Friday, November 30, 2007

Christmas decorations

You would not believe how messy our house was! Michael, Tyler and I took a trip out to Elkhart with a U-haul, to Mikes moms house last weekend. She gave us a bunch of furniture for the house, a 'Texas style' bedroom set for Tyler, as well as a few Christmas decorations and a new Thomas Kinkade painting. We didn't get back until late on Saturday and then Michael left Sunday evening to go out of town. Before he left, he took Tyler's old bedroom set down and put the one from his mom together.. We also hung a few paintings and drug out all the Christmas decorations. But needless to say, not much had been accomplished when Michael left Sunday evening. We had boxes of Christmas decorations piled in the entry way (you couldn't even open the front door!) and boxes and bags of things from his mothers that hadn't yet been unpacked. Elise's room was a mess still because I hadn't had a chance to clean it after she left. The pool table was covered in crap! I really don't think our house has been that messy since we moved in! So... last night I decided to make myself useful. I started at 4pm and didn't finish until 10:30pm! I put up all of the Christmas decorations (except for the tree ornaments.. I saved that for us to do with the kids) I got everything put in its place. Picked up Elise's room. I even went out to the garage and re-arranged everything and swept the whole thing! I also hung some picture's on the wall and stuff. I was really impressed with the place one I finished. It looks great in here.. and so does the garage! LOL I took a couple pictures of our Christmas decorations so far. Ill have some of the tree after the kids decorate it tonight.

Right now I have the JOY stocking hangers up on the mantel, but I would like to get one that says NOEL so that we can hang all 4 of our stockings up together.

Here's a closer look... You can also see the Thomas Kinkade painting above the mantel, that Mikes mother gave us for our wedding gift. I love Thomas Kinkade!

There's a picture of the bar. The angel on the left was also given to us by Michael's mom.

Our 'Let it Snow' December calendar, hanging on the wall, and our kitchen table..

And last, but certainly not least... Our front door! I love how you can see my reflection. Haha!

We will also be putting lights and stuff outside, but I'm pretty sure Michael wouldn't have been too happy if my pregnant self tried to do that myself. LOL!

Oh, by the way.. Michael was in Corpus Christi this week and wasn't supposed to be home until Friday (today) around 5 to pick Elise up.. But he called me last night around 7 and told me he was on his way home early to come see me! :-) It was good to have him back a day early. I sure did miss him..

Well, I'm sure I'll have lots of new pictures after this weekend... I definitely have to try out my new camera :-)

New camera!

My sister Heather bought me a new camera for my wedding/birthday present! We have Mikes old camera, but I really wanted a new one of my own. So, my lovely, sweet little sister bought me one! She got the Sony Cyber-shot camera and I LOVE it! Now whether she will admitt it or not, I know she couldn't really afford it right now. I felt bad taking it. Heather is such a good person with a big heart and I know it was eating her up that she hadnt been able to get us a wedding gift. I kept trying to tell her that it didnt matter! Her being my maid-of-honor was the best gift she could have given me. Im so proud to call her my sister and appreciate her kindness more than she will ever know. Thank you Heather! I love you lil sis!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Roadtrip to College Station

Michael left Sunday evening to head out to Corpus Christi for work. He will be there until Friday. So I decided on Monday that I was going to College Station to see my sister. I was dog-sitting Lily for my Aunt and decided to go ahead and take her with me. So Lily and I headed out around 1:30 Monday afternoon. I got a few pictures of Lily all comfy on her blanket in the front seat.



She's so freakin cute! :-) Of course I had to get a couple of us together...




It was really nice hanging out with my sister and her 2 roommates, Katy and Candace. They crack me up! Katy came home drunk and started trying to hang pictures on the wall with out even lining anything up. It was quite entertaining to say the least!


On Tuesday Me, Heather, Katy and Candace all went out to Chili's for lunch. Heather had to work Tuesday night, so I stayed home and watched the last season of Gilmore Girls with Katy and Candace and then I went to visit my Nanny, Paw-Paw, Grandma and Mark. It's always great visiting with them. Grandma gave me a set of elf Christmas decorations that she has had since my mom was little. :-) Here's a picture of Grandma and I...



Once Heather got home from work, we took a trip to Wal-mart and bought My Girl! We all cuddled up on the couch in our jammies and watched it.



