Friday Fill-Ins...

1. It's time for the weekend!!!

2. Prison; it's not a bad place for criminals...

3. I must be bored since I am doing this at work.

4. Having children is the best thing I have ever known.

5. My life is simply peachy!

6. The last time I laughed really loudly was 2 days ago when Dylan was dancing for me (he was finally feeling better after his stomach bug!).

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to editing photos, working on birthday invitations, and spending the evening with my kiddos, tomorrow my plans include going to the gym to run, going to Cari's, and editing pictures, and Sunday, I want to go to church, and then we're going to Galveston!

Dylan is a GRADUATE!

Dylan graduated from Pre-K. I had a really hard time with this. I just cannot believe my baby is going to start Kindergarten soon. He is such a sweet boy, and so smart. He just amazes me everyday. He helps me so much around the house. One of his favorite things he loves to do is make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for him and Raegan.

Our Proud Family! (minus Mason who couldn't make it)

She was SO HAPPY to see her Bubba when he was done performing!

Dylan and his "white PawPaw"

His first diploma! (sniff, sniff...)

3 generations!

Singing in the end of the year program

Mrs. Cha was his Pre-K teacher, and we just loved her! I really hope Raegan has her, too!

Dylan receiving his "diploma" from Mrs. Cha and Miss Kristen

Miss Rachel is Mrs. Cha's daughter and such a wonderful person!

My little GRADUATE!

Just a bad day...

I hate today. July 28th. In 2004 on this day, my Opa passed away from his battle with lung cancer. I still remember this day as though it happened just yesterday, everything is still so vivid. Dylan was only 5 weeks old, and I think that is part of the reason Opa lived as long as he did...so he could meet his first great grandson. I just know he is so proud of me and my family, and of his great grand-daughter he never met. I miss him each and every day - everything from his silly comments to his infectious laugh. Here are a few of my favorite pictures...

I was 4 years old here. Looking at this picture confirms that Dylan looks just like me! :)

Opa and I on my wedding day, January 25, 2003. He and my step-dad, Sammy, walked me down the aisle.

At a pub in Germany. So glad I was able to spend that trip with him!


RIP Opa. Ich liebe dich.

It's been a long time!

2 1/2 months to be exact. Actually, almost three if you want to get technical!! Anyways, I am back! Lot of stuff has gone on since my last post. Let's see...first off, we celebrated Mother's Day. I had a photography session in League City the Saturday before, so David surprised me with a hotel room to myself at the Kemah Boardwalk. It was so nice to go and relax. I was able to sit on the balcony, watch the band play, turn the A/C super cold, and I didn't get out of bed until 11:00 am. It was nice and relaxing. Then on Mothers Day, we celebrated with the neighbors by having a crawfish boil. Perfect day! Here are pics from my hotel room:

The view from my balcony (he did good, didn't he!)

My pretty, relaxing room!


Here are a few from the crawfish boil:
(This first one is classic because my Mom had never eaten crawfish before)


The crew enjoying Mike's crawfish!

Really not quite sure what Raegan was doing, but she was having fun!

It's FRIDAY!

It's that time again - FRIDAY. WOO HOO! We've had a busy week this week, but it's been fun. David got a new truck FINALLY - YAY! Raegan had a stomach virus - BOO! Had a photography session with Kayce's little man, Noah. He is an absolute DOLL. Can't wait to edit the pics so I can post them! Everythings looking up - God is good!

And...here we go!

1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is communication.

2. I don't really care for clams.

3. When I think of carnivals I think of dirty old men who work the rides. Yuck!

4. Lilies are my favorite spring flower.

5. Things on my desk include pics of my kiddos, paperwork, coffee cup and my radio.

6. A pretty day makes me wanna take pictures!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to cooking dinner, hanging out with my Mom and kiddos, editing pictures, tomorrow my plans include t-ball pictures, crawfish boil, house cleaning, and editing pictures, and Sunday, I want to go to church, have a pre-k graduation session with Dylan in his cap and gown, then it's BUNCO time!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Apparently there's some sort of obsession with Twilight that I just don't understand. It's good, but it's not the best movie ever made!

2. Today was not a sunny day.

3. 2009 has definitely been an intersting year so far.

4. Burned one last time and that was it.

5. For too long I've been too nice and too quiet.

6. I am not obsessed with perfectionism; I am not!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to family time, tomorrow my plans include Dylan's t-ball game and then the Astros game, and Sunday, I want to go to church and then the International Festival!

Ugh.

