Christmas card...FAIL

I have had a lot of people ask me about our Christmas card this year. It just didn't happen...yet. We may try to send out a New Years card or something like that. I will try and get some pictures of Abby posted from Christmas day too.
We had a wonderful Christmas day with her and Santa brought her a lot of fun new toys! I am definitely looking forward to using Santa as leverage in the coming years. This year she made a baby Jesus at school and had a birthday party for him. We were able to go to church on Christmas day, what a concept I know! I won't get on my soap box right now, but I find it really backwards that the majority of Christians don't go to church on Christmas day. Even more backwards is how few churches actually have a service on Christmas. Our church was packed and I loved every second of it, and Abby did great too!
I found this quote the other day and feel like this will be what I try and live by this year.
Merry Christmas!!!

You Sir, Are an Idiot

So this morning I was reading some articles on , an anti liberal news site, and came across this story.
Turns out that Jesse Jackson believes that if Jesus were around today he would be an "occupier". SERIOUSLY!!!
Yes, I am pretty sure Jesus would be teaching people to poop on cop cars, rape women in tents, bum off people who actually do work for a living and to top it off, make sure you get violent towards the cops who work for next to nothing to protect your sorry rear! Give me a break. I would love to be standing behind Mr Jackson come judgement day, I mean he will make anyone look good! YOU SIR, ARE AN IDIOT

Not Without Them

My whole life I have been blessed with the best friends ever. This season of my life is no exception.
I found out when Abby was born just how easy it is to become all mom all the time and not leave time for yourself. I think this is a huge problem many new moms experience. I was lucky enough to meet my friends through church and three of us were even pregnant at the same time. We have experienced the joys of pregnancy, loss of pregnancy, hardships in family, and not so perfect times in our marriages together. I truly believe that I would not be the person I am today without this amazing group of friends. We are lucky enough to have girls night out at least once a month (if you ask Dave it's every other Friday, but who's really keeping track). I know if I did not have these women and my occasional night away from mommyhood, I would end up in a crazy house. I think it is so important to have a close group of friends who will tell it to you straight 110% of the time and I would not trade these realtionships for the world!

Soap Box

I don't get worked up about too many things, I mean really, who has the time? However, some things really get under my skin and this is my blog and I feel like venting...
Lately I have been reading/seeing news articles about people getting mad about Christmas trees. Some have even gone so far as to call them offensive and demand they be taken down. That's weird because last time I checked this is a free country( for now any way) and despite what our genius leader in Washington is trying to do to this great country we still have freedom to celebrate Christian holidays. If someone is so offended by a Christmas tree, walk away...pretty simple!!! Also, I find it weird that these same offended people still shop all the sales and even take time off work for this offensive holiday. Its amazing that all these same people who demand that Christmas tress be taken down feel like they have the right to free speech, but Christians do not. I totally respect the fact that not every one is Christian or even believes in a god at all, but step back and take a look at what you are saying. So, with that being said...
~~~~~~~~~~~MERRY CHRISTMAS~~~~~~~

(our tree last year after Abby got done with it)

Thinking Thankfulness

I don't think I have mentioned on here how much I love(to the umth degree) our new church. Early this year Dave and I had been talking about looking for a new church because we felt we weren't taking anything away from the sermons. In July we started going to our new church and have been more than happy that we made the switch. It's still a bible based church, which is one of the many reasons we love it so much, and after only being there three weeks I started volunteering and we joined an amazing life group.
So...this past Sunday our church did something I have never seen before. They opened the floor to the members and when someone felt led to, they would go up to one of the microphones and tell everyone what they are thankful for and how God has blessed them this year.AH-MAZING!!! It was so awesome to hear people share their stories, the good and the bad. I know for me, it is so easy to dwell on all that goes wrong in life and pout about everything I don't have. Ha, talk about a kick in the bo-tay! I have decided to start a prayer journal for a year and I am really excited about it. I love looking back and seeing how God has answered my prayers and prayers of others. I love seeing the dilemmas and drama we thought was so important and the simpleness in Gods plan. I can't wait for next Sundays sermon about Christmas and how it has become a consumer driven holiday now and how Christ is fading from our hearts in this season.