Lily even cuddled up with me too! She had a good time playing with my sisters dog Cali, and Candace's dog Rox.



So anyways, it was very nice to get away for a couple of days and visit with the girls and my grandparents. I love hanging out with my sister and her roommates and will definitely be going back soon.


Although the trip was nice.. there is some bad news as well... I left my sisters at about 10:15 this morning and had only been on the road for about 10 minutes when my tire blew out!!! UGH! I let off of the gas and kept the steering wheel still until I finally came to a stop. It was quite scary! Thank God I didn't spin out or anything. It's not very good, but heres a picture of my tire.

This guy ended up stopping to help me. My mom was on the phone with me and asked me what kind of vehicle he had, what color and the license plate # just in case! LOL! But he was very nice. He put my spare on for me, and my sister Heather met me so that she could lead the way to Discount Tire and make sure that I made it there safely with the donut tire. Of course Discount Tire was packed, therefore I was there for like 2 hours! With Lily might I add. But it wasn't so bad I guess. I'm just thankful it wasn't any worse and that I was safe.


But anyways, I had a doctors appointment today at 1:15, but had to call and reschedule it for Friday morning. I'm home safe and sound now. I think Ill go eat something now, and start cleaning up the house a bit. We still have Christmas decorations piled everywhere and I have to clean up the kids' rooms as well.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Thanksgiving at my Dads

My dad had to work Thanksgiving day this year, so on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, Michael, Tyler, Elise and I went to my dads house for our Thanksgiving dinner with the family. My Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw came in from Louisiana so did my Uncle Dennis. My Aunt and cousins were also there as well as Kim and her boys. My Paw-Paw made a fried turkey, as he does every year and it was delicious! I always look forward to eating some of his fried turkey! We also had a baked turkey, sweet potatoes, dirty rice, my broccoli rice casserole, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, blackberry cobbler (homemade by my Maw-Maw.. she even picked the blackberries!) and an apple pie with my initial on it! LOL! My Maw-Maw made the apple pie especially for me. My favorite, YUM! We all gathered around in a circle, held hands and said our family prayer before eating as we always do. The kids said their prayer first and then my dad elaborated. When we all said Amen, Elise says "You may begin!" I guess she gets that part from her moms house so we have added it to our prayer as well. The family thought that was pretty cute! After eating and visiting, all the kids played outside for a little while. Mike and I didn't let Elise play outside for too long because shes had a really bad cough and it was very chilly out. But I did get a few pictures.




Elise and Daddy, waiting to eat!
Elise and I


Elise and Kim's little boy Eric, riding in the mustang.

Elise and Tyler


Elise swinging



Tyler, Jared and Eric climbing trees



Tyler, Jared, Elise, Eric and Cierra jumping on the trampoline



Elise loved the trampoline!



Elise and I swinging on my dads porch


Our very first family pictures together!

It was really nice to be able to visit with the family. I'm really glad that I got a picture of our family together. We didn't even get a family picture on our wedding day! I would really like to get a professional family picture soon. I'm hoping to have one before Ava comes and then another after she is born. We'll see how that goes. :)

Overall, the holidays have gone very well for us. I cant wait to celebrate Christmas and watch the kids open their presents.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Turkey Day!

Michael picked Elise up this morning at 9 and then we all went to pick Tyler up at 10. We were just gonna go to my moms house today for Thanksgiving, but that wasn't going to be until 2 and that's what time we had to have Elise home by. I really wanted us all to celebrate Thanksgiving together, with Elise, so I decided to cook for us. Michael did the turkey and then started setting up the Christmas tree while I prepared the rest of our Thanksgiving dinner. Here are a couple pictures I got of Elise helping daddy with the tree..


As you can see, I changed the color in the picture above to give it a little bit of a Christmas look! :) I really like that picture of Elise. Too cute!


Michael, Tyler, Elise and I all sat down to a really nice Thanksgiving dinner at home. I made mashed potatoes, green beans, broccoli and rice casserole (1st time I made it, and it turned out awesome!) sweet potato's, macaroni and cheese, rolls and of course the turkey. By the time we finished eating, it was time to take Elise home. We went by my mothers house for a little while to visit and enjoy some apple pie. My favorite!


