Senter Girl

Memorial Day

2010-06-01T00:02:00.002-05:00

Tonight I tried to explain to my kiddos why we celebrate Memorial Day. They asked me what does Freedom mean? Well, I did my best but somehow freedom has to be experienced to truly understand.

I think of my freedoms as an American and am blown away that I could have said goodbye to my husband AND SON in one of America's first battles. They sent babies out on those fields and they had to be scared out of their little infant minds. Or for the men and women today that leave their babies behind to continue to protect what I enjoyed tonight....movie nite and a slumber party in the large, air conditioned, peaceful place I call home.

I'm blessed beyond words by my Heavenly Father. I could list for hours His outpouring into my life. But instead, I just want to say Thank You, God, Thank you for placing me at this time and place, and I ask for forgiveness for not being as grateful as I should be every day for the freedom to live and to have eternal life bought and paid for me.

My prayer tonight is for those family members who struggle to live with the pain of a missing loved one in their life. God, comfort as only you can do. Bring them a peace that goes beyond their understanding and let them find that freedom of salvation that only Christ can provide.

The Perfectly Cleaned Room

2010-05-01T20:47:00.006-05:00

OK, so today I got the idea to help the kids clean their rooms and have them take pictures of the "perfectly clean room" for a future reference guide. Pictures of each area of their room so that when I say I want your room "picture perfect" they will know what I mean. So, Brayden rocked. He did it just like I asked and took pictures of various parts of his room....

Ashlee, well, let's just say, that girl makes me laugh! She couldn't wait for her turn to take pictures....

How quickly she got off track of the project!!

Why do I do this???

2010-04-25T13:55:00.003-05:00

I get so gun-ho (is that right??) over a new thing and then for the life of me can't keep it up. I have the started scrap books, the hand written journals, the facebook entries, and this blog sight that I can't keep up with. Why do I even bother sometimes and just when I decide to eliminate the blog, I begin reading my past entries and just can't bring myself to do it. One day I can print these out and have them as moments in time.

For now, well, Brayden is home sick while both kids enjoy an entire day of TV time and I find myself at the computer typing when in fact I should be doing any number of things on my list....oh, the list. Let's see, today it reads:

Catch up on daily Bible readings
Catch up on 31 day challenge
Catch up on Wednesday bible study (actually starting it for this week is more like it!)
Finish up on Monday Night's bible study
Laundry (OH, the dreaded, never ending laundry that I thought I had JUST finished!)
Weekly cleaning....really tho, can it be THAT dirty since I last did it last Saturday???
Clean the dungeon....well, THAT isn't happening today. I'm afraid that if I did too much cleaning up and rearranging the walls may cave in from the termites...so, let the piles of papers and everything else just stay....strike that from today's list!
Work on any number of other projects (scrapping, drawer organizing kids clothes for summer, card making, furniture re-finishing, weed pulling....)

OR....GO curl up on the couch with my sick little one and watch Curious George Movie....may not score any check list points, but it might score big on the Mommy points! Over and out!

October 3, 2009

2009-10-03T14:22:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile. The last few months have been a whirl wind of emotions for me and my family. Well, the kids are just kids most of the times, but I notice little things still come up with even then when we discuss Gene's accident.

Today Gene left to finish what he started this January...to complete the Structure Colapse Course. I feel peace with him going, I know that he will be fine physically. However, I am feeling "weird" emotions with him gone. I can't imagine what it must be like for him to have to do this. I know that he is already concerned about being the "fifth wheel" in this and I'm sure nervous to show up to the "accident site". And I'm sure, as with all firemen, he's going to have to brush off quite a few jabs in the process. So with him gone, I miss him with a heavy heart. A heart that only God can heal in both of us.

I love you, Gene and yet again sorry for this. Good news is that it's almost done! We will be moving on with our lives very soon and we will get past this yucky "chapter" in our lives very soon.

Bible Study group!!!

2009-07-14T22:56:00.004-05:00

I can't go to bed tonight before I let those of you who read this, but mostly my Father in heaven, know how blessed I am to have such a wonderful group of girls that I meet each and every Wednesday morning! It has to be one of the highlights of my week. To sit and share with some really special ladies the butt chewing we got while doing our studies together. Nothing like it!

God thank you so much for placing me at just the right time with just the right group of ladies. They are a blessing to me and have been there for me when no one else was. Bless their socks off!!! And thank you for caring for us so much that you use others to give us our weekly "butt chewin''! I only pray that each session isn't just for that moment, but for a lifetime! I want to be completely and totally tranformed into the person you designed me to be!

Brayden!!!

2009-07-11T16:06:00.004-05:00

I could sum up Brayden this summer in 2 words...STAR WARS. Yes, this boy lives, eats, sleeps, dreams, talks star wars 24/7. I just this second told him to put away this darn blue bat that he carries everywhere with him. It's his 'blue lightsaver'. It is constantly in motion in one jedi pose or another, when of courese he's not tormenting his sister or any other bystander.

He has watched the first 4 movies with us this summer and eagerly awaits the last 2. (Yes, to all you out there in shock that he was allowed to see the 3rd movie...I too am a bit well...frustrated that he saw that one too. He won't be watching it again until he is 18 if I have a say. SIGH!) Anyway, I also am seeing them for the first time in my life and they are very interesting...except I too will wait to see the 3rd one again. TOO MUCH...ok, enough about that!

So, other than the movies, AND, I can't go on without mentioning the Legos...and the LEGO STORE...he chills in front of the TV or Wii, his other summer activities.

He is swimming GREAT now and is totally ready for the next level in swimming school. Just this last week he was seeing who could hold his breath the longest, Gene or him. And the new screaming under water, and SUPER throws by dad. WHAT FUN!

New news, well, other than getting an offer to switch teams on baseball this next season, status is pretty norm. I try not to think too much about him having to go back to school in about a month. I LOVE having him home with us. SUMMER ROCKS!! {ask me again by the end of August to see if this changes any, ;0)}

Ashlee!!

2009-07-11T15:52:00.004-05:00

Some of Ashlee's summer highlights start with the excitement she felt the last day of school. You would think this girl was graduating high school. She danced and told everyone how excited she was to be on summer break, AND getting new sand!! She loves that sand box. I have a love/hate relationship myself, but she has not one complaint about it.

Let's see, she swallowed a nickle that in the end cost us out of pocket 130.00. 2 xray visits to CareNow and 1 visit to a pediatrician to make sure she didn't have scoliosis. I'm very thankful, that she is straight as an arrow, but had she been obedient, we could have saved a lot of anxiety for Gene and I!!

She had a fabulous time at the zoo with her family and extended family. She loved seeing all the animals and loved the fact that she walked everywhere just like a big girl.

She has closed a chapter in her short life. Tumblebugs is now over for her and she has upgraded to ASI in Allen. Much bigger/better/cheaper! She tells us that she goes there now because she is a bigger girl. She is now, after all, 3 1/2. Speaking of 1/2, she had her '1/2 day' last week. It was the highlight of her summer. She woke up that morning asking how old she was now, and with my response, she got excited, clapped her hands and told me how she was getting the special red plate and got measured today!! So, that we did. Her dinner request...steak, spinach and brown beans (aka ranch beans). We all enjoyed her AWESOME dinner selection as last year I believe her choice was oatmeal!! She grew 2 inches in 6 months. Amazing!

She also has begun writing. She finally feels she's a big enough girl to write her a's. And she does a great job. A few other of her big girl tasks are making her bed, cleaning her room, brushing her teeth (which gets help still, but she likes to think it's all by herself), helping me with dinner and setting the table, and opening the car door by herself, going to bed with little to no fighting, picking out her own clothes/shoes that match, bringing me laundry and putting her clean laundry away. The little things to us, are HUGE in her mind, and I'm proud of her new found abilities. I'm sure there are a ton more, but those are the few that immediately pop into my mind.

OH, goodness, I almost forgot, her first 'big girl bike'. She loves riding it, albeit, slow. A 90 year old woman behind the wheel of her old Catalac moves faster than she does, but she does love the princess bike nontheless.

My Ashlee girl is turning into quite the little preschooler. I could go on and on and on....but well, you know!! :)

Summer Time

2009-07-11T15:42:00.002-05:00

Well, summer started off with a bang and we went flying! It's half over and so much has taken our time as a family. It's been fun and we've found a lot of cool things to do for little or no money. Somethings the kids have loved, others, well...not so much. BUT, I truly can say that I've been enjoying this time together.

Finally, the baby wants are over. Hormones...sigh! At times I miss my kids being little, but to add a third might be more than I can handle. SO...I've been really trying hard to take each day and look at where my kids are at NOW and ENJOY every second. I've stopped writing about it so much and just living in the moment. It's been nice. I do love my precious ones so much and when I slow down to really watch them where they are at currently I do see all the little changes, but also realize they still are my babies and will always be that to me. :)

So, so far this summer, we have taking people up on their offers to swim every chance we can get. The kids are swimming really well and will be ready for swim lessons that start on Monday. We've also hit every free meal we could find...even it required us dressing up like cows. Yep, I know, crazy, but we were able to eat a meal out that would have cost us almost 20.00 for nothing more than come time and cutting and taping. We've also gone for family walks and early morning park trips. VBS at Hope was fun and we have another VBS coming up in August. Fireworks twice this summer and let's see, um.....let's not forget sandbox and water hose in the back yard!! Movie week, and friends visiting/spending the night and um...Boz the Bear live to name a few of the activities. But I believe the best activity will be loudly shouted from the roof tops...playing legos and wrestling with daddy!! Yep, he's still the man that hung the moon for my kids...and me too!! :)

More entries to come and I have a ton of pics to post!

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-10T21:50:00.002-05:00

AMAZING! I have the most AMAZING kids! They honored me the entire day and I have never felt more loved! TRULY loved by my kiddos. From the first thing this morning with my little man wondering if I saw the special surprises to my little girl ending the night with "I love you, mommy". The hugs and kisses from both kids were unsoliciated and because of that, so special to my heart. They let me relax and only came to me to snuggle. WOW, great kids!!!

