My Spot

Gifts

2012-01-24T04:45:00.000-08:00

22. seeing the kind, gentle, compassionate heart of my son when my daughter wasn't feeling well.

Gifts

2012-01-23T04:42:00.000-08:00

20. son's skinny arms wrapped tight around my neck

21. sitting among a group of women and knowing that I am not alone when I am weary and tired.

Gifts

2012-01-22T04:41:00.000-08:00

19. holding my sweet daughter for her whole nap.

Gifts

2012-01-21T04:40:00.000-08:00

18. holding my daughters tiny hand

Gifts

2012-01-17T04:39:00.000-08:00

15. blue/green of the ocean

16. the rainbow underwater, in the form of fish

17. watching the very last bit of sun dipping into the water.

Gifts

2012-01-16T04:38:00.000-08:00

13. Massage on the beach

14. feet in the sand

Gifts

2012-01-14T04:36:00.000-08:00

11. amazing, spa-topia massage

12. trip and time with my husband/a celebration

Gifts

2012-01-13T04:35:00.000-08:00

10. Heaven-my Great Aunt Eva "Nan" is now walking the street of Heaven, 100% whole.

and then....

2012-01-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

i am linking things on my post from two days ago and link to Ann's blog and scroll down to see that she has offered the Dare for 2012 (your 1000 gifts, list.) funny how life works and how things fall into place. two days ago i had decided to do this, so is a ton of other people. cool, coincidence, my friend Shannon would probably call this a God-wink. here is one for today.....

9. back scratches

Naming....

2012-01-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

6. rain boots
7. brenner (breakfast for dinner)
8. apple butter on biscuits

another term for this list, from the book, naming Gods gifts.

Gifts

2012-01-10T11:06:00.000-08:00

i was given the book One Thousand Gifts for Christmas this year. something that i have been wanting to read for awhile now. tonight i picked it up and read a portion of it. the author Ann Voskamp spoke of a list then mentioned the list as the "crazy-dare, gift-list" the title of the book, One Thousand Gifts, a list of 1000 things that she loves, is thankful for. inspiring? for sure. i decided to start one of my own. here goes:

1. salvation
2. family
3. sweet snuggles with my daughter
4. singing to my son
5. peaceful moments of quiet

Books Read in 2011

2012-01-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

Shades of Blue-Karen Kingsbury
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo-Steig Larrson
Promise Me-Richard Paul Evans
Canary Island Song-Robin Jones Gunn
Under a Maui Moom-Robin Jones Gunn
Unlocked-Karen Kingsbury
Kiss-Ted Dekker and Erin Healy
The Help-Kathryn Stockett
Love Finds you in Sunset Beach-Robin Jones Gunn
Leaving-Karen Kingsbury
The Scribe-Franciene Rivers
Learning-Karen Kingsbury
Heaven is For Real-Todd Burpo
The Wish-Richard Paul Evans
The First Gift of Chrismtas-Richard Paul Evans
The Walk-Richard Paul Evans
Longing-Karen Kingsbury
Miles to Go-Richard Paul Evans

Blogging Through 2011...

2011-12-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

this is the 6th year that i have done blogging through.....
i went to the first post of every month the wrote the first scentance or line from that post. (not the title...unless there is no text.)
i love looking back and remembering what the beginning of each month held.
here goes....

Janurary: Sweet Dreams by: Robin Jones Gunn

February: usually i post a picture of her looking right at the camera because her eyes are so amazing, but i just love this one

March: 9 months old

April: the only word to describe for how i am feeling today.

May: my hubby and i love to go to festivals.

June: paper....she is facinated with paper.

July: Webster says Liberty is: 1. the quality of state of being free a. the power to do as one pleases b. the freedom from physical restraint.

August: this is one of our favorite groups to "jam" to.

September: this is a photo of my grandparents on their wedding day,

October: it apperars that all of these people are just standing around watching the train that is passing, but in fact, they along with my family were attending the Madison Street Festival.

November: these two kids are the light of my life.

December: this is one of the things that we bought for little guy for Christmas and it is probably one of my favorite things too.

so there you have it Blogging Through 2011. What in the world will next year hold? We shall see.

Sighting

2011-12-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

cool house in our area that we went to check out. they have their lights tunes to a local radio station and it's pretty amazing. not sure the picture does the house justice on how grand it all is. there is even lights and stuff on the side that we saw once we drove that way.

to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge for Sighting go here.

Seriously

2011-12-19T12:52:00.000-08:00

where has this child come from. my son never did stuff like this (not that he wasn't a mess and into other things) any my niece and nephew didn't do this climbing stuff either. notice the little red bowl on the ground, i guess she used that to climb onto the trash can and i guess she wanted cheese it's. i'm glad my camera was close by. the other day we found her with a stool in front of a door at my mother in laws house trying to get in. like i said, none of the other kids did this......where is she from? :)

Dark

2011-12-15T17:43:00.000-08:00

my husband and i bought this fiber-optic tree when we lived in WA state. we held onto it and it is now in my son's room. here is a dark picture if is with my daughter wow-ing at it.

Twinkle

2011-12-08T07:36:00.000-08:00

my son's Christmas program at school was yesterday and one of the songs that was sung was Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle (that is three Twinkle's) and my finger nail is pretty Twinkley, don't you think?

to participate in the CrazyJoy Challenge go here.

Buy

2011-12-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

this is one of the things that we have bought for little guy for Christmas and it is probably one of my favorite things too. I just love it and can't wait to give it to him and start to read the stories.

if you want to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge go here.

Edge

2011-11-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

my sweet little girl was on the "edge" of driving us a little mad today. she gets into one thing after another.

to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge go here.

Business

2011-11-14T11:29:00.000-08:00

so you never want to get all up in someone's ~business~ right? but when that someone is your little sister, she is the beautiful bride, and she has a wedgie that she can't get cuz of her lovely wedding dress....you do what you can to help. one of the bridesmaids snapped this picture. i have to say that i am glad that it came out blurry but also equally glad that we have it. memories..... the things you go for your little sis.

if you want to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge go here.

