Life's Littlest Blessings

Outlive Your Life Book Review

2011-07-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

What an inspirational book. Max Lucado references the book of Acts and tells us that God intended us to change the world by serving others. It sounds simple, but we all come up with the excuses that we are to busy, someone else is better at it then us, etc. Max Lucado uses amazing stories of people who chose to serve others and make a difference. He is not telling us it will be easy, but that is it something we are suppose to do. He uses scripture to back up his teachings.

I loved his examples he uses in this book and even some ways in which we can make a difference in someones life. I couldn't help but feel very motivated after reading this book. My family and I have decided to sponsor a child through World Vision as a result of me reading this book. I often think of this book and am reminded how sometimes just even small things like giving someone a smile can make a difference.

If you are looking for a book that is an easy read and something that will give you inspiration and motivation, then this is the book that you should read. Wouldn't be amazing if everyone would read this book? Then maybe we could all make a difference in this world.

A Christmas Prayer

2010-09-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

I had the great opportunity to review the book A Christmas Prayer by Amy Parker for Book Sneeze after they sent me a complimentary copy of this book.

The book comes is a nice size board book and the pages are very easy to turn for little kids. The illustrations are very interesting and capture the kids interest. I loved how the book talks about the Christmas Story from the perspective of a child who is saying a simple prayer. It still gives you the Christmas message, but in an interesting way. It thanks God for all the things that led up to Jesus being born and reminds us what Christmas is really about. What a great way to tell the Christmas story.

I showed our director of our Children's program at work and she was really excited about this book and will be buying this book for the teachers to read to the kids. My older kids loved reading this book to the younger ones and they told me this is now their favorite Christmas book. I can't wait to share this book with them every Christmas.

Thank you Book Sneeze for sending me this book! I would recommend it and I hope everyone enjoys the book as much as my family has.

One Hand, Two Hands

2010-09-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

One Hands, Two Hands

Oh, the ways we can help with our hands! by Max Lucado is a wonderful book for young children. I teach at a Christian childcare center with 2 yr olds and they love this book. The illustrations are eye catching and fun.

One Hand, Two Hands lets children know about how wonderful our hands are and all the great things we can do with them. At the age I teach it is something we talk about a lot since this age has a harder time with sharing and keeping their hands to themselves. It is a nice reminder about the good our hands can do without constantly just telling them about the bad things they can do.

This book is also fun to read. The kids love doing all the hand motions while we read the book. It keeps their interest and it is a book that they want us to read to them constantly. It also uses simple texts so the kids remember them. I love to hear them correct their friends and remind them of the good things are hands can do.

At the end of the book it also reminds them to thank God for their hands and let God use them again in a good way. It also gives the kids other ideas about how their hands can become helping hands, kind hands and loving hands. The kids love telling us the different things they can do with them. It opens the door to a lot of conversations!!

I highly recommend this book if you have young children. The other teachers have borrowed this book for the 3 yr olds and they love it as well.

The Butterfly Effect book review

2010-09-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege to review The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews for Book Sneeze and what a privilege it was! This book is amazing. Once I started reading it I couldn't stop. It is a very easy read and only took me a short time to finish it. I will have to say it is one of the better books I have read.

The Butterfly Effect talks about how one person made a move over a century ago that still impacts us today. This person is really just an average person whose decision made a ripple that still effects us today. It goes through history to show how this was done. I found this book very exciting and really couldn't wait to see how it ended.

This book really encouraged me and showed the importance of how just a small thing can leave a lasting impression and even change lives of people you will never meet. This is a book that makes you stop and think. I highly recommend this book and am planning on giving this book as Christmas presents this year. It is a great reminder that when you leave this world it does not matter what you take with you, but what you leave behind you when you go.

The Jesus Series DVD Read and Share Bible review

2010-07-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

I had an opportunity to review the Jesus Series of Life and Miracles Read and Share Bible DVD from Thomas Nelson. They sent me a complimentary dvd to watch. This dvd was 30 minutes long and followed Jesus on his ministry along the shores of Lake Galilee and Nazareth.

My three oldest children, ages 4-8, watched this along with me. While I think they a good job on the animation, I was a little disappointed by the briefness of the stories they told. They did not go in detail, but instead just briefly touched on the different stories. My kids were familiar with most of the stories, but my 8 yr old said it was a little confusing because they skipped a lot of things or just showed the pictures with no explanation of what was going on. For example they showed Lazarus being raised from the dead, but did not mention what had happened or who it even was. They left out a lot and the stories they did tell where not explained enough. It also stopped at the last supper and my kids did not like this. They thought it was too important to leave out the story about his death and resurrection.

The one thing I did like about this DVD was that it did bring up a lot of questions during the movie and we had many discussions about Jesus' life. I also liked the scripture they included during the movie. Most of the verses where familiar to my kids and it was neat to see them recite them.