Ash was sad at first because "daddy didn't take me to get your blue shirt" and she had to give me shoes that she felt waws brother's gift to me. I never thought I would connect with my 3 year old as a girl, but today I soooo appreciated that the little things mattered to her. SWEET baby girl!! I won't forget your thoughtfulness at 3 years old. You are going to make so many people feel loved with your thoughtfulness as the years go by!!

And my boy, Bray, he was so excited about his secrets that he kept (and proud of himself to say the least). His present from school was so precious, and he read me a mom's day book that they put together from school. I also recieved my first "letter"from him. As he has gotten older, he's stopped holding my hand like he did as a little guy...I get the dead fish hand until the second he can break free...but today....today was my baby loving on his mama and I just drank it in.

And as for the coordinator....Gene did a great job making today labor free and it was nice to have a day to get some R&R and ended my evening with a very nice foot rub. I forget how much I love to have my feet rubbed...awwwww..... And a full tummy...salmon/risotta(bray's dish)/spicy corn(Ash's dish)/Salad and a glass of white wind for lunch...a 2 hour plus nap that I greated needed, then chocolate covered strawberries followed by my favorite sandwhich ever...turkey, bacon, smoked guda, quacomole, ranch hot panini's! YUMMO!

So, if you are reading this....you must be jealous about now because I simply have the best family ever! I love them so much and they are life to my soul! I love you GENE, BRAYDEN, and ASHLEE!!

OUCH!

2009-05-07T21:56:00.002-05:00

So, you have those days...and sometimes many days upon days, that aren't so...well, FUN! Today was one of them. Gene got some news he didn't want. And then well, there's my 40 days of Love. Sometimes you feel like, "hey, I can do this" and then you get to step up to prove it. Proving it is a lot harder I'm learning. I have a long way to go!!

That's all I have the energy for. Hard day!

Learning to Love

2009-05-06T22:04:00.000-05:00

40 days of Love is the new series that we are doing at church. It's a series of messages at church, meetings with our Life group and daily reading from The Relationship Principles of Jesus. I am on day 8 I believe and already I am being blessed by what I'm trying to learn. I've stopped myself in mid thought or questioned my words (before I spoke them) or motives several times this past week. How easily I find myself not wanting to do the right thing according to Christ's principles and following my own set of principles.

But, by the end of the forty days I'm expecting miracles. Not that I will make such great changes in my life, but that I will be willing to have enough faith in Christ to allow him to shine through me.

Each day I am challenged and I'm going to blog occasionally on which points really hit home on this 40 day journey.

Today....to don't give up on the "hopeless causes". It's always so easy for me to quit and say "I'm done". I think I do that often to keep myself from further hurt. But as I read today, I can quit loving all together and not get hurt by others and just in the end hurt myself for not experiencing love OR I can open myself up for hurt knowing that I might gain the life that love offers. SO, tonight I choose LOVE. I also choose to continue to extend LOVE to those who I've written off. I'm so thankful that Christ chose love over pain and never just wrote me off as I prove daily that without HIS love I'm the "hopeless cause"!!

Another Good Day

2009-04-30T19:22:00.001-05:00

So the days seems to go by so fast adn I wish I had more time to sit and blog. I do really love it, but I've also tried really just "being" in the moment lately. BUT, Popeye just isn't doing it for me, so I snuck off to type a few words.

Today I had a great time with Ashlee yet again. I'm so glad to have some one on one time with her while Brayden is at school. We did some "craps" at the table where she made a catapillar and then decorated a bucket to look like a dog. THEN some play dough "sert" was in order. Clean up time was a bit frustrating as this girl isn't big on the cleaning up after herself. Motivated by the fact that no lunch would be offered until it was done, she conceded. We then ventured out to buy nanny's mother's day present and she LOVED it. Mommy, where can we go next she asked. BUT, my favorite part of the entire day was watching her and Brayden "wrassle". She loves him to pieces and he loves to beat up on his sister! ;)

Brayden is getting so big these days, reading books like crazy and currently working on quite the number list. He's writing the numbers out as high as he can go....415 was the last I saw. He did hold my hand walking home from school today only to quickly let go when he spotted some fallen tree limbs on the sidewalk. The treasures for the day. He had 4 large tree limbs that all were bigger than he was and he was determined to bring them all home. I loved it when the neighbor teenage boy noticed and said, "quite the stick collection you got!". He just grinned ear to ear with his find!

My babies are growing up so fast. Just last night I commented to Gene how I'm forgetting the baby days with them...you know the first crawl or the first bite of cereal. Or the first bubble bath in the sink or the first belly laugh. Why can't we freeze time forever. Why can't our minds and hearts remember all those precious moments forever...Why must we all grow older??

March 26, 2009-Ashlee...

2009-03-26T23:16:00.000-05:00

SHEW, I'm tired...but I'm missing blogging and my house is quiet. BUT, I have to write about my little princess. She is now sleeping in her brand new bed. The one she will be in for several years to come. When we took her today to get her new mattress, I told her she was getting her new big girl bed. She was excited until we walked in the place...the mattress store. She said, "no mommy, these are mommy beds-not big girl beds!!" LOVE IT! Well, she was tickled pink when we got it home. We played pretend sleeping for awhile until I got hurt. Apparently if you don't wake up right away, you get hit in the head with a baby bottle. {not a happy mommy moment!}We aren't quite finished with the bedding and decorating her room but it is in process! More pics of finished room to come in the upcoming weeks I hope!

Also, I need to log some of her sayings, things she says that I don't correct her on cuz it's just so darn cute!

YUCKY...our little dog

Chicalay...our favorite fast food place

Yemonade...our favorite drink at our favorite fast food place

look way up high....tilt your chin up

sweet lil baby boy....our dog

cutie cutie....our dog

awwww, how CUTE!....anything little

a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,k,k, elemenopede....ABC song (note 2 d's and k's in her song)

anything in a really high voice....pretty princess talk

cinderwewa....her favorite princess ever

baby whyder...her little cousin that is almost as big as she is

A few things I love about her is her belly laugh. That brings tears of joy to my eyes every time I hear it. Her perfectionist ways in the most unusual places. Her tender heart. Her determination (God remind me of this in years to come.) How she's right so much of the time. Her memory is beyond words! Her love for her new friend....yucky boy! Her excitement to give you a "special prize", even if it is just a pretend something. Her singing in the car. Her prayers to her Jesus!

I had a great time shopping with her today. The best thing all day was when she told me at the store..." we both are going to be mommy's today in this store" I thought she meant by walking and not riding in the buggy. Then I later commented for her not to touch and her response. "Yes mommy, I can touch cuz I'm a mommy in this store too like you and that means I can touch everyfing!!" LOVE IT! Only Ashlee!! {and no, I didn't let her get away with it, she did get her lecture on how she is only mommy at pretend times and that she couldn't touch}

I love you, my precious little girl! You will always be my baby!!

Sad day...Brayden got in trouble at school.

2009-02-24T20:02:00.001-06:00

I am sad. Brayden got in trouble at school yesterday and I didn't know anything about it until tonight. (email problems) He got busted for peeing on the side of the building at recess instead of using the toilet INSIDE the building like he is suppose to do. Thankfully his teacher just emailed me a heads up and asked us to talk with him...and we did. Disrespect to school property, disobeying rules (however, I don't think I ever thought to go over...no peeing outside or on the building because you don't want to take time to go inside.), and apologizing to the teachers for doing what he did. SIGH. My point from the past I think was made...you can let him be a boy and it's fun peeing in the bushes in the country, but at some point he must realize that when a toilet is available...HE MUST USE IT!

He should have gone to the principal's office and I'm thankful his teacher is such a gem to over look this. I would hate him not even out of Kindergarten having a "record".

February 15th-Valentines Day

2009-02-15T13:57:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm home with just Gene and trying to regroup before the kids get home....and the dog. The last few weeks have been a blur to say the least. I'm thankful today that I'm only now suffering from allergies, but the sore throat and chest pain is gone!! I had a great time with Gene this weekend. It was nice to step out of "reality" for a short time and just be. Sleep...wow, I never thought I would treasure it so much and I thankfully have gotten a good amount this weekend.

It was a fun time for Gene to see all his friends at the Fire Department banquet. I was happy to see him happy again. My husband needs people around him and these last few weeks have been miserable for him. Everyone at the FD have bent over backwards for us and for that I'm forever indebted to their kindness. We came home a day early to save the money of the hotel room, and I have to say, it was nice to be able to sleep and lay around in my own home. I actually just today started to let the mess get to me....so that was 24 hours almost of just laying around and watching TV with Gene. I also have to mention that I took him/he me...whichever, to Cheesecake Factory yesterday on the way home for our Valentines/Bday meal. It was so yummy, but I ate entirely WAY TOOO much. Then we topped off our lazy day with Whataburger at Gene's request. I had to be rolled to bed that night.

Tonight...Family Valentines Day Fun....a day late...actually...that was my plan from beginning. Gene was suppose to be out of town. Steak Salad and onions for dinner followed by treasure hunt around the house to find goodies and ending with Chocolate Fondue Fun! Can't wait!

And last thought for the day...Gene's leg. He has been VERY good at obeying doctor's and wife's orders since his second surgery. So much so that I hope and pray that his recovery is much faster. BUT, we have a concern. We noticed Thursday some more bruising around the incision and some hardness. I pray to God this is normal and not another hemongioma. We will know for sure tomorrow after the appointment.

February 4, 2009

2009-02-04T17:09:00.000-06:00

So this morning I started my day off at 4am with 2 loads of laundry a shower and finishing up the things that needed to be ready to go by 5:30. Gene and I headed to the hospital (by the way I stopped at starbucks and got my triple venti mocha) and was ready for surgery by 8. Pastor John and Craig stopped by to visit Gene before surgery and we both were very blessed to have them there.