Crack

2011-11-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

we met some friends at a local state part this weekend. it was such a beautiful day, perfect for some time outside with friends. little guy wanted to look for treasure, baby girl wanted to put stuff in her purse and mommy was looking for a crack. :) this one just so happened to be illuminated by the light of the sun. a crack in between the two walls that made up the outside amphitheater there at the park.

if you want to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge, go here.

Things I am lovin' right now

2011-11-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

blue skies with puffy white clouds.......amazing fallish colors......warm things to drink.....toasted bread with apple butter.....creme brulee creamer by coffee mate.....warm blankets.....yummy soup......halloween candy (thanks kids).....my pretty painted fingernails.....the excitement of my sister's wedding in 7 days.....reading a good book.....

Light

2011-11-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

these two kids are the light of my life. they are so fun and amazing. i am so blessed to have them as kids. my jumping buzz lightyear and my grumpy lady bug. (note: little girl didn't go as the grumpy lady bug she just sometimes is.)

to link up with the CrazyJoy challenge go here.

Us

2011-10-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

this weekend my hubby and i got to go out on a date. i can't remember that last time that we went out. we had a gift card to pf changs that we wanted to use so off we went. it was wonderful too. time for US, yummy food, some plum wine, good company, fortunes....not that best one's that we've ever had (not that we believe in them) it was just some good time all around for US.

to participate in this weeks CrazyJoy challenge, link up here.

Mystery in the Library

2011-10-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

i can't believe that i am just now getting around to posting this. last weekend i hung out with this group of characters. we had a murder mystery party and were gathered in the library to figure out who killed king henry. it was so much fun and everyone did such a fantastic job gathering their costumes.

Sweet

2011-10-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

this was a "sweet" treat. we bought a couple of cupcakes this weekend and this was the one that my husband brought home for us. it was so yummy and "sweet" and it was "sweet" of him to bring one home for us. prefect cupcake for breast cancer awareness month.

to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge link up here.

Wish

2011-10-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

i *wish* i had a maid. this morning, while picking up the white grape juice i dropped the whole bottle on the floor. it spilled all over. luckily i was quick enough to scoop it up before any more spilled out. while surveying the spill and then taking the pictures i sighed and though that my *wish* would be for a maid. my fairy godmother didn't show up so the cinderella in me, not the version in glass slippers got down to cleaning. i had just set up an old sheet tent for the kids right before so they were content to watch me from their post under the table covered with the sheet.

to participate in this weeks CrazyJoy challenge, go here.

Assembly

2011-10-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

it appears that all of these people are just standing around watching the train that is passing but in fact they, along with my family, were attending the Madison Street Festival, where there is yummy food, crafty stuff, face painting, story troopers, ghost busters, dancing, music, some rides, a kids tent and much more.

to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge, go here.

Fuel

2011-09-27T04:22:00.000-07:00

i love getting in the car and already having it fueled up. :) my hubby is so go to do that for me. i think he knows not to leave it to me since i have locked my son in the car twice while putting gas in. embarrassing but true.

to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge, go here.

Attack

2011-09-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

viewing this picture of the giant Mowgli, it may appear that he is attacking my children (smile and all)

but upon closer inspection, i believe that they are attack(ing) him.

Rock

2011-09-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

while i was putting clothes away this weekend, i came across this t-shirt that is my little guys. he got it for his birthday this year and it is so perfect for him. he loves to rock on his guitar, the drums, his new penny flute, just about any type of musical instrument. it's great. here are two pictures of little guy playing his guitar.

my son......he rock(s).

to link up with this challenge, go here.

Young

2011-09-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

this is a photo of my grandparents on their wedding day. i have had it in our house since my husband and i got married 9 years ago. we have another wedding in our family coming up....my little sis is getting married in November and as she was making wedding preparations she mentioned that she wished she could wear Granny's wedding dress, which is pretty funny because that was exactly what i said when we were planning our wedding. it was beautiful and lovely. for some reason she didn't have it anymore so we just look at her pictures and wish. my grandparents have been married for (i'm going to guess (because i am bad with numbers)) 57 years now. here they are, young. i love it.
to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge, link up here

Labor

2011-08-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

my husband cuts the grass almost every weekend (unless it doesn't need it.) my little guy loves to be outside with daddy and loves to help cut the grass. i love this picture of him helping out with the grass cutting.

Orange and Lake House Weekend

2011-08-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

this weekend we drove three hours to visit my parents at the lake. when little guy spent a week with them in july all he wanted to watch (when it was tv time) was this one pooh bear movie that he called pink pooh bear because the cover was pink. my mom told me that she hid it hoping that we could get him to watch something different. we started with 101 Dalmations. he loved all the puppies. i loved how the dogs called their owners their pets and of course my rolly (he was my fave puppy when i watched it as a kid.....still is) he watched that one two times and then we were able to get him to watch some Peter Pan (another one of my childhood favorites.) he really liked that one too. when i saw that the word was orange i knew that i wanted to get something that happend this weekend while we were at the lake.
yes that is a VHS tape. my parents had a ton of VHS movies and when they got the house at the lake the brought them up here. we happend to have an extra VCR and gave it to them so now we are getting good use out of them. i love it.
more lake pictures below, after the Peter Pan one.
to link up with the CrazyJoy challenge go here.

