the oldest babe got her hair did~

My girl is so grown... it's ridiculous. I took her to get her hair cut yesterday & to my delight she picked a short cut AND it's even got a little funk to it. We didn't go to her usual stylist. The day before Christmas Eve w/o an appointment: (as the middle babe would say) "You get what you get & you don't throw a fit". The girl did a great job! The place I went to gives a discount to kids under 12. They thought I was lying when I said she was only 10.... typical. 

Here's the before & after.

Before: 

After: 

My sassy shooga booga. 

We are about to head out to Kentucky for Christmas this afternoon to spend the holiday w/ the hubby's family. Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. Love you!  

YAM

The hubby's latest creation is complete. The Young Adults Ministry (YAM) website is up & running! We head up the Young Adults Ministry at our church. I am super excited about some of the plans we have for '09. The most anticipated is a missions trip to NYC in August!!! This will be the ministries (Young Adults) first missions trip ever. I think it may also be one of the only, if not the only, missions trip in the states that the church has ever been on. We are also planning a huge New Years Eve Youth Bash in the new youth building of our church 12/31. The hubby's band will lead worship & we'll have tons of fun stuff to keep everyone busy as we kick off '09. I'm excited about 2009. '08 has been OK, but I feel like '09 is going to be a very purposeful year. I've made some major decisions & things are slowly but surely falling into place (more details to come soon  :0)...) No matter how things end up I really want to make sure that YAM stays top priority. I feel like I'm at a place now where I can make sure that happens.

Every month there is a different department within our church that gets highlighted (a blurp in the bulletin & a video in one of the services). It's a good way for the congregation to see all of the different things that actually go on in the church. Well YAM made it for December... which meant we had to get in front of the congregation & speak. ARGH. It didn't go so bad. Neither one of us passed out so that equals success in my book. The congregation also seemed pretty stoked about some of what we shared. So I'm excited that they are excited. I mentioned the missions trip from the pulpit that night & there is already big buzz about it so I expect all of the slots to be filled!!! I can't wait. We have an interest meeting in January... so we'll see. 

Here is the video Stephen created to show in the sanctuary. It was a hit. I love the tambourine line. It cracks me up every time I watch it.... 

So anyway, I say all that to say... when you're praying will you mention the ministry every now & then? I know God wants to do big things & I want to make sure we stay focused & on track in 2009! 

Christmas Traditions... New & Old

The thought of bringing more toys in the house was not very exciting to me considering the condition of the girl's room these days. I feel like they have cleaned their room so many times lately. I realized this week that the problem is the amount of junk in their room. SO today we had the first annual Family Clean Sweep. I actually got the idea from another blog. The post is about Christmas traditions. I took the time to read through some of the 500+ comments & got some really good ideas for new traditions... the bedroom purge being one of them. We added our own "Clean Sweep" touch to it & pulled all of the girls stuff (I mean EVERYTHING) out of their room & threw it into a huge pile in the nursery & then we sorted everything into Keep, Trash & Goodwill piles. We ended up with 3 bags of trash, 5 bags of Goodwill, a heaping laundry basket and a VERY clean & organized bedroom. The hubby, being the video editor that he is, declared that we should create a family video out of it. So he is working on the video. (BTW... the Christmas Tree video hasn't even started. He has been too busy to teach me. I started the tutorial again & just need to finish.) I'll post the Clean Sweep video as soon as it's finished. I feel much better about bringing more toys into the house now. I think we have a new tradition. Its good for the girls too. They have a clean room & feel good about getting rid of their old toys because it's going to a good cause... and hopefully it will encourage them to keep their room clean. We'll see how long it lasts :0) 

We spent most of the day cleaning so we decided that we'd end the day with another tradition that we've always done. The Tacky Light tour!!!! We had a great time. We found a new house this year @ http://www.tackylighttour.com/ It's a house with synchronized lights. 
 Check it out... 

It was so awesome we didn't want to leave. We sat outside of the house for about 20 minutes or so. 

Then we checked out another new one that we found on the site...

We saw this one and pulled over. The lights were so pretty over the water...

