Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I am Thankful For. . .

1. Emily. She lives life so fully and joyfully.

2. Madeline. She is such a loving little sweetheart.

3. Brian. He works hard to support us. He also loads and unloads the dishwasher.

4. Our home. Though it is unorganized, it is our haven.

5. Being blessed to stay home with my kids - even when they make me crazy! :)

6. A healthy pregnancy so far.

7. My sisters.

8. Our laptop working again!!!

9. Good music on my ipod.

10. Friends from the old days - as well as new friends.

11. The weekend quickly approaching.

12. Our church - the worship is awesome - and our preacher is so amazing. He tells it like it is - and preaches truth.

13. A warm home on a cold night!

Life Happens

So, Friday evening life happened. My dad called to say that he has kidney cancer.

They plan to remove one of his kindneys on Feb. 12. It has been an anxiety filled weekend of processing all the info - and waiting for more test results that came yesterday. It looks like a fairly good situation - as good as one involving the word "cancer" can be. He seems to be handling it better than I am. I have felt sick to my stomach, tightness in my chest - just overall major anxiety!!!!

I AM doing better since the latest results and now that the date is set.

Plus - my major outlet - the internet - has not been an easy option for me. Our beloved laptop is on the fritz. Starting Monday morning the screen would not wake up. No matter how many prayers, cuss words, etc. Would.not.wake.up.

So, a friend is looking at it.

That is our life right now. It is a lot.

Full day

Today was a good day.

I left after getting out of bed to get donuts from a local bakery. YUM!!!!

Jill was here until about 1pm. Brian and I left on our own again for about an hour to find more "detective clothes" for him. (It is not as fun as it sounds. . . he just needs more dress clothes after several years in a uniform!) It is fun to pick out ties! We especially found fun, reasonably priced ties at TJMaxx and Marshall's. I LOVE those stores!

This afternoon Daddy did more clothes shopping with Emily. Meanwhile, Madeline and I happily napped at home.

My friend, Jod, came over around 4. She brought her cute little busy body son. He loved playing wiht the girls. Did I mention that Jod is a massage therapist? I propose marriage every time she lays her hands on me. I may even break into Bon Jovi's "Lay your hands on me. . ." I loved that video (and song - don't tell!). They stayed for dinner after relaxing my entire upper body! Brian made this yummy pepperoni stuffed bread we have had several times. It is easy and delish. But for our family of 4 we need to make 2. Just so you know!

Tonight we did movie night - a tradition that started last week as Daddy's idea. We all cuddle up on the couch. We watched Cinderella tonight. Brian and I both agreed we had never seen it before. . . it was good.

Tomorrow we have church - and other than that can chill. (Though I think I have to go to the grocery. . . ughh!)

Snaps of the Sisters

A dear neighbor / friend of ours hit Vegas over the weekend. Apparently there is a place there called "M&M World." (Did I need to know that?) She brought the girls each an M&M straw. The girls were WAY excited.

Here are a few shots of the sisters. Maddie had applied (liberally) some blue lipgloss. She LOVES anything girlie like that.

Today my sister (who has taught kindergarten for 18 years) came today and we visited some pre-schools. I am considering putting Emily in a different program next year. I am just looking for something more creative and less structured / worksheet - y. (She is only 4, afterall!) She helped me evaluate a few - AND (call me crazy) we went to visit the Kindergarten (public) that Emily will attend in a year and a half. I learned that her teacher will make ALL the difference. It was a busy, but fun morning. I napped this afternoon, then Aunt Jill babysat so we could go out on a date. We did the exciting stuff all free parents do: shopped for bunkbeds, went to Marshall's, and out to eat! :) It was a nice break from routine!

Better Day

Thanks for all your well wishes. Today was a better day. Daddy brought us McD for lunch. The girls did some art, and I talked to a few friends on the phone.

The girls are clean and in bed - together - thus not asleep. Ughh.

We are watching "moment of truth." I'm not sure how I feel about it. Anyone else watch it?

What's up here

These are all but a baby of our small group kids - aren't they cute? They were putting on a show on the "stage" of our hearth.

