...our little kingdom

Don't Carpe Diem

2012-02-12T11:28:00.001-06:00

I read this on Facebook the other day and found it again and thought I would share it here. I love it!

http://momastery.com/blog/2012/01/04/2011-lesson-2-dont-carpe-diem/

Lucy's Sunday Bag Book

2012-02-02T10:52:00.000-06:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly offers exclusive photobook layouts so you can make your book just the way you want.

I made this cute book from Shutterfly.com to put in Lucy's church bag. Her birthday is coming up and this will be a fun little birthday gift from her Mommy & Daddy that she can cherish for years to come. :)

Plus they had a coupon for today.

Hey- just being honest!

Happy February!

2012-02-01T19:37:00.000-06:00

Stationery card

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2012 Goals and 2011 Review

2012-01-03T10:51:00.000-06:00

Good morning folks!
I've got so much to do today and a will to do it all, but I'm not sure if I have enough time in the day! I want to get my Christmas decorations put away, set my goals, organize for the upcoming year, clean along the way, do laundry, and clean up my office. Lucy is asleep at the moment, so I'm going to be productive.

Last night for FHE we went over goals and such for the new year and this is what everyone said. I would encourage you to do this too. Here is the link: http://thirtyhandmadedays.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/new-years-kids-printable1.jpg

(We filled out Lucy's as a family)
A Little About Me
Name: Lucy
Age: Almost 2
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Food: yogurt
Favorite Activity: playing outside
Favorite Book: Blues Clues

Highlights from 2011
Greatest lesson learned: No biting!
Hardest thing of the year: Sitting still in sacrament meeting
Favorite memory: going to the Mayborn Museum in Waco
What I loved most about 2011: More time with family, learning lots of things

Looking forward to 2012
Want to learn: to talk!
Want to get better at: not making a mess
Biggest goal: sitting still

A Little About Me
Name: Sydnee
Age: 5
Favorite Color: yellow
Favorite Food: cake
Favorite Activity: playing games
Favorite Book: Mermaid Dora

Highlights from 2011
Greatest lesson learned: (no answer)
Hardest thing of the year: Learning to write
Favorite memory: Dewberry Farms
What I loved most about 2011: Playing outside

Looking forward to 2012
Want to learn: to ride my bike
Want to get better at: Mario Cart
Biggest goal: To be with my family forever (awww)

A Little About Me
Name: Ava
Age: 6
Favorite Color: pink
Favorite Food: mash potatoes (spelled: mash patto)
Favorite Activity: Legos Star Wards Wii
Favorite Book: Wayside Stories

Highlights from 2011
Greatest lesson learned: (no answer)
Hardest thing of the year: Biking
Favorite memory: Having play dates with Preston & Riley (awww)
What I loved most about 2011: is being together

Looking forward to 2012
Want to learn: how to drive a car (hahaha)
Want to get better at: ice skating
Biggest goal: To be a great ice skater (who knew?)

A Little About Me
Name: Lindsey
Age: 33
Favorite Color: Midnight Blue
Favorite Food: Surf N Turf
Favorite Activity: Date night with Todd
Favorite Book: Harry Potter series

Highlights from 2011
Greatest lesson learned: Trusting in the Lord & His timing
Hardest thing of the year: Wait
Favorite memory: FHE at the Houston temple right after our move here.
What I loved most about 2011: Seeing how the Lord took care of us despite our CRAZY year!

Looking forward to 2012
Want to learn: to be a better scripture-reader
Want to get better at: finding peace in my life
Biggest goal: to make a better me & improve the lives of my family along the way.

A Little About Me
Name: Todd
Age: 34
Favorite Color: blue
Favorite Food: pizza
Favorite Activity: anything with my family
Favorite Book: Inheritance Cycle

Highlights from 2011
Greatest lesson learned: Make every moment count
Hardest thing of the year: Unemployment
Favorite memory: Lindsey's face when she won a prize from "The Claw"
What I loved most about 2011: Love and support from family and friends

Looking forward to 2012
Want to learn: play guitar
Want to get better at: playing the piano and writing
Biggest goal: regular deposits in retirement and savings accounts

2012- We're ready! Let's go!

Our 2011 Christmas Letter or the World's Longest blog post

2011-12-20T11:08:00.001-06:00

Have you ever played that game "I Have Never..."? Basically someone stands in the center of a circle and says something they have never done. I always used, "I have never broken a bone." If you have broken a bone, it is your job to switch seats and if you are caught seat-less, you are the next to go. It's a nice way to get to know people. This year for our Christmas letter, we're going to play that game a bit because we experienced a LOT of things we never thought we would. We could also dub this the year of costumes, it seems we dressed up more than usual this year.

January-
The biggest news for January was that my sister Heather moved her family to Australia to finish her Ph.D in marketing and tourism. I never thought they would leave Texas, or Texas A&M. It's been an adjustment having them so far away, but Skype, texting, and regular phone calls help.
I also ran an event at Ava's school promoting reading and family-time. Of course, it was a costume event and Todd, Lucy, and I went as The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Ava & Sydnee went as a mouse and a cookie in "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie".

February-
The biggest events for February were Ava turning 6 and Lucy turning 1. Ava had a huge princess party and Lucy had a family-party with a Hungry Caterpillar theme. Since we celebrate birthdays with parties with friends every other year, Ava was very excited to invite everyone she knew and their brother. Where does she get that from? Of course, we all dressed up again...(Todd-pirate, Lindsey-fairy God mother, Ava & Sydnee- princesses, Lucy-gnome). The best part of her party was that she decided to have her guests donate to the Ronald McDonald house instead of bringing her gifts. It was a wonderful experience for all of us and I have never been so proud of her.

Fun window decorations

Todd as the handsome pirate

Lucy & Ava at Lucy's caterpillar party

March-
Todd and I began the process of building a house. This is something Todd has never wanted to do, but since I would be doing most of the work and was willing, he said OK. We were very grateful to the friendly people at Community Bank & Trust of Waco (specifically Ben Lacy, VP) for all of their kindness in working with us. We chose Warren Johnson as our home builder and I began the arduous task of finding a floor-plan I liked. Surprisingly, we did not dress up this month, weird. I know.

April-
This was an especially fun month as we celebrated Todd's birthday and welcomed a new nephew into the family. For Todd's birthday I decided it would be fun to invite friends over for a Murder Mystery party and since this was for Todd, I wanted to pick a theme that fit his personality...so I chose a super hero theme. It was hilariously fun and our friends were AMAZING sports. Anticipating the costumes was half the fun. Most of the people there probably thought they would never see Todd dressed as a super-hero rapper, and that they never wanted to see me dress with underwear outside my clothing again. Super fun memories from this night. Entire Facebook album here.

Jester, Blue Blaze, Pogo Girl

Mighty Mouse, Nerdon

Isn't he precious? This is Scott & Katie's little boy.

May-
In May we said goodbye to Spring Valley and our beloved Mr. Forbis- Ava had "graduated" from kindergarten. I never thought I would be so emotional during a school program. Turns out I should have known better!

Todd and I also celebrated our 10 year anniversary and instead of going to New York like originally planned, we decided to be more practical and buy a vacuum. :) We did do a really neat gift, though. We allowed ourselves to spend $10,000 in pretend money, an amount we would never spend on ourselves in real life. That post is here and here. It was a lot of fun.
Todd also dressed up as Steven Tyler for a youth activity. Yes, he is wearing my mother's shirt, thanks for asking. :)

June-
Sydnee turned 5. Where did the time go? We invited family and a few friends over for a "tea party"...which, of course, was a dress-up event!

Lovin' the 'stache from my brother Jacob

A lovely cake by Aunt Melanie, of course

June was also a big game changer of a month.Wednesday the 8th we signed our names on the dotted line for the beginning of construction on the house and shelled out a lot of dough. On Thursday, unexpectedly, Todd lost his job. The rest of the month is kind of a blur. We certainly never saw this coming.

July-
July brought the hottest summer Texas had experienced in a while. It was also a month of tense soul-searching for Todd and me. Todd worked very hard each and every day to find new employment. This was a month of a lot of waiting without any resolution- all the while we continued to build a house we were almost certain we would never live in. However, this month wasn't a complete bummer. We prepared for school to return, played with lots of friends, spent time at our local YMCA, and played lots of games. It was a fun month for the most part, despite the stress that was also felt, but we tried to make the most of it and to never forget who was in charge.

Ava and Sydnee went on a vacation with Todd's parents to the Robinson family reunion.

Lots of interviews, and the car a/c went out too! When it rains, it pours!

Tons of milestones for Lucy

Trips to the Children's Museum at Baylor...where does she get these expressions?

We also had a moment of fame when we went to the final Harry Potter movie, dressed up of course. I am not joking when I say that hundreds of people took our pictures. My brother had built stilts to be as tall as the half-giant character, Hagrid, so naturally, we got a lot of attention.

Jacob as Hagrid, Anne as Luna Lovegood, Todd as Lucius Malfoy and me as Bellatrix Lestrange

...And just when you thought we had dressed up enough, there was Cow Appreciation day.

Pictured with our friend Jared

August-
Despite the high temperatures, August will go down as a month of answered prayers. Todd was hired on at Cameron International...in Houston. Our biggest prayer was that we would be settled by the time school started, and through a TON of blessings- we were able to find a rental house, have our Waco house packed up and moved, and get registered for a new school all within 2 weeks. Miracles, I tell you. We have never felt so loved by the Lord.

This was also an epic month because with some extra funds from the moving package, we were able to fly my sister and her son home from Australia to celebrate my Dad's 70th birthday. Heather and I didn't tell anyone we had done this, we just worked in secret and lied a lot, but the video below shows how well it went. It was a priceless & unexpected gift, which I will never forget.

September-
September brought a lot of unpacking and going through boxes and trying to get back to "normal". We have tried to enjoy our new surroundings by visiting a lot of places Houston has to offer. And despite the fact that Todd and I never wanted to live in Houston, we are loving it.

October-
The best part of October was Halloween, where for the first time we all went as a combined theme from Alice inWonderland, and it was awesome. Our new friends are beginning to think we have a whole wing of our house dedicated to costumes. I was also able to make it up to Waco to make some decisions on the house and attend the annual Witch's Ball with my sister Leah.

I also hosted my first party here in Waco. It was a Favorite Things Party, and it was sooooo much fun. We are grateful to have friends no matter where we live.

Todd- The Mad Hatter, Lindsey- The White Rabbit, Ava- The Queen of Hearts, Sydnee- Alice, of course, and Lucy- the Cheshire Cat

November-
This year we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving here in Houston with Todd's family. Scott & Katie live only 30 minutes away and that has been one of our biggest blessings of moving here. We have never lived close to family- once we left Aggieland- and we are loving every minute of it!

December-
Brings birthdays (mine, Jacob's, my Mom's, my father-in-law's, my niece's, my brother-in-law's) and Christmas. Sydnee and Ava both have had a wonderful school year and have really terrific teachers. Ava is a full-blown reader and Sydnee is trying her hardest to keep up! They are loving their new home.

We hosted our Blackhurst Christmas last Sunday and are looking forward to hosting a Kennedy Christmas on Christmas Eve and morning. We've never hosted both families for Christmas, but we have really enjoyed all of the prep work going into the planning. We love to host parties!