Overall, my kids enjoyed the movie and my 4 & 6 yr old want to watch it again. I think it would be a good dvd for those who are just introducing their children to Jesus.

Book review for Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World

2010-05-11T18:57:00.001-07:00

Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World by David Jeremiah is a book about finding hope in a world that seems out of control and scary. The author does an excellent job of using scripture to back up his messages and thoughts. I found this book to be very enlightening and encouraging. At first when I started reading this book I was a little hesitant. It started off by talking about all the scary things going on in this world, things I hadn't even thought about, but then he started adding in the scripture. No matter what scenario he was talking about, he always put a biblical spin on things. After reading this book I have found a new kind of hope and reassurance about what is going on in this world today. I would definitely recommend this book. It will give you a new perspective on life.

I am so glad that Thomas Nelson gave me this complimentary book so that I can read it and review it.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

So, Bailey was home sick on Thursday and I still let her trick-or-treat. She was looking a lot better and she didn't have her fever. The weather was beautiful. Around 70 degrees, partly cloudy and NO rain. Even though I didn't like trick-or-treating when it wasn't actually Halloween, I did like the weather. Today is actually Halloween and it is cold and rainy outside. We always seem to be sick around Halloween. Bella still has her terrible cough (going on 5 wks now), Bailey has a fever that keeps coming and going, Blake just started with a cough, Brian is still not feeling the best and neither am I. I just want us to be healthy again! I am so paranoid with Blake's condition and sickness. I have to make sure to keep him away from potential swine flu symptoms. The nurse actually told me to isolate Bailey when she has a fever. Seriously, try to do that with a 7 yr old. It works for awhile, but eventually they want to be part of the family again :) The nurse told me it would be really bad if Blake got the swine flu since he has a heart defect. I am going to try to get the vaccine later next week if the lines are too long.

Anyways, back to my original post :) After all, it is suppose to be about Halloween! Bryson was Incredible Hulk for his preschool and a dinosaur for trick-or-treating. We didn't get any picts of him being Incredible Hulk :( Bella was Jesse from Toy Story 2, Bailey was an angel and Blake was a skeleton. I can't believe how much Bryson was into it this year. We usually take a wagon with us, but we took the stroller with Blake in it so the kids had to walk the entire time. I never heard them complain though. I had a hard time keeping up with them. This was the first year I was lagging behind them. All the other years I was in front of them and they were the tired ones! Maybe I'm just getting old :) The kids got a lot of great candy this year. We had a ton on trick-or-treaters. I ran out of popcorn by 6:30 and I still had an hour and a half to go. I had to use some of the kids candy to make it till 8:00. Thankfully there weren't a lot of kids after 7:00.

I'm glad the kids had a great time. I had a lot of fun things planned for the kids today, but with them being sick and yet full of energy, I have decided to tackle the house instead. I definitely would rather be making pumpkin cookies and other yummy things. Since we have a very busy day tomorrow and I won't be home much this week, I better get the house into some type of order :) I'm sure it won't last long though.

Going back to work

2009-10-20T07:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, tomorrow is my first day back at work since having Blake. I am pretty excited, but a little stressed to see how Blake will do in his nursery class. I will only be working from 9:00-11:30 so he won't be in there too long. On Fridays I will be working 9:00-1:30. I will also be in the same building he will be in and I can check on him whenever I want. I also know the ladies who will be taking care of him and I know they will do a wonderful job. I guess my issue is letting someone else take care of him. Sounds silly, but I love being the one to do everything for him. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE getting "me" time, but he is growing up so fast and I don't want to miss anything. With him being my fourth, I realize how quickly they grow up and there is only a little amount of time when you are the main source of their information. Once they are in school, they get all sorts of other information and their focus changes. Anyways, that in it self can be a whole other blog!! I am looking forward to seeing my friends that I work with and getting back to the "real" world. I have been getting out of the house a lot, but am looking forward to making a monetary contribution, as small as it is, to the family.

So, tomorrow should be an exciting stressful day!! Hopefully more exciting and less stressful :)

Bella's new "do"

2009-10-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well, Bella has finally decided to get her hair cut shorter than a few inches. I have been wanting her to get her hair cut shorter just to make it easier since she doesn't like to put anything in her hair. So, on Saturday Brian and his brother took her to get her hair cut and donate it to Locks of Love. It looks great!! I can't believe how much older she looks. She seems to be acting differently too. It's amazing how much she looks like Bailey from the back now! I'm glad I didn't go with her since I probably would have cried. She is the last girl to have the long hair. Bailey donated her hair at age 5 also. I am so proud of Bella!!

