It's Final!

Jen wrote about an "I Love You Cake" that she did. Totally cute and sweet idea! She asked what creative way we have told (or been told) I love you. Hubby and I will be celebrating our 7 year anniversary in 4 days so I thought this would be a good time to tell you about our proposal!

My ex and I had filed for divorce shortly before Hubby and I started dating. Even though we hadn't been dating that long, we knew we wanted to be together forever. Marriage was being talked about within a month of us being together. Around Christmas, he had bought me an engagement/wedding ring set but held on to it until my divorce was final.

The day that my lawyer called to tell me that it was final was the happiest day of my life....for more than the obvious reason! I bought a cookie cake from the bakery and had them write "It's Final" on it. Then I went to the house, Hubby worked overnights at the time and was sleeping, set up a ring of candles on the floor, and had the cookie hiding under the couch. I then went and woke him up and asked him to come in the living room.

When he walked in there, I was sitting in the middle of the candles, waiting. I asked him if he would marry me. He laughed and said, "I told you I would." "Tomorrow?" I asked. "What?!?!?" was his reply...LOL!

I then brought out the cookie and told him, "We can do it tomorrow if we wanted, because 'It's Final'!!!" He just hugged me and told me that he was surprised that I proposed to him but that he would LOVE to marry me!

8 months later, Sept 18, 2002, we were married at one of the local banks by a JP. Yes, a little out of the ordinary, but it's the people that make the marriage, not the place!

How were you proposed to? Or if you proposed, how did you do it??

Photo Gig, and I'm sick??

This past week my friend, Stacy, called me about doing a photography gig for her. She was double booked and needed help. Of course, I agreed. Though I did have a little anxiety issues. This was my first paying gig after all.

After a couple of phone calls, I get the call that my bid was approved! I was super excited but super nervous as well. I don't have the best camera...it's a Sony Cybershot so I wasn't going to really "professional". I told everyone I was an amateur professional! LOL

Anyways, I woke up yesterday morning, the morning of the gig, and felt sick. My throat was sore, my head was stopped up a little, and my chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it. But, the show must go on...and I went to work. It has been dreary and rainy here for the last few days, and yesterday wasn't any different. Thankfully, the majority of the time, the festivites were inside. We were only outside for about an hour or so. When the job was done, I came home only to be greeted to two very tired children. I laid them down, and went to WM for a few groceries. Hubby refused to go so he opted to stay with the sleeping kids.

When I got home, I planned on taking a nap and try to feel a little better. Didn't happen! I had to start dinner, clean the kitchen, and by then the kids were awake. No nap for Mama. When I did finally go to bed, I was so sick and stuffed up, that I couldn't lay down flat, and couldn't sleep for nothing! I tried to take a hot shower, but to no avail.

This morning I woke up feeling 10 times worse!! My ears are stopped up. My nose is runny, yet stuffy. My throat is still sore. And yes, the elephant is still sitting on my chest, along with the whole upper part of my body. I really hope I am not getting the flu. The "wonderful" swine flu has made its way to this part of the country (what part of the country has it NOT made it to?) and now I am of course paranoid that I have it. Not a big deal for me, I just don't want my kids to get it! And if I have it, they will probably too! :(

So I am sick, I need to burn about 6 more picture cds, tend to the kids, all while trying to keep the house some what decent looking. Oh and I'm thinking that my nephew that I normally keep on Mondays, is not going to want to be around me like this.

Now I will leave you with a few of my fave pictures from yesterday. They are from the Hebert A. Littleton Medal of Honor Ceremony.

The curse

I am blessed, or cursed...depending on how you look at it, with the ability to see both sides to every story. How did this come about? I blame my mother. Yep. She did it to me. You see, after she divorced my biological father and married the man I call, and have for the past 20 years of my life, Dad, she and I would have some "heart to hearts". She told me, from the time I was old enough to understand what she was saying, that there are always 3 sides to every story. "His" side, "Her" side, and the truth.

