A day in the life......

Big news for Hannah!

2008-11-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

We have not been doing a lot of work in this area yet, as miss Hannah is just 19 months old, but she has been paying quite a bit of attention to how the MEN in the house "PP". Bless her heart, she thinks that her belly button is her "weewee". She goes behind big brother and lifts both lids and leans her tummy into the potty to try to peepee. She gets very irate w/ me, when I've tried sitting her on her own little personal potty. She shakes her head "no" and quickly gets up. So I've decided to leave it alone for a while. Then, a few weeks ago, my not-too-brightly-lit light bulb finally came on, and suggested that I use the potty ring that sits on top of our regular seat. She will sit on that much better and doesn't fight it nearly as much. This past Saturday I decided to sit her on it just to let her get a little more used to it. The phone rang, and I brought it back into the bathroom to make sure Hannah didn't unwind the entire roll of toilet paper. While I was sitting there beside her talking on the phone, I heard the sweet sound of tinkling in the potty!!!I could NOT believe my ears!! I asked Hannah if she just pp'd in the potty and she shook her head yes!!! So of course Adam and I did the "pp dance" for her and she was all proud of herself! Later that same day, I thought "what the heck" let's try again and see what happens.. She did it again that evening!!! Whoo-hoo! Go Hannah!!!Of course I did get a picture that morning of her glorious moment, and will post it soon, along with Halloween pictures...

Has it really been this long????

2008-10-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

Wow......I guess I didn't realize that I haven't been out here to ramble since summertime! Maybe because just in the last few weeks, has it actually started feeling like fall weather and time has slipped away unnoticed. However, time definitely hasn't been standing still - that's for sure!

Today is Halloween, and Hannah has crashed in the bed from a hard day of pulling off Minnie Mouse (less the ears!). Adam is still running off of chocolate energy, and pulled off his alter ego - Bruce Wayne/aka/Batman. Today will probably be the only time for quite some time that he will have his little six pack abs and muscles to boot. My little guy is just that...very little. So he was happy to strut around and show off his bulging chest today!! It earned him quite a bit of candy, so he didn't come of out it too shabby!

I cannot believe that tomorrow is the first day of November!! Time will surely fly now, as Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. Not only that.....BUT this coming Tuesday - - ALL those worn down, over played, heard 'til I'm blue in the face, political endorsement commercials will FINALLY BE OVER!!!! That deserves a celebration in itself! Especially if the RIGHT person gets put into office....well at least the lesser of the two evils... I did go vote today, and waited an hour and 20 minutes....and that was early voting!! I can't begin to imagine what it will be like for the people who choose to do their civic duty on Tuesday! More power to them!!

I will try to post pictures out here soon, and will hopefully do a better job once again at keeping this current.

Hope everyone who reads this is doing well..oh - and you can always find me out on Facebook - come look me up!

All-a-Flutter butterfly farm

2008-08-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today, Jenny & I took Adam & Hannah to the local butterfly farm. It was an hour show, with about 20 minutes of "hands on" time. Adam listened to the presentation and even participated in it! The weather was great, and I'm glad we had the chance to go. Here are a few pictures....

2008-08-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

These were taken at the farm as well, but I loved this shot. I played around with the picture on Picasa and sharpened the first and used b&w on the second...

To my sisters in the Lord...

2008-08-06T05:14:00.000-07:00

I recv'd this yesterday in an email, and feel that it is both true & powerful. I hope all women reading this feel and know that their worth, both within and outward is far greater than can be measured. Never doubt yourself and know that you are loved by many....

There comes a time in every woman's life when she has to take a close look at herself. Not at her circumstance, not at what she did, not how unfair life is, or at who made you do it. She has to just look at herself in all her glory and imperfection. Have you ever admired a woman who has been through changes in her life? Or have you made up in your mind that she is just messed up. Before you make this mistake, take a closer look. A woman who has endured the most unusual life is someone of wisdom, someone who has been chosen by God to go through things that have made her stronger.

