A Little Chocolate Helps Every Situation!

Me, busy??

2009-07-17T00:18:00.002-04:00

Wow! Four months since I've said anything. Just terrible. I have been sooo busy!!

Just a quick rundown -

June went to Mackinac Island with my parents, my parents stayed here another week. Sami went home with them for 3 weeks, then Aiden went for a week. Went to a pastor/wife retreat.

July, my SIL, niece and 2 twin nephews came for a week. Then my mom, grandma, grandpa came and everybody went home together.

Have a little break right now, but not for long. First week of August my brother is coming up with some people to run our VBS. The first weekend in August is our World Pulse Festival. Going to hear Ayeisha Woods, hawk Nelson, Robbie Seay Band, David Crowder and Jeremy Camp.....and even better....its FREE!!

Then on the 11th we are hosting our first Michigan BBF meeting at our church and we are SOOO excited. Finally, all the pastors and their wives can see our beautiful city and meet some of our wonderful people!! Then, after that starts Sami's volleyball and basketball...then September 8 or 9 the kids are back in school.

Where DID the summer go?? I LOVE being busy though and I LOVE having company.

Anyone else want to visit before Fall?? Come on over:-)

Wonderful Day

2009-03-19T21:31:00.004-04:00

This has been one of the best birthday's ever. I turned 34 today. At this time last year I only really had one friend here and we really didnt know each other very good:-) But, THIS year 5 of my friends took me to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, then me and Sami got our hair done, then we finished my day by eating at Outback and doing a little shopping! The only thing missing was my family!! It was one AWESOME day!!

Saturday Sean is taking me to see natalie grant in Elkhart and I'm excited. And this time I won't forget my camera. lol I'm looking forward to my time alone with him;-)

These are the beautiful flowers I got from my parents while I was at the beauty salon. Aren't they the greatest parents ever?

Thankful!

2009-03-01T23:53:00.002-05:00

I just can't seem to grasp this new year! I have been sooo busy. I was just saying WOW...January, and now it's WOW...March! I went and saw the movie He's just not that into you tonight and I just have to say how thankful I am for the husband that I have! What a messed up version of marriage this movie had! Although I laughed alot during the movie, my heart was saddened at how alot of marriages are just like the movie. When things are rough, people give up. When people don't "feel" that way anymore, they just give up. When their spouse isn't who they married, they give up. I am so glad my hubby and I have never given up on each other and better still....that God hasn't given up on us. I can't even imagine where I would be right now without my AWESOME hubby and my UNBELIEVEABLE God!!!

Ziploc Party

2009-01-26T17:13:00.003-05:00

Wow, where did January go?? I blinked and it was gone.

A friend of mine was telling me about www.houseparty.com , ever heard of it? You register for different parties and if they choose you, they send you a box full of stuff to sample with your friends. I am hosting a Ziploc party and here is a picture of all the stuff I received. We are going to have so much fun! I registered with house party like 4 months and finally got chosen for a party. You pay absolutely nothing. They just want you to sample the products and tell your friends about them!! WELL.....I can do that!!! So, for all of you who I sent invites to that haven't responded.....>February 7th is the date....shoot me an email!

15 Years

2009-01-03T21:11:00.002-05:00

15 years ago, at the age of 18, I said "I do" to the man of my dreams! He is unbelieveable, he is the love of my life, he is the best father, he is my Pastor, he is my friend and he is MINE!

He planned an awesome 2 day trip to Chicago for us. I had never been there so it was completely mind blowing! We walked and ate and walked some more. We shopped and walked and walked even more ;-) I can't wait until next year!!!

If you want to see more of my pictures you'll have to check out my facebook page.

The Nutcracker

2008-12-10T15:05:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's almost Christmas! We have been so busy the last few weeks I havent even had time to catch my breath. Sami was in the performance THE NUTCRACKER at school. Obviously, you can see she was a candy flute. She was proud to be that candy flute:-) Everytime I turned the camera toward her, she sang louder and did her hand motions even bigger. My daughter the actress!! She's only 8, but she loves the stage and the attention she gets when she IS on stage lol. Total Drama Queen!