Once we got back home, we packed up all of the fall decorations and got the Christmas decorations out of the attic. Michael turned on some Christmas music and we started unpacking the Christmas decorations. We put some out, but haven't yet finished. This evening, Michael, Tyler and I sat in the living room with a nice hot fire, and a warm cup of hot chocolate. Tyler and I roasted marshmallows in the fire place and we are now about to start a movie. I have definitely enjoyed this day with my family.


Tomorrow we will be getting Elise again around 11:30 for Thanksgiving at my dads house! I cant wait!


I hope everyone else enjoyed their Thanksgiving day as much as we did. :)


Here are some pictures of Michael, Tyler and I from this evening.



Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving




I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know Im really looking forward to spending time with family as well as eating! :) Take Care!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Evan turns 7!

Today was my little brother, Evans 7Th birthday!
This morning I met my Dad, Kim and the boys at church for Sunday worship. Mike stayed home with Tyler this Sunday because Tyler had nothing to wear to church. Literally! Plus, Mike and the neighbor Eric had some mulch delivered to the house, so they were trying to put that in the flower beds and such. The service this morning was pretty good. I did a lot of thinking and praying more than listening though I think. There's just been a lot on my mind lately.


After church I picked Michael and Tyler up and we headed over to my Moms house for Evans birthday party. He sure did get lots of gifts this year! :) Michael and I got him a whole bunch of Spiderman things... a puzzle, cards, action figure, a Spiderman book and another pretty cool Spiderman toy. He mostly got Transformer, Star wars and Spiderman toys! Lol. Mom and Corey got him Guitar Hero III! He was extremely excited about that! The party went well. We were there for 2 1/2 hours and finally had to leave. Michael was nice enough to miss his Texans game in order to be present for Evans birthday, LOL. So we headed home and Michael rushed through the game (he DVR'ed it) and then had to head out for Corpus Christi for work. Before I get too ahead of myself, here are a couple pictures from Evans birthday party...




The Spiderman toy in this picture above is one of the toys Michael, Tyler, Elise and I got for him.


And in the photo below is a gun of Tyler's that he wanted to give to Evan, Lol. I thought that was really sweet of him.



And of course a Spiderman cake as well!



Michael and I were supposed to take Tyler home today, but he decided that he wanted to say here with me tonight. His mom didn't mind, so I took him with me to Wal-mart after Mike left. Tyler has not one pair of pants here that fit him. No joke. It's sad actually. But anyways, we picked up a couple of pairs of wind pants for him at Walmart tonight, just to hold him over for now until we can get some clothes for both him and Elise. I'll be so glad when we catch up financially. I haven't even been able to do ANY Christmas shopping what-so-ever. It's a bit depressing actually. But anyways, when Michael and I went to Tyler's parent/teacher conference on Friday, one of their main complaints was the fact that Tyler would not come to class prepared. He never brought and pencils with him and was constantly taking theirs and sharpening them numerous times during class which was disruptive. So while Tyler and I were at Walmart, I bought 2 packages of pencils, a package of erasers, and 5 small pencil sharpeners for him. I'm going to put them in bags for each one of his classes and bring them to his teachers on Monday. I'm hoping this will help out a little.


I picked up a bunch of small hangers the other day so that I can hang up all of the baby clothes that I have so far! It's getting a bit late already, but I think I'm going to stay up a bit longer and work on going through Michael's clothes. He has SO many that he doesn't wear and said today he needed to get rid of a bunch. Ava doesn't have a closet in her room so we have to make some room for her in ours. Once I get rid of all the maternity clothes that I have in there, we should be ok. Anyways, off I go. Have a great week everyone.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Makeup!

Michael and I had Elise this weekend as well as Tyler. Unfortunately, we only had Elise Friday night and had to have her home by 11 Saturday morning instead of the usual 6pm. But we are lucky to have her for as long as we do now, so it wasn't a problem. Melanie has really been generous with our time with Elise. We will be getting her Thursday morning for Thanksgiving and will bring her back home sometime in the early afternoon so that she can go to Melanie's parents for Thanksgiving there as well. But Melanie is also allowing us to pick her up Friday afternoon for Thanksgiving at my dads house. I'm really glad that she has been giving us a little more time with Elise whenever she can. But anyways, now to the subject of this post.. "Makeup" ... Elise decided to sit in the bathroom with me this morning while I did my makeup. Every time I would pick something up (brush, eyeliner, etc) she would ask "Can I do that?" I finally gave her one of the brushes I have that I never use. So she sat with me and put some makeup on with me, or so she thought. I had Michael grab the camera for me because I just couldn't pass up how cute she looked! Here are a couple pictures of her 'doing her makeup' :)