Think of all the great women in the Bible: Mary Magdalene, Ruth and Naomi, the woman with an issue of blood, and Esther, to name a few. Mary was a prostitute, a very uneasy woman. But by the time Jesus was done with her, she was His closest follower. Esther was unfortunate in marrying an abusive man, but by the time God was done with her, she had married one of the wealthiest men in the land.

Women are so quick to beat the next one down instead of trying to hold her up. Before you wonder, ' What's up with her?' ask yourself, 'What's up with me?' That woman could be my mother, sister, aunt, in-law, stepmother, niece, grandmother, great-grandmother, neighbor, friend, or co-worker, etc. That woman could be ME.

Women are the carriers of life, not the channels of death. Let's build and encourage each other, as did Ruth and Naomi. Pass this to all the women in your life. Encourage and love, forgive and forget, and trust that the woman that receives this will be touched in some way. May the peace and love of Christ be upon you!

''If You Need Help, Ask God.
If You Don't, Thank God''

In case you haven't heard...................

2008-07-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not pregnant! But I HAVE started a new business venture that anyone in any state can help me out in, while making your cooking life much easier! Here is my link, please come check it out! Chix with the mix AKA The Gourmet Cupboard Blogsite. This blog will give you the updates on what I've tried and tested, and also any sales that might be going on.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Ok, I'm slack! Or is it just I'm busy??

2008-06-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

I think this is one of the longest time spans I've let go between posts!!! Yes, we are all still alive and well! Aside from it ALREADY being miserably hot (and it's not even officially summer), we're each doing very well. I know most of you would much rather hear how the kids are doing, so I'll start this post off about them!

Adam has his 4th birthday coming up quickly! We're having his party on his actual birthday, which I think is cool. It will be a "John Deere" party this year. We've invited some boys from his class this time, so our house ought to be good and testosterone charged!!! Unless plans change, papaw will make his appearance to the party on an actual tractor, and I'm hoping will be giving tractor rides for those that want it. That should be neat for the kids! He starts visiting his new (and last) room at daycare next week. It's considered a preschool room, and I've heard from all the parents that they really like it, and can tell a huge difference in their kids. He will start going in there full time the Monday after his birthday.

Hannah will be 15 months old in less than 2 weeks, and is all over the place. She walks like a champ now, and is not scared of anything! She still adores Adam and calls him "Ada". She can say that, "Hannah", "nana", and a few other things. She definitely has shaking her head "no" down pat, as well as her selective hearing. Adam has taught her well in that area. I know this to be the case, because in the mornings when I start the coffee maker, she & Adam come out of hiding waiting on me to squirt the spray whip cream in their mouth! (Thanks to Auntie Kathleen!!!) She is visiting her new room for a few hours each day this week, and will move up full time on Monday. She's ready, and will be back with her older friends that have already moved up. I still can't get over that she is now the oldest in her room, when it seems like yesterday she was just starting and was truly the baby in there!
Her hair is getting more length to it, and is curling up quite pretty! I have no clue what I'm gonna do with it, as mine is straight as a stick!!! That will be new territory for me to venture into!! Oh - and did I mention that she is cutting 5 TEETH at one time?? She is wasting no time on anything in her life! She goes at it all in full speed!

Nathan is doing well. He and his dad went fishing in Chesapeake for 5 days, and the trip was not one of their most productive. The didn't catch hardly any fish, and the boat gave them trouble. To top the trip off, they had a flat tire on the trailer when they came back a day early. I think that's the first time he was truly ready to come home from a fishing trip. Their work is still really slow, but thankfully he's had just enough to keep bringing some money in. I'm very thankful for that.

