My little girl....Is turning 2 soon

How can it be..I remember just yesterday holding my little girl in my arms and now her limbs dangle all over as I hold her. She has gotten so big and even though I lover her personality and all the little things she does as she gets older, I miss my little baby. I am having an issue about her birthday. I can't decide if I want to give her a big party or a simple family party?

Also, Reese has her 1 year checkup with the Neurosurgeon and Urologist in February. I have not really thought about it much but please say a prayer. I know she is okay but I have this little nagging voice occasionally saying "what if". I know I need to pray and have faith in God. He has always been there for us.

Mommy and Daddy love you Reese and cannot wait for you to be 2!!!

2 Days of Fun at home...

My sister told me tonight that I have not posted pics of the kids lately. I have only posted about decorating. We have had quite a roller coaster of weather here and the kids have been off from school for 2 days. I too have been working from home as well and I could get used to it.

Why I love working from home?

Having little children run to the french doors and stare at me giving kisses as I am on the phone with a client.

Hearing the squels of laughter and yes crying as I am on the phone

Sharing a office with my beloved husband

No commuting

Walking to the kitchen for lunch

Being home at a reasonable hour to make dinner or husband to make dinner

Why my husband does not like me to work at home?

Has to share his desk with me?

I sit in his way to get around in our large office

Trips on all my stuff...

He says he loves seeing me though...hmmmm is this just a plea to say go back to work.

Anyways I have not been able to take many pictures due to my kiddos being sick. Tonight I decided to capture Zach in his new winter hat. I bought it at Target for $1.50 and thought he would never wear it but I could not resist. Gavin attempted to take pictures but he is not feeling well and Reese, lets just get real, not everyone wants to see a sweet adorable girl with green gunk on her nose. We will save that one for only Mommy and Daddy.

Could it be more decorating tips...

I have been reading this blog and love it. She gives decorating tips on a bargain. As you probably noticed I have decorating itis but on a budget. I have always had a passion for decorating but in the past 5 years I have become so busy with work, kids and life. I can feel my excitement just thinking of my projects. I will start before and after pictures. I am definitely feeling a trip to Canton or some other small town is in need to find some hidden treasure....

http://urbangraceinteriorsinc.com/

Isn't this bathroom yummy...

Long weekend...

Lately I feel like our life is a whirl wind. We left this morning for church and we were in the car for 2 minutes and Gavin said "Mommy, how long is it?" Okay-that tells me we have been in the car too much this weekend. Mike and I are enjoying our financial peace class so much but it causing a little kink in our normal weekend routine. Today we went to church and then went by my sisters house to enjoy some family time with her and my parents. It was great and I definitely need to add to my list, do more with fam. So here is my to do list..



Continue to Run

Continue to eat healthy

Enjoy my husband

Enjoy my kids

See my family more

Continue our journey of debt free (No car payments, No student loans and no mortgage)

Decorate my house more

Organize my closets, laundry room etc



As you can see I have quite a list. I am going to have to start managing my time better. Sorry, I have no pictures but I took my camera this weekend to the birthday party and realized I left the battery at home charging. Hmmm, maybe I should add to the list..find my brain... Ever since I had Reese, I have been so forgetful. I am not sure if this is a 3rd child or just me. Also, my husband has been slaving to make a chicken/sausage gumbo made by Emiril Organic. Yes, he just got done 3 1/2 hours later and it is delicious. I will have a yummy lunch tommorrow. He has become my personal chef.



It is late and I am probably rambling. See the cute pic of the boys when they were younger. How they grow and still take baths together. However, I thank after tonight Gavin will be taking a shower. Zach thought it would be funny to pee on his head....Boys-that is all I can say.

Promise..Post and Pic coming soon!

Sorry, I have been extremely swamped with work, our Financial Peace Class and tonight we went to my nephews birthday party. Wow, how he has grown up. I have been also spending extra time planning my next project for the house decorating. I have lots of thoughts thanks to all the blogs I have been stalking.

http://reeseandmarie.blogspot.com/

http://inspiredkara.blogspot.com/

http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/2009/01/hooked-on-friday.html


See you soon!!!

Life...

I understand life is busy but it seems it hits all at once. Zach has a project due which is not a hard one but of course we procrastinated and are rushing to complete. Work is crazy and there is not enough time in the day. Working out, hmm another topic. Eating is going well. I am so busy I have brought a salad every day and actually ate in and had my snacks. I am sticking to 1200 calories if I am not working out. My typical day is protein shake or oatmeal in the morning; mid-morning snack of cheddar cheese stick; lunch is spinach lettuce, grilled chicken or tuna, almond slivers or a little shredded cheese, light rasberry dressing or balsamic vinegar. I would also have an apple. Afternoon snack is yogurt. Dinner is different but tonight was spaghetti squash with 2 oz chicken and a little spaghetti sauce. Oops, most important item to my day is my cup of java in the morning and now. I will keep you updated on my progress.

