Celebrating Friends-My Sister

Like most siblings, my Sister and I always loved each other but, didn't always get along.  We are five years apart almost exactly, and we are very different from each other.  I'm very first born, and she is very middle child. ha ha.

I moved to a different state and she had a son very young.  She struggled with her life issues, and I with mine.  Often we would butt heads when it came to emotional things or about our opinions but, we always knew that we loved each other and shared a lot of the same sense of humor.

We grew up in a difficult household.  Many times my siblings and I were the only ones we could cling to.  A few years after I moved out of state, my Brother followed, and then my Sister.  Going to the same church and sharing our adult lives has been very rewarding for our relationships.  We have been able to establish a loving environment for our kids to grow up in as well.

With Mom being gone, the one we shared our lives with so freely was no longer there.  It enabled my Sister and I to get closer to each other, and share our lives more closely.  I have really relished the relationship we've had these past few years.  We've both matured, put petty things away, and are enjoying the time we have together.

I love you Jess! :)

Easter, etc.

I hope that you all had a very blessed Easter. And for my followers that are Christian, I hope that you felt the impact of his gift to all of us. I did!

Due to some personal situations, I haven't been to church in over a month. I felt that absence and was really excited to be able to partake of everything. I was able to fellowship and eat with my friends and family. I was able to remember His sacrifice to us. I was able to enjoy the prayer and testimony of people he has touched. In all, a very blessed Easter!

I was out of town for awhile so, it's been really nice to be in my own home again. My husband and I painted our daughters room and updated it with some pictures and decorations on the wall. That was nice to get done in an afternoon. She loves the color and having her room all set up now. The home updates have taken some time for us and I was growing impatient!

Our kitchen is mostly painted, we ran out of paint though so we will need to pick up another gallon. Next up, the living/family room. We bought an accent wall paint and a neutral and I can't wait to see the impact of that. It should be really interesting and with a red, pretty bold. I love color! In Arizona, a lot of the houses are painted white or very neutral colors. Being in apartments for so long made me HATE white walls ha ha. I'm trying to paint colors without it being completely obnoxious. Right now though, our kitchen and our living room which are rooms right next to each other are going to be very different. We will see how that works.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Wordless Wednesday-Cousins

I'm having trouble with my computer today so I pulled a pic where I could access. This is Kaia with her cousin Alexis last Thanksgiving. Kaia is still trying to hold her cousins which are nearly the same size as her now ha ha.

It's November!

Just a little entry today. I'm excited that it's November and yet, always this time of year has me amazed. I'm excited that Thanksgiving is around the corner, my wedding anniversary, and our annual church reunion is coming around. I love Thanksgiving, it's really my favorite holiday. I'm not totally sure why. I think the food is fantastic, I love family and friends, and you don't have to worry about gift giving. It's a time to truly be thankful for what you have.

This year has no doubt been a hard one. One of the worst in awhile but, I am thankful everyday for what I do have. I have a lot more than some. I have been blessed with many people in my life and that makes it even more rich.

I am also one of those moms that gets anxiety each year that goes by. Seeing just how fleeting time can be. When it's measured next to your child, it's even more poignant. You see the years by their growth instead of by seasons. My daughter is almost three years old. It's awe inspiring that she will be three. I know that sounds dramatic. She is almost three though. I have been with her the whole time being a stay at home mom, and yet it's going so fast.

Take the time to know your children as individuals, to teach them, to nurture their creativity. We all get busy. Just take time out weekly for them. In an instant they are grown.

Freaky Friday-Naked Man Arrested In Own Home

I'm reminded of "ugly naked guy" on Friends lately, when I look outside my bedroom window to see my neighbor two doors down. He stands, smoking a cigarette on his back porch. He is a portly, middle aged, fellow. He is in his own backyard, and he is completely nude.

Obviously this is something I don't want to see and never tried to see. Thankfully he is far enough away from me that I didn't have to see any details, if you know what I mean! Even with that, I would talk to him if there was a problem. I would ask him to change his ahem, attire if young children were affected, etc. before I involved authorities.

