Christmastime is..

lingering. The decorations that once adorned every square inch of our quaint home are now in the comforts of the gray totes they came out of almost a month ago. And all that remains of our beautiful Christmas tree can be found in our vaccuum bag. All the presents that we graciously have accepted from our dearest loved ones have found a place in our home as well. Well, almost all of them. Some will have to wait until tomorrow when I have more energy. Christmas music will no longer be blaring from every speaker in our home or cars. Traditions that I have grown so found of, some old, some new.. have been kept up and done another year. And the memories will be well preserved within our minds and of course, plenty of pictures.

Yet, something is lingering here. Something majestic. Can you sense it? Do you feel it? (No, I'm not talking about the indigestion you have from eating far too much.)

I pray you truly feel it. You know, that nostalagia that comes with Christmastime and all the wonderful festivities. But unfortunately, I know for many of you.. you may not feel it. Maybe its because you may not truly comprehend what happened that special night over 2000 years ago. A baby boy was born. But not just any baby. It was JESUS! The Lord and The Savior! And this baby that was born over 2000 years ago, that grew to be a child.. who grew to be a teenager.. who grew to be a man.. who then laid down His life to cover all our sins.. and then rose again 3 days later..is still rocking this world. His life and His story is still being told.. its still being worshipped.. and its never going to die down.

So while the presents that came in celebration over His birth are so very nice and gladly accepted, I can't describe to you the unexplainable joy I have over this baby boy being born. Its something far deeper and more meaningful than nostalagia.

Oh, and Did I mention..

that the Amazing Mr. had a really amazing surprise waiting for me when I got home? 

Jade and I left the house looking like a tornado had blown through mine and the Mr.'s room. We came home to find that the Amazing Mr. cleaned it and the rest of the upstairs from top to bottom. (Coming and going all weekend leaves the house in a little dis-array with multiple wardrobe changes flying about in there.)

To top it off, he treated his lucky ladies to a wonderful dinner at one our favorite-but-not-frequented-too-often restaurants. Oh NitNoi, with your creamy peanut sauce, soft spring rolls (and crunchy for the Mr.), and Peanut Chicken.. we love you! And just in case you were wondering, Precious Princess favors her Daddy's preference of spring rolls.

Christmas Cookies

Last year's Cookie Day with a very rosy, cheeked, just-summoned-from-a-nap-through-it-all Jade.

The much anticipated, favoritist (almost at least) Christmas tradition has come and gone folks! When I was younger, I could not wait for Christmas Cookie day with my Granny and siblings. Who wouldn't be excited about eating (i.e. sneaking when Granny wasn't looking) cookie dough until your ears are practically oozing it out?

As I've gotten older, the real joy is in seeing my nieces and nephews take such delight in this special day with Granny. I pray that Jade will be able to have some of these special memories with Granny also. For now, she is only interested in terrorizing her younger cousins and mooching food off of people.

Next year, I will make motion that we start Cookie Day at 6am. Last year, we were supposed to start early.. like 9ish. I don't think a batch of cookie dough was actu

ally made until like 12. This year, it was supposed to be 12:30. We started around like 3:30. Don't ask me what we did for 3 hours before we actually "got to it." I couldn't tell you.

What happens when you leave kids alone in the kitchen for 10 minutes that are supposed to be diligently working on their cut-out cookies?

A self-inflicted flour face of course!

The Money Shot A*K*A* posed picture for the sake of memories. Jade did not really particpate much in the actual cookie day. However, we do have a few photos that say otherwise.

Sadly, this is probably the most Jade and I contributed to cookie day. Girlfriend was all about exploring her aunt, uncle and cousin's new house. And I was busy chasing after her, snapping pictures and getting approximately all of 30 seconds of video footage.

I can't wait until next year!!!

Weekend Recap

The somewhat condensed version.

Friday : Amazing Mister's company Christmas party, great prizes, awesome food, good company and conversation. Thank you to Nana and Papoo for entertaining our precious Princess while we were at the festivities.

By Saturday, we were getting into the groove of Christmas celebrating. We headed over to Meemaw and Pawpaw's a little early to get in some extra sweet lovin' and cheek squishin' for one of our new little cousins that lives several states away. Unfortunately, the rest of the Brantner clan had the same idea we did. But who am I kidding? It was great to get to hang with the fam without feeling like we were rushed. Although, Precious Princess was pretty much napless that day and was surely testing our patience! Girlfriend snatched toys left and right from younger cousins, shrieked, and was a terror. But of course, she had her undeniably cute Ms. Priss angelic moments too. 