Surgery was a little longer than anticipated and it was because the muscles had torn from the stitches and the 2 fisted sized hole was filled with a very large blood clot. The doctor stitched him back up and came out and saw me. He said that this was a very serious situation. HE HAD TO BE A PATIENT or else. The chances are high that if he tears this again, a blood clot could start again and go into his vein to his heart and to his lungs and that he couldn't fix.

So, my dilema, making my husband obey doctor's orders and I have to be the officer to make it happen! HA! Like he listened to me the first time around!!

Complete immobilization for 4 to 6 weeks. Only trips to the bathroom to do his business (by the way no shower until after Monday!) and he can sit in a recliner or lay in bed. PERIOD. Meaning, NO WEIGHT on his leg.

Oh, and me...I went on an eating binge and now feel terribly blech! Not that that was going to help but I had the "heck with it attitude" when this pink eye and cold set in this afternoon. I will repent before I go to bed tonight....SIGH!

Lord, help me be a good listener so that I can learn quickly what you are trying to teach me in all this.

February 2, 2009 (actually 3rd early am)

2009-02-03T01:39:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm really bummed about the new surgery on Wednesday. I don't think it would be so bad had I not been front row on how bad Gene comes out of surgeries. I hate that he has to go thru all this again just when he finally is able to start feeling better and on the road of recovery. Got the wound looking great and no infection, only for it to be cut open again.

I also was hoping to finallly get our home back to normal again, as well as being a better, less stressed wife and mother. I hate how short my patience is with my kids and husband at times. But my mouth just seems to vomit out terrible attitude before I can stop it. My kids have been incredible thru this and I don't seem to give them "kid credit".

Brayden has been mopy these last few days. I know it's because daddy is hurt and of course the upcoming jump rope contest...he can't do it YET, but I'm making him practice each night. I'm sure he hates me for it, but I hope that he will gain confidence in being able to jump rope one day real soon. Ashlee seems to be rolling with the punches and wants me to take a picture of daddy in the hospital so that she can see him there. She does miss play time in her room and I struggle finding the time and energy to join her. (not to mention that every time I go in there I am frustrated with the disaster in there. one day we will get her a matress and get her room figured out.)

OK, I might be tired enough now to go back to bed before I have to start another day. Amazing how tired I am these days. I have to stop cheating on my diet and get back to taking all my suppliments.

-20 up to -18

2009-02-01T13:46:00.000-06:00

Sigh, I've tried hard not to go for all the yummy foods that surround me the last week. I was so pumped when I got home from the hospital at -20! How incredible that little secret felt for those few days of our home chaos, but then I started eating again once I got home...sigh, eating why must we do this....and I put back the 2 I had lost. I don't know if was the ice cream I ate even tho I knew better or the other bites here or there I snuck. And so to top it off, what do I go and do...Starbucks Grande 2 pump Mocha, no whip, no foam on the way home from getting Chicken Express. Why does my mind think that food will make me feel better????

Well, I'll finish my coffee and back at it right afterwards. No more sneaks today for me!

Update: I did get those extra 2 pounds back off. Then I ate pizza last night...sigh!

Making card for daddy.

2009-02-01T12:06:00.000-06:00

This pretty girl asks daddy every day if he's better and is going to walk now. I know it kills him, but one day she will learn that even tho daddy had a long time "not walking", it was so much better than not having a daddy.

February 1, 2009 1 Week after Surgery

2009-02-01T11:53:00.000-06:00

Day after surgery.

Wednesday after surgery.

Friday after surgery.

Sunday 1 week after surgery.

January 31, 2009

2009-02-01T11:43:00.000-06:00

Last night was a terrible night. I believe it was Gene's emotionally worst ever. We had been told several days AFTER we had been home how we should have been keeping house "sterile". How in the world were we suppose to do that. It was near impossible, and why in the world [I must add right here that phase is not what I'm currently thinking!] didn't anyone mention that earlier into this!!!!!!

Anyways, we tried to get going the best we could and it hurt me so bad to see Gene so upset. I quickly emailed some and text others for prayer. He so desperately need it! Thankfully several people came by to talk, pray and spend time with him. It helped tremendously!!

He finished the night out as a new man. He played with the kids as best as he could from the recliner, made some adult remarks about me while I showed the kids how to jump rope and finished his night off with watching some Popeye and doing a bit of computer work.

Even tho I have been so busy with little time to sit (I try to catch up on Facebook and blog as my outlet these days) I would do this a million and one times over again as opposed to my alternative I could have had.

I might also add that many peoples true colors have been shown the last few days. Amazes me!!

January 28, 2009

2009-01-28T19:41:00.001-06:00

I'm numb. I feel helpless with how to help Gene. He's so sick with nausia and vomitting. His body jerks even when he sleeps. I had to remove his bandage today and if it wasn't for a fellow fire fighter that showed up at just the right time, I don't know how it would have gotten done. It killed me to rip off the bandages, knowing the pain that it was inflicting on him.

I want to make it all stop, the pain, the vomitting, but I can't. I want to be mad with God and tell Him to make it all stop, but I can't. I can't stop wondering if I did pray or not for Gene that morning and if that would of made a difference.

But I do know one thing ... My Redeemer lives and He is my strength and my comfort even when I don't feel strong or comforted. He is my help in my helplessness. My peace in the storm.

Tonight, Jesus, let Gene feel that, your presence with him during this incredibly difficult time. Continue to heal and protect and provide fresh life to my husband. And Father, protect my children as well. Bring comfort and peace to their precious, innocent little hearts. I love you, Father! In Jesus precious name, Amen.

January 27, 2009

2009-01-27T20:25:00.000-06:00

Tonight I'm more than exhausted, but can't find rest. I don't want people around, yet I don't want to be alone. Love my kids beyonds words, yet need a break. Should be sleeping, but find myself here.

3 days ago I could have been a widow, but I sit here and thank Jesus even now for His mercies and grace that allows me to married.

This entire experience has drained me and yet Christ continues to keep me strong. My house is quiet, yet I hear all the words of love and encouragement that I continue to receive.

Sunday, 12:30 pm I recieved a call from an officer with the A&M training director that Gene had been seriously injured. He had been doing a drill and it went bad. He buried a 10in blade skil saw in his inner thigh. He isn't critical, but that I should be advised that it was serious. I received a second call from one of Gene's men. Again, confirmation of previous news. I struggled with should I stay, and if I go, what do I do with the kids? How do I get there? Where is there? Do I pack anything? If so, how much...what? I don't ever remember so many thoughts at one time fly thru my mind. Decisions that I had to be completely responsible for, people I was responsible for... After a good while of running around gathering some of this, fixing that, calling, texting, facebook, I finally felt pulled together enough to head on the road. Mom coming with me was this biggest help. Even tho I wouldn't let her do anything, the company was needed. Thanks Mom!

I arrived just before the surgeon came out to give the update. I was greeted by a man who was shaken to the core...a close friend to Gene. He attempted to give me the details and did so well for what he had witnesses less than 4 feet from him that day. A skil saw flinging his Captain from where he was finishing the last cut for the day to 6 feet across the ground. EXTREMELY dirty saw blade in his leg, filthy gloves shoved in his opened leg, Gene's hand holding his own femur bone begging the guys to use a tourniquet. Hearing about the intense pain he was in not only in his thigh, but in calf and foot.

The surgeon arrived and began to tell us the details of the clean up. I tried hard to listen to all he had to say, but it's all a fog. He was fine and that is what was important. The nurse OK'd me to go see him in ICU. The entire way in she told me over and over again how he was ONE LUCKY MAN!! As I walked in and saw him there, all I heard was not mearly words but was reality. Gene was bandaged from thigh to foot and in excrutiating pain. I barely held it together. The room spun, and my stomach churned. I was either going to pass out or vomit or both! Gene was out of his mind talking about how he failed miserably, no longer a firefighter, money problems....But all I saw was the man that I love more than anything thing else in this world...ALIVE!

I felt like a robot the rest of my time there. Trying to be the best hostess I could be in the hospital greeting all who blessed us with visits. Amazed that so many people cared for my husband and his family. People who drove for 3+ hours to just check on him. Phone calls pouring in, arrangements made left and right for our comforts, favors being pulled, rank being used to help us. We are blessed!!

Now to the details....
10 inch laceration to the femoral bone in the inner thigh, thru the subcutaneous tissue, fascia, and muscle. The two muscles that were pulled and torn from his leg was the gracilis and sartorius muscles. (being the skil saw had teeth, this was FAR from being a clean cut...enough said).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sartorius_muscle
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2083/1965869316_2a1327f420.jpg
This last picture shows you how incredibly blessed he is to be alive. Note the veins and arteries and nerves that were unharmed!! (And of course the family jewels are all accounted for!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gray549.png

So, as I wrap up this long post, I will sleep next to my husband tonight as I whisper prayers of thanksgiving to my Father in heaven who so graciously gave us today together!

My new "diet"

2009-01-22T13:34:00.000-06:00

I hate calling it a "diet" but it's the best term that people understand. I don't want to even say life style change because I hope to enjoy coffee again someday (and not the way I take it right now...but I won't talk anymore about that!). But the last 21 days have been difficult at times, but not ever impossible. I am starting to notice some "lessened" pains in my toes, foot and shoulders. Today I am minus 15 pounds and man...a lot more to go! Will people notice, no-I can't say that I even notice, but the number does make me happy to continue on my journey. Here's some of my do's and dont's:

yes to most meats
yes to most veggies
yes to some beans
yes to some nuts
yes to 64 oz of water a day
yes to herb teas
yes to stevia
yes to whole wheats free of yeast and sugars
yes to fish
yes to 20 pills a day of herbal remedies, RX and detox pills
yes to drinking iodine solution and acidity reducer solution
yes to limited brown/wild rices made from scratch

no to sugar, sugar substitues
no to white unless it is cauliflower
no to vinegar
no to any processed, packaged, canned, jared foods
no to coffee
no to dairy
no to fruits
no to some nuts and veggies
no to some meats

(I would like to add that my "yes" column was longer than my "no" column! That was not the case when I started!!)