Honey and Little Miss enjoying dounuts

Little Miss eating a powdered donut...her first one

LC and J

Little Guy chilling on the boat ride....waiting to get in the water

First Day of PreSchool

2011-08-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

my boys first day of pre-school was yesterday. we ate breakfast and got ready to go. there was no protesting like i thought and he walked into the school ready to go. he got to see one of his friends but they aren't in the same class. when we walked into the class room he dropped his lunch on the floor and tried to make an exit. i reminded him to pick up his lunch (he was proud of his lunch box) and when he turned his back i made my exit. didn't get a phone call from the teachers saying to come get him to i figured he was having a great day and he did. when asked what he did at school he said, played, prayed and ate dinner. he is so awesome. i love this kid

Carry

2011-08-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't say that I have an obsession with Vera Bradley, but I very much like her bags.
My first Vera purchase was for my mom. My sister and I got her this purse, or at least it was something like this purse in this color. Before a year was up it as already falling apart so she traded it in for the same shape purse but in this color.
That same year by best friend gave me this tote for my birthday/Christmas.
Two years ago I wanted a new purse for my birthday. I couldn't get this Vera one out of my head,(although mine is the black white and yellow one, not this print) so my mother in law got it for me.
At Christmas time last year I was wanting a new diaper bag for my daughter. I had a couple people tell me that I should get a Vera Bradley one but I didn't want to spend that much on it. I looked and looked and couldn't find one anywhere for a good price so I gave up. The thoughts of wanting one came back and I looked at some local Hallmarks and found that they had some on sale and this is the one that I found and I love it. It wasn't the print that I was looking at and looking for around Christmas but now that I have this one I really love it. It's prefect for me and for my sweet girl. So this is what I carry now.

To link up to the CrazyJoy challenge go here

Historic

2011-08-08T11:54:00.000-07:00

I wish that I could say that this weekend we went to New York City and that is why you are looking at small pictures of New York places: The Statue of Liberty, St. Peters Chapel, Central Park and The Empire State Building, but this is just a mini book that I put together after our (me and the hubby) trip to New York City in October 2008. The reason that I am using it for this photo challenge is because I had to get it out when by best friend posted on facebook a question about how to go to New York on the cheap and things to do. I ran straight for the bookshelf and took this little book off and started going through it to give her some ideas. There is so much that is Historic about New York City that just saying the name New York I think historic. So while I wish that I was there in person this weekend I was able to relive our trip through photos, maps, tickets and memorabilia from our trip in 2008.

to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge, link up here.

Jam

2011-08-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

this is one of my favorite groups to "jam" to. i think that they only put out 3 cd's as a group and my husband and i have all three of them. they have been played continually. you can see the words wearing off of the cd. one of them we have in the car and there are spots where it skips, it's been played so much. we were able to see Nickel Creek in concert when we lived in the northwest and they were awesome. it may not be the typical music that people "jam" to, blue grass, but it's what we like to "jam" to.

to link up to the CrazyJoy challenge go here.

Celebrate

2011-07-25T10:12:00.001-07:00

i originally didn't think that i would be finding out what the CrazyJoy word was until last night because we went to visit my parents at their lake house and there is no Internet access and we can't connect to anyone else's, especially not oldfarts. (yes that is someone's user name for their internet.)
however my sister and her fiance came this weekend and they have fancy smart phones so alas i was able to see the CrazyJoy word: Celebrate.
my mom made this awesome cake for my sister (who usually gets a cookie cake fromThe Great America Cookie Company, but again we were at the lake, so she made this pretty thing.) and we went ahead and celebrated all the summer birthdays.
let me give some background. my family: dad, mom, me and sister
birthdays: dad-summer, mom-summer, me-winter, sister-summer
along comes my husband-summer, we have baby number one-summer, then baby number two-summer, my sister is now engaged, her finance-winter (finally i get someone to share the winter with me) not only are they all in the summer, they are all in June and July. So we celebrated six of the eight in our family. it was fun, it was loud, it was wet (we were at a lake and it rained on us when we were out in the boat), it was sweet (the cake of course), it was happy.

to link up with the CrazyJoy challenge go here.

Laugh

2011-07-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

i was so torn on what picture to choose from for laugh this weekend. i had three good ones. this one was just too cute so it won. this weekend was my son's 4th birthday. i made cupcakes for the party and once my daughter saw them with the frosting on them she wanted one. she waiting till everyone was able to get them at the party. once it was put in front of her she attacked it. she just loved it. she thought that she was something else when everyone was watchng her and giving her some attention. she just smiled and laughed at the whole family watching her. you would have thought that it was her birthday. funny girl.
to participate in the CrazyJoy photo challenge check out his posthere.

Happy Birthday

2011-07-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

to my 4 year old.....i can't believe that my little bitty boy is now four....he is such an amazing human being....he is fully of life....full of energy....such a trooper....loads of passion....loves to sing....gives the best hugs....has come such a long way in the almost 8months he's had his tigger ears....just one special little boy....and all boy too
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET SWEET BOY! I LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!

Renew

2011-07-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

the CrazyJoy word this week is Renew. immediately when i saw the word i knew what my photograph would be of....my Bible. during Christmas break last year we were visiting my parents and attended the church that i grew up in. there i came across a read the Bible in a year pamphlet. in my 30 years i had never actually committed to reading the whole bible in a year. will i sort of had since i did go to a Bible college and took the classed Survey of the Old Testament and Survey of the New Testament and reading both were required. but i had never decided on my own to do this. something else you may want to know about me is that I'm not a big fan of new years resolutions, i try goals. so this was my goal. but not just to do it to check it off but to have my heart in it and really enjoy it and i really have. the first half of the year has been great and as i am a few weeks into the second half of the year i am excited to read more. so i feel daily renewed with my Bible reading.