Jade being "chute." She does this a lot to show off.

Sunday was the perfect end to a great weekend. That morning we went to see Jade's absolute favorite cousin sing in his little Christmas program. (You know, the cousin's name she says only about 5 million times a day.) I'm not sure he expected to see her there though. She kept "shouting" his name, and when he finally looked at her.. it was priceless. His face lit up.. and it was like he was performing just for her. I'm so grateful that Jade has such a close bond with her big cousin. After church, we enjoyed the best lunch ever at Outback, which was a very rare treat for us. Jade took an awesome 2.5 hour nap. And before we knew it, we were heading out the door again.

Our church worship band (with a few special guests) put on Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb of God." I'm a little biased, but I'm not sure many would disagree. We have like the best Worship Team ever! I mean sure, they have bu-coo's of talent.. but they also really worship with their entire being.. and I love it! The words of each song sang were so powerful. And like our worship pastor said (well, paraphrasing here) I always thought of Christ's birth as the beginning. But really.. its just another step in God's plan. He had this whole thing ordained and thought out way back in Exodus. 

Oh and PTL, Jade was truly a precious princess that night. They did not have nursery, so we were at the mercy of whatever I had packed to entertain her. Baby Girl "colurred" for at least 30 minutes with a pen and piece of paper, snacked until her belly button almost popped, and went through other knick-knacks I had packed in all of about 5 minutes each. Overall, she did spectacular during the hour-long musical.

Much Better

Saturday should have been a little clue as to how our week might turn out. But yesterday almost took the cake. Pretty Princess got to bed pretty late Wednesday night, tossed and turned throughout the night, and woke up bright-eyed but not so bushytailed at 7 am on Thursday! Say what?!?! We had a Christmas Party the night before.. so I had stayed up late working so I wouldn't have a bazillion things to do the next day. Needless to say, I was not too enthuiastic about Miss Priss waking up early. The morning was rough, the afternoon to mid day was splendid (we went to Chick-fil-a with Jade and two of her favorite cousins), and our late afternoon was not much better. We were both tired, cranky and a bit out of sorts.

When KK picked Little Miss and I up that evening for a girls night out with some of the family, I mentioned that I wasn't sure if most of the day went awry because of the Little One's attitude or mine. At the end of the day, I was exhausted and felt like a no good Mommy.

Today, however, has proven to be just what we needed. A day filled with laughter, playing, puzzles, coffee (mostly for me), lots of kisses, a little cuddling, coloring and much needed napping.

I think its a beautiful start to a wonderful weekend! Its amazing how Father God takes care of us even in the smallest things. Praise the Lord for our joyful spirits today and for a day just to be Mommy and Daughter!

Tonight we have the Amazing Mister's company party (and Jade will get to spend time with her beloved Nana, Papoo and some more of her favorite cousins), tomorrow we have an extended family Christmas celebration, and Sunday we will go see two wonderful Christmas Concerts. The first concert will be performed by one of the cutest red-headed kids. And the 2nd will be performed by the best Worship Team ever!! (Our church worship team is putting on Behold The Lamb of God. Never seen it, but super excited to!)

Which will take us right into a whole week with the Amazing Mister being at home with us!! We are so excited! And of course, there will be non-stop Christmas Festivities going on that week!! (Monday, much anticipated Christmas tradition of making cookies with my Granny, sisters, neices and nephews! This started with my older sister and has been an ongoing tradition for like 30 years! Tuesday, good dinner with good friends! Just an excuse to have friends over and use the Christmas dishes we were given almost 3 years ago at a "Christmas" shower that was thrown for us. Wednesday, Christmas Eve celebration with Amazing Mister's maternal extended family, and then a celebration with my extended family. Thursday, CHRISTMAS!! Hang here for a blink of an eye, shoot over to my mom's for Christmas Breakfast, then to Kk & Pop's for "linner"-late lunch:early dinner-, quite possibly a movie. Friday, Christmas morning do-over at KK & Pops.. with Amazing Mister's immediately family. We always do this the day before CHristmas Eve or day after Christmas.. spend the night, watch movies, and wake up next morning like its Christmas day!)

SO, the next time you hear from me, I will probably be sweating red and green all over...because I will just be oozing of Christmas-y.

I'm tired ya'll.

