A new 'do

So, once the baby decides he'd like to make his entrance, there are a couple of things I hope to do within the next month. One, get rid of my glasses and get some new contacts. Your vision changes when you are pregnant, so I wanted to wait until after the baby to get my eye exam. I can't wait to have my contacts back. I miss them. I've gotten so used to seeing myself in glasses, it will be weird to not see them on me all the time anymore, ya know.
Then, it is off to chop off my hair. I have loved having longer hair and when I can keep up on getting it cut and what not, it looks good. But I haven't trimmed it or anything since March. And I am so sick of it hanging there. Plus, with a new baby, I want something easy. Thankfully, I have been blessed with lots of hair and it's wavy. I can do the wavy with my hair a lot easier when it is shorter. The longer it is, the heavier it gets and wavy just doesn't work. So, I am thinking of Heidi Klum's style.

Maybe a little bit shorter....just a tiny bit shorter.

No other news really. I am sick of these contractions I keep getting that decide to go away. They happen especially in the evening hours. I get so tight and they don't really hurt..but they seem stronger than Braxton Hicks ones. But then they go away. I'm being teased, darn it. Kate is on her way back to my house this afternoon. We are going to go walk tonight and tomorrow morning in hopes that it may help. Even though, it's still all up to the baby. I was telling him last night that I am going to start making his home not so comfy. I was thinking of playing the drums on my belly...maybe jumping up and down for a while. LOL. Oh well.

A couple of Steve's co-workers came over during the week and helped to put together his bowflex. It looks so awesome. He got to use it last night and really liked it. I can't wait to use it. He said I can do all of my arm and leg workouts that I loved doing at the gym, with the machine. So, yay! Plus we got an ab attachment for it as well. So, I am looking forward to when I can use it.

BTW, as I type this, I am having a contraction. I don't even care when I have them anymore, they are so random and irregular. It'll be funny when I am in labor....it'll probably take me a little bit to figure it out..since I've started to ignore them and not think anything is the real thing anymore.

Well, I'll keep you posted.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Nice things you can do. Courtesy of Do One Nice Thing

1. Make a Get Well Card for a child in the hospital

2. Donate a phone card through the USO for military families to be able to talk to their deployed loved ones.

3. Pay for the meal behind you in the fast food drive thru.

4. Help hospitalized children feel better by letting them watch your used videos and DVDs. Kidflicks collects and and sends them to hospitals. Send films to Kidflicks, 11755 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA 90025

5. Become a Senior's Angel. You can "adopt" a senior from a nursing home and send them little gifts, cards, and letters each week to bring a bit of sunshine to their lives.

6. Participate in the ongoing teddy bear provider program to the Edendale Hospital Children's Ward and Hillcrest AIDS Orphanage in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Purchase a teddy bear through Bears Without Borders, to be given to a child.

7. The Fisher House at Fort Sam Houston, Texas is a guest house for families of wounded U.S. service members.
It's a home away from home, a wonderful supportive environment for families dealing with difficult situations. Their loved ones are being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center, home of the largest military burn unit in the U.S. and an advanced rehab center for amputees.
There's a way we can help: Art supplies would be greatly appreciated. Fisher House guests of all ages would benefit, and service members too. Through art they can express feelings that are often hard to articulate.
If you can, please send a pack of crayons, markers, colored pencils or other art supplies to:
Fisher House
Brooke Army Medical Center
Building 3623 George C. Beach Road
Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-5000

8. Pay for the person behind you on the toll road.

9. Recycle your empty inkjet cartridge for the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation and help make a difference for seriously ill children.

10. Do you have a lot of your child's artwork laying around. Send the ones you don't want to hold onto in your scrapbook, to Color A Smile. They collect crayon drawings from school children and distribute these drawings to Nursing Homes.

11. Are you getting married? There are many Gift Registries that will donate a percentage of your gift purchases to a charity of your choice. A few of these partner stores are Macy's, JcPenney and Target.

12. Give a birthday present to someone who may have their birthday forgotten. Foster kids are frequently moved from home to home, and their birthdays often fall through the cracks. But we can give a foster child something to celebrate. When you're out shopping, buy an extra toy or book, drop it into a padded envelope unwrapped, and mail it to:
CLCLA-Children's Law Center.
c/o Princess Ramey, Esq.
201 Centre Plaza Dr., Suite 10
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(323)980-1700

13. The Letters From Home Campaign is currently collecting many items to send to the troops. All donations need to be in by July 16, 2006. Please visit their website to see a list of the items that they are requesting.

Now, get out there and do something nice. :o)

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Big Ol' thanks

So, I had a neighbor growing up who was a tad older than me, named Nicole. We also had a friend who lived a little ways down the street from us, named Andrea. Although Nicole and Andrea were best friends, I would hang out every so often. Yet, since I was younger and so hyper at that time, I am sure I may have annoyed them on more than one occasion. I moved away from Connecticut when I was nine. The only other time I saw them was when we visited when I was 11. So, it's been gosh, 15 years or so. Thanks to the powers of Myspace, I got back in touch with Andrea and Nicole and we have all kinda gotten caught up here and there with each other's lives.