Blueberries

2011-07-12T05:06:00.001-07:00

shoveling them in
happy to be eating, this girl loves to eat

was he new face for just about everything. i think she may have stopped doing it, so i am glad that i got this picture.

keep them coming mom

Overwhelmed

2011-07-07T13:12:00.001-07:00

i am struggling to do what is right when it comes to my little guy.

i am a stay at home mom so there is a reason that i stay at home, to be with my kids and i want to be able to teach him things and be that kind of mommy to him but am having a really hard time with it.

even trying to work, at home, on the things that we do in speech therapy, is a struggle and i can't really think outside of the box to come up with some other way of doing it.

my husband has said before that if we can't do something 100% then we sometimes just don't do it at all and i hated that when he said it but am now feeling like it is so true. no one ever said that being a parent was easy and if someone had then i think i would have a jaw dropping, shocked face, because for sure it isn't easy, especially with a special needs child.

i know that more days in preschool is going to be something that is good for him but hate the idea of it. more days away from me and then i think, what's the point of being a stay at home mom. but then with him home i don't really feel like i am teaching him anything or making a difference in preparing him for kindergarten.

i just have this inner tug of war going on and then to top it all off he has a hearing disability and i have to go up to bat for him. i am the least most assertive person out there and now i have to EXTREMELY stretch myself to make things better for this little guy. and the crappy part about it is that I'm not doing it. i totally asked my husband (who is very assertive) to handle the latest school decisions and while i am thrilled that he is doing it, don't want to do it and love that he wants to be involved in his son's life and decisions i know that he won't be able to always be the one to advocate for our little guy and that scares me because i will have to do it. i am terrified too. i am totally feeling like Moses when he told God that he couldn't be the one to speak to the Israelites because he wasn't eloquent.

if anyone is reading this please pray that whenever and wherever and whoever i have to speak to, to help my little guy in and during his schooling years that i will have the words, thoughts, ability, courage and assertiveness to do what needs to be done for the good of my son. I'm not ready for all of this and i need to be brave.

Liberty

2011-07-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Webster says Liberty is...
1. the quality or state of being free
a. the power to do as one pleases
b. freedom from physical restraint

seeing these two girls (one my niece and the other my daugther (8months apart)) playing on the fourth of July(the power to do as one pleases), in their red, white and blue garb, and if you notice my daugther with her grimice and letting me know to let her hand go (freedom from physical restraint) i guess she wasn't feeling very free at the moment. i feel so blessed to live in a country were my children can play and have fun without a care in the world. (the quality or state of being free)

to participate in this CrazyJoy challenge or future ones check out this site.

Mysterious

2011-06-26T19:42:00.001-07:00

this first picture is for theCrazyJoy challenge.

this weekend we had a baby shower for a friend of mine. it was a secret weather the baby was a boy or a girl. she found out last weekend at a shower with her family and she kept a secret from the rest of us for the last week. we had a pink and blue themed shower this weekend and her cake revealed boy or girl? take a look at some of the set up for the shower.

linds hadn't really been craving much but she had been eating a lot of cereal. we had four different types of cheerios and some granola cereal. people could eat it with milk or yogurt or plain.
jules made these cute baby passi's

half of the table was pink and half was blue. i wish i would have gotten a picture from the blue side. we even had pink and blue punch.

linds made her own cake so that she could hide the color of the frosting in the inside. she also made these cupcakes.

so here you go. baby j.crew is a boy. we are so very excited.

this was a big part of my weekend and i chose the first and the last pictures as my CrazyJoy:Mysterious post because it was a mystery to all of us if the baby was going to be a boy or a girl and there is something about pregnancy that is mysterious as well. it's amazing that these little human lives can grow and form and live inside of us for 9 months. it's a mystery as to what this little one will look like. a mystery as to their personality. pregnancy is a mysterious, wondrous thing.

Comparison

2011-06-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

this weeks photo challenge with CrazyJoy is Comparison. I wish i would have been creative enough to get one of me standing at 9 months and then of me holding baby girl up against my belly at nine months but it didn't happen. this is what i have and i think captures comparison pretty well. for me i much rather have my girl in my arms instead of in my tummy. me and pregnancy did not get along.

Room Update

2011-06-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

i made a couple of these paper pompoms for baby girl's birthday party and they just to happen to go great in her room as well.

so getting a little room inspiration from AshleyAnn, i decided to hang some paper pompoms in my little girls room as well. we love them. they go perfect with her room.

Forbidden

2011-06-14T06:11:00.001-07:00

the first picture is just to show you her attempts to get into the pantry. our pantry door doesn't latch when it closes. now i need to go and get a new door knob that will latch because she can still get it open even when it is all the way closed. those little fingers can get in the cracks around the door and pry it open. she's going to be mad when we get the new door knob and she realizes she can't get in there. so i wish that my pantry was neater but for the challenge purpose here is my girl getting caught in the pantry.

for-bid-den: not permitted or allowed.

the pantry along with the bathroom are two places that she is forbidden. she loves those places too. funny how that happens.

to participate in the challenge, check out this post

12 months or 1 year

2011-06-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

whatever your prefer

totally late on posting this but glad that i got it up here. this picture was by far the hardest of all of them to take because i couldn't get her to hold still. i think i will continue to take pics of her every month but maybe i will attempt a chair for the next years set.

Fascinate

2011-06-07T05:02:00.001-07:00

paper...she is fascinated with paper. it's like she can sniff it out. even when i think that we have picked it all up she manages to find it. so at her birthday party, grabbing the gifts that were wrapped were awesome to her.

it anyone wants to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge, go here

Patience

2011-05-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

patience...that is the name of the game when it comes to my first born, my oldest, my boy...so patience we must have with him.

see my little guy came into the world two months early.

he weighed 2lbs and 14oz

the picture above was the first time that i got to hold him...eight days after he was born...

...patience (he weighed 2lbs 9.2oz)

weight gain was difficult because he was such a fighter....very active and always moving...

...patience

he started having apnea spells after a bottle attempt that was probably to soon...

...patience

after 48 days in the NICU we were able to take him home (but on an apnea/heart monitor)...

...patience
at three months old he had to have surgery for an inguinal hernia...

...patience

over a year old and he still wasn't walking...

...patience

at three years and three months his speech still seemed like it wasn't improving with speech therapy and we found out he needed hearing aids....

