Thirty one

I'm so happy he loves to read :o)

Thirty

I love a good deal :o)

Today I ran into the Children's Place to get Gracie some tights because hers have holes in them and are all pilly. She plays hard and rough, but wants to wear a skirt or dress with tights everyday. I don't argue, I wanted a girl and I now have my girly girl! So anyway, no tights in Gracie size, but a great sale! I got all of the above for around $80.00!

Twenty nine

Brrrrrrrrr...

We woke up to a freeze this morning.

Gracie let me practice with my lights today. I love this photo of Gracie, she is such a beauty.

Twenty eight

Portraits with Nana :o)

Twenty seven

Today Gracie, Nana and I went out shopping for a little bit. While we were out we had a little Pizza Hut. This meal actually means a lot to me. As a teenager my mom and I would go down to the hut for lunch frequently. We would share a personal pan pizza and an order of bread sticks. It wasn't so much the meal, but the time we spent together, the conversations we had and the laughter we shared. I cherish these times with my mom. I hope as my kiddos grow up we will have a special place that we go to that we can go and talk and spend time together and create memories.

Twenty six

Happy Chinese New Year!

We had a New Year celebration with family and friends! This year I cooked my own ragoons and spring rolls! Yummy! Wishing everyone great fortune and happiness in 4707, Year of the Ox! Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Twenty five

Oh how we love brownies! And of course everyone loves to clean out the bowl :o)

Twenty four

My Sleeping Beauty! Just a quick nap to re energize!

Twenty three

Troy was promoted today! Congratulations Troy, I'm so proud of you! Now show me the money!

Twenty two

My Mom flew in from Florida today and we are so happy to see her!

Twentyone

Zak wrote "wash me" in the dirt on Troy's truck the other day, but this just cracked me up! "Wash me" was crossed out and somebody else, who knows who wrote, "Please I'm begging you." Needless to say Troy washed the truck today :o)

Twenty

So I didn't vote for Obama, but today was definitely a great day for our nation. I am very proud to be an American. I know that anyone can do and be anything they dream of and today is proof of that! God Bless the United States of America.

Nineteen

Too many hobbies...

Eighteen

The Princess is in the house! Gracie just loves to dress up, she got this new dress the other day and asked if I would take her picture in it. It makes this Mama very happy to have a willing subject :o) She is the prettiest princess I have ever seen.

Seventeen

Today we celebrated our 2nd Family of Five Day. Two years ago in Chongqing, China a very frightened tiny baby was placed in my arms. Today Gracie is an outgoing, friendly, happy go lucky girl who has stolen my heart forever! I cannot imagine my family without her. I will always remember the moment each of my children were placed in my arms and forever be grateful for each of them and the family that I call mine! Happy Family of Five Day! I love you all forever and always.

Sixteen

The words every Mom of a child who wears glasses hates to hear. "Mom, my glasses are broken." These are Cooper's glasses. He has broken his glasses so many times I've lost count :o)

Fifteen

Today Gracie and I did our weekly duty of getting the groceries. I kind of like going grocery shopping, but I definitely hate carrying everything in and putting it away. Gracie has also become a very good shopper. As we go up and down the aisle we count everything we possibly can count and look at shapes and colors. Such fun! She wants to put everything into the buggy, but can hardly reach the top of the buggy. So she throws everything in and sometimes our groceries are a little misshapen by the time we get home. If Gracie behaves and listens to Mommy she gets M&Ms at the check out! She got her chocolate today :o) And she shared with her Mommy, she is such a good girl!

I know the photo isn't great with all the blowouts and being out of focus, but it really captures Gracie's enthusiasm for just the everyday errands and time spent together!

Fourteen

This is our kitten Mojo. She joined our family last April. She is a very mischievous, wild kitten! Roger loves her as they play and sleep together, Chloe not so much! But it took her a few years to warm up to Roger, so I assume with time she will learn to tolerate Mojo too! The kids love to play with Mojo, especially Gracie. She carries her around like a baby and pushes her in her baby stroller :o) She also chases her around the backyard. Mojo has started to climb our little oak tree in the backyard to get away from Gracie! That is how I found her today with Gracie screaming at her at the base of the tree!

Thirteen

So tonight we used a coupon that was to expire soon to go to our favorite BBQ place. It was a fabulous coupon, four free meals! We got smoked brisket, smoked turkey, creamed corn, beans and bread. Yes it was absolutely delicious! We also got a peach cobbler :o) The best part was that we only payed $6 for dinner tonight and also that I didn't have to cook! Thank you Rudy's!