Bailey's first day of 1st grade

2008-08-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it has been a whole year since Bailey started kindergarten. What a great year it has been for her. She learned to read, do fractions, addition and subtraction, journal and write some amazing stories! I can't wait to see what this year will bring for her. She is so excited about school and can't wait to learn. I think the one thing that really surprised me was her ability to write stories and journal at her age. Her teacher was big on journaling about things and then drawing pictures to illustrate her stories. I was amazed about the things she would write about. It was so great to see her get excited about things. The principle met with us and told us Bailey definitely has a gift with her writing. She was amazed at the story lines and how she would draw pictures to bring her work to life. The teacher and principle told us that she is way beyond and above what she should be at that age!! That is what every parent likes to hear. That their child is excelling at something. We are very proud of her and we are of all our children. I can't wait to see what she will learn this year. I have the same hopes and prayers for her as I did this time last year when she started kindergarten. I know that God is watching over her. I am very comforted in that. I pray that God will put a hedge of protection around her, that He will give her wisdom to choose the right friends, the strength and courage to stand up for what she believes in and what is right and the ability to recognize evil and despise it.

I am excited for her as she continues on her journey. I will be praying for her everyday as I do for all my children. I will also be praying for her teacher, principle, students and even the bus driver! There can never be too much prayer. So, as she gets off the bus today, I will send up a thank you to God for returning her safely to me and for watching over her when I couldn't. I love you Bailey and can't wait to hear about your day!!

The visit to the yesteryears

2008-07-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I didn't finish my blog about Disney, but I wanted to blog about our recent trip to Tennessee to see Brian's mom and step dad. We went to a town called LaFayette, TN. It is next to a town called Bugtussle. This is where the horrible tornado struck in February and it put this little town on the map and even the President went there to declare it an area of destruction. Brian's family moved down there in October. This is the area where his step dad grew up so he still has family down there. We went down there to see Brian's mom get baptized by immersion. It was pretty cool. We wanted to be a part of it since Bailey had a lot to do with her grandma being saved. The kids were singing "over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house we go" because that is literally what were doing, except we had to go through the river. If the river is too high to go through then we would of had to go the long way around. The lanes are one lane and there are many hills and cattle along the way. You really do feel like you are leaving the world behind, but with every person or car we did see, they all nodded and waved. Every single one. It made you feel like you were their friend and were welcome to stay for awhile. I loved it. It was so peaceful and welcoming. After we arrived the kids went for a "tour" through the property. They have woods and a creek that runs through it. The kids loved it! They found all sorts of different plants, animals and were just amazed at all of this. There were so many hummingbirds, you had to shoo them away because you thought it was a wasp or something because you can hear there wings flapping so hard. I have never seen so many hummingbirds and they were not afraid to come by you or land on you!! I saw them every time I was outside.

Then Brian took the kids 4-wheeling. They had a blast!! The kids could scream as loud as they wanted since the neighbors weren't very close. The hills around them were magnificent. There was just such a peace about the place. It seemed like the world stopped. Everyone we ran into was so nice and life just seemed slower paced. People weren't in a hurry, they actually said "hi" when they saw you and started conversations with you! People weren't rude when you were waiting in line, the cashiers actually looked like they liked their job ( I don't know how many times I have been checking out and the cashiers looked irritated or complained about their job back in the "real world").

My in-laws have cattle and a stocked pond on one of their properties. All the female cattle were pregnant or just had a calf. They have to be fed twice a day so it was neat to see them being fed. They would be a long ways across the field and as soon as they saw my father-in-law pull up they would start running to the fence at full speed. It was a funny site!

On Sunday we went to church. It literally was a white little church with a big steeple on the roof, up on a hill, overlooking an old cemetery. It looked like a scene out of a picture. I almost expected to see horse carriages arriving instead of cars. It was a neat experience. After church we all headed to the creek, after a southern lunch, to see Brian's mom get baptized, and yes, it literally was in the creek. It was so amazing to see us all there and watch her get baptized! It was such a special moment. We were all crying and so proud of what she did.

On Monday Brian and I headed back home and left the kids in TN with the grandparents. The kids had the best time ever! Almost every morning Bailey and Bella would get up at 5:00 (by their choice) to help grandpa feed the cattle. They would wear their cowboy boots, cowboy hats and overalls. Then they would come home and Bella would stay in the house while Bailey and Bryson headed to the garden to tend to it and harvest it. They went wild blackberry hunting and then made homemade jam with it. Bailey helped make homemade corn bread in an old cast iron skillet. One day they went fishing in the pond and they all caught some fish. Bryson caught a bass and catfish as did Bella and Bailey caught a bass. They watched grandpa cut up the fish and then they had it for dinner the next night. Bailey and Bryson couldn't eat enough of it!! Bailey said it was the best fish she ever had. They went to an awesome creek by the house. It had a zip line and ropes to jump in it. The creek was so clear that you could stand up to your shoulders in the water and still see the pebbles at the bottom. You could see the crawfish and fish swimming around. I have never seen such a clearer creek. The kids had so much fun there and they got to experience so much that week. They really got a feel of what life is like down there. Needless to say they really didn't want to come back to Ohio. They wanted to come home to us, but wanted to stay in that kind of life down there. Bailey especially. She really took to that kind of life. She misses the peacefulness of life down there and the people. I think it was so important for them to see how other people live. I think it really opened up her eyes. We went grocery shopping the day after they came back and Bailey kept making comments about how rude people were and what a big hurry they were all in. She said "they aren't like this in TN and I want to go back." I know the feeling. I loved life down there as well and told Brian on the way home that I would move down there in a heartbeat. If only there was a major city closer by that he could get a job at. Nashville and Memphis are the closest ones and it would be quite a commute through the country hills.