Are you still here? Wow, I feel the love.

Through the twists and turns this year has taken, and there were plenty I left out, we have NEVER been any closer as a family. We have NEVER been so provided for and NEVER felt the love & prayers from our friends and family as much as we have this year. We are truly blessed. Todd is loving his job with Cameron. We are loving our new ward family where we are serving in Young Men (Todd is 1st counselor over the teachers) and Primary (Lindsey is Primary Chorister-yeah!!)

We are happy, never saw that coming, did you? (Of course you did!)

Our house in Waco is complete and we are awaiting some final paper work and such before our relocation company takes over that part of our worries. It has been a journey of a year, but we are walking away stronger, hopefully a little smarter, and way WAY more grateful.

To all our friends and family- may your Christmas be wonderfully memorable as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, reflect on the lives we are living, and count each and every blessing.

All of my love,
Lindsey (and my sweet family- Todd, Ava, Sydnee, & Lucy)

To the lovers of Christmas Morning pancakes

2011-12-09T08:45:00.001-06:00

For the last several years instead of the traditional treats on a plate, we have handed out Christmas Morning Pancakes. I still have every intention of passing them out this year, but since I am not in Waco any longer, I thought I would share my recipe so my Waco friends can enjoy them...because we aint deliverin' there!

The recipe is super simple.You just take 1 cup krusteaz pancake mix and 1/2 cup of spice cake mix or pumpkin cake mix and 2 Tbs. of sugar. Mix it all together. I think the best advice for serving is to add water until it is the desired consistency. If you are giving them out as gifts, we usually add some sort of something like an oven mitt, spatula, or put it in a nice container.

I originally got the idea from this post on splitcoaststampers.com: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/426253?perpage=48&thumbsonly=0&thumbcheck=

You can see one variation that was given to teachers last year on my blog: http://stampwithlinz.blogspot.com/2011/01/homemade-hot-chocolatein-style.html

So wherever you are- as long as you're not in the same town as we are- enjoy passing them out! They make great gifts!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-04T22:41:00.001-06:00

Coming to a mailbox near you soon...

Photo Card

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An October Update (from the Robinson Family Newsletter)

2011-11-02T10:00:00.001-05:00

Howdy Family & Friends!

What a memorable summer we had this year! This past spring we began looking around for a slightly larger house to accommodate our little growing family. We looked at several homes we liked, but could not seem to find the one that felt right, so we decided to build. We (meaning Lindsey) put in many, many hours researching floor plans and designs until she decided to come up with her own, which seemed perfect for us. Some friends recommended a builder, we found a fantastic loan officer, and signed a contract making a hefty down payment. The next day, for reasons still not clear to us, the plant manager took Todd aside and "asked" him to collect his personal items and leave because he no longer worked for Mars.

To have paid out the bulk of our savings and then have our income cut off scared us. It was especially heart-breaking to see Ava and Sydnee crying over our situation. Although our summer plans changed, we tried hard to keep life normal for them and treated Daddy staying at home as a blessing. And with the love and support we received from you and other loved ones, our scant "rainy day fund" seemed to always have just enough to get us through each week of the three months of unemployment.

Thank you to everyone that passed on Todd's resume and networked on his behalf. Scott takes the grand prize, though, for helping Todd get a job with Cameron International as an industrial engineer. Cameron services all the oil and gas companies and has seen such a big increase in business as a result of the oil spill in the gulf, the company needs to build a new facility to handle all the work, and Todd will manage the project. He is very excited because he says every engineer dreams of building a new plant. We moved to Houston in August, where we thought we would never live, and are happy to be so close to Scott, Katie and Cash.

Todd relied heavily on his counselors until the end of September when he was released as bishop of the Waco 2nd ward. He now serves as an advisor to the teachers quorum and 1st counselor in the young men's presidency. The last time he had this calling, he only served for 3 or 4 months, so he looks forward to getting to spend more time with the youth.

Lindsey worked very hard with the Primary in Waco as their Music leader. We were disappointed to miss the Primary Program, especially during our new ward's program, but Lindsey had a chance to return to Waco for a weekend visit and got to see her kiddos' performance.

Ava (6) started first grade this year and did so well at a new school in a new city making new friends. She has discovered a love for reading and insists on reading every night to the family before going to bed (taking Daddy's job!). She also recently received a visit from the tooth fairy after pulling out a tooth herself.

Sydnee (5) began kindergarten at the same school as Ava. Like her big sister, she looked forward to making new friends. We went to a local restaurant for her grade's Spirit Night and as we walked to towards our table, children continued yelling out Sydnee's name and running over to say "hi" several times while we ate. She must be our little rock star.

Lucy (20 month) continues to be simply happy. She loves her time with Mommy. They have their daily routine which includes taking walks through the neighborhood, dancing to Backyardigans, and playing in the yard. And she sticks to that schedule. On weekends, she will grab Daddy's pants and pull him over to the backdoor and tell him to take her outside. After several months of using Baby Signs, she is starting to verbalize more. She loves to say "bah bye," "hi," "Ahya (Ava)," "Eewee (Sydnee)," "Mama," "Dada," "Gramma," "Papa (Pop Pop)," and "Happy Halloween."
We love you and look forward to reading the goings-on of everyone without a Facebook page!
Todd, Lindsey, Ava, Sydnee and Lucy

A Re-post

2011-10-08T12:32:00.000-05:00

I used to make this recipe a lot but then I lost it. I was talking to one of my sweet friends about my sadness over losing the recipe and she said, "Lindsey! It's on your blog!" Well, duh! Here it is, so I thought I would share it again. It's a keeper. It's especially good with these bread sticks.

Marinara Sauce Recipe

Marinara Sauce

6 cans of 16oz tomatoes coarsely crushed
1/3 cup olive oil
6 cloves of garlic- pressed or minced
3 onions finely chopped (I've not ever used that much)
4 carrots- finely chopped
2 TSP dried basil
1 TSP dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Heat oil in a 5 quart pot over medium heat. Cook garlic, onions, & carrots, stirring occasionally, until soft. Stir in tomatoes and juice, basil, oregano, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat & simmer rapidly, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 1 1/2 hours or until sauce is very thick and reduced by about half.

Making Houston a home

2011-09-14T09:52:00.002-05:00

We had a good weekend. We got a lot accomplished- including unpacking some RANDOM boxes, and completely unpacking the playroom. Whew, that was a work out. This week I want to be completely unpacked and every item we own to be in its place. Its a big goal, but I think we can do it! We just have some boxes left in the garage from the land of randomness, and then we'll be in order!On Saturday the family went garage sale hunting. It was a little lame and a lot of fun all rolled into one! :) We purchased a 19-inch flat screen computer monitor for $24.50. Sydnee bought a 4th of July umbrella hat...and Ava got a watch...which I haven't confirmed works or not. We also had a free breakfast at Chick-fil-a, so that was great!

I dont' have a lot to do other than continuing to unpack. Things are going well here and we are happy. I'm trying very hard to enjoy my days without a lot of obligation and strenuous labor. :)

Todd remarked last night how much he in enjoying his job and that it was too bad it took him so long to get out of the food industry. I was actually shocked to hear this, but I'm so glad he likes his job. And I mean really likes it. And I really like it here too. We love our home, and the people seem kind. I love our neighborhood (I think of Mom every morning I go walking) and the school seems great. Life is good.Just need to get completely unpacked so I can move on with the next chapter...whatever that means! :)
Sunday Todd was released and a new Bishop was called, keeping his counselors. Its nice to have that part of the job over with, but it sure felt weird at times. Todd said once he was released, he was officially a visitor since our records have been moved to Houston. :) Church went well for me by myself and then after church we had a lovely dinner when Todd got home. We ate dessert at a neighbor/ward member's home. It was great fun. We've decided we're their new best friends, haha. I didn't tell them that, though. We need some Moore replacements. :)

Unfortunately while we were there Lucy BIT the little girl! Whhhhhhhhhat? Oh my goodness, I still feel awful to this moment! They were fine with it because their oldest was a biter, but I was DYING. My sweet Lucy! I've studied this before and I dealt with it at the Shelter, but Ava and Sydnee didn't have any problems with this, so I'll be putting my thinking hat on! Other than that, we had a great time and look forward to having them over here soon- monitoring Lucy of course! When the little girl came crying she said, "One of my friends bit me!" Oh my goodness, can you tell I'm still mortified?

I've been thinking a lot about our time here in Houston and how happy we are to be here. I think part of that reason is that we are just glad to be somewhere and to have a job and some meaning in life again. I also think it helps that Cameron has made it possible that we've been able to accomplish some long-term goals that we thought would be impossible with Todd's job loss. Heavenly Father took care of us, no doubt! Its interesting to me though, how all of the chaos in our lives has effected me mentally. {Here I go again!} Since we were so blind-sighted with Todd's job loss, I am uncomfortable with making long-term plans. Don't get me wrong, he loves his job and thinks its a better fit for him than any job he has had before-- but the genuine part of me wants to start to think of Houston as our new home, while the insecure part of me doesn't want to make any future plans. I guess it will be something I will have to work through because it does me no good to only think 1 month ahead, I like to plan and think about my future and the future of my family. Its an interesting side affect to the crazy that has happened in our life.

OK, I've rambled on enough, we are happy, and together- that's what matters most! Here are some pictures of some of our escapades & unpacking! :)

Ava's PINK room

Ava- she's growing up so fast!

Lucy's room- without the curtain or wall stuff yet...

Lucy, my adorable BITER!

My biggest complaint about this house...its REALLY close to the train tracks...this is Lucy being lifted up to see it. She loves seeing the "Choo Choo".

Sydnee's room

Silly Sydnee with one of our new dinners- roasted veggies and calzones!

Sydnee in her favorite color...

Looks like normal to me...

One of our first FHEs here in Houston at the temple, which is only 5 minutes away! This was my favorite Family Home Evening of all time. :)

{shudder}

2011-09-09T12:30:00.003-05:00

I came across this today: link
Yikes!

We are here! We are here! We are here!

2011-08-24T13:30:00.001-05:00

Ok so now that we have Internet, I can give you a run down of the last 6 days.

Wednesday- we left Waco for Houston after a brief stop at Nanna's and GrandDad's. We enjoyed seeing the Kennedys as well. I love my family! Then we headed in and stayed with Scott & Katie, Todd's brother who lives in Montgomery. It will be nice to have them close. We stayed the night and then got up early to get the girls registered.

