2008 Calendar Pages

Here are the calendars that I created for the grandparents and my sister this Christmas. There are a few months with two pages because Heather's calendar includes pictures of Cade. I think they were all pretty pleased!

Away in A Manger

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

A Tree for Christmas

Hannah and the children of Beautiful Savior led the Christmas Eve Service at church. It was wonderful. Here are a few short videos of the songs and a scrapbook LO of the group of children.

Blessed with Friendships

This Christmas, I was reminded of how blessed I am. My heavenly Father has continued to keep my family safe from harm. He has blessed us beyond reason this year. This year I have formed several deep friendships. I remember several years ago when having a good friend was hard to come by and now I have many wonderful friends and four who mean the world to me. I cannot imagine my life without them and am so thankful that I will not have to face that anytime soon. I love you ladies so much. Thank you for being my friends. And thank you for blessing my children's lives with the lives of your children (even the boys).

As I sit today and actually comprehend everything that C has gone through over the past month, I am so thankful that she is in the hospital, under constant care as she recovers from this scary situation. I told her today, I know she doesn't want to be in the hospital, but as long as she's there and getting well taken care of, I would come and see her as often as she needs. I just want her to get well, and so do many other people. Literally hundreds of people all across the world are praying for her recovery. They love her because I love her!

I do not know what I would do if I did not have J or D to call at 8 am (who else is up that early)? We are going to get through this weight loss challenge and then we will celebrate. . . but we will continue to celebrate as we reach each milestone as well as every single pound that C gains back once she's on the road of recovery.

And although I am still getting to know M, I feel so blessed to be a part of her life. I love you more each day as I learn more and more about you!

It's the MOST WONDERFUL Time of the Year

This time of year is so busy. The busyness of the year usually makes me so excited because I know people are gearing up for Christmas. Of course, many people are trying to get last minute details just perfect for Christmas plans. This year, I have stepped back from the busyness and really tried to focus on my family, friends, and the real meaning of CHRISTmas. I have been reminded of all the blessings in my life.

Last week, one of my best friends was admitted into the hospital for some extreme pain. She had already gone into surgery in November for similar pain and had her life turned upside down. This "extra" trip to the hospital put a kink in her Christmas celebration plans making her life stand still. Life or death decisions had to be made and things were looking very grim.

I must admit that as much as I wanted to continue our Christmas preparations, I put everything completely on hold so that I could focus on her condition.

It was wonderful to go up to the hospital and visit her with our other best friend. Having the three of us together for just a few moments was the best gift I could have ever received this Christmas. I'm sure C and J feel the same way. I am blessed.

C is doing fine. She did have to go into a 2nd surgery. J and I were on pins and needles until we learned of the outcome. Tears of joy streamed from my face when we learned that she was out of surgery and in recovery. It is going to be a spectacular Christmas!

It's hard to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life during this time of year. My daughter is really focused on this season. Every morning we do the Manager countdown. It's good to know she knows the reason for the season, but at the same time, she is still focused on presents and getting. The whining and crying frustrates me beyond reason, but I must remember, she's 4. Each year she grows a little more mature and a lot more independent.

I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas. Remember to hug your family and friends and take a moment to reflect on the reason we celebrate Christmas ~ that tiny baby in a manger grew up to be our Savior. And PTL for that!

Usually I would jump into scrapping these next pictures, but I just don't have the time right now. I know there are some people though who really are anxious to see Hannah's PreSchool Christmas Program Pictures, so I thought I'd put a little slide show together:

Year in Review Brag Book

This is the Year in Review Brag Book I have created for my grandparents. It has pictures of my kiddos (their great grandkids) from each month of the year. The only pages missing are the December pages which will be done after this weekend. We're off to Ft. Worth to spend some time with Uncle Kenny and Aunt Debbie.

Thank A Soldier

A Letter from a Soldier

5 Minutes for Mom. . .

always has lots to give away to us hard working mommas! And today is no exception. They are giving away an amazing assortment of infant-to-preschool toys from the award winning Parents® Magazine toy line. What more could a mommy to preschooler's ask for? Well, to win of course :) Check it out. It's worth a shot!

Tree's Been Up

And for some reason, I didn't post that here. We've had the tree up since the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We took out the Advent Calendar on the 1st. Each morning, Hannah wakes up and the first thing she says is, "Mommy, can we do the next part of the story?" I guess I should explain. We don't have an everyday advent calendar. We have a wooden advent calendar that every day we add a piece of the nativity scene to. It is very similar to this one, just an older model:

I found a video we took of Hannah from 2005. It was taken on either Christmas Eve or Christmas day. She's sing "The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy" and while looking our Advent Nativity Calendar. She was just soooo precious. I hope to share these special moments with Cayden this year as well.

And another one that is just too cute.

Trying to Decide ~ Cayden's Room

We've been so busy getting the house ready for Christmas, unpacking the garage, attempting to keep the place somewhat clean (don't even talk to me about clutter UGH). We have finished Hannah's room (except for flooring), need to buy the floors and accessories for the Guest Bathroom, paint the Master Bath (the guest bath paint matches the master bath stuff [can you say, YAY!?!?!]). All during this time, my poor baby boy has been moved into a room that is nearly bare. He has his bed, his dresser, and a rocker. Not even any curtains. So, Stephen said that we can start on his room (i.e. bedding and accessories). I've having a tough time with this decision.