I'm a slacker. Okay, maybe not a slacker, but a procrastinator. Not even a procrastinator at this point, just flat out busy. Which is a good thing, but also stressful! It'll all be over soon. T-ball, baseball, school, and Junior Forum. Then I won't know what to do with all my time. Hmmm...take pictures?!? Too bad my computer is slow as molasses. That's on my list (never ending) of things to do - take my computer in for more memory. Along with finish the bathroom, continue to edit the same pictures I've been working on for a week, clean the house, do the laundry. Okay, I'm just complaining. Sorry, I'm just in a funk - it's been one of those days. Well, weeks, actually.

Great weekend

So I am laying here listening to my hubby snore, and for whatever reason, I am unable to sleep. I have to be up for work in 4 hours and right after my full day of work, I have school until 10 pm. Needless to say, I wish I was sleeping.

We went to a friends Easter lunch and egg hunt yesterday and the kids had a blast. Raegan was so funny because she was particular with the eggs she picked out. If they weren't the right color or sound the way she wanted them to when she shook them, she would shake her head no, put it back, and move on.

Then we took her to Visible Changes to get her very first haircut. We just had it trimmed up... Her long hair is so pretty, and I just could not bear to cut it all off.

Before:

After:

This morning we had a great Easter service at church and Daddy came with us. Came home, took a 2 hour nap, then started cleaning house. Maybe naps on school night aren't such a good idea....

-- Post From My iPhone

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Anonymous...is a cop out name...use your real one.

2. My family is a blessing I will always cherish.

3. Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, and prosper ahead.

4. Pretty, bright flowers, and lots of pretty weather is what I look forward to most about Spring.

5. Who needs therapy when you can just go shopping, or eating...or better yet, shopping AND eating...

6. Candy and eggs MUST go into the Easter Basket!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to no kids, no husband, just peace and quiet time on the couch - after dinner for Cari's birthday (that is if I can make it off the couch long enough!), tomorrow my plans include going to spin class at the gym in the morning, followed by lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids, then a date with my hubby and Sunday, I want to enjoy Church and relax at home with my family!

Good job, babe!

So, I just have to make a quick post about my hubby. He does monthly fishing tournaments in Livingston, and this past weekend he won 2nd place! Just wanted to tell him good job!

(photo courtesy of Anglers Quest)

It's been a week.

It's been a week since my last post, but I just have not had the time to sit down and "write." Things have been busy, but I am going to try to make more of an effort to update. I'd like to use this as a tool to show our children what our life was like as they were growing up.

First, I'm working on my own website - more like a portfolio. It was recommended by my instructor for the work we are doing in class, and as a place to put the stuff I like to do. Second, I had a follow-up appointment with my Doctor this week, and my biopsy came back negative. Thank you, Jesus! So, as of today, I have the a-okay to begin working out again, so I'm going to spin class in the morning before Dylan's t-ball game. Sunday we will go to church, then we are heading to Sugarland to see my brother and sister in law, and my sweet nephews. We only live an hour away from each other, but we don't see each other as often as I would like. I am going to make it a point to change that! I am so excited that I get to take some newborn photos of my newest nephew, Jackson, but also some of the bigger boys, Reed and Noah. Dylan is so excited to see them - he and Reed both LOVE Spiderman, so they have a blast. Raegan is being her usual "Drama Queen" self. That is her newest name. We started with Miss Congeniality - because she is a natural at walking and looking cute, but then tripping over her own feet. I have noticed her newest joy of fit throwing mainly occurs with me - she's already starting the Mother/Daughter love/hate relationship. Oh boy! I just can't wait until she's 16! ;)

Friday Fill-In

Thank you to Sabrina, for posting these on her blog to give me some ideas!

1. Paying it forward at Starbucks was my last random act of kindness.

2. Greece is another place I want to visit.

3. Have faith in matters of the heart.

4. Coffee, tea or water, please!

5. Sometimes people just have to take separate paths.

6. Our children remind me that there is pure happiness.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to meeting my newest nephew, Jackson, tomorrow my plans include Dylan's first t-ball game, cleaning the house, and the Bayou City Arts Festival and Sunday, I want to have the usual family day - this Sunday it's church, Easter party for the kids and probably some photography!

Nostalgic...