Today, I got such a surprise. Such an awesome surprise. Andrea, if you are reading this, you'll hear a big thanks in here. I will also be emailing you as well. It's funny, because I am a gift giver. I pay close attention to things others like and I strive to get them awesome gifts. It's just a weird thing about me. Today, I realized another like me exists in this world. I received a package today from Andrea. There was an awesome scrapbook inside for me to make for Isaiah. She even got all the pages in there with the borders and stickers that I can use. All I need to do is insert the pictures and decorate it. Then, she got Audrey a book, The Giving Tree. I have been wanting to get that book. My 2nd grade teacher used to talk about it all of the time and I loved it at that age, so I am glad to have it. Already, I was so amazed with her thoughtfulness in these presents.

But then, I saw the gift for little ol' me. I must tell you, this girl pays attention. I must have done some survey at some point on Myspace where I talked about the restaurant in New York called Serendipity 3. I have always loved the word Serendipity and then loved it even more when the movie came out with Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack. In that movie they go to a restaurant in New York called Serendipity 3 and they have themselves some frozen hot chocolate. I have always vowed to go there and have one someday. So, do you know what was in my package from her? A Serendipity 3 Frozen Hot chocolate mix. I just need to add milk, ice, whipped cream and chocolate shavings. She had had the package from when she bought it at the actual restaurant. I had to look at it a couple of times, because I was just so in shock that I was holding actual mix from Serendipity 3 in my hands. Now, our blender has been broken for awhile. But, guess what I will be purchasing soon. yep, a new one. So, I just had to come on here and share my excitement over the wonderful surprise package I received today. Thank you, Andrea!!! Your thoughtfulness means so much to me!

By the way, if you haven't seen the movie, Serendipity, you should. It's cute!

Also real quick...I took this from my praise journal entry today:
" I have been blessed with such wonderful family, extended family and friends. They are always there when times are tough or to just let me yap to when I feel like it. They also seem to love to shower me and my family with gifts at special times in our lives. It just shows how caring and wonderful they are. Since it's baby time, my friends and family have given of themselves in providing me with a wonderful shower and wonderful presents for the soon to be new arrival. I am so blessed to have so many who care about me and my family. I am so truly appreciative for all the special packages I have received lately and the gifts that were given to me at the baby shower as well as the time spent by some to put together the shower. I really do think that every single one of you are so thoughtful and amazing. And I thank God for blessing me with all of you in my life."

She is just too cute, I tell ya.

The miss loves to sing and dance and she has been doing so much more of it these past couple of weeks. I can't wait until she is three, because I would love to get her into dance classes. She is such a mini-me. I love it! I found an old dance recital video of mine. I think I was eight in it. I put it in the other day and put it on this little 7 year old girl who did a ballet routine all by herself. You should have seen the miss. She would try to do all the moves the little girl was doing and she twirled around and around. When the routine ended she kept asking to watch it again and again. It was so stinking cute. When she starts dancing, she gets this serious face on and concentrates so hard. I love it. She, gosh...she is so addicting.....I could just sit and watch her for hours.

On Eagle's Wings

I have been introduced to so many wonderful blogs thanks to my two Christian blog rings that I am a part of. There is one in particular that I love. It is the blog entitled, Windscraps. It can be found on my sidebar. I visit it every day. Today there was a wonderful post. What I love about her posts is that she always takes a part of her day, relates it to scripture and then merges it altogether with such beautiful writing. She is such a talented writer and amazing storyteller. And when I leave her site, I always walk away pondering a scripture verse in a way I never had before. I wish I was so talented as she with my writing to be able to do that as well.
I encourage you to read Her post from today. I know you will enjoy it as much as I did.

It reminded me of one of my favorite church songs, On Eagle's Wings. It is an adaptation of Psalm 91. The chorus says, "And He will raise you up on eagle's wings. Bear you on the breath of dawn. Make you to shine like the sun. And hold you in the palm of His hands."


Psalm 91
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust."

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler.
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers.
And under His wings you shall take refuge.
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night.
Nor of the arrow that flies by day.
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness.
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side.
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look.
And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
No evil shall befall you.
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands they shall bear you up.
Lest you dash your feet against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra.
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he has known My name.
He shall come upon Me and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
And show him my salvation."


I will post later today after my doctor's appointment. That is if there is anything worth sharing, of course.

ADOPT

Okay, seriously, if I wasn't about to have a baby any day now, I would seriously, prayerfully consider this. Please, if you have a heart to adopt a child and if you have the ability right now, I urge you to read This Blog Post about Little James
He is a little baby boy in China who has Down Syndrome. China decided to place him up for adoption. It is the first time they have put a DS baby up for adoption. He has until July 1st to be adopted. If he isn't, he will be institutionalized and no other children with DS will ever be placed up for adoption again. How sad that something he can't control will prevent him a loving home...loving parents..and instead give him a life in an institution. My first thought when reading about James, was, I wouldn't have the money to adopt him. If that is your first thought, as well, please note...a donor is paying for all of the costs. It would not cost you a dime to adopt him. Please, PLEASE visit the blog above and if something in you clicks, then pray. Is God calling you to help change this little life?????

Just a little thought

Today at church our pastor mentioned something that I really liked and had never thought of before. If you read over the verses about the armor of God, Ephesians 6:10-18......

"Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints...." Ephesians 6:10-18

.......you may notice that there is no mention about armor for our backside. Why? God doesn't want us running from satan. He wants us to take him head on. I like that!

My baby shower

My friends threw me a baby shower today over at Faeryland Mom's house.

It was such a wonderful and relaxing time and everyone showed up and it meant so much to me. :o)


The mister got so many wonderful gifts.



Here I am modeling my tummy for the toilet paper game. My belly was 11 squares of toilet paper around.


And at my shower, it wasn't called a baby shower for nothing. See all the kiddos?

Too many pregnant, hungry people in this house

Well, hello. I love having my Kate here to visit. It's been so nice. She is 5 weeks pregnant. Congrats, Kate. And, well she is a hungry hippo. The two of us are constantly eating, it's funny. We have been eating up all of the food in the fridge. And poor Steve is surrounded by way too many female hormones right now, LOL. Anyway, Kate and I went and saw The Breakup last night. I had heard mixed reviews about it. People either loved it or hated it. I really really liked it. I would even see it again. I thought that it was very good. I do recommend it. Yep, sure do! Kate liked it too.

Oh, on my sidebar is a new audio clip with me and Audrey singing. Unfortunately I didn't record until like the third round of the song...the first two were so much cuter because she just sang and sang, but when I thought about recording it, she was at that point getting distracted. But the end of it is so cute. Oh she is so cute, I love it! So, you must take a listen.

Well, that's about it for news on this end of the world. My shower is tomorrow and I'll be sure to post pictures. Oh and can I tell you how jealous I am of Steve's boss? She was due I think a week after me and she had her baby yesterday. No fair. I've been pregnant longer!!!! LOL. I am glad to hear that she had the baby though and that everyone is healthy.

The three of us cuddling this evening. I wish I could chop off my sticking up hair. LOL!

cherry blossom

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

This week's theme is Love!
Two years ago, my friend, Charity, took pictures of me and my little girl throughout the course of a weekend. We went to a LOVE statue in Scottsdale, Arizona and took several pictures. She later sent me an album of the photos she took. The last one was a neat collage she made. She got the entire statue and cut it into squares and then placed two cutouts from pictures of me and my little miss. They were taken right after I colored my hair dark brown. Wow, is it dark. LOL!



Oh, and here we are in the statue.

Pictures

We took the miss and my day care kiddo to little bigg town today for a couple of hours. They were sooo well behaved and we all had a great time. Here are some pictures.

Can the pregnant gal squeeze through the bars.



Stuck in Jail



Doesn't he look scared?

A Little vent

Okay, so there is a single, (I think) middle aged (perhaps) man who lives across the street from us. But I have learned just now that supposedly he has a teen daughter or something???? I dunno. All I do know, is I have all the windows open in the house because it is in the lower 70's today and breezy and I love fresh air. I just put the kiddos down for a nap and everyone is asleep. And right on cue, the teenage gal across the street and her friend open their front door, blast the radio to I think the loudest it can go, stand in the entryway and then proceed to sing. Wait, I don't think I can consider it singing. They are yelling the words to the song and laughing and singing and yelling and laughing. They have been doing this now for over five minutes, and it is loud. It takes a lot to irritate me, it does...and well. I am a tad irritated. My miss is still awake. It takes her awhile to sleep. And, it has to be pretty quiet for her to sleep without getting herself distracted. The day care kiddo is in the basement, but it is still pretty loud. I mean, when the punkins sleep, I tend to stay very quiet and that is what they are used to. I would love to go over there and ask them very nicely to keep it down, but I know they won't care. In fact it might make them louder depending on their personality type and I don't want to egg them on. But, I am just a little aggravated. I ended up closing all my windows. I know that they are teens and it's summer and they are being goofballs and having fun, we've all been there. I mean I am trying to be empathetic of their situation. But anyone who has dealt with nap time knows that if something loud wakes up your child after they have just fallen asleep, you can get just a little upset. And when that something loud is an egocentric teenager who really only focuses on herself, it makes it all the more aggravating. So, I surrendered and closed my windows. I miss the breeze already. :o( Hopefully they come up with something new to do here soon. Fingers Crossed.

Thursday Thirteen

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Thirteen places I would like to visit someday

1. Ever since my Art History class, I have vowed to go to Turkey to see the Hagia Sophia. All the pictures of it in my textbook were breathtaking.

2. I must go to Paris, yep, I must. And while there, I must go to EuroDisney. Yep!

3. I want to stay overnight in a castle in Germany. I also want to visit Neuschwanstein. Did you know Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland was modeled after it?

4. I have been to New York many times and it is one of my favorite places to be. But I have yet to ice skate at the Rockefeller Center. So, I must do that.

5. I would love to visit D.C. I have yet to visit there and I would really love to go. I think that would be a good family vacation when the kiddos are a tad older.

6. It would be amazing to go to Israel and tour many Biblical sites. Definitely something that would be incredible and unforgettable.

7. I have been to Oahu, but I would love to visit Kauai. It is supposed to be beautiful, serene, romantic.

8. My hubby has always wanted to go to Alaska and would prefer an Alaskan cruise. I think Alaska would be an amazingly beautiful place to visit. Plus, I would love to see the Northern Lights.