I really want this set for his room, but it's from Pottery Barn Kids and is really pricey. Why can't I like something that isn't sooo expensive. Of course, we want something that will grow with him and this certainly will. They have it in Toddler - Full Size so all we would have to do is replace the sheets (which we would buy at Target).

Anyway, this set is soooo cute and I am totally in love with it, but thought, you know, Hannah has homemade Princess Bedding. Grandma made the quilt and pillow and we got the sheets from Walmart/Target. So why not check out Target's Boy bedding. Here's what I've found.

This set is very similar (okay, not really), but it is a dark colors which I think is always best for boys because that baby blue becomes really babish by the time the kid is 3. This one makes me think that a 10 year old will still like it. Of course, with my luck, Cayden will want to be a dancer and not be interested in sports at all. This one is at Target. It is $80 for the entire bedding set. Then you can add on an adorable lamp (which we will do) and Wall Art.

Okay, so the more I look at this, the more I like it so, there you have it. This will be room. There's a valance, hamper, and even a diaper stacker. How cute is this???

Just absolutely adorable!!! I'm soooo excited. I didn't think I'd ever be happy with something other than the PBK Set! Stephen is going to be sooo happy!

In other house news, Hannah's computer is up and running and we have a new corner desk for our computer (that someone was THROWING away!!!). And my folks gave us an elliptical. . so no more excuses for us to not exercise! Yippee!!!

Busy, Busy

It has been a busy time of year for us all. November flew by like there's no tomorrow. I'm still in shock that it's nearly December. We've done a bit of Christmas Shopping and planning, but are not near where I would like to be. Of course, several Christmas gifts are going to be Calendars and Brag Books so that is just a matter of me sitting down and creating the LOs for them.

Hmmm. . . we got our tree up! And we hung our stockings, our Advent Wreath is ready, it just needs new candles. The Nativity Scene that we got when we were first married is still in great condition. Hannah had a blast trimming the tree. Once Stephen gets our computer together, I will post some photos. We've been doing loves of rearranging and rennovating the house. But it is all coming along nicely.

The guest bathroom is nearly finished. It just needs the ceiling and shelves painted white and new bathroom rugs and accessories. It looks sooo pretty, a soft sage green is the main color. Very neutral. This is a picture of the color of towels we have in the room. We made the main color green so that it ties these two towel patterns together:

We are happy to say that Hannah's room, aside from flooring is FINISHED! It's been rearranged and is now in the arrangement it will stay for a while. Gee, I hope she likes princesses forever because it is decked out. All we are lacking is a light switch plate and lamp. I did a scrapbook LO earlier today. We've got a photo of her painting her room, a photo of her name frame, her dresser (that she helped paint), and her princess bed (as she calls) it.

For designer credits, click on photo.

We got Cayden moved into his room. We haven't painted it yet. In fact, he doesn't even have curtains, but he is in his new to him bed (thanks to Crystal) and seems to be adjusting well. Naptime was really hard, but I think that had more to do with the fact that we couldn't darken the room. We're going to look at window shades for his room this weekend. And of course, we need to decide on a "theme" for his room. I think we're going to go with sports. We'll see how it all turns out. For now, we're just going to work on getting his dresser in his room.
We finally now have an office and a room for each kid, not to mention our own room! We will be putting the Ellipictal Trainer that my parents gave up in the office. We have a TV/Monitor Convertor so we'll be able to be an ET Potato and I actually might exercise!
As far as the weight loss front. I'm finally committed to really starting over. Last week I was 4 lbs from my heaviest weight and that really depressed me. BIG TIME. I've gained 20 lbs and hit rock bottom. But even with it being Thanksgiving, I start back on WW and am also using pointed from the ABS Diet (which is basically weight watchers but you split up your meals from 3 into 6). And as of today, I lost 4 lbs this week (WAHOO!!!!). Tuesday is the real deal. We'll see what WI reveals.
Okay, wow, I've really been talking up a storm. It's good to have so much to talk about!
Blessings, y'all!

Cayden is 18 months

Just an update from Cayden's appointment on Wednesday. He's 20 lbs 9 oz and 32 inches long. He's a peanut, but following his curve just fine. He and Hannah received their flu shots.

YIKES

So E & L moved out this weekend. Well, sorta. They've moved out of the master bedroom & bath, living room and kitchen. We're not in any hurry to have them get the rest of their things out (namely E's office). I know they are busy. And there's a lot to do over at their house. The contractor comes on Monday to start on the new roof and room.

But we did move into our room last night!!! YEAH!!!! Cayden did great in our old room. We aren't going to move him into his room until E has moved all his things out and we have redone it. Which means scraping, painting, and pulling up the carpet.

I'm almost ready to take a picture of Hannah's completed room. Of course, that would involve it being cleaned. You know, yesterday she came to me when I was folding laundry and said, "Mommy, DO NOT go into my room!" I responded, "Well, honey, I have to go into your room to put away these clothes." She says, "I'm sorry mommy. I made a mess. I just had to do it."

I go into her room with the clothes to put away and find all her other clothes on the floor. She insists that she was having a sleepover and needed to decide what to wear. Together, we put up the clothing.

And then my husband and brother-in-law move our bed into our new room. Bless, Daniel. I can only imagine what was going through his head when he saw the disaster that was left behind in the room we've been living in for 3 years. I swear, I am in shock. I've been doing flylady! I clean out from under our bed once a month. Well, I thought I cleaned it out. The entire floor is covered with STUFF. Not trash, stuff. Yikes!!! Lots and lots of stuff. . scrap stuff, card stuff, books, kid stuff. I'm nauseated just thinking about it. I tried to clean it up by myself, but was overwhelmed. So much that I'm now on the computer.