Like I said before, we didn't have a whole lot of time with her this weekend, but Friday night while I was cooking dinner, she played with her stuffed animals in the living room. It was SO cute listening to her. She was putting them down for a nap and one of the stuffed animals bit the other so she had to put it in time out, and she was talking to it asking "Why did you do that, that's not nice" It was pretty entertaining watching her. Lol!
We let her ride her Jeep with the neighbors Madison and Morgan for a little while this morning before taking her home. She had a cough when we picked her up but it seemed to have gotten worse today. We gave her medicine last night and this morning. I hope we can get rid of it soon, poor thing.
I was thinking about how I don't write much of anything about Tyler on here, and it almost made me feel as though I was showing some bit of favoritism towards Elise. I just wanted to establish that that is not the case. I grew up for years with a step-mother who played favorites beyond belief. It was such a horrible feeling for my sister and I.. but that's a whole different story. Tyler is 12 years old now, so he kind of does his own thing most of the time. Although he has been grounded lately which gives him no other choice but to hang with Dad, Me and Elise. Bummer! LoL.
Michael and I met Melanie (Tyler and Elise have different moms, and both of their names are Melanie, for those of you who don't already know that) and Tyler at the school at 8:15 on Friday morning for a meeting with his teachers and his counselor. I guess I should start off by saying that Tyler has been taking medication for ADD of maybe its ADHD, I forget which one it is. But any who, his teachers have been emailing us about Tyler's unacceptable behavior at school. I don't want to go into too much detail, because I'm not real sure that its my place. I probably shouldn't say it, but I'm going to anyways... I do not, in any way, agree with the fact that his mother uses his ADD as an excuse for all of his actions. She went into that meeting with that attitude and actually kind of went off on the teachers. Just so you know, Tyler was present for this whole meeting! I just feel that you cannot sit there and try to teach your child to be respectful to his elders if you yourself cannot. I sat through the meeting, not saying much, because, again, I don't want to cross the line in any way. I express my feelings on this matter with Michael, and we have talked with Tyler a lot about it, but it just doesn't seem to help. Michael had mentioned Tyler coming to stay with us, but his mom isn't going for that. I just think he need more discipline and he needs some help. He doesn't need to feel like he is different from every other kids at that school. Because he isn't. Tyler is VERY intelligent and I'm just so worried about the path he his headed down. Anyways, I could say so much more, and I probably didn't do very well explaining the situation, but this is why I don't write much about Tyler, because the things that are going on with him.. I just don't feel that I should discuss openly I guess. Ive already crossed the line with Elise by saying that she was experiencing the "only-child syndrome" and in no way was that meant to hurt any ones feelings. I definitely did not chose the right words in trying to express what I meant.
Ive rambled. I'm bad about that. Guess I should be going now... I don't know what the deal is, but my right side is hurting me pretty bad this evening. It was much better yesterday but it seems the pain has returned. Michael and I visited his sister Tracy and the kids earlier today.. I picked Hannah up (shes so heavy!) and I'm wondering if that irritated something.. or pulled a muscle. I'm not real sure, but all I know is the bed is calling my name for sure. Hope this ache goes away tomorrow!
Goodnight loves.
P.s.-Before I go, I just remembered... When Michael and I dropped Elise off at her moms today, Melanie gave us a bag of clothes from when Elise was little. She thought we may want to use them for Ava. I thought that was a really nice gesture and it was greatly appreciated. I think it will be nice for Ava to wear some of her big sisters clothes. :) So again, thank you Melanie!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Gift Registry

I decided to go ahead and start registering today for baby stuff. They have so much cute stuff now! It got me really excited!I registered at Target and Babies R Us. We aren't having the baby shower until the beginning of February but I just couldn't wait any longer! I cant wait to start setting up Ava's room. Its gonna be SO cute!

My neighbor Raina gave me a huge box FULL of baby clothes today. She has really been so generous to us. She has also given us a rocking chair, a baby bath, and a bouncy seat. Of course I still want to get some new things for Ava, but the things she has given us will probably be kept at my moms house for when she keeps Ava.

