Year in review...

In light of the new year, I thought I would link up to this fun blog and do a 2009 recap, via my blog. So here is the first couple lines of the first post of each month. I hope you enjoy reviewing my year as much as I did!

January

Ian rolled over today! I got so excited I think I scared him :) I also started to cry. I am such a women!

February

Visit my weight loss blog to see my new favorite recipe!

March

Let's start our day off with a smile today. I hope this does the trick! Here a just a few of the ones that came up for my name. My wise cracks are in (___) behind the quotes.

1. Unfortunately, Jessica would regret that decision when one night Marshall forced himself on her. (darn that Marshall)

April

Tonight Justin and I are going to go on a date!

May

I love me some good giveaways and with Mother's day coming up I thought you might want to know about this wonderful giveaway going on at We Are THAT Family.

June

So I only have time for a short post today. We are having a blast here in Florida!

July

Today Ian and I met our friends at the zoo. It was perfect weather, not too hot and a little bit of a breeze.

August

So I am not a museum kind of person. I don't like to go and walk through exhibits and read about what I am looking at.

September

So much has been going on in our life as of lately. I have been so, let me type that as SO busy this week. It has for sure made the week go by faster though. Which is good since I am having a date with the hottest man in the world on Friday!

October

I don't understand why He is not allowing this to happen. I know that I will look back and praise Him all the more. I just feel sad today.

(um, just a note on this one...look to Decembers post, He is good)

November

God has blessed Justin and I with some amazing people in our lives. Today I am going to mention one of them.

December

I am pregnant! We are so excited.

Our day in a nut shell, or a snow shell...

What a day, or should I say two days! Yesterday (Christmas eve) it began to snow, it continued to snow and continued to snow and just when you thought it was done it kept on going! It became a full on blizzard! In fact that is what the news people have officially titled it... "Blizzard 09". I really thought they should come up with something more creative. Justin heard someone on the radio say "white death 09", which I think was a little too much but at least it was creative!

Today (Christmas day) we had planned on going to my Mom and Step-dad's house to celebrate with the entire family! When I say entire I mean all 5 siblings (includes step), their spouses and kids, and of course Nana and Pawpaw! However, we decided to hold off since most of us were coming from at least 30 minutes away (which in blizzard roads would have turned into at least an hour I am sure). We will celebrate our Savior's birth tomorrow.

Justin, Ian and I did celebrate together today. We opened gifts, which was awesome. My hubbs did great on the gifts he got me! It was funny because everything he got me was on my list of wants, I forgot about most of them though so it was a huge surprise when I opened them!

After Ian's nap and lunch we read the story of Jesus' birth. What a great reminder that God is in control!

I wanted to thank the two ladies who left comments on my last post about birth control. I really think they have helped me in my desicion. The hubs and I will still discuss the final out come. It is not to late to share your opinion with me! Comment, comment, comment!!! I love those comments ;)

Ok, here are some pictures of our day. Merry Christmas and remember that Jesus loves us. If you have any questions about what I am talking about then PLEASE leave me a comment.

My little cheeseburger ;) (Veggie Tales anyone?)

Blizzard '09

birth control vs no birth control...

Obviously this is not an issue for me right now as I am with child. However, I was thinking the other day what is the answer. Does God want us to use birth control? I mean any form of it.

You see I was thinking, there isn't anything in the Bible about preventing pregnancy. No verse says "if thou knowest that thou is ovulating then thou shouldn't lay with thy husband". However, it does say in Psalm 127:3-5 (ESV)

3. Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. 5. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

So that brings me back to the question, is birth control (of any form) ok to use? Or should we just trust that God will know what we can handle and what we can't? Part of me feels like God gave us brains, we should use them. You know? Like if you know that financially you can not have children then perhaps you shouldn't have them. I mean the only true birth control is not "laying" with your spouse.

I found this on a website called www.quiverfull.com. I thought it was good. It might possibly be what I believe. The jury is still out on this though.

The bottom line is not about how many children one has, but about trusting God with all our hearts, souls and minds in ALL areas of our lives. If we are withholding one area, what other things are we holding back from His control? Jesus has asked us to come to Him with the simple faith of a child and merely put our trust in Him. Has he not shown us over and over that He can be trusted to do us good and not evil?


So tell me, what do you think? Is birth control (of any form) right or wrong, or does it depend on the person? Do you think that God would call some of us to use it and others to not? I am really interested in knowing what you think on this subject.

(a little side note: I do not promote sex before marriage. I do believe that God wants us to wait till we are married to have sex. I know that people make mistakes and God forgives. What an amazing God we serve!)