Where's Stephen? you may ask. He's at the UT/Nebraska Game. He won the tickets that his office building gives away weekly. He's very excited and really wanted me to go, but as you can see, I've got lots to do.

Actually, I've been very busy. I inherited Granny's beautiful vanity dresser. And it comes with 12 drawers (and a mirror). It is now filled with my clothing. All of my clothes that belong in a dresser actually fit in the dresser with room to spare. I've been using Grandaddy's old dresser (which Stephen will start to use). We have an entire bedroom set that is just beautiful and we didn't pay a dime for it. It means so much to me that it was G&G's. I found a 20 year old letter that Bekah wrote Granny tucked away inside it last night. I think that's sooo awesome.

I moved all of Stephen's closet clothes into our closet. I've got the dining room table set up with a tablecloth (I don't think that's going to last). And would love to find the box with all the master bathroom stuff but it's lost in the tower of boxes out in the garage.

Hannah's with Grandma and Grandpa and her cousins. Cayden is in his crib asleep. And I'm working on scrapbook stuff.

It's been a long day and it's only 1/2 way over.

McIntyre House Update

We are slowly working on the renovations to our home. I wish I could call it our "new" home, but it's not. We've been living here for 3 years but now it's finally OUR home. The kitchen is full of OUR dishes (that are like new because they've been in storage for 3 years). The living room has some of OUR furniture (Working on getting our couch back from my mother and my sister has our TV.) I know Stephen and Jeremy are going to move the couch sometime this week (right, honey???) and we are planning a trip up to Heather's and Eddie's sometime this week to get our TV and new door knobs/locks.

We started working on Hannah's room last week. It is really the only room in the house that we could actually start working in. Until E and L move all their belongings out (I think they are moving this weekend), we can't do much. And we're taking things one paycheck at a time to avoid more debt.

Unfortunately, our AC decided to stop cooling efficiently on Sunday of last week and finally on Wednesday, after three visits (by 2 different repair men) and $1,000, we have had our AC fan and coils cleaned to perfection and a new return installed to help with the filtration issue it was having. It's amazing that this was what they cleaned OUT of our AC Coils. Yuck!! And this is only a little bit of it. It looks like coal to me. No, it's hair, dust, filth. . . ick!!!

So, needless to say, the AC is working WONDERFULLY now. The back of the house gets just as cool as the front of the house, and setting it on 78 is actually cool enough for us. We are now praying that the $350 utility bill from last month cuts way back! :)

Anyway, back to the Hannah room project. I really want to scrap all the popcorn texture off our ceilings. I hate it. It's ugly and too difficult to keep clean.

We started in Hannah's room. Stephen scraped the ceilings last weekend. He worked very hard all day on last Saturday.

After scraping the ceilings, I gave him a break and actually started painting the walls. Hannah chose pink and yellow. Here are a few shots of us painting together. She actually did a GREAT job helping!!!

Stephen got some picture of us painting. And then today, I took some after pictures. It's not completely finished. I want to stencil a border on, but I'm trying to figure out how that's going to work. We ended up pulling the carpet out and the linoleum that was beneath it is TERRIBLE so we will be replacing that sometime soon. And yes, I know that's a FABULOUS picture of myself.

And finally, drumroll please. . . . . . . Hannah's beautiful room

First School Pictures

Well, my little girl is getting to be soooo big. We received the proofs for her first School Pictures today. I cannot believe it! I through this together this afternoon and am totally in love with it. I think it's sooooo cute.

Things on the homefront are doing well. Ernie and Liz are busy working over at their place, trying to get it in a livable condition. They are replacing carpet and repainting the front rooms. Of course, the carpet guys came over to take measurements and discovered asbetos tile under the current carpet so E and L have to remove the tile before the carpet guys will come to put in the new carpet. E said things are coming along, but slowly. As much as I cannot wait to have the place to myself, we're not in any rush for them to move out. They let us stay with them for 3 years so it's the least we can do to let them stay with us until the house is ready.

We're planning on painting Hannah's room this weekend. Pink and Yellow. I'm going to do a stencil border as well and we're also planning on scrapping the ceiling (ugh). I will be sure to take a before and after picture!

After Hannah's room, we will move on to the playroom. The flooring we want is at Sam's for $20 for 35 sq. ft. so we'll get the playroom floor done for less than $150. We're very excited. We're taking things paycheck at a time and paying cash only to avoid more debt.

And then we'll move on to the kitchen. I have that all planned out in my head as well.

Anyway, that's how things are going for us.

Please keep my friend Stacey and her family in your prayers. They learned that their baby girl has passed away and are currently at the hospital awaiting her birth. Sad times. Also keep Heather and Eddie in your prayers as the anniversary of Elise's birth/death is approaching as well.

Just when you think

Last weekend was spent with a slight stomach bug AND caring for a sick baby with a stomach bug. Cayden threw up for FOUR days. . . he couldn't tolerate anything but breastmilk, and I am so thankful that I am still nursing. There have been times when I have wanted to stop nursing, but things just don't seem to be falling in line to make it an easy transition. We are about to move Cayden from sharing a room with us into his own room. I know that transition was hard for Hannah, so I will continue to nurse him through that shift in his life.