I was laying here and remembered I started a blog when Raegan was 3 months old and updated it every now and then to help myself remember the little things the kids did, that I may not remember as they got older. (The last post was December 2007). It brought tears to my eyes...they are getting so big, and it just brought back so many memories. Here are a couple of the posts:

Raegan - November 11, 2007 - 11 months old.
"First steps at 9 months. Walking well at 10. Got 7th tooth (next to bottom left) on November 1st. Started saying momma and dadda about a week after she turned 1. Still doesn't say it alot, but every now and then. Dr. said if she's not talking by 15 months we'll do early childhood intervention to help her out. Says bye bye and waves. Just started doing :pretty eyes" today. Very fun to be around - when she's in a good mood. Loves her big brother dylan. Momma's girl. Still nurses - which is fine with me...not quite ready to wean my baby yet. Finally sleeping through the night on October 22nd. Started October 17th with letting her cry it out. Finally on the 22nd she slept - so did i. She still wakes up every now and then, but she whines for a little while then goes back to sleep. She's a drama queen!! Loves to snuggle with me. Loves to play with her toys and walk up to me, hug me, then goes back to playing. Likes to eat. Very inquisitive. Super sweet. My princess. "

*******************************************************
Dylan - February 11, 2007 - 2 1/2 yrs old.
Loves to have fun. Has a bit of a temper. Affectionate with mommy. Loves his sister. Loves Thomas the TrainLoves Sesame Street - Elmo Street as he calls it. Loves to play outside. Loves to terrorize Callie and Joey. Ask him what his sisters name is - Raegan james filla. Loves to sing the alphabet...likes it even better when him and mommy are dancing in the kitchen while singing it. Grumpy when you wake him from a nap. Fully potty trained for a month now. My precious boy - I love him so much.

T-ball has begun!

I realized I haven't posted on here in awhile, but it's because I wanted to post about more upbeat happenings in our life, and not the sad, blah ones. Today was the perfect day to start back up! Dylan started his 2nd season of t-ball today, and I must say...He is good! He played last spring, and played soccer in the fall. Raegan went with me so Daddy could do some yard work and fix the sink. I must say, she wasn't on her best behavior. She cried and cried and cried just about the whole time we were there. She finally stopped about five minutes before practice ended. I called Daddy and left him a message of her screaming...I wanted him to hear how she gets, because I think she only does this with me. So I had to take some pics of her throwing her fits, and of course Dylan playing his game. She wasn't too happy with me when I brought the camera out...Imagine that! :)

It's been a rough day.

When I finally decided to start a blog, I wanted to blog about happy, fun stuff, but this week hasn't been that way. I had my tubes tied today. That is all that was supposed to happen in the beginning, but ended up having to have a diagnostic D&C and a biopsy done on a suspicious area. I wasn't sure if I wanted to share this with the world, but I just want to get my feelings out, and what better way, right?!? I was very apprehensive and nervous about having all this done. Just knowing that now I won't be able to have anymore children, makes me sad. I don't want anymore, but it's still sad. And obviously when they woke me up after the procedure, it must have hit me, because David said I woke up bawling and they had to give me more medicine to calm me down. I am okay with it all now. Now, I just hope the biopsy comes back negative, which I am sure it will. One of my incisions is through the belly button and it hurts pretty bad right now. My husband has been absolutely amazing at taking care of me. I also have the best friends and Mother a girl could ask for, and I am so thankful for them. On a sad note, Sammy, my stepdad, called me Tuesday night and told me PawPaw wasn't doing well, and they didn't expect him to live much longer. He died today around 2:00 pm. He is going to be missed tremendously by all who had the pleasure of knowing him. I became a part of their family when I was 18 years old, and they took me in as though I had always been in their family. He lived an amazing life and I admire him with all my heart. I have been attending church regularly again, and it has been one of the best things I could have done. I can now understand the phrase "Giving it to God." - through all the turmoil of the last few weeks, I can appreciate and confidently say I am giving it to God. I am truly blessed.

Pay it forward

I have had a really stressful week this week, so last night I decided to have some retail therapy...and Starbucks. I went to Target and stopped at Starbucks to get my yummy Espresso Truffle. I was looking for my cash, and the cashier told me the customer before me left $5.00 and I could use it. I politely told her no, figuring maybe it was her tip. Then she told me the customer before me left it for the next customer. My first experience with paying it forward. It was just what I needed after the last few days. So, I decided to continue it, and I left $5.00 to pay for the next customer's coffee. I left with a big smile on my face. It felt so good to do something nice for someone not expecting it.

"It won't be like this for long"

I just love this song by Darius Rucker. Every single time I hear it, it makes me stop and think. I realize that time is just flying by and my babies are growing up way too fast. I can't believe Dylan will be 5 and in kindergarten this year, my baby girl will be three, and Mason will be 14. And, very soon I won't be able to have any more...permanently. I am trying to take more time out of our chaotic schedules to spend more quality time with our children, and as a family. They love going to the park, the zoo, the museum, church, or just out in the backyard. And just hearing them laugh and have fun...it just melts my heart. Granted, we do have our moments when they drive me absolutely nuts, but my children are definitely my pride and joy, and I hope they will always know just how much I love them.