I know what I want to be when I grow up!

OK, I've officially decided on a plan for my future... duhn duhn duuuuuhn. (hopefully you caught that sound effect b/c I'm not really sure how you'd actually spell it! :) )

Anyway, I'm going back to school! 

I'm going to take a summer CNA course to get certified as a Nurse's Assistant & then begin a career in that field while I go to nursing school to become an RN (which should take about 3  years). Woo-Hoo! I have never worked in the medical field, but becoming a nurse is something that I've always thought about. Why wait any longer? I feel like now is the time. Well actually I can't help but think... I wish I'd started out younger... BUT I know it's all a part of the plan & I can't wait to get started. 

Working full time is not a new thing for me... up until last year that's what I was doing anyway. Last year was a nice break... I got to stay home with the kids & work part time at the church. Actually, Friday was my last day working there... I was filling in a temporary part-time position that is no longer needed. Which is OK, b/c another decision for now is that I need to work full time until the summer course starts... SO I'm on a job hunt, which is not such an easy task these days. I had an appointment with a temp agency today. It went well. I should hear something soon. 

I'm super excited about this. When I told the girls I got 2 completely different reactions. 

Maddy: "What?!??! 28 year olds can go to college?"... oh, my sweet dear child

Olivia on the other hand was still hung up on the whole "me not working at the church anymore" thing. Through her teary eyes she said something like "but mommy aren't you going to miss your friends there?" She was very concerned. I just explained that I'll still get to see them all of the time at church. 

So, no more indecisiveness & no more procrastination. I know what I want to be when I grow up & it feels really good to finally have a plan. 

For now I just need a job. Until I get one, I guess I can manage hanging out with this sweet little thing all day. It's a tough job but I suppose someone has to do it! .... 

Mommy & The Youngest Babe (3 months)

We went over to my friend's today for a photo shoot. I went to take pics of her & the baby, but we ended up in a few shots ourselves. 

Mommy & the youngest babe (3 months)... 

We I got several beautiful shots of them, but she hasn't even looked at them very good yet & I want her to give me the OK before I post any of their pics SO I'll just have to provide a little sneak peek for now.... 

Isn't he the cutest little thing?!

30 Hours of Hunger

I'm so excited about an upcoming YAM event. We're calling it "30 Hours of Hunger". We are going to fast for 30 hours... start out w/ a prayer event Friday night & food prep, then Saturday head downtown w/ packed lunches, blankets, scarves, hats etc. (donated from the congregation) & then end with a praise service on Saturday night.  God gave me an idea for a video to help promote the event. The idea involved a homeless person interview. The hubby & I were going to head down to Monroe Park one day & offer to buy one of the homeless men coffee, we'd get to know him a bit & then ask if he wouldn't mind an interview on camera. With  kids, it's not so easy to just mosey on downtown w/o the little ones BUT the other day we were sitting in the work room at church & the receptionist came in and asked us what the 30 hours of Hunger was all about. We told her it was for the homeless & she said "well there is a homeless  guy up front if you want to interview him". My mouth dropped open. I thought it was so interesting that she used the word interview. Isn't it awesome how God works things out?!? This is going to be an awesome event! The video turned out GREAT. Good job babe!

30 hours of hunger promo

New camera, New president... what an exciting day!

Honestly, I don't know much about this family. I DO know that there is a sweet girl in Korea about to come home to her family though. Adoption expenses have become huge so this mom had the great idea to have a raffle. My heart goes out to them... I may not have ever been through an adoption process but I have been through a custody battle & I know what it's like to have a daughter away from me, desperately wanting her to be home where she belongs. (I actually held a raffle myself to raise funds for our attorney fees.) 

Anyway, I found out about this raffle through Mckmama's blog. The winner of the raffle receives a Canon EOS Rebel XS Camera w/ some other camera goodies. I have a 35mm Rebel that I don't use anymore b/c... well who does 35mm anymore? I just told Stephen the other day how much I want a digital Rebel. Imagine my excitement when I read this blog!!! If you won, I'd be happy for you too... I guess :) 

Check out the raffle here. 