Daddy reading a story to his girls. . . Daddy was on the local news tonight! He broke his first case yesterday, by getting a confession from a guy. It's big stuff for us! :)

Princess Madeline. . . all dolled up!

Emily is wearing her bunny costume minus the ears.

I've been struggling the last week or so with this whole new schedule. It has been tougher on me than I expected. Mainly, I am just unhappy with my attitude. I have a hard time not being in "survival mode" with the girls all the time. . . it's almost nap time, how long til daddy gets home, etc. I want this job more than any other in the world - but I feel like I do NOT have a good attitude about it. I want to be happy. Enjoy my time. But right now I don't. And I'm frustrated with myself, but don't know what to do about it.

Weekend Stuff

So, Friday night our friends, Wes and Heather, came over and brought lasagna. We always love hanging out with them.

Saturday, we mainly hung out at home - though I ran errands for about 3 hours in the afternoon. I had several things to return, turned in my wedding ring to get sized - FINALLY - and went to the grocery store. This errand run EXHAUSTED me! I need to start doing some things in the evenings when Brian gets home - because the weekend needs to refresh me a little. I am so bummed out tonight knowing that tomorrow 5 days starts over again. It is overwelming - when normally it would be 2 days until he has 2 days off again.

Today we had church. It is FREEZING here. I mean C.O.L.D. Violated by mother nature cold. I took a nap with Emily this afternoon - then had to get up and rush around getting ready to have small group here. I made this yummy hawaiian bread sandwich (thanks Blaza - I also made your chip dip). And my 11 minute microwave cake. It all went over. Our 'lesson' was really good. First of all, each week we are having one couple tell their story - so that was fun and interesting. Then, we did a lesson - the series is "Nooma." It has a short video - then questions. I would highly recommend it. It brought out deep discussion and challenged. It was good. Especially if you are in a group that is between studies, as I think these can all stand alone. We got them from our church.

That's all from here. I finished a book in about 3 nights (before bed) last week - it was very thought provoking. I have a new one to start - so I'm off to bed!

Ultrasound

I had my first doctors appointment today. It was such a relief.

I was THRILLED to see the heartbeat!!!

The ultrasound tech even did 3-D stuff - which amazed Brian and I.

As of tomorrow I am 11 weeks.

Yay for a healthy baby!

Officer Daddy goes to Pre-School

This week was the week - "P" week. So, PPPPolice Officer Daddy got to come to school and talk to Emily's class! Madeline and I went as well. Madeline thought it was so special to get to be in big sister's class. She was so well-behaved. Aren't they cute holding hands in line?

Officer Daddy talks about what police officers do. . .

Officer Daddy with the whole class.

Make-over Mamas

Tonight the girls got to do make-up - which they LOVE to do! It has to be supervised, or they will go through all the make-up in one sitting. . . . Emily doing her make-up. . .

Madeline doing her make-up. She has a special liking for anything to put on her lips!!!

They also got their nails done.

The make-over set up!

Today was an okay day. I was more tired than usual after sleeping with a headache all night long. Not a great mom today to be sure- but I tried to make-up for it tonight (Get it?!) I made pot roast with carrots and potatoes in the crock pot. It seemed fitting for a cold day! It is so awesome to have Brian home at 4pm instead of 6pm. It makes the night so much longer as a fam.

Snippets of our Day

Okay - so this 5 day a week thing is off to a start! My current baby steps goal is to do one special thing with the kids each day - I'm not talking the zoo - Today we had a picnic for lunch. . . meaning - paper plates on a blanket in the family room. But they thought it was fun. We all took a nap this afternoon - I was beat from the party! Tonight while giving the girls a bath - I asked if they thought our baby was a boy or a girl. Emily voted boy. Madeline voted girl. We go for our first ultrasound and dr. visit on Friday, which should be a relief!

Little Miss Madeline!

Tonight I went out to dinner with my dear friend Natalie - I LOVE her. she is so "easy." She gets along with everyone - and is just an amazing person. I am so thankful God crossed our paths 5 years ago. (is that right?) She came over and loaded my dishwasher while holding Emily after my first baby was born - and I will NEVER forget it! She sent me to shower and sleep. She is a TRUE friend! She has her own struggle with MS that has been quite a challenge lately - PRAISE THE LORD she is doing much better after some new medication. She is just such a gift and inspiration!