Back to working out. My plan is to run a marathon one day so I am going to start training for a 1/2 marathon. I found a pretty good plan on a runners website. Keep me in your prayers I will need it on this one.

I am probably rambling tonight but It is just funny how life passes you by...

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-255-12021-0,00.html

Beautiful picture I want....hummmm Mike are you reading?

I found this artist and I love it. I think I have a love for birds because every time I see a picture with them in it, I love it.

Family Wall in progress

See our family wall in progress. I have plans for an update.

Picture painted by Mom

My mom painted me this picture and we hung it in our study. I love it, especially since I know it will be in our family and passed down to generations. My grandmother also paints and I have two of her pictures I will post that I framed and I have positioned on my study bookshelves.

Update on Home Decor

We finally hung the pictures Mike got me in December. I found an Artist on Etsy and fell in love with these pictures. Her website is JMJ Studio http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5126573.

Camera Classes

I am so excited, Mike brought me home a listing of all the camera class offerings. When he bought my new Nikon camera, he received 18 free 2 hour classes. I can't wait because I have been winging it on my camera but I definitely have been trying out different settings and can see how important light is for a good picture. Hopefully this will improve my picture taking ability. I will keep you posted on what I learn.

Monday Playday

On Monday, Zach had off from school and I did not have to work and this equals fun!!! I started the day having breakfast with my loving husband, which I had to cut short to run and get pampered with a pedicure. Wow, we should start every morning like this. Zach, Gavin and I had a lunch date with Granny, which we were so excited. Granny did not realize she was going to be the Granny-bank. The restaurant she picked had games... shooting games... golf.. the boys were in heaven. At one point all Grannies quarters had been exhausted and Zach said "Granny, the game takes credit cards, you just put it here". Guess what she fell for it and went over and inserted her card. Is this my mom? When I was a kid, this would of never worked. I guess that is why it is so fun to be Grandparent. After lunch, we walked around and the Zach is already saying "we have to go into another girl store". Where do they teach this? This must be a kindergarten requirement. Boys do not shop with their mommies. After leaving Granny we then met Daddy at the moves and saw the The Dog Hotel. The movie was very cute but once again Gavin asked me 100 times is the movie over every time he heard music. The boy cannot sit still for his life. We then drove home to enjoy the rest of our day with Reese. We had so much fun and I can't wait to have another play date with Granny, my wonderful Hubby, Zach, Gavin and Reese!

Say a Prayer for baby Harper

There is a girl who had a little girl last week. Her baby was flown to a Tulsa hospital and is in critical condition with a heart problem. I was reading this and the flurry of my emotions came back to me. I remember when Gavin was admitted in ICU and for 3 days I thought it was life threatning only to find out we were lucky and he was going to be just fine. Then 2 years later our baby girl was diagnosed with a rare form of spina bifida. (Tethered Spine) For 3 months Mike and I were in the dark and only heard horror story after story. We finally found a doctor and we put all our faith in him and God. I beleive this is where my true relationship with God happened. Sure, I have always had a relationship with God but I never knew his true power. However, my family, friends and friends of friends all were praying and she underwent at 6 months an 8 hour long surgery. It was the longest wait but when Reese woke up she was all smiles. We stayed in the hospital with her for a week and how blessed we were. We were surrounded by children way worst then her and we realized God had worked a miracle but she was our miracle. She opened our eyes to how lucky we are. Today 1 year later she is running, jumping, laughing and she is the light of our family. We will continue to monitor with the doctors but she will be okay. Please, pray for this little baby Harper as I know they need the strength.

http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/

Another Family Park Day

On Saturday, Mike and I decided it was too beautiful to stay in the house. We took the boys and Reese to the neighborhood trails. Mike, Gavin and Zach took their bikes and I put Reese in the stroller. It turned out perfect as I ran with the stroller and was able to keep up with Gavin and Mike and Zach rode together. Mike also took the opportunity to try and do some off roading on the minor hills with rocks. He is yearning to get a new mountain bike and get on some real trails, without us in tow. Anyways everything was going great, we stopped and took pictures and a water break. After about 2 miles Gavin was beginning to whine and could not make it up the hill. So, if you could imagine mommy put his bike in the back of the stroller and he got in the other seat as I had the double stroller. I was not going to stop running, so I ran all the way back with about 80 to 100 pounds in this stroller. It was quite funny as after I got off the trail on the main road, men in the cars were starring at me either out of pity, stupidity or look at that super mom. I laughed because Mike never looked back he kept on with Zach. I figure if I do this every day I would have to lose my weight!