Giving it up to God...

Sometimes giving things to God is a lot harder than just saying "Lord I give _____ to you". Sometimes it takes action. Like today I have given the need for a babysitter up to God, but what do I do? I sit in front of the computer just waiting for someone to email me back that they can babysit for us. Then it hit me that first of all if we do find a babysitter that can come over to our house then I need to get some cleaning done and second it may not come in the form of an email! So I got up off my butt and cleaned the main bathroom, started laundry, did dishes and showered! I even cleaned the master bath while I was at it! Now I find myself listening to Ian's v-tech doll that he has in his crib. He for some reason isn't going to sleep today, but at least he isn't crying! Thanks Nana and Pawpaw for the frog doll! Thank you Lord for the people who make v-tech toys.

Ok, back to the original subject. Giving things to God... I have decided that if God doesn't want us at the FLOCK Christmas party tonight then that is what I want to. Right? It is always hard for me to trust that He knows best. Why is that? I mean God has taken care of me my whole life, I need not worry about something so small as having a night with other adults right? RIGHT! So I am going to get off the computer again, because I keep thinking that surely someone will email me saying they can babysit, and I am going to fix my hair and finish getting ready.

FYI - Ian is 15 months old today! We go to his doctor appointment today, I better pack the camera! ;)

Three years ago...

I said "I do" to the most amazing man ever!

I remember it like it was yesterday. I woke up at 5, or should I say got up because I was already awake and just couldn't get back to sleep! I took my shower and washed my hair even though the hair lady told me not to wash it that morning. Oh well, my hair still looked good!

My friend/bridesmaid Abby went to McDonald's with me for breakfast. I know I didn't spare anything to make that day fancy. ;)

When we arrived at the church I started to get worried when the hair lady was late. But she arrived and we began the proccess of making me in to the beautiful bride that I was that day (yes you can call that bragging, but I thought I looked great!).

Justin and I had decided to give each other a gift that day. I thought he meant for it to be giving before the wedding, so I sent my gift over to him. He was embarrassed when he opened it in front of his dad. It wasn't anything bad, but it could be questionable. It was a massage ball that I got at Bath and Body Works! Anyway, he gave me the gift once we got to the hotel. It was a beautiful silver cross with the word LOVE in the middle!

Ok, so on to the ceremony. I thought it was a good one. Not too long, but not real short either. During the unity candle part we were laughing at just talking to each other. I told him "guess what, we get to have (you can fill in the blank) tonight!" I don't know if that embarrassed him or not but I think we had fun up there.

Ok, so enough details lets see some pictures! Just kidding, it looks like we don't have any scanned in so you can check back later and maybe my sweet, smart, good looking husband can scan some in tonight!

more favorites...

I can probably go on for a while with this whole favorites list. So look for more of my favorites as the days go on.

Today I want to share with you my favorite spaghetti eater! Yes you heard right. I love this little guy more than anything in the world, even though I am the one who cleans up his mess (well with help from Justin). I can't stand how cute he is when he is covered in spaghetti sauce!

Stay tuned for my wedding story tomorrow! Three years of marriage to the most wonderful man ever!

These are a few of my favorite things!

Favorite Christmas tree ornament:
You may be wondering why this says "Our First Christmas, 2004". I mean I didn't even meet Justin till 2006! Well the story behind this ornament makes me smile every time I think of it. Long ago (in 2004) I was going to keep two of my sweet nieces over night. My brother took them to Target before coming over and let them each pick out an ornament for me. Kylie, who was 5 at the time, gave me a cheerleader ornament, which I do love. Kaitlynn gave me this ornament because she liked the bears. Should I mention she was only 3 years old at the time? Because of this I love telling the story behind this ornament! It makes my list of my favorite things!

My favorite gift received:
Hands down my favorite, and most used, gift that I have received is my snuggie! I love it. Justin gave it to me just to say he loves me! What a man I have. I love my husband and I love my snuggie!


These are just a few of my favorite things. Tell me what are yours?

Such a great church...

Our church, Henderson Hills Baptist Church, is such a wonderful place to go! Not only is everyone so welcoming, but the staff are great. Every year our "gathering" is decorated so nice at Christmas time that people are always trying to take family pictures in front of the decorated Christmas trees. I too had thought that would be a good idea. After all we would already be in dress clothes. Well this year our church offered free, yes FREE, family photos in front of the trees! In fact our friend Franklin was the one taking the pictures (he is multi-talented). So Justin, Ian and I dressed up and had our picture taken. I think it turned out well, however Ian wasn't so happy. I think he secretly knew he would have to go back to the nursery rather than stay with mommy and daddy. He is a smart kid like that. :) Thanks HHBC for doing this!