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and please remember to be thankful for all the little things in life that are so easy to overlook.
What I am thankful for

I am beyond thankful that I have beautiful daughter who will play in the rain with me

I am so thankful that I have a husband who loves me even when my craziness hits an all time high

I am forever grateful for my friends and my girls night outs(to which I would be even more crazy than my already craziness with out this)

And there are no words for how thankful I am for my Father who loves his children beyond what I can ever imagine

Why Do You?

Last Sunday in Bible Study the question was asked " What would you say to a non-believer who asked you why you believe in Jesus Christ"?
I am really bad with words so I didn't say anything. The truth is though I have always dreaded this question. I have told Dave several times that I would never know what to say in that situation. I always felt like the only people who should answer that question are those who know the Bible inside and out, those who have a Bible verse ready for every situation that life throws at you. Since Sunday I have not been able to stop thinking about this question...and here's my answer.
Not only do I believe that there is a God, I KNOW there is a God.
I know this because I have a husband who loves me despite of my past and will continue to love me despite of my future mistakes. I have a husband who is a man of God and who prays with me and for me. I have a husband whose love and patience I do not deserve, yet it is poured out to me daily.
I have a daughter who lights up a room with her big brown eyes and never ending laughter. I have a daughter who forgives me for not being the mother she deserves. I have a daughter who says " wuv you mamma" every night after she says her prayers. I have a daughter who I do not deserve, yet God has enough trust in me to let me be her mom.
I have friends who would drop anything and come be by my side in a second. I have friends who have taught me more about love, happiness, unselfishness,and above all Faith. I have friends who I do not deserve but are still by my side no matter what.
I have a God who gave his son to me so that I may know how to love and be loved. I have a God who has shown mercy on me more times that I can ever imagine.I have a God who gives me peace during the storms,and who always provides. I have a God who allows me to mess up multiple times and yet never give up on me. I have a Father in Heaven waiting with open arms to welcome me home when it is time. That is why I believe...why do you?

O Crap!

Going grocery shopping with Abby has become somewhat of an adventure. She absolutely hates to sit in the cart and this morning was no exception. We started out our morning at the park...for over an hour. When it was time to go we had a major drama queen melt down and then headed off to Kroger. I assumed that since we already had a melt down at the park that we(she) would do fine at the store. Turns out that the park was just a warm up. The second I tried to put her in the cart she arched her back and threw her head back and refused to sit down. To make things even better there were people there from the Dallas Morning News giving away free newspapers and the nice man asked me, while my daughter was screaming her head off, if I would like a free newspaper. Ummmm, yes please, that way I can whack you upside the head for thinking I need one more thing to hold onto while my daughter is trying to throw herself overboard! Genius!
So, we made it past Mr Observant and friend and into the store where the flowers seemed to clam her down for a minute, or so I thought. Nope...she was just catching her breath. When you have kids you quickly learn that the longer the silence in bewtween cries the louder the cry is going to be. Lets just say I will never wonder if her lungs are good. There we were, we were "those people", you know the ones...toddler throwing a tantrum and the mother to ticked to leave the store so she makes everyone else listen to her child scream like there is no tomorrow. I think this fit lasted about five minutes, which to me felt like forever. I finally got her in her seat with her snack and we were doing good. We stopped on the asile with the mac and cheese ( Annies is on sell for a buck!) and as I was grabbing the boxes one fell down. My sweet daughter yell "Ughhh, O crap mama, O crap"
Abby starts preschool tomorrow, I hope no one drops anything in front of her!

This is How We Roll

Abby has a new favorite toy now days. I honestly did not think she was going to like, I mean she used to be afraid of EVERYTHING! She can't get enough of this thing and she even rides it standing up. The dog and cat are L-O-V-I-N-G it too. As you can see we are still in full swing of potty training around here.