It was snowing reallly pretty in the picture - but you can't really tell.

Here is the gift she gave me tonight for my b'day - I LOVE it. It is from a cool boutique in Houston. . . A sweet little box with this cool key chain inside! Love it! Thanks, Natalie!

I wanted to update you on what I got at Old Navy (pretend you care!) I got it all out tonight and counted it up:

All for the girls

26 shirts

1 pair of cutie boxers to sleep in

3 pair of winter jammies

4 pair of pants

1 winter coat

a scarf, gloves, hat

2 dresses

spent $130

SURPRISE!

Today I threw a suprise 40th Birthday Party for my sister, Jill. Here she is with her hubby.

I had her friends write a love letter of sorts to her - and put them together in a Scrapbook with the creative help of my dear neighbor!

Here are Aunt and Uncle with the girls!

I did a "this is your life . . . " where her long lost friends came down as I announced the year and how they met. She had friends here from TN, OH, and a friend from college she hadn't seen in years. It was a great time!

Fun Evening

So . . . today was somewhat of a lazy day. I took a long nap to recover from my long week. (Brian was off today due to his schedule getting regulated from 12 hour days to 8 hour days). I also ran some errands this afternoon. Okay - so I had 2 fun surprising experiences today:

1. Starbucks. I got 3 giftcards for Christmas - so I can go get my drink guilt free - So I went through the driveway - ordered my drink - left - took a sip - YUCK - it had coffee in it. Can you imagine? At Starbuck's???? So, I looped around. Well, they upgraded my drink to a vinti - AND gave me a coupon for a free drink. Isn't that great? Good customer service makes me so happy!

2. Tonight my dad stopped by. He just returned from taking my older sister and her family to Disneyworld. He stopped in - gave each of my girls a t'shirt from disney - which they wore to dinner. Then, he took us to dinner at Red Robin. We had a 30 min. wait for our table - to entertain Emily, Papaw let her play the "claw game" where you try to pick up a stuffed animal. Not just ANY stuffed animal - but Mickey and Minnie Mouse. . . So, they failed - but another guy waltzes up and gets a Minnie - which upset Emily - and gave her more drive to win her own. Well, at .50 a pop - it ends up being a rather expensive cheap stuffed animal, you know? Anyway - we gave up. Later, while we were eating - the man walks up - gives Emily the Minnie he won - and gives Madeline a Mickey he must have gone back and won for her. I couldn't believe it. As silly as it seems - things like this give me a little more faith in people!

Hot Date

Last night was my birthday gift from Brian. When he planned it, he didn't realize we would be in the midst of job transition - but it was fun, just the same.

The plan (which was a suprise to me) was to first go to a paint your own pottery store, then chill for awhile, then go have dinner at a comedy club featuring Tammy Pescatelli.

So, the pottery place was closed for "winter break." ???? So, we ended up sitting and talking in Starbuck's for about an hour, waiting on the comedy show to open! We are NOT really cool Starbuck's people - so we had fun mocking those around us and taking it all in.

Okay - so we get to the comedy show - and it is "Ladies Night" - and my husband knows this. . . They usher us to our "reserved" seats - in the FRONT ROW - We were literally at the comedians' feet. It was terrifying for me. I did NOT want to be singled out and mocked publically! The REAL excitement was that the opening guy Ryan Hamilton - was someone we remembered from Last Comic Standing. He was AWESOME - I liked him better than Tammy. He was great. Tammy was good - but swore a lot - and quite un-necessarily - which gets on my nerves. Anyway - it was a fun night!

Pray for us!

The Mr. starts his new job tomorrow - I know he is a little anxious, but also excited. . .

And the Mrs. . . I am sooo tired and overwelmed with this new work schedule. (Seems crazy to most, but I am used to only having the kids 3 days straight - now it's five!) And this week it will be 4 days straight. I am preggo, emotional, and T.I.R.E.D.