The rumors are true...

I am pregnant! We are so excited. I went to the doctor's office yesterday and had blood work done and right now my levels are low so I am going to go back tomorrow to have more blood drawn to make sure they have gone up. Also, my progesterone level was low so I will be put on a progesterone supplement till week 12. This happened when I was pregnant with Ian too. I am trying not to be too worried about the HcG levels being low. I am a bit emotional today though and Ian is having diarrhea so that doesn't help me much. Thankfully I have a WONDERFUL husband who has offered to do things around the house and even to come home from work if I need him. He is so sweet! I am so blessed to have him as my husband and friend.

Well I will keep you updated on things with the pregnancy as they go along. Please pray for a healthy pregnancy. I have already been sick a lot, but am trying not to complain about it because I know it is a blessing. I am supposed to have an ultra sound scheduled for next week, which will be exciting! I look forward to posting pictures of our little peanut.

left over rolls...

We usually don't have left over rolls in our family. It doesn't matter what holiday meal it is, we love the bread (ok, it could just be that I love the bread and eat it all, but we won't say that too loudly). Well this year I was in charge of buying all of the food for our Thanksgiving dinner. I did my best to buy a small amount of food as we always have left overs of stuff each year. My brother lives in Texas, so he isn't going to take it with him and I have usually been doing weight watchers so I don't want it and my parent's don't really want it either. I did however buy an abundance of rolls! Like I said, I don't feel like you can have too many rolls. The real reason I bought them though is because of this neat idea from the blog Make and Takes. It sounded like such an easy way to make a fun desert kind of thing. So I did it! The one thing I did not do is place the rolls close enough together, so one of my wreaths broke :( but it still tasted yummy! Since all I had was chocolate frosting I just made them more like donuts. It was like baked donuts! So yummy! The icing was a little too sweet to me, but more to come on that later ;)

God knows...

I know I have mentioned on here before about how I don't understand why God allows certain things to happen. For instance a friend of mine lost her baby two weeks before her due date, or another friend had a misscarriage and hasn't been able to conceive since. The stories I have heard on the news this week have made me cry. I can't even type them out because the are just too horrible. Ugh and now here is another one that is just mind boggling. I have been reading about this family that goes to the church that I used to go to on a lot of my friends facebook page updates. There names are Vanessa and Jay Hart. Well for some reason it didn't click in that I knew them and while I prayed for there little son Brock I didn't follow through with reading there blog. Then it clicked in that this was a guy that was friends with my brother and sister in high school. I knew him as Jason, but I guess he goes by Jay now. Anyway, when I read there blog today I just thought I should share it with my blog readers. This baby needs our prayers and his family needs our prayers. I couldn't imagine going through what they are going through. There son was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in October. Please go and check out there blog and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brockhart

Wish I could take the credit...

This weekend my family and I headed down to the Ft. Worth area and hung out with my brother and his family on Friday and then on Saturday afternoon we went to my BFF's house to celebrate her daughters 2nd birthday. Her original plan was to do a "tea for two" party since she was turning two. Then she realized that most of the kids that were coming were boys, so she ended up not doing that theme, but still did some cute tea pot cookies. She did so good on them that I had to post it on my blog and brag about her! I think I am going to have her teach me how she did it. My cookies can not even compare. Oh and not only do they look good, but they tasted good too!

If you have a bathroom...

If you have a bathroom here are a few rules you should follow. By following these you and any guests should have comfortable bathroom experiences. :)

1. ALWAYS have toilet paper in the bathroom. Have a stash under the sink and even have another secret one hidden behind the stash. This will keep you from having to yell someones name to bring you more! Now I know you may be thinking that in this day pretty much everyone has a cell phone why not call? Well not all bathrooms have good cell phone coverage so your guest may feel as though they will die in the bathroom because there is no toilet paper.

2. ALWAYS have a plunger in the room. This will keep your guests from feeling embarrassed when they have to run through your house asking for a plunger. Not that I know from experience or anything. ;)

3. ALWAYS have air freshener in the room. Again, this will keep your guests feeling comfortable if they happen to get "sick" and then there is someone waiting right out the door to go to the bathroom right after me, err I mean the guest that we are talking about. I mean really who wants to leave a stink for the next guest and who wants to walk in to a room of stink?

