Fun in the Sun

I just wanted to post pictures of the kids on the slip n slide:)! It was Shayden's first time & she actually enjoyed it:).

Slippen' and a sliden'

Sometimes I MISS being a kid:)

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Just two of the cutest kids in the world:)!!!

MISS PERSONALITY!

Shayden & one of her boyfriends, Chase!

Shayden likes to float in the baby float:)!

Bishop jumped off the DIVING BOARD!!

The princess...

THIRTEEN THINGS I THINK ARE SUPER COOL RIGHT NOW

1. Nickelback...can you say YUM! They are all gorgeous & they sound amazing!

2. Keeping with music...I have also discovered Fergie. My husband loves her for reasons other than her vocals but the girl can sing!

3. Big sunglasses...I can't wear them because mine are prescription (STOP...I know I am old!) but they are super fun!

4. Desperate Housewives...it is finally back on track...who will get married, who will split up? Will Gaby & Carlos get back together?!?! Hmmmmmmmmmm

5. Gaucho pants & babydoll t-shirts...a girl's best friend:)

6. Sushi...it is NOT all RAW people! Try it...if I can learn to love it so can you, I promise!

7. Gaudy jewlery...I say, the bigger the better. Fake is just as fun:)!

8. Wedge heels...I LOVE THEM! I have one pair and I want more.

9. Saturday night church services. It is SO much easier if you have kids. And the preacher doesn't have to rush for the next service!

10. Movie taverns...eat, drink, & watch a movie.

11. My girlfriends & I going out for a prom night...you laugh but it will be a riot!

12. Chaise lounge chairs. I love them....my next couch will have one!

13. Forever 21 baby clothes....Shayden can dress just like me...so cool:)!

Blessings abound...

Things are slowly settling down. And by settling down...I don't by any means mean SLOWING down...just getting back to the normal level of chaos that we are used to:). All but a few boxes are unpacked, our house is beginning to look & feel like HOME...it is a GREAT feeling! I walked in today & just felt HOME...I had to sit down & thank God for that. I wanted to sit down & just enjoy being home...it was a GREAT feeling!!! We still have many things we want to get done...I even want to get the downstairs bathroom painted before Shayden's birthday party...we'll see:)! And our new neighborhood decided to have a community garage sale THIS weekend so I even get to try to get rid of all the stuff we decided we didn't want...whoo hoo!! That was nice of them:! (If anyone reading this lives nearby & wants to add some stuff...call me.) We got our pool key in the mail today so I guess I have to go buy a swimsuit...ugh!!! We plan on hitting the pool most days this summer so if you are in the mood to swim...give us a buzz,..we would love the company!!

This blog is not without a favor. I have a prayer request for all of my prayer warriors out there. I was chatting with one on my bosses this evening & it came out that he has been diagnosed with cancer & will be seeking treatment at MD Anderson in Houston. I was very disturbed & upset to hear this. I have grown to like him a lot in the last year. It is early stages & he is seeking experimental treatment...please pray for complete healing and peace for him & his family. His name is David! I told him I would get my prayer warriors on the ball!!!

Thanks guys!! Have a fabu week!!!

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Surreal,,,

My life seems so surreal right now. I drove home to a beautiful new home. I pulled into a driveway & walked through a GARAGE:)! I walked up the stairs of my new home to see my shoes in the closet (thanks to my FABU hubby!) Tonight there is a tornado watch & we don't have to worry about driving into town. Brad is across the street,..talking to NEIGHBORS...real people. I, personally, think they seem a bit odd but hey, they are neighbors, right?!?!? I am loving our new home...we have been here three short days & I just feel like I am home. I loved my old house...it was great, but I love being in town. The country was nice but I like being able to order Chinese food or grab something besides Sonic:). I like living a block from the park...heck, I like having SIDEWALKS:)!!!

To top off the new move, Shayden decided to start WALKING...yes, walking! I got her ready for bed on Sunday night & was going to let her "walk" to brother (aka teeter for two steps & fall into his arms:) & she just took off!! Bishop & I just gawked at her in shock!! Of course, we tried this for awhile & her absolute favorite thing to do is toddle over to Bishop & collapse in his arms...they would both crack up. It was the most beautiful thing to watch! The only sad thing was that my mom & dad AND grandpa had JUST left. They commented on the way out the door that she would take off soon...they just didn't know how right they were!!