I feel like this house is full of germs. Since starting to watch Petra, someone has been sick at least once every two weeks, and sometimes, both kids are sick. Of course, Cayden gets over his bug, just in time for Hannah to start running a fever on Monday evening. We kept her home from school on Tuesday because she was still running a temperature, and by Tuesday evening, I was ready to lock her in the backyard. She drove me insane all day long.

I understand that she wasn't feeling well, but between her whining and chasing the two babies around, I was going to lose it. Of course, all Hannah wanted to do was "play in the water." It is very difficult to explain to your sick daughter that playing in the wading pool is probably not the best option for someone who has been running fever. Of course, she kept telling me, "I don't have fever anymore, let's play in the water." Ummm. . . no, Hannah. We are not playing in the water today. I finally let her play in the water on THURSDAY.

Thursday evening, I started to feel really, really bad. Turns out I was running a temperature. By Friday morning, I was a complete mess and Stephen took Hannah to school, worked for the morning, and then came home so I could go to bed. The stomach bug started Friday evening and today, Sunday, I am still dealing with it. UGH. . . thankfully, I'm not puking anymore. I know it's bad for kids to throw up, but when adults throw up, it's just not fair!!! We know what's going on and ick! Anyway, it took every ounce of energy for me to take a shower and now I'm lying in bed with Stephen's laptop. I'm about to take a nap, but I wanted to check in before doing so.

Now the dog has just woken up Cayden and we're still trying to unpack. Life as I know it.

Homeowners

It is official. We have been in the process of purchasing our very first home. It is the home where Stephen grew up, and we have been living her for the past 3 1/4 years. Hannah has grown up here, and Cayden knows nothing no other place as home. We have been through lots of changes living here. When we first moved in, we were completely broke, and Grandpa had just taken a job in Virginia. Bekah and her boys moved out and that left Grandma all alone in the house. To help us all out, Stephen and I moved in with Hannah, kept Grandma from being alone, and made our financial situation livable.

Over the years, Stephen has received a wonderful promotion and helped us start to get our debt under control. After 1 1/2 years, Grandpa moved back home, and we continued to stay.

We became pregnant with Cayden and thought we'd move out in Spring 2006, but God led us to attend Financial Peace University with the McDaid's and wrote out a game plan. We attended Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University starting in October (maybe it was September). Stephen didn't really want to go, but I coherced him, and paid the $90 it costs to enroll in the program. For the first time in our lives, we felt in control of our finances. We're living on a budget and "attacking our debt with gazelle light intensity." There are several baby steps involved in finding Financial Peace.

We sat down and really looked at everything. We continued living with Stephen's folks (of course after talking with them) in hopes to be completely debt free in 1 1/2 to 2 years.

At the beginning of this summer, they told us they were looking at buying Grandaddy's old house. It's in a quieter neighborhood and very sentimental. So we initially started looking for places to rent and could not find anything with a reasonable rent payment. Stephen talked to his folks and they agreed to sell us this house for a very generous price of 20% under market value.

Each time we questioned if this was the right thing to do, God opened doors and He did it LOUDLY. Anytime we even contemplated it not happening, He shoved obstacles out of the way. It was meant to be!!!

Our "plan" is to live here for 5 years. We would like to be debt free (except for the house) and ready to move to a quieter area of town before Hannah starts Middle School. Stephen really wants to move before Cayden goes to kindergarten, but that's doubtful in my eyes.

We're ready to make this place ours. I now have a kitchen with MY dishes and appliances in it!!!! It's like Christmas!!!! :) :) :)

Thank you for all your love and prayers!!!

McIntyre Look-A-Like Meters

Pretty Neat. We make great kids.

Remembering September 11th

In my car today, I was listening to the radio (102.3 The River). They have been playing clips of President Bush's address to the nation after September 11, 2001. It keeps bringing back so many memories for me. September 11, 2001 was so long ago in my life of events. I had JUST started my teaching career. I had 14 5th graders in my class to teach about respect, love, friendships, and forgiveness, along with the curriculum for a 5th Grader. I take pride in the fact that I loved (and still love) each of my students. I made connections with them and am so thankful for each of them. And on that day, September 11th, I really think my world turned upsidedown when I had to teach these children that America had done nothing wrong; the men who did this to our country did not know our Lord, and to be completely honest with them, they thought they were being martyrs to their religion. Unfortunately, there's lots of evil in the world and this was something that I wish children hadn't had to see and be a part of.

I remember standing in a circle, holding hands with my students and praying. One of them actually prayed that the Lord forgive the men who had done this terrible act. I, myself, was reminded of what a loving God we have, and how much influence He had already had on my 10 year old class. Out of the mouth of babes.

I this year, I kept thinking, "why aren't more flags at half staff?? why do I have to bring my children up in a world of such evil? why do our men and women have to risk their lives and be away from their families to protect us?" And the question I really kept asking myself was "and how to I help others remember today. 9/11 is supposed to be Patriot Day. . . but are we really supposed to say, "Happy" Patriot's Day??? I'd rather say, "Thank God, I'm an American."

Fat Lips and Closing Date

Well, the house stuff is in the wrapping up phase. The appraisal went really well. We're so happy and blessed. It's a wonderful feeling to know that we are being guided by the Lord every step of the way. I can now stop worrying and start enjoying the thought of being a homeowner. I don't know why it is so hard to just let go and let God. I mean, He's literally been holding our hand through this entire process, and through every worry, and I mean EVERY worry, He has said, "Hello, so you don't trust me on this issue. . . okay. . . . " and things have just fallen together. I guess that's why He's so amazing!! He didn't say, "Okay foolish children, you don't trust me, then I'm not going to provide for you." And He will never say that. No matter what I do.