Our day, in semi-random order (because I'm too tired to remember the real order):

*alarm goes off at 6:15am for no apparent reason. After a little bit of half-asleep headscratching, we come to the conclusion that MS. Princess must have been playing with the buttons yesterday.
*have a nice breakfast with Amazing Mr. while Jade was recovering (i.e. sleeping in) from her late night of gazing on Christmas Lights with KK, Pops and the whole rest of the Brantner/Skinner/ Weaver/McKee bunch.
*Princess wakes up, eat & get dressed in a flash
*Wonderful Aunt Marlene picks us up to begin our day of fun
*Drop by two houses to pick/drop radom things up/off
*head down to Aunt Marlene's house so she can "freshen up" before we meet Amazing Mr. for lunch
*had GOOD lunch with Amazing Mr.
*race over to complete opposite side of town to amazing tea party hosted by one of Aunt M's new friends
*Jade acts worse than a bull in a China closet, I had maybe two sips of tea
*Jade tumps ENTIRE cup of tea all over both us
*Momma almost loses it from embarrassment, instead musters enough grace and humility to give my most sincere apology to the host
*head back to Aunt M's house to wait on Mr. to get out of school
*Ms. Princess refuses to stay asleep when I try to lay her down at Aunt M's house
*Mr. gets out of school, we head to Galleria
*walk 10 million miles in my pointy toe heels
*make one measley purchase at Macy's
*eat awesome Mexi food, but realize we want something sweet
*walk halfway cross the Galleria to Candy Store, then walk right back by Restaurant to our parking garage
*Get home after being gone from house for nearly 13 hours
*NOw, going to go pass out from the exhaustion.. or may shamelessly beg Amazing Mr for footrub.

PHEW!

I heart...

TOBY MAC!!!!!

Holy Cow. I told Mr. Amazing that his concert tonight was almost a toss up between Coldplay. I nearly got kicked out of the moving truck. No, but seriously it was awesome. I don't know when the last time I danced that much was. No. Wait. To be honest, it was earlier today when Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" came on the radio. But you get the point.

I have to admit, when we were invited to go, I didn't give the concert my 100% excited reaction. Of course I was looking forward to a fun evening out with friends..and I always enjoy a concert. But I don't know every single Toby song by heart. Needless to say, my expectations were not very high. Even if they had been, I think they still would have been TOTALLY blown away.

"What would people say if they find out its true? Oh, oh, oh!"

While on Hiatus..

The precious princess and I had the pleasure of going with our Mothers Day In group from church to the Children's Museum downtown. We both had a blast and came home completely tuckered out. 

I guess I should start at the beginning. Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to be a mom. Not just a mom, but a Mommy. When I had Jade, I dreamt of the day when I could all day just playing with her and teaching her about the awesome God we serve. And along with playing with her, I imagined us being a part of a play group.. and raising her in the environment I had growing up. I have such fond memories of spending time over at my own friend's houses while the moms made those hideous jumpers that were so popular for little girls in the late 80's. 

Well, while I was on hiatus from blogging, Jade and I went to the Children's Museum with our Mothers Day In program from church. I don't know who had more fun, me or Jade. Not only was the Museum so completely AWESOME (and super cheap), but it was a dream come true for me. Seeing Jade interact with kids around her same age, and being part of something that I've so longed for! We are so incredibly blessed to call our church "home" and to have such wonderful friends there!

Did you notice?

The sidebar had to go. I put a nice little doo-wop up a while back, bragging about all the words Jade can say now. But Little Girl has become quite the chatterbox lately. Somebody told me she is like a little parakeet, and by George, I think they've got it. Sometimes, I wonder where she really learns the things she says. And just bless your heart if you make it all the way through this post! (This is mainly to document her newest little milestones for us, but indulge if you wanna!)

But some things that we have really been working on are animals and their sounds. So far, we have "hoewiss" (horse), cat, dog, sheep, cow, owl, pig, rooster, and duck. But when we get to fish... and making fish lips, she just looks at me like I'm a weirdo. 

I think the most fun we are having at this stage though, is actually seeing how her little brain correlates things. Like when I pick up my phone during the day, Princess instinctively says "Dada?" (Because 90% of the time we actually call him.) Or sometimes she'll say "Dada go?" (Like where is he?) And I'll say "work." Or sometimes we'll say someone's name like Nana.. and she'll say "Papoo."

And Precious Princess may soon become a little Domestic Diva. She loves to "holp" (help) me clean, cook, do the laundry and the dishes! So, every time I get ready to do my "chores", Baby Girl is right there waiting for her little instructions. While unloading the dishwasher inevitably takes 20 minutes now, it is so precious to see her taking such delight in "holping."

Merry Christmas...

and Happy Thanksgiving.. and Happy Halloween!