9. My grandpa was a Sioux Indian and one of my great great great ancestors was a chief. Because of that, I would love to go to South Dakota to see the reservations and learn more about that part of my ancestry.

10. I want to eat at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and at The Melting Pot someday.

11. I want to go on a missions trip to an orphanage.

12. I want to go to Haiti to visit my Compassion Child.

13. I want to be able to take my kids to various parts of the county, so that they can learn about the different states up close and personal.

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What would you do?

I am doing the Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself Bible Study, and this week we are focusing on joy. And lately, we've been looking at joy in the midst of suffering and especially looking at Stephen's joy before being stoned and Paul's joy even though he knew that he was going to die for his beliefs. It got me thinking, how would I have responded?

So here's a scenario:
You are awoken from a deep sleep by two men who charge into your house, stand over your bed and with knives in their hands they inform you that you will now be killed because of your Christian beliefs. What thoughts run through your mind? What do you do?

Honestly if that happened tonight, I would most likely do what the Bible tells us not to do.

I honestly think I would plead for my life. I would worry about my Audrey. I would wonder would they hurt her? I would think of all the things I haven't gotten to witness yet, like her first day of school, her High School Graduation and her Wedding Day.
Would you?

Would you pray and ask God to forgive the men that were about to harm you? Or would you you be hoping inside that they don't get away with what they are about to do?

I was talking this over with my hubby while we ate dinner and we talked a little about it. And well, if our lives are truly focused on God, we'd realize that it is a full life we should seek, not a long life. All the things like watching your little girl get married, should fall secondary. We should be so focused on God. That if that scenario did happen, although we may be afraid, we would be comforted and JOYFUL knowing that God would be there through it and He would be who we would be face to face with in a moment.

In Acts 20:17, Paul said, "I consider my life worth nothing to me."
He said, "I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Jesus." Acts 21:13

Stephen was stoned for his beliefs. When he knew it was about to happen? What did he do? "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Acts 7:55

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he fell on his knees and cried out, Lord do not hold this sin against them." Acts 7:59
And we know who was there at Stephen's death. And we know about his conversion. And Saul who became Paul, look it all that he did for God!!!!!!!

I learned in the New Testament class that I recently finished, that Peter and his wife were both martyrs. Did you know that Peter had to watch his wife's death before he was killed? His last recorded words to her were, "Remember the Lord."

Ignatius who succeeded Peter as the bishop of Antioch received notice of his impending death. This is what he wrote:
"Now I begin to be a disciple. I care for nothing, of visible or invisible things, so that I may but win Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus!"

So, just some food for thought!

Impatient

Can I tell you, I am impatient. I really am. Anyone who knows me really well, knows this. Here I am at only 37 weeks and I am secretly wishing to go into labor NOW! But, honestly I wouldn't really want to just yet. My best friend will be out here next week and I definitely want her here for the birth. So, Okay after she gets here, then I really REALLY will want the baby NOW! LOL. My hubby thinks that he will come on July 7th. That is 3 days after my due date. And yes, I think that that is a nice birth date. I love the number 7. But, did I mention it is AFTER my due date. I told my hubby that at night, while he is asleep, I am going to start elbowing him and kneeing him in the belly. Then, I will push on his bladder really hard. And I'll do it every night for at least 3 hours. I then said we'll see if he still thinks July 7th is a good birthday. Because see, I think June 21st is a good day. Hey, even June 27th works. :o) LOL!
No, really it isn't that bad and I love feeling the baby move and all of that. I just feel like I have been pregnant forever. But it doesn't help that I found out right away that I was pregnant...like I was only 3-4 weeks when I found out. So, yep..it's felt like forever.
My only complaint is that he is laying on my cervix. And at night he likes to push down on it and it stings. Boy does it sting. So, if he didn't do that, life would be grand. LOL Well, I will post more later. I just wanted to share with you about my impatience.

Confessions of a bad Pray-er

Okay, so I admit it. When someone I care about tells me about a problem they are having or maybe someone is sick. When I know someone is going through a hard time. I do genuinely care and I know God will help. So, I say what all Christians say, "I'll pray for you." When I say it, I really do mean it. I want to pray for them, I do. It also feels nice to have someone say that to you, ya know. In my heart of hearts, I have every intention of praying for the person. I want to see their situation change for the better.

But, something happens and I don't do it. I usually pray once for the person and then I mean to consistently stay on top of the prayer. But to be honest, my prayer life in general is lacking quite a bit. I haven't been doing a good job at all disciplining myself to pray like I should. Sure I pray before I eat. I sometimes pray before going to sleep, but a lot of the time, I fall asleep as I am praying. It's horrible, I know. I hope I am not the only one, I don't want everyone to think I am horrible. But actually, maybe I do hope that I am the only one. Because I would hope that everyone else were closer to God than I currently am at the moment. Maybe some of you used to be that way too.