I am excited to have found I can have Chipotle. I've done tons of research on what they put in their foods and excited to know that what I eat there is vinegar free, msg free, bad stuff free!

I hope that by Feb 14th I will have lost another 10 pounds and be able to celebrate with a grande mocha for my valentines day celebration. In doing this I know that I will add another week to my strict "diet", but I think it might actually be worth it!

More posts to come!

Date Days!

2009-01-22T13:11:00.000-06:00

So, in preparation of Gene being gone for a week and a half, we thought it would be good for each of us to have individual quality time with him. I got to go to dinner, wandering around in a furniture store and life group first. It was a good time for us to just be.

The next day, Brayden got his daddy day. He chose to go bowling and was really excited that daddy got him ice cream there too. Afterwards they got to go exchange for a new Wii game. SO boy stuff!

Meanwhile I took Ashlee with me to do some grocery shopping in her tiny grocery cart. She was so determined to do it herself and so proud of all the fun things that we got to bring home for daddy's trip and our family dinner.

Then, the next day we switched kids and Brayden took me on a date to the movies and to Chic Fa La. He was so super sweet. Held my hand in the car and everything. He was nervous that he was going to have to use the money that daddy gave him to buy my tickets. We went to eat first and he asked "are you buying this?" and I told him yes, and relief all over his face..."I don't think daddy gave me enough to do both!". I ordered his food and since I can't eat there, I watched him eat. Normally he is all about eating and getting back to the play place, but that day he asked me "mommy, where's your food?" I explained I couldn't eat here and he told me that I could have as much of his food that I wanted. At that moment, I decided he needed an ice cream to wash it down with. And that he did! The movie was incredibly packed but we had a great time.

Ashlee took daddy shopping. She wanted to go to the mall. Gene let her take her baby stroller and she pushed her baby AND talked on the phone for an hour and a half! She got to look in any stores she wanted and came home with a pretty braclet. She also got to ride the horsies 2 times! Afterwards it was a lunch at Chicken Express (her and daddy's spot!) and so was so pooped from her shopping experience she didn't even want to eat. She asked to go home and take a nap! And that is just what she did.

We all had so much fun that I think this is definately going to be an ongoing thing.

Mr. President Obama

2009-01-22T11:13:00.000-06:00

Well, He is now officially the 44th President of our country. The inaugaration ceremonies were long, but being that Brayden was home sick from school, we got a chance to watch them together. Brayden tried hard to act interested and try to understand the big event going on. He would get frustrated with me when I would say that he is our first black president and say "he's not black mom, see his skin is brown". Then the question came up of why I didn't want to vote for him and we discussed that briefly, but I told him, that now God instructs us to respect this man as our leader and we are to pray for him every day because he SOOO needs are prayers. And how does one teach their children to respect a man's position even though he is against some of our most core fundamental values?? Especially when I struggle myself!

The day before we had a date day to Chick Fa La and the movies. I taked with him about Martin Luther King Jr. and why this man was important for our country and how the next day this man's "dream" would come true by us having the first black president.

He so struggled with the thought of people being mean to others because how they look and kept asking "why". AND that really it wasn't so long ago that it all happened.

So after 2 straight days of history lesssons with mom, he goes back to school on Wednesday and again learns more. He was so excited when we picked him up because he talked about the same man in school and brought home a book about him.

I love those mommy moments!!

Well...catch up is always good...

2009-01-18T09:10:00.001-06:00

Goodness, where has January gone. It's already half over. I keep hoping that the work load will slow down enough for me to get a book to read or a chance to truly put my thoughts down. No such luck. How does it always end up busy? I try hard to chill and then a million and one things go thru my mind...taxes, organizing this closet or that drawer, thank you notes that are well over due, playing with the kids.... Then I find myself so overwhelmed that here I sit, writing it out hoping that something will get me motivated to "finish" so that I can sit and read.

So, as of today, I'm going to start limiting my time in my office unless I'm doing actual WORK and less time on Facebook. Man, that sight is so addicting, but to be honest, it's nice to see what friends and family are up to these days. BUT, I can do that still without having to check it constantly.

So, today I plan on playing with my kids, running my errands quickly and getting thank you notes done. Anything beyond that is extra and bedtime will be 10pm (unless I find myself reading!)

Christmas 2008 Part 2

2008-12-27T15:28:00.001-06:00

Meet the new member of our family....Lucky, or as Ashlee likes to call him "yuckEEE!"

Santa delievered him late Christmas eve and he was a perfect surprise the next morning. The kiddos were a bit in shock as to first, is that a dog? second, is he ours? third, do we get to keep him? It took a few hours to warm up to him for both kids. Brayden is still trying to get over being scared of animals from previous occasions with not so friendly ones and so the fact that this little pup wanted to lick every square inch of his face was a bit too much at first for him. Ashlee also didn't like him jumping on her at first.

BUT, after a short rest time for everyone, it was mandatory play time with Lucky for both kids. They quickly learned that if you run and call his name, he will chase you. Then Brayden became comfy enough to crawl on all fours. This turned into a good 30 minute chase session until the pup crashed. From that point on, both kids will ask where he is if he's not in the room and both are happy to have a new puppy. I'm a bit on edge when he isn't asleep or with Gene making sure he doesn't pee. I hate this part of a new dog, but I know that if I'm diligent, he will get it eventually. Today the bell gets hung by the door, and who knows maybe we can break the "Potty trained in 14-16 weeks" and have it done by 10 weeks like Gabe was. (I've accidently called this little guy Gabe a time or two.) I'm hoping Lucky will be a great addition to our family. A friend and companion for my kids as well as teaching tool for them, kindness, responsibilty...you know, life lessons.

Christmas 2008 Part 1

2008-12-27T13:00:00.000-06:00

There is so much to write about and I've had very little time to do any of it, so I plan on a few blurps every few hours and maybe I can get across our family Christmas.

This year has been a different type of year for me personally. I can feel God beginning to do some churning in my spirit on what is potentially in our near future for our family, and why it hit me in the middle of this busy season is beyond me. (actually, when the fire is applied, the junk rises to the top, right!) Anyways, I started this season off as a bit of bah humbug, struggling to fight the comercialism and yet also wanting to give to world to so many people. I also felt like I was the constant janitor prepping the house for this or that and afterwards, the explosions that were left in it's wake....But after the last of the gatherings are over, I feel like we had a marvelous time.

Gene was home almost the entire time and it's going to be hard to let him go back to work tomorrow. He has been incredible this year, doing his best to do what most husbands wouldn't dream of doing! He truly is one of the most special gifts from God this year to me!

Brayden has proven that in the mist of all the fun and excitement, he still has a little child's heart and is still my little boy. He may struggle to be one of the big boys, but he still loves to be licked in the face by a 1.6 pound pup and still lets me hold him close (when no one is looking of coures ;0). My second gift from God to me this year!

Ashlee (shew-this girl has been giving me a run...3 is almost here!!), she is all girl, girl. Sassy and all, but she is also exploring new emotions this year. The excitement of Christmas was perfect for her and her dream world that she has begun to enter. Her desire to wrap up a pretend baby Jesus in a dish rag and carry him every where with her is my most favorite memory from my third precious gift from God this year!

And my other family that I won't mention all by name as I'm starting to hear screams from the living room as brother is hunting down sister and her "friends" to shoot!!! Family....close members to me and those not so close, those who try their hardest to show me that they appreciate me with words and not with words, another gift from God!

And my friends, they know who they are, those that are here for me, even when I'm not being so friendly and are truly caring to me and my family's needs, they are my other gift this year!

So, there might not have been tons of wrapped presents under my tree (I had plenty of those), but the gifts that I do have will last, I pray, a lifetime for me!

Thank you Jesus, for coming to the earth and leaving your throne so that I might be able to one day soon see you face to face and call you my Lord and Savior...and say THANK YOU for all my wonderful gifts this year!

OH, here are the apples....

2008-12-18T14:17:00.000-06:00

46 ordered, 12 made prior to christmas, 10 for me to give out. 68 apples total, plus the ones I help make with a friend.

I have them also in the bottom drawer of my frig. The only food space was the deli drawer, the fruit drawer and the door shelves!

Tis the Season

2008-12-18T06:44:00.000-06:00

Season for what? Crazy schedules, non-stop hustle and bustle, stressing over decorations, getting the right pictures taken, setting up for "the" party....

At the beginning of this holiday season, I struggled with all this. Internally I knew the full reason for the season, but it was hard not to get caught up in all the things that had to get accomplished. And of course the DREADED APPLES!! Now, don't get me wrong, I love making the apples when I get to give them as gifts, and I love to help others in giving gifts, but it truly was a job this year that paid little. BUT, after 2 intense days, they were finished and yesterday I only have apples left in my frig to give away personally. YAY!

The work for the party coming up is still ahead of me, but I finally have the stress of it all gone. Yesterday was a turning point for me to step back and "chill". Maybe it was the fact that Gene is on vacation or the fact that the kid's rooms have had their yearly pre-Christmas purge or the fact that we sat down as a family and had a REAL meal together or maybe even watching Ashlee pretend she was Mary "pregnant with baby Jesus". Or maybe it was none of those things, I don't know. (Funny, I didn't mention shopping once in all that ;0) I do know that I woke up this morning eager to get today moving forward...I'm ready finally on December 18th, to celebrate the birth of my Savior!

Thank you, Jesus, for your peace today!

The wheels on the bus go round and round....

2008-12-05T23:33:00.001-06:00

FIELD TRIP and BUS RIDE!!

