No Phone Zone

As my children continue to get older, the more and more I realize they are watching me. They see everything I do and they hear everything I say. Cameron is just a few years away from driving so I have been really watching how I respond to other drivers, my speed and response to traffic signs and even what I am doing while driving. Because of this, I'm taking the "NO PHONE ZONE" pledge. Let this be my word that I will not text while driving. I will take that a step further and pledge to not check my FB or email while driving. I also will not do this at red lights because then my OCD kicks in and I feel the need to finish. The responses to others will just have to wait.

I know some of you are probably thinking "you don't text back or email back anyway!". This is true. I've been trying harder to respond but then that was requiring me to text back while driving and I just simply cannot do this and put myself, those in my car and other people around me at risk. So please know, if I don't reply back very quickly, I may be driving! Cut a girl some slack already!!

Another disclaimer, I am not a slave to my phone. If it rings and I'm busy, I will not rush to grab it. I also don't drop a current call to answer another. But be patient with my sweet self, I'll get back to ya! I am not perfect, but I sure try to be and trying to be the perfect wife and mother sometimes means I cannot be perfect at replying to others. But rest assured, I do try =)

Little Critters

The kids received two dwarf hamsters this Christmas from Breanne and Travis. They truly are adorable! Let me go ahead and tell you a little about them: they are both boys, they are just as rowdy and busy as my own two boys if not more, they are MESSY, they fight eachother and they are not nocturnal. They have been moved from our family room into a separate area so they can be messy without getting in trouble. This is what their living area looks like on a regular basis (and I promise, I do clean this area often!)

No lie, I clean their mess up all the time and they just mess it up again. I know how they do it too, they run and run and run and run and run. One of them we've named Speedy because he literally doesn't stop running circles. The other is Spidey because he scales the cage. He climbs up the sides and top and then just drops on his back. And when he rolls over, he climbs and drops again. Very odd really. And these two do not stop to rest during the day and play at night. Oh no, they are on the move 24/7. They also do not like their bedding very much as you can see. They prefer to have very little bedding except where they actually sleep. They also throw out their seeds and shells when they are done eating. I know it sounds like they are a hassle, they really aren't. They are both very entertaining!! We are trying to find a nice table to put in the living room so they can make a mess on their own turf and not mine.

Here is another cute picture. They have taken their food from their food bowl and moved it to this space in their tunnel. This food has not been eaten and their food bowl is now empty! I have no idea why they've done this, they haven't done this at all until this week. My best guess is they have taken on the thinking of a squirrel and are getting ready for hibernation.

Pray Without Ceasing

Last night's sermon really hit home for me (one of these days this won't come as a surprise because after all they are SUPPOSED to hit home!). I am guilty of not praying continuously throughout the day. For me, this is a horrible cycle. I feel guilty for not praying as I should and because of that I pray even less because I don't feel worthy of praying. I know this isn't the case but it is very important for me to get back to my fervent prayer life. Here are some notes I took last night:

According to The Lord's Prayer, we should be praying for these things: God's will, our true needs (versus our wants) and for God's focus and plan. We need to be putting our faith in God's will and trusting Him to follow through with His plan for our lives. I'm so guilty of asking God for things I want - I want to feel well, I want that bill paid off, I want my children to be asthma free, I want this problem solved, etc. But the truth is, these very things may not be in His plans. I need to be praying for His plans, not my own.

I now have a blue dot on my phone to remind me to pray. Every time I look at my phone (which is ALOT!) I will be reminded to pray:

P - prayer for those PEOPLE closest to me
R - prayer for those who have given me their prayer REQUESTS
A - prayer for those who are AWAY from God and need Him in their lives
Y - prayer for YOUR enemies

I can do this! And I am very excited to get back to praying without ceasing. I'm going to close this blog by asking:

HOW CAN I PRAY FOR YOU?

30th Birthday Celebrations

My 30th birthday celebrations just keep going and going. My actual birthday was on a Wednesday, one of the days I work, and it was such a blessing to spend this big day with my closest friends. It made the transition from my 20s to my 30s a bit more realxing and easy. My mom and Jason sent flowers to my work. We've had several birthday dinners with family members. My biggest celebration was this past Friday night. My dearest friend, Anna, planned a birthday dinner to celebrate with my closest family and friends. We had dinner at Fireside Pies (so yummy!) and then we headed back to our house for game night. I could not believe the turnout of friends that came to celebrate with me. I truly felt loved and blessed to have so many come to join us. Thank you to all who made the night so special.

Happy Birthday to ME!

I just cannot believe I have hit my 30th birthday. 30... WOW! Just a few things I've noticed about this big milestone birthday...

• The need to stretch daily. If I do not do this, I feel little twinges here and there or something is sore and then I have to take time to work it out.


• Gray hair. They're there! But I'm going the route of leaving them be. I still stand by my decision to just let them be and grow as they please. Since this is MY blog, if I change my mind later in life, I can edit this post and make this comment disappear.


• Forgetfulness. This may coincide with having children and the busyness surrounded by that, but far too many times I find myself wandering around wondering what it was exactly that I was going to do. I do eventually remember though!


• Naps, damn those are awesome! At one time in my life, if I took a nap I was up all night long. Not these days, nope. I sometimes NEED a nap just to keep up with my kiddos!


• Healthy foods are essential. I remember the days when a bag of chips and a kit kat sufficed for my lunch. I don't even remember the last time I had either of those things! Those fruits and veggies have become very important in my diet and I find myself eating things I once refused or even making myself eat something for the simple fact that I know it's good for me.