Anyway, the closing date is September 28th. We've got a few loose ends to tie up. We have to get Home Owner's Insurance and a Verbal Statement from Ernie and Liz in regards to the gift equity. But all in all, we're going to own this place by October.

Of course, E and L won't be moving out until Grandaddy's place is ready, which could be 6 weeks, but since we've lived here 3 years rent free, the trade off of 6 more weeks is completely worth it.

Have I told you we're sooooo excited????

We did go visit Bekah and the boys yesterday and had a little accident. Hannah was drying off from playing in the water with the boys and slipped in the garage. The fall went like this: Knees, Face. Yep. Knees, face. Poor baby. She's got a terrible Fat Lip. Teeth are okay. No concussion, no permanent teeth damage. She does have a bit of Whip Lash and threw her pelvis of balance, but Dr. Jones fixed her up today. She's doing lots better and will be going to school tomorrow morning.

I'm tired. . it's my anniversary. I'm going to relax for a bit.

First Day of Pre-School

This morning went really well. I did not freak out like I thought I would. We got Hannah up at 7:30 am and let her wake up a bit by watching "The Magic School Bus." Then we ate breakfast. Hannah chose a waffle with syrup. Cayden had a waffle and Petra had Cheerios. Mommy had oatmeal with splenda and fresh strawberries and a homemade iced nonfat sugarfree vanilla latte :)

Then we let Hannah pick out her clothes. She really wanted to play with her dolls before we had to leave so she picked out a "beautiful dress." We got her dressed, teeth brushed, and hair up and then she was able to play while Mommy and Daddy got themselves and the babies dressed.

We took some pictures and I made some layouts. To view more of our fun layouts check out my scrappin' blog!

Created using Laughter by Mel from BusyBeeScrapper. LO inspired by Becky Higgins.
Journaling: Hannah, Today was your first day of Preschool. This is the first time that you will not be home with me every day all day. To be completely honest with you, I was very nervous about leaving you with a classroom full of kids and a new teacher. I know the days leading up to today were harder on me than they were on you. You are so excited about going to preschool and making new friends. You are so independent and still want to spend everywaking moment at home with me. As much as I know you’re growing up and need to experience the world without Mommy and Daddy around all the time, I cannot help but think about when you were a little baby and needed me to takecare of you - to dress you, feed you, and play with you. Now you pick our your own clothes, pick out your own lunch, and play with your friends without me alongside you. I’m really going to miss you, Hannah. You’re my baby girl and I love you so much. I know you think you’re “all growed up” but it is my prayer that the days start to creep by slower than the past 4 years. I’m ready to let you spread your tiny wings and learn to fly. But you’re only allowed to go as far away as preschool this year. I will cherish every moment you are four and not think about Kindergarten until next year. I love you! All my love, Mommy August 30, 2007

Created using Laughter by Mel from BusyBeeScrapper. LO inspired by Becky Higgins.
Journaling: The excitement you felt today is written all over your face. Here is a series of pictures from this morning: A. This picture was taken of you on the ride to school. You’re so excited!!B. I think this picture is so precious. Here you are giving Daddy a goodbye kiss before I take you to your classroom. Daddy couldn’t walk you to the door because he needed to sit in the car with the babies. I think this was harder on Daddy than you.C. Here you are walking so proudly to your classroom all by yourself. You did not want to hold my hand. You are growing up so quickly.D. Mrs. Kerrie stops to allow me to take your picture with her on the first day. Most of the kids in your class have been to preschool before so their mommies were not asking for pictures. Your mommy is so happy that Mrs. Kerrie didn’t mind this snapshot. It’s hard to believe your first day is over. It is even harder for me to admit that you had a blast. This morning when I dropped you off you told me, “I KNOW!” when I told you, “Love you Hannah.” You are a mess!!!

From Preschool we headed straight to the chiropractor for our monthly adjustment. Guess who fell asleep on the way there ~ NOT CAYDEN or Petra! Little Miss, I'm not Sleepy, Hannah. Hehehee!

Now she's happily playing with Playdoh and Cayden is down for a nap!

It's been a good day.

Utterly Exhausted

Hi! I haven't blogged in a while. Between getting Hannah ready for Pre-School (she starts THURSDAY) and taking care of two toddlers, I'm exhausted. It doesn't help that I'm still trying to get a few scrapbook kits put together for my new store. I've been staying up too late, getting up too early, and trying to do too many things at one time. In fact, this evening, after supper (yes, it's 7:30 pm and we haven't had supper - don't worry the baby has eaten and Hannah is with Grandpa and Grandma), I'm going straight to bed. Let's see how many things I can cram into the next hour.

Hannah had a dentist appointment this morning. The babies went to Story time with my mom. She's so awesome. She is going to continue taking the toddlers to PBK Story Time throughout the school year while I take Martha shopping. What a great Mammaw!

Tomorrow we meet Hannah's teacher and take all her school supplies to her classroom. I'll update after the meeting (and after our last Play Group field trip to Krispy Kreme!)

I've lost 6 lbs in the past 2 weeks. Yipee!!!

Mom to a Pre-Schooler???