Thursday- we got to the school alright and I began to register the little ladies. Man, that is such a pain- filling out the same information over and over again for each kid. So redundant and almost seems ridiculous, couldn't they computerize some of this? Anyhow, the girls managed alright, but by the time I was done I was frustrated and ready to get out of there. From there I drove to the house to show the girls; they were excited. Of course we couldn't get in yet because we hadn't been handed the keys yet. We could, however, hear a beeping noise coming from the inside- joy. So we went to pick up the Real Estate company who is in charge of our lease and they weren't sure what the noise was- but it worked out that the handyman left his drill there and went and turned off the noise. That is, of course, after I drove to HEB to pick up a few things including batteries in case it was the smoke detector. Once we got in, the girls had SO much fun running around in an empty house. I unloaded the van and began to clean. As I was cleaning I realized that the previous owners were cat owners, and there was cat hair everywhere. The place was clean, but it wasn't spic-and-span, so I worked all day to try to clean the house. The girls helped quite a bit, but I knew we had a lot to do still and I began to panic a bit. Todd is allergic to cats and I didn't want him to be miserable! After a while, we headed to Scott and Katie's to spend the night. I figured since we had beds there, we might as well stay there. I however, got lost in the process, and it was very frustrating. On top of this, Lucy was still fighting her sinus infection and was quite miserable to be around. I'm thinking Scott and Katie were ready to throw us to the curb. :)

Friday- we woke up and came over to the house. I had decided in the middle of the night that I was going to call a cleaning service so I wouldn't worry about it so much. And I did and its was the best arm & leg I've ever spent! Oh how it helped ease my mind. I did a little cleaning here and there, but nothing big, and I also spent time unpacking the few things I brought. Todd in the meantime was enjoying his time with the packers as they loaded up the truck. At 1:30 we headed to Meet the Teacher, which was a little chaotic. Balancing 3 children while maneuvering through all of the millions of people was almost more than I could handle! Can you tell I like having Todd around? We managed to drop off school supplies and meet their teachers successfully in 1 piece..well 4 pieces total. :) When we were headed out Sydnee raised her fists in the air and said, "I'm a kindergartner!" It was precious. Todd joined us by dinner, and we spent our first night sleeping on sleeping bags and air mattresses...but we were together and that's what was important!

Saturday- the gigantic truck showed up right on time, 8am, and the process began. As they unloaded, I unpacked. It was a tiring day, but we were glad to have our things. The Relief Society President in our new ward brought us cookies this night. Yum!

Sunday- we got up early, ate breakfast together, and waited around till church started. The sacrament meeting was noisy. There are around 125 kids in our ward under the age of 12. We didn't hear the 2nd speaker at all. The best part was having Todd sit with us, and I laughed and smiled as he struggled getting Lucy to sit still. It was pure joy, haha. Then we were bombarded with lots of friendly faces welcoming us to the ward and showing us where to go. All of the sisters whom I had been in touch with over the week met me face-to-face, which was nice- I'm sure they were busy! Todd and I hadn't attended Sunday school in a while- and especially not together- so that was also a nice treat. Relief Society was tiny with maybe 10-15 sisters. Most of the ward is helping out in Primary! Overall is was a lovely Sunday and we enjoyed meeting our new ward family and only having to drive 5 minutes to our brand new, beautiful building. That night we received banana bread from a family that lives very close to us in the ward. Hooray!

Monday morning- school! We enjoyed the banana bread for breakfast. Then we headed out with the girls all primped and ready. They were so excited. I forgot to mention that both of them did the running hug to me when they woke up, super excited that today was their first day of school. It was bitter-sweet dropping them off, but they were excited to be there, and so we left with a smile on our face and a little teary-eyed. We feel so blessed that we were able to make it to our house and be semi-unpacked before they began their school year. What a blessing. After we dropped them off, I headed to Ikea. I didn't know how to do it and I did it backwards. My darling Katie had told me how but I didn't get that post until I had left. I did get some cute things, though, and I've had fun putting them in the house. Next time, I'll bring a friend. When the girls got home, they had had good days. Whew. Does this Mama's heart good.

Tuesday- I was determined to spend the day at HOME since I had lost almost a full day at Ikea. I was able to get A LOT finished and that was really nice. Lucy also seems to be feeling normal now, thank goodness. I finished Ava and Sydnee's room, the upstairs bathroom, the playroom, the living room, the kitchen was finished over the weekend, & emptied approximately 1,000,000,000,000 boxes. That's my accurate count. We still have our bedroom, closet, craft room (yes I have a craft room!), and lots of random boxes that need sorting into rooms.

Today- I just got back from the grocery store. I shop at Kroger. I like it! I'm amazed at the variety. It makes me happy. I got all the things for my Daddy-o's party and stocked up on normal things. I have dinners planned for the next 2 weeks and life is almost normal. As a side note, we are feeling really blessed and happy to see what this adventures brings. Here is a list of some of the blessings we have enjoyed so far:

Amazon.com delivers here too! And we've bought a lot of little things for the house that we didn't have before on Amazon. I love you Amazon. I also love my free shipping.
Stores- there are a lot here. I love to shop...preferably with a grown-up or myself...Lucy is not the best shopping partner, but I expect we'll have to hit some stores here and there together.
Restaurants. I grew up around the variety of places to eat, yes, but I have not lived around this kind of selection since I left DFW! I even passed a Wings N More! Todd and I plan to have lunch there tomorrow. :)
Close-ness. Despite the fact that I will have to drive a distance to get to SOME places, a lot of places are fairly close. There are like 3 Wal-Marts within 15 minutes. I could shop at HEB, Kroger, Wal-Mart, and probably other places I don't even know exist! I haven't gone to Target yet, but I will. Oh yes, I will.
Friendly. Everyone has been really great. We have a ton of ward members in our subdivision, and that is just rad. I've never lived so close to so many people that share my beliefs! Nice!
Here-ness. I'm just glad to be here.
Todd-ness. I'm glad Todd hasn't had to work yet and that we've been able to spend the week getting the house ready for living. Love him.
House! The house is much larger than the one we came from and we have some extra rooms. I get to have a craft room, and the girls get to have a playroom. We even bought a futon for the playroom last night, so people can sleep over upstairs OR downstairs!
Happy Little Girls. They've had their ups and downs, but they are doing well in their OWN rooms, and its been fun to see their faces as they've seen all that we've done during the day.
Togetherness. Todd begins next week, but its been nice to have some quality family-time before he gets to work. We have no idea the time it will take to get to work, and how long his hours will be, so its been a blessing to pick-up kids, drop-off kids, unpack boxes, and just spend time together as a family. After all, that's what its all about! (Clap, clap.)

House for SALE!

2011-08-17T10:09:00.002-05:00

Ava and I spent 45 minutes with the builder for the house in Robinson to go over a few details before we head to Houston this week. The house looks great and that really stinks.

Anyway, we smoothed out a few discrepancies in the costs of some of the changes we made over the last couple of weeks. We have made a few design changes to make the house more marketable. We also discovered that the frames accidentally made all the ceilings 10' instead of the 9' in the contract, so that is a very nice bonus for someone!

We won't need to make any more decisions for several weeks except for the marble and granite for the tubs and counter tops. I will try to do that either tomorrow or Friday depending on when the movers finish each stage of the packing and loading.

Our realtor's goal is to get the house loaded into MLS by the end of the week. She mentioned last night that someone has been inquiring about the house. Hopefully this will work out soon.

Upstairs

Stairs going up

Living room

An awesome front door

Kitchen

Living room

Outside with roof

Houston, we have NO problem.

2011-08-12T15:38:00.001-05:00

Ava & Sydnee at the 4th of July parade in Belton, Texas 2011

It's been a little while since I have posted and I thought I would make sure all of you are up to speed. In about 5 days our family will make an appearance in Spring, Texas for an undisclosed amount of time. :) In other words- Todd got a job! Wahoo! We are super-excited for this adventure and although we never saw ourselves living in Houston, it is apparent that the Lord had other plans! We drove down last weekend and found a rental house that we'll be staying in for a year (or longer if we chose to buy it). I knew it was the house once we walked in the door...and then I worried like crazy until the signed contracts were in their hands.
Sunday was a difficult day because Todd announced to our congregation that we would be moving- it was sad to realize that we won't get to see so many of our loyal and loving friends here in Waco. I am grateful for Facebook and blogs, though, as they will keep me in the loop at least. I will be ULTRA sad to be saying goodbye to my little Primary choirs. I love those kids! Maybe I'll be able to come back for the singing program! That's a good idea.
Anyhow, we are getting ourselves ready for this adventure. I have had all of the utilities and such turned on and now its just a matter of organizing the moving company's boxing up and moving our things. It's an exciting time and we are extremely grateful for the Lord's hand in all of this process. Now that we are almost there, its a lot easier to see that He has been helping us all along the way. We are so grateful.

So, I hope Houston is ready for us, because we are coming!

My new signature...testing 1,2,3

2011-07-26T13:28:00.002-05:00

Looking for my Liahona

2011-07-26T13:16:00.000-05:00

I read just for a minute today from the Book of Mormon before the timer went off on the oven. I made Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Toast. It's different from regular toast and my family likes it. Anyhow, I am in 1 Nephi and Lehi and his family were preparing for their journey into the wilderness and on their day of departure, Lehi emerges from his tent and finds a compass, of sorts. He called it the Liahona. Anyhow-it made me think a lot. I'm sure that Lehi (the father of the family) was worried, and I'm sure Sariah (the mother) was asking questions like, "Where exactly are we going?" and Lehi had to keep telling his family that the Lord would provide, all the meanwhile not knowing how the Lord was going to direct their path. Very similar circumstance, I think. So today I am looking for my Liahona. We have prepared for the journey as best we could, our hearts have been tugged and pulled in many directions. We believe that the offers for employment will come this week, maybe even today, so we want to be able to see what they offer, and decide what we should do. I'm banking on the Liahona to guide us at this point, so my eyes and heart will be open to the possibilities.

Todd and I spoke about the "What Ifs" last night. Mom had asked me if we had had that conversation- what if this, what if that...and I said we hadn't because there is just too much ambiguity. We attempted a what-if scenario but it all comes down to the offers- who will offer what, and the terms. I suppose it is also possible that no one will offer anything, which will also be an answer of sorts, so we will see. I do pray we find out something today.

In other news- I was able to go to two showers on Saturday. The first was baby shower. It was great and I love all the little details I was able to add with my little paper and scissors. My co-hostesses came up with some awesome games and added their own special details. It was a lot of fun- and the food was de-lish. The soon-to-be Mom was told she would never be able to get pregnant and so her husband and she have been preparing themselves for adoption for years. It is a miracle baby and a great reminder of the Lord's plan. The next was a bridal shower in Rockwall. The shower was for one of my young women from Nacogdoches whom I was very close to and so I wanted to go to just show her my love for her. I was not disappointed. She was extremely excited to see me, as were her sisters, and it was just really lovely. Of course, it caused me to reflect a bit. When we moved into the Nacogdoches ward the oldest sister of this family (Jennifer), who was a friend at A&M and even worked at Sheltering Arms with me, said that our moving there was an answer to her prayers. She was worried about her sisters and brother still at home- and she couldn't be there- so she prayed for someone to be their big sister while she couldn't. And then we showed up. I told the girls they had to come find me each week and give me a hug- from their big sister. Well, as you know, I was called into the youth program immediately, and I was very close to all of them. They had a rough childhood- and so I was there to love them when they felt unlovable, and it wasn't hard to do! Anyhow- Amanda moved on with her life, grew up and such and has found a very good boy to marry. I am happy for her, and I was so happy to be there to surprise the family with my presence. However, in my driving back- I asked myself this- is someone praying for us to come to them? I know that I made an impact on those girls' lives, and maybe there is someone else somewhere that needs Todd or me. Who knows, but I'm ready to accept my mission- if it is not here. I'm looking for my Liahona, perhaps it will arrive today. :)

xoxo
Your friend, Lindsey

We are officially a private blog now.

