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! 

My THREE Girls!

The Youngest Babe: She is currently bundled in her bouncy seat... asleep. I should really be taking a shower right now while she is sleeping BUT I am developing a blog withdrawal twitch, so I had to take advantage of the sleeping baby, skip the shower (for now) & blog my little heart out. These new babies are so high maintenance... very demanding little things. This one has been especially odd. What baby doesn't take a binky OR like the swing?!? MINE! She just wants to be held. I was complaining to my girlfriend yesterday & I asked her... "How in the heck does a mom with a newborn keep a clean house?" She sweetly filled me in... "They don't". Then she gave me the best advice... "forget the housework & enjoy that baby... they are only this little once." Good advice! Yes, she likes to be held & that's a bit tiring, but she is such a sweet little thing. She's been smiling a little. I love that! She even did some cooing yesterday. How sweet. I love this baby! Of course I'm breaking all of the bed time rules (she sleeps with us AND I do the lazy nursing) BUT she's sleeping 4-5 hours at a time for me at night. Good baby!

The Oldest Babe: Adjusting very well! She's been a big help.. AND she brought home honor roll!!!! (1st time) I'm so stinkin' proud of that girl! 

The Middle Babe: NOT adjusting so well :0) She's been suspended 2 times from pre-school since the baby was born. Can someone please explain to me how you get suspended from pre-school? They said she was throwing temper tantrums & I needed to come get her b/c she was exhausting the staff... huh... my sweet little babe?!? YES! They told us last week that she was suspended Wednesday & would prefer that she stayed out the entire week. So we kept her out last week & I'm keeping her out this week too. I asked her what the deal was & she said "I just want to be home with you & sissy"... what can you say to that? So we've been having a great time together. She really is a good helper... she's the best little fetcher (can you get me  a diaper, the blanket, the lotion, my phone) She's good at getting the baby to sleep too. She sings to her & bounces her. I've really enjoyed her company & her behavior has been excellent at home. She told me the other day that she didn't like school. I asked her what would make it better & she said "if you were my teacher". My sweet girl! I'm sure the school thing will get better... meanwhile I'm eating up the extra time with her. Oh yeah... and she's 5 now... her birthday was last Wednesday (yes, the day she was suspended, ARGH). She had her party on Saturday at the park. It was a beautiful day!

OK, the baby is still asleep... I wonder if I have enough time for that shower?!? I can at least brush my teeth. I just realized this morning that I haven't brushed them in about 2 days. Ewww... I know, I know... It's the babe's fault...

What?!?!... it's true!