So, I've belonged to MOPS for 3 years. I know that it stands for Mothers of Pre-Schoolers, but I didn't consider Hannah a pre-schooler. I joined when Hannah was 1 year old. And now, well, she's four. And this year, she's actually going to Pre-School. Pre-K to be exact. It's only 4 days a week from 9 am - 1 pm, but it's still school. She's going to be in the care of another adult who is caring for 11 other children at the same time.

I've been home with Hannah since she was born. Life was very rough in the beginning. We could barely pay our rent, had to decide which bill to NOT pay so we could buy groceries. Then we moved in with my in laws. It's been such a blessing, but we were a family of 5 for a long time and added a 6th member April 2006.

And in a month, we will be a family of 4. Grandma and Grandpa are moving out. We're buying this house. We will have enough space to live. We will be able to pay our mortgage. Life will be so different and yet to good. We are blessed!!!

And still, I sit here trying to not cry as I prepare myself for the thought of me, the only "teacher" Hannah has had in her whole life aside from Sunday School and VBS, is going to School, to be in Mrs. Kerri's class, with her friends and not her mommy.

I really thought I was ready for this. She's been driving me crazy ALL SUMMER LONG. She's so independent yet wants to spend every waking moment with me. And I haven't allowed her. She's had her down time; quiet time; art time; music time; movie time; story time, etc and play dates all summer long. I've done a lot with her, with brother in tow. I was really looking forward to some one-on-one Mommy time with Cayden.

I am keeping a little girl, now, but she and Cayden play so well together that I don't think it's going to take away from my time with him. Hannah has a completely different set of demands than Cayden. I cannot wait to spend some time with just the babies.

But I am really going to miss Hannah. She's my baby girl. She told me the other day when I asked her, "What happened to my baby girl?"
"Well, mommy, I'm all growed up, don't ya know?"

I know she's growing up, and that's a good thing. It's time for me to let her spread her tiny wings and start to fly.

But. . . . only to pre-school.

Hannah's 4 Year Well Check

Hannah had her 4 year well check yesterday. The appointment was at 3:30 pm so Daddy had to come home to keep the babies while Hannah and I went to her appointment.

They started out by weighing and measuring her height. She's finally averaging out after being super tall and super skinny for her age. She's 40 3/4 inches tall (still not old enough for the big rides at Sea World ~ She's pretty disappointed) and 34 lbs.

They did the hearing and vision screening, which Hannah actied like she didn't have time for. She was so funny. During the hearing check, she followed directions until she got bored, and then she started talking to me. The nurse reminded her to raise her hands whenever she heard the beeps, and Hannah's response was, "I've already been hearing all the beeps, I think I'm done." Of course she wasn't, so she was told, "You need to listen for 2 more beeps." She followed directions and as soon as she heard the final beep she said, "Okay, that's 2. I'm done!" and promptely took off the headphones.

On to the vision screening. They first show a couple of the pictures at normal sight to make sure she can recognize what's on the cards. Afterwards, she was told to look into the "funny goggles" for the pictures. And then with a pushpin, the nurse would point to pictures. One of the pictures was a birthday cake, so Hannah really focused on that object. She just wouldn't cooperate. But then they moved to letters, "What is next to the A?" and Hannah got everything correctly. She just really wanted to look at the birthday cake. . little stinker.

Of course, we discussed how awful bedtime is for us. It's a constant battle, and starting next week, it will be one that is not an issue because school is starting. And once Grandma and Grandpa are in their new home, we will not have to worry about disturbing anyone and can let her just pitch a fit. Regardless, we're going to try to slowly adapt back into a good routine. Stephen is working 10 - 6 pm now so his evening time with the kids is limited, BUT he can continue to do the bathtime routine he does with them.

The only "bad" thing about the whole visit is the shots. Hannah received 5 shots to get her caught up and ready for pre-school. Poor baby. But I told her, "You can cry, you can yell, Mommy can yell with you, but you cannot pull away." The nurse tried to distract her from looking at the needles, but she told Daddy afterward, "I got 5 shots, and they used the BIG needles, and they hurt me." Daddy's heart was broken.

Afterwards, she received a "BooBoo bear" and 5 stickers from the doctor, and then, Mommy took her to the Dollar Store and let her pick out 5 things. . . what did we come home with??? 5 little girl dollies to play with her Barbies.

This morning was storytime. The kids had a good time listening to the stories and singing with Mrs. Stacy. Cayden really loves the little chair so we may have to save up for Christmas and get him one.

Speaking of Christmas, with all the house stuff, we're going to start shopping, so I need Christmas lists from those for which we buy gifts. I guess I should let them know. Hehehe.

The appraiser rescheduled for Thursday. The house is starting to look really great since I've been "Fly-Ladying" and keeping things picked up. Grandpa is finishing the new thresholds today.

Ok, there has been a 3 hour break between typing this entire message. Now we're on to nap #2 for the babies and quiet time for Hannah, so I'm going to go and scrap a bit.

Blessings from Above ~ Rose

ATTENTION SCRAPPERS

For links to new freebies, templates, and my LOs please visit my NEW DIGISCRAPPIN' BLOG

I've Done It Again

After spending all morning working in Hannah's room, attempting to get it in some sort of presentable fashion for the Appraisal on Wednesday, I've taken a much needed break and did a little DigiWork. I've created an adorable LO of my kiddos playing at the Leander Water Playground. I think this is one of my best summer LOs so far!

Created with Beach Blanket Blues by Karla's Kaleidoscope Designs

And because I'm SO pleased with the LO, I decided to create a TEMPLATE to share!