• I have two age spots. TWO! I don't even know how those pop-up but they sure found a way. It's okay I guess, just a bit more character!!

And the most wonderful thing about this big day? I was doted on by my entire family and my closest friends. Who knew this day would cause tears and such big celebration? Maybe they're making up for the fact that most forgot my birthday last year. No worries! I won't call you out!! Also, my closest friends are going together to celebrate with me. They have taken the time to plan and put many details together to make the evening a night to remember. I need Friday to hurry up already! I have known my wonderful husband half my life now. He is truly the rock in my life. I love you dearly Babe and am so thankful for the years we've spent together and the memories we've made. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you and making many new memories.

Thank you to everyone who made this day so special.

Snow Much Fun!

Dallas hit an all-time record of 12.5 inches of snow! My kids think flurries are pretty cool, but 12+ inches of snow is just incredibly awesome. Here are some pictures of our snow fall on Thursday morning:

The kids were beyond excited to get home from school and play outside! The streets were filled with adult and teenagers alike and all were having a blast. I must say, some kind of bug got me Friday night and I was down and what felt near my death. My body hurt to move! But a mother's job is never done, even when sick, so while my kids (and husband and sister) played in the snow I had the job of laying out towels, handing out snowman gear and getting the fun toys the kids needed for their snow fun. I was okay with that though! I did get some good pictures but definitely could have used plenty more to capture the moment. Here more snow fun pics, including our bowls of snow for snow ice cream:

Poor sweet Colton. He got pegged with a snowball in his face, after which he was immediately done with the snow. He came in, stripped his snow clothes off and didn't go back outside that night. He was so over it! If you look closely you can see snow all over his neck, that poor sweet face almost had me in tears!

We woke up the next morning to see the record-breaking snow fall. I must say, I could not take my eyes of the snow. The scene was so surreal. Everything was covered in snow, everything. It was just beautiful. The kids woke up early and played outside for 4 hours or so and only came in because they were hungry. Sadly, by the time they were warm and ready to head back out the snow was starting to melt some :( It was definitely fun while it lasted though!

Happy 5th Birthday Colton

Which is harder to believe - that my baby has turned 5 or that it has taken me over a month to blog his birthday? Poor kid, that early January birthday is so difficult for me! His birthday happened to fall on a Kids Night Out at work, which I have to work once a month, and he absolutely LOVES this night! So we figured it was the perfect way to celebrate since all his school friends come for the night. We had dinner on his actual birthday night with the family, celebrated with his Pre-K class the next day on Friday and then again Friday night. He certainly wasn't lacking any birthday attention! Here is a picture of us at his school. Love this kid!

Boudoir Pic

I have all my boudoir pictures in my Little Red Book finally! I can't help but look at them each time I see the book. The experience was amazing, the pictures are timeless and the book itself is a treasure. I absolutely love them! Jason hasn't seen the book yet as I am trying to plan an evening to present it to him. Somehow the one night I am wanting to plan just isn't panning out right now. Poor guy knows the book is here and is waiting so patiently. I don't know how he does it, patience is not my virtue! Here is the picture I chose to have for my own personal use; it's about the only picture that is appropriate for the public eye. Thanks again Robin for this wonderful experience, I cannot ever remember a time of truly loving myself as I should and these pictures definitely brought me to appreciate all of me.

My Newest Addition

Meet Olivia, my newest daily addition. Addition, addiction... it's all the same! I haven't had a baby girl to buy for in so long and I don't have any nieces yet! And let me tell you - those baby girl things on clearance at Target call my name. LOUDLY! I've only bought a couple of things but it sure is tempting!! My coworkers and friends remind me often "she's not your baby!" If someone else holds her and she starts to fuss, I immediately take her back. She won't take a bottle for anyone else at work but for me. I sometimes have a hard time controlling myself when I see something she might "need". It's okay to revert back to being the stingy mom that doesn't want anyone to look at or hold her baby!! As a matter of fact, I'm certain her parents are happy to know their sweet baby girl is in the arms of someone who loves her as their own. It's okay for me to buy bows or a cute diaper bag with her name on it. My eyes are set on a way cute pacifier clip with a big "O" on it, I'm just gonna have to have one!

Olivia goes with me to work too. And because she loves only me, I am back in the baby room. Okay, so that's not entirely true. I'm in the room for other reasons, but it sure helps knowing I'm in there already when Olivia only likes me (I assure you, this is not a figment of my imagination). But there is another sweet baby GIRL in there too! This is Olivia's friend and her "twin" on school days. Yes, you guessed it. I like to pretend I have twins =) If I cant have anymore babies and I cant have nieces to spoil daily, then these girls are mine to love on and pretend they are mine. It's been interesting to say the least. It's a daily challenge to make sure they nap at the same time, eat at the same time, play at the same time. But sometimes this doesn't always work out - one may be cutting teeth, another is ready to move up to more ounces in her bottle, one doesn't prefer the same length of nap as the other. And these girls stare at each other when the other one isn't doing what they want them to do. It's very cute to watch them! Little A is 4 weeks younger than Olivia and it's so fun to watch Olivia do something new and sure enough A is doing it a few weeks later. I cant wait to see them interact with each other soon.

I know what you're thinking... that's quite a few pictures for two babies that aren't yours. True statement, but in my defense I send them to their mommies. It gives me an excuse to take pictures =) When I take them on a field trip for a professional photo shoot, then we have a problem! But I assure you I don't have plans to do this. yet.

I love these girls!! Even when they both want to be held all day long, we someone how find a way. That baby sling is a miracle invention!!