Sharing

There comes a time in every parents life when they realize they have conquered the quest of teaching their child to share. I say we have success!!!

What I'm Thinking Thursday

I'm thinking that I am beyond ready for summer to be over.

I'm thinking that it's funny when I see people circle the parking lot of the gym to get a close spot. You're going to the gym, is walking another 30 steps going to hurt?

I'm thinking that potty training is super fun time consuming, but well worth it ( have you seen the price of diapers)!

I'm thinking if you actaully watch the show ' Toddlers and Tiaras' you have some deep issues and need to seek help immediately! Serioulsy...GO

I'm thinking I know what happened to our turtle

Summer Time

If anyone has spent more than thirty seconds in Texas during the summer, you know it's about as much fun as snorkeling in a volcano...unless you are looking at this



I haven't been doing a good job of keeping up with this, so here are a few updates
- Abby had her 18 month check up last month and it went really well! Mostly because she didn't get any shots, but also because she is finally not screaming the minute we enter the parking lot. She is still in the 95% for height and weight and physically doing everything she should be. She is speaking three to four word sentences and even tells me when she is going potty or needs to go potty.One of my favorite things right now is that Abby prays with us and says "Amen", it really just melts my heart. She walks around the house with my shoes on, my purse and an old cell phone in one hand and keys in the other. I love it!!!
-Dave has been working like a mad man. I don't know how he works all day in this unforgiving heat. To top it off, the second he walks in the door Abby wont let him out of her sight. He really doesn't catch a break, and he never complains about it!
-Dave and I get to go to College Station for a night. He has to work and I get to stay in the hotel and do nothing!!! I know that may sound weird to most people but let me tell you this. I have not been away from my child for more than 8 hours since the day she was born. I love her more than anything, but everyone needs a break. I need one day/night where I am not doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, or changing diapers! Can I get an Amen?!?!
-I am loving my day to day life staying at home. I feel like Abby changes so much every day and I am so thankful that I can stay at home with her and not miss out on it. I feel like God has blessed me in ways I never thought possible and I truly feel like I don't always deserve it. Abby has taught me how precious every day is and that our children really are a gift from God and we need to appreciate the little things.
I will try and get some more pictures on here when I get a chance
***as i was writting this my sweet girl who i thought was down for the night had taken off her pajama pants and then her diaper! thanks honey!!!

What I'm Thinking Thursday

I am thinking that I can't believe that I have not posted the pictures from our weekend in Oklahoma...so here ya go

We went to Beavers Bend a couple of weeks ago with Dave's parents and my parents. We stayed at cabin M and LOVED it. Its only a few hours away and is absolutely beautiful. Abby did really good in the car ( a lot better than me)and we didnt even have a dvd player to entertain her (imagine that!). We left at her nap time and thought she would just sleep the whole way...ha! We have since found out that for some reason Abby gets really hyper in the car. She was never fussy, just wanted to play. We took the 4runner so Lucky had a huge space to lay down in. We have never had him in the car that long and were really grateful he didnt get sick! Here are some picks of the cabin and my parents property.



Lucky was a little worn out by the end






This is on my parents property, its "the stream" they talk about

What I'm Thinking Thursday

I am thinking that there should be a chocolate fairy who provides me with a constant flow of chocolate 24/7.

I am thinking that society as a whole is becoming more dumb...but at least we are in it together!

I am thinking that I am so not looking forward to spring. I don't do tornadoes, seriously, I freak out any time there is a cloud in the sky from April-September.

I am thinking that I really hope Abby has allergies and not a cold!

I am thinking that some days I can really relate to this guy:

What I'm Thinking Thursday

I am thinking mean people need to go to Disney World. Seriously, if I had money I would sponsor a mean people trip to the happiest place on earth and turn their frown upside down!

I am thinking that our turtle, who still remains nameless, will not be with us much longer. I am thinking he is slowly on his way to the big pond in the sky.