I do believe that is when the "curse" started taking affect.

It's not so bad, most of the time, but it does end up putting me in the middle of a lot of things. The fact that I hate confrontation and try to be the peacemaker, doesn't help! Also, not only does it tend to make me second guess myself, a LOT, but it also makes those annoying little voices in my head argue with each other!

So what is all of this about?

Well, I have recently been thinking about my past. Things that I have said, or done. Things I should have said, or done. It makes me wonder where I would be or what I would be doing if certain things were still the same. As I mature as a Christian, certain things from my past are harder for me to accept and forgive myself for. Though I know that after asking Christ for His forgiveness, He has done just that, it's still hard for me to do the same.

I try not to be hard on myself over all those things and realize where I am now and where my life is headed.

I mean, c'mon, I have a wonderful, loving, hardworking, kind-hearted (though sometimes it's hard to see that...LOL), gorgeous husband. I have two wonderful, sweet, loving, beautiful children. I have wonderful, amazing, loving family and friends. I have a wonderful church home that includes a wonderful church family. And more importantly, I serve a wonderful, loving, forgiving, amazing God!

So all in all...my life is, well, wonderful!

So why do I try and second guess and belittle myself for my previous mistakes. Is it because I don't want to make those same mistakes EVER again? Maybe because I am embarrassed as a Christian woman of the mistakes that I have made? Or is it because I should be able to learn from those mistakes and move on and it's hard for me to?

How do I get out of this funk and move on with my life? I have repented of these sins, and asked for forgiveness, so why is it so hard to forgive myself?

Mumbo Jumbo

I've kinda been MIA from blogging for a few days. I've had so much stuff running through my head, but I didn't really want to talk about it for fear of jinxing it all. So a LOT of prayers have been said, and a LOT of fingers (and toes) have been crossed instead. I'm hoping that we will have get some news next week sometime and if so, you can definitely count on a post about it.

Hubby and my anniversary is coming up in less than two weeks. We will be married for 7 years. It doesn't feel like that long ago. Guess that's a good thing. Hubby has already given me a couple of presents, which is normal for him. I'm used to it by now. Anyways, he bought me the 8th season of Smallville on DVD. Remember this post? We all Jordan and I have been watching the previous seasons non-stop. The only time I have watched actual TV is when Big Brother comes on! We are gearing up for the season 9 premiere airing September 25...still a ways away, I know.

He also bought me the dishes that I have been wanting since before my birthday! I am so L.O.V.ing these dishes!!

I won a give-away on Lauren Nicole Gifts for some awesome Vera Bradley fabric napkins. I am still trying to decide what to do with it, I am NOT a sewer at all!

Bubba has learned this cheeser look. When you ask him, "Cheeser" he will do it for you! Such a cutie! But I am kinda biased!! LOL

That's about all I got right now. Hopefully by next week I will have more to say! Until then... Au revoir.

Prayers Welcomed!

If you read this post, and happen to recall the last thing I asked, it was for your prayers. Well, Hubby didn't get the promotion that he was hoping for at that time. But we were optimistic in the next opportunity that should arise.

Well that time has come, and I again ask for your prayers. It's not a definite yet, but very possible. I ask that you pray for God's will be done. If it's not His will for this to happen, I ask that you pray for our understanding of His will.

Photo Meme Tag

I have been tagged!

Sugar Mama from Sugar Britches tagged me in a photo meme. This is how it works:

Go to the place where you upload all your photos. If you don’t upload them online, just go to wherever you store your pics on your computer. Open the oldest album, and post the first photo. Then tell the story behind it. Then tag 3 people!

Sissy has always been one to be able to fall asleep almost anywhere, at any time, in any position. She was probably about 18 months old here. She was watching TV and got tired. So she grabbed her pillow and climbed under the rug and fell asleep. LOL

I don't want to tag just three people so I am tagging ALL of you!! I would love to see your pics so lets see them!!