Brayden and I went on his very first field trip yesterday and I think his highlight was riding the big yellow bus!! We headed to the Dennison Elves Tree Farm. I wasn't suppose to ride the bus do to space, but there ended up being plenty of room and I took the option of riding with him. At first he didn't want me to sit near him and I opted for the back of the bus, but then his teacher told me to come up and sit by him because "that is the fun of it all!" I was worried that it bothered him, but I think after seeing his face he was excited to have me with him. This new level of independence from him keeps me on my toes...allowing him a little bit more room and extending that boundry line is hard on mom's heart strings!

So, after about 15 minutes of listening to kids point out the "target that I go to" and the "McDonalds I like" we began the all important "I spy" game. Funny how they look right at the object that they are spying. hehehe!

The tree farm was fun and the poor gentleman was trying to give 60 kindergarteners a biology lesson on the life cycle of a tree when all they wanted to do was RUN thru them! The hay ride was also fun, although I caught my son several times trying to hold girls' hands under the blankets.....[needle across the record kind of screach!] WHERE IN THE WORLD DID THAT COME FROM???? Without being psycho chaperone mom that I felt like inside, I quietly told him SEVERAL times to put his cold hands in his pockets and LEAVE THEM THERE! That was definately one surprise element on the trip.
You will notice the little boy in the red jacket, that is Jacob, Brayden's partner. Note: Brayden was to stay will his partner at all times. Jacob was always telling me "Brayden keeps running away and not staying with me!" Note 2: Each kid would race to the next tree to see who could find the price tag first and read how much it cost.

So, back to the trip. Weird kind of tree puppet show followed the hay ride and tree farm tour, then off to the life sized rat maze, petting "zoo", playground and picnic lunch! He loved running thru the maze and trying to find his friends and feeding the goats dead leaves. Lunch was a nice surprise as I packed some Cheetos (his fav) and some cookies for us to share. He quickly turned to his partner next to him and asked if he had a dessert because he had enough to share with him if he didn't!

The ride back to school was roudy because we sat in the back. I had a venti coffee and a large water on my bladder and we did a TON of bouncing. Brayden enjoyed the moment and added a few extra big bounces of his own.

All in all, a perfect first field trip minus a few unexpected hiccups. I'm so glad I got the chance to go!

Making Memories

2008-12-05T23:03:00.000-06:00

So, while I should be cleaning my office, I find myself wanting to jot down some thoughts. I just finished cleaning the kitchen for the 3rd time today. The kids and I decided today at the store to make our own "movie munch". So, I grabbed some of this, some of that and had them say yes or no to items. We were getting ready to go spend some time with daddy at the firestation and watch a Christmas movie. We all miss him so much after being gone for 3 days.

Anyways, so there we are in the kitchen making movie munch. Popcorn popping, pecans toasting, chocolate melting, chex mix/pretzels/marmellows being mixed by 3 year old fingers and then there was the nibbling, chocolate flying (yes I said flying), powder sugar making smoke in the kitchen....good times.

I wonder, what will they remember most from today if anything? What will I remember most? At times, I think I would remember the mess that I had to clean and the fact that when we watched the movie, they really didn't eat hardly any of it....What I hope they remember is shopping with mom for fun foods, standing at the island getting to make and eat junk food and heading out at "dark time" to go see daddy and sit in his office while he was working.

Do they remember the times more when you've planned all day for the perfect moment and it doesn't quite go the way you had planned or the times like today where we just went where the moment took us?

Memories... my mom always tried her best to help us make some and unfortunately they have backfired on her a time or two. Will these moments also backfire on me? How do you prevent that from happening? I may never know and only hope and pray that maybe the more memories I try to make, there will be fewer memories that do backfire on me one day.

Some of my good memories are...

Waiting up after my brothers and sisters went to bed to say good night to my mom after she came home after a long day at work.
Opening 1 present on Christmas eve after we were all snug in our jammies.
Letting us get up at 4 am to open Christmas presents, even tho I know now that they most of the time didn't get to bed themselves until 3!
The dreaded peanut butter balls...I'm still not sure if that is a pleasant memory! ha!
Having dad at my games.
Pink mashed potatoes at Valentines day.
Buying make up at every grocery trip and yes even BLUE mascara!
Sneaking away for a Braums twist even when neither of us really "needed" it.
Having crazy slumber parties with food fights and all...not so much for the smell of pancakes cooking at 7am, however.

And so, there are a few things that I can still remember from the day. I hope that both my kids will be able to rattle off times too when they are my age.

Funny moments

2008-11-25T13:34:00.000-06:00

Well, here a funny moment that I had today. Brayden and Ashlee were coloring. Brayden brought me up the Disney book and asked what he was suppose to do on the page (activity pages). I read it to him...

"Draw your favorite Disney character"

His response...
"Mom, how do you spell Obama?!"

That is priceless!

Racing Cheetah

2008-11-22T21:02:00.000-06:00

This week in school, Brayden learned about the Indians. As a group project the parents were in charge of coming up with an indian name for our children. The first word was a word that described our son, the second being an animal. Gene felt RACING CHEETAH would fit him best. Those of you who know Brayden, it's all about being fast...no, not fast....THE fastEST! And as soon as he learned that the Cheetah was the fastest animal in the world, he has loved them every since.

Well, last week, I emailed his teacher to see how he was doing. Make sure he was still on track and doing well in school. Here is her observations...

"The only thing I have noticed lately is that he is hurrying through his work and with reading. He wants to be the first one in the classroom and the first one finished with his work. He is also in a hurry when we move from table to carpet or lining up."

So, you decide, did we pick the right Indian name for our guy or what!!??

We are now working on when it's a good time to race and be first and when it's most important to focus on the task at hand and it's OK to not be first if that means he's doing his best.

TURKEY DAY!!

2008-11-22T20:56:00.000-06:00

So, today, Brayden and I had alone time. It was great to have a chat with him. Lately, it's been at best a struggle. Gene and I are in prayer yet again on how to handle the new phases of a 6 year old.

Anyway, in our chat time, we discussed what Thanksgiving meant. The pilgrims, indians and being thankful. In the end I told Brayden about all the things I was thankful for and asked him what he was thankful for, his response was {drum roll}

"TURKEY!!"

Really? Turkey, that's it!?

"Well, I'm thankful for Turkey, but I don't like to eat it."

So there you have it folks, the moral of the story is you can be thankful for certain things without having to like them! Straight from a less complicated life of a 6 year old!

Mommy/Ashlee Day!!

2008-11-22T20:10:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, Ashlee and I had a fabulous time together. We thought it would be a great idea to give daddy a few hours off to do whatever he wanted to do after his doctor visit. We started our day off at Preschool Storytime up at brother's school. A nice lady read us "A Turkey for Thanksgiving" by Eve Bunting. It was a bit hard for her to stay still and listen to the entire story, but we made it through. THEN, our very 1st bear hunt! That was a ton of fun and LOVED the hand motions...speaking of hands, we later made lots of hand turkey cards "with paint" for people who don't have family for the holidays to say "Happy Thanksgiving".

We also got a chance to see brother at his school and he even shared some of his cafeteria food lunch. He didn't have to and I would tell Ashlee that we were going to go eat in a bit and he would say "that's OK, mom" as he would hand her the next bite.

After our farewells to brother, we headed off to our very first cooking class. We made "turkey tracks" together, dipped "pilgrim hats" {Ashlee's favorite}, and made "turkey sandwiches". The best part for her was eating her pilgrim hat. She even mentioned when we took off her apron, "look mommy, my pretty dress is still all clean!" {my favorite part}.

We then met up with Ms. Tina and headed for a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby, after of course, lunch at "Chik-ah-way"! It was a ton of fun for both of us and she was INCREDIBLE the entire day.

I'm so blessed to have a girl. I had a blast just the two of us. Nothing can replace a little girl who not only likes to cook with me, but shop with me as well!

"I love you, princess!" -Mommy

Perspective....

2008-11-17T20:33:00.000-06:00

Sometimes we need a bit of a different perspective. { a way of looking at or thinking about something} Tonight I got mine. I have a GREAT life. I have a Savior that DIED FOR ME! Even when He knew I would fail Him over and over and over, each and every day. I have husband who loves me through the worst times as well as the good times. I have 2 children that I am blessed with, a beautiful home, friends who care about me, family that surround me, a country that allows me to worship in and freely speak my mind....BUT, even with all this, I still find things to complain about each day, things that bother me, or make me sad.

And, not until I read some of the blog below, do I realize that some would take all the "garbage" in my day over and over again, just to have 1 more day! Below is a blog from a lady that worked at Ashlee's school "McFBC". I've been praying for her quick recovery from her surgery that was to remove not only her leg but her hip as well. Mother of 2 young boys, trying to learn how to live with one less limb. If you have a minute, take a look at her blog. Her husband has finished it for her. Also, say a prayer for this family and the church. They all just lost one incredible woman!!

http://jtrcheckel.blogspot.com/

Time Alone....

2008-11-15T14:57:00.001-06:00

Well, I'm at my retreat and should be scrapping. But, well, er....I'm working, just not much on scrapping. I've taken Gene's laptop with me and it's been a nice addition to my weekend....to have my own would be so bad I think. I have gotten the calendars almost completed for my inlaws and parents and have done a few pages, but the part that I'm most excited about is that I spent over 10 hours organizing my terabyte drive's pictures. I sorted them in month/year/activity order and it's.....ahhhhh!!!

Really though, I decided I'm not going to beat myself up so much about it. I think the main thing is that I have a weekend away just to myself to do what I want. I know some people show up to sleep....hunny, you might want to look into that, it's right up your alley!

But, to leave here refreshed and relaxed is my first priority....to have scrapping done to is just a plus! Off to make magnets then shower!

EECIE!!!!!!

2008-11-11T22:23:00.000-06:00

Aunt EECIE was in town this weekend and the kids live for her being here. They count the days for her arrival and the night she came in, they wanted to set up her special bed and make pictures for her. (Brayden's idea). He wanted it to be just perfect. I would put something on the bed (pull out from sofa), and he would adjust what I did....hmm...he reminds me of someone, I just don't know who ;0).