Well, when I get a chance I will try to post some pictures of the fun we had.

Hollywood Studios/MGM

2008-04-30T05:03:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to Hollywood Studios. This was the only day it was rainy, but it still wasn't bad. The first thing we did was get fast pass tickets to the Tower of Terror and the Rock N' Roller Coaster. Then we went to see Beauty and the Beast-Live on stage. The kids really liked one. While we waited for our fast pass times we went to see the gang from Toy Story. We really lucked out with that one. We were the first in line and we didn't have to wait long for them. They are kind of hidden so you have to know where to go. They were great! They spent a lot of time with the kids and it was so awesome to see the expressions on the kids faces. Afterwards we went to see Muppet 3-D. I think my mom had more fun at these type of shows! It was hysterical watching her, or should I say hearing her! My sister and I would fight over who got to sit next to mom! Finally our fast pass time for the Rock N' Roller coaster was up and we headed over to it. My sister, her husband, Brian and I all went on it. Bailey would have, but she wasn't tall enough. She would have loved that ride. It was totally awesome. I think that is one of the best roller coasters I have ever been on. It is something totally different. You are flying in the dark going 60 mph with black lights and neon signs and hearing Aerosmith blasting in your ears. It was so cool.

Next, we went on Tower of Terror. Brian, Bailey and I were the only ones to go on that. It was okay. It scared Bailey. I don't think it would have been too bad if it wasn't for the kids in our car telling Bailey that she was going to die! Afterwards we headed to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. Ok, this was one of my favorite parts because they selected me out of the crowd to be part of the show! It was so cool!! I got to dress up as a villager and meet all of the actors and I was on stage the entire time. I got to see everything close up. They only chose a few people, so I was really lucky to be chosen. We got chased by ninjas, stood next to a car that blew up, got in the middle of a knife fight. Like I said, it was really cool. After the show we decided to head back to our hotel.

Oh, I forgot to talk about lunch. We ate at 2:45 at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. It was really good food. Our waiter was really rude, which is what they are suppose to be, but I don't think my dad liked that very much. He feels it wasn't portraying the 50's correctly! Whatever. Besides, he said he doesn't like to spend a lot of money on a meal where the people are rude. Everyone else thought it was great.

Well, it may take me many different blogs, but I will eventually get all of the vacation blogged about. Right now I have to take the kids to swimming lessons!

Our Disney Trip

2008-04-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I can finally blog about our wonderful family trip to Disney. We left on March 18th, one day earlier than my sister and her family and my mom and dad. We wanted an extra day to unwind before we headed to the parks. I am so glad we did that. On Wednesday we had 87 degree weather and we spent the day at the pool and at Downtown Disney. The rest of the family arrived later that night.

On Thursday we headed to Animal Kingdom. Brian and my brother-in-law headed straight for Expedition Everest to get all of our fast passes while we headed to the safari. It worked out great. They were able to get all of our passes and there ended up not be any line for the safari. It was great. We saw all kinds of animals and we actually had to stop for awhile because two rhinos stood in the path. We could actually touch them, although we were too scared to do so! They were leaning against the jeep just staring at us. It was really cool. Also, our family was the only ones on the jeep so that was pretty cool. We felt like we were getting our own personal tour. After that we had so breakfast snacks and then headed to Expedition Everest. I knew my parents wouldn't go on it and we had 4 kids that couldn't or wouldn't go on it. Brian, Bailey and I went on first and then my sister, brother-in-law and their oldest went on. It was awesome! It flies you backwards in the dark for what seems like forever. I couldn't believe Bailey liked it so much. Her and I went on it again later on in the day. We saw It's Tough to be a Bug, which was really cute. We also saw the musical for Finding Nemo and the Festival of the Lion King. Those were pretty neat, but I could skipped Finding Nemo. Then we headed to an awesome dinner at Boma's which was in the Animal Lodge. It had such great food. The hotel is beautiful and after dinner you can walk around and see the animals in the savanna. They have big rocking chairs around a huge fire and we just relaxed and took in the beautiful weather. Afterwards we headed back to our hotel (Port Orleans Riverside) and hung out at the restaurant and enjoyed the entertainment from Bob the piano player.