Twelve

Last night as the kids were running in and out of the house with the neighborhood kids playing Nerf guns when we had a fatality :o( The doorknob on the backdoor fell off! I tried to save it, but my efforts were not good enough. The doorknob was done. So I rigged that baby on the door to get us through the night and then went to Home Depot today to get a new one! I didn't sleep well knowing the door was not secure, but tonight I'll know it is locked and secure. And yes, those are fingerprints all over the glass of the door and maybe a little slobber :o) I have three kiddos and about 3 or 4 other children playing here on a daily basis!

Eleven

This is my Zaky! All he wanted for Christmas this year was Lego's! He loves, loves, loves Lego's. He is constantly checking the mail for me looking for his Lego magazine. He knows what day of the month it usually comes and he is definitely looking for it! We have so many of these blocks in our house and I love them most of the time too! The only time I really do not care for them is when they are all over the floor and I accidentally step on them, oh man does that hurt!

Ten

This is my baby boy! He is growing up so quickly. I was practicing with my camera this morning and Coop was laying on the couch watching cartoons. He usually lets me practice on him, but he really doesn't like to be my model. So I just took a few quick shots of him laying there. I love Saturday mornings! Usually no hustle bustle at 6:30 trying to get everyone up and going, making breakfast, packing lunches, making sure teeth and hair are brushed properly, packing backpacks and taxiing everyone off to school. Whoa tired just writing that and already dreading Monday morning ;o) Anyway lazy Saturday mornings are great, kids get up late, watch cartoons, eat breakfast and get dressed sometime around noon!

Nine

We have a NEW bike rider!! Gracie absolutely adores riding her new bike. Santa brought her her new bike and she was so very excited on Christmas morning. She rode her bike all through the house on Christmas and asks to go out for bike rides everyday!

I also want to say how proud I am of the boys this week. Zak only missed one question on his science test and Coop only mispelled one word on his spelling test. They have grown into such good students and work hard!

Eight

I love a child who asks for peas for a snack!

I love a husband who cleans!

And I would really love a cat nap!

And Go Gators!! It's great to be a FLORIDA GATOR! Go Gators!

Seven

This little one really was getting to me today. This morning we went grocery shopping, not good :o( Lots and lots of whining. Anything that could be spilt was spilt today. Anything that should have not been touched was touched today. But all while this is happening she wraps her little arms around my neck and looks at me and smiles. Now who can be mad at that? Gracie is certainly curious and wants to help me when really I don't want help. She is my gentle reminder to take it easy, don't worry so much, we have each other right now and lets just enjoy it. She will not always want to help me around the house and her little finger prints will not be everywhere and there will not always be a trail of where she has been through out the house. I'm so grateful for these days, as hard as they are, but I'm also very grateful for bedtime :o)

Six

Can a scrapbooker ever have enough paper? Especially if you have gone to the dark side and now mostly digiscrap. Well I started to reorganize my room and have decided to lighten the load and part with some of my paper supplies. It certainly is difficult to let some of my stuff go. I hope I feel a little better about it when my room is all clean and reorganized :o)

Five

Back to reality :( The boys started back to school today and we now have to fall back into our busy, hectic scheduled life. I had my quarterly date with the rheumatologist today. All is well as he told me I'm still in remission. That made me chuckle as I said I think I will know when I'm no longer in remission because I will feel like sh*t! He said, Yea I'm sure you will know! Whenever I go to the rheumatologist I think of a passage from a book I read, "My Adventure With Lupus," by Robert L Yocum. He was diagnosed with lupus in his fifties and writes about his experiences as a man with lupus. Anyway, here is the passage he wrote that I think about often:

The wolf was slinking stealthily through the shadows, stalking its prey. Completely unaware of danger, I strode confidently through the forest. I had traveled this path before with no problems, so there was no reason to suspect trouble now. Suddenly the wold sprang from the shadows, sinking his fangs in deeply. I trembled with fear and anger to be taken so completely by surprise. As I struggled to break away, I thought of shattered goals, disrupted schedules, and frustrated family. With every attempt to escape, I felt the fangs of the wolf again and again until I despaired of even life itself. "Why me? Why am I a victim of this creature?"

