everyone….no matter how we do it!

Merry Christmas (in case I don’t get back here)!!!!

November Ramblings...

Well, hello again! Am I the only one that cannot believe that Thanksgiving is only one week away? I always look so forward to this time of the year! The holidays are always so much fun. I just love spending all the extra time with family! And my kids love all the sights and sounds of the Holiday Season! I am a big dork and I already have all of our inside Christmas/Winter decorations up! We are closed on Veteran’s Day, so I typically do it then. This year, I did it the night before because I had a long weekend off. Anywho, I did it all by myself because I am a bad mother! LOL No, really because when the kids help me, the ornaments all just go in one place – the bottom. So, I did it after they were in bed so they woke up and were so excited to see it. They will get to decorate their trees in their own room. Isaac has a tree from last year and I am going to get the girls a pink Princess Christmas Tree. Faithy is so excited about it.

Oh…I am bad about telling about the pictures! I took these with my phone one day. The girls had asked to go out back and play….well, Scott had raked the leaves into piles and was going to move the piles (by way of tarp) to the curb. Wel….the girls ruined his piles. It was so funny….I took a picture and sent it to his phone. He was like…umm….what happened to my piles? I said…what piles? LOL But they had fun and that is all that matters!!!

So, everyone here is doing fine! Here is my play-by-play…or person-by-person:

Isaac
He is doing great in school! I am just so proud of him. He lost his front tooth and the other one is loose. He might really need his two front teeth for Christmas! Actually, the one he lost already had the other one behind it. He looks so stinking cute. And he learned how to whistle, so he is very proud of that! He is kinda sad that football is over, but also kinda glad. They ended up having a really great season and got beat in the 3rd round of the tournament…they did really, really well. We all cried when they lost, but I am kinda glad they did because if they would’ve won, I am sure we would’ve made it to the Superbowl, which was this past Sunday and it was so cold and snowy…that would’ve not been much fun! Their party is coming up and he is looking forward to that. Basketball starts in two weeks. This will be his first year playing, so I hope he likes it!

Faith Anne
She is doing great in Preschool! I met with her Teacher and although I am not a big fan of her teacher, she did say that Faith Anne is very bright and she sees no reason why she wouldn’t be ready to start Kindergarten next fall. Isn’t that unreal? She absolutely loves to sing…all the time….and it doesn’t matter what. She makes up words to her own tunes. Her music teacher at school is Mrs. Maloney, but she calls her…and insists that she is right…that it is Mrs. Baloney. LOL But she just loves to sing and do anything with her hands creatively. We are going to make Christmas ornaments this weekend, I think. I just love her spunk….but it does get her in trouble sometimes. She hits Isaac a lot….so we have to work on that. He needs a bit of her spunk! LOL

Gracie
Well, aside from the royal temper tantrums…she is great! I guess that I had to have one kid who throws true temper tantrums. One night (well, actually on more than one occasion) she was in her room screaming (and I do mean screaming) for 45 minutes straight. One time, I handed her her ball (or pacifier) and she threw it across the room. I held her while she screamed/cried for about 20 minutes and then she just crawled out of my arms into her bed and went to sleep. Yeah, so that has been lots of fun. LOTS of fun. I have just been putting her in her room and telling her when she is done screaming she can come out. I have done pretty good for the most part of keeping my cool….but sometimes it does really wear on me. Other than those….lol…she is great. She is like a little sponge and just soaks up everything her brother and sister do. She can count to 12 and she can say most of her ABCs. She sings the same songs that Faithy sings and she does all the motions to Jesus Loves Me. She can be so stinking sweet and adorable one minute…and then throwing a temper tantrum the next! But I wouldn’t trade her for the world! She is definitely a “mama’s girl”.

Scott
He is doing good…he turns 34 tomorrow! He transferred to Cincinnati and mostly sells at apartment complexes now. So…nothing really changed except for where he goes for his meetings – he goes South now instead of North. So far he likes it, I guess that is what matters. He is working with his buddy Jason quite a bit, so that helps. So, things are going good for him!