Thanks!

OH - my girls fell asleep in bed together for the second night in a row!!

Warm Winter Day

Would you believe it was in the 60's today??? We went outside for over an hour!
I will tell you that 60 degrees feels cooler in December than in the Spring - but I'm not complaining. It was still a little cool wiht the wind - but a gift all the same! The girls had fun riding every wheeled toy in our garage. Here are a few shots from our time. . .


AND it's OFFICIAL - Brian becomes Detective Brian on Wednesday! So - good-bye uniform and hello street clothes. Good-bye cop car and hello unmarked car. Good-bye crazy schedule and hello 8-4 mon - fri. So, I wanted to get some shots of him in his uniform, you know - for his retirement party someday!

A new decoration

Hey - I love a deal. I love Target after Christmas clearance. Let's face it, I also love after V'day, Easter, etc clearance at Target. I bought these cute little ornaments 75% off this year after Christmas - I just loved them. They were .50 each. I just nailed them up in my kitchen tonight - and Voila. They make me happy! P.S. the screen door is from our first house - we found it in the garage storage area. And the Chair, I bought senior year of college at a yard sale. We used it all year at "The Bank," and last year my mom refinished it and wove the seat. I love it! The slate "love one another" is a wedding gift. And I took the barn photos when Brian and I were living with his parents in Southern Indiana. That's the scoop on this little grouping! Oh yes, and doesn't the light switch add a nice touch? Ughh!

Childhood Toys

For some reason, I think it is cool when my kids like to play with my old toys. This Noah's ark was mine when I was little. Madeline played with it for quite a while after lunch today.

So far we're 1 for 3

We have been doing a sleep experiment at our household. . . trying to put Madeline in bed with Emily. . . you see, we only have 3 bedrooms - and soon we will technically need 4. So - someone must share. Instead of racing out to buy 2 twin beds, I thought I would try the girls together first. Emily has a double bed - it is an antique 4 post bed that was mine when I was growing up - it is a family antique. . . So, since I love the bed and already have bedding, I thought let's try this. . .

The first night - both girls ended up bawling.

The second night they chatted from 8pm until 10:30pm when we finally broke up the party by putting Maddie back into her crib.

Tonight so far so good. We put them to bed late and tired - so we'll see what happens!

Edited* so Emily ended up falling asleep in our bed (before we were in it) then was transported to her bed with little sis. . . and both ran in to wake me up this morning at 8:45 am - so cute, and not bad!

Tonight we had our first gathering of our new small group. Brian and I decided to start a new group. We have 2 other couples so far, and neither one has ever been in a small group at our church - so we are excited to be getting them more plugged in. Tonight I felt like we all had good chemistry. It was fun.

Okay - so this little guy - my Santa Gnome - I LOVE him. I spotted him at T@rget before Christmas - and wanted him at $40 - so imagine my joy, when I got him for $10 at 75% off. Yippee. For some reason I just love this little guy. He is the perfect colors for my downstairs and just makes me happy! He's about 2 feet tall.

Fofie

Madeline as a new word - "Fofie." for her cousin, Sophie. It is sooo cute. She has even tried to deem herself, "Fofie." Pointing to herself and saying, "Fofie." It is sooo sweet. She will also bring me my cell phone and say, "Fofie?" wanting to talk to her cousin. Just wanted to share!

Happy Birthday to Me!

On Dec. 27th I turned 32. My dear friends, Melanie and Heather celebrated with me and my husband at the Cheesecake Factory. (one of my fave places!) If you haven't ever tried their cashew chicken - you are missing out! :) Anyway - thanks to these two friends for joining me to celebrate!

Ya Ya Visits

My mom stayed at our home from Dec. 26 until Dec. 30. It was so fun to have her here. The girls LOVE "ya ya." (She was deemed "ya ya" during a summer visit by Madeline!) Anyway - she does lots of fun activities with the girls - and they just love having her here. Mom kept putting MAdeline's hair in pigtails - and it was sooo adorable!

Ready for church on Dec. 30 in some Christmas attire. So cute, those girls!

Playing playdough with Grandma.