Here's a preview:

And of course, here's the link. It is only available for 7 days AND there are only 100 to download.

Don't forget to leave me love! :) And if you use my template, please let me see your LOs :) :) :)

House Update

We started the loan process this week. The Appraiser comes on the 22nd. If all goes as planned, we will close on the 28th of September. Ernie and Liz will close sometime in September. That's really all the update I have for everyone. Just continue to keep us in your prayers.

I'll post more LOs tomorrow. I'm so sleepy. Off to bed.

Sales!

Hi everyone! This is an announcement for two of the designs I am on CTs for. First of all, I'm pleased to announce that Sarah from Sarah's-Designs has asked me to be on her CT. I'm so excited and cannot wait to work with her material!

Now, Sarah is having a fantastic sale at ScrapWorld

And Karla is also having a great sale this weekend.

She has a brand new grab bag available at Tina Williams Designs.
She is also having a 50% off sale store wide at TWD. You can check out all her items here. Including her latest release Grunge and Denim Ribbon Wrapped Frames. They're just a $1.00 during the three day sale.
And to boot, she has the matching paper as a FREEBIE on her blog!!!

Happy Scrapping!!!

Bringing Back Memories

Okay, so. . I have this brillant kit called Mermaid's Haven by Candee. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!! It's so pretty and peaceful and PERFECT for beach LOs. "What beach LOs?" you may ask. Well, that is the problem. We haven't been to the beach since July 2005, and I cannot, for the life of me, find those pictures. EEK. They're here, I'm sure, but where, who knows? The only reason I'm even on the computer right now is because the babies are sleeping and Hannah is entertaining herself in the play room.

So, what did I find to scrap? Hannah's very first beach trip photos. And boy, are they cute! Here's the first LO I've completed:

Designer Credits: Mermaid's Haven by CanDesigns.

Text Reads: Your first beach trip was so much fun. Our family went to Freeport Beach for the first time on July, 31, 2004. Here you are having the time of your life in the waves. You LOVE the water.

Designer Credits: Mermaid's Haven by CanDesigns. Summer Word Art by CanDesigns as well. Visit her Blog or Stores: www.digibydesign.com , www.scrapperszone.com , http://www.stoneaccentsstudio.com/store/

Text reads: You loved walking on the beach with Daddy. As long as he was nearby, you were happy as can be. Your daddy/daughter time is very precious. You are so happy when you're in his arms.

My First Freebie

I've made a template for you all to enjoy! I know some of my readers are New Scrappers, and I want to share this with y'all. I'm so excited!

There are 99 out there so it's first come first serve. And let me know if you love it. . . of course, you'll have to post your comments on my blog!

Playing Catch Up

I really feel like my life is zooming ahead of me, and I cannot catch up with it. I'm running in slow motion. UGH. I'm ready for swimming lessons to be over. I really think that's what is making my world feel upside down. Things are just go, go, go. . . nonstop.

Okay, Hannah celebrated her birthday with our family yesterday. I think she had a lot of fun. She was able to play with her cousins and see some people we don't see very often. I'm so glad that Nickie and Joel came to visit with their beautiful girls. Time is flying by and everyone is growing up so quickly. Hannah is four! In 2 weeks she starts PreK four day a week. I think it will be so good for her.

Starting tomorrow I am going to be watching a little girl for my friend. She's around 18 months old and I will keep her 5 days a week along with my kiddos. This is really such a blessing to us. As we are figuring out the whole house thing (which seems to be moving forward), I now have some income to help out with the finances. Things are getting exciting and I'm ready for it all to be final. It's a wait and see game right now.



I am starting Weight Watchers again full time with several of my girlfriends. We are going to do this together. I'm really excited and finally have the support I've been needing. Of course, I need to find all my stuff since we aren't doing the meetings. That's just an added expense that I'm willing to give up since I haven't been going anyway. I'm doing the E-Tools so that's will hold me accountable, and having friends to cry and celebrate with is something that is so important for me.


I think that's all right now in our little family. Hannah is four and female as her daddy says. Cayden is all boy and is now trying to climb over the furniture, not just on it. LOL.

I've made a few LOs recently. Not a ton, but a couple.

Hannah's Birthday Photo's by Uncle Kenny

Designer Credits: Beautiful Angel by Karla's Kaleidoscope Designs. Font: Tabor Handwriting

Here's one from Cayden's 1st Birthday Party.

Created this LO with Brayden's Birthday Kit by Traci Thompson. I recolored it to match Cayden's birthday cake! I'm pretty pleased with the results. I also used Traci Drane's Hanging Around Template.

And a LO recapping Cayden's summer!

Designer Credits: Kids Camp Papers and Sweet Summertime Wordart by CanDesigns; Arrows from My Favorite Boy by Jill D'zines; Summer Recap Template by Kristen Tilly

Journaling Reads: 1. You master walking! You started walking all the time on Father's Day 2007. You took your first steady steps at Uncle Les's house, walking into Aunt Cara's arms.2. GG, Aunt Lisa, Susie and Greg come to visit. We all went to Sea World. You and sister had a great time!3. On the 4th of July, we took you to the zoo for the very first time. You loved looking at the animals, but your favorites were the fish. Uncle Kenny took this photo!4. This summer is when we discovered you love to play outside, especially on the swings. You love to go "Weee."

This final LO of the evening, I whipped out just now. And now I'm off to bed. This is my sister-in-law and her youngest son.