Anyway, they always love to show off and be silly and I got a few things on camera this time. Ashlee was into her new "singing alto voice" with her new rendition of "Deep and Wide" that night and Brayden was into showing off his new helicopter flying skills and bridge making.

Thanks for visiting EECIE! You are always welcome!! We love you!

Here comes the RING BEARER!!!! {and princess}

2008-11-11T22:04:00.000-06:00

OH, wait, the wedding wasn't about my kids was it! :)

No, Ryan and Lisa had a fun wedding, and we are happy for them!! Loved the pink converse and the throwing of beach balls! GREAT idea! Lisa's mom did a great job pulling everything together from the church to the food and cake at the reception.

As for my kiddos, my son was AWESOME! A perfect gentleman, leading little Jayden down the aisle. And Jayden was a doll! He did his job well "holding Jayden's hand" and was so proud of himself.

And as for Ashlee, she could hardly wait to get her princess dress on and hated the fact that we didn't put it on her until we got to the church. She loved her "pretty socks" and "sparkly shoes" and most importantly her "tiny princess dolly dress". She also did well, daddy came well equipped with Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse in his pocket ;0). OH! I can't forget, Aunt Neecie said in the car on the way over to the church how pretty her bow was and Ashlee said "yeah, it's really BIG!" Sorry, baby, but it didn't look so big on the cardstock as it did on your head.

And the winner is....

2008-11-11T22:00:00.001-06:00

OK, so it's late, but you know what, I'm busy for pete's sakes! :) OK, so the Black and Cream was my personal favorite and Ashlee's too (for much different reasons as you can see in the pics!). Daddy's favorite was the chocolate brown and pink with the pink fluffy sleeves. It's a keeper, and you know what, my second favorite was the black and red. I loved the black tooling underneath the red skirt! That is also a keeper for Christmas. I was going to return all but 2, but to see her excitement in getting dressed, I think she will be wearing all 3 throughout the holiday season. I got such great deals on them, I don't really feel bad.

Thanks to everyone who casted your votes! It helped me solidify my likes ;0).

OH, It's too hard to pick...cast your vote

2008-11-07T16:53:00.000-06:00

So, long story that I'm too tired to go into, but basically, I need a vote of 2 dresses to keep....
Also, the black one has a "dress for her baby" attached to the front.

American History Made November 4, 2008

2008-11-05T00:23:00.000-06:00

Well, tonight I end my day on a slightly sad note. The reality that we have a new president elected and that it's not the one that I had voted for. The most difficult part comes in the morning when I have to explain to my babies that the man we wanted for president didn't win.

This morning, the kids and I woke up early and went and voted. We stood in line and read books until it was our turn to vote. I say "our" because they were involved every step of the way and they both knew "what" we were there for, even if it was in their own 6 and 2 year old way of comprending this event.

Brayden knew that Mr. McCain was the man that we felt would do the best job as President of our county...America. Ashlee thought she was going to go MEET Mr. McCain in person and that was us "voting" for him.

When we finally got the electronic card, Brayden carried it for me to the booth and Ashlee sat just like an angel in her stroller. I lifted Brayden up and showed him Mr. McCain's name and showed him how to push the button...then the final VOTE button. He then took our card and handed it to the election volunteer. We each got our "I Voted" sticker and I told him how I was going to wear mine all day to show all the people I saw that I voted and that my vote does count. I put it over my heart and told him that I liked it there because it's where I put my hand to say the Pledge of Allegiance to America. I later saw him remove it from his belly and put it over his heart and was mouthing the Pledge. Got to love my cute boy.

SO, in celebration of our special day, {and do to the fact that we had 1 hour until school started and nothing else to do} we had donuts!!!

Throughout the day, Ashlee "pondered" our voting experience. She told me "Mr. McCain is happy because we voted for him. Mommy, what is the other man's name {Mr. Obama}, yes, Mr. Obama is sad because we didn't vote for him". ...

Well, I don't think he is as sad as she might think he is. He won. {HE LOST IN TEXAS...SO OUR VOTE WORKED HERE!!!} BUT, tonight he can say he is the first black american President to serve our country. And for that alone, he can be proud.

So, tomorrow, I begin to pray for the transition of leadership and will continue to pray for our new leadership in the years to come.

http://www.usa-flag-site.org/history.shtml

APPLES!

2008-11-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

I have sold my first batch of the season and I love doing it. I hope that I don't get burned out, but I love to see the eyes of the receiver and/or hear about it. I don't make much money at all on this, but I still enjoy it...at least for now.

STRIKE!!

2008-11-01T10:08:00.000-05:00

Since Gene gave up bowling to spend more time with the family, I thought it would be fun to bring bowling home....

Gene was the pinsetter the first night...not the best place to be with Brayden as bowler. We are trying to teach him that he doesn't have to throw the ball with all his might. And Ashlee, well, she's getting it and is happy just to get a turn. My first few frames where hard because they didn't make the holes big enough in the ball to accomodate my nails and my hand isn't quite large enough to grip the ball.

All in all, good times, simply good times!!

Fall Festival Night

2008-11-01T09:01:00.000-05:00

WOW, what a blast we had once we got going tonight. We picked Brayden up from school yesterday and headed out to vote. The lines were ridiculous, so we left and will try to hope for a better time on Tuesday. Ashlee was hoping to meet Mr. McCain and say "hi". Brayden wanted to know "who is he trying to beat"...standard senter kid reactions :) LOVE THOSE KIDDOS!!

Mad rush to the races...home to get dressed up {not must interest at first, had to prod them a bit}, then to the ATM for cash, and of course the stop that made the entire night function without parent melt downs....a trip to starbucks for the quad shot venti drinks for me and my man! Mmmmm.... Oh, yeah, and 2 Starbucks bags please because we forgot our "candy holders".

Finally, heading to the "party". Ashlee was concerned most of the time that the Party had already started. That has been her theme this fall. "where's the party" and "is the party already started" "I want to get to the party now". My social bug!

Cottonwood Creek really put on a great show. INCREDIBLE! There was stuff everywhere for all ages and it was totally worth the 10.00 we spent. AND, the people were really nice. I had a great conversation with several parents as Gene and I took turns standing in line for the bungee ride....speaking of which, AWESOME. Both kids did great! Brayden actually did a flip and Ashlee loved it even though her eyes would water non stop.

After that fun, we made a mad dash home for some neighborhood trick r treating and then to Ms. Tina's for our last visit. Taco Bueno and milk was consumed by all at 10 and then off to bed.

Throughout the night for some reason, Gene felt like they didn't need to have much candy. He kept pulling the reigns back and I was like, isn't that the whole point to this night??? So, as a very responsible mother, I made them eat a hot dog and some popcorn and then would slip them and myself candy on the sly. And besides, I knew that once we got home, half of the candy was headed to the station to get it out of the house and then they would get a piece or two throught the day for a few days and then...slowly making their way into the trash. SO, why not live a little for one night, right? [Remember your birthday steak hunny? ;)]

What a great night!

Hope yet again!

2008-10-21T22:20:00.000-05:00

For the first time in a really long time (almost 3 years to be exact) I think I'm finally on the right track of getting back to health! I hunted down and jumped thru many hurdles to find my doctor from back in the day. I almost didn't even get to see him today, as I waited outside his office in Rowlett to only find out he has actually relocated to Heath. Loaded Ashlee back up, drove like a crazy woman out to see him, didn't think it was enough time, almost left and he stopping me and saying, WE WILL MAKE IT WORK...and he did. For the first time in a long time I felt like my doctor heard me, understood me, and is wanting to help me! Not just throw me a allergy pill or a "eat right and exercise, oh, and here is some prozac" sort of answer. I had only a few short minutes with him, but in those short minutes I realized that I will be making many more trips in the upcoming months to Heath to see him and get back on the road to recovery. There are a lot of things that I'm not sure about, but I feel a peace about going this direction. I left there today wanting to cry because for once there might be a connection and an answer to ALL my issues, AND, just quite possible, he might be able to help me find a solution!!! Kathy, I think God answered our prayer last night for peace and a hope!

Father Son TEXAS Fair Day/ Mother Daughter Mall Day

2008-10-17T23:55:00.000-05:00

Well, again, this year Gene took Brayden to the Texas State Fair without us. Ashlee and I could have joined them, but you know what, I don't think they could have had as much fun if we were there dragging then down. It was boys day at the Fair and girls day at the Mall, and we all had a blast.

Brayden had a blast and brought home tons of trinkets that he had either won or was given. He rock climbed, test drove cars and trucks, catfished, ate cotton candy and corn dogs and saw a few shows...you know boy stuff. BUT the best part of all for him was the fact that he had his dad all to himself for the day.

And as for Ashlee and myself, well, we enjoyed a stroll around the mall, stocking up on some fall clothing, a delightful lunch in the food court of chicken horsdouvs and finger potatoes with lemonade, finished off by a coffee and some social time at the children's meeting place. You know, girl stuff! And if you were expecting pictures, us girls had our hands too full with all our shopping goods to take any pictures.

Brayden's 6!

2008-10-17T23:42:00.000-05:00

We had the most fabulous time at Brayden's party this year. At first Gene and I were scratching our heads at Brayden's birthday party request of a "bike riding party". But I have to hand it to him, WHAT A PERFECT IDEA he had!!

We rented McFBC out for 2 hours and invited every friend we could think of and just had a great time riding bikes, playing on the playground and then finishing everything off with a pinata in the gym and some good ol' fashioned foot races. I think he had a blast and the we couldn't have asked for better weather! Thanks to all those mommies and daddies who helped us make his birthday the success that it was!!

And special thanks to DAD for making that AWESOME ramp, even some of our most timid riders were taking their turns!