If you cannot follow all of these rules then you just shouldn't have a bathroom, or at the least you should not be allowed to have guests! Perhaps I can get congress to pass a law about this. I mean at least then we could say that the Obama administration has done something productive. ;)

Laughs and Kisses

I was reminded....

I was reminded today just how much I adore my husband. Yes I love him. Yes I respect him. Yes I am honored to be his wife. But with all that said I just adore him SO much! I was reading this blog when I was reminded just how much I adore him.

He is so cute with Ian. It is in the times that he does not see me looking that I see this wonderful side of him (not that there is a not wonderful side to him, but you know what I am saying). He will sit and play with Ian trying to teach him how to put the blocks in the matching wholes. The way he prays for him at night. The way he holds him when he is tired. It just moves my heart!

I also adore the way he is with me. :) He constantly tells me I am beautiful, but even better I love it when he tells me I am HOT! ;) He will do the dishes when I am tired or finish the laundry when I am not around. He goes to work so I can stay home. This list could go on and on! Oh and he rubs my feet all the time!

Oh how I hope our children will know just how much I love, respect and adore my husband!

marshmallows, chocolate and crackers, need I say more?

On Halloween, Justin and I went to a party at our friend Lindsay's house. We had so much fun and let me tell you there were a lot of good goodies! One of the things that I liked were little mini s'mores. They were made from Ritz crackers, Hershey kiss's and a marshmallow on top. You cook them in the oven and voila! They were so yummy. I think I ate most of them. I heard some one say that she should try making it more of like a layered desert. So tonight I did! Here are the pictures I took. I actually remembered to take pictures at each step.

Step 1: crumble Ritz crackers and place in the bottom of dish. I used a glass bowl, but you could use anything I suppose. Also, I used the new brown sugar cinnamon crackers, but again you could use which ever kind you want. I melted some butter and stirred it around to make it a little more crust like.

Step 2: top the cracker crust with chocolate chips. My new favorite chocolate chips are Hershey's brand. I think they taste better then other brands, but any brand will do.

Step 3: top with marshmallows. I used the big ones because that is what I had, but you could probably use small ones too. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 7 minutes, then turn on your broiler to HI for about 3 minutes. I would check on it after about 1 1/2 minutes under the broiler to make sure it doesn't get too done on top. I like mine browned though, so I let it go the whole 3 minutes.

Here are the final product pictures! It turned out so yummy! Justin agreed that this was a good desert. On a scale of 1-10 he rated it at a 7, because the marshmallows do stick to the eating utensil.
By the way none of the above mentioned brands have paid me to talk about there products, although I wouldn't mind if they did ;) For more chocolaty goodies go to Stop and Smell the Chocolates

One year pictures...

God has blessed Justin and I with some amazing people in our lives. Today I am going to mention one of them. Her name is Juanita. She is the mother of one of my former co-workers and friend, Lucy. Lucy puts pictures up on her Facebook page of her little girl all the time that look professional. I finally asked her where she got them done at and she said her mom took them! I couldn't believe it. They are such great pictures. She mentioned that her mom would probably do some for us if we wanted to, so I asked her and she said yes! She took some really great pictures and did some cool enhancements to them, which was above and beyond the call of duty. (hee hee, duty, yes I am a 5 year old) So with out further ado, enjoy my boy Ian...

And yes, his eyes really are that blue!

I love this one because it looks like he is bowing his head to pray!

Yee Haw Mama!

Ian in his octopus costume. He was the cutest octopus ever!

Famous by association!

So many of you may (or may not I suppose) follow the Pioneer Women blog. If you don't you should at least visit her blog to get a good look at it. Well she was recently in OKC for a book signing and my friend Lauren went and get this...her picture made the blog! How awesome is that?!?! So I had to post it because I feel famous now since someone I know is on THE Pioneer Womens blog! Lauren is in the group of gals with the leopard print cardigan story, she is wearing the green sweater/cardigan.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/

I will sign autographs later if you would like, since I am now practically famous! ;)

Going to the gym...

So I went to the gym today! It felt so good to walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I walked 1.07 miles. I even jogged at one point, ok for like 30 seconds, but that is more than I have done in a while. The funny thing was that on my way home my first thought was I should stop some where and get me a treat! Um, hello that is why my work outs in the past haven't worked, I always treated myself afterward. So I resisted and am currently eating a WW candy bar (you should try these by the way, yummo!) and a Diet Dr. Pepper.