...patience

he is now almost four and is speaking full sentences. there is still lots more to work on when it comes to understanding his speech but he is doing so wonderfully.

so as you can see...we've needed patience through it all.

NOW LOOK AT HIM!

to participate in this challenge, check out this post.

Twist

2011-05-24T04:43:00.000-07:00

Photography...I love it

to look at it and the idea of it

Photographer...I am not

my mom and my sister got that

I take pictures to remember

moments...

this may or may not be a moment that i want to remember.

right now, as we are going through it, it's not one I want to remember.

lots of reasons too...

diapers...expensive
poop and pee...gross
struggling with a strong baby...not fun

but wanting to remember because she will never be this small, this age, going through this stage again.

so remember moments like this...definitely

as for the photo...may not be the best shot/capture but it will be there for me to remember and that's enough for me.

so,

twist.

my baby girl, twisting on her changing table

she does it afer her bath, when it's time to get dressed, and for diaper changes

to participate in the twist challenge check out this post

New Baby

2011-05-11T04:50:00.000-07:00

there is a new baby in our life. not our's but my niece, Jianna Paisley. she is so sweet. look at those pretty lips.

11 Months

2011-05-10T10:03:00.001-07:00

i can't believe that i am just now getting her 11 month picture up but even more so i can't believe that she is already 11 months. it went by way, way, way to fast.

Tornados

2011-05-05T05:40:00.000-07:00

it's strange when i open my fridge to see it so empty. but then i think of all the people that lost their fridge, family and maybe even life. as I'm sure you know or may have even heard we had terrible tornado's tear through the Tennessee valley last Wednesday. they are calling it April's fury. over a week later and there are still trees to pick up, debris to go through, and families devastated from this disaster. we had no electricity for 6 days. what a relief it was to get it back. there are so many things that we take for granted.

a good friend of mine posted this about the tornados and i agree with her. i grew up in an area with bad hurricanes and i would for sure take a hurricane over this. (although ask the people hit by Katrina and they may tell you different) tornado's are just so unpredictable. there is just no where to hide from them. just please continue to pray for the people who lost homes and family members and were majorly affected by this. I am so blessed that my family and friends are all safe and untouched by this disaster. my in laws had a tree pulled up by the roots in her back yard and it was a foot away from the house. blessed indeed.

Festivals

2011-05-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

my hubby and i love to go to festivals. spring or fall it doesn't matter. if we don't have plans we and there is one going on, we are there.
this weekend we went camping with some friends and on the way home from the camping trip we stopped in south Pittsburgh, Tennessee. there were yellow signs on side of the interstate for the National Cornbread Festival. never heard of it and definitely had never been to it so my hubby looked over and me and smiled. i knew that we would be stopping.

once we entered we were amazed at how great it was. we had such a good time. there was cornbread to taste (lots of it and unusual and fun kinds) the bacon, jalapeno, ranch was our fave. we were surprised at how big it was, and how well of a job that they did on keeping it clean. there were a lot of youth that were making sure the trash was empty and everything looking nice. it was great. we knew that we would be coming back next year for the event.

i was very upset that i didn't have my camera with me while there but little guy slept the whole time and baby girl just took in the sights. the photo above, of our cornbread pan, stamped hand is it for pictures. shows we were there, right?!?! for me i was amazed with the porta potties. strange i know but they had a woman's and men's section and in the woman's there were silk flowers in the urinal (no need to have a urinal in the woman's one but i understand they they come all made the same) and then there was some silk vines hanging behind the seat part. it made it look nice (for a porta potty) and they had a flower scent to them so you didn't have an overwhelming scent of pee when you walked in. all in all, we were very impressed with the festival and are excited to go back next year.

Resistance

2011-04-23T05:29:00.000-07:00

For the past seven years I have resisted watching the movie "The Passion of the Christ", until this past Tuesday. You may ask why this resistance? Well, I love to read and I have a pretty good imagination when I am reading. I love to see movies and I can get lost in movies just as much as a book, only in a movie it all comes more real and alive to me.

So if you have seen "The Passion" then you understand why I've avoided watching it. I can't really put into words anything that measures up to the love that God had for us to send His Son to die for us. I feel loved beyond measure.

I was totally take with the woman why played Mary (Jesus' mother.) Seeing a picture of her strength was breathtaking. And her attention focused on Jesus, her son, sometimes it felt like the only way she could get through it was to keep her eyes fixed oh Him, when all I would want to do was turn away from the pain He was experiancing. I sometimes wondered how God must have felt and I think that portrayal of Mary in the movie gave me a little glimpse.

Even as I sat there on Tuesday waiting to watch "The Passion" I can't way that I still really wanted too see it but I am really glad that I did.

With Easter Sunday being tomorrow, remember that He has risen and hold on to your Savior.

Momma Fox

2011-04-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

let me first start by letting everyone know that a couple of weeks ago when we were getting back from a trip, our neighbor came out and asked us to follow her into her back yard where she showed us that there were six baby foxes in a small hole in her back yard. crazy, i know. we live in a neighborhood with lots of sounds and people and to think that foxes are that close by is strange. the momma of course is always close by, watching from afar or sun bathing in the neighbors back yard.

these babies are curious creatures. they are very skittish when they think someone is around (which is fine by me) but when they think they are alone they explore the world around them and play to their hearts content.

just yesterday i was leaving my house and i stepped out the side door, with my babies, when i heard a bark. i looked to the yard and the momma was running to the fence line and not soon after that one of the babies came flying to her side. i say this all because I've been having trouble getting little guy to listen to me when i say something, like "come here" and him actually obeying and getting to my side. it's not all the time, usually when he is tired or for whatever crazy reason we decide not to let him take a nap (i know silly right). however, after seeing that my first thought was wow, i wish my baby responded like that baby fox. but i am so glad he's not a fox and that i have this precious human that God has given me to take care of, love, and raise. even if there are times that i may wish he was a fox and would listen right away to my barks. i thank God for him. he may grow up quickly but not as fast as those baby foxes, so trying to cherish these time.