Now, lets just backtrack a minute, shall we? Jade was the cutest little Punk Rock Princess this year for halloween. We had the best time at a fall festival with some of our closest friends and family and their kiddos. And at this fall festival, they had horse rides. The princess didn't quite know what a horse was at the time, or how to say it at least. But since the girl is such an animal lover, we figur

ed she would love it. So, when it was her turn for a ride on the horse, she really didn't know what to think. But after about half a minute, she decided it was the best ever! After the fun at the festival, we headed over to Buffalo Wild Wings..and that was our Halloween.

Thanksgiving this year was awesome. My green bean casserole got great reviews from my husband at both festivities we attended. Our daughter, on the other hand, was not impressed with Turkey Day food at all. The girl wouldn't touch a thing on her plate. However, I'm pretty sure there may have been some nutritional value in the 8 pounds of cookies, crackers, and bread she filled up on! And no worries about the Princess packing on anything from all the carbs she had. Baby Girl did nothing but run and play HARD at both festivities. Needless to say, we were all pooped after all the fun!

**This is where I wanted to insert a cute Thanksgiving picture of Jade. But all I got were shots of her running around like a little loon!**

And finally Merry Christmas! My FAVORITE time of year. Where we get to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The Christ. The Savior! I pray that I would truly be focused on that this year, and that we would help our Precious Daughter see that He is truly the reason we are celebrating.

And so, I leave you with a blast from the past. (Please excuse the tag on Ms. Minnie Pearl's hat.)

Election Day '08

Well folks, only about a hour and a half until Election Day '08 is officially over.

I hate conflict. Although, I am not afraid to speak when I know it is what I am being commanded to do. Not that I should sound or try to be righteous, because Lord knows I am still just a wretch. But all the turmoil in our nation has been breaking my heart. I love my country, and I know I was born and raised here for a reason. God is sovereign. He is perfect, and His plans and timing are beyond our comprehension. "For who knows the mind of our God, and who can bring counsel to him..."

I voted today. I felt proud, honored and privileged to have a voice in what may happen to this nation. So.. as the day is nearing its end, I am filled with joy and with a little angst. All the debating, and he said she said is finally drawing to a close. And NBC is predicting Obama to be our next president.

Things have not been looking too pretty for our "great nation" for sometime.. and from what I've seen, I don't think it will be getting much better. But what I fear most is that people will not heed the warnings and wake-up calls. No matter what happens, no matter who sits in the Oval Office.. I serve a Higher King. He is Sovereign. He is good. And I know.. His hand is over EVERYTHING. NOTHING will ever change that.

So, tonight.. as I go to bed, I will rest in that. I will have a peace that surpasses all understanding. I will rest in the fact that He works everything for His own glory. And yes, things may not be all rosy for me and my little family.. we may have hardships, and we may struggle... but I know that God still sits on the throne... and He ALWAYS will!

Did you know?

That autumn (or fall, whichever you prefer) is actually code for "season of soups." Friends, I kid you not. That's really what it mean. Well. At least in my book it does. I get stupid happy when it starts turning the slightest bit cool! Because it means I can start cooking all my yummy soups. Not only are they yummy, but they are super inexpensive to make and last forever!

Tonight, I will be making this beauty:

Taco Soup

Although poor Hubs.. when he saw the lineup for this week solemnly said "I don't think I'm ready for that yet." (Referring of course to the taco soup.) Did I mention how much I love to make soups? OOoohh, another great point.. I can start this bad boy at about 4:30ish-5ish.. we can go work out.. and it will still taste WONDERFUL when we get back. (And of course, leftovers always heat up as good as new.)

Recipe:

1 lb Hamburger Meat

1 packet Ranch seasoning/dip mix

1 packet Taco seasoning

1 can Mexican style stewed tomatoes (sometimes I just use regular ones if I can't find Mex. style)

1 can normal corn

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Brown hamburger meat (salt and pepper to taste), drain, put in slow cooker or big ol' pot, add the rest of the ingredients and a couple (or whatever looks right) can fulls of water to pot. Let it cook on medium/low until temperature is just right.

We usually garnish ours with shredded cheddar and sour cream... and tortilla chips!

Hope you enjoy your *Season Of Soups*! =)

Professional Park People

6 Kids, 1 Park, 1 Long Walk.. and Another Park= Tons*Of*Fun

Today I learned that my nephews are part chimp.. and one is even part camel!

"Well. How do you get up there?"

Isn't this just so sweet? Jade loves her cousins!

LOL is all I have to say about this one!