Snow Day

2008-11-21T10:39:00.002-05:00

We had our first snow day today!! Yippee!! We got about 13 inches last night and of course right now it's sooo beautiful. We got to sleep in until 9, then we got breakfast from McDonalds. Then the kids got dressed to go outside. Sami wasn't out there 10 minutes and she got hurt. I heard blood curdling screams, she runs in and there is blood everywhere. It was all coming from her mouth and I couldnt find where in her mouth it was coming from. Between the screaming, the spitting and the blood, my body felt faint. I finally got her mouth cleaned out enough to find out she had bitten down on her tongue pretty deep. Apparently she was playing with the snow shovel and it slipped and hit her in the mouth. After 30 minutes she gets settled down. She now has a swollen tongue and a fat lip....but she's back outside with daddy and brother and here I am again, sitting in front of the warm fire:-)

I'm so impressed with myself ;-)

2008-11-13T22:09:00.003-05:00

Me, the hater of all things scrapbooking....went to a mom's group meeting this week and we made Christmas cards. So....I take it back....I LOVED making cards!! IT may very well be my new hobby:-) I will be making all of my Christmas Cards this year. Yeah, you heard me.....Making them. Hehe, just the thought of it makes me laugh!

Meet the boys!!

2008-11-02T19:36:00.003-05:00

I finally got to meet my nephews and they are just plain awesome! I had to go to Mississippi on short notice for the funeral of a friend, but I did have some joy when I got to meet my nephews.

I drove all day/night last Friday and after 17 hours I got to my mom's house and the babies were there waiting to meet their favorite aunt in the whole world. ;-)

They are a month old now and they both weigh 6 and 7 lbs now. They are growing sooo fast. They will be HUGE when I get to see them in December.

The Boys

2008-10-15T22:37:00.002-04:00

It's been two weeks and I still have to wait another 4 to hold my beautiful nephews! I just can't stand it. They are the most gorgeous babies in the world besides my own;-) I just can't brag enough!!

My Little Man

2008-10-13T21:06:00.003-04:00

He is growing so fast. We are now completely potty trained. YEAH!! He absolutely HATES holding hands, so when I saw him holding daddy's hand I just had to have the picture. He's getting bigger and bigger and I just can't believe it. He's almost 3!!! It's hard to believe how much you can actually love another person.

Introducing......

2008-09-28T19:14:00.002-04:00

Meet my new beautiful nephews Jackson and Landon. They were born around midnight last night and they are 4 lb 9 oz and 4 lb 5 oz and they are the most beautiful boys on the face of the earth. They are so tiny, so they are hooked up to breathing machines just to help them out. Other than that, they seem perfect. The doctor says as long as they gain weight and learn to breathe properly, prayerfully, they will be able to leave the hospital in 5-10 days.

I can't wait to hold them!! I'm not supposed to be going for 8 weeks....but I'm thinking I may be taking an earlier trip;-) I don't know if I can wait that long.

Amazing Cakes

2008-09-19T15:07:00.002-04:00

These are the unbelievable cakes my friend Yvonne makes. If you are interested in ordering one for your party needs, you can check out her website at http://vonneyraescakes.weebly.com/index.html
She does a fantastic job and I highly recommend her to any and everyone:-)

Slumber Party

2008-09-07T22:00:00.004-04:00

So, my friend Adrienne turned 40 and we had a super sweet awesome pajama party. I played 80's music and as you can see I was wearing my side ponytail. Brought back the "days" lol. How better to bring in your 40's than by acting like your 12 again. I just wish all my friends could have been there to meet all my new AWESOME Michigan friends!!! They will all kill me if they see that I put our crazy faces on my blog:-) It's such a flattering picture of everybody;-)

And of course, check out my tinkerbell pjs. Aren't they to die for? LOL.