Anyway, this morning, I was doing my Bible Study and devotion time and I really felt a weight on my heart to pray for a couple of unsaved individuals that I know. I was also feeling quite convicted on my inconsistent prayer life lately. So, I am going to do something about it now. I will rise earlier in the morning and start my day off with prayer. I also want Steve and I to pray together at night and include all of those people that we said we'd pray for. I then wrote out a prayer list. I included the people that were pressed upon my heart during my quiet time this morning as well as several other people whom I told recently that I would pray for. I am going to hang it up in my bedroom. I want to see it a lot and I want to be sure that I do not fall asleep without lifting these people up into prayer.
I know how important prayer is. I know how important it is to spend quiet time with God. I know that He should be more important than anything else I have on my plate. But, it gets so easy sometimes to start the daily routine of giving your little one breakfast, getting them dressed and cleaning the house. Before you know it, it is 7:00 P.M. and you have yet to acknowledge God.

So for those of you out there who heard me say to them, "I'll pray for you." I am sorry that I didn't stick to my word. But you can know now, that I am. I am 100% devoted to praying for you.

Lately I have felt like a flickering light. There are days, weeks even, where I just shine brightly for God. I am in my quiet time every morning and I am communicating with God like I should. And His joy consumes me. Then, suddenly the light starts to dim as I get caught up in all my day to day activities. I get focused on all the things I have to do, on my busy schedule. I don't start my day with God and I don't end my day with God. I think about it, but I don't put it into action. Then, something smacks some sense into me and I blink for a few seconds and then boom...I shine in all my brightness once more. I don't want to be the flickering light. I don't want to have those moments where my light is dimming. I want to always be bright, always be shining, always be lighting up the room.

So, that's what I am going to do. Yep!


1 Samuel 2:1 And Hannah prayed and said:
"My heart rejoices in the LORD;
My horn is exalted in the LORD.
I smile at my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

Colossians 4:2 "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving."

James 5:16 "......The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

Potty Update

Well, today hasn't been very successful. I take blame for it because I haven't been putting her on the potty every half hour like I should. Time has flown by this morning, I tell you. We have had to change her outfit twice already this morning. She had 2 accidents. One of them was right after she sat on the potty. It was funny, she was on the potty and then immediately took all of the water toys out of the little basin she plays with them in. She began insisting that there was a shark in the basin of water. The duck she had to play with was scared of the shark. She has a little Sponge Bob toy she got in a happy meal as one of her water toys. I told her that Sponge Bob could go in and beat up the shark. But she said no, no Sponge Bob beat up shark. She then wanted to get down, because she was all done since she couldn't play with her toys in the shark infested waters. I tried to get her to have a conversation with me about the shark, but that only lasted so long. So off the potty she went and in her pants she went a few minutes later. LOL. I'm going to have to run to the dollar store and get a few more "new" water toys for her to keep her excited about the potty, because the newness has started to wear off I think. But I am hopeful that if she does well the next week and a half, that she may be fully trained or at least pretty close. So, fingers crossed.

My Life Monday

It's time for another My Life Monday, YAY!
Today's topic is our favorite childhood toy.

I had to think for a little bit on this one. I then realized that I did have a certain something that I know that I used everyday for hours. Even after it was handed down to my brother when I was 10 years old, I still went into his room and used it. It was my Fisher-Price Record Player. I absolutely loved that thing. There were a few albums I had that I listened to all of the time on that thing. I loved listening to my Sesame Street albums. I had one in English and one in Spanish. I also had the soundtrack to Annie, The Care Bears Movie and Oliver. I listened to a Cabbage Patch Kids album all of the time. I would act out the songs in my room and pretend that I was the character Raime in it. She gets taken away from the Cabbage Patch and tries to get back home. I also had an Anne Murray album of children's songs. In fact it was released on cd a few years back and I bought it for Audrey. :o) I love it when you can get your own child something that you once enjoyed so much as a kid. My mom had loads of albums and I would listen to her stuff all of the time too. I loved putting in her Flashdance album and dancing around my room like crazy to What A Feeling. I swear I would spend hours upon hours in my room listening to music, singing on the top of my lungs and dancing all over the place. It was my absolute favorite thing to do.

So, that's my story!

Simply Splendid

So, the miss and I ran out to Super Target this afternoon just to pick up a few items. When we first walked in, a gal was giving samples of this really yummy cake. I asked her where I could find it. I was curious to see how much it was, because it was good. She told me the brand name of it and said that it was in the bakery. So, over to the bakery I went to find this cake. I never found the cake. Something much better caught my eye. One of my absolute favorite things ever. In fact, I was so excited that I exclaimed it outloud. I was talking to myself and I am sure that the guys working in the bakery thought I was nuts. As soon as I saw it, I said, "Wow! You have got to be kidding me, no way!" Then I picked it up and said, "This rocks!" I didn't even care that it wasn't the cheapest dessert. I didn't even bother anymore looking for the other cake to compare prices. Instead I put the cake I did find into my cart and continued shopping with the biggest smile on my face. So, what was it? Are you ready. Only the best dessert ever!! Chocolate mousse cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. They don't have a Cheesecake Factory out here and it has been a year now since I've tasted such a treat. It is my absolute favorite. So, now I love Target even more. I told DH that if there is ever a special occassion that he wants to get me a treat for, that's all he has to do....is run to Target and get me my Cheesecake. YUM!

The Fight For Life

Who can forget what happened with Terri Schindler-Schiavo? It shows how easily parents can lose control of their children's rights to their children's so-called spouses. Well, there is a chance that a similar situation can happen again. I urge you to visit Scott's Fight. Please read through it and familiarize yourself with his story and then take it up into prayer. Pray for Scott, his child and his mom. Pray that his life be saved.