4 months

2011-04-17T05:37:00.000-07:00

not baby girls 4months (thats long passed, she's creeping up on 11 months soon. but today is 4 months for little guy to have his tigger ears. what an amazing and eye opening experiance it has been. we always knew little guy was special, being that God gave him to us in difficult circumstances and pulled him and us through it all (litterally at times He had to be the only one holding us up.) and not only is he special but a pretty cool kid too. it is so exciting to watch him grow and learn. we put him in pre-school recently for two days a week and he is loving it. he asks to go to school sometimes even when its not a school day. he's gone from speaking just words to full scentances. there is still lots that we don't understand and frustrationwith it all but he is learning and expressing so much. i hate that it took so long for us to discover that the needed hearing aids but am glad that we found out as soon as we did. the other day i was sitting down with him going over flash cards for speech therapy and when he pointed to the picture of a rabbit i said "good job, that's a bunny." he paused and looked at me and said, "that is not a bunny, it's a rabbit, a bunny rabbit." (said like this, "tha is not a bunny, it a wabbit, a bunny wabbit.") it was so cute. i love all that he is learning, like the clean up song at pre-school that he sing alot. he is precious, amazing, fun, cool, passionate, obsessive, wonderful, a blessing, and mine. i love him.

Feeling the Love

2011-04-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

there is something amazingly sweet about children's love. they love so unconditionally and so fully. just yesterday after my little guy woke up(with the sweetest look on his face), ate breakfast (waffles, just about every morning), and went to the bathroom, he looked at me, as i was getting him dressed, and said "mommy?" i looked up and he threw his skinny, sweet, soft arms around my neck and hugged me so tightly that is just melted my heart. i stood up and just hugged him back hoping that, that hug relayed all the love the i felt for him and that he could just know and feel it just by the tightness that i was giving him in return. don't get me wrong i tell him multiple times a day that i love him and truly i do but hugs like that sometimes mean more than the words themselves. to top it all off i got to rock my sweet, soft, chubby baby girl to sleep last night and got to breath in her sweet smell. (even though she needs a bath there is still something sweet about the smell of a baby.) i am truly blessed and love times like those that remind me of that.

10 Months Old

2011-04-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

Inadequate

2011-04-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

the only word that i can describe for how i am feeling today. i am so blessed in this life, more that i can ever imagine but feeling like there is something missing. i love my family and i love that i get to stay at home with my kids. while i loved the job that i had before i became a stay at home mom i was never so career oriented that i needed to work to find fulfillment or satisfaction. but now being a stay at home mom i feel like i have no goals or things that i am passionate about. my days sometimes feel mundane and pointless. don't get me wrong i love my kids and delight in their joy and have fun with them. but after the plethora of appointments and things that have to get done i wonder if there was any use or point to my day. especially when i look around and see tons of things that have found there resting place on my table, how have i not found the time to pick it up or the places to put it. i'm just feeling disconnected from everything. i want to raise my children to be happy and to love the Lord but wonder if i am doing all that good of a job doing it. i am terrible with words, thought and putting things down but felt that i needed to type even if none of it is coherent or makes sense. i'm sure tomorrow will be different but this is today and what i am dealing with, feeling inadequate.

9 months old

2011-03-04T05:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T10:42:00.001-08:00

"Whatever our souls are made of,

his and mine are the same."

-Emily Bronte

8 months old

2011-02-03T06:32:00.000-08:00

usually i post a pic of her looking right at the camera because her eyes are so amazing but i loved this one. she is looking at her big brother here, who is the light of her life. she loves to watch him and will stop anything she is doing to do so.

Tigger Ears

2011-01-27T06:49:00.001-08:00

i am a total blogger slacker over a month after getting little guy's tigger ears i am finally posting a picture.
oh well at least i managed to get it posted.
he's really good about wearing them even though he protests ever time it's time to put them in.
he tells me "no tigger ears" but then he sits there very still and lets me put them in.
that's him though.
i ask him, "do you want oatmeal?"
he says, "no oatmeal." then follows that statement with "i want oatmeal."
it's exauting and funny at the same time.

Matthew 11:28

2011-01-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

"come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden,

and I will give you rest.

take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

for My yoke is easy

and My burden is light."

7 months old

2011-01-01T13:15:00.000-08:00

Books read in 2010...

2011-01-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

Sweet Dreams-Robin Jones Gunn
A Promise is Forever-Robin Jones Gunn
Treasury of Miracles for Friends-Karen Kingsbury
Witch on the Water-Christene and Ethan Rose
The Lucky One-Nicholas Sparks
Belong to Me-Marisa DeLos Santos
Girls in Pants(the 3rd Summer of the Sisterhood)-Ann Brashares
The Handmaids Tale-Margaret Atwood
The Last Song-Nicholas Sparks
The Five People you Meet in Heaven-Mitch Albom
Baby Wise (second time through)-Gary Ezzo
Love and Respect-Emmerson
Take One-Karen Kingsbury
Take Two-Karen Kingsbury
Take Three-Karen Kingsbury
Take Four-Karen Kingsbury

16 books
no nearly close to the 52 that i read last year
reading more books
something to try to do for 2011

Blogging through 2010...

2010-12-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

the 5th anniversary of blogging through....
i went to the first post of every month and wrote the first sentence or line of that post (not the title, unless there is no text.
i love looking back and reading what the beginning of each month held.
here goes.....

January: i'm a little late posting but better late than never, right?!?!

February: for this movie

March: hope things warm up soon

April: trying to decide on a camera strap and not sure which one

May: my little levi's man

June: i am so behind on updating the blog

July: my one month old girl

August: my girl is two months old

September: 3 month old girl

October: 4 month old girl

November: 5 month old girl

December: 6 month old girl

when you daughter is born on the first of the month and you get pictures and post them every month....that becomes the first post of the month. i love it though
next year will probably be different. :)

Happy 2011!