I am thinking that if I see one more episode of Man v Wild I will cancel our net flix...forever!

I am thinking I can not wait until my Advocare stuff gets here!!!

I am thinking how excited I am that Kroger is giving away free chips tomorrow!!!

I am thinking that this is the sweetest face in the whole world!!!

We took Abby to the Ft Worth Zoo and it was so fun! As a side comment let me say that I am in no way a fan of wild animals being kept in captivity. I do not support the circus, nor will I ever take or let my kid go to one. I have mixed feelings about the zoo, but still pretty much cringe when I go. I had heard that this zoo ( and all zoos in general) had been redone and that the exhibits were much bigger and better now.
Hmmm, not so much. We still had a great time and it was so much fun to see Abby's reactions to all the animals. enjoy the pics!


Abby and I don't really do well in the car for longer than 20 minutes. Needless to say we were getting a little antsy on the way there. She wasn't really having the whole hair bow thing either!


We saw the gorillas first and I loved her reaction. She kept saying "Wow" over and over again. When we were leaving the were feeding them so that was pretty fun to watch.

Ok, this thing would make a grown man scream like a little girl. It was massive. I really didn't think it was real until I saw it breathing. I have some weird thing for crocodiles, so that was my favorite part.
Abby really liked the fish tanks and I love this picture of her reflection(and the hair bow was still in!)...


One of the funniest parts was when we were looking at the elephants and we thought she was really excited about them and she said " ball"! Uhhh, yep. There is a ball behind that 8 ton massive elephant, good eye honey!
All in All we had a great time and it is definitely a memory we will always hold on to.

Whew!

I can't believe it has taken me so long to get back in this! Dave was out of town for three weeks straight ( I have such a new appreciation for single mothers ) and while it could have been a lot worse, I wish it had gone a lot better.
The first week went by fast and we were doing fine. The second week our fridge and freezer went out. No worries, we have a fridge in the garage. O, but I forgot that the one in the garage is teeny tiny and the water thingy does not work. On top of that, it's a pain in the rump to go into the garage every single time you need to get something outta the fridge. Seriously, think about how many times you are in and out of the fridge in a day ( if you are a stay at home mom, that number doubles ). The low point of that week was when Dave told me he was going to be a whole week longer than we thought. That was no fun! Sooo, week three rolls around and Abby gets a cold. Really, shouldn't be a big deal, but if you know my daughter then you know DRAMA!!! Going to the doctor with Abby is an adventure all in its self. She cries the second we pull into the parking lot because she knows where she is. She continues to cry/scream like a crazy person in the lobby and down the hall into the room as we wait for her doctor...aka pacifier nazi.
When it comes time to weigh her and check her temp it then turns into a wrestling match/every man for them self type of thing. I should probably start bringing some elbow pads for the nurses next time. After all that then pacifier nazi comes in ( this time Abby did not have hers because she was so stuffed up she couldn't breathe through her nose, which in turn allowed for a much higher decibel of screaming).Seems to be just a bad cold with a little temperature and there really isn't anything we can do for her except " try and keep her comfortable". O, see there's the problem. I try and keep her as unhappy and miserable as much as possible because that make my day a heck of a lot easier! I am starting to wonder what our co-pay really goes towards.
That night things just got worse ( because why not ) when I tried to make her a comfortable bath. She was not having it. I mean literally screamed the whole time and in the process threw up ( talking exorcist style ) all over me, our bed, the bathroom and everywhere in between. Pure Joy!!!
Well, a week went by and she still had an awful cough. So another "trip" to the doctor and we find out she has a sinus infection. Yay for amoxicillin! That stuff seriously works miracles. I am pretty sure it could find bin laden if we gave it a chance!