Thanks!

CARS

Well, we just got back from seeing Cars. It was pretty cute. But I think it was more enjoyable for the adults than for the kids. They just made sure to make us laugh, that's all. The miss was pretty good for most of it. It started at 1:50, but I had us there at 1:00. Thankfully the theatre was open, so we didn't have to wait in line. When we got home, I figured her pull up would be pretty soaked, since she drank so much during the movie. But it wasn't too wet at all. So, I had her sit on the potty when we got home and she went right away. I am so excited that she is getting potty trained. YAY!
I have some pictures for you. Grandma wanted to see her in the cute outfit she sent us. So, here are some pics of us. The last few are taken right outside the theatre. They have a huge fountain that is turned on in the summer time and the kids run through it. She wanted to play in the water so badly. I was scared that she would slip and fall on her head. Her whole skull fracture fiasco is going to leave me quite gun shy for a few years I reckon. But she was just fine, and she got very wet, so she had a ball.

Here she is waiting for the movie to start. She is sitting in her booster and eating her Kid's Movie Pack. I got Steve mid-bite. Oops!


There's the little speck of the miss getting pretty darn wet by the fountain.


And here she is running around.

Saturday Photo Hunt

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

This week's theme is Community.
I am posting pictures that I didn't take, but I wish I had been able to. Back in September of 2004, there was a candlelight vigil held outside of little Allie Scott's hospital room. Allie was a tiny baby girl who had been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia at five months of age. At that time, her parents began a website mainly for family so that they could stay updated on little Allie's condition. Somehow her handful of readers turned into millions more as her site began to be visited by millions all over the world. Light The Night Walk cancer teams began forming in honor of little Allie. And within an MSN group, hundreds of people from all over, joined together to talk about and pray for little Allie. Sadly, in September, a few days after these vigil pictures, Allie lost her battle to Leukemia. She was nine months old. Here are some pictures from the vigil held outside Allie's hospital window. THIS to me represents the love from a COMMUNITY.








The gal in the pink Allie shirt is Jenny, Allie's mom. She came out to thank everyone.


You can read her post about the vigil below. And for more information about little Allie, you can visit The Scott Household Site

The candlelight vigil was breathtaking. To be honest, I was extremely hesitant about this at first. The attention made me squirm a bit. As I watched cars being directed by a security guard into the parking lot, I got even more jittery. Can't explain it. I didn't want to come out. Then, all the candles were lit. We stood in the pantry with Dennis and Dana and shined our flashlight down at the crowd. Dana and Dennis went to join the crowd, but not before encouraging me to join them. I was still hesitant. I called Dana on her cell phone for a crowd assessment. She told me how wonderful it was and urged me to come down. We saw the camera crew leave (didn't think I could handle an interview), so I decided that yes, I did want to be down there.

As apprehensive I was about having it, I'm ten times more appreciative that it happened. From the 12th floor, the sight of those candles was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. It made me realize just how many people are thinking of my family. As we came off the elevator, Andrew and I grabbed hands, uniting us to meet the crowd. We walked out of the building and could hear a low rumble of voices singing Kumbaya. We grabbed each other tighter and headed towards the crowd. So many people there in support and love for our girl. So many people who just want to love on her too. How lucky I am to be able to love on her whenever I want right now. I'm scared of the time when our loving times will end.

When we arrived, one of the girls coordinating the event asked me if I was comfortable with a prayer. Of course. I looked near me to see my friend Sinde Wickersham close by. Perfect person to talk loudly! She said a sweet prayer for Allie and our family, and then everyone blew out their candles.

I don't know why for sure, but I felt the need to say something. I stood up, with Dana by my side because Andrew preferred to stay on the sidelines (no surprise to me there), and spoke. My ADD was kicking in and I couldn't focus on words to say. I was too busy scanning the crowd for faces. I think I garbled something out. I saw many people I had never seen before, but even more that I knew well. There was such a sense of warmth and community outpouring from everyone. We had co-workers from my school, other Plano ISD employees, co-workers of Andrew's, Frances' and my mom's work, family, close friends, neighbors. Several of Dana and Dennis' friends and family came. And we had students! My kids. One of the first faces I saw was Michelle Conway, a now 11th grader (yikes!) with big crocodile tears looking at me. As I spoke, I asked for my students to raise their hands. Then a voice yells out, "We love you, Mrs. Scott!" Oh yeah, I could pick that voice out of any crowd--AJ Sartor. There must have been more than thirty of my former students. If not more.

My years of experience with Spring Open House prepared me to handle the swarm. We told people thank you for coming, and then the crowd closed in--on me!! My students came first. Big hugs and tears. Those kids have been one of the biggest driving forces in my life for the past four years. The kids there represented each of those years. How proud I was to be standing there with them.

As we headed in, we stopped the security men to thank them for their extra effort. What a help they were, very appreciated. We hit the elevators, and Andrew said, "Sorry I wouldn't join you when you were speaking." I teased him about ditching me and he said, "well, that's how we work as a team--you know, you're the mouth!" Gee, thanks. Insinuating, of course, that he is the brain. Actually, its a fairly accurate assessment.