2011-07-18T21:08:00.001-05:00

Read on at your leisure. :)
Your friend, Lindsey

A Movie Review: Downton Abbey

2011-07-18T20:37:00.000-05:00

Todd and I have cut off our satellite tv and have really embraced Netflicks. We watch movies more than we ever have, and I think its fun. I thought I would share with you some of our selections in hopes of helping you enjoy or ignore a movie choice. We have watched some great ones, mingled with some TERRIBLE one. :)

Recently, I cam across Masterpiece Theater's Downton Abbey. Its a British Drama mini-series. I'm warning you that if you begin watching this- you'll be hooked. I've never put a lot of thought into what went on in the house of a Lord in the olden English days- so many people in one house, surely there was drama! And there certainly is in his fun English adventure. Please be warned there are a few scenes that are...surprising...but all in all, its fun fun fun. Check it out! I'll be looking for the second season on PBS in January- join me.

Hanging in there...

2011-07-18T20:15:00.001-05:00

Hello my people!
Thanks for being patient with me while I figured out how to do the private blog- not like it was hard, but then I had to type in all of those e-mail addresses! :)

I just thought I would update all of you, and now that we are private I can speak more openly without worrying that someone who is possibly looking at hiring Todd will not read this! Anyhow, Todd's search continues to take him all over the Internet, and literally all over Texas. He has formally interviewed with Daisy Sour Cream twice out of Dallas, has informally interviewed with Cameron out of Katy once, Scott & White out of Temple twice, and one other place that turned him down in Waco. So he has been busy and has certainly kept the tires spinning in our un-air conditioned Jetta. We are hopeful something will work out.

Another option that we are seriously considering is Todd going into business for himself. It would allow us to stay where we want, for a flexible schedule, and loads of hard work. :) Todd is really exploring this option as it appears to be the only way we could stay in Waco and actually live in the house we continue to build. Isn't life crazy? His business would focus on training individuals and businesses on LEAN practices/Six Sigma/ and a little Excel thrown in there somewhere. He could explain it better than I could- so maybe he will! One can hope, right? :)

I was visiting with a friend today and she reminded me that God wants what is best for us, its our job to align our will with His so that we can see it. Its been such a trying time for our family- I hope we can be good students and learn from these lessons quickly. Perhaps that's just an indication that I haven't learned much- who knows.

Despite it all, we are keeping our heads up and trying to find joy in the journey. We recognize the Lord's hand in our lives and hope we can serve Him in the way that He wants- and where He wants. Only time will tell what lessons are to be learned from all of this- and until then, we patiently wait.

In happier news, the girls are enjoying their summer- filling their time with crayons, Netflicks, swimming pools, and splash parks. Ava is planning a "book club". I have tried to get her to explain it to me, but I'm still not sure of the details. I have the girls "write" in their journals each day- and each day Ava plans. So far it looks like a bunch of princesses with books in their hands- oh and Gramma bringing her banana muffins.

Sydnee is excited about starting kindergarten in the Fall- wherever that might be- and continues to show signs that she is ready. She hasn't put a lot of pressure on herself to learn to read BEFORE kindergarten, and I don't push. She will catch on quickly, as she does with most things, when she feels like it. She is fun to talk to, always animated, and full of emotion.

Lucy is still our ray of sunshine in these difficult days. She is my daily reminder that there is happiness in the world when we look for it. She has caught on to her Baby Signs and has made up 2 of her own- one where she looks like she's turning the knob (She wants to go outside), and one where she holds her fists in the air and opens and shuts them (her sign that she wants to watch Blue's Clues). Out of no where, she has discovered the tv...and LOVES to watch tv. In fact today Todd was watching a British drama (he is not feeling well today- sore throat, fatigue, etc) and she climbed up on the bed and started watching it with him. Hilarious.

That's all I have for now.
Blessings to you all-
Lindsey

Counting our blessings

2011-06-20T12:06:00.002-05:00

Its been an interesting year to say the least, but even as I say that I am not down and out- I'm peaceably moving along with a smile on my face. For those that had not heard, Todd and I began the process of building a house and we closed on the deal a week ago Wednesday. We forked over a bunch of money for closing costs and walked away content that we'd be in our new home by September.

The sad, lonely land

Then on Thursday, the very next day, he lost his job. Since then we've stopped progress on the house and have begun the job hunt. Crazy how a couple of events can change the course of your life.

Through it all, we have tried to maintain faith that we will be taken care of- whatever that means. It is completely uncertain if we'll be able to stay in Waco or if we'll be able to finish the house. Lots of "what ifs". I've been amazed at how well Todd has taken everything and how quickly he has gotten back out there. Of course since my income is pretty much zero, it is a necessary thing- but I would have allowed him some time to wallow for a bit. However, on Friday morning- the day after, at 7:30am, Todd was outside the Unemployment Office, waiting for them to open. Since then he has taken everything very seriously, and even has an Excel spreadsheet of everyone he has contacted, or has reached out to him. That should come as no surprise to anyone that has ever worked with Todd. I love my guy.

He has had 1 interview, which went well but we know he didn't get the job, and he is currently in another one. We are hopeful something will work out soon. I know it has worried our friends and family- and US! But we are moving along and laughing along the way. What else can we do? We are also counting our blessings, so I thought I would document some of those blessings and share them with you!

1. Sydnee turned five at the beginning of the month. She wanted to have a tea party- and since it was a Family party this year- we asked all of our family to come dressed. They are such great sports. Here are a few of the pictures.

Two precious girls ready for their "tea".

Our amazing Aunt Melanie and her fabulous tea party cake!

Some fancy folks

We asked the girls to invite 2 of their girl friends, so here are Kaitlyn and Brooklyn all dressed up!

The party guests- see all those fun hats!

Had to show you my funny brother's mustache. Funny dude.

Playing a little tea party game- this was the winning team...although they might have cheated just a smidge. :) Note my Father-in-law's tuxedo!

Pretty Aunt Anne with our little Lilly.

My fabulous Mother-in-law

My fabulous Mom!

Dear old Dad, isn't he dapper in that hat?

After our tea party, my father and father-in-law offered us blessings/prayers alongside our brother and brother-in-laws. It was a very special moment to be surrounded by the best who love you best.

2. Ava and Sydnee took swim lessons at the YMCA. They really enjoyed their time in the water and if things were different, I'd be signing them up again. I'm proud of what they accomplished, but would feel a little bit better if they were more confident in the water. Don't get me wrong, the lessons were great, I just want them to have more practice.

Cutie swimmers

Sydnee in her lessons

Ava in her lessons

3. Lucy continues to be my little ray of sunshine. She is just pure joy wrapped up in a little body. She is my reminder, when life starts to get to me, that there is good and happiness in this world. What a blessing!

Lucy at the tea party- she is very excited to use a fork these days. :)
Note all of the little details- we never skimp on a party, we just have to be more creative at times!

4. One of the biggest blessing has been the love and support we have received. People have come out of the wood work to let us know they are praying for us and keeping an eye out for anything that might be a good fit for Todd. We are so grateful.

5. Certainly our biggest blessing has been the peace, love, and support we have felt from a loving Heavenly Father. Its weird to feel peace despite the insanity and uncertainty of our future- but that is what we feel, and there is only one source for those feelings. We are so humbly grateful. Thank you Lord!

So that's our life in a nutshell.
xoxo,
Lindsey

My favorite thing to do on our anniversary is to be with you… here are something that would be fun too.

2011-05-24T14:19:00.000-05:00

Our first day of eternity began with cake (sort of) and will continue with cake from our favorite cake team, Charm City Cakes. Thanks, Duff! $1,000

We started with a sealing ceremony. We go each year near our anniversary to participate in sealings. How cool to do that in temples around the world! We’ll start in Switzerland. $2,295 for the package; $2,520 for airfare.

Day 1 (July 28): Flight departs from USA

Day 2 (July 29):
Arrive in Zurich where you will be picked up and checked into your hotel. After check in we will take in the sights of Zurich. A ferry ride down Limmat River will take us out onto Lake Zurich giving us a view of the city. Afterwards we will see 3 of Zurich’s largest Cathedrals the Grossmunster, Fraumunster, and St.Peters. We will enojoy our first dinner together at the Zeughauskeller Restaurant and then stroll down the famous Bahnhofstrasse.

Day 3 (July 30):
We will leave Zurich and hear 2 hour south into the Swiss Alps. After checking into our own chalet vacation apartments we will take in the sights of the quaint village of Interlaken and Unterseen. We will also do a little grocery shopping and make sure our refrigerators are full of Swiss Cheese and European goodies! We will stroll along the Aare River and capture views of Lake Thun and Berner Oberland Alps. Day 4 (July 31)
We will have a chance to attend the Interlaken Ward for church on Sunday. After sacrament meeting we will head to the village of Grindelwald and take the cable car ride up to the top of Mannlichen. From there we will take in the towering alps of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau. We will walk along the paved trail from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg and then return to Interlaken for dinner at Restaurant Chalet.

Day 5 (Aug 1):
This day will be filled with everything Swiss from Alphorns to Yodeling. August 1st is the Swiss National Day and we will get an upclose look at the amazing Swiss Culture. We will sit and watch the Swiss National parade, hear yodeling and Alphorn concerts, view the evening fireworks and of course sample the traditional Swiss specialties including Racclette and the Swiss National Bratwurst Cervelat. By the end of this day you should know all things Swiss.

Day 6 (Aug 2):
We will take a cable car ride up to the top of the Swiss Alp made famous by the legendary James Bond. The views from the Alp Schilthorn will be sure to take your breath away. For those that are willing and want to do a little hiking we will hike down from Schilthorn to next cable car station Birg. We will end this day with dinner at the fun Swiss Restaurant Bebbis.

Day 7 (Aug 3):
We will visit Switzerland’s Capital City of Berne. After viewing the Parliament Building, Grossmunster Cathedral, the Aare River, and the Bears of Berne we will leave the hustle and bustle of the city and head to the village of Zollikofen. There we will attend an evening session at the Zollikofen Temple. For most the opportunity to attend the Temple in Switzerland has been one of their favorite experiences while on the tour.

Day 8 (Aug 4):
We will head to the village of Zermatt and take the sights of the most well known Swiss Alp the Matterhorn. We will take our time in this alpine village and peak into the different shops that line this carless village. We will then head up the mountain for a closer look at the Matterhorn. We will have an early dinner together in the village Zermatt and then head back to Interlaken.

Day 9 (Aug 5):
A 2 hour train ride will take us to the city of Luzern found in central Switzerland. The city of Luzern is nestled among the surrounding Alps and lake Luzern. Here we will see the Lion’s Monument, Jesuit Cathedral, Hofkirche Cathedral, and take in the ornate paintings found upon the city centers old town walls. We will head back to Interlaken to finish any last minute souvenir shopping because we can’t go home without our Swiss Chocolate!!

Day 10 (Aug 6):
Take the train from Interlaken to Zurich’s Airport. Auf Wiedersehen

You have always had make-shift rooms for your projects, so I hope you will have an official room soon! $2,012.26

Details: Craft Room

You pointed out something like this over the holidays and I wanted so badly to get something like it for you. How about when the house thing clears up? $940

Real guitar lessons for a year! $662.74

Time to go to guitar lessons and whatever else you want. $570

$10,000 exactly! I confess that since the going rates for guitar lessons varied by instructor, I “estimated” an hourly rate that “happened” to add up to exactly the amount I needed left for an even 10!

Lindsey, I absolutely love you! I am excited for the next 10 and for every other year after that!