I guess that leads me in to what I've been up to! I've been trying to decide something that I can do to make even a little money on the side! I thought and thought and thought about it. I seriously considered doing Tastefully Simple, since I eat & use so many of their products, but the initial upfront investment, along with the quarterly ordering was what kept me from jumping in w/ both feet. Yesterday while surfing the web I found Gourmet Cupboard and I have signed up to sell their mixes. There was no initial investment, no minimum requirement that I had to order, etc. You basically get to test the waters for the first few months to see if it's for you. If it is, then you just have to order $100 wholesale min. every 3 months. It's a very small company, but I really like their "non pushy" approach for their independant distributors. So - if any of you reading this want to try their stuff out, either call me or you can order from their website and just put in my name at the end when you place your order! I placed my initial order this morning, and I'm excited about trying the mixes out and see which ones are my favorite. Who knows, maybe I'll start back cooking again, which Nathan will think this is worth it then!!

I will try and do better about posting. Life has surely been hectic. We have had a beach trip since the last post, and that was a nice time. I've also been to Carowinds w/ Kathleen at the beginning of June. My dad had his birthday party at our house, and we've had several friends over to eat w/ us these past few months. So, hopefully now it's a little more clear as to where all my time has slipped away to!! I hope all who are reading this are doing well. Please leave a comment post on here so that I know you stopped by, and if you took the time to read this far, you must really love us or really have nothing better to do! lol!! Love to you all......

These are late, but ....here are pictures from Hannah's 1st birthday!

2008-04-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

All of Hannah's family and dear friends that were here with us had a great time, and helped our sweet little girl celebrate this first huge milestone. She had a great time, and loved seeing everyone!

Happy 1st birthday, Hannah!

Let's get this party started!

Look at my messy face! Who says a girl can't get dirty and still look cute?!?

The beautiful cake that Kathleen MADE & decorated for Hannah...

Auntie Jennifer w/ Courtney giving Hannah a hug...

Auntie Kathleen, Dylan & miss Hannah hanging out after the party.

Thank you to ALL of our family and friends who are "family" that helped us celebrate this special day in Hannahs' life. We love you ALL.

some more pictures and a "walking" update!

2008-04-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

Not much of an update - but for Hannah it was an accomplishment! She took 3 steps on her own yesterday! So proud of my little girl! She has started pointing to everything now, that's her latest "favorite" thing to do. A couple weeks back she had "Hand, Food & Mouth", which for those that don't know can cause blisters/bumps in their mouth, hands and feet - hence the name! :0)- Luckily she only had it in her mouth. It causes high fevers, loss of appetite, crankiness, etc.

Adam is doing well. He spent the night with his aunt Dawn last night, and from what I gathered, they had a great time. Friday, he, his nana & I went to the Natural Science Center in G'boro for a field trip w/ his class @ daycare. Here are some pictures from the big day.

Our "baby" is officially 1 year old!!

2008-03-25T10:43:00.001-07:00

Not only has it been a month since I last posted, but it has been a YEAR since giving birth to our precious daughter Hannah!! We celebrated the anniversary of her birth on Saturday along with family and friends. She had a great birthday weekend, which happened to fall on Easter weekend this year. It was a very busy weekend overall. I took the day off to spend with her yesterday, her actual birthday. I would periodically stop and think back to what I was doing at that given time, and how close I was getting to meeting and holding our beautiful baby girl. In the past year of getting to know her, I've come to learn that she is so much more of a laid back, content baby. She has her tempermental moments, but I think that's just part of being a "girl"!! But overall, she is so happy and radiates her love to all who are around her.

She is so close now to walking on her own, not just holding on to helping fingers, but letting go and finding out for herself that she really can do it!!

She goes today for her year checkup, and her shots. As always, I dread that part, but I'm looking forward to finding out her weight, length, etc.

Happy Birthday sweet baby. I look forward to watching you grow, teaching you and learning from you in the many, many years ahead.

Click on each picture to enlarge:

11 months old today

2008-02-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

It's so hard to beleive that my "baby" will be celebrating her 1st birthday one month from today! wow....... This past year has been a blur. From having her on the day of the BBQ at church (which my mil said would happen!), to enjoying maternity leave, I turned around and I'm back to work and the days, weeks, months are FLYING by!! I'm sitting here at the computer, getting ready to work on invitations, and just can't get over how fast it's all happening. She will be where Adam is in no time, and he will be starting school in a little over a year! All I can do is just hang on for the ride! I really do wish that it would slow down, even just a little - I want them both to stay little and be my "babies" forever....

some new pics

2008-02-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

all dressed up!

some close-ups after church today...

don't ya just love those big blue eyes!

a pause for pictures between their wrestling match yesterday!