The next day we went to Magic Kingdom. My niece had a high fever so my brother-in-law stayed back with her in the morning while the rest of us (10) left for Magic Kingdom. When we walked in we saw Snow White and Dopey. Of course we had to stop for autographs and pictures. Then we headed to the Flight of Peter Pan and It's a Small World. Throughout the day we went on Space Mountain (which was Bailey's favorite ride), Splash Mountain (which was her 2nd favorite), Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion (which of course we got stuck on in the dark!), Hall of Presidents, Buzz Lightyear's Space Rangers Spin. I think that was it. We did a lot, considering we had 12 people. We also celebrated Bella's 4th birthday at Crystal Palace. It was so much fun. She received a card from Pooh and his friends and they announced her birthday and everyone sang Happy Birthday to her. It was great. We stayed there and watched the fireworks and the night time parade. Then we rode the monorail around and I think we got back to our rooms after midnight. We got a lot accomplished that day.

Well, I will have to blog about the rest of our trip later.

Coming Up for Air

2008-03-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

It seems like so much has happened lately. Especially since the last time I blogged! All the kids had their birthdays and I never blogged about it. Oh well, I will hopefully blog about it later :)

We just came home on Wednesday from Disney World. It was great and I will blog about it later. Right now I am going to blog about the crazy week we are still having. Right now Bryson is in the hospital. It really stinks because I can't be up there with him since no one in my family will drive here so I can be with him. Brian is with him right now. It all started on Monday when Bryson starting throwing up. It was awful. We thought it was the flu. Then a few hours before we were leaving, Bailey, Bella and I started throwing up. Not fun when you have to get on a plane! Anyway, we made it home with Bella covered in puke and Bryson covered in the worst blow out I have ever seen! Needless to say no one was happy with us on the plane. But who cares as I will never see those people again. As you can tell, I am not in a good mood. No sleep for several days and beyond stressed will do that to you. So, I was very concerned for Bryson since he was the sickest. I took him to the doctor right away and the doctor thought he had Salmonella poisoning. Well, she was wrong. I kept calling the doctor and finally on Saturday I called them and told them I was taking him to Children's Hospital. He was extremely dehydrated and the doctor immediately diagnosed him with Rotovirus. They started him on IV fluids for the next 4 hrs and then they took x-rays since he was in so much pain. Well, his stomach and intestines were all twisted and the doctor thought they were going to have to do emergency surgery on him. They thought his bowel had elapsed inside itself and if they didn't do surgery right away he could die. Nice thing to hear at 11:30 at night over the phone from Brian. Like I said, I couldn't be there since I had no one to watch the kids. Bailey was just getting over the flu. Fortunately they were able to get an ultrasound right away that showed it was not that bad. Thank goodness, but they still were very concerned about him. He had 18 dirty diapers yesterday!! 18!! That is absurd. Anyway, his sugars and potassium were going crazy and he was not responding to anything. Thank the Lord that finally at 6:30 tonight he was starting to come around. My neighbor came over for about an hour and a half to watch the girls so I could go up there and give Brian some new clothes since he ended up throwing up and getting sick up there with the horrible smell and the stress of everything. Bryson should be home tomorrow and I can't wait to see him. The hardest thing I ever had to do was to leave him tonight. He was crying and calling for me, but yet no tears could come because of the dehydration. I cried all the way to my car.

So, that is my crazy week that I will hopefully never have to repeat again. I will try to blog later about the actual fun we had at Disney!!

The Day my Daughter Saved her Grandma

2007-12-19T05:42:00.000-08:00

We were getting ready to leave Sunday afternoon to go to an outlet store when we received the call from Brian's mom. We were walking out the door so we let the answering machine get it and Brian's mom said that she wanted to talk to Bailey because she has "some news." When we got in the car Bailey called her on Brian's cell phone. Well, apparently when Brian and I were gone the previous weekend, Bailey talked some sense into her grandma. They came up from Tennessee to watch the kids so Brian and I could go to Cincinnati for his Christmas party.

Brian's step dad said that he will not be getting anything from Santa this year because he has been too bad. Bailey's response was that if he had Jesus in his heart, then we would be good and Santa would leave him some presents. She then turned to her grandma and told her that what she really wants for Christmas is to have her grandma and grandpa in heaven one day with her. She knows that Brian's mom is not saved so she told her grandma that she just needs to ask Jesus to come into her heart and believe that He died on the cross for her sins. Then she will go to heaven and she will get to see "her" (Bailey) all the time!! Bailey said it with so much conviction that it really bothered Brian's mom all week and finally on Wednesday she talked to a pastor of a church she has started to attend and she told him the story. She felt she wasn't ready, but it just laid so heavily on her heart that when the pastor on Sunday asked if anyone wanted to come forward and get saved, Brian's mom said she felt a sensation of warmth come over her body and she clearly heard Bailey''s words echo. Next thing she knew she was walking forward and she was saved!! She said it was because of what Bailey said to her that previous Sunday and she told everyone about it!!