We ended our tour with a house that I think I've seen every single year. My grandma used to live right around the corner from this house. Just in the past few years the family's son moved next door, so now it's 2 houses on the same street. It's so much to see that you just have to get out! (yes, that's the babe tucked into my coat) 

I LOVE Christmas time! 

"Baby Wise" Book Review

I LOVE this book! The new mother's ministry blessed us with a gift basket & in it was "Baby Wise". At first I thought who has time to read a book while taking care of this little baby. But the words on the cover won me over eventually... "Giving your infant the gift of nighttime sleep". Frazzled @ midnight with a crying baby had me thinking more like.... "giving ME the gift of nighttime sleep!!!!" (which it has) 

The book is by the same author who wrote the Growing Kids God's Way curriculum... Dr. Ezzo. Basically it teaches you how to get your baby on a good schedule. Even though she was about 5 1/2 weeks when I started reading it & was already on a bad schedule we were able to get it together in about 2 days. The babe had even been diagnosed with reflux because she was crying so bad in the evenings. Come to find out it was simply because she wasn't getting enough rest. 

I'm most excited about being able to simply lay her in the crib & walk away. This made her really mad at first. It's easier now. She gets tired right when the book says she should. I lay her in her crib & after a little bit of whining she is out. Do you know how much freedom is in just laying her down & walking away.... no more rocking in frustration, forcing the binky, pacing the floors with a crying baby... all that stuff was keeping her up & making her more frustrated. 

She eats every 2 1/2 hours & takes about an hour nap in between. At bed time she is sleeping well... in her own crib now, which is much safer for her. She slept through the night once about a week ago, but usually she wakes up for 1 feeding & goes right back to sleep. 

2 thumbs up for Baby Wise!!!! Imagine the glee when I got to the back of the book & realized he has an entire series!

• Baby Wise 2 (14-40 months) 
• Toddler Wise
• Potty Wise 
• Child Wise (3-7 years) 
• Pre-teen Wise (8-12 years) 
• Teen Wise 

I already received Pre-teen Wise & Child Wise is on the way. 

It was probably a little hasty having Child Wise shipped overnight Express (I'm kidding... but after all of those red lights, I was tempted) 

BUT... I'm happy to announce that the middle babe didn't bring home ANY red lights this week! (2 yellow... but we can live with that for now.) YAY! 

AM Smiles & Chit Chat

In the morning as soon as the baby wakes up she eats while I read. Once she is finished we always have our morning chat. This is my favorite conversation with her throughout the day because she is the most smiley & talkative. I kept telling myself... I really need to get this on video so I won't forget these sweet moments. So this morning I did...

Busy, Busy, Busy

What a busy weekend! It's been fun though. Friday night was my girlfriend's birthday party. Saturday was Linda's baby shower. Sunday the youngest babe was dedicated to the Lord & last night was the girl's school play... today my house looks like a hurricane came through it since I've been on the go so much. It's clean up time, but not before posting pics of course! :) 

The girls (The oldest babe... the shepherd)...

Me & the buds...

The good thing about having buds w/ kids is your kids become buds....

the baby's dedication... 

OK, time to clean! 

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PS- please say a prayer for my family!

My mom has been diagnosed with pneumonia, my cousin has been sick since Thanksgiving & my aunt has been sick for awhile too!!! Not a good time to be sick & they seem to be having a hard time kicking it. Your prayers would be appreciated!

Yes, No, Maybe So

So, I've always known that I tend to procrastinate. I'd love to stop, but not really sure how. For now, I pray. However, I've also recently realized that not only do I tend to procrastinate but I can be very indecisive. I'm sure the 2 are somehow linked. I HATE them both! I should really read a book about these things... but I'd have to make sure it was a book by a trusted author. I'd hate to read a book by some weirdo & then have to unlearn all the crap that I just read. So deciding on the proper book would be the first challenge... hence the indecisiveness. Then I'd have to forgo the procrastination & actually make it to Amazon to purchase the book... I'm telling you, it's a vicious cycle!