So yeah…things are just plugging right along. I am sure that I am not alone in feeling the financial strain of the economy and of course worrying about the holidays. It seems like this time of the year, every year, things start to fall apart financially. BUT…God always provides and I am confident that He will continue to care for us. I just have to remember that He is in control and He will provide for our NEEDS. I just get the “wantsies” too much! LOL

I am still sitting around 80 pounds down. I just can’t seem to move much past this point. I gain a pound and then lose 2 and then gain 1 and then lose 1….it is frustrating. I have been increasing the intensity of my work-out, so I am losing inches…I can see it in my clothes. So, that is good…but I really had a specific goal in mind for the end of the year and I am just teetering right above it. I am doing the Turkey Trot (a 5 mile run on Thanksgiving) so that is exciting. Now….I am not running! I am going to walk and jog…but just to say I completed it is going to be an accomplishment!!! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would do something like that! So, think of me at about 8:00 on Thanksgiving! As long as I don’t finish last, I will be thrilled!!!

Work is great now that Stinky Pete is gone. My new boss is wonderful. He has his pitfalls, as all bosses do….but overall, he is leaps and bounds above what I had before! Obviously times are scary for financial institutions, but so far it appears that we are faring alright and that my job is safe. That could change at the drop of a hat though! The good thing for me is that I have worked in the branches before and could easily transition back to that world…and that is the safest place to be – the least expendable. Times are scary right now for everyone!!! Raise your hand if you are ready for the Rapture?!?! I know that I am! I am ready to get my kiddos Home to the Lord!

Umm…I guess that is good for a quick update. If I have time in the next few days, I would like to do a post about all of the things that I have learned this year in my weight loss journey. It really is so much more than just the physical side of things…God has really worked on me this year. And for that, I am very, very thankful!!!

Love you all….and if I don’t get time to come back….HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

So is everyone else feeling like me and you can’t believe that it is already the end of October? WOW. Where has this year gone? Not to sound old, but time really does fly by the older you get!

We have had some excitement since I posted last time! Last week, Tuesday night, I was at home with the girls while the boys were at football practice. I was sitting with Faith Anne and reading her a book and Gracie had just gotten down off my lap. She tripped over my foot (because apparently I am not supposed to have appendages). She fell into our gliding rocker – pushing the seat back and exposing the wood underneath. She cut her eye and got a big shiner on her eye! I freaked out because it was bleeding and immediately starting swelling…so I called Scott and made him come home from football practice. We put ice on it and decided not to take her to the hospital. The cut wasn’t that deep and it was so close to her eye, I don’t think they could’ve done stitches anyways. I have a scar in the exact same place next to my eye! Plus, she was acting fine. I still got up to check on her a million times that night! But doesn’t she look pitiful in this picture?!?!?

So, the very next day….I kept checking on her with the babysitter and then I headed home to get Isaac from school….when I get a call from Scott that he had been in an accident! I am so lucky that I wasn’t in an accident trying to get to him! He was sitting (stopped) at a green light because the car in front of him was turning left…the car behind him didn’t stop and the speed limit was 55. So, she hit him going pretty fast. She was driving a big Denali and he was driving his little Focus. So, the picture I have attached is the rear end! The front end also had damage because he was pushed into the car in front of him. Yeah, it totaled our little Focus – our little PAID OFF Focus. That is the bummer of it all. Praise the Lord, Scott was fine and the kids were not with him….and we are getting over $7300 from the insurance company for our 2003 Ford Focus that had 97,000 miles on it! While I was typing this post…we bought a car! We bought a 2003 Ford Explorer with the third seat. This is a blessing in disguise because the Focus was too small for our family of 5, but did I mention that it was PAID OFF?!?!? Anyways….we only had to finance a little bit that we will pay off in February and we got a vehicle that we can all fit in comfortably and it has less miles than the Focus did! At any rate, God is good. Scott wasn’t injured even though all the attorneys that have called us and sent us letters want him to be. LOL

So…those two things have helped to make our lives very interesting! The other thing that has been going on….Isaac’s football team is STILL UNDEFEATED! We made it through the first two rounds of the tournament, so we have a big game on Saturday morning! We are playing another team that is undefeated. So…about 9:00 on Saturday, say a little prayer for Isaac…and his parents because I have turned into quite the crazy woman at these games. I know these kids will be so heartbroken if they lose and it is really so much fun to watch them win! They won by an interception this past Sunday and it was so cool! One of our boys intercepted it at the 10 yard line and ran in for the touch-down. Talk about an exciting win!! Football season has been extra fun this year! And Isaac is really enjoying it all! There are some good kids on his team.

So, that is the really big things that have been going on here! Let me give you a person-by-person recap….