In the news

Yesterday the kids went to the Mother's Day Out Program...without me. I didn't have to work, so I took advantage of the program and dropped my kiddos off while I had some Mommy Time. I had made an appointment to get my hair "fixed" after the blotched cut I got from Hubby's Aunt LW. I love the woman to death, but I have come to realize that free isn't always better. If you had read this previous post or this one, you would know that I didn't care for the cut, yet tried to make it work. A week had gone by, and I still didn't "like" it. I dealt with it, but that was about it.

So I made an appointment with LE, a girl I went to school with, and headed to see her after dropping the kids off at MDO. I told her what I wanted, and voilà! No problems what so ever!

So....

(From this...)

(To this....)

(And finally this!)

I love it! I had it this way a few times before and always liked it. But then I would get to that stage of wanting it long again, and would grow it out. But, as you can see from the first picture, when my hair is long, it looks horrid!! Granted, it wasn't fixed in that picture, in fact I had just taken it out of a ponytail when it was taken.

Anyways, I have started keeping my nephew, GB, on Mondays and have so much fun with him! So does Sissy and Bubba!! They were playing basketball in the dining area and stopped for a picture. I am absolutely LOOOOOVing this picture! It just warmed my heart that Bubba walked up behind both Sissy and GB and put his arms around them. How cute is that?!?!

Hubby's schedule will change this Saturday and I am having mixed feelings about it. He will go from working 4 on, 3 off to working 4 on, 4 off. I am excited for the fact that he will have more days off to spend with us...his family! But it was kinda nice that he always had the same days off and on. Now, they will change week to week. Does that even make sense to you??

The past two days Hubby, the kids, and I (mostly myself and Sissy) have been participating in a Smallville DVD marathon. We have been preparing for not only the Season 8 DVD set that just came out, but for the Season 9 premiere on Sept. 25th!! YAY!! And no, I don't just watch it because of this guy....

(HHHHOOOOOTTTT!!)

....but it sure doesn't hurt either! Ahhhhhhh

UGH

Ugh.

That's all I gotta say...UGH!

I have been up since 6am this morning, which is nothing to some of you, I know. But when you don't normally rise until 8a, 9a, or sometimes even 10a, it's a little hard. Bubba seems to be trying to cut some more teeth thru that one little toothed head of his. So he has been a little cranky, a little snot-nosed, and a little whiny since around midnight last night. NOT FUN!

I got up with him about 4a this morning, laid on the couch with him, and he conked back out. We slept there until 6a when Sissy came crying in there because I was no longer in the bed. (Due to certain circumstances, Sissy sleeps with me 3-4 nights a week now. But she will sleep in her bed or the pallet in my floor.) She climbed on the other couch, and fell asleep. So I went and laid Bubba in his bed, still sleeping peacefully, and then had my morning time with God, took a bath, cleaned my kitchen, and then started writing this blog.

And guess what?!?!

Bubba is crying, yet again! Dang teeth!!

I gotta get around and get them ready for Mother's Day Out anyways, so I guess it's okay that he's awake. I'm taking them to school...then Mommy Time for a whole 4 hours...or at least until they call me to come pick up my whiny, cranky, teething, little boy!

MDOP, Babysitting, Cleaning, NEED REST!

I haven't had a post in a few day so I thought it was about time. I've actually been busy. Me? Busy? I know..

Wednesday, Sissy refused to lay down and take a nap. With church that evening, I was sure she would be a little grouch for the nursery workers. Thankfully, she did pretty well. We went to see Hubby at work before heading home and spent about 15 minutes there. We got home a little after 8, I put Bubba to bed, and Sissy crashed on the couch. She was tired!

Thursday was the first day of the Mother's Day Out program at my church. We had 13 kids, 5 of which were a year old, the rest were no older than 4. We started out with all ages together, but when it was snack time, we realized that it was better for all to have the younger ones stay seperate. I stayed with the 1 year olds, and had so much fun with them! There was only one girl in there with a room full of boys, so she and I got to bond. Even though my own wonderful, yet crying and clingy little boy was in there with me, I made the best of it. Of course we had some kids that, bless their little hearts, had probably never really been away from Mommy before, but we dealt.