Brian's mom called us crying because she was so happy. She wanted to talk to me and thank me for installing religious values into my children and told me I was a great mom and because of what I taught Bailey, another soul was saved. She just kept thanking me. I was so surprised, but I was so excited for her that tears just fell down my face. I felt so proud of Bailey and got on the phone and called my sister and mom to tell them what Bailey had done!! She saved her first person at the age of 5!!

I am so blessed that God gave me the children He did. I am so proud of all of them and I thank God for this gift that He has given me.

Hilton Head continued

2007-10-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

OK, it is a little bit later than anticipated for the second half of our vacation, but here goes. The next day after the Dolphin excursion we headed to Savannah, GA. It is so beautiful there. We walked down River street and saw some amazing stores and it felt like we were stepping back into a totally different century. I loved it. Then we went to a place the tourist center told us was a good place to take kids. It was an actual Pirates House, well used to be anyway. It is where Capt. Flint lived and died (the pirate from Treasure Island). It was really spooky there. It is considered one of the most haunted places in America. Yea, we took our kids there. Anyway, when they were doing renovations back in the 60's, they uncovered a hidden dungeon with cells and secret passage ways. It led all the way to the ocean. Legend has it that when it was a bar, the pirates would get customers drunk with the rum they served them and then they would carry them down through the passage and put them on a ship headed to another country. Kinda freaky. Well, it was a really cool place to visit, even though it spooked my kids a little. Then we drove around and visited Paula Deans and sons restaurant. After a long day we headed back to the ocean for some more swimming.

The rest of the vacation we spent just relaxing by the pool and enjoying the ocean. We can't wait to go back there. We were amazed how well the kids did in the car and at Hilton Head. We all had so much fun. I inquired about how much it would cost to buy our little condo we stayed in and was told it was about $1 million dollars!! Yikes! The owner of Brian's company owns it and lets his employees stay there for free!! Well, you have to claim it as income on your taxes, but still!!

2007-09-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

Debbie at Happy Working Mom tagged me so here goes:

You must list one fact that is somehow relevant about your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the name you would have liked to have. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts. At the end of your blog-post, you will need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they are tagged and to read your blog.

So here goes. My middle name is Renee.

Religion- I am so blessed to have religion as part of my life and that I have the Lord as my personal Savior.
Enegy- it only seems important when you don't seem to have it and with three small kids I desperately need it!!
Napping- do you see the pattern here? It seems that I need a nap to get some more energy to deal with the kiddos today!
Economical- with being a stay-at-home mom it is very important for me to be economical so that I can continue to stay at home with the kids.
Enjoy- I really try hard to enjoy life. Right now I am enjoying watching my children grow both physically, mentally and most importantly spiritually.

So there you have it. Now I need to tag 5 people. HHMMM, who should I choose? Well, here goes!!

Aaron
Denny
Clay
Stef
Debbie

Have fun!!

To My Daughter on Her First Day of Kindergarten

2007-08-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the day is here already. It just seems like yesterday that I was holding you in my arms and now you are waving at me out of the window from your seat behind the bus driver. You had such a smile on your face and I could barely watch without tears flowing down my face. My baby is heading to "big people" school. I am scared for you. I know that you will do well, but how will other people treat you? I dread the day you come home crying because someone said something mean to you or didn't include you in something. I would love for you to stay home with me forever, but I know how important it is for you to learn to deal with these issues. I want to protect you, but the only thing I could do for you today was pray to God to watch over you and protect you and to let nothing happen to you that you couldn't deal with. I watched the clock all day wondering what you were doing. When it was lunch time I looked at your empty chair and wondered if had already eaten your lunch and if you sat with anyone.

Finally, it was time to walk to your bus stop and wait for the bus driver to safely deliver you back to me. I was so relieved to see you sitting on the bus and the look of joy when you saw me waiting for you. You were so proud. The first words to me where "whew, what a long day." You have no idea. It seemed liked eternity before I saw you on that bus again this afternoon. I am so relieved that you made it through the first day of school unscathed. I felt like I was walking on clouds back to the house with my little girl beside me telling me about her day. I couldn't believe how much you have grown up. I am so proud of you.

I know there will be days when you won't be coming off of the bus smiling. I hope that God will give me the words to make everything feel better. I will be praying for you everyday. I will pray for God to give you the strength to resist temptation, the knowledge to know when you are being tempted, the desire to teach others about Him and protection from evil doers.

I am so proud and grateful that you are my daughter. I will always love you.

Hilton Head Vacation

2007-08-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

WOW! What a great vacation. It was far better than my husband and I could have ever imagined. First, the kids did great in the car. It took us 12 hrs to get there. We didn't even hardly get to use the dvd player. They were just content looking out the window trying to spot "slug bugs." Then we counted how many people had cargo bags on top of their cars. The trip there was pretty uneventful.