Designer Credits: Template by Angela Sharrow; LO created with My Favorite Boy Sampler by Jill's D'zines.

Dog Bites and Birthdays

This past week has certainly been full of things to do. We are in our first week of swimming lessons. Actually, we just completed our first week of swimming lessons. Hannah is doing wonderfully well. To be honest withy ou, I'm shocked at how well she's doing. Let's see, we had our last dance class for the summer. Hannah's dance recital was tonight. You can watch her class dance to "It's a Hard Knock Life" by clicking here. It gets a little shaky because Mrs. Brianna got in my view of Hannah and I had to scoot around on the ground until I was able to see her again. But it's oh so cute. They did a great job. This was the first ever recital at the YMCA. I think it went well.


Hmm. . . Stephen's cousin, Christi, passed away from breast cancer. We really wanted to attend her Memorial Service but it was the exact same day and time as Hannah's 4th Birthday Party, from which I am still recovering. It was so wonderful though. Rapunzel make a special appearance, and the kids had a fantastic time. And it was so affordable. We'll have to try something else next year, though, since we've done Toys R Us two years in a row.


And then a good friend of my home church family passed away on Tuesday. His visitation was last night and the funeral was today. It was very hard for me since Stephen was unable to come with me. Just too hard.


Our playgroup is slowly coming to a close. We had Splash Day this week. I don't know what we're doing next week. Hannah and her two girlfriends also went swimming yesterday. I'm beat.

And to top it all off, Cayden got in the middle of my mom's two Pomeranians and ended up with a dog bite on his left arm. It shows in his 15 month pictures very nicely. He's fine. . .didn't really phase him once mom picked him up, and it's healing nicely. I thought my mom was going to kill her dogs though. They are fine, too. It wasn't out of aggression. The dogs were fighting over something and Cayden wound up in between them. I don't know exactly how, but I wasn't there, I was at Dance Class.

I've done a few LOs this week, but not many. I'm disappointed and planning on creating several this weekend. I'm excited. Tomorrow is my Calendar Stamp Camp with Cara. Nickie and the girls will be there. I miss them and are so excited to be able to spend some time with them this weekend. Hmmm. . . don't know what else is going on. LOL



Okay, here are a couple LOs. Now remember, creating and then actually getting them up on my blog are completely different stories. These LOs have been done for days.



This one was fun to create. I made it for a challenge at Make It Scrappy and DigibyDesign

Designer Credits: Papers are Summer Celebration by Madaleine Engel and Sun and Park by Maria LaFrance; Alpha and Glitter Elements are from the DST Birthday Glitz Kit; Template is by Laura B. Mundy of Little Bit's D-zynz for the DigibyDesign Template Challenge; Groucho Mask by Candy Cook; Fonts: Palace Script; Ma Sexy; Jokerman; Eras Bold; Horseshoes and Lemonade; Showcard Gothic

Made this LO for Scraplift Challenge at Digital Freebies and Scripture Challenge at DigiScrapDivas. Credits: Savannah by CanDesigns; Beads by Conny B, Swirl Clip by Kimberly Geswein, Stitches by Sheri Tierney

I created this LO in honor of my niece, Elise. Karla has a Kit she made in honor of all babies lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, infancy. I think it's beautiful.

Credits: Beautiful Angel by Karla's Kaleidoscope Designs.My niece, Elise, was born still last October. I created this page in her memory. I did cover the picture out of respect for my sister and her husband.

Here's one to recap Hannah's summer. I love the template and know that I will use it for a LO with Cayden as well.

Designer Credits: Papers: Got Baby by CanDesigns, Little Miss by Traci Thompson; Crown Element from Little Miss by Traci Thompson; Template by Kristen Tilly

Journaling: 1. GG, Aunt Lisa, Susie and Greg come for a visit and take us to Sea World. FUN! FUN! 2. You take dance for the first time. You LOVE it, especially twirling and leaping. 3. You also take Swimming Lessons. You're much more comfortable in the water and even go underwater. 4. You celebrate your 4th Birthday! Rapunzel comes to your party!

Finally, I'm getting the Playgroup Music Class LOs posted. I finished them today.

Credits: Sweet Stuff by Michelle Swadling. Music Notes (recolored) from Waterfall Melodies by Theresa Hernandez

Journaling Reads: The "A Little Rock and Roll" music class was so much fun for everyone. The kids were able to pound on these really big Sharing Drums. And boy did they pound. Even the littlest children were able to make some rhythm with the help of their mommies. July 18, 2006

For the August Ad Challenge at DigiScrapDivas.

Credits: Sweet Stuff by Michelle Swadling. Rock and Roll Elements by Tracy Drane

Journaling Reads: Mrs. Jennifer arranged for our playgroup to receive a free music class from Austin Lyric Opera. The class was called "A Little Rock and Roll," and it was led by Mr. Walter. He taught you a couple new songs, a few new games, and talked about how to have fun with music. You all had a blast. July 18, 2007

And finally, my two favorite LOs for of the week:

Created for Tracy's Template Challenge at Make it Scrappy

Credits: Jill D'zines My Favorite Boy Sampler; Paper and Glitter Elements from DST Birthday Glitz Kit; Cupcake Element from Brayden's Birthday Kit by Traci Thompson; Grin and Giggles Word Art from Giggle by J Cantrill; Fun Word Art by Amy Bleser from DigiScrapDivas Primary Fun Kit; Car and Bottlecap and Tag Elements from Little Boy Sampler by Sarah's Designs

That's all for now. :)