Having fun with my camera...

I think I am getting the hang of it

I am very new at this blogging but I am finding it very therapeutic. I think it is going to be fun to document all my little ones pictures, lives and overall talk which is what I like to do. Tonight we thought it would be fun to take the kids out. We have been stuck in the house more since it is a tad cold. Now let me tell you, leaving our house takes at least an hour. We have to find socks for boys and then pull them away from their tv to put them on and shoes. Reese of course has to be changed since Sandra likes to put her in clothes that fit her at 12 months and then everyone has jackets. Oops mommy has to always come back in and get games, juice and keys. Mike has loaded all the kids up by this point and we drive to our destination. The kids are excited and we pull in and Zachary says "Dinner-how boring". He is exactly right. I am not sure why Mike and I think that going to dinner with the kids is fun. So tonight I am vowing to do something fun from now on. Dinner -who needs dinner, that is boring. I love kids, they are so honest.

What Friends are all about

In the fall I had the wonderful oppurtunity to have a girls weekend in Chicago. Thanks hubby for taking care of the kiddos. Since then one of my dearest friends has given birth to a beautiful daughter, which I cannot wait to meet. I cannot wait to do this again as I realized how long it had been since us girls,women had been away from kids, husbands and just laid on the bed and laughed. Thanks girls for such a fun time and I can't wait to plan this years event!!

After 2 years finally decorating...

Yes, I finally have the itch to organize, paint, and make our beautiful house a home. This summer I was tempted to higher someone but realized I can do it and I am so picky I would probably be unhappy. I beleive I have gotten the itch due to surfing the internet and looking at perfectly pictured rooms. I found one website that has some cute items. I am trying to finish our study and will post before/after pictures. It has been a work in progress and I have definetely learned my lesson to measure twice as my sister, mom and I slaved over drapery which I measured 12 inches to short. Learned my lesson but will have to fix it alone....unless you are offering to help.

http://artsyfartsydesigns.blogspot.com/

Okay-I need your feedback

Okay-How to people do it?? How do those people we all know look perfect, workout, be super moms, super wives and work???? Every night I say I am going to work out and every night I put the kids to bed and sit down with my cup of java and sigh "I will work out tommorrow".
So...I need to know how do you do it?? Tommorrow is a new day and my hubby promises to yell if I do not wake up at 5:00am so keep me in your thoughts.

A Day at the Park Part 1

Oops-I left off Reese.

A Day at the Park

Mike and I took the kiddos to the park and I got to practice taking pictures with my new and beloved camera. I am definitely still learning but having fun. It is definitely a great stress reliever as well as I get to capture those precious moments.

"Wow" How we have grown!

Okay, so my first week officially in the New Year has not started off how we wanted it. Work was very stressful, I did not work out and the kids and I did not spend enough time together. However, on the flip side I feel like Mike and I had a great weekend. On Saturday we attended Financial Peace at our church. This is a 6 weekend course on how to control your $$. However, it goes beyond what we all know and talks about it from a christian stand point. Mike and I have really wanted to get organized in our finances but we never find the time. The course also talks about the differences of men and women and communication. I think it is going to be a great 4 hours every week. I love my husband more than anything but for some reason we are horrible in communicating about finances. I will keep you posted on this class as I think it is great and have heard wonderful comments.
On another note, my kiddos are growing up. Gavin and Zach have started to play in their rooms together which is so cute but they lock Reese out, which causes much crying. I think she is getting used to it and it does allow Mommy and Daddy to have some one on one with our little girl. I promise to post pictures soon.....I do have 500 pictures taken on my great Camera.

Okay-after many months of procastinating, I am finally writing on my blog that I did start 6 months ago. It has been a crazy week. Mike and I both took off for the holidays and to spend time with the kiddos. Oh, how I have enjoyed them but I think we are all ready to be back on schedule. However, with the New Year of course I have made some resolutions I will be keeping. Hummm, what could it be...... Lose weight!!! This has been my goal since Reese was born and now she is 2 years old.

On another note my wonderful husband bought me a camera for Christmas and I am so excited to post some of my pictures. I am going to take lessons as I do not have a clue on how to work all the gadgets but this will be a work in progress. Please, critique.

Pictures are coming soon....