Me & Kathleen @ the Winter Jam 2008 concert!

Winter Jam 2008 - 2/16/08

2008-02-18T08:20:00.000-08:00

Saturday night, Kathleen & I took off to the GSO Coliseum to see Winter Jam 2008. We had a blast, and all of the performing artists & groups were wonderful!!! I'll try to post pictures tonight once the kids are in bed!

pictures of the scrapbook pages I've done so far!

2008-02-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

this is a picture of the first page I made last Saturday.

I made this page Sunday night, but had all the pictures cut out on Saturday.

This one was my 3rd page made, and I made it Tuesday night!

I am having a blast doing this, but finding time is going to be my main obstacle!!!

A new "addiction"??

2008-02-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

I think I've found my newest & latest "addiciton".............. Scrapbooking!!!!Kathleen & I went to a Creative Memories class (there were only 4 of us total)on Saturday. I thought about it on Friday, trying to decide what pictures to take. I finally decided to take the pictures from Adam's 1st birthday party! I only made one page while I was there, but did cut out the remaining pictures in various shapes for another page later on. Well, I have to admit that this addiction must have been laying dormant, because back in Dec. of 2000 Beth & I thought we were going to get all involved in the scrapbooking craze! It never happened. Fast forward a little over 7 years, and I'm breaking the stuff out now! I did make the 2nd page last night using the other pictures I had cut out, and I have to admit that I really like it! (For a beginner anyway!) I will try to take pictures of my 2 pages tonight so you all can check out my boys' 1st birthday!

I was bad and went today on lunch and picked up a few things that I didn't already have. I guess this means that I need to start using what little bit of free time at night that I have to come up with ideas for new pages! Wish me luck on the pages AND finding that free time!

pictures from daycare today..

2008-01-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

Why aren't you singing?

2008-01-21T06:20:00.000-08:00

It's Monday again, and I woke up in a good mood. However, within an hours time span my mood quickly shifted to sour. Not sure really, what set it off either. By the time I was trying to walk out the door I found myself fussing at Adam for this and that, and losing my patience all the way around. On the way to their daycare, I was driving quietly just thinking about being rushed and getting to work late. Adam said "mommy, why aren't you singing?" I turned the radio down and said "what?". He said it again. So, I just sat there and let that sink in for a minute. I thought to myself why am I NOT singing? Why am I in such a sour mood? I had two beautiful, healthy children in the back seat, we just left a warm house that had food in the fridge, I was heading to a job - which meant that although it's not much there was money in the bank account. I was driving a dependable car that took me where I needed to go. Our family is blessed beyond measure, and I needed Adam to remind me of that. So shortly after I started singing. He was happy, and so was I.

Dylan's 8th birthday party!

2008-01-19T19:54:00.000-08:00

Adam & I went to Dylan's birthday party tonight, in the big "snow storm"! haha! We had a lot of fun, especially Adam - who loves running around and playing (and trying to keep up) w/ the older boys!! He was wore out when we made it home, and I'm sure by now is sleeping soundly!

Me & Kathleen........

Sleeping beauty........

2008-01-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

This was the first picture taken with my new camera back in October. I was trying on the "night vision"/infared on it, and went to take one of Hannah. Just as I did, she smiled in her sleep. It is such a precious picture to me, and wanted to share it!

this is all the snow we got today!

2008-01-17T07:38:00.001-08:00

We're still getting sleet/freezing rain, but unfortunately this is all the snow we received!

2008-01-14T19:08:00.000-08:00

Dylan loving on his Hannah!

I don't realize the bow is still in my hair!

Sitting pretty after church.......

finally - some pictures for the new blog!

2008-01-12T19:15:00.001-08:00

He's an angel..........when he's sleeping!

Lil' Panther fan!