Our family's first Pumpkin Patch trip

2008-10-17T22:52:00.001-05:00

Meet The Senters...Gene, Tiffany, Brayden, and Ashlee....

....And our pumpkins....'big daddy', 'perfect shaped', 'most shiniest', 'little tiny baby one'....

The hams of the family...

We went to the Big Orange Pumpkin Patch last week for our very first Senter Family Pumpkin Patch trip and we had a great time finding the perfect pumpkin....

Did a bit of farming....

Fed the livestock....

Enjoyed the fall time hay ride and covered wagon ride...

And let's not forget about our horsing around time....

Our deep in thought reflection time...

'Is she dead??'

And of course, all good things must come to an end...

Darn Foot Continued

2008-10-17T22:43:00.000-05:00

Well, those aren't my pretty shoes. One 5 minute trip on the treadmill today and my feet fell asleep. Headed to Run On to try a new pair only to find out from the girl there "not sure anything else will work for you, I can give you a refund". SO, you are telling me that there isn't a shoe that will work for my feet????? "well, I guess not...have you tried going to a podiatrist?" UM! YES STUPID, he sent me to YOU!!!

SO, can I say that is just CRAP and a Lot more CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wanted to throw those shoes at her, but I had to first make sure my debit card got debited because that was the last cent I was spending at McKinney run on. I'll give Lukes my business this coming week I hope.

DARN FOOT!

2008-10-13T16:41:00.000-05:00

Well, after another visit to my doc, I am now in a new contraption for my foot. I now have bursitis in my toes where the fracture was as well as tendonitis on the side of that foot. I went afterwards and spent another 110 on a pair of shoes that will be THE shoe for the next 6 weeks. Here are the beauties that will grace all my outfits...even for the wedding in November.

Aren't they a beauty...emerald green, my FAVORITE....NOT!!! SIGH!!!

My boy is back!

2008-10-11T12:36:00.000-05:00

I never realized how true my heart feelings really are. I knew Brayden hadn't been himself and never understood why (and still don't for that matter), but am just so very glad he is back to himself. We tried out the charter school for 6 weeks and it just wasn't a fit for us. The facilities just weren't ready and it was a crusher for Brayden. I struggled long and hard over what to do and after lots of tears and soul searching, we re-enrolled him this past week at McNeil. He has an incredible teacher and he went to "waiting for you to pick me up is my favorite thing I did today" to "everything I did today was my favorite...the whole day!!!!" Also, when he would greet us in the car after school, it was solemn "It was fine" and yesterday "ROAR!!!" at his sister...I looked at Gene and smiled. "Our boy is back" :)

Gene and I have such a peace and I'm so thankful. I know that there was a reason as to "why" we went around the block before we ended up where we originally had put him, but at this point, I'm just fine with knowing that God's in control and he loves my boy more than I could ever imagine.

OPPS!

2008-09-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

Well apparently I have some secret readers out there that I wasn't aware of (you know who you are) so I guess I should be watching my p's and q's!

BUT, I will say now, sorry for any offenses in the past, present and in the future from my blog.

I feel better now :)

Who's on my team?

2008-09-28T21:28:00.000-05:00

So, today John spoke a great message on {just like a lot hear lately} a subject that i've been giving a lot of thought to....

The friends that you keep will show you a glimpse of what type of future you will have. And so, in knowing that,

Who's team am I on? Who am I there for for a late night call, a 'drop everything for', a 'I've got your back' or a 'keep up the work' kind of teammate. Or a teammate that will hold you accountable to practices and tell you to suck it up...like Proverbs 27:6 says ...Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

And the reverse...Who's on my team?

Again I will be doing some soul searching on that one. Some days I feel like I'm on tons of other teams but when I run to get in MY game, my team at times seems short....so why is that?hmmm.....

BUT I can definately say that there are 2 that I can count on no matter what time of day, no matter how I look or how boring or "too complicated" I may be that will always have my back... first is my Savior. I couldn't go a day thru life without Him. Even today when I felt so alone in the middle of big crowds, He quitely whispered to me to 'steady my hand' or 'I've got you covered'. My heart just swells knowing that I will never be without 1 teammate for life!

And the other is the one I've known for almost 20 years. He is my tangible earthly teammate that no matter how bad it gets for me, will be there for me. He's my constant encourager and my steady defense of my heart and feelings. I love you, Babe!

And so as I end 'cause I'm getting tired and have a HUGE week of hard decisions for me and my family, I need my rest....but something more for me to ponder later...

Maybe I'm looking at it wrong. Maybe I'm trying to fill a large team for football that needs many players, when maybe all I was made to have was a small relay team...when I was done with my part of the hard run, I could hand off the baton to another for a short time until I was ready to take my turn again.

Have I ever mentioned that Ashlee is such a GIRL!!

2008-09-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

So, today she's in my sunday school class....all dressed up in her PINK Romo #9 Cowboy shirt, denim skirt, white bow and pink shoes! Well, we have this bucket of "potatoe head type" bug kit out. I hear some complaining from the boys about someone not sharing or something and happened to notice my daughter may have been the guilty party. She was rolling the bug bodies (plastic cyclinder shaped torsos) up in her hair like hair rollers!!

OMGOODNESS! That girl sees just about anything as a "beauty treatment" and I LOVE that about her.

At that moment I thanked God that he gave me a VERY GIRLY girl and a VERY boy BOY. The best of both worlds! Thank you Father for my beautiful children. They light up each and every day of my life!!

Daddy's Little Helper

2008-09-26T22:22:00.000-05:00

So, it's times like tonight that I get to end with a happy thought of how sweet and silly my baby is. So, let me start by saying, Yes, we spank our children...not beat them in anger, but give them loving direction when they decide to cross the boundaries we set for them....shew...now that is out in the open....

So, my lovely boy, being the 5 year old...uhhuh...almost 6 year old that he is, made a mistake and told mommy that she didn't spank hard anymore. Well, daddy went out and found a solution. We upped from the 1 gallon stir stick to the 5 gallon. Mommy loves it because I can ever so easily give 2 swats and make my point versus the previous 2 swats and get almost giggles...daddy loved it so much that he thought he would "decorate" his stick....um, well, er..."rod of correction". He has a few scriptures on it on how to "train up your child" and such, and also calls it the name the kids are quite familiar with now days...."DADDY'S LITTLE HELPER".

So, why am I posting about this? Ashlee has needed "daddy's help" a lot lately. Entering her 3's is proving to be a bit challenging for her to stay in her boundaries. I SOOOO remember this time with Brayden. I had a friend once tell me if I stuck to my guns when he was three and I felt that I was put on this earth for that day to ONLY spank him...it would pay off when he was 5 or so. She was telling the truth. He RARELY needs encouragement {aw, 'The Encourager'} from daddy's helper. BUT Ashlee on the other hand....

Tonight I had to use the "enforcer"{...hunny, we need to add that name to the stick....um, well, er 'rod'....digging deeper....the 5 gallon paint stirrer} on her to get her to stay in bed. Funny, I left it on top of her doll house and told her not to get out of bed again. Apparently she did....Here's proof.

Now, you tell me...she technically disobeyed me by getting out of bed...now is she actually smart enough to try to hide it and has been caught? Surely she isn't old enough for that is she?? Or was she just trying to keep it safe and out of harms way for tomorrow? :) You be the judge.

Parenting, the hardest job I'll ever do

2008-09-26T21:05:00.000-05:00

Funny, all the things that they teach you in school, mathematics-algebra-trig-cal...history, science...why is so important for me to know that Ka is Potassium or English/Language arts...how to draw those lines and boxes for "diagramming" sentences...but never do they train us for the biggest job of a large percentage of the population...parenting!

I don't know, maybe just growing up is suppose to teach us something, but man I guess they try to make up for it with all the "parenting" books out there for us to read AFTER we've had them. AND, they don't teach us how to know which road to take when we hit the fork. I know that I quote our family scripture time again {Proverbs 3:5&6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.}, but sometimes I feel that's all well and good for ME because my decisions just affect ME...but it's so hard to do that for your kids, because MY decision affects THEM! My good ones are pluses in life, but the negatives....

And I KNOW that God loves them more than I can possibly imagine, but sometimes I need something a bit more tangible. On my climb for His Wisdom, I feel like I'm so ill-equipped for the climb. I'm missing my pick ax to drive into the side of the mountain for added strength or my rope that keeps me from tumbling down to the valley below begins to fray.

So, yes, this is a bit of a downer of a post. I guess I just wish I could dial a call to God and get a answer tonight on which direction to go....LITERALLY. Actually I would even just take a text message or a quick wall posting on facebook....

BUT, I know my Redeemer lives and He is my strong tower, my fortress and my God in Him do I trust. And that is what is going to give me peace tonight so that I can lay my head down and rest. Tomorrow will bring it's own worries, but tonight I have a Savior who brings peace that surpasses ALL understanding.

Clean House in 19 Minutes a Day....

2008-09-25T17:05:00.000-05:00

Clean Your House In 19 Minutes

by Real Simple, on Tue Sep 23, 2008 11:50am PDT

With a plan of attack, you can maintain a sparkling house in just 19 minutes a day

Photographer: Mikkel VangKitchen, 4 1/2 minutes dailyAlways start with the sink. A sparkling sink becomes your kitchen's benchmark for hygiene and tidiness, inspiring you to load the dishwasher immediately and keep counters, refrigerator doors, and the stove top spick-and-span, too.
Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes or loading the dishwasher (30 seconds).
Wipe down the stove top (one minute).
Wipe down the counters (one minute).
Sweep, Swiffer, or vacuum the floor (two minutes).

Bathroom 2 minutes dailyMake cleaning the basin as routine as washing your hands. But don't stop there. Get the most out of your premoistened wipe by using it to clean around the edges of the tub and then the toilet before tossing it.
Wipe out the sink (30 seconds). Wipe the toilet seat and rim (15 seconds).
Swoosh the toilet bowl with a brush (15 seconds).
Wipe the mirror and faucet (15 seconds).
Squeegee the shower door (30 seconds).
Spray the entire shower and the curtain liner with shower mist after every use (15 seconds).