Dear Todd,

2011-05-24T14:00:00.001-05:00

This is one of my absolute favorite pictures of us when we were dating, taken my Katherine Thom at the Valentines Dance.

To my favorite person:
Today we celebrate 10 years of marriage, that seems like such a large number, and yet I know it will dwarf the time we will spend together in this life and in the next. I remember 10 years ago so clearly- the anticipation, the excitement, my saying the "I do" part too quickly. Oops! I remember walking into the temple and seeing you waiting there for me. Magical. I remember my Mom telling me to try not to smile so big- it was a little *too big* for the pictures. I remember spending our first time together alone as a Mr. and Mrs. was at a Schlotzsky's as we waited for the Dallas traffic to clear so we could make it to our reception on time...and making it only about 30 minutes before it started. I remember dancing with you. It was a perfect day, really. Now, 10 years later- here we are. We have moved 6 times- and are preparing for another move soon.

We have 3 precious daughters who love their Daddy dearly. We've had our ups and downs- but our friendship has pulled us through it all. Originally, we planned to spend our 10th in New York City, something we had wanted to do for a while, but we decided to be more practical and pay down our credit instead. It was the best decision for us especially with all we know now. And so for our anniversary, instead of being lavish- like we wanted- we went practical and we've bought a vaccum. Not an everyday vacuum, a Roomba 560, and I'm excited about that more than I can say. How sad is that? However, since that is NOT super exciting, we decided- for fun- to spend an imaginary $10,000 on each other...so Todd, here is my 10k of gifts, delivered with love and a kiss. I love you, babe. Here's to many, many more.

One of our favorite Halloween costumes, people thought we were for real- we got some REALLY good laughs from this night. Good memories.

$10,000 to spend, here we go!The first chunk of the imaginary budget was spent on creating your new office. You like that "old world" look, so I tried to keep that in mind. Here's what you got:

Pottery Barn has this beautiful desk for sale at $1099. I like the little cubbies. We wouldn't put sea life in there, but I have some other ideas.

I got you this black swivel chair, also in black, from Pottery Barn. Don't worry, I bought you the pad to sit on too, I'm not stingy! The chair is $399, the cushion is $19.

You get two of these beauties for people to sit and talk to you in your office...they don't get cushions, though...I'm on a budget afterall. And speaking of a budget, these are $239 each.

I showed you this last week, its a very cool decor item for an old world office with a map-theme, don't ya think? Cost: $69, Pottery Barn

This map wall decal is the coolest, I think it would add a nice vintage touch and certainly add to your overall feel. Cost $129, once again at the Pottery Barn

Isn't this cool? Its a nice thick frame of cork board. However, its pricey at $199 from Pottery Barn, so I'm thinking I can make it and save some money. With a 40% off coupon and my handy work, I am estimating this could be around $35. Cheating? Maybe!

Aren't these beautiful? I thought we could make them look very masculine and perfect for your room with whatever we put in them, Pottery barn's price was too high, though, I think I can find them with a little digging, so I'm giving myself $25 to acheive this look. I think we could use some things from home too.

This little desk from Pier one is a steal at only $12.95- and look, it has a map-y image.

These. Are. COOL. And they are so up your alley- they are little boxes that look like books. Cost $12-14, Pier One- I budgeted for 3. :)

This is a hanging globe. Cool, right? I actually picked one out that was bluer than this one originally, but this is an Ebay item, and things change daily. Cost $140

I wanted an original antique for your office, so I found these boyscout antique binoculars and case on etsy.com for $29. Fitting, right?

I thought it would be nice to have some sort of sleeping sofa too- that way guests could sleep there if we are hosting a crowd. This one is cool- of course we'd get one of the neutral tones- I'm not into the bright blue. I like the legs on this one. Cost: $839.16 from http://www.thefutonshop.com/

Switching gears...

Here are some other things I thought you would enjoy in our new home.

Since we will have a porch and I have fond memories of sitting on my grandmother's porch, I wanted to get us a porch swing. I think in my mind it represents what I hope for us- a lifetime of happy memories spend side-by-side. It makes me smile because I like the idea of growing old with you. Remember, I always used to say (when we were just friends) that you'd make a cute old guy. I can see those polester pants and loafers now. :) See above picture for reference.

Cost: $139.99 from http://www.patiolivingplus.com/

For your 30th I bought you a nice grill, and 3 years later its in bad shape, but I'm willing to give it another try. After all, I love a good grilled hot dog.

Cost: $199, Lowe's

Just to satisfy for your techy side, I got you an iPad2- in black with a grey leather case. I'd have it engraved with "TB- For 10 years of bliss. I love you, Your Bride LB". I also threw in an AV adapter, a camera connection kit, a 2 dock, and the apple protection plan. I'm not even sure what all of that is, but its for you- so I just went with it.

Cost: $844 (from the Apple store, of course)

For your musical side, I thought you should have your own guitar, and this one is BEAUTIFUL! Check out that Fender!

Cost: $299+ Strap for $7.99

Now its time to PACK YOUR BAGS!

And since our 10-year old luggage is starting to wear-out, how about packing these bags?

These are Traveler's Choice Toronto 3-piece Hardside Expandable Spinner Luggage Set. And they are on sale at Overstock.com for only $139.99. I'm trying to make this money STRETCH.

You'll need warm pajamas, and these are hilarious. Of course, I'll have to order two- one for each of us, because matching pajamas would be a new adventure. Please note the name of these Ellen jammies, and YES they are 1-piece. Awesome sauce.
*The Ellen DeGeneres Show White 'LAUGH.DANCE.SNUGGLE.' Adult One-Piece Pajama

Cost: $80 (for both)

You'll also need good walking shoes- and we love a good cause, so I'm getting you some TOMS. "With every shoe purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need."
Cost: $79

But why would you need luggage, warm pjs, and walking shoes?!?! Curtisy of Orbitz.com I "booked" us to fly Contetintal to New York City on June 23rd and stay through the 26th.

We will be staying at the Kitano Hotel while we are there. Ooh La la!

Who knew? Can you even read the above statement?
Cost: Orbitz flight + hotel package: $2,224 Wahoooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

While we are in New York, we will go see some Broadway shows- because, hello- why not? On Friday night we'll go see the new Spiderman, we have Orchestra seats.
Cost $374

But why stop there?
We are in New York City, right? Let's also go see the new The Addam's Family Musical on Saturday. Again, we'll be in the orchestra!
Cost: $356.32

In our spare time, we'll sight-see on the double-decker buses for 2-days seeing all of the NYC sights: downtown, uptown, Brooklyn, and the night tour.
Cost $280

Of course, we'll have to eat- so here's my plan.
PS I have no idea if these restaurants are remotely close to anything or each other or wherever "we'll be" but they were all recommended OR they just so happen to have an on-line menu. :)

We'll have dinner on Thursday night at The Lever House...of course, I saw something that said it was closed, but for the sake of eating- let's pretend some more! We'll order the Aged cote de Boeuf for Two, have the Chocolate-mint Ice Box Cake for dessert, and have incredible service- of course, and I'll tip at 20%.
Cost: $188.39 (tax and tip included)

Friday morning we'll have breakfast at Prune. You'll order the Fresh Ricotta with raspberries, figs, toasted pine nuts, and honey. I'll have the Monte Crisco. Maybe we'll order water, I forgot about the drinks.
Cost: $36.38

Friday afternoon we'll be sight-seeing, so I thought we might look for a fun street vendor, NYC is known for them- so why not? I'm going to have to make a guess on this one.
Budgeted: $20

Friday evening, before the show, we will dine at Tavern on the Green. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an on-line menu and something I read said it was closed...so use your imagination here too.
Budgeted: $175.00

Saturday we'll sleep in a little. We'll pick up a pastry and some juice somewhere.
Budget: $12.15

Lunch will be at Junior's. You'll have the BLT and I'll have the Deli Delight with the soup of the day.
Cost: $37.00

Dinner before the show will be at Liberty View. You'll have the Peking Duck and I'll have Crispy Fish.
Cost: $81.70

Sunday, we'll do brunch! And because we love him, we'll go to Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay's restaurant. For drinks we'll have Texas Grapefruit juice (howdy!) and Carrot/Mango juice. We'll order the crispy Bacon + Hashbrown Quesadilla and the Chilled Carmelized Grapefruit for our appetizers. For our main, I'll have the Eggs + Aged Sirloin Tortilla and you'll have the Cornmeal Crusted Chile Relleno. Yum. Maybe we will meet Bobby?
Cost: $75.98

Whew! We're done eating! That took some planning!
I thought we'd do some shopping too...so OF COURSE Bloomingdales! You'll want to look smart for all of those Broadway shows and fine dining!

We'll buy you this sleek sports coat and handsome pants to match. You'll have to bring your own shirt and tie, I'm on a budget here.
Cost: $690

We'll also make a stop at Tiffany's and get you these awesome cufflinks: link here.

Cost: $350

And there you have it! $10,000 spent all on YOU!

Hope you know that the most important part of our celebrating is the blessing of spending our lives together. I'm one lucky girl. Thanks for putting up with my 'tudes all these years. Thanks for loving my faults and still looking at me with love in your eyes each day. You are my best friend. My rock. My lover boy, haha. Thanks for making today possible, and best of all- thanks for asking me to marry you.

We'll make it to New York someday, but for today Schlotsky's

and a PTA event will have to do...

Happy Anniversary, Todd!

I love you!!!

P.S. The vaccum arrives on Friday- wahoo!

Stay tuned!

2011-05-23T21:05:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow Todd and I will post what we "got each other" with our imaginary $10,000 for our 10th anniversay. Be excited! We are! :)
Rules: spend every dime & no bills!

one of our engagement pictures taken in the Spring of 2001- man we look young!

Mother dearest

2011-05-04T11:34:00.000-05:00

This Sunday I have been asked to speak...since I am the "Mother of the Ward". I'll be making a comment about that at the very beginning. Anyways, I've been reflecting on what I should say and what stories to share. I'm grateful for my blog that can help jog my memory when I can't remember a single story that might apply. Anyhow, since it is Mother's Day on Sunday, I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures of Motherhood!

Baby Ava- 1 day old

Ava's first Easter

Baby Sydnee

Todd & Lindsey with Sydnee- 1 day old

Baby Lucy

Sydnee, Ava, & Nanna with Baby Lucy

baby Lucy

Lucy with Momma

Ava holding baby Sydnee

Nanna, Ava, Sydnee, & Uncle Jacob

This says it all...Ava, Sydnee, & Mommt trying to get a pretty picture

Bluebonnet pictures, 2007

Sydnee as a flower girl for Aunt Stephanie

Kisses on Valentines Day

Always playing dress-up here!

Ava with Lucy

My sweet girls

Family vacation to Galveston with friends

Chubby Lucy with Mommy

Ava's collection for RMH for her birthday

Sydnee & Ava going to RMH

Our family- so blessed!

I'll be the first to admit it- its been too long.

2011-04-26T19:02:00.001-05:00

Ok so April is almost over and we're coming into May and I haven't done a single post on the ol' family blog. Sorry about that folks. We have A LOT going on and sometimes we just don't find the time...and when I say "we" I mean ME since Todd hasn't posted on this OR his blog since...well I'm not even sure. So I'll give you a brief update. (Hint! Hint! Todd!)