That's partly why I was surprised when I saw in the news that a man had been arrested in Virginia for being naked in his own kitchen! Honestly, I don't even know how you can be arrested for being in your own kitchen naked. How is this freaky? Hmm. It is MY RIGHT to be naked in my house if I so choose. The circumstances around this are equally ridiculous. The man was making coffee in his kitchen early in the morning. He was alone in his own home and a woman and her young son were cutting through his yard from a nearby path. A little later he was arrested. The police claim that he intentionally wanted people to see him. Are you kidding? Really? Even if he did, a woman cutting through his yard shouldn't have been the one to notice him really early in the morning. The whole street should have seen him. This is disturbing to me. And, it should be disturbing to everyone that your right of privacy can be interpreted in any way if you have an indiscretion like having your curtain slightly open. UGH.

Source: mydailynews.com

Grief And Business Of The Day

This will be mainly for me to vent but, also just to talk a little about my mom. My head has been in a cloud for the last couple of months and it's really taken a toll. I've been living out of a suitcase and boxes, I've been frustrated about money(which is pretty much all the time anyway) due to buying a home and bills. My mom is gone and I really haven't come to grips with it yet. There are days, like today where my heart is absolutely broken.

Looking at photos, I was reduced to tears and had to pick myself back up, because my sweet little two year old consoled me. I haven't been a very good mom the last month. I have been so busy that I haven't really had time or patience for her. I've been snapping at her and really just in my own mind. I feel terrible about it later, every time!

I've done so much already since we moved into this place and yet, it feels like nothing has been accomplished. I've done a lot of it on my own so it's a much slower pace. My kitchen is half painted but, we got more stuff out of storage so I had to start all over again with that stuff. I can't wait until at least I can find my things.

I guess I still haven't gotten my bearings yet. I feel like everything I'm doing is up in the air on some level. The house has been up in the air for about a year now since it's not completely set-up yet. We are trying to have a baby and that stress is bad some months and fine in others. I know it will happen, just hope it doesn't take terribly long. I'm getting older, my daughter is getting older. My mom passed away and I still haven't begun to grieve. I've been too busy and yet there are moments when it grips me and knocks me down.

Like I said, this is more of a vent. Just putting it down so that I can let it go. I think it's worthwhile to show humanness on it's most basic level. Many of us share very little and yet grief and stress are all part of life. God has been helping me in my prayers to him. He calms me when I'm frustrated. He allows me to put my burdens at his feet. He also hears the prayers of others that offered on my behalf and I can't ask for any more!

A Cute, Quick Post

I've been saying prayers over Kaia's bedtime and mealtime for quite awhile now. She is very sweet and likes to hold hands over dinner and up until probably last week, I had been holding her and pacing the floor while saying her prayers at night time. Now we get on our knees even though she is still in her crib and say prayers together holding hands.

Since her vocabulary is getting better, I have decided she should help me with prayer time. She is so precious, it touches my heart to hear her little voice.


Me-Dear God

Kai-God

Me-Thank you for this day

Kai-thank u day

Me-Thank you for our blessings

Kai-Thank you blessings

Me-Thank you for mommy,daddy, Cam and Kaia

Kai-Thank you daddy,mama,Tam and Daia

Me-Thank you for family and friends

Kai-Thank you frinds,familee

Me-Keep us safe

Kai-safe

Me-In Jesus name

Kai-muffled(S's are hard mama) name AMEN!

Me-Amen!

My Blog Was Deemed fabulous!

Wow...I think this is a very sweet honor. I have been picking up the pace of my blog lately and enjoying entering some contests along with it. My fellow contest enterer has nominated my blog as one of the fabulous worthy blogs! Thank you Mrs. Jacobsen.

Ok, my top five addictions
1. My Lord and Savior
2. My family and friends
3. Getting good deals ANYWHERE
4. The internet
5. For sure entering blog contests haha. It has become an addiction in a very short time!

Now I get to pass it on to other wonderful blogs.

1. Life In A House Of Blue
2. Samantha Anderson
3. 3 Garnets 2 Sapphires
4. Let's Do A Tea With Holly
5. A Blog Of Goodies