Thank you to all who attended the vigil, and to those that light their own candles in their home last night. I am honored that you are here with us on this journey.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY PHOTO HUNT 1.reverberate58 2. Mar 3. Pat
4. Miss Suzy 5. Melli 6. Irish Church Lady 7. Wystful1 8. Michele 9. better safe than sorry
10. ribbiticus 11. expat traveler 12. Carmen 13. goofyj

Last Installment about the weekend

Okay folks, this is the last installment about our weekend. So, here goes. We left our house Friday evening around 5:30. The first session was to begin at 7:30, and we were pretty certain we'd miss it. The traffic to get out of our area was INSANE and then once we got through all of that, it was still a long drive. We ended up at the hotel at 8:40 P.M. So, we missed the first session, but that was okay. We were both starving so we had a romantic dinner at Burger King and then headed to our room to rest from the long drive. The drive sure was pretty though. So very green. Up north, is totally my cup of tea as far as the scenery I would love to live with everyday of my life. Of course the area is surrounded by mountains....and so much green. Oh my goodness so much green. And then there were little creeks and lakes that looked gorgeous with the woodsy backdrop. I haven't fished since I was five, heck I don't even know if you can fish in those waters...if there are even fish..but if there were, I would get in a boat and sit there surrounded by that beauty and fish. I tell you what!

Anyway, Saturday morning, we met at the conference room areas for breakfast at 8:00 A.M. Our breakfast and lunch had been included in the cost of the retreat. So that was nice. The breakfast was yummy. There were sooooo many couples at the retreat. And for the most part nobody really knew each other. So, we'd sit down at a table and start talking to people we had never met. Some were close to our age, but most of the couples we talked to were probably 15 years older than us....maybe even more, but that's okay. Sadly, we probably won't see any of these couples again. Our church is huge and there are four services. Out of the couples we talked to, none of them attend the service time that we do. So, shrugs, oh well. We were kinda hoping we'd make some friends to hang out with or something. But that didn't happen. Anyway, we had two sessions after breakfast and then it was time for lunch. The lunch was so very delicious. It was Pregnant Erica's dream. We had salad, chicken, pasta and then a huge piece of chocolate cake with strawberries. Yum. Then, after lunch was one more session, and then the rest of the day was ours. We went back to the room and relaxed for a few and then it was off to walk around. You saw the pictures. Then we went back to our room and took a nap. We still had car lag, I think. At around 6:00 P.M., we headed out to a little place called Edwards to find somewhere to eat and go to the movies to see XMen. The little Edwards area had little shops and then above the shops were businesses. We ran in there to find a bathroom. I noticed on the second floor where the restrooms were, that there was a Security Title. I thought to myself, wow! Their Escrow Officers must make out like bandits considering that most of the houses in the area are millions of dollars. I can't even imagine what the commission they make is. Right across from the Title Company was what appeared to be a software company and down below those two offices, was an architecture firm. So, I decided that we will move there. I will work at Security Title. DH will work at the software company. Kate will work at the architecture firm and also take wedding pictures at all of the resorts in Beaver Creek. And between us we will share a house in that gorgeous area. So, folks, that's the plan...in a perfect everything goes Erica's way world.

Anyway, dinner was pretty good and I really enjoyed the movie. I hadn't heard good things about it, but I really enjoyed it. And we stayed past the credits at the advice of someone in the theater and saw some secret little scene. You can let me know if you'd like to know about it.
Sunday we headed home where we spent 5 hours in our car. And that was that.

So, some of you family folk have asked how the miss' weekend was while we were gone. She had an absolute blast. Kate's mom met DH at a shopping center halfway between the two of us to do the exchange. The miss was so excited, she didn't even really say goodbye or cry about being away from her daddy. She had a great night and didn't want to go to bed. She ended up staying up until 11:00 P.M. playing with Kate's family. They finally put their foot down and told her she had to go to sleep. She cried for a few minutes, but then conked out. She was up at 6:30 A.M. Saturday morning. My little early riser, gotta love it. They spent Saturday at the zoo. She had a great time seeing the monkeys, but she was also very tired and a little cranky. When they got back to the house, they told her she had to take a nap. They put her down and she was not happy. She looked at Ginge and said, "No. nap. I'm mad!" Ginge said that she had to leave the room so that she could laugh at how cute it was without the miss seeing. Anyway, she had so much fun playing at their house and with their dog , Daisy. She and Daisy are so cute together. Ginge was painting her toenails and Audrey saw and asked for her toes to be painted as well. So she sat still while Ginge painted her toes a pretty pink and then showed her how to hold her foot up by her mouth to blow on them. Now, the miss calls any motherly figure she is with, like Tiffany, Durin's mom for instance, Mommy or Mama. She calls any older man she is with, Papa. Please, Papa and G.G. don't be saddened by it. It doesn't bother me that she calls other people mommy because in a way she is right, they are a mommy. And she doesn't understand. So, anyway, after her toes were painted, she ran to Kate's dad and said, "Look, Papa, my pretty toes." She was so excited to have her toes painted. Sunday afternoon, Kate's dad, Bob was watching a WWE dvd. She got out her pillow and rested on the couch next to him watching wrestling. She is a big wrestling fan. When Ginge told her it was nap time, she said, "no nap. Watch this with Papa." So, they let her stay up a bit to watch it. She finally went down for a nap and was napping when we got to their house to pick her up. Ginge was very impressed that Audrey knows all of her colors and shapes and is talking so well. That's my smart cookie for you. She said their favorite part was when Audrey sat down at the play vanity that they have in the baby room for Kellee's little girl. I had packed her purse filled with all of her makeup. She sat down at the vanity and put on her pretend powder, blush and lipstick. She then brushed her hair. Ginge and Bob were watching her. She then looked up at the both of them and said, "I'm pretty." And she gave them a cute little smile. Ginge said that they melted. When she woke from her nap, and saw us there, she didn't really say much, she just started tickling and playing with her daddy. We all hung out there for about 15 minutes and then we headed home. All in all, she had a GREAT time!