Tigger Ears Day 1

2010-12-17T13:19:00.000-08:00

today little guy got his tigger ears a.k.a. hearing aids. it went pretty well too. a lot of it was going over the process of using them with us and how to put them in and change batteries and store them but then we were able to put them in his ears.

little guy has been somewhat traumatized over the past couple of months. he got stitches in august and then had them removed and just last week he got his flu shot along with a finger prick for a diabetes test, which came back borderline so they had to draw blood. to sum that up he isn't diabetic, good news.

so when it was time to get the hearing aids in he was not to thrilled with it. even when we held them up to baby girl he was still apprehensive. he kept saying no owie, no owie. reassurance wasn't enough that he wasn't getting an owie. once we got them in all was fine and he let us put them in and take them out a couple of times.

we got some of it on video and i will try and post it later. the audiologist told us that since he has some hearing function that the wow factor when we put them in wouldn't be as great as if it was a child with little to no hearing function. he was very quiet though. he just sat there and listened. the audiologist had some noise makers and was using them to test to see if there were any noises that were to loud that hurt his ears. all noises were fine. in fact the most annoying ones were his favorite (go figure).

he is doing pretty well with them in though. there are times when he reaches for them and wants to pull them out and says all done but we just let him know that it is okay and he forgets about them again.

while it is something that i would have never wished for my child i am super glad that for now there is something that we can do to help him to hear better. they are very cute on him. Christmas came early for us. we are thrilled.

i'll keep posting as new things happen in our every growing adventures with this little person that God has entrusted us with. but for now that is all i have. hopefully pictures to come soon.

Tigger Ears

2010-12-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

tomorrow is the big day
we will be getting little guy's tigger ears (a.k.a.) hearing aids.
we are thrilled and can't wait to see the look on his face when we frist put them in and he realizes that he can hear all that we are saying. it may not all go the way that i see in in my head but reguardless it's going to be quite the experiance. will be posting later tomorrow to give the update on how it went.
until then....

Big Boy Bed

2010-12-13T04:54:00.000-08:00

last night was little guy's first night in a big boy bed. it was probably long overdue but he didn't have any issues with the crib so we just left him in it. he did great. i'm thinking it was because he was really tired, he didn't take a nap yesterday. however at 550 this morning i heard a click and i jumped out of bed and got my phone (for light) and headed toward his room. when i got to the hall he was standing right outside of his door with his hands behind his back. i'm not sure what he was waiting for or if he just couldn't see once he got in the dark hallway. it was super cute though. now to teach him to stay in his bed. :)

6 Month Old Girl

2010-12-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

New Adventures

2010-11-30T04:48:00.001-08:00

i feel like i need to put some sort of disclaimer on this post...
it may be a little scatter brained because the information that i am about to share is still pretty new to me and I'm not sure how to put it all in words. if i were a writer it may flow and sound better. so here goes.

little guy has be going to speech therapy for over a year now. as some of you know we have struggled with some developmental delays with him due to his pre-maturity. all fixable though right. well a year later, he is speaking better than the year before but not nearly as well as a three year old should. when we first started speech therapy i mentioned to the therapists about having his ears checked for hearing loss. then a week or two would pass and i would forget to follow up and here we are a year later and I'm asking the same question and the therapist gets me connected with an audiologist to test his hearing.

now if you know little guy you know that having him sit still for anything is a challenge. at the beginning of October was his first test. he did so well. and by well i mean that he was cooperated very well and seemed to have a good time. the audiologist that he saw was great. once all the testing was over she let me know that it was somewhat inconclusive because it seemed like he had negative pressure in his ears. (fluid, possibly) we went to see the doc that day and he said that his ears were clear. we were then set up with the audiologist to have his ears checked again the next month. again little guy was wonderful. the did such a good job, i was just amazed at how well he was doing paying attention. when the testing was over she went over the results and they weren't what we wanted to hear. little guy has permanent nerve damage in both ears. it slopes from moderate to severe. meaning that he can't hear high pitch noises like constants. so if you ever have the privilege to having a conversation with him he talks in a lot of vowels and sounds. it is pretty amazing that we have been able to understand him so far. i feel blessed with the little amount we do have with communication. basically he would need hearing aids for the rest of his life.

we had lots of questions about all of this and wanted answers. my husband put it really well that everything with little guy has been fixes in his life, nothing permanent, so we were struggling with the permanency of all of this.

how? why?
well how...it could be a number of things, all of which he had. early birth and low birth weight (you may remember he was 2lbs 14oz), ventilator, photo therapy lights, antibiotics, blood transfusion.

after finding out this, i called my hubby to let him know. he immediately wanted to meet with the audiologist (which she said he could do). i just don't think that she was prepared for him to ask her to do all the same tests that she did on little guy. she was great and did them on him to show him what was going on. then she explained all of little guys results. the next day we had a apt with his doc to find out what he recommended. he sent us to an ENT who basically let us know that same thing that the audiologist did. that he need to get hearing aids and that he needed to get them ASAP. he recommended the same place that the audiologist did for getting them.

that brings us to yesterday when we had an apt with another audiologist who re-tested little guy, just to make sure and came up with the same results (again he did so well and cooperated and my husband was able to be there for this apt and he got to see just how well he does) and fitted him with the hearing aids. of course they are kid friendly so she wanted us to pick something cool and fun. little guys still wasn't sure what was going so my husband decided that since he likes tigger the molds that go in his ear would be black and orange and the the aid that goes around his ear is going to be black and silver. he's going to have tigger ears. :) (he love tigger and I'd say that was pretty kid friendly) hopefully the next time he needs them he can have a opinion in choosing them and deciding what the wants and likes.

so that was a lot of information to put out there. being a detailed person i hope i covered all of them. i can tend to go over board with details so i also hope i covered everything.

i was explaining all of this to someone and say that even though this was permanent that with medical breakthroughs maybe one day there will be another fix for this, a cure. and my husband reminded me to leave room for God. as humans we sometime forget to leave room for God to work. He can and He will. it may be to heal little guy or the hearing aids may be His form of healing, our answers to his speech delay. i know that He has great, wonderful and amazing things in store for little guy. this new adventure is going to stretch us for sure.

check it out...