Scott
Obviously the biggest thing with him has been this accident! But, he is also transferring from the Dayton area to the Cincinnati area for work. He has been guaranteed that he will have all the North turf to work (which is closer than he has been driving lately) and he will be working with his buddy Jason again….and his boss is a friend of their’s. I don’t really understand it all…but I am just praying that he made the right decision. They really didn’t want to lose him from Dayton, so I am sure he can come back if it doesn’t work out….but that is weighing heavy on my heart and mind. I just want him to be happy and if this will help that, then I am all for it.

Isaac
I gave you the football recap….more importantly; school is going really good for him! I went to his parent/teacher conference and she had nothing but great things to say about him and how bright he is. On all of this testing they do, he is leading his class as far as where he is now vs. where they should be. He is doing exceptionally well in math – so he is for sure my kid. The only problems she is having with him is talking – and more because he is making sure everyone else is doing what they are supposed to be doing – and not putting his name on his paper. So….I already knew about both of those things and we have been talking to him about that. But she really had some nice things to say about him and it went really good! I took him and Faith Anne to see High School Musical 3 on Sunday and he liked it, but hid his eyes at the kissing scenes. He is such a funny kid. It is so fun to see him growing up and hearing some of the things he comes up with. I love experiencing every new thing with him….he is such a joy!

Faith Anne
My little Diva is always keeping us on our toes! I think I am going to get her in dance, but we are having a dilemma because football season is lasting so long. She is doing good at preschool and seems to be learning so much. I hope she will be ready for Kindergarten next year. I really want to put her in the Kids’ Club program like we had Isaac in, so hopefully that will work out for us financially. She still has her ornery streak where she hits or bites or kicks her siblings when she doesn’t get her way, but we are working on that. Talking to her or reasoning with her is hard….but it does seem to help some! It is just funny how different she is from Isaac. Here is an example…the other day when we were leaving the movie theater, for some reason she and Isaac both started to run at the same time. I saw it about to happen, but I couldn’t stop it…they bumped into eachother and she fell down really hard. Immediately she starts crying and so does Isaac because he feels so bad and it was truly an accident. Faith Anne got up and hit him…..and he was crying because he felt bad for her! Yeah…if he would’ve been the one to fall, I am pretty sure she would’ve just laughed at him. They are so different!!!!

Gracie
Besides the constant bruises, she is doing great and developing such a cute little personality and saying so much. She really talks very well for her age…a lot better than Faith Anne did at this age. She is talking in sentences and just says the cutest things. We definitely have to keep a constant eye on her! We keep joking that Grace wasn’t the best name for her….Faith Anne told my mom we were going to change her name! LOL

So, that is our update! Me? I am doing good. My weight loss has really slowed down – which is very depressing! But I knew that would happen. I have less than 30 pounds to go to be at my goal…but that might change once I get closer.

OH! I am doing the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving! Yep…Hope (the girl I work with) and I are all signed up for a 5 mile race on Thanksgiving Morning! Now, I have no delusions that we are going to WIN that race…I just want to say I finished it and NOT come in last place! The slowest person last year finished in 1 hour and 37 minutes. I know we can beat that. I have done 2 miles in 25 minutes, so if I can shave some time off of that, we will be fine! It starts at 8:00 that morning. I am so exciting about this….and can’t wait to say that I did that!!! I hope this is the first of many more to come!

Work is fine…..kinda boring right now. I know it is going to pick up here soon, though… so I am just enjoying it for right now. My new boss is great…so I don’t have all the drama to write about that I did before!

So, Trunk or Treat is tonight! Isaac is going to be a beat-up/bloody football player, Faith Anne is going to be Snow White and Gracie is going to be Minnie Mouse. I will try to get a good picture to post of my three kiddos. I am not looking forward to all the candy…but it is supposed to be great weather and the kids always love it so much. I am taking tomorrow off so that I can go to Isaac’s party at school. I like to participate in those as much as possible…I don’t want him to feel like his “working mom” didn’t get to be there for him. So, I am making cupcakes and going to help! I love that…it is so fun to see them interact with their friends…and embarrass them with a hug or a kiss! LOL

Well, that is about it for today! I will be so extremely happy when the election is over! I loved what Kelley posted or emailed…I don’t remember which….about no matter who wins the election…God is still GOD and HE is still in charge! I am so scared for our world right now – not even just our country. I hope Jesus comes and takes us home soon!

Love to all!!!! And Happy Halloween!!!!