When we arrived we couldn't believe how nice the place was! We were right on the beach with a great ocean and lagoon view. The people before us left a ton of food and some cold beer :) We headed to the ocean right away and the kids were in awe of the crashing waves and warm water. Bailey starting her shell collecting right away and Bella had to test out the waves. Bryson was very apprehensive about the water and was just content watching everyone else and chasing after the sea gulls.

The next day we ate a quick breakfast and grabbed our boogie boards and sand toys and headed to the ocean. It was such a short walk there. We were there until lunch and then it was nap time. After that we headed to the main land for some groceries. Wow, the food was expensive. They wanted $5 for a gallon of milk!! Anyway, we ended up heading to Sam's Club to get most of the stuff we needed for the week. Then it was dinner and back to the ocean. Bailey and I were splashing in the ocean when I felt something hit my foot and wrap around it. I swiped it away and grabbed Bailey and headed to the shore. I was in some major pain around my ankle and arm. Then Bailey started to scream and grab her hand. We were stung by jellyfish!! I never knew how much they hurt. I didn't know what to do and it started to swell and we got welts all over where they stung us. Then a guy in the ocean started to scream and he darted out of the ocean and started to rub sand all over himself. I ran over to him and he said he was stung by a school of jellyfish. We got lucky, I think it was only one or two that got us. He said we needed to rub sand on it then pour vinegar on it to suck out the poison from the stings. It hurt like hell. Bailey and I were a little scared after that to go back into the water. It took a couple of hours for the pain to subside.

The next day we went to the ocean in the morning and then the pool after naps. The pool was awesome!! The first level was for the little kids. It was only 12 inches deep and had fountains and waterfalls in it. There was plenty of tables and seats. It was great. Bryson and Bella were able to play in it without me having to hover over them in case they fell. I was able to sit at the edge and relax a little. Then if you went up six stairs you were at the bigger pool. It was 3-5 feet deep and had an awesome waterfall on one whole side of it. It was surrounded by palm trees and great landscape lighting. Bailey liked that pool the best. She still isn't that sure of herself in the big pool, so Brian and I were always right next to her. Then if you went up six more stairs you got to the tanning and spa deck. They had a huge pool that was only 6 inches deep with little tables and chaise chairs in it for drinking your beverages and tanning. Connected on to the pool was one of the biggest jacuzzi I had ever seen. It was great. No one under the age of 10 was allowed up there which was kind of nice. I hate it when you are trying to relax in a jacuzzi and some kids are using it as a swimming pool. Of course I don't mind if my kids are there :)

The next day we did some more swimming and headed to a marina to do some dolphin watching and catch a boat to take a tour. It was really hot and we didn't see too many dolphins. The kids got to drive the boat and wear the captains hat. They loved that part the best. Afterwards we got off the boat and starting down the dock when a dolphin literally surfaced right next to us. It scared me half to death. I felt like I could have reached out my hand and touched her. I could hear her blowing air out of her blow hole. It was so cool. A couple of us stayed around and watched her. Then we saw her baby. It was so cute. They were so close. Then we saw more dolphins and were watching the baby when all of a sudden we saw a different fin emerge from the water. You could see the looks of everyone as we all realized that it was not a dolphins fin that we saw, it was a shark and it was only a very few feet from us. Did I mention we were on a dock and not a pier? We were almost even with the water. I grabbed the kids as they were way too close to the edge and the shark. Now, it was only about 2 feet long, but still, a shark is a shark. I only hope it didn't go after the baby dolphin because we saw it thrashing around eating something. We saw a dolphin attacking something and thrashing around a little while later, so who knows. Was she going after the shark that hurt her baby or just trying to get some fish for it? Who knows, but I would rather think the last thing. Anyway, what a great day! To see two amazing creatures so close was great.

Stay tuned for more blogging on the rest of the trip!!

Heading to Hilton Head

2007-08-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

We will be embarking on a road trip to Hilton Head in the next few days. I am very excited, but very apprehensive at the same time. I am not sure how my children will do when we are at the condo. I am scared that they will be bored. I know we will go to the ocean and the pool and do a lot of amazing things. The thing is that my kids think they need to be entertained everyday and I am having a huge problem with my oldest. She doesn't want to have anything to do with her siblings. She just wants to play by herself and be left alone. Now, our house is big enough for her to do that. It's just that our middle daughter wants to be with the older one all the time so she follows her. Being the youngest in the family, I can relate with my middle daughter. My sister didn't want me around either and it made me feel terrible. I don't know what to do. I am hoping that once school starts, things will be better.