We're building a house. We think. We're still at the beginning stages, so it could fall through at any moment, but I'm trying to remain positive- can you tell? So look forward to annoying pictures of foundation, random wood nailed together and all things build-y. We've decided on a floor plan, as of today, and I'm excited...I think. :) I'll get to have a mud room with lockers, a good sized laundry room, and Todd will get an office. There are more perks, but there's a few.

We are building a house because we are victims of some sort of clerical error with a large bank and they wrongfully foreclosed on our house...without telling us, and without means to foreclose. Even after they foreclosed, they took out payments for 14 months. Its a mess and we're working out the mess with some legal help and a lot of prayer. That is the VERY short version. It has mind stomach in knots most of the time, but I'm trying to be optimistic even though its all very troubling.

Since we are moving, we will be moving to a new school district. This brings excitement and sadness. I have really loved working with the PTA Moms & I LOVE all of the K teachers at Spring Valley Elementary, so I'm full of mixed emotions. Beginning next year we will have 2 in school...oh my! Doesn't that sound fun? :)

I also have a little bloggin gig that has taken up a lot of my blogging time. I work for another SU! demonstrator who is much higher up than I am and I posting fun projects throughout the week: http://thestamplady.typepad.com/

Todd continues to work hard as Bishop of our ward. Its a daunting task and I can see it wears him down at times. He's a good man, though, and a hard worker- so hopefully people will continue to respect him and show kindness. After all, as one of my friends says, "He's really just an extra special volunteer". And as a side note, I have the best position in the whole congregation- Children's Music Leader. It rocks and I love rockin' it out with the children each week.

Within a few weeks I'll have a 1st grader and a kindergartner- where does time go? And let's not forget Lucy who is climbing all over things like she's a big kid. We are trying to spend more time together- they grow up too fast. Last weekend we went camping with friends. It was fun. I love making memories with my sweet girls & their awesome Daddy. It helps to take our minds off the crazy things going on with our life.

Happy birthday Ava

2011-03-03T14:51:00.002-06:00

OK you have waited very patiently and I have been slow to respond, but here you are! Finally- pictures from the party. Enjoy!

Some of the little treat "bags"- I found these cups at the store, added the crown, filled a cell-o bag and VOILA! So fun.

I also covered the water-bottles with paper and Tinkerbell stickers- a little hard to photograph, but very cute!

Some of our decorations- I found these on http://www.amazon.com/ they were awesome. You can see the banner sitting on the couch there, I hung that up next...yet have no picture of them.

We had a little "red carpet" for our guests...which was several red plastic table cloths I got 1/2 off the day after Valentines Day. We added some sparkly confetti and garland of course. Like our model here? She loves those boots.

Ready for the guests to arrive. See the dragon? Fun touch.

This was part of the games we did outside- dizzy the dragon (on the trampoline). See- we had some great costumes arrive!

The party in full color!

All of our little guests had their picture taken in this little "set". As you can see Ava is enjoying her birthday.

Happy birthday Ava! It sure was a fun night! I didn't manage to get a single picture of me- so just pretend that you see a really LOVELY fairy princess floating around the party. :)

Delivery Day

2011-02-23T12:17:00.004-06:00

Howdy! Last night Ava, Sydnee, and I loaded up the van- waited for Todd to come home- and then headed to Temple, Texas to deliver our goods at the local Ronald McDonald house.

The goods

The cute girls who loaded the goods

It was a really lovely experience. Todd and I had been praying that Ava would have a really positive experience since she has selflessly given up receiving a lot of birthday gifts. When we got there a gentleman opened the door and welcomed us in. We told him why we were there, actually Sydnee told him why we were there (Ava was being shy) and he gave us a wagon to load up. We loaded it full and brought all of the goods in. We were able to take a few pictures and talk to the head coordinator there. They showered the girls with thanks and a few trinkets, which were very much enjoyed by the girls. Here are a few pictures of our experience.

They thought this guys was awesome.

To celebrate Ava's birthday, we ate at McDonald's. Fitting, right? Lucy thought so.

Hapyp birthday Ava!

A Princess' Cause

2011-02-21T08:17:00.001-06:00

If you want to participate in Ava's little princess project, see below.

We deliver on Tuesday!

Every good princess-in-training has a good cause. The Ronald McDonald House provides a home-away-from-home for children under-going medical treatment and their families. Since our family is so very blessed we are asking that you consider bringing one of the following items in lieu of a birthday gift. This is, of course, optional. Ava will be able to deliver the collected items to the Temple Ronald McDonald house herself. After all, a good princess cares for those less fortunate than herself...

* Wal-Mart Gift Certificates*Queen-sized sheets in neutral colors* Microwave-able containers* Liquid Fabric Softener* Glade Plug-In Refills* Laundry Detergent* 55-gal kitchen trash bags* Paper towels* Individually wrapped snacks & sugar-free candies* Individual servings of cereal* Packaged baked goods* Stamps* Clock radios (+ batteries)* Individual DVD players (+batteries)* Used Ink Cartridges* Used Cell Phones* New toys

If you have any questions, please write to the Queen or King at stamp.with.linz@gmail.com/tblackhurst@gmail.com or call 254-666-6267 (ask for Lindsey/Todd).

Thanks to all that have donated so far! xoxo

The 100th Day of School

2011-02-07T20:30:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday was Ava's 100th day of school. Since they had 2 snow days last week, they couldn't celebrate it then, but go to today. Here is the song she sang for us at dinner:

Incase you missed the Facebook Battle...

2011-02-01T14:00:00.000-06:00

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst

Asked Todd to get chips...and he brought these...yum?

(I should mention Phillip stopped by to help give Ava a blessing and we made him try one and he brought one home to Mandy as well.)

Emily Daly Morrison Hurry, they're only good for 2 more weeks!

Gail Hubbard Gouyton well.........

Leah McConnell Fish Hmmm. Questionable. I'm just sayin'....

Thomas W. Pettit The package does seem to say "potato chips" on the front. They even appear to be "original," though I'm not sure what that means. I can't vouch for taste, but I can guess as to relative expense.

Todd Blackhurst They're fine. I am a trained taster at work.

Kim Foster Bauman LOL!!! Classic!

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst They are nasty, as tested by myself and Phillip. However Todd seems oblivious...or stubborn, I'm not sure. :)

Todd Blackhurst I have a highly trained palate.

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst For chocolate, babe...for chocolate.

Todd I'm trained in savory as well. (think pretzel m&m's)

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst ‎2nd ingredient listed: vegetable oil

(not shocked here people, not shocked)

Todd And where is veggie oil not found?

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst Baked Lays

Todd Blackhurst Gross!

Todd Blackhurst I have it on good authority that the chips are fine. Thanks, Mandy!

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst Gross = parade potato chips

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst Mandy has a cold and cannot taste properly. I would happily give anyone that wants one a sample- cuz I am NOT gonna eat another one!

Mandy Moore Phillip said he almost threw up. He brought one home for me to taste and I think they are fine. LOL! Too funny...

Todd Blackhurst They went great with the 88-cent hotdog buns.

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst Big spender, Todd- big spender... ;)

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst You bought them for .89 and you were ROBBED! :)

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst PS pretzel m&ms still are in the chocolate category...just sayin'

Gail Hubbard Gouyton WAIT!! Lindsey.....Todd........aren't you two in the same house????

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst HAHAHa, we were having a FB war...sitting right next to each other, we think we're *very* funny :)

Todd Blackhurst Yeah in fact we've been right next to each other at the dinner table.

Michele Brinkerhoff Ikeda Yeah, I'm on the side that votes they are sicko.. got some from IGA for the 4th of July, and no one liked them!!!

Gail Hubbard Gouyton Ok........my face hurts from laughing so hard, reading all the comments to my husband out loud!!! .....imagining the texting war going on!!!

Lindsey Kennedy Blackhurst ‎:) happy to provide the entertainment for the evening!

Moral of the story is: a penny saved is a penny earned but when the cheap food you bought taste like a penny, then it's not worth it. The end. You're welcome.

Recipes

2011-01-04T13:14:00.004-06:00

I know...2 days in a row, are you shocked?

I love to cook and I'm pretty good at it, I think. My brother and sister-in-law asked me the other day where I got all of my recipes so I thought I would pass on some of my "wisdom" in this forum. Maybe it will help some of you struggling cooks out there or those just wanting to try something new.

My favorite recipe book of all time is my Better Homes and Garden's Cook Book.

The recipes I frequent most are their Roast Beef (I do mine in a crock pot), Home-made Chicken Noodle Soup & the Fresh Herb Vinegarette...but I have done a lot of them.

My next favorite cook book is 101 More Things to Do in a Crock Pot, there is only 1 recipe in there that we just kinda liked, but the rest are great. Our favorite is the Black Bean Sour Cream Chicken, its awesome. We've also done, as of last night, the brownie sundae, and it was yummy too.

So basically when I come up with my month's worth of menus I start with these books. From there I have some other things I like to try. Probably my most frequented web-site is run by some friends of mine: Lugubrious Delights. Here they put recipes that have been tried and succeeded. I admit that some of the recipes are beyond me and I just haven't even given a second thought to trying, although I'm sure I could do it if I just REALLY wanted to. Some of my favorites on this site include: Easy Homemade Salsa, Crock Pot Pulled Pork, & Mean Green Tortilla Soup.

Of course there are always family recipes to pull from too, and my sister has posted several on the site above, just look for "Heather's" recipes. She has also posted a recipe of my inventing that is super easy and delicious: Monterrey Chicken here. Or you can check out her personal blog: here for some other winners.

I do have some other cook books that I look through, but those are my favs. I just got Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman Cook book and I love it. Pioneer Woman has an awesome blog that is just so funny where the pictures are awesome and the food is down-right yummy. I made the Buttermilk biscuits the other night and they were awesome.

Proof.

So there you have it! Happy cooking y'all!

Oh ya, I do have a blog...

2011-01-03T13:57:00.008-06:00

Hi friends-

So its really been since October? Sorry about that. For those of you who might have been living under a rock, its been about since the beginning of November that Todd was called as a Bishop of our local congregation. Specificially, the Waco 2nd and the Waco 1st ward were split to make a Hewitt ward- and (see if you can follow this) our Bishop was in the 1st ward boundaries, the 1st ward Bishop was in the new Hewitt ward boundaries, and well, Waco 2 needed a Bishop and I guess no one else was available. ;) Its a big responsibility for him, of course, and it means I see him less- which is a drag- but its a blessing to serve and we are counting our blessings. Besides- he's the greatest, why not share him a bit with other people, right?

I also got moved around a bit. I got to serve in the Primary presidency for a whopping...4 weeks, and 2 of those we didn't have Primary. :) However, I got placed as the Primary Song Leader, and I couldn't be happier. I get to sing, play games, and be with kids- who can beat that? I love it and hope that they leave me in there FOREVER...ok maybe a little dramatic. It has been a lot of fun, though and I sure love those kids.
This year we had Thanksgiving at my parent's home and it was lovely. Infact we said it was the best tasting Thanksgiving we have ever had. I, being the pie maker of the family, made an apple pie, a chocolate chip cookie pie (awesomeness), and of course- Pumpkin Crisp. All of the usual favorites were there as well- fruit salad, tea room rolls, turkey, green bean casserole, praline sweet potatoes, Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes (a new addition), a relish tray with some of my homemade pickles, and dressing...I think, I never really eat the dressing. It was a lot of fun and nice to have the whole gang there. I of course hit the store on Black Friday and did pretty well. My sisters and I were all at Target when it opened at 4am. Yes, we are THAT crazy.