After our long morning out in the parks, we headed back to my house. We all scarfed down peanut butter and jelly sandwiches like we hadn't eaten in two weeks. They were delicious. Although I had a hard time convincing my neices and nephews that I use the same brand Jelly my sister uses. I tried foolishly to also tell them we used the same peanut butter. They weren't fooled.

As my sister came to collect her precious treasures, I tried to work out an arrangement, if you will, with my neice. Instead of having to take a nap today, she could stay up and answer my calls and do all my work. She found that rather amusing. I was not kidding. I will be sleeping like a rock tonight dear friends.

Ordinary Day

I woke up this morning, quite refreshed.. and anticipating a tall cup of fresh coffee Thanks to Mr. Amazing, I enjoyed sipping on it while I worked and peeked out the window every once in a while to a beautiful sunrise. Pretty soon, the most beautiful noise filled my ears. The Princess had awoken and was talking so sweetly in her room, just kind of babbling. We had fun eating breakfast together. I threw on some clothes, and we went to go pump some iron. (Sidenote: Don't become really good, ie best friends with people who own a gym. It just makes you want to workout. Hah.) Jesus and I had some great time together on the elyptical machine thanks to Watermark. After I was about to break out in a completely grotesque sweat, we left to go home and enjoy lunch.. and a bit of random play time. And after Jade's nap we went to the park. It was so beautfiful outside, and BONUS: we did not start dripping sweat as soon as we set foot outside. So, I guess we have our own version of fall here. Jade enjoyed the dirt/mulch the most at the park. You can call a girl a Princess as much as you want.. it doesn't mean she will always act like one! =)

FINALLY, after what seemed like an eternity, the Amazing Mr. came home. We grilled our shish-ka-bobs on our awesome deck. Well. We started out there, and then we ran out of propane. But thanks to Mr Foreman and his Lean Mean Grilling Machine, dinner was salvaged. After dinner, we let the dishes just sit. (Thanks to much coersing from the Amazing Mr., I did not immediately rush inside to do them.) Then, we ran around like wild goons telling the Princess we were going to "get her," and listened to the most precious giggles and squeals erupt out of her cute little mouth. Once it got too dark to be out, we came in. I did the dishes and peeked over the bar to see Jade showing every book she has to her daddy.. occasionally wrapping her sweet little arms around his neck.

In the blink of an eye, it was bed time. Jade thought it was hilarious to waller around on her tummy and then splash real crazy like in the bath. Then, we dressed her, prayed, and I rocked her for just a bit. I put her in her bed with her little blanket and Violet (her purple, stuffed hippo.)

So there you have it.. just another very *extra* ordinary day in our crazy/normal little life.

Party Hard-y

Is that how that is spelled?

Anyways, we had a blast celebrating sweet Lela's 3rd birthday at her house! Our friends have the cutest cottage-y, country type house on the cutest little acre or so of land.. with the most picturesque surroundings. Lela may have been the birthday girl, and center of attention.. but I was able to snap some really cute shots of the Princess doing her own thing. 

This one is a bit blurry.. but I think you get the point.

Princess On A Mission

"Why in the world does this ball have all these bumpy things on it?"

Our friend made some really cute favor bags for the party guests, which included theme oriented favors. Jade got a really cute animal mask and a farm book. I knew I should have given away tiara's and jewels at Jade's 1st Birthday Party.. I know my nephews would have totally love that!! =)

Sidenote: Princess can now get off high surfaces safely. (Like the couch, our bed, etc... all of course under our supervision.) And today she scooted down the stairs on her bottom.. but I have no idea where she learned that. 

Busy, Busy weekend

This weekend was an absolute blast! Friday night we fellowshipp'ed with some friends and did much of nothing. Saturday morning, we were lazy for a bit and then met some more friends at the Pumpkin Patch. It as an absolutely, beautifully perfect day to be out. And every once in a while, we caught a nice breeze... because Texas just doesn't understand that it is AUTUMN! Nonetheless, we enjoyed chasing after Jade, going on a hayride and even a train ride. Afterwards, we enjoyed the best beverage in the world, why Sweet Tea of course, at Chick-fil-A.  (Can you believe we totally missed some other friends that were meeting us there? The Patch is crazy!)

This is the best family picture we could manage. Did I mention how beautifully, sunny it was?

Rewind approximately 365 days... that have just flown by!

We stopped home for a bit, and then we were off to celebrate another friend's 3rd birthday. Pictures of that event to come later.

For now, I will be taking full advantage of the Sabbath.. and an exhausted, napping toddler!