On a serious note... I have a huge decision in front of me that I have to make. I've been struggling w/ this for several months now. Procrastination has pushed me to the point that I have to make the decision pretty soon. Now I'm freaking out because I want to make the right choice. That's really  the root of this indecisive thing... fear. Fear that I will make the wrong decision & then everything will be all messed up. Fear that I will make the decision that is not God's perfect will for my life (that's the ultimate fear). Fear is the opposite of faith so I know that the fear is wrong! I'm just trying to keep it real here... 

Of course the hubby has it all figured out. I'm pretty confident that what he is saying is the direction to go in... now it's taking the leap & actually committing to that step. That however would require a firm decision. ARGH!

There is a peace knowing that God already has it all figured out! It's my little pea brain that needs to get it together. 

A girlfriend reminded me of a scripture that has helped me keep things in perspective... 

I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans of peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled w/ hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) 

I am comforted knowing that God already knows every decision I'll ever make... including ALL of the mistakes (He knows everything... right?). He already knows the master plan & has a designated purpose for my life. 

Now I just wish He'd fill me in on everything so I know what to do next... which I know He will. Step by Step... isn't that what faith is all about?!? If He filled us in on the whole plan why would we need to rely on Him for all the answers. I just need to let God be the sweet Heavenly Father that He is... guiding me step by step through all the lessons & experiences He has for me. 

Wow, I feel a lot better than I did when I first started writing this blog!

I'm telling ya... this blog thing is like therapy :) 

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In case you were wondering... 

the middle babe stayed on green 2 days in a row this week. Going for day 3 today!! It's a record! We're going for a green week. Come on girl, you can do it! 

Silly Girls

2 posts in one day... how about that? 

We had a photo shoot tonight. There were a few meltdowns involved... but I think the pics turned out lovely...

Here is a foot shot... 

Didn't turn out exactly as I planned but there were lots of giggles trying to get the shot anyway...

Rockabye Baby

Thanksgiving Weekend

What a great holiday weekend!

Thanksgiving was nice. We all went down to my aunt's house to celebrate. Great food & fun family time. 

I did the Black Friday thing this year... first year for that. Getting up at 4:00a after being up until 1:00a w/ a crying baby was not the highlight of the weekend... However, it was worth it b/c I ended up saving a lot of money. My mom got up w/ me. We hit Wal-mart, Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond. I think I was home by 8:00a- not too bad. 

Saturday was my hubby's birthday- the BIG 3-0! :0) We started the day by heading to the tree farm. We got rid of our artificial tree last year b/c it started to rust. We decided instead of buying another we'd begin a new Christmas tradition... the real tree experience. We had a great time at the farm. We started out with a hay-ride out to the field... 

It didn't take long until we found the perfect one....

I've got lots of video footage that I'm going to turn into a mini video. The hubby has been editing the family videos for long enough... he is going to teach me how to do it. :0) It may not seem like such a difficult task but he has a bunch of professional equipment & software that he uses to do it. (In addition to the editing he does for the church he has a side video editing business) I've been wanting to learn for awhile. I tried the goofy tutorials but I can't learn like that so he is going to walk me through it. Our Christmas Tree outing will be my first project. I'll post as soon as it's complete... Hopefully it will be finished by Christmas :0) I'm so excited to learn! 

Once we got home we rested a bit before heading out for a birthday dinner. Little did the hubby know... I planned a surprise birthday dinner for him @ Famous Dave's. Surprise!!! It was almost a complete surprise... but thanks to the middle babe he figured out something was going on...  Lil stinker. I had to buy some time before we got to the restaurant so we stopped at Michael's (had to pick up a Christmas gift). I went into the restroom to call Famous Dave's. I asked them to let the party know we would be there soon. The middle babe overheard the conversation & realized we were having a surprise party for daddy. I made her promise not to say anything... silly me! As soon as we got out of the bathroom she tells the hubby "mommy has  a surprise that I can't tell you about. It's a secret." ARGH! O'well... the dinner was really special though. We had a good time hanging out w/ friends... & somehow I didn't manage to take a single pic. Who knows how that happened!?!? :( 

Today was a big day for the youngest babe! She went to Bible Babies (our churches nursery) for the 1st time. She did a great job. They called me out of service when it was time for her to eat. (She took a bottle last night for the 1st time!... but I didn't have time to pump this morning) So anyway I sat in the "nursing corner" & overheard them singing sweet songs to the babies... laughing & playing w/ them. I'm so thankful for the sweet ladies that work in there. I'm glad she did well, now I can enjoy my service while she enjoys her own little service.  

