Lucky Me

For some reason tonight, I've had on my mind how incredibly lucky I am to have my sweet little family.

Don is such an incredible husband. I can't even begin to name all of the wonderful things he does for us. His sacrifice is far beyond the call of husbandly duty - and all so that we can have and do fun, fun things and live the life that we always wanted. He is honest when I need it and comforting when I need it. He is my very best friend, my true love, and an example for me every day.

Avery ... sweet little Avery. He is such a compassionate child. He is kind and gentle, sweet and calm ... He is a light in my life. His personality is so much like mine as a child, I can identify with his tendencies and love him for his goodness. He is a little boy who loves to play with trucks and who has developed a love for the show "Dirty Jobs." He wants to be a train engineer, an ice truck driver, a monorail driver, and a drummer. I can't wait to see what he will become, but whatever it is, he will do it well. That's just Avery.

Piper is, well, I just laugh when I think about Piper. She is demanding and bossy, is obsessive about brushing her teeth and washing her hands, loves to dress up and talk about her boyfriend (Evan) - she is the perfect little girl and I love every inch of her. She is everything that I ever wanted to be but was too shy or too intimidated. She is my little best friend, as she rarely lives my side. She will be a blessing to many people and I can't wait to see all that she does.

I am so incredibly thankful and grateful for such a great family. I guess Valentine's Day has me considering these things. Looking at Don, Avery and Piper makes me appreciate all that God has done for me and how he has brought me through the fire and out safely on the other side!

My Valentines wish for every friend is that you will find the same love for the people in your life. If you don't have them in your life now - search until you find them. It is SO worth it ...

Happy Valentines Week :)

New Year's Resolution(s)

(1) Lose weight ... Laugh if you will. I vow to shed the 20 pounds that have found me since the birth of my first child. I'm down 3 already. Don is down 10. We've adapted a healthy eating lifestyle, not a diet ... because we all know that a "diet" is a death sentence, right? I can do it, and I am giving myself until mid-April to do so!!!

(2) Take care of me. I simply don't. Rarely do I do anything for myself. That needs to change. I'll be a better person. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitter ... I just do things for others and then at the end of the day when I'm too exhausted to do anything else - I remember me.

(3) Be a better (more consistent) blogger. Writing cures the soul. I write as "a job" so I rarely write for enjoyment or for therapy! Kind-of like the painter whose house needs painting!

That's it. Not too overwhelming, no sense writing the ones I've already broken in the last 15 days!!!

Yeah to my husband for negotiating the Blue Devils move to Pro-Mark. Awesome job. Very very very cool :)

Lots of lots-ofs

First things first - we leave for Disney in 13 days. I apologize with the continuous countdown, but you only have to endure it for the next two weeks. Then, that will be quickly replaced with the hundreds of photos. See ... it gets better!!! It is a definite toss-up to see who at my house is most excited. Don is beside himself with planning which is a complete change for me who usually has to dominate all things that do with scheduling. I am completely OCD + when it comes to controlling agendas. However, I have had no time to do this and he has taken control beautifully :) Avery and Piper (thanks to YouTube) know every detail about every ride, every attraction, every parade. They have watched hours upon hours of videos with their dad preparing. I have watched none fearing that it will ruin the first-time experience for me. (I've been there before, but Avery was 6 weeks old and I have no memory of it at all. I can remember riding "It's a Small World" and that really is the only memory I have. Blame it on postpartum!)

Thanksgiving is Thursday - we are staying at our place. I'm cooking all the works and we plan to just eat and be merry all day. We're going to start with homemade pumpkin bread for breakfast while we watch the Macy's parade - then just lounge all day. Well, everyone else will lounge while I cook. Don has been out of town a lot lately, so I'm looking forward to all of us being in one house!

Winter season is starting up soon. Don's working with two groups and I'm working with one. Fun times ahead :) I can't wait to get started ... taking a year off was a good move for me. And, teaching with Drew Farmer - how much more fun could that be?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS!!!

It's Tuesday ...

We had a productive weekend at home after a grueling Thursday and Friday at work. I was certainly ready for the weekend, and NEEDED the weekend!

We have decided to repaint the kitchen and two walls of the den. The paint color wasn't working for us so we're trying a darker shade. I've been meaning to post pictures of the house, but we aren't quite there yet. I'm ready for every room to be finished decor-wise, although I know that it will always be a work in progress.