{Dresses purchased at Kohl's on Black Friday}

After that was my birthday...can't think of anything special to say there, but I'm glad to be around still. :) I love December. I love decorating and pulling out my millions of Noel items. I did go buy some new things this year and added some other new favorites that were passed onto us by friends. This year the Blackhursts came to us and so this is the first year in our parenting history that Santa came on time, he ususally comes early. I did a lot of preparing with the food and decorating. I wanted each room to be festive. I even put a tiny Christmas tree in my bathroom, even though I only expected Todd to see it. For the most part, everything went off without a hitch- the food was good, the company was fun, and the girls were well behaved- can't beat that! This year Santa brought Ava one of those video camera Barbies, a pillow pet, a Ken Barbie, and some other heres and theres. Sydnee got the Toy Story cast play set, a Rapunzel Barbie, and a pillow pet. Lucy got a little tiny kitchen, a pillow pet, and some sippy cups- exciting, I know. I was an especially good shopper this year and got Todd a Wii and Rock Band...so we've been jammin' it out. Its been super fun. I got a cool 3-pot crock pot thingie, a jewlery box, & some jewlery. Of course we got awesome gifts from family and friends as well. We are loved.

Ava & Sydnee got a trampoline from Todd's parents as well- which is perfect 'cuz I REALLY want them to play outside more.

{My parents got Ava & Sydnee their own pair of Cowgirl boots and hat...truly Texan here}

So ya, its Janurary now and that's all there is to it. I hope we can make some realistic goals and have some fun. One goal of mine is to blog more- so here I am. Beginning it with a bang, right? Might as well make it a marathon post. I'm not sure anyone wants to read this stuff anyways- but who cares, right? Its my blog and I can post when I want to...sounds like a catchy song.

Happy living, people- I'll blog again soon...and when I say soon what I really mean is whenever I feel like it again...which will hopefully BE soon.

Still awake?

xoxo,

Linz

Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder

2010-12-22T10:02:00.000-06:00

Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder

Picture Day

2010-10-26T15:52:00.001-05:00

Our Weekend Adventure

2010-10-06T08:28:00.002-05:00

So we went to Ava's Fall Festival at her school on Friday night. It was fun, they had a good turn-out and the kids had a blast. If any of y'all are able to come next year, they had bounce houses and slides and games, and all sorts of fun- plus it all goes to a good cause, our school! We finished much later than we had wanted, and ended up in Dallas at 10:30pm. We put the girls in their beds and chatted with the Blackhursts for a bit then went to bed. That's when I realized that I had not double-checked with Todd on the tickets. As you may or may not know, I lose things...but only important things like tickets, keys, wallets, social security cards, you name it. However if it is insignificant or unimportant, I can often locate it in seconds. So, yes, Todd was in charge of the tickets and when I asked him to make sure he brought them, in horror he responded he didn't think he had. Panic. I didn't sleep most of that night, which has been a bit of a theme lately, and in the morning Todd drove to Richardson to see if he TicketMaster that opened at 8am could help. They couldn't. He would have to wait until 9am and talk to the 1-800 number. So he waited at the ticketmaster. The people on the phone were able to void the tickets and have them reprinted at will call, but we would need ID and the credit card we purchased them with...problem. That card expired in September and I just got a new one in the mail and hadn't put it in my wallet yet, but I did take the old one out. AND? It was in Waco...with our tickets. So I printed up our proof of purchase, and our credit card account info. As soon as Todd would arrive back home we were going to get out the door to get there as soon as possible. Mark (my father-in-law) had run an errand and he was going to drive us up to Dart. So Chris (my mother-in-law) got in to drive, and we loaded up everyone and were about to leave when Mark pulled up. So Chris got out, took Lucy and the diaper bag back into the house and we got moving. Anyone catching on to the theme? Any guesses on the next problem? My wallet was in the diaper bag. So I'm about to have a nervous breakdown at this point. We get to fairpark and luckily they accept our paper receipt and let us into the park- b/c that would have been an over $30 to get fair tickets. We get to DSM, show them the same receipt, and they start working on figuring out why we need tickets and such. Then my Mom calls. Through this whole ordeal I can hear my mother's voice, "Don't forget your tickets!" I felt so disappointed in myself and I had feared we had lost all this money- which Mom & Dad had given us as our Christmas present...and I started to cry when Mom started talking. It had all piled up on me and I had to let it go! Poor Mom. While we were talking, though, Todd brought over the tickets and all was well. Sigh.

So- onto the better parts! The fair was ridiculously crowded with people. Longhorns and Sooners EVERYWHERE. It was just too many people and I didn't really like that, but oh well. We thought it would be fun to eat fair food, so we got nachos and fajitas, which were yummy and just short of a million dollars. In retrospect, we should have eaten at the DSM (Dallas Summer Musical) Hall, but oh well, we thought it would be fun...but it turns out sitting on the grass trying not to get dirty and eat nachos, one of the messiest foods on the planet isn't a barrel of monkeys!

We decide to head on over to the hall once we have seen Big Tex, which was a little creepy to the girls. :) We have awesome seats. The girls get to sit on these little pillow booster seats so they could see everything well. The show was........amazing. So funny. They have a whole song/segment on burping and tooting. Needless to say, our family was laughing HARD. The character of the dragon was actually a bunch of puppeteers, and that was AMAZING. She was my favorite character. Lord Farquire is a grown man on his knees, so that was really funny as well. However, the ending was the absolute best. It is just like the credits in the movie, and they shot confetti into the crowd. The girls loved it and I felt so fortunate to share the experience with them, and SO blessed it all worked out. I guess you could say it was worth it, but I'd like to not do it that way again. :)

Conference was very good, although I didn't like missing all of Saturdays sessions. Thats what I get when I book tickets like 8 months in advance, I don't remember things like Conference. Anyhow, it always fills me up and makes me feel better about life in general. So my goal is to remain SANE this week because on Friday I have Time Out for Women, and that should do the trick. Wish me luck.

I don't remember if I posted this here or not. My sweet Lucy and I making pumpkin bread. :)At the Fall Festival, Ava and her first taste of Cotton Candy!
"Howdy Folks, Welcome to the State Fair of Texas"
Too. Many. Longhorns.
Shrek the Musical and 2 goofy girls :)

our awesome view...This was perfect for their first time. Not too close, but not too far.

I've been trying to post pictures of the weekend as promised, but Blogger has been uncooperative, so thankfully it worked this time!

The weekend

2010-09-27T14:11:00.001-05:00

We had a fun weekend. Our friends had a small birthday party gathering for her boys, co-workers, and friends. The theme was college football, so each family was to represent their team. Beside that MOST of my family live in Aggieland, the girls had no Aggie gear! So Todd got them some shirts at Academy, Lucy had a darling outfit from her Aunt Heather at least, and of course Todd and I could wear Aggie gear for probably over a week with all the shirts we own. Anyhow, it was a fun idea for a party, and it was fun to see the friendly rivals eat together.

I also got to see one of my childhood friends, Jenny (as she is to me) Vest Hatch. Love that girl. Just like old times.

Saturday I went to the stake RS meeting, which was AWESOME. And then I really enjoyed the General Conference. President Monson was HILARIOUS. If you missed it, you should check it out on-line at www.lds.org I'm sure it will be up in a few days. He was just so funny and spiritual all at the same time, it was perfect.

Yesterday at church as....eventful? Getting a hold on how to run Primary is a SLOW process (but I am SO glad that I am NOT the president!!!), and I got to conduct, do sharing time, have the program ready to be passed out, pass out General Conference booklets, and OF COURSE I *had* to make bookmarks for the junior primary. :) So it was a little rough, especially when our song leader didn't show because his whole family was s-i-c-k. It was a learning experience and it can only get better, right?

Today Todd and I are running for Parents of the Year by volunteering at a Spirit Night at a local restaurant for our PTA, we have different time slots. This weekend we will get to attend Shrek, which is way exciting. Friday night we have the school's Fall Festival, which should be a lot of fun. There sure are a ton of school things.

No pictures of Jenny, but here are a few others....

Aren't they adorable? Sorry Todd about cutting off your head...I made him look totally bald. Yikes. he might kill me for this...

This is one of my favorite shirts Lucy owns. It says, "This is my little black dress"...with faux pearls. Soooooo sweet.

Homecoming!

2010-09-17T19:18:00.001-05:00

Waiting for the surprise... Excited girls and their crafty Mama...and no I did not slick my hair down like a man, it just looks that way in this picture.

Very excited girls. Could not get Ava to wear something mores sturdy. Oh well.

Proud Daddy & his dates...and Lucy- because I can't play photographer and Mommy at the same time.

Todd and his dates are off to the football game. I hope they have fun. Its the first Homecoming for all of them. Todd said he never went to homecoming when he was in high school- what a nerd! ;) I went to every one of them! Maybe his team was lousy? Dunno, but my HS football team was the 5-A State Champs my Senior year year- Go Mustangs! Lucky for us, our Midway colors are Blue, Red, and White- like GHS. However, at MISD we are the Panthers, which is ironic since the big rivals to GHS Mustangs are the CHHS Panthers. Guess they'll be cheering on the Panthers tonight!

Crazy Clothes Day

2010-09-09T14:25:00.001-05:00

Riley's version of crazy isn't as crazy as Sydnee's...must be my mental health background providing plenty of insight. :)

Today at Sydnee's preschool they were having Crazy Clothes Day to celebrate the letter /c/. And if you know Sydnee, this was right up her alley. I let her kinda have free reign over what she wore, although I vetoed the bathing suit b/c I thought she would get cold. :) SOMEHOW the "crazy" got ahold of her face too. :)

Tea Party for Two?

2010-08-26T19:07:00.002-05:00

Tea part for two?

Freedom? Yes, please. I think..?

2010-08-24T12:12:00.001-05:00

Hi people-

Well it is Day 2 for Ava & Day 1 for Sydnee. Sydnee was very excited and ready. She looked at me at one point when I was dropping her off and it was a "Oh- you're still here?" look. She was dressed in "Baby Jaguar" attire and looking quite pleased with herself. She woke up at 6am this morning- sooner than I wanted her up- and was ready to get ready for the day. Yesterday when I asked her what she wanted for breakfast on her first day she said biscuits and honey. So when I was at the store yesterday I picked up some turkey sausage so we could have biscuits and gravy- but Todd over slept a bit and Sydnee woke up early- so we didn't have gravy. Like you needed to know that. ANYWAYS! Sydnee got super upset with Todd saying she said she wanted cereal and cried for 20 minutes about it. Happy morning, everyone! :) We got her going and then she said she remembered she did want biscuits. Thanks, babe. Anyhow, we dropped Ava off at school- looking so cute in all her peace sign coordination. Today we dropped her off at the AV room, instead of her classroom and she looked a little nervous about that. She let me leave but she looked worried. I'm sure once she got in there and saw Preston (the Moores have a tendency to arrive places at the same time we do) she would be fine. I bet her friend Andrew was in there too, and her new friend whats-her-name.