Once we got home from church we started decorating the Christmas tree. It's not completely finished but it will be over the next couple of days. I love it! 

So anyway, that sums up my Thanksgiving weekend. Everyone back to school & work tomorrow. This is week 6 for me so I will be headed to the office either Wed. or Thurs. for a meeting w/ my bosses to catch up on things. Can't believe it's already that time! We've been working on getting the baby on a good schedule. That adventure will require a blog of it's own... in due time. 

Til then... please pray for our patience & endurance :0) I think I can, I think I can, I think I can 

My Thankful List

So, I published My Thankful List yesterday... but then I wanted to make a few changes before it was actually "out there" so I deleted it... thinking I'd be able to find it in drafts. DUH... that's what I get for being a perfectionist!

O' well. Here's take 2...

My Thankful List (Inspired by Robin's blog & of course Thanksgiving)...

• God saved me when He did... who knows where I'd be otherwise 
• The creator of the Universe is a GOOD God & only wants GOOD for His children 
• My wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally. He's God fearing, hard working, funny, sweet as can be & the girls couldn't ask for a better pop! The list could go on & on. 
• My beautiful girls. They all have their own personalities & I love them each to pieces. 
• My families health... we are all happy healthy & whole 
• A restored/healthy relationship w/ my mom
• My big family (including hubby's side- they are great!) 
• My friends- who love me for me  
• My uncompromised pastors- I love them dearly 
• My big fat church & church family 
• My job- it's nice to do something you enjoy & think is worth working for! 
• To live in a free & prosperous nation w/ great opportunities 

Those are the biggies. Then there's always...

• Snuggles
• Binkys (she's finally taking one! WOO HOO) 
• Brownies 
• Lipgloss (vain- I know) 
• The ability to take a FULL hot shower (doesn't happen often these days, but when it does- very thankful!) 
• added 11.30.08- The sweet volunteers who work in the children's ministry @ our church. They love the kids & go out of their way to make Jesus real to them each week

The list goes on & on... and like Robin, I'll continue to add as I think of things. For now I'm going to get ready... I'm about to head out to my aunt's house for the Thanksgiving festivities. :0) 

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!!! 

It's already been a month!?!

Such a blog slacker... I know. Kinda been busy with the baby & all. 

Things have been well though. 

The middle babe had a "green light day" on Monday (her 1st day back to school). However, she didn't do so hot yesterday or today. I keep telling myself... This is only temporary! Her new scripture in life is... "I can do ALL things through Jesus who strengthens me... including obeying my parents & teachers" (Philippians 4:13 New King James version w/ a mama spin!) 

I'm finally starting to feel normal again... How come we get so emotional after our babies are born? Crazy hormones! It's all good though. I remember the 1st time I took the oldest babe out in public when she was a baby... of all places I picked Wal-mart. What a ding-dong! There I was in the middle of the baby section when all of a sudden I got this horrible germ fear. I started freaking out & told my mom "we gotta go". I didn't want anyone near her... not even looking at her. I hid away for months. Boy have things changed :) Aww... after the 3rd one.. no big deal. Pop 'em out & pass 'em around (plus I have Jesus now & what a peace he gives!) 

I went to work today for a staff luncheon. I took the baby, she was such a good girl. I'll start back work in a couple of weeks. Crazy how life just keeps going. Sometimes I feel like I just want to throw the brake pedal to the floor & freeze time. I'm trying my best to take my friends advice & take time to really enjoy this early time w/ the baby. Before long she'll be 10, like the oldest babe. Holy cow that means the oldest babe will be 20. OK, enough of that thinking. I'm just going to do my best to make the most of whatever age they are at... "red light days" & all! 

Here are some pics... 

1st smiles... 

Classic shots...

Too funny not to post... 

Good night!