Gosh I cant wait for her to finally be here! :-)

Hospital

Michael told me to call the doctor today and tell them about the pain I was having.. I told him I would rather just wait until Monday when I went in for my appointment, but he insisted. So I called. The nurse told me that Dr. Taylor wanted me to check into Clear Lake for some ultrasounds. I got there at about noon and was not able to leave until a little after 9 tonight. The reason for this was because I had eaten a bowl of cereal before I went in and they said I had to wait about 8 hours before they could do the abdomen ultrasound. So I waited... and waited... and waited. Michael came up there and sat with me and my mom did as well. First they did the ultrasound of the baby and everything was fine. The last ultrasound I had, she was breech, but her head has moved down into my cervix which is great. I was really worried about a c-section. They also did an abdomen ultrasound and later found out that my right kidney was inflamed which is what was causing the uncomfortable pain I was having. They gave me a shot of antibiotics in my bottom which hurt! I've never had a shot that hurt so bad before in my life. Lol! They also gave me a prescription for some antibiotics. Its been a really long day.. but I'm very glad to know that it wasn't anything to major and not anything that harmed the baby.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Sleepless Night

Yesterday I had these really uncomfortable cramps starting from the lower area of my stomach on my right side. It went all the way up to right above my hip and down to my lower back. It almost felt like menstrual cramps. I kept waiting for them to go away but they never did. They got worse. Mike was asleep by the time I went to bed and I almost woke him up, because I was hurting so bad I wanted to cry. It scares me to have cramps and things because I'm always afraid something is wrong. But I felt Ava moving, so I just laid in bed and tossed and turned ALL night! I literally got no sleep! I got up with Michael at 5 this morning and he called his sister Tracy. She said I should start taking Magnesium pills...?? But I think I'm gonna wait and ask my doctor on Monday about that. Anyways, I know being pregnant is uncomfortable and all, but I just wasn't expecting that last night. It just didn't feel right. But then again, I have no clue what "feeling right" is while being pregnant. Lol. The cramps and aches and pains aren't so bad today as they were last night, but they're still there. Guess this is the beginning to numerous sleepless nights.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

♥☆♥

Last night I picked up a card for Michael on the way home. It's the first card I have bought for him that refers to him as my husband :-) I thought it was pretty special. I also got him a Texans cup and t-shirt... I cooked us dinner and baked some brownies. We cuddled on the couch with our desert and a glass of milk. It was a pretty nice evening.

Today my Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw were in town from Louisiana. They were at my Aunt Tami's so I went over there this morning and had some breakfast with them. My dad and Kim were also over. It was nice to visit with everyone. We looked at me and Mikes wedding pictures, and I also brought over our engagement pictures so they could each have one. Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw had 2 wedding gifts for Michael and I as well. They weren't able to make it to the wedding due to a horrible stomach virus they both had. Maw-Maw and I also talked about what I had in mind for Ava's baby blanket. She made all of ours when we were born. Mine was a pink care bears blanket which I had with me at all times up until last year. It was left behind in Chicago when I left my ex. Needless to say he burned it. I was devastated and still am about that. How could someone be so hateful? He was just a hateful person though... Anyways, getting off topic... I'm still not too sure what I would like her blanket to be, but I'm going to keep an eye open for any material that I like.

After visiting at Aunt Tami's for a while, we all went down the street to my dads house and watched 1408. It was alright I guess... Not something I'd watch again though.

I really had a hard time sleeping last night. I was cramping on the lower right side of my stomach and back. It lasted all day, and is still there! It made me a little nervous, but I was told its normal to have some aches and pains. My body is stretching and going through a lot of changes. I have a doctors appointment on Monday morning... Ill be 23 weeks tomorrow! Almost in the third trimester!! Time is crawling by, but it'll be SO worth it in the end. I just get more and more excited everyday!

I bought my first "baby stuff" yesterday. We have been a little tight on money lately so I haven't been able to buy anything really. But I bought 2 pairs of bibs that say "I love my mommy" "My mommy loves me" and also "I love my daddy" "My daddy loves me" :-) I also got her a really soft pink blanket with hearts on it. My mom already has a collection of things, LOL! Every time she goes to the store she buys something new for Ava. Its so cute! She told me last week that she was buying a couple posters for Elise to put in her room, and that she wanted to come over soon and finish decorating Elise and Tyler's room so that they don't feel left out once we start setting up Ava's room. I try to buy little things for Elise here and there and we are slowing getting her room together. I wish we could do it all at once, but we just cant. :-( She loves her "very own room!" though and I think its coming along pretty good.