Well, I have written a novel and I need to get ready for my day care kiddo to get here. Until next time....

Pictures As Promised

Well, we spent a big chunk of the day in the car. It was a 3 hour drive back home and then an additional hour drive to pick up the punkin. Then we had an hour drive back home. So, driving for five hours definitely wore us all out. I crashed when we got home, for a little bit and even now, I am exhausted. So, I am just going to post some pictures and then call it a night. So, I'll have to yap about our weekend tomorrow or sometime later on this week.
I am using thumbnails, so click on each image if you desire to view it in a larger size.

This is a picture that I took on our drive up to Beaver Creek. We were surprised to still see snow on some of the mountain tops.

This is a picture of the inside of our hotel room. It is just the kitchen/dining area.



We had these huge windows in the living room. We liked to keep the curtains open during the day, because the view was soooo gorgeous.



This is heading out the side door and onto the balcony.



This morning, I did my devotion and Bible study out on the balcony while sipping my yummy decaf coffee. I must tell you, I praised God quite a bit this morning for the beauty of His creation. How can you not, when you have THIS view?!?!?!?



On Saturday afternoon, after our last session, we went walking around the resort area. The area of Beaver Creek is actually like a little gated community/ski area. It has tons of other hotels and resorts in it. There are also private residences, for I am sure millions of dollars. In the center of the area, were a bunch of shops and things as well as little hiking paths, so here are some pictures from our walk around the area.


Shops

Another part of the shops area. Behind the low black wall near the tables and chairs, was an outdoor ice arena area. Had I not been preggo, I would have ice skated that evening.



We went exploring and found a beautiful golf course.



As we were walking around, another couple from the retreat saw us and were kind enough to take a picture of the both of us. And of course I am in the same shirt that I always seem to be in when a maternity photo is taken of me. I swear, I do have other clothes.



Here's little ol' me



And finally, this is DH disappointedly watching the Suns game while eating at a nearby cajun restaurant. We found a buy one entree get one free coupon, so that was very nice and the food was yummy. And it was right across the street from the little move theatre we went to.


Well, that's it for now. More stories about our time there to come later. Good night all!

Hello From Beaver Creek

Hi all!
Tonight, DH and I were out to dinner and watched a big chunk of the Suns game, but had to walk away from it during the fourth quarter, to get to our movie. So, we just got back to the hotel and ran to the computer station for a few to check the score of the Suns game. As we expected, they lost. It's too bad. They had such a lead at one point. I am glad we ended up not watching the entire game, because it was only stressing me out, watching them.
Anyway, I just wanted to quickly say hello. It is absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous here in Beaver Creek. Oh my goodness. It's sooooooooooooooo beautiful!!!! It took 3 hours to get here..so it was quite the drive, but well worth it. We have been having an amazing time. I will write more about our stay and post pictures tomorrow evening when we get home.
I mainly came on to tell you how excited I am about some of my Psych grades. My class ends tomorrow, but not all of my assignment grades have been posted yet, so I can't tell what my final grade will be. BUT, she did grade my research paper and I got a 100% on it!!!! Can you believe it? I couldn't. I was so very excited to see that. I also got a 100% on my debate and power point presentation. So, I am just waiting for the results of my essay tests that I finished up before we headed out here. Well, DH and I are off to go play some Air Hockey. Check back tomorrow night for a post about the weekend and some pics. Until then......

Music Recommendation

I came across a Christian band I wanted to tell you all about, Starfield. They just released their sophomore album, Beauty In The Broken, a couple of weeks ago. You can listen to 4 of their songs by going Here. Only two of them are from the new album however. Anyway, I have yet to hear this album in its entirety, but from what I have listened to, I think I like it. Click on the banner at the top of this post to be directed to their official site where you can listen to snippets of their new album.


Click on this banner to download their song, Obsession.

Taken from a review of their album...
"With songs that grapple with touchstone issues like alienation, identity and the quest for fulfillment, Starfield begins to speak for a generation that is dying for love, crying for truth. Beauty in the Broken points Starfields listeners to God during their most public times and their most private ones, offering songs for the service as well as songs for the self.

We all ache for God, but if we don't know God we use created things as substitutes for God.... material things, knowledge, relationships, sex - all of these things are good and if were looking we can see God in them. But if we don't know how to piece them together we will inevitably try to take these broken pieces and substitute them for the Creator. And the created will never fulfill us."