Although racked by pain and fever, I was able to momentarily escape the watchful eye of this predator. As I began to make my way out of the forest, I was pursued and brought down again and again. Was there no escape from this wild and fierce animal?

As I grew stronger and found nourishment, I was able to keep a little ahead of the wolf, though constantly aware of his presence. There were times when I thought I was escaping, only to hear the fearsome howl of the wolf echoing through the hills once again. Would I ever escape this wilderness where the wolf is at home and I am a stranger?

In some places the path was steep and full of obstacles that exhausted me as I made my way over the hills and through the valleys away from the ravaging wolf. However, as strength returned and escape seemed certain, the wolf would suddenly spring from the shadows and I felt those dreaded fangs once again. "Who am I, to be stalked night and day by this tenacious wolf?"

FYI Lupus is the Latin word for wolf.

I have been in remission for just seven years now and I am thankful for each and everyday that I am given. I wouldn't change my path with lupus in any way, it has taken many things away from me, but it has also given me many things to be grateful for. If I had not gotten sick and been forced to quit working as a nurse I would have missed so many great moments with my children, as they would have been in daycare and not at home with me. It makes me look at life so much different than I used to. I appreciate the little things in life so much more and realize the most important things are family and friends and the little moments that create and form our relationships. My only advice if you have lupus or another chronic illness, stay positive, have faith in yourself and try to enjoy the simple things in life.

On a lighter note, we are sitting here watching the OSU vs Texas game. I let the boys stay up past their bedtime as they are big Longhorns fans. All I can say is Hook em Horns!

Four

I absolutely love lazy days! Stay in your jammies and watch football and eat all day long! Love those few and far between days! Needless to say we were all still exhausted from our track across the country. We ended our lazy day with a princess bubble bath, once again nothing better than that!

Three

Yes, I am a day late with this post, but in my defense, I was in the car all day yesterday. I drove all by myself with three children 1,167 miles :D We were in the car for 19 hours! The kids were all so very very good. I guess we all just wanted to get home. I had a lot of thinking time while I was driving. I have new ideas for the house and how I'm going to rearrange the furniture and reorganize and things I'm going to get rid of. I thought of my New Years resolutions and how I can really concentrate on them. One is to be a better wife. I'm going to really go the extra mile for my marriage. I think the result will be positive not only for me, but Troy and our children. I thought a lot about my mother and how I could possibly help her. I feel helpless in that situation. My Mom really needs me now, but there is really no way I can be near her right now because of Troy and the kids. I'm really torn. She is coming to stay with us in three weeks so that makes me happy :D Hopefully she will begin to feel better and her doctors will actually help her.

This photo brought a great sense of relief for me. Although not a great photo, as I didn't take the time to pull out my tripod, it still makes me smile. It is Exit 1 on I-10 coming into Texas! It meant we were almost home and that we could get out of that bloody car soon! The common cries of "I'm hungry," "I have to go potty," and "oops, I spilt..." would be over soon! I also realized yesterday that I could never be a truck driver!

Two

I spent the morning with my in-laws and most would think I'm sorry, but you actually don't have to feel sorry for me :) We had a very nice morning. We had pancakes, bacon and nice conversation. The kids enjoyed sharing what little time we had with their grandparents. We then headed off to my brother-in-laws home, where we visited and laughed while the kids all played. We then headed down to the beach to play in the water a little. The water is way to cold for me, but the kids had no problem getting wet. There at the beach I realized how much my children miss living near their cousins. They were only able to spend a few hours with them yesterday and a few today, but they thoroughly enjoyed one another and were definately not ready to say goodbye. I also realized my thirteen year old niece, who by the way is growing into a beautiful young lady is taller than me with legs that go on forever! Kids grow way to fast!Today I'm grateful for the relationships I have with all my in-laws. ;D They have all treated me well through the years and have welcomed me with open arms into their family. Being with them without Troy makes me a little sad and wishing that he were able to make the trip with us. After being without Troy for a week I really need his arms around me.

Day One

Today is the first day of 2009, a new beginning, a chance to start over with New Year's Resolutions. There are many things I would like to change about myself and many resolutions I will make. And yes, I know I will not be able to keep most, but that does not mean I will not at least try. One of my goals this year is my "Just Do It 365." I am going to enjoy and document the simple things in my life, the everyday, the routines, the ordinary life as a SAHM and wife. What will 2009 bring? Only time will tell and with each day I hope to document a piece of my ordinary life.