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Anyone catch the inauguration today? How exciting! I couldn't help but think... I'll be telling my grandkids about this one day when I'm old & grey.  What a prayer, huh?!?! Yay Warren! 

Please join with me to pray for President Obama... Wisdom, divine guidance & protection! 

Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 

A little bit of competition never hurt anyone, right?

To say that the girls are competitive would be an understatement. Everything seems to be a competition. "I'll beat you to the front door", "I'll beat you up the steps", "I can eat my cereal faster than you can", "I can play the silent game longer than you"...

The hubby really doesn't help matters. I'm pretty sure he's the most competitive person I've met. I guess I can be a little competitive as well. Often when we are leaving somewhere (usually church) in separate vehicles headed home we will race home. This is most definitely provoked by the girl's taunting... b/c responsible adults would never engage in such immature activities otherwise, right? I always win of course... OK, most of the time. 

Unfortunately, the middle babe has learned the art of smack talking from... well, her dad. How often do you see an adult smack talking a 5 year old.... O'yeah it happens. He doesn't mess around when it comes to Candy Land. He's not a very good loser at Rummy either. I have to let him beat me every now & then just so he won't quit on me. Actually he wins in all games. It's quite ridiculous. I don't know how he does it. However rummy seems to be my forte... so I can't let him quit on me for sure or I'd never win any games at all. 

O'yeah & then there was that time last summer when I was 7 months pregnant. We had a staff summer olympics competition. I headed up the red team & he headed up another team... forgot which color. Who made the decision to put the 2 of us in charge? Bad idea! You should have seen the chain of smack talk emails. We got colored t-shirts to represent our team colors. One of my emails from him said something like "you're going down preggo" with a picture like this attached...

Get it. Red shirt+ big belly= ... Ok, you got it. Both of our team tied last place... go figure. 

The girls had a pep rally yesterday. Each class had to come up with a cheer & perform it. The oldest babe's class made 3rd place.... The middle babe's class didn't place at all. Hmmm, you know what comes next...

Yeah, the whole "we're all winners" speech didn't go over so well. 

I'm pretty sure this competitive thing is unhealthy in more ways than 1.... but what can you say? It's all in good fun... as long as I'm the one winning... Just kidding! 

Of course I got the cheers on video :)...  

The oldest babe (5th grade) 

The middle babe (K4) 

Cute pics from the day.... 

Gran

We have been out of town for a bit. It hurts my heart to say that my hubby's Granny passed away last Friday.

I'm really sorry that I didn't get to know Granny more. We always visited her when we went home to KY, but short visits on occasional trips don't really give you the opportunity to get to know someone as well as you would like. I may not have known her that well but I do know that she was a very special person. As my hubby said... "She is one of the most unique people you will ever meet". Granny was born in England, which is where she met her husband, who was serving in the US military. She uprooted & left everything behind for her love. They moved to America & settled in Eastern KY. They had 7 children (who were all with her when she went to be with the Lord!) . Unfortunately, her husband passed away leaving granny as a single mom for many years. Imagine the strength & courage it took for Granny to stay in America & raise her family... & what a great family it is. My husband & I separated for about a year back in 2002. There were plenty of reasons for his family to be upset with me... but we reconciled our marriage & his family welcomed me back w/ forgiving hearts. During the year that we were separated was when I gave my heart to Jesus & turned my life around. I wouldn't doubt for a minute that part of that had to do with Granny's prayers. She loved Jesus so much & I know her prayers were heard in Heaven often for our family.


Before we left for KY I felt the need to explain to the middle babe what happens to our bodies when we die. I explained that we are spirits that live in a body & when we die our spirits go to Heaven & we will eventually get a new body. I also explained that our old bodies go into a coffin & get buried. I wanted to make sure she wasn't caught off guard when she saw Gran @ the viewing. As I was explaining all of this I could see the wheels turning. After she pondered what I had just explained for a bit she said "so, you mean like the princess in that movie who died. She was in a coffin & then Prince Charming kissed her & she woke up". I thought about this for a minute & realized that she wasn't off too far... Except her Prince Charming is Jesus & she woke up in another place with no more pain or suffering!