Das is kaputt

Our camera that is. A few weeks ago Abby was doing something really cute and I knew I only had a second to take a picture because she doesn't sit still long. I quickly grabbed our camera and the darn thing fell right on the tile floor! I was so sad and I thought Dave was going to freak out ( he was at work, so he didn't actually see it happen)when I told him about it. His parents got us the new Nikon CoolpixS8100 for Christmas, so we only had it a few months. Of course the entire screen cracked and we had to send it in. The camera guy called yesterday and said it will be a few weeks because they have to get the part from Tokyo. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we get it back before Easter. So, for now I have no pictures to share unless I take them on my phone, but those never turn out too good. Speaking of phone,I am in the process of switching carriers and getting a new phone. Right now I get no service and it turns itself off whenever it feels the need to do so. Yay for text messaging! I will not be getting a smart phone no matter what! I find those things annoying and I think they are making people more rude and anti-social. I can't even count how many times I see people walking through a parking lot while playing with their phone and literally walk into cars and other people because they can't look up for a second. I also hate when I see families out to eat and both parents are on their phones and the kids are playing with some sort of gaming thing. That is some serious family time right there! I don't want my kids growing up thinking that my e-mail or anything else on my phone is more important than them.

Speaking of Abby, she had turned into quite the personality lately. Every other word that comes out of her mouth is "no". She does change it up some, so we hear "no way", "no ma'am",and "no no". She has also started saying "sit" but we all know how that sounds coming out of a one year old mouth. She is truly awesome and I love every second I have with her, even the hard times. She is going to start preschool in the fall at our church and I am so excited for her. I know she is going to love it and she will have a blast with all her friends.
For Valentines Day, Dave bought her this cute little teddy bear. Now when she takes a nap or goes down for bed she makes sure she has her "da da brrr" and she snuggles with it all night. This is the first stuffed animal she has ever been attached to.

Thats all for now, I will get more pictures up as soon as we get our camera back. By the way, I am too lazy to spell check and edit my grammar today, so I apologize!

Survival

We are currently on day 3 of being inside. Yes, I have not been out of my house since Monday afternoon. I am pretty sure Abby has forgotten that there is life outside of the house too. So far it hasn't been too bad. I think our real low point was yesterday when Abby grabbed the yogurt container from the recycling bin and started licking it. Her doctor said that she would be less hungry right now and not to worry. I don't think Abby got that memo because she is eating more than I have ever seen her eat before. We have been doing a lot of dress up the past few days. I truly don't know where her obsession with accessories comes from. If you know me, you that I do not like jewelry, hats, shoes, or anything that is not a necessity to be on me. She is COMPLETELY OPPOSITE. She always wants her jacket, 3 scarves(one is actually a tape measure), purple bracelets( I think they are called bangles), and shoes on. To top it all off she has to have the sunglasses on most of the time too.

She actually walked around like this until lunch. I find it funny that she is already into this stuff and my poor mom is still waiting for me to like this stuff!
We had another fun time when my brother was trying to fix our garage door by him self and came running in the house with blood all over him and his arm split open. I had to call my dad to come out and get him because Dave took my car to work and I couldn't drive him to the hospital. Good Times! He is ok, the door however is not so ok. I keep telling myself that I am going to go somewhere tomorrow no matter what. In reality I am one big chicken when it comes to cold and driving in this stuff, so I may be here a couple more days.

a whole lotta nothin

you know those days where you feel like you have a lot to say but really its just a bunch of jib jab...welcome to my day!