Indulgence

The Precious Princess had a little bit of a rough time drifiting off into dreamworld tonight.

So, after she was tuckered out...

I had one of these (not the whole box, just one)

with a glass of this.

But, now I am off to indulge in something divinely better

.. with a little bit of this on the side.

And some of this playing to lead me into the Almighty's presence...

Bear with me..

Or is it bare with me? ... Hmm..

Anyhow.. we're getting a face-lift here people! Mommy Ramblings will soon be fall-ish.. just bare with me while I get it situated!

Working in my home..

Phillipians 2: 12-18
12So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

14Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

17But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

18You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me
I pray in all things.. that I would work out my salvation with fear in trembling. That I would be sensitive the Word of God and the convictions God has entrusted me with. Looking back through different seasons of my life, I can see some pretty big lessons, foundations, building blocks.. God was showing me. I am so grateful that God didn't just save me.. and say "There you go." How unexplainably sweet it is that He is not finished.. that He is still at work within me. Because let's face it.. I need it. Through each season, through each lesson, I pray that my attitude would not be negative and would not be full of complaining. But that I would find joy in the mere fact that He is not finished..that when I work, or whatever I do.. I do it all for His glory.

Since the day our precious Princess was born, life has certainly never been the same. And while I am not a seasoned Mother by any means, or one so full of wisdom; I do know this.. I am learning new "lessons" each and every day. Over the past year, I struggled with the fact that I was working outside of our home. While I am not opposed to working if need be, I was so strongly convicted over the fact that I was not being what I know God wanted me to be, a stay at home mom. I was convicted over the things that I counted as "necessities" for so long. (Cable TV, newer cars, new clothes every few months, going out to eat.) Not that it is wrong to indulge in these things, but they became necessities in my life. Through His perfect grace and mercy.. He started moulding me, if you will. These "things" suddenly became roadblocks in me pursuing what I knew I had to do. While it even seemed a bit crazy to rid us of several of those things, we knew we were doing what was best for our family.. doing what we are called to do in the Word.

And no, I do not think it is an abominal sin to have cable TV, to have new clothes, and to go out to eat. If we could afford to indulge in these things, I'm sure we would every once in a while.

I think this video pretty much sums it up.

Thank God for my Husband..

For his voice of reason when Old Navy is having a ginormous sale.. and everything, literally EVERYTHING looks like it would be so precious on our little princess!

Now, do you see the damage that was almost done?

Freedom

Way back when.. I was beyond blessed to see first hand just a glimmer of the amazing things God is doing across seas. I was blessed to be used to Glorify Him on some foreign mission trips. I can't even begin to desribe how those trips truly opened my eyes to just how AWESOME God is. After returning from one of those trips, I somehow stumbled upon this incredible book called The Voice of The Martyrs. I don't know how exactly, but I ended up with it..and was enthralled by it. I probably read it in about two days. All the stories in it were such a foreign concept. Poeple being persecuted for their faith in the most Holy of Holies? Hmm.. I guess a little teasing in school and weird looks don't count as persecution in the light of what some of these people had gone through. I thank God for opening my foolish eyes; for opening my eyes to the precious believers that are literally riksing EVERYTHING to make His name known.

So, when I "happened" to stumble across this blog, my heart broke and rejoiced for these people all in one! If you have a spare moment, visit http://www.wearethatfamily.com/2008/08/when-god-steps-in.html. (Sorry, I don't know how to make it all fancy and shortened!) I pray that as you read this 5 part story, you would be encouraged.. that your affections would be stirred for the real Joy-giver.. and that you be blessed.

Five for Friday

1. Showered before the day "began", did my hair and even put on make-up!

2. Enjoyed a delicious breakfast of McD's hotcakes and coffee with my baby girl.

3. Got to have lunch with the amazing Mr.

4. Got an autumn-y smelling candle that just smells divine.

5. Just found out the amazing Mr. just might be coming home a little early tonight! (We miss him a lot lately.. going to school 2 nights a week and then all day Saturday is rough on us girls.. and Sampson!)

GENIUS!

Sometimes, I think my whit and smartness even suprises me. That is, until I am around my daughter.. then I pretty much just feel like a pea-brain sometimes.

Jade is very much into the not liking vegetables stage right now. Or not liking something today that she loved yesterday. But last night, I have to admit that I out-whitted the smartest princess in all the land. No matter what we are eating, Jade HAS to have a bite. So, I made myself some mixed veggies and of course.. she wanted some. Girlfriend probably ate at least 4 days worth of veggies with dinner last night! Woot woot! And of course, the real fun began when I gave her the main course.. raviolis!!