We sure will miss Gran. Thankfully she got to meet the babe before she died. I posted this picture already , but definitely worth posting again....



This was another pic taken at the hospital. That is my mother in law up front...



This picture was taken 5 years ago @ Gran's 80th birthday party. These are all of her children. My mother in law is the one on the top right. I'm pretty sure that the 2 black & white photos on the mantel are of Granny & James, her husband, when they were younger.

Fashion Drama

I usually try to let the girls dress themselves the way they like w/o  having too much input. The oldest babe is at the age now, & has been for awhile, where this isn't even an issue... as long as there is nothing showing I'm happy. When they are younger it's a bit more of a challenge. Their little creative minds come up w/ the craziest concoctions out of their closets. The middle babe has been to church with some pretty interesting outfits. She also has a tendency to get attached to particular items of clothing. Her latest fashion infatuation is her new pink Barbie boots. Mom bought them for her before Christmas & she has worn them just about every day. 

A friend of mine bought her some brown leggings for her birthday & she's pretty hooked on those too.

These latest 2 trends are not so bad. I can live w/ brown leggings & cute pink boots (even w/ her new sweat-suit & dresses). The trend before these... not so much! Take a look at the pic & guess which item of clothing it was...

Yes, you guessed right... the hideous black ski mask. Wearing it into places, including church, wasn't good enough... she had to sport it inside too. Oh the funny looks we got... & imagine the hat heads. She's over that now. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that it was "accidently" misplaced.... 

The oldest babe on the other hand is my self proclaimed tomboy. However, recently she has begun to care a little more about how she looks & takes time to put things together. I guess that comes with the pre-teen package. We had to go the other day to take back an outfit that we got her for Christmas. It didn't fit. So we were on the hunt for the perfect pair of "skinny" jeans. Apparently this is the newest thing. Our short shopping trip turned into quite an ordeal.  3 stores, 4 trips to the dressings room w/ heaping loads & 3 1/2 hours later she found the perfect outfit...

 So as you can see. I've had quite a bit of fashion drama here lately. How's my fashion you may ask... Well I'm just happy that I can fit into SOME of my pre-preggo jeans. The oldest babe told me the other day on our shopping trip.. "mom, you dress cool... for a mom". Hmmm, still trying to figure that one out. When I do, I'll let you know.

Holiday Headlines

Oh my goodness. It's been over a week since my last post & so much has happened (Christmas- to KY & back, YAM New Years Youth Bash, Baby Alejo has arrived). This very well may be the longest blog ever if I don't try to condense... how about some holiday headlines?... 

"Matching PJs Warms Mom's Heart" 

OR 

"Matching PJs torments Oldest Sibling" 

(haha.. it was OK until the middle babe turned to the oldest & said "Look sissy, now everyone can call us the puppy girls!) 

"3 Camera Operators & 10 Pictures Later a Perfect Shot is Captured" 

(The Hubby's Family)  

"Great Granny Meets Baby Girl for the First Time" 

(Granny is in the hospital, doing much better but would still appreciate prayer!) 

"Girl Hooked on Leapster" 

"The Sweetest Christmas Gift this Season" 

"Sisters Reunite after Several Years" 

(My step sister) 

"Siblings Ham it Up @ Christmas Time" 

"Stage is Set for Youth Bash"

"Couple Engaged @ NYE Youth Bash" 

(Congrats John & Mariel- our friends. They help us w/ YAM) 

"Excited Hubby Prepares for Worship Set" 

"Beautiful Mommy Shows Off Bundle of Joy" 

"Proud Aunty Meets New Baby" 

"Beautiful Baby Boy Born... Finally" 

OK... I thought I could be wittier than that... O'well :0)  

It was a great holiday season & I am looking forward to lots of change & great things in '09! 

PS- Here are some other holiday favorites that somehow have not been posted yet... 

Staff lunch.... 

Leadership Banquet...

Ewww, the middle babe's class party... 

Mom just couldn't help herself....