i will start off with an abby update. she had her 15 month check up last week and it went awesome. and by awesome i mean that while we were still driving through the parking lot she looked out the window and realized where she was and screamed. seriously, who ever said kids dont have good memories needs to come to the doctors office with me some day(or church nursery, equal reaction there). so of course she cries the whole time we are waiting to go back to the room and she totally freaks out when the nurse has to check her weight and height. i am thinking that being a pediatric nurse must be the best form of birth control. they need to take all teenage girls to a pediatricians office and see if they still want to have sex with their boyfriend. if the screaming doesnt scare them the bill sure will! anyways, so that was finished and we were waiting for dr w to come in and see us. we could hear her in the next room talking to a little girl and telling her that she is too big for a pacifier and she doesnt need it anymore. let me just say that i love dr w, i really do, but the sweet thing has no kids of her own and i know she means well but i dont think she is very realistic at times. so she comes into our room where abby is sucking on her pacifier like a champ(seriously, just imagine maggie from the simpsons) and of course abby freaks out because she knows dr w is going to touch her. dr w tells us that abby is 95% in height and 75% in weight and her vocabulary is really good for her age. turns out that her saying "big truck" and "dog woof" is considered making a sentence and when she signs " eat more please", well thats just fantastic. so basically my child is a genius! she also says amen after prayers but i didnt share that with dr w because thats just showin off. anyways, dr w asks about the pacifier and what our plans are to get rid of it. ha, let me tell you what my plans are pacifier nazi with no kids...we had a plan and a deadline and both went down the toilet. dr w says i should just chunk them in the trash because the longer i wait the harder it will be. yep, i will get right on that!

i am preparing myself mentally for the next couple of days. we are supposed to get some pretty nasty weather and looks like we wont be leaving the house for a few days. it wouldnt be that bad, but the wells dropped cable a while back and abby only has one dvd that she really doesnt even watch. soooo, this should be a hoot! i am really glad that we dont have tv and that my daughter(genius daughter) doesnt like tv, but it would be nice to have for these occasions. if anyone has some fun arts and crafts ideas for 15month olds i am all ears! thats all thats going on with the wells these days...see a whole lotta nothin! i will try and get some new pictures up pretty soon, i know thats all you really want anyway = )

Let It Snow!!!

We had such a beautiful day of snow on Sunday. We dressed Abby in her snow pants and coat and she LOVED IT! Ok, she looked at us like we escaped from the nut house, but one day she will appreciate the pictures! This other picture was from last year. Dave was out of town so I decided to make us a little snowman family!
I think she a little more fun in it last year...or she was too young to protest it!

Our well intended neighbor came over and told us that we could take Abby for a ride on his ATV if we wanted to. Ha!!! I just put a granny pantie looking bumper around our coffee table so my daughter won't hurt her head while she is learning to walk. Do you really think I am going to put my 14 month old on a four wheeler?!?! I guess it's the thought that counts.

Christmas Pictures

Ok, I wish I could say that we had such a busy holiday and that is why it has taken me so long to get these up, but it wasn't and they are here now and I am good with that!Our tree started out looking pretty good and ended up like this...weird!

Yes, we actually did decorate the entire tree but one by one the little snowmen at the bottom of the tree disappeared.
Every time she would take one off we would hear a loud "uh-ohhhh" and know we had a man down! We had a wonderful Christmas and Dave actually had 2 four day weekends back to back. I was basically not needed during this time because as we know Abby is very much a daddy's girl!Of course she got a ton of toys, so much I actually had to put some away and will swap them out every few weeks. We like to keep things fun around here!I think the most amazing part of Christmas this year was that Dave's family came down so Abby had both sets of grandparents here and TWO great-grandmas!!! That's pretty darn cool when you think about it.
Another amazing event that happened during this wonderful time was that Abby took her first step at church on Christmas eve service!!! I was so happy because I was pretty sure we would be watching her crawl through the doors of preschool this fall. Jan 5 she started really walking. She is on a roll and she is loving it! I am so proud of her because if you know my daughter she is afraid of any and everything that may or may not hurt her, look at her, or touch her. This is a HUGE step (no pun intended) for her and us. Of course Dave was the one who was able to get her walking. Every time I would try she would look at me like I was a lunatic. Last night Dave and I went out and bought a bumper pad to go over the coffee table. I NEVER thought I would be "that parent" but it turns out I am and I am ok with that!Abby is growing up so fast and it turns out I am not so ok with that.She is talking and signing(she signs more,eat, milk and finished) so much now, I think she gets more vocabulary every hour. Just last night I told Dave that sometimes I just watch her and I can't believe that she is my daughter. Is there any greater blessing? I think not!!!