Another thought... maybe if I just scattered my floor and Sampson's food bowl with veggies.. she would probably eat them all day and every day! Seriously, its a thought I should really consider.

WOOHOO!

Well.. after 15 long days, we finally have power! Can I just say how thankful I am for our families? Between our moms and extended family, we were well fed, cooled by fans at night, and I was able to keep working! Oh.. and thanks to Aunt J and Mom for keeping us in clean clothes!

Even through all the blessings, it was still a bit of a rough few weeks for us, literally. Poor Jade got into an ant bed and had about a dozen bites on one of her legs. She busted her lip at church. Playing a little rough with kittens over at KK's house left a few scratches on her arms. And she tripped on Grandma's concrete porch, giving her a few scratches on her big toes. She is one tough little Princess though. She didn't even cry once through all of that.

So, if you really want to know what comes out of not having power for two weeks.. other than being hot in your house and relying on others that do have power. You get to watch your baby girl develop sweet relationships with family that she isn't around all that much. (Working from my mom's house enabled Jade to get to know her Aunt, her Granny, her Grandmaw, Grandma's "Friend", and her cousin really well.) You get a much lower electric bill than what you are used to! And when you finally do get power.. you think you have never been so happy to finally run a vaccuum, the dishwasher, and do all your laundry in your own house!

Ike

It was a doozy.. but we and all of our precious, material things made it through! Praise God that our house is still standing with absolutely no proof that Ike even passed through.



Our power has been out since Friday night, but we have had running water.. and family nearby with generators. So, we're clean and well fed! =)



And praise God for the nice little cool front that blew in yesterday, we even had to use the comforter at some point during the night! WOOHOO!

Unfortunately, a lot of others have not been quite as blessed to have made it through completely unscathed. My heart and prayers go out to those who aren't as fortunate.

B*E*A*U*tifull!

We had an absolutely gorgeous weekend here! Let's just say when you walked outside, you didn't automatically melt into the ground. Intstead, it was almost a hint of fall. Well, the Texas version of fall anyways. And after a long week of work and missing Daddy, it made our weekend even better.

On Sunday, we finally put together a mini-jungle gym outdoor type thing that had been handed down to us by Grandma, Aunt Carrie and Cullen.

Jade's favorite part was opening and closing the little gate entrance. She didn't really get how to climb to get to the slides.

(** And yes.. I know our grass is in need of some serious TLC. Not to worry though, Jade realized she loves the water hose and we have had playing with that the past few days... so hopefully that will help!)

Just cause this one was too sweet not to post..

But right after this shot, she decided to chow down on some grass, the Little Billygoat!

Daredevil

Jade has become all about climbing within the past couple of weeks. She climbs into her little rocking chair to rock her babies. She climbs up the stairs (with careful supervision, of course.) She climbs, she climbs, and climbs some more.

And this past week, she thought it would be funny to nearly give her mother a heart attack. Let's be real honest here. I love my daughter, I love watching her play, I love being involved in all the little things and the big, but I can't possibly keep my eye on her every moment of every day. 

One of Jade's favorite things to climb into, is this little play table thing. The top comes off, and it is like a little storage bucket thing for the building blocks. Miss Priss loves to throw the top off, and yes, literally throws it off. Then, proceeds to chunk each and every building block behind her. After all this, she climbs in and will just sit in there for a few minutes. Or will get out and climb back in repeatedly. Well, one day this past week, I was in the kitchen doing somethin'. I came around the corner of our bar to peek on her. There she was, just standing up in the thing, smiling like she was happier than a pig in poop! 

Coolest KK Ever!

3 Smiles + 1 Smirk+ 2 Adorable Babies+ 1 Cute Toddler + 1 Hot KK= A REALLY GREAT PICTURE

Jade loved the carousel!!

She also really enjoyed skee-ball. As you can see.

Jade's KK recently had a birthday, and decided to have her birthday party at the coolest place ever... CHUCK-E-CHEESE'S! She wanted to make it fun for her grand-kids.. but we all ended up having a blast!

It's Here!!!

I can't believe it's actually here!! A day that I have prayed and wept for countless times over the past year. Since the day I had Jade, thoughts of being a stay at home Mom literally consumed me. The time I had for "maternity leave" was spent agonizing over thoughts of having to go back to work. Don't get me wrong, I still had plenty of time to squish in some sweet loving on that precious, little princess.. but I just dreaded the day I had to go back to work. And each time I felt that way, or started to feel that way again over the past year, I just prayed. Prayed for God to give me strength, prayed for a miracle for me to either work from home or be a stay at home Mom, and of course I thanked Him for the wonderful care my daughter was receiving. (We are so blessed to have had Nana and Aunt "Tis-tuh" watch Jade the past year.. and of course a handful of other family members when they had something conflicting.)