I am not sure I will return for good to the gym that I visited today. I have called once, been in twice and each time they give me another price. Why can't people understand that there are some couples who need to discuss things before committing to them? UGH! The guy at the gym keeps saying these are one day deals. Give me a freaking break! Oh well, I will take advantage of the free 14 day pass and then decide. If you have any suggestions as to a good gym, PLEASE let me know. I really want to do this, but I need one that has child care for free or a cheap price.

Mom Talk...

Tonight our church's womens ministry had a thing called Mom Talk. It was really neat. They had us separated into groups of other women who had kids the same age. Our group (the preschoolers) ended up having another group join with ours since they were both small. It was neat to be able to hear there stories and advice for when ours get older! I am so blessed by our church's womens ministry! They come up with wonderful activities to help encourage us.

I think I might look into joining a MOPS group. I haven't done the research yet so I am not sure what it is other than moms who have preschool age kids. Which is a category I fit into! I will keep you updated on that. If any of you are a part of a MOPS group let me know what you think of it.

Today I woke up dizzy. I am talking I felt nauseous from it. Justin ended up staying home so he could take care of me and Ian. He even cleaned the kitchen and went to the store! What a man I have. Thank you Lord for blessing me so much with Justin.

I suppose that is all for now. I am still feeling a little dizzy, so I am going to stop playing on the computer and let Justin have the privilege of playing with my hair. ;)

Recipes are made to share...

I just made a birthday cake for my mom's birthday party tonight. It is a recipe that my Mamaw used to make. Now I am not usually a pecan lovin' girl, but the icing has pecans in it and I love it! Of course it helps that it is chocolate icing. :) I will say that I don't think mine turned out quite as lovely as my Mamaw's did, but give me credit as it is the first time I have ever made it. Hopefully it will taste as yummy as yummy though. Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Sheet Cake (from Mamaw)

2 cups sugar 4 TBSP Cocoa
2 cups flour 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup Crisco 2 eggs
1 stick butter 1 tsp baking soda
1 cup water 1 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar and flour in big bowl. In a sauce pan bring to a boil the shortening, butter, water, and cocoa. Pour over flour mixture while still hot and add the buttermilk, beaten eggs, soda, and vanilla. Bake in a large cookie sheet (11X17). Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

Icing:
1 1/2 sticks butter
4 TBSP cocoa
6 TBSP milk
1 Box powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in separate bowl until smooth. Mix melted butter and cocoa with powdered sugar mixture. Add nuts. Spread over cake while both are still hot.

To see more recipes go to Stop and Smell the Chocolate

13 months old! (this one is for you Bonnie)

My sweet boy turned 13 months old on Sunday! Wow 13 months! I simply can't believe it. Well I suppose I can believe it, but man it is amazing how fast it has gone by! He loves to crawl around and to pull up on pretty much everything! We have moved his toys into his bedroom and use that as his play time room. This has been a good thing as it gives him more space to crawl and play and it gets me off of the couch and away from the computer!

Saturday the family and I went to Tulsa for a little day trip! We had lots of fun going to stores that we don't have (well some we do have, but it was fun going to another location). We also got to have lunch with some friends that I haven't seen in over a year! Chris and Bonnie meet us at Fudrucker's! Oh how I love me some Fudrucker's. This was there first time to meet Ian. I think Ian was happy with Bonnie!

This weekend (Sunday) I ended up in the ER. I was walking from the couch to the kitchen when all of a sudden I was in horrible pain. I couldn't move with out hurting, but we eventually got me where I was lying down on the floor. The pain was in my chest, not so much my heart but in between my breasts. It was seriously the worst pain ever. Even breathing and talking hurt. Justin finally called 911 and the EMSA and Fire crew came and took me away ;) to the hospital. They ran lots of tests and then just came to the conclusion that it was something called pleurisy. It is basically inflammation. The doctor said that it can happen to people who had bronchitis, which I did about a month ago, so there you go. Anyway, they gave me some anti-inflammatory meds as well as some pain meds and I took some yesterday, but so far hasn't had to take any today! As I am typing this I feel a little pain, so I might end up taking some tonight, but I think by tomorrow I should be off the meds. Yay!

Whole foods is not all it cracked up to be...

I was so excited to be going to Whole Foods yesterday. I thought it was going to be full of exciting new produce and products. Well I was highly disappointed. First of all the Santa Claus Melon that I wanted to get is now out of season (even though the Wikipedia page said it was in season until the end of this month, or maybe I read it wrong, oh well). So that was a disappointment. So since we didn't find the melon I thought that maybe they would have something else that would interest me. We looked around the extremely narrow isles and were not impressed. I did end up getting some raspberry leaf tea, two "sodas" and some chocolate almond milk for my mom to try out. Truth be told I would not go back. If you want to visit a fun store you should go to Central Market (the one I have been to was in Fort Worth, TX). Now that was fun! Much bigger and more products to look at.