2010-11-28T06:28:00.000-08:00

...these really awesome giveaways.

Christmas Cards

2010-11-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas is almost here and with it comes the fun treks to the mail box to see if any Christmas cards came that day. I love going to the mail box and finding the cards with the faces of my friends on them. I have found a few that i like at Shutterfly this year. Take a look:

Card #1

i like that your family initial can be in the center of the card...i love the color red in it.....and i love how it looks with the black and white pictures....also that you can put multiple pictures here....i always have a hard time choosing just one picture

Card #2

i like this card becaue you can write a little more on it so that friends and family know what has been going on with you in year 2010. it's a clever way to do a Christmas card.

Card #3

i like the colors in this card and the idea of adding your top 10 (whatever) of 2010. Cool!

there are alot more fun cards to choose from. these are just some of my favorites. they are having a great promotion, bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from shutterfly. follow the link below

http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

and visit

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

5 month old girl

2010-11-02T05:08:00.000-07:00

Pears

2010-10-20T14:42:00.001-07:00

pears ready and waiting to be made into baby food

cut up

about to be blended

all blended up

the pears in the ice tray ready to be frozen and later eaten by my baby girl

Trains

2010-10-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

my little guy loves trains

we were playing with his puzzles the other day and he notices the train on the top of this puzzle

notice it isn't there

he decided that it need to take a little treck on the train table track

he is so funny and smart
i love this boy

4 month old girl

2010-10-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

2010-09-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

love this blog
i think i check it out every day to see all the fun stuff she has to say and pics she takes.
check out this cool giveaway here

Football Time

2010-09-11T06:57:00.000-07:00

i love that i captured this picture of her crying

she is such a cutie and so is her new friend jasper

3 month old girl

2010-09-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

2010-08-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

coupon giveaway over at passionate penny pincher
go and check it our if there is a publix in your area

My Girl is Two Months Old

2010-08-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Giveaway

2010-07-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

just found this cool giveaway and wanted to let others know about it. however i hope i am the one chosen because the dresses are beautiful and i could use a new dress. :) check it out here

My One Month Old Girl

2010-07-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

thank you for being such a great dad

we love you

Welcome Baby Girl

2010-06-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

i am so behind in updating the blog

baby girl was born on june 1 at 7:11am and weighed in at 6lbs 2 oz
she was a tiny thing and had some trouble because the cord was wrapped around her neck twice the dr's and nurses handled her with great care and soon we heard her crying and got to see her beautiful face. we are blessed to have her in our family and are have a fun time getting to know this little one

8 years Happy Anniversary

2010-05-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

you and me together, we can do anything, baby

you and me together, yeah, yeah

two of us together, we can do anything, baby

you and me together, yeah, yeah

lyrics by dave matthews band

Baby Room

2010-05-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

before and after pic of the owl on her wall

this little owl is on the quilt and curtins that are in her room

they were mine when i was a baby

i love this lamp

it was my neighbors from growing up and it was originally green (which is my fave color) but it wasn't the right color green for her room so i decided to spray piant it (ballet slipper) and then to paint the raised flowers on it and this is how it turned out. i am pleased with it too.

lamp off

lamp on

600

2010-05-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

i am over 600 posts now and that amazes me

i can't believe that i have posted that much on this blog

pretty.

this post isn't actually my 600th post

but the cool thing is that this one is.

the post about my baby girls room

i have some more pics to post too

not now but i will try to get them up soon

Levi's Guy

2010-05-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

my little levi's man

i love to check out the pioneer woman's site and she frequently has pics that looks something like this only it's her hubby or other cowboys that work on there. this is my son after a day on my father in laws land. riding 4 wheelers, playing in the dirt, attempting to use a hammer(which he is pretty good at) feeding the goats and donkey's, that sort of stuff. just being a boy. i love these pics. they came out just right.

Crawfish Boil

2010-04-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

Aubs holding a live crawfish

jake keeping the crawfish alive

honey and little guy

yummy

my baby holding a crawfish. it's not alive though

Dishing It Blog Party

2010-04-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Amanda over at Serenity Now is hosting a blog party called Dishing it
this is my first party and i am excited to see how it goes and check out some other cool blogs.

here are a couple of questions that she wanted answered for the blog party:

How long have you been blogging?
i started blogging back in 2005.

Why did you start blogging?
a friend of mine had a blog that i would frequently read and thought that it would be something fun to do and a good way to keep up with friends.

Tell me about you blogs title. Why did you choose it?
my blog title is My Spot. i love polka dots and so i think that it would be fun to have it titled my spot (like a dot) and also because then i could change out the back grounds with different polka dots. and it's my very own spot on the web that i can have and do with what i want. :)

What do you blog about?
nothing really specific. anything and everything. but looking at my lable cloud it looks like i blog a lot about my son.

What's your favorite thing about blogging?
connecting with friends and family and giving them some insite into the things that may or may not be going on with us.

have fun at the party and hope to hear from some of you.

Camera Strap Help

2010-04-07T13:14:00.001-07:00

trying to decide on a camera strap and not sure which one. any thoughts or even better other suggestions of other sellers that have cute straps.

this cute dot one comes from Photos And Creativity on etsy

and these two are from rhembein on etsy

Shoes

2010-03-29T08:02:00.001-07:00

super excited.

going to get new shoes at lunch today.

My Bugs and his bear September

2010-03-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

so happy

giving september kisses

more kisses

so sweet

i just love his face