I've said it before and I will say it again. My husband is a very hard-working, loving provider for our family. He takes a healthy amount of pride in his work and is always looking out for our family's best interest. We live quite modestly, and have worked to keep it that way.. to be good stewards of what we have been blessed with. However, even the bare necessities can add up.

So.. we've prayed, and talked, and prayed and talked some more. We studied scriptures on what we believe my role in our household should be. I took a big leap and asked my boss to grant me my wildest wish. AND THEY SAID YES!! Of course, they had some improvements and tweaks to the "proposal" I had presented them with.. which is leaving us relying even more on the grace of God. Still, they said yes.

And so it begins.. I am a stay/work at home Mom! Now, thoughts of spending each and every day with my princess explode in my mind! How much fun it will be to teach her shapes, colors, the alphabet, numbers, how puzzles work, and of course most importantly, more about the awesome God we serve! WOOHOO! Thank you, Lord!

*P*A*R*T*Y*

Ohmygoodness, who would have ever thought that such a simple act as a precious, little Princess turning 1 could be so tiring?

Jade is sound asleep in the next room, the Hubby is practically snoring at my side, and I'm barely able to keep my eyes open at the moment. What a great end to a splendid day! A day that seemed lightyears away 365 days ago, but now it has come and almost gone. 

Our princess turned 1 in the company of most of her family and a lot of dear friends. We are so crazy blessed to have the kind of family and friends we do. Not many people would brave the Texas heat, but ours did for over 2 hours. 

Pops and KK were so gracious to let us have the schindig at their house. The kids ran like wild commanches around the deck, into the pool, and even in the mini-moonwalk. (Thank you again M&B for letting us borrow that today! The kids really enjoyed it!!) And the Princess's birthday could not have been complete without the yummiest birthday cake ever! Made with love by Papoo and Nana of course!

All in all, it was a great afternoon spent in the company of really great people! Oh, and did I mention that Jade probably has enough dresses to clothe a small 3rd world village? Well, she does. And enough toys, puzzles, books and dolls to share too! But to be quite honest.. all of those "things" were just kind of like the "cherry on top." Not necessarily needed, but always appreciated!

Happy Birthday Princess!!

To the sweetest Princess ever,

I can hardly believe that you are 1 year old today! Has it really been 365 days since you came into this world? Sitting here.. I can still feel the whirlwind of emotions that swirled through all of us that day. To be quite honest, I never have stopped feeling them. Each day you bring me, Daddy and so many other people so much joy. We are truly blessed to call you daughter. I still find it hard to fathom that God has entrusted us with such a special gift. Oh sweet Jade, you are so much more than anything we could have ever prayed or even dreamed for. You are the apple of our eye.

There are so many things I wish for you on your special day, and every other day for that matter. I only wish you could know how deeply Daddy and I love you so much. 

In one short week, Mommy will get to be a "work at home" Mommy! Can you believe it? I can't wait to spend all day together! It will be so much fun. I can't wait to teach you more about this awesome God we serve and teach you about His son, Jesus! We will read books, sing praises, and pray together. It will be so much fun! More than anything, I wish for you to know Jesus as your personal Savior.  Nothing in life can ever be sweeter than that. Not even 1 million kisses and hugs from the sweetest little princess that brings me so much joy each and every day. Know this my sweet daughter, Jesus is the only person that can bring you true, everlasting joy. 

So, to you, on your birthday, my precious daughter, I promise that every day we spend together.. I will try my hardest to show you the love of Jesus in every way I possibly can.

I love you,

Mommy!

Books

Educational.. and nutritious!

Jade has really gotten the hang of books over the past two weeks. Its so sweet to see her pick out her favorite (Jack and Jill and But Not The Hippopotamus) and read to herself. But most of the time she really likes to be read to. So, she'll bring me the book and plop down in my lap.

But then.. I look over and sometimes she is eating the book. I guess kind of somewhat like osmosis...but with eating. You would think paper was a rare delicacy the way she tears into the stuff.

Pride

I'm so proud of my wonderful husband!

This is the new patio furniture to go on our new...

DECK!

(Sorry the picture isn't the greatest. The hubby took it at 9:30 with his phone after he finished!)

Thank you Lord for a handy husband, great sales, and friends in the right places!