Bedroom, 6 1/2 minutes dailyMake your bed right before or after your morning shower. A neat bed will inspire you to deal with other messes immediately. Although smoothing sheets and plumping pillows might not seen like a high priority as you're rushing to work, the payoff comes at the end of the day, when you slip back under the unruffled covers.
Make the bed (two minutes).
Fold or hang clothing and put away jewelry (four minutes).
Straighten out the night-table surface (30 seconds).

FamilyRoom, Living Room, Foyer, 6 minutes dailyStart with the sofa -- as long as it's in disarray, your living room will never look tidy. Once you've fluffed the pillows and folded the throws, you're halfway home. If you pop in a CD while you dust, you should be able cover the whole room by the end of the third track.
Pick up crumbs and dust bunnies with a handheld vacuum (one minute).
Fluff the cushions and fold throws after use (two minutes).
Wipe tabletops and spot-clean cabinets when you see fingerprints (one minute).
Straighten coffee-table books and magazines. Throw out newspapers. Put away CDs and videos. (Two minutes.)

So, what is my take on this....GREAT IF YOU LIVE ALONE and don't have 2 kids and a husband and to be honest, I don't know if I could even keep to this living alone.

My baby doesn't feel good and it makes me sad!

2008-09-24T20:59:00.000-05:00

Well, Brayden is on his second night of a high fever. I feel so bad for him. He is a trooper though. Standing at the toilet when he thought he was going to lose it. Laying on the couch and taking his meds from mom. Making sure his bucket was there if he was going to be sick. He's like his daddy in the sense that he's a real trooper when he's sick...unlike his mother and sister. When we are sick the world has to stop! {I hate that about me, but you know what when the last few experiences have ended up with me either passing flat out or coming close to it, it's hard to be mom and wife and housekeeper when all engines aren't producing....but if I'm in pain, I'm a trooper...um, walked on a fractured foot for a month before I had it looked at....shew...justified ;0) }

He missed his first day of kindergarten today and I believe he was really enjoying a day vegging in front of the TV! Although when I asked him what he missed most from school, it was lunch and recess. :)

So here's a crazy part to this whole thing...I took him to Care Now to get them to rule out strep and was going to wait a day, but Gene thought if it was strep we might as well get him meds to counter it and if it wasn't we wouldn't have to worry thru the night. After the "sort of swab" and 2 pokes to his fingers for blood, he was streppless and I guess OK in the blood department. The dr. said that it must be just allergies. I was like..."with a 102 temp". Well, he's only at 99 right now....B E C A U S E I just gave him Ibuprofen before we left!!!!! GRRRRR.....

So, my lesson learned today....find a local doctor. Take the kids to their next annual for the last time in Richardson and get his recommendation and transcripts for a closer doctor. That way Care Now can be used for xrays and stitches and not VIRUS issues! OH, and don't give any meds before the doctor visit so that the doctors can actually see the high fever for themselves!

Girls vs. boys....

2008-09-24T10:46:00.001-05:00

OK, so this is how my morning went....
Ashlee, lets take a bath.
K!!!
Let's wash your hair.
Not that shampoo the other one.
Whatever. Let's get out and do your hair.
K!!!
Let's wear this bow today.
Not that bow, the other one!
SIGH!
Let's put on your pretty dress...
NOT THAATT DRESS! IT'S NOT MY PRETTY ONE...{Throws herself on the floor weeping at the idea of having to wear THAT dress in public}
Your teachers will love to see the pretty flowers on it.
NO! They won't like THOSE flowers.
ASHLEEE....get your butt over here so I can put on this BEAUTIFUL DRESS NOW!!!!!
{More crying}
OK, let's go put on your pretty pink shoes.
NOT MY PINK SHOES! I want my pretty green fwip fwops!
Your teacher says no flip flops at school.
{loud screaming cries}
{I'm so done by this point I run into the treasure box, pull out those darn charms that go on her fake crocs}
See, look at these, the butterfly and flower match your PRETTY DRESS!
Oh, they are beautiful, my teachers will love them!

Hey buddy, go put on your clothes for me and head out to the car.
K.
5 minutes later out in the car fully dressed and ready to go.

SIGH....

2008-09-23T21:18:00.000-05:00

To do or not do right now....finish kitchen....check book balance....laundry folding....clean up room/bathroom....clean up office....send emails out to every one I need to catch up with....get lunches made for the morning....make bed...WHAT, it's 9:20 and my bed isn't made...hmmm...I might have to get right on that....in the morning....do you hear that? I think I just made up my mind....bed is calling my name.

Poverty...what am I doing about it???

2008-09-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

So tonight at life group we discussed "poverty" in detail. What does it mean to me, what is a "dollar amount" to being rich, is it a mind set or just a status....stuff like that, then I found out some incredible facts about our neighborhood. Plano is ranked the #1 richest cities in America in it's population group. AND....It's number 3 in comparrison to median income comparred to Frisco and Allen...Mckinney ranked 4th. AND, what is amazing is that there are people all around us suffering or unable to make ends meet. Then when you realize that the majority of the world lives on $1 a day....WOW. So, why am I rambling on about this? I want to first stop and say that, WOW, God has blessed me with more than I can ever imagine. Does He love me more...ABSOLUTELY NOT! Why me and not someone else? Not mine to figure out, but what I can do is make sure that I am doing what God wants me to do to help those within my reach.

What else have I learned today? God is moving "HIS agenda" all around me. It's not about me or my agenda and asking God to bless me as I do "his work". It's me stopping to seek out His will for my life to fit in the plans that He is putting into place. I want to be that willing vessel that He can use as He sees fit best in His agenda.

So, Father, tonight I ask you to show me where me and my family can reach out to those who are in need. Instead of jumping out there in our own ideas to just be "doing", I pray we patiently are able to listen for your voice and direction for our next step in Your outreach mission. AND, Lord, thank you for your patience with me....

Am I being the type of friend that I want to have....

2008-09-17T21:30:00.000-05:00

AW...some thoughts that have gotten me to thinking along with my previous quote from my Bible study...which I'm not there yet to work that one out totally. So, someone a while back asked me in one of those crazy mass "tell me about yourself" emails "What do you see is the most important thing in a relationship?" or something like that. I think I know what it is for me these days in every relationship I have. Just be upfront and real with me. That's it. I want the people that are close to me to feel like they don't have to walk away from our time together wondering if I was at any point being 'fake'. I guess to me it comes down to being 'honest' in a lot of ways. Now, 'honest' has to go hand in hand with 'tack'...which I've learned very recently isn't my best quality. SIGH!

I for one want to be open in my friendships. Be honest with those I love and not feel like I have to put on some face that I would with the cashier at the nearest grocery store "I'm fine, how are you?".

That's the hard part about doing life together. Sometimes I don't want people to see the "pee under the toilet seat" in my life...but my closest and most dearest friend sees it and I know he still loves me very much. And yet, do I always show myself to be truthful and upfront with him all the time? {more contemplation}

So tonight, I end this entry with I'm going to stop looking for that friend that will be to me all that I want them to be, but BE that friend to those who will have me. It's an exhausting journey at times and can be quite painful with all the rocks and ditches in the road that I always seem to find up close and personal. And on my journey, I might just find that it doesn't really matter in the long run, you know....

WOW...I need to chew on this a bit...

2008-09-17T07:30:00.000-05:00

"When you believe nothing significant can happen through you, you have said more about your belief in God than you have declared about yourself." -Experiencing God

This is my adopted personal quote for a while until I get it sunk down into my noggin.

AUGH!!!! What am I to do!!!!!!

2008-09-14T15:43:00.000-05:00

I'm without my camera. SIGH....I can't post things to be sold on craigs list, I can't capture memories of my kiddos....um, kids, don't go and do anything that is cute or worth capturing on camera for at least 2 weeks....and I can't take pics of my new table and buffet to show my friends.

Breath, Tiffany, Breath!

Moms In Touch

2008-09-12T12:20:00.000-05:00

I am so very pumped about Moms In Touch. Today I went to the group meeting for all of the Mckinney schools. It was awesome just taking a few moments giving our concerns to the Lord in prayer and hearing the testimonies from all the women. I do hope to start a group for LifeSchool even if I'm the only mom at first. All it takes is to have 1 more mom and I'm an official group. God will bring the right women along in joining me in this journey.

God thank you for this awesome opportunity to grow personally and the chance to surround my kids in prayer for each week. Lead other moms that have the same desire for their children my way. I'm willing to lead if you are there to light up the next step.

My Favorites Tonight

2008-09-11T22:11:00.000-05:00

My favorite thing is to hear my baby girl say "I love you mommy" out of the blue. To watch her gather all her "stuff" to tote around either in her shopping cart or some new discovered "purse".

To see my son's face light up with understanding in something new or excitement of something fun. To hear his new expression misspoken..."AW GONEit!"

To know that my husband will be home and we get to spend 2 family days togehter doing fun family things.

And, I can't forget...to walk on 2 feet without pain!! You never are more thankful for 2 working feet until you have lost sleep over not walking for 4+ months. Thank you Jesus for my healing! I might get to do the Turket Trot afterall!!

9-11 Never to be forgotten....

2008-09-11T21:02:00.000-05:00

Tonight I tried to tell Brayden about what happened this day 7 years ago. I showed him some pictures of the planes into the building and explained how many heros were killed that day. Some rescueing victims in the towers, some trying to catch the bad guys in the plane, some helping others to safety.....I don't know if he got it, but he did sit down with me and make a flag for his daddy and wrote on it that he would always be our hero. I wanted to let him know that this day is a sad day in our American history, but for the first time ever, it's a chance to remember a job that is so much overlooked by people today....the daily service of our firefighters and policemen. I'm proud to have a hero as my husband.