The season premiere of Desperate Housewives made my heart happy. I so LOVE that show. It was an amazing episode and I'm really looking forward to the new season :) I, still, as I have every season - can identify with every character:
- Bree: I love to have control over situations and I seldom let anyone see beyond my surface.
- Susan: I'm extremely quirky. I have bizarre things happen to me at the most random times.
- Lynette: I'm also the exhausted mother who takes on anything anyone throws my way.
- Gabrielle: I used to be a Gabrielle personality (pre-kids), so I identify with her via a previous life.
- Eddy - Well, I guess the only thing about her (I often forget about her) is that I love real estate!

I'm so disappointed in Britney. Kaylan, we have to push her higher on our prayer list!!! She needs us! :)

Only 65 days until Disney ----- YEAH!!!!!!!! Super excited ...

Thank Goodness It Was Hump Day!

This week has been a blur. For many reasons, all of which are valid. It seems that at work, I don't even get a chance to catch my breath. I look up and it's 5:10PM!!! That's pretty much everyday! Then, at home, ... well, lets start with by the time I fight traffic and pick up the kids - we don't get home until 6:30. Then dinner must be made and kids entertained (thank goodness for the Disney channel and Toon Disney!). By the time the kids eat - usually 7:45 - 8:00PM, I'm too tired to eat. Put the kids to bed at 9:00 PM ... do whatever I have to do (only those things that are a necessity) and get in the sack around 11:00 PM.

I know that I'm not singing a new song. I'm fairly confident that most mom's feel like this, especially if they work outside of the home. And, I am OVERLY blessed with an extremely helpful husband .... but, it's marching band season so he's gone until November.

Literally.

Monday night - Don at random school #1 - home at 8:45pm

Tuesday night - Don at random school #2, then random school #3 - home at 10:00pm

Wednesday night - Don at random school #4 - home at 11:00pm

Thursday night - Don at random school #1 on "A" weeks, or random school #5 on "B" weeks - home at 8:45

Friday - Sunday - we get to have him at home while he prepares for these 5 school for the upcoming week :)

Don leaves for work at 5:45ish every morning. It is so far beyond me - who needs 10 hours of sleep a night - to know how he is making it! Truly by the grace of God is all I say.

I certainly appreciate his sacrifice. Sacrificing his sleep, sacrificing the time with his kids, or heck, just time to do little things like watch TV or lounge on the couch.

But, we get to go on our first family vacation in December. We usually vacation wherever some various marching band or drumline contest happens to be held and then we stay a day or two on the flip side! We've been to exotic destinations like Dayton, OH and New Albany, IN to name a few :)

I have a wonderful husband. I don't tell him enough ... he's very appreciated (and loved)!

Another Monday!

Well, we made it through the weekend. Piper is feeling much better. She had a wonderful time at the doctor's office! She said that Dr. McDavitt looked into her ears and didn't see any butterflies ... so she assumes that she is cured. However, she has a bacterial sinus infection that could take 2 weeks to run it's course. So, she has some sort of medicine we've never seen before and it seems to be doing the trick. She's not as snotty and that horrible manly cough is nearly gone :)

Piper loves to swim. She asks us about it every day - "is the pool open?" "can we go the boat-slide swimming pool?" "it's not raining - can we go swimming?" Nemo should be her name! Piper fell asleep in the car the other night and Avery said, "All Piper talks about is going to the swimming pool!"

Well, yesterday was the day! We went to church, then had lunch with friends, naptime ... then pool time! I don't know where it came from, but all of a sudden Piper started pronouncing her swimsuit as her "swim soup". Something about the "t" didn't sound right to her so she changed it to a "p". We asked her all kinds of questions that would involve her saying "swimsoup" because it was so cute!

Avery was his regular good self all weekend. He is really enjoying the new church (Piper too for that matter)! He really loved the Children's worship time yesterday, so that makes me happy! The talked about sharing ... and this morning, he shared the big steps line leader privilege with his sister! That, my friends, is big time at our house. (We have two sets of steps - a big set and a little set. Avery is ALWAYS line leader for the big steps; Piper is ALWAYS line leader for the little steps!)

Here's to a quick week!

This AMs Prayer

We always pray in the car on our way to school. This morning, after I said my prayer, Avery informed me that he only wanted to pray for one thing. No problem.

Avery - "Dear God, thank you for this day and thank you for my teachers."

Piper, because of Avery, also just prayed for one thing ...

Piper - "Dear God, thank you for this day and thank you for my friends."

How appropriate that they pray in their true personality styles. Avery - always the smartest tree in the field - prays for his teachers. Piper - the future Homecoming Queen - prays for her friends. I'm sure that God was NOT surprised.