Anyways, I've managed to ramble a bit. Time to catch up on the last 2 new episodes of Greys Anatomy. Goodnight Loves

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Newlyweds



Today is one month since me and Mikes wedding day! Its been a wonderful month! I love him more and more everyday and he never fails to make me happy. To cheer me up when Im down. To show me just how much I mean to him... everyday. He is my love, my life, my world. I look forward to spending many, many more days, months and years with him.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Dear Lord...

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you.

I ask now for Your forgiveness. Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You. Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. And It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits.

I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those that don't believe.

But I thank you that I believe. I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met. I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.

Im Thankful...

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I'm getting really excited about it! It has always been my favorite time of the year. Being with my loved ones, eating extremely delicious food, and expressing what all we are Thankful for. So I decided that I should make a post of some of the things that I'm most Thankful for.

-My wonderful, loving husband, Michael. I'm so extremely blessed to have him in my life. I really don't know where I would be without him. He's genuine, thoughtful, passionate, generous, caring and so much more. He completes me.
-Tyler and Elise have become my world... and my family. I love them both with all my heart and really enjoy watching them both grow up.
-My mother, hands down! She is one of the strongest people I have ever known. She welcomes everyone with open arms. Shes generous, and so loving. She has taught me so much and continues to set a wonderful example for the kind of mother and person I can only hope to be.
-All of my loved ones. I have been blessed with such a close family! Everyone always has each others back no matter what.
-For the most part we have all been blessed with good health and I couldn't be more thankful for that.
-Friends! Old and new! Although we have started heading in different directions, taking different paths, I'm thankful for the time we did have. All the memories that we shared. I love you all and thank you all for everything. Mike and I have a really good friendship with our neighbors, Eric and Raina, and I am so blessed to have them in our lives. They are wonderful people and have definitely become very good friends of ours.
-Aside from my family and my loved ones, I'm also thankful for everything else that I have been blessed with. Our home, food on the table, clothes on our backs. I couldn't be happier with where my life is headed and I'm so happy to spend it with Michael and the kids.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, and remember to always be Thankful for what you do have.

Friday, November 9, 2007

I am a Christian

Christians - By Maya Angelou

When I say... "I am a Christian"I'm not shouting "I'm clean living'.
"I'm whispering "I was lost,Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches so I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Quotes

"Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live." -Author Unknown

"Love isn't finding a perfect person. It's seeking an imperfect person, perfectly." -Sam Keen

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections." -
Author Unknown

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." -
Author Unknown

" This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life." -Author Unknown


"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down." -Author Unknown


" Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."
-Maria Robinson

"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else." -
Raulph Waldo Emerson

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." -
Author Unknown

"Sometimes it's the smallest decision that can change your life forever."
-Kerri Russell

"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." -
James Dean

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." Raulph Waldo

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." -
George Bernard

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

"Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option."
-Author Unknown

"Don't let today's disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow's dreams."- Author Unknown

"As you travel through life,your dreams will guide you,determination will get you there,and love will provide the greatest scenery of all." - Michelle C. Ustaszeski

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Serenity

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.

Bob Marley

"Who are you to judge the life i live? I know im not perfect and i dont live to be; but before you start pointing fingers, make sure your hands are clean" ~Bob Marley

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Weekend Fun

Mike went by my mothers house on his way home from work to pick up a few things for Elise. My mom cleaned out Harley and Evans rooms and got rid of some of their toys. Evan had a tool/work bench that we thought Elise might enjoy using to work with daddy. She's always wanting to help him. We also got some dress up shoes from Harley, a toy box, and a babydoll crib and high chair. So after we picked Elise up on Friday and told her that she had some new toys from harley and evan, she was pretty excited about seeing them. She wore her dressup shoes around the house all day and didnt want to take them off when we left the house to go get Harley and Evan! And she actually has played with her tools all day! I got some cute pictures of her workin on my car with daddy...

And here are a few of her playing at her work bench:

We actually had to put her down for a nap today, she was so worn out! I also have a couple pictures of Tyler and Elise playing together that I thought was cute. It's not often that Tyler actually pays much attention to her. So I had to get a photo of it!We are now watching The Santa Trap and having a chocolate chip cookie. I love our weekends with the kids :)