I am so excited about this program! Teaching children about God along with school essentials, how fun!!

Here are some pictures I took of Sissy and Bubba before leaving for "school".

(C'mon, Bubba, let's go!!)

(I think it was a little too early for Bubba Man)

(The only good picture I could get of him, because he didn't want to share the camera with Sissy!)

I was so tired of that busy morning, that I was looking forward to sleeping in on Friday morning. The Lord had other plans. My mom called me Thursday evening, said that they were showing their farm Friday around noon, and wanted me to come over at 8am and clean it for them. Of course I said yes! "Hello, Extra $$$!"

So Friday morning, we woke up early, yet again, and headed down to my parent's farm. After spending all morning cleaning, we headed home. Sissy fell asleep on the way home, which made her not want to take an actual nap once we got there. So, like Wednesday night, she fell asleep on the couch. Bubba went to bed around 830pm, so it was Mommy Time! I was on FB for a little while, then decided to go take a hot bath and start reading the book The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian. Then it was off to bed, watch The Nanny on Nick, and relax. I was asleep by 11pm!! Hey, that's early for me!

Tonight, Hubby, the kids, and I are heading to some friends of ours for dinner and to see their house that they just built. JW and MW just had a little girl about 2 months ago, and though she is still little, we are hoping for her and our kids to be able to play one day.

In other news, along with working at the MDOP at church, I will be keeping my nephew, GB, on Mondays while my SIL goes to her staff meetings. I may also be keeping TW, JW/MW's little girl, on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, 3p-6p. I was asked to keep another little girl on Tuesday and Fridays from 730a-4p. I'm still praying on this one. Though it would be extra $$$, I'm just not sure. If my parent's call me last minute, like they normally do, to come clean their house, I would be more willing to do that. I mean it would be more $$$ to clean their house then to babysit. I just don't know though...

Also, for some reason, Sissy has been sleeping in a pallet in my floor at night for some reason. She will start in her bed, but when I wake up in the mornings, she has made her way to my floor at some point. She won't even crawl in bed with me. I guess she likes being close to me, but not thatclose! LOL

Well, I think its naptime for me and Bubba, Sissy is already there! Hope everyone had a good summer and enjoys the new school year! As for me, I'm still having it...and will for a few more years!

Your kidding, right?

I have decided that I have a slight case of OCD. Not too bad, I don't think, but a slight one.

For starters, I have to have a clean area where I work. Whether it be to do crafts, write out something...which with the help of my laptop, I don't do much "writing", or when I am cooking. If it's not clean, I have to clean and organize the area before I begin. That's normal though, right?

Another thing, everything must have a place. Even if it's not in a very organized place, it has a place.

The thing that drives me most crazy is my OCD of cleaning. No, everything in my house is NOT spotless, I have 2 kids under the age of 3, why would it be?!?!

But it's the fact that I hate anyone else to clean!! I mean, I love it, it's nice for someone else to do it every so often. I love when Hubby cleans, but it drives me bonkers that things aren't put back where I want them (their place) or the job is just half done.

My kitchen is a big one. Now my kitchen is not fancy at all. Far from it actually. But every object in my kitchen has a specific place. When Hubby or anyone else cleans, puts up the dishes, or even loads the dishwasher, I feel the need to go behind them and do it over.

Things get put in places that aren't right, the dishwasher could only have 10 dishes in it and be full (Did you know, if you stack them properly instead of just throw them in there, you can get more in it?!?!), there is, of course, still dishes in the sink, AND my counters aren't wiped down! Can you imagine?!?!

Hubby has learned through the years to just deal with me over it, but has yet learned to do it the right way. I, on the other hand, have no reason to change. I mean why change something that is already perfect?!?!