By the way, if you live in this area....check out the cake.....that's our friend Yvonne and she is awesome. She is actually starting up her cake business, so just shoot me an email and she can make ANYTHING you want!!

8 Years

2008-08-22T20:02:00.002-04:00

I can hardly believe it. 8 years ago this Sunday, my beautiful daughter was born. She was given to us straight from God. She was exactly what we prayed for, exactly what we longed to have, exactly what God wanted for us. God knew the desires of our hearts....she was 8 lbs 8 ozs and 22 3/4" long. I can't believe how time has flown. She is now 4'10, weighs like 75 pounds and wears a size 4 1/2 shoe. My little girl is growing up. Big and strong:-)
She may not know or understand this now, but God is using her in great ways. She is such a big help to us everyday. From playing with brother to helping watch kids during church and Bible Study. God is going to greatly reward her.
She starts 3rd grade in 11 days and we are both so excited. Excited to see what kind of changes come with 3rd grade, what kind of friends she's going to make, etc.

Baby girl, I love you and I love being your mommy! You are the best daughter in the whole wide world.....your mommy!!

Marriage

2008-08-19T08:54:00.003-04:00

Sean and I were at a pastor/wife retreat this past Wednesday-Friday. What an awesome time we had together JUST us. We had adult conversation, we had no times of saying stop that, sit down, use your inside voice, etc. We had sound sleep in the most awesome bed on the planet. We slept all night long with no interruptions, we woke up early and refreshed. Wow....can you beat that? It was sooo needed. We will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversay in just a couple of months and its unbelievable how fast the time has flown.

Well, speaking on marriage......you have GOT to see this movie. It's called FIREPROOF and it will be opening Sept 26. It is from the makers of FACING THE GIANTS. And as good as Facing the Giants was....Fireproof is a million times better. It deals with marriage and what is needed in your marriage for it to survive. We all know marriage takes work. It would be easy to give up and just say i've changed or I dont love you anymore, but we all know we felt something when we first met our spouses and it's got to be there somewhere. You just have to work daily on it. Instead of growing seperately, we need to grow together. Okay, off my soap box......go see the movie and let me know how you like it!! Even if you're not married....it's still a great movie to see.

Just call me maw maw

2008-07-31T23:09:00.005-04:00

According to my friend, I have now joined the ranks of "MAW MAW"....driving my new to me, minivan!! That's right friends, a mini van. The sports car lovin, fast drivin, cool car momma is now driving a mini van!! How old am I really? No, I couldnt get an SUV, it just wasn't practical when gas is $4.27 a gallon lol. So, here it is, my new COOL ride. 2005 Chrysler Town and Country, all leather, stow n go seats, dvd player and gps system. Yes, you heard me right....GPS....aint God good?

God blessed us this week by finally allowing us to sell our little white car to upgrade to a minivan. We'll actually all fit in the car at one time when friends come over. We will be able to pick up people for church, we will be able to travel and actually get to bring luggage with us:-)

So, to everyone out there who can't bring themselves to drive a MINI VAN......watch me drive by your house, hanging out my window, beeping my horn.....and look at what a COOL MAW MAW I am:-)

I've been Tagged

2008-07-21T10:57:00.003-04:00

I was tagged by Chrissy and Jen.

I really dont know anyone in the blog world, so I'm just going to put my answers down for them:-)

And here I go!!!
1. I have become obsessed with my straight iron

2. When I order a bean burrito from Taco Bell, I also order a pintos and cheese. I open up the burrito, eat out all the beans and cheese. Then I tear the tortilla into strips and dip them into the pintos and cheese. I've done this my whole life.

3. The first time I watched the NOTEBOOK, I cried and cried and cried and couldnt stop.

4. I had my license and first car when I was 15. I had a wonderful red Plymouth Horizon. My driving test involved driving around the block making all right hand turns.