I am still trying to get used to things. I am searching for a preschool for Bishop & trying to figure out where things are. I have decided that I don't like the local Wal-mart so I will try to do my grocery shopping when I go to work on Wednesdays. That was random but oh well...

The dogs are adjusting...for the first day, Shadow just sat in the dining room chair...I don't think he knew what to think. Shelah just lays in the living room by the couch...it is the only familiar furniture:). We are getting close to unpacked...it will be a LONG process. There is so much we want to do but my main goal is to have it "organized" by Shayden's birthday party which is the 16th of June & all are welcome by the way!!!

I should go...I need to do laundry...

Thanks for all of the prayers...they have been felt. Thank you to all of my fabulous helpers...I could not have done it without you....I felt like the luckiest girl in the world on Saturday!!

To Brad...you have been amazing...more than amazing. You have done SO much for me...you are my rock on earth. I love you more than I could ever put into words...

LOOOOOOOOOOOONG Day....

A day in the life of a stay-at-home mom....

6:00 - Brad's alarm goes off for the first time.
6:15 - Brad's alarm again...
6:30 - You guessed it...Brad's alarm again:)
7:00 - Brad FINALLY gets up & on this morning (this is not normal people!) goes & fixes Bish a waffle
7:15 - Shayden starts to stir in the next room so I go & get her bottle ready

By 8:40 somehow we are all ready to go...

9:02 - We drop off Bishop at his class & headed to Jenn's to get her
9:20 - We got everyone loaded & headed back to the church for Bishop's field trip
9:23 - Stop at Sonic for necessary caffiene
9:30 - Pick up Bishop to drive to Gainesville for a field trip to the zoo with 45 other 3 & 4 year olds
10:15 - arrive at zoo & spend 2 FABULOUS hours looking at giraffe's & bears...whoo hoo:)!
12:15 - We head back to Justin to grab lunch
1:15 - Eat lumch & have about 20 minutes of adult conversation
2:00 - arrive home & put Shayden down for a nap
I spent the next two hours SCRUBBING the master bath & packing boxes...OH...& let's not forget LAUNDRY
4:00 - get ready for work...grab kids & head to Mc'D's
4:45 - arrive at work & am bombarded by 10 kids ready for crafts...whoo hoo again:)
8:30 - arrive home after entertaining 40 kids at McD's...parents, I am NOT a babysitter...they are still YOUR responsibility!!!
9:00 - get kids to bed...whew
9:05 - type ridiculous blog because I don't want to go fold clothes...:)
9:30 - I'm off to pretend to fold the clothes while secretly watching Jericho...:)

Good night...HA...in like 2 more hours...

*sigh*

:)

Flash Flood

Wow. I guess if you have never been in a flash flood then you don't realize how scary it is. I was scared to death. When I got home from picking Bish up from school, I turned on the weather & there were storms with rotation in them all over the metroplex. Being the chicken that I am & yet being smart enough not to stay at OUR house, I drove into town to hang out with a friend. As the afternoon wore on, we decided it was safe to go home. In theory we were correct....
There was a traffic tie up in the five short miles between our house & Jennifer's (thank you Jenn for putting up with us, by the way:). We soon realized it was because there was water over the road. Some cars were crossing it, others turned around...Brad went across, I turned around. Brad got scared...he realized the new saying around here, "turn around, don't drown" made sense. I was smart but was also now 45 minutes from home instead of five. What should have taken me five minutes ended up taking me an hour and a half??!! I was so terrified. It was pouring down rain & there were wrecks everywhere and water was creeping up on the roads. I was wondering if I was even going to make it home the back way. Bishop was crying, I was crying, Brad was freaking because we couldn't get home...it was horrible. PRAISE GOD that Shayden stayed asleep. Lesson learned...ALWAYS have a spare bottle in your car...ALWAYS have a bottle of water...and ALWAYS go pee before you leave...!
We survived & when the storm with tornados hit later, our house didn't blow away so...WHEW & THANK YOU GOD:)!!!

It was a wild day...certainly NOT your typical Tuesday afternoon...I think I have decided I prefer ordianary:)!

Have a FABULOUSLY, ordinary Thursday my friends:)!!

Not for sale...