(I have not been paid by anyone to give a review of these too markets.)

VENTING

I don't understand why He is not allowing this to happen. I know that I will look back and praise Him all the more. I just feel sad today. I wish I could go into more detail but I can't. I just need to let out some of my feelings with out getting to specific on you.

I know deep down in my heart that God knows what is best. It is so easy when you are not in a situation to tell others that they should trust God, but when it is your turn, so to speak, it is much harder. The things going though my mind are not showing that I want to trust God. They are saying to trust "men". Why must it be so hard to just praise God. I mean so many things in my life are wonderful, not because of me, but because of Him! I have a wonderful husband, a wonderful son. My family on both sides is great! I have a house to live in a car to drive and food to eat. Why is it I want what I don't have. I guess I have "the grass is always greener" syndrome.

Ok, well thanks for letting me vent. Sorry I couldn't be specific. Just something I need to keep inside right now.

One year old!!!!!!

I can't believe that one year ago today Ian was brought into this world! He has changed our life forever! He is the light of our life. He is constantly amazing us! I love you Ian!

Yard work...

I have never really been into doing yard work. In fact I am pretty lazy when it comes to taking care of our yard. Of course last summer I was on bed rest so I had a good excuse for not going out and working on the yard. This summer I had a "new" baby so that worked pretty good as an excuse for a while.

I like to be needed. I like to take care of my husband and my son. Cooking dinner and changing diapers is my job and I love it! With that being said, I also like to have a break. I like to be close enough to home that if I am desperately needed I can come quick but far enough away that I can have some time too myself. Here is where the yard works comes into play.

It started with mowing the lawn. It is easy enough to do and doesn't take too long, but is enough time away from hearing an upset baby whimper because I can't hold him. I also enjoy the small work out that I get from mowing. It has become oddly enjoyable to me.

Last Monday (Labor Day) Justin and I worked in the yard together. This too was enjoyable. We set Ian out on a blanket and put up his "play area" gate and got to it. I worked on the over crowded flower garden, which should really at that time be called a weed/tree garden. It was so bad that by the time I was finished working outside I only had half the garden cleared! Today I finished clearing out the trees and weeds that had found there way into our small garden. I was so excited about the accomplishment that I asked Justin if we could go look for some flowers to put in it.

After a good lunch at Chick-fil-a and a trip to Mardel, which I bought two Lori Wick books. If you haven't read her books you need to, they are SO good. Ok, back to the yard. We ended up getting some plants called Lilyturf. I even planted them this afternoon! I enjoyed it so much. Who would have thought that a lazy women like me would end up enjoying yard work? Not I, I say, not I!

Before (we didn't really get a good before picture, but picture this all around the tree and that is what I was dealing with).

After! Looks amazing right? Well don't answer that if you think it looks bad ;)

Needing to post

I know I have said this many times, but I do my best thinking at night, while in bed. I hate it thought because now I when I have the computer in front of me I can't think of the great words that I wanted to share with y'all.

With that being said, I just needed to post something. I am dying for some chocolate right now. I guess my Arby's dinner didn't satisfy me as much as I wanted it too. Ian is in bed and Justin is at Walgreen's (actually he just walked in!). I don't do good being alone and hungry.

I recently red a blog about how great it is to live in America because of all of the freedoms that we have. It is so true! We are so blessed to be in such an amazing country. Thanks to all of our service men and women who fight for our freedom.

Yay, I just took some medicine. I have bronchitis and have been waiting for this medicine for a while now. I am bummed though because I don't get to go to Bible Study tomorrow. :(

Ok, I suppose I am done rambling about nothing. Please pray that I feel better and that Ian doesn't get sick, or Justin for that matter. We have family coming in next week for his birthday!!! Can you believe I will have a one year old? So crazy!

Ian talking...

busy bee...

So much has been going on in our life as of lately. I have been so, let me type that as SO busy this week. It has for sure made the week go by faster though. Which is good since I am having a date with the hottest man in the world on Friday!

Let's see on Monday we went to the zoo with our friend Liesl (affectionately known as Aunt Liesl to Ian). Then we had lunch at Johnnies. It is hard to believe that Liesl has lived her for 3 years and had never been to Johnnies! She said she liked it and I hope she did. I know I did!