5. I tried taking a salsa class once and I completely stunk it up.

6. One day I want to be the owner of a kids consignment shop. It is my ultimate dream.

I've lost my "life"

2008-07-21T10:42:00.003-04:00

Gone

Lost

Sadness

2 Year old

That pretty much sums it up. I set it on the trunk of my car so I could answer the phone. 30 minutes later I remember I set it there.........and of course was it there when I went back? Nope!! So, I proceed to ask Aiden...where is mommy's camera....and he proceeds to keep saying.....cheese mommy....cheese mommy with a huge smile on his face. We have searched high and low for my camera only to find NOTHING. 2 year olds have so many hiding spots. Needless to say we are going to go look for another camera....and then in a couple of months when my son wants to have his picture taken, he'll go straight to where he hid my camera and bring it to me.

Oh the life of a toddler mom!!!

What a week

2008-07-12T23:31:00.004-04:00

What an awesome and busy week! This is some of the group that came up from LBC in Mississippi to help out with our VBS this year. They were awesome! We started the week off with 9 kids and ended with 18. God rocks!!! It was great having all the fellowship this week and watching these unbelievable teens and how how they interacted with the children. What a great group of teens!!

In Awe

2008-06-29T16:26:00.002-04:00

My husband takes us to watch the sunset all the time, but it wasn't until the other night when I sat and really "saw" it. What an awesome Creator we have. It's amazing how everything He made is so beautiful and intricate. You just look around and know He is the creator. His handiwork is truly amazing. I love our sunsets!!

Home at Last

2008-06-19T19:57:00.002-04:00

The difference was amazing. How beautiful is the new bridge. It was great to see everything growing again and rebuilding. It was most definantely HOT! I miss my friends from Mississippi, but I LOVE my new home in Michigan!

What a shock!!

2008-06-09T19:21:00.002-04:00

My sister in law and brother are having twin boys. haha....did you hear me? Twin BOYS!! Doesn't that just make you laugh? My brother, who began having doubts that he wanted ONE boy since he's been around my naughty son. Well, not only is he having one, but TWO. Two small miniature Bill's. Oh how I laughed and laughed at him. Stacy and Abi will now be surrounded by 3 smelly Farwell boys who will all be obsessed with sports :-)

Vacation Yee Haw

2008-06-02T23:10:00.008-04:00

We are leaving early Wednesday morning for our trip to Mississippi. This was the bridge that I used to drive over all the time before Hurrican Katrina. It has been almost 3 years since that terrible storm and I'm anxious to see how far they have come on the new bridge. Hard to believe that it has been that long since the storm and yet they still have so much to do down there. I will post pics of the new bridge when i get back.

We are going to MS for our home church's 20th anniversary. Wow! 20 years since my dad started Lighthouse Baptist. I can hardly believe it!! It will be a great day and I can't wait to see the many faces that I haven't seen in many years.

It will be a time of relaxation and refreshing that is greatly needed. We havent had a "vacation" in awhile and I'm raring to go;-) Maybe a little laying by the pool or a little spa day.

Who wants to come with me?? Meet me there??

God's Timing

2008-05-22T20:22:00.003-04:00

As I read the news this morning I learned of the tragedy in Steven Curtis Chapman's life. He's one of those singers who has stood the test of time. People can say all they want about being a Christian, but to me, he is the perfect example. He has walked the talk. He raised 3 wonderful children of his own and then adopted 3 more beautiful daughter's from China. What a life! What love! What an amazing family! Then to have a tragedy like this happen. We wonder what God's plan is and His timing. I can't imagine how to help a grieving son when I would be grieving myself. His poor son will need so much prayer right now. It just tears my heart to pieces.

At anytime this kind of tragedy could happen to any one of us. It really makes me stop and check myself and my relationship with my children. Have I told them today how much I really love them? How much they really mean to me? Have I told them how proud of them I am? How proud I am to be called their mommy?