I have a mild obsession with bedding. Now, if it were brand new & luxurious bedding then one might think that was normal. It’s not. I have had the same pillow case since I was a child…& quite honestly, it was my parents so it is left over from the seventies. If you have EVER been to my house, you have seen it…it is green & blue & basically obnoxious. It has faded & is VERY thin but I refuse to give it up. The pillow inside of it is worse. It is not even really a pillow at this point. It is some ratty old stuffing inside of a case. I also have an attachment to my very old down blanket. I have had it since I went to college. It has survived several duvet covers & is now just a blanket. It is so worn out that there are places without feathers…just two pieces of material sewn together…it isn’t even all that warm anymore but I refuse to part with it too. The other blanket on our bed is a Cabbage Patch blanket…not from the recent Cabbage Patch craze but from the one when I was a child. It is ridiculously thin & looks ridiculous on a married couples bed but Brad & I actually FIGHT over that one...yes, fight. It has been washed so many times that it is super soft so we both want it. This is all sad I know…I have no idea why I have such attachment issues with my bedding. We will get new bedding to go in the new house but I can promise that all of these will go too. I let go of the duckies…the junky old pillows & blankets ARE staying…!!!

You guys are laughing again, aren’t you….*sigh*…

Blessings Abound

If you can watch the Home Makeover show without crying then you are STRONG! We are not regular watchers because it is just horribly heartwrenching to watch. But tonights episode is based out of Lawton, Oklahoma (thank you Elizabeth) and we drove by when they were working on it so we wanted to see the story behind it. It is absolutely heartbreaking...it literally makes my heart ache. I pray that their spirits have been lifted in their new home & that God will continue to work on & through them.

So often we take so much for granted...I am guilty. We are SO very blessed...it is in watching shows like this that I realize that we are so lucky. So, thank you Lord for all of the blessings that I take for granted...walking, talking, seeing, hearing...a loving family...we are SOOOOO blessed!!!

These pictures were taken today...Bishop being the great big brother that he is took Shayden for a walk up & down the sidewalk in front of Mom & Dad's house. A sidewalk...I can't wait to have one of those where I live....

Happy Sunday!!

GLORY TO GOD!!!

Fabulous Friday

I haven't blogged on the house in a while because it has been such an emotional roller coaster. One minute things are fine, the next...disaster. It has been quite stressful & very draining. I had no idea that buying a house was this traumatic. At the moment, things seem good. We should close on this house on Thursday, and close on our new one next Thursday. Keep praying...we haven't signed on the bottom line yet!!

Some things have changed since we started this process. We are not getting anywhere close to what we were asking for our house. (Thank you Countrywide & FHA....I hope you don't believe in Karma...:) That has been our nightmare...but thanks to my wonderful parents we are proceeding anyways. Since we aren't making the amount we thought, we were not going to be able to afford a new house. They decided we needed to be back in town & wanted us to move so they stepped in & are helping more than I can ever thank them for. I don't even feel like they should but my very unselfish parents told me, "You will inherit everything we have when we die...we have it to give so why shouldn't we get to watch you enjoy some of your inheritence?"

If you thought people like this don't exist anymore, I am here to tell you THEY DO. They are amazing, selfless people who have done nothing but encourage not only me, but Brad, and many of my friends throughout the years too. So, thank you MOM & DAD...I don't deserve you guys anymore than I deserve such a loving & forgiving Heavenly father. The best thing I can do is try to show my children the same unconditional love & support that you have shown me....I know you learned it from two pretty special people too:).

I love you....

FRIDAY FEAST

Appetizer: What is your favorite kind of bread?

I am not a huge bread fan BUT I ate at an Italian joint last week called"Pazzo" and the bread they served with marinara was VERY good:)!!

Soup: When was the last time you bought a new pillow?

It has been a while...we have memory foam pillows though so they last awhile!

Salad: Approximately how many hours per week do you spend surfing the ‘net?

I plead the fifth....more than I probably should...

Main Course: What’s the highest you remember your temperature being?

That would be a question for my mom....I don't remember stuff like that!! Bishop had 103 once & I freaked!!

Dessert: Fill in the blanks: When I ____________, I _____________.

When I drive, I SING:)!

When I shower, I SING:)!

When I am bored, I SING:)!

And if Sanjaya can make it to the finals on AI, then I should try out:)! HA!!

SHE IS STANDING...but she doesn't know what to do next:)!!