Ian and "Aunt" Liesl

Ian and mommy looking at the ducks.

Liesl eating a Johnnies #9 jr burger for the first time!

Tuesday our lapsit time at the Edmond Library started back up! I love this time. And now that Ian is able to really crawl around and play with toys it was even more enjoyable. He did have a hard time sitting still during the book, but overall he did great!

Wednesday I started a Bible study at church! It is called Me, Myself and Lies, by Jennifer Rothschild. I am really looking forward to getting into this study. In fact I think when Ian takes his nap today I will dive in! After Bible study we had our weekly lunch with Justin. This has been nice being able to see him during the week for lunch. I think Ian really likes it too. When I mention we are going to have lunch with daddy, he smiles really big!

Wednesday night we went to church and this was my first time to be able to sit and enjoy the service. I am usually working the book store, so it was a nice change.

Finally Thursday is here and I have nothing but house work to do! Which is actually kind of nice. Usually I like to get out of the house as much as possible, but since we have been so busy it is nice to have a day at home.

Tomorrow I am going on a date with the hubs (thanks to Lindsey for baby sitting). I am very much looking forward to an evening out!

Well I guess that is about it. Sorry for being so bad at posting lately. I still love my blog, I just am not as addicted to it these days. :)

Photo give away!

http://proctorspics.blogspot.com/2009/08/giveaway.html

11 months

I can't believe that in one month we will have a one year old! These past 11 months have gone by so fast!

Here is Ian's 11 month picture. Click here to see his other photos.

Blessed beyond measure...

I am so blessed to have a husband, who despite being sick has taken Ian into his bedroom to rock him.

My pain is coming back and I am just tired of going, going and going some more. Although I haven't really been going out per say, but I feel like I have been hit by a semi truck from taking care of my boys. I love them so much, but I need a rest.

My husband has been so great that even while he is sick he helps me. So I shouldn't feel so worn out should I? Hmmm, what is my problem?

sickness

Sickness sucks! I think that pretty much says it all. On Thursday Ian started running a fever. It was a very hard night as he was really hot from his fever. So Friday morning we took him to the doctor and he has a sinus infection. So we got some medicine for him.

Then on Friday night I began having intense pain in my adominal area and my lower back. My doctor had told me I had a cyst on my right ovary. So for a while I just endured the pain. Until it finally got so bad I had Justin take me to the ER. We were in the waiting room for about 3 hours before they came and got me to get an ultra sound. After that they took me back to the waiting room and we waited for another long while until they finally came and got me to take me to a room. Then the doctor came in and pushed around on my belly, which hurt like all get out, and then he had the nurse give me a shot and a pill. Then we headed home. I pretty much went right to bed.

Poor Justin stayed up with Ian and got him to go to sleep. I felt so bad for Justin. He has been such an amazing husband during this time. I don't function well with out having a full nights sleep. He did great. Now it is my turn as he is running a fever. :( Both my boys are running fevers and I think I am getting sick too. My throat hurts and I have had a headache all day.

Please pray for our family as this is our first time to go through this.

On a good note, we got to see my cousin, Aunt and Uncle. She is a teacher in China so it has been a while since I had seen her. It was fun catching up with her. Plus they all got to meet Ian for the first time!

another zoo day!

I took Ian to the zoo again. I think I like it more than he does at this point, but that is ok. Some day it will be fun for him and then I will enjoy it on a whole other level! It really is amazing to see all of the different creations that God has made. The majesty of the lion and the oddness of the ant eater. I love it all!

We met our friends there and enjoyed a hot day looking at animals and pushing our strollers! Did I mention that it was only 75 cents to get in? It is like that on Wednesdays through the end of August. Hmmm, I just might go every Wednesday now :)

Here are some pictures...(of course, did you expect me to not have any pictures?)

Ian did a good job riding the carousel this time! At the end he wanted me to hold him though :)

Carrie, Emily, Me and Tara with our babies.

Me, Tara, Ashleigh (showed up after the first picture was taken), Carrie, and Emily. We had quite the crew!

Just thought I would throw in this picture of the ant eater! I think this shows God has a funny side, either that or he was bored by the time he got to this animal! ;)

Raspberry Balsamic Chicken Recipe

I found this recipe a while back and wasn't sure if I was going to make it or not because honestly I didn't know if Justin would like it. I finally just asked him if he would be willing to try it and he said yes! It was so easy to make and it was so yummy! It kind of reminded me of the Jack Daniels sauce at TGI Fridays. By the way it was only 4 points! Served with some squash and it made for a great meal. I kind of wish I would have had some potatoes to serve with it, but oh well.