Daddy & Hannah on Christmas Eve...

One of Adam's Christmas presents!

Bathtime!!

Still so happy........

I hope she always likes wearing hats, like she does now!

Zonked out in the Jumperoo......She jumped herself to sleep!!

Hannah's checking out all the Christmas presents!

Hannah's 9 mth checkup was yesterday!

2008-01-05T11:08:00.001-08:00

Our little girl turned 9 months old on Christmas Eve. Her checkup was yesterday. I can't believe how quickly this past year went by, and how fast her 1st birthday will be approaching!! She weighed in at 18lb 13oz (50th percentile), and is 28 1/2" long (75th percentile). She didn't get any vaccinations yesterday, but did have to get her big toe pricked to check her iron level. I thought that might would hurt her, but as soon as the nurse pricked her toe, she just looked at her as if to say "was that it?" No tears, no sad faces, nothing! She is such a big girl!!! The doctor said that she is doing great, but is cutting 4 TEETH!!! Her top front 4 are all trying to come through right now, and she was not happy at all with the dr. looking at her gums. She made that very clear!!! Her next appt. will be the day after her big birthday. The doctor said that she expects to see Hannah walking in instead of being carried in, based off how quickly she's doing things. We'll see!!!

Adam is still eating like a bird, but at least he's eating I guess. We are having a battle of the wills with him right now. He thinks that he can live off of junk food, but we have other things to say about that. We have had to show some tough love lately in that area. Hopefully though the battle won't last too terribly long!!

I'll be posting some pictures out here soon, I've had several people asking where they are, so I'll post them hopefully in the next day or two!

Paula, I've added a new picture just for you!

2008-01-04T09:16:00.002-08:00

take note of the palm tree & island.......

Happy New Year 2008!

2008-01-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

So, did you eat all the New Year traditional foods? Black eyed peas(good luck), greens(money), corn bread (good luck & good fortune)? We did today. We went to my brother & sister-in-law's house for lunch. I should have ate the entire pan of GREENS, but I did eat quite a few black eyed peas. At least my luck should be good. Maybe in turn, that will help us financially! :0)Adam, on the other hand, is going to be broke w/ no good luck since he wouldn't eat anything!! I will be so glad when this picky stage of eating he is in passes. Everyone keeps telling me that "when he's hungry, he'll eat." It's just so frustrating!!!

The New Years Resolutions are still holding up, 16 hours and counting! haha!!!

New Years Resolutions??

2007-12-28T07:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother making any resolutions each year. I have such good intentions, but as early as February, or as miraculously late as June, they have conveniently faded away from a priority into a joke. However, once again I'm going to set 2, and at least one of them I'm going to make every effort to stick to and accomplish. I'd love to see both of them through, but the first one I set every year and only half way meet my personal challenge! :0) My first New Years resolution will once again be WEIGHT LOSS!! I have enjoyed food way too much these past few months, and haven't had not one shred of remorse over it!!! My pants aren't as forgiving though, and remind me daily that they can only be pushed so far. On that note, I'm asking them to be kind to me through one last party Saturday afternoon, and a reunion on Sunday. After that, I'll crank up my healthier eating once again on Monday.

My second and most personally important challenge/resolution is reading my bible. I am going to challenge myself to reading it all in one year. I figure if I can make time to read these other books that I enjoy so much, I have no excuse NOT to read the most important book of all.

So, those are my 2 New Years Resolutions for 2008. What are yours? Please feel free to leave me a note and tell me about the one(s)you're setting...

Starting a new blog for the new year........

2007-12-27T06:56:00.001-08:00

One reason, is my other blog "crashed" so to speak. I was unable to make some changes, and the more I tried changing the settings, the more it didn't like me!! So - I decided to start a new one, but still keep the old one around. All the old posts are still out there, but come here to see what is happening from here on out! Please stop in and visit soon, and leave me a note letting me know what you think! Oh, and if I had a link to your blog, and it's not here - please send it to me again. I lost all that on my old blog - another reason for creating a new one!!