Another big change that will be occurring soon is that I am going to start watching 3 more kids. Their ages are 4, 19 mos, and 2 mos. Yes, it will be crazy. It will only be for 2 days out of the week, but it will start at 6:20 in the morning!! I am not a morning person so this should be interesting. Also, I will be going back and forth from preschool as the 4 yr old goes to preschool in the afternoon and mine goes in the morning. With that said, I know it won't be that bad. I know the kids and my girls get along well with the 4 yr old. Their mom works the night shift and she needs to get her sleep during the day and she is so desperate for someone to watch them. Right now she is not sleeping during the day and still going to work!! I give her a lot of credit. I do not do well without sleep, let alone work a 12 hr shift in the hospital.

Farewell to Grandma

2007-07-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

What a sad day today. I woke up this morning from a phone call from my mom saying that my grandma passed away last night in her sleep. I just spoke on the phone with her last Sunday when I was visiting my mom and dad to pick up the girls from when they had them for a week. I was recovering from having bilateral shockwave lithotripsy. My grandma called to see how I was feeling and if I could come to visist her.

I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I made up a few excuses (well, not too made up, Bella was sick) so I never made it there. "Next time grandma" is what I said. Well, who would have thought that next time would be at her funeral. We are leaving tomorrow to go to NW Indiana and we will leave on Saturday to go to Salem, IL where she will be buried. Yes, it is a lot of traveling, but it is a must. I know she would do the same for me.

My grandma has lived on this earth for 37 yrs without her beloved husband. He passed away at age 50. She has lost two children when they were younger. My grandma was a very strong woman and very independent. She would go to the movies until she lost her eyesight due to macular degeneration. She lived by herself until just a few years ago when she was too blind to fend for herself. She was 87 yrs young. I will miss my grandmother, as now I no longer have any grandparents here on earth. I know that I will see all of them when I pass to my eternal home. This is a day of celebration in that now she can see again and never have another hurt, or sadness. She is with our heavenly father and I will one day be with her again.

So, farewell to you grandma. This is not a good-bye, but just a short while before we will be together again.

Day at Evyonne's

2007-06-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

What a great day we had yesterday. We went over to our friends house (Evyonne) for a potluck. There ended up being 10 other moms, most of them SAHM, and MANY kids. Our friend has 7 acres in the country and a lot of great things for the kids to play on. Most of the kids got along pretty well. It is great getting together with other moms and having some adult conversation, even if it ends up about the kids :) Sometimes life can get pretty mundane when you are a stay-at-home mom. It's nice to know that you are not the only one who feels like you are losing your mind or think your kids are the only ones who throw tantrums!

There were some moms there who only had one kid and a mom there who had 4 kids. It is amazing how seasoned we become with the more kids we have or the older they get. I got a few chuckles watching some of the "new" moms and how they worried over the smallest things. I remember those days. When you are a new mom, the 5 second rule doesn't apply. If it falls on the floor, they can't eat it. If the pacifier falls, sterilize it first or rinse it off. When you have more than one kid, the 5 second rule is great! As long as it doesn't fall into something gross, they can eat it. If the pacifier falls on the floor, stick it your mouth to clean it or just rub it off with your hands. Germs aren't as scary after your first kid. We figure it will give them stronger immune systems. Oh yes, the first time mom syndrome. Gotta love it.

Out of the mouths of babes

2007-05-31T12:45:00.001-07:00

Okay. This is my first time blogging EVER. Please bear with me while I get my bearings. First I will tell you a little about myself. I am in my early thirties and married to a wonderful man/father. We have been married almost 10 years. We have three wonderful (and yes, sometimes awful) children. Two girls ages 3 and 5 and a 1 yr old boy. They are the best things that ever happened to my husband and I. I am a stay-at-home mom. There are days that I love it and days that make me think my kids would be better at a babysitters house!! Even on those days I wouldn't trade my life for the world. God has blessed me more than I could have ever imagined. I live in the midwest, but would love to live somewhere different. It' s not that I don't like the midwest, I have just lived here my whole life and would like to try living somewhere different. Anyway, enough about me for now. I'm sure you will get to know more about me after I start blogging some more :)

Here is what my blog is all about today. I have three children and it always amazes me what comes out of their mouths and their interpretations about things. For example, today my five year old told me she is so excited because she is starting to get brown (tan) skin. When I asked her why she told me because then she can start speaking Spanish!! For some reason she thinks when you get "tan" you can speak Spanish. She has been going around the house all day talking in a made up language. She thinks she is talking Spanish! Whenever we run into someone who speaks Spanish, my five year old says that she can't wait to grow up and get brown skin and speak Spanish. My five year old has blondish hair and blue eyes!! I don't know why she thinks this, but it is kinda funny.

One of the main reasons why I wanted to start blogging is because I am so bad about keeping up baby books and scrapbooking and I don't want to forget some of the things they say or do. I figured this would be a great way for me to keep track of it. Thanks for bearing with my first blog.