Raspberry Balsamic Chicken Recipe

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
* 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
* 1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves
* 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


Directions

1. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and saute 5 minutes, stirring.
3. Sprinkle chicken breasts with thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
4. Add chicken to skillet and saute 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through.
5. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low.
7. To skillet, add 1/4 teaspoon salt, preserves, vinegar and pepper.
8. Cook, stirring, until smooth and heated through.
9. Spoon over chicken.

Museums are fun!

So I am not a museum kind of person. I don't like to go and walk through exhibits and read about what I am looking at. However, the Jasmin Moran Children's Museum is my kind of place to go! It is all hands on and while there is some reading it is ok because you are intrigued by the hands on part that you want to learn more about what you are doing! Well on Thursday Justin took off work and we took Ian to Seminole, OK to the Jasmin Moran Children's Museum. It was so much fun. Although most of the stuff was too old for Ian, I think he had a great time too. Here are a few pictures (and by few I mean a ton) from our adventures!

I think we might use this as our next Christmas card picture, what do you think?

I just thought this was hilarious! Ian is still cute, even with the extra long head! And Justin is still cute even with the long neck!

Our future judge. He looks like he is telling everyone in the court room to settle down! So cute!

I just thought this was cute :)

Ian playing at the museum. This was pretty much the only thing he could do on his own :)

You can see his teeth really well in this picture!

Pray, pray, pray

Please pray for Abby Riggs and her family. You can read about what is going on at her parent's blog (click here). They are a family that lives here in Oklahoma and it just breaks my heart what they are going through.

Heavenly Father we know that you know what is best for young Abby and her family. However we lift up to you our request to heal her. We ask that you give the doctors guidance about the medicine to give her and that it will work with out having to give her some that she is allergic to. We deliver her and her family into your hands. Amen.

OMG this is so freakin hilarious!

birthday cake!!!

So I have decided that in order to have the birthday party that I want for Ian I am going to have to cut corners on certain things like cake and decorations. So I have currently cut out all the letters for a HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner and I practiced making a birthday cake last night for my girls night out! Now then, you may be thinking "why do you need to practice making a cake, you know how to make a cake?" Well it is not so much the cake I practiced with as it is the decorating. I had so much fun last night drawing a frog on this cake! I learned some valuable tips though... for instance, let the base icing dry as much as you can before filling in the frog with the green icing other wise it may mix and be more of a greenish whitish color. Also, for some reason what I meant to be black icing for the outline came out purple, so either the lids have been switched on my food coloring or I need to add a whole lot more color! I didn't mind though for my practice cake ;) Oh and I am going to try to make my own frosting next time. Also, my letters need some practice, especially the spacing of them. So with that being said anyone need a frog cake in the next few weeks that I could make for you as a practice? :) Here are my pictures....

tooth!!!

I can't believe that I forgot to post Ian's 10 month picture!!! Ian is getting so big! He can now fit into 12 month shirts and onsies. The silly boy has a pair of jeans that are size 6 month and they are big on him! I guess for now he is skinny!

(Either Ian is getting bigger or the monkey is getting smaller, to see his first month picture click here) :)

This shirt is a 12 month shirt that we got at our baby shower! At the time I thought it looked so big compared to the other clothes we had received.

Also, Ian got another tooth!!! Yay! It was only after several days of frustration. He woke up yesterday morning at 3:40 to tell us it was in! I wasn't too thrilled with the time, but I was glad it broke through the gums, he slept SO much better last night and until 7:30 this morning!!! The tooth is on top right above his current tooth.

If you click on the above picture you can kind of see his teeth!

I am getting so excited to have his first birthday party!!! I have started making the plans and can't wait until it all comes together. Of course I have to thank my wonderful husband who is letting me spend more than he planned, so thanks Justin, you are the best!!!! I am going to save on money and make our decorations and cake, so hopefully it will all come out in the wash, as they say.

Ian likes to be silly when I take of shirts or bibs and leave them on his head! He is such a cute kid!

drive in and power tools!

So for Father's Day Justin got a power tool! Every man's dream. :) Well today he used it! We did yard work and he hedged the hedges with his electric hedger. (say that five times fast) He did a great job!

This weekend Justin took me and Ian to the drive in theater in Guthrie, OK. We saw the movie UP. It was so good. The drive in is such a fun place to go. The weather was perfect too. Ian slept through it all, which is what we wanted him to do!

By the way these were broken so we tuned in on my cell phone radio!