Enjoy Sydnee's "tolerating these pictures" face!

Look at the shoes...and I wish you could see her hair, its so cute!

After I dropped off Sydnee- then Todd (because he wanted to drop Sydnee off for her first day too) I went to Zumba and dropped Lucy off for Kids Watch at the YMCA. I was kid-less! I did Zumba- which kicked my butt- and then went to get her. I missed that little baby! I smoothered her in kisses and by the time we got home she was zonked out. I love her shirt today -it says, "This is my little black dress" and it has little pearls printed on it too. :)

So once I'm done here I may have myself some lunch and do a little reading, or work on the computer, or who knows what! The possibilities are endless, and that's a little WEIRD!

xoxo

New Beginnings

2010-08-23T09:20:00.000-05:00

We did it. We did it without crying...in front of Ava! :)

This morning Lucy woke up at 4:30am, so I tucked her in a little and went back to "sleep". She woke up again at 5:30am, so I gave her a bottle and laid down for a few minutes. Then I handed her to a "sleeping" Todd and got myself ready for the day.

At 6:30am while Lucy slept, and Todd was getting himself ready- I started Ava's bath water and she came in all smiles & being silly. I helped her wash her hair and finish her bath. She got dressed in the outfit she had picked out and we did her hair. I woke up Sydnee and got her started and Todd began making breakfast. Ava wanted her hair curly today- so we took extra special care to make it look nice. Sydnee wanted her hair exactly like Ava's. No doubt today will be a little sentimental to all of us, but particularly Sydnee- so I'm glad Todd will be working from home today to make her feel special.

Last night we began a new tradition. We'll call it 'Twas the day before school starts... We made chocolate chip cookies, drank milk/chocolate milk and played Uno. Lucy slept. :) Afterwards the girls both got their "First Day of School Book". We've been doing this for my niece Samantha since she was in Kindergarten, so it was especially fun to buy Ava & Sydnee their first books. Ava got "It's Hard To be Five" by Jamie Lee Curtis- who has a fabulous line of children's books. Sydnee got, "The Kissing Hand" which is a really tender little book about the first day of school. Usually we would also have the girls get a Father's Blessing, but we did that last week while Mark (PopPop) was here. We said our goodnights and our prayers and sent the little ones to sleep. Then Todd and I proceeded to clean the entire house to releave some of my anxiety. :)

So this morning we ate our pancakes, made by Daddy of course, took a few pictures, and then piled in the car. Ava fixed her lunch yesterday- Peanut Butter + strawberry jam sandwich cut in the shape of a tulip (Ava's choice), baked cheetos, madarin oranges, strawberry yogurt, Strawberry- Kiwi Kool Aid, and M&M cookies. For her snack she is bring Smart Popcorn.

When we got to the parking lot of the school, it was a REALLY pleasant suprise to see Preston's family drive up at the same time. We took a few pictures of them together and then headed to class. Ava was excited. Sydnee showing a few signs of confusion, and parents keeping it together. We got to the class, gave Mr. Forbis his cookie that we made him last night, and dropped off the supplies we had forgotten on Meet the Teacher night. We hung up her backpack, put her lunch on the shelf, and she sat in her spot. 2 of her new friends were sitting there already. Their job was to color while the other friends arrived- good idea, Ava loves coloring. We took one last picture and then left. I glanced a look at Todd and he was a little moist in the eyes, and so was I- but we kept walking to make sure Ava didn't see us. We are home now and Ava has been at school almost 1 hour. *Sigh*

I've been trying to prepare Ava (and myself) for months so this morning would go smoothly, and it has. Ava, being the nurturer she is, decided that she will have lots of friends and will be looking out for the kids who might be missing their mommies and daddies. She'll be terrific and I can't wait to hear all about it.

Happy first day, my sweet Ava.

Galveston, Texas, USA

2010-08-21T14:36:00.006-05:00

Future best friends...

We are blessed with great friends. Sometime in July I e-mailed my sweet friend Mandy and asked- what about taking a mini vacation together? She said- let's do it! So we planned, made a schedule, packed our bags and headed to Galveston. Whenever I have introduced my family to the Moores I have always said how much we enjoy being around each other, our kids are the same age, we like the same things, etc...they just have one big character flaw. Note the t-shirts. Aww, we love them anyways. If we had known we would have been hijacked by t-sip t-shirts on our vacation we would have come prepared. Oh well, they got us this year. :)We began our trip by going shopping on the Strand. Bless this wagon. It was kinda fun, but we probably would skip it next time- however, the Rocky Road Chocolate Covered apple from Rocky Mountain was worth the drive for sure.
This is at the Lagoon area at Moody Gardens- very cool. We could have spent an entire day there. It was a lot of fun.
Ava & Preston have been friends since they were tiny. They are exactly 1-month apart. I have loved watching their friendship grow over the years.
This was one of my favorite parts- the 4-D movie of Happy Feet. About 15 minutes long, full of fun surprises.
Riley was deathly afraid of the walking frog- he had quite a sense of humor. He tried to get in our wagon at one point. :)
Did I mention these pictures were out of order? This was the last restaurant we went to in Galveston- Salsa's. It was awesome- everything about it. We'll return again for sure.
I LOVE this picture- my "action" shot. These $5 body boards at Wal-Mart were awesome
The best part of our vacation was spending it with friends we love and adore. We had such a great time.
Ava's turn to get buried. :)

Probably my favorite picture from the whole adventure. Love Lucy's sweet smile.
Look at those chubby cheeks- I can't help but kiss her all the time.
Rain Forest Cafe was a first for me & I loved it. The girls? They thought it was a little too realistic at times. :)
Awwww...love birds, haha

And this sums it up! We had such a great time. We can't wait till our next Moore/Blackhurst adventure!

School is coming!

2010-08-20T16:41:00.001-05:00

I need to post vacation pictures.

Well last night's meet-the-teacher went well. Ava was really shy, which makes me worried, but she is excited despite her shyness. There were a MILLION forms to fill out, of course, and school supplies to turn in as well- since some of them are community supplies. Her teacher seems like a nice guy, and I hope he is ready for Ava. :) Ava got to also meet the Art teacher, which I'm sure will grow to love Ava- she is so artistic.

Sydnee's meet-the-teacher was a lot less eventful. We turned in our packet, met Ms. Cindy and were in and out in like 15 minutes or less- unlike the hour or so at Ava's school. Sydnee is in the Doodle Bug class- which she was initially disappointed about- but she's good now because Cindy sounds a lot like Sydnee. She told me they both have "sin" in them...hilarious. Sydnee was fairly outgoing in her classroom. So I guess my girls have switched personalities.

This morning we got up and hit the road early to beat the crowds. We got to Target just after 8am- and were there with the Target workers and a few shoppers. We got Ava some socks, and a notebook. Sydnee got new Disney undies- but don't ask her about them unless you want to see them- she even showed a lady at the store she was so excited. The big find was Sydnee finding "Baby Jaguar" shoes aka leopard print. I grabbed Todd some fun t-shirts, got a birthday present for a friend of the girls, and we made it out of there just after 9:30am. Right on schedule. We were then off to Old Navy- where I had a $10 off coupon. I got Todd a few shirts, Lucy 2 outfits, & Ava some silver converse-style shoes. She loves that they sparkle. Then we stopped in at the Children's Place where once again I had a $10 off coupon. There we found "Baby Jaguar" clothes. They were on sale- so I let her get 2 outfits and matching thingies all for around $20. Score! So the girls are officially physically ready for school. I hope to make it out to get some new sandals. The ones I have I wear all the time and they are going to fall apart soon. Wish me luck- I won't be able to beat any crowds by going tonight. I hope to take pictures later and post them. :)

Our month in picture form!

2010-08-02T11:06:00.001-05:00

I have a new calling/service I do for my congregation- I am the Provident Living Specialist. This month I assisted several families with long-term food storage. When canning the milk last night it kinda went POOF, all over me! :) Good thing I'm wearing BLACK!

See?!

Sydnee & Ava had a Star Wars birthday party that they attended, here are their costumes...
Princess Leia hair for Sydnee...

Totally rocking the outfit I put together...

Ava as Queen Amaidalla, thus the cool hair...and queeny dress.!
(No idea on the spelling by the way...)

Todd brought us all new night gowns from Las Vegas- we all love them. Here is Sydnee sporting hers, isn't she darling? :)

My 96-year old grandfather with my girls and my sweet Dad. :)

Isn't that sweet? PawPaw was quite taken with her...

My mother, Lucy, and I all visiting the oldest relative on her side of the family, my dear sweet great Aunt Betty. We got some great family history stories from her.

My sweet growing baby girl!

This is what happens when you have 3 little girls in 1 house- a gigantic load of pink laundry.

Ponderings

2010-07-28T08:05:00.001-05:00

MY ponder:

So do I wait until tax-free weekend to buy school supplies or just buy them now so I can make sure they are all there. Tax free weekend is the weekend before the girls start, and I like to be prepared. Please advise.

So yesterday when Todd got off work I drove to Round Rock to pick up our wards food storage order. Now my living room has sacks of wheat, oats, beans- you name it! Hopefully I can rid myself of most of it today...and the rest when I retrieve the canner/sealer.

A funny thing happened while I was gone. Todd was giving the girls a bath- together, which I totally don't do any more- and when they were done and putting their towels on, Sydnee starts screaming bloody murder. We refer to this as her "ant" cry since she is terrified of ants since she has been bitten so badly by them. Anyhow, a baby gecko had been in her towel and had jumped on her leg and then into the water. Ava, according to Todd, had a gecko on her towel as well but she didn't notice it and her gecko jumped into the bath directly. Anyhow, it made for an amusing evening. Moral of the story is- don't leave your towel in your room after bath otherwise you might find a baby gecko on our leg next time you use it!

Hope your day is swell, friends! Thanks for checking in!

Trouble

2010-07-14T21:49:00.003-05:00

I've had my house to myself tonight...and by myself I mean myself and my 3 little girls. If you didn't know this- and how could you not- my girls are very girlie. So we watched our "dancing show" (SYTYCD) and I even let them stay up past their bedtime. Toward the end of the night Ava got in trouble for something, I can't even remember what now. Anyhow, as usual our fight escalated until she wasn't allowed out of her room for the rest of the night and she and I missed the end of the show. *Sigh* Here comes the ugly part. Ava really knows how to push my buttons, she can do it better than anyone I know. She really doesn't push other people's buttons as well as mine, my lucky gift as her mother I guess. Well she has an uncanny way of making a simple misdeed turn into a knock-down-drag-out kinda fight...not literally of course. Tonight she escalated our fight by calling me a name and telling me stuff she was "never" going to do. Fumes. I had to take a Mommy time-out to calm down because I was already mad that she did whatever she had done. I took a break, said a prayer, and then went and talked to her. She agreed that sometimes she tries to make me madder when I'm already mad. Its part victory that she recognizes this because since she knows she does it, she can also have the power to change it. Anyhow, we smoothed things over, said a prayer together, shed a few more tears, said the "I love yous" and "goodnights".

Its hard to be a grown-up sometimes.

So since I am avoiding closing up the house and my putting the house and myself to bed, I thought I would look over some old blog posts. So I went to 2007, when we started this blog. It's hard to believe that my little girls were even smaller not so long ago. Then I came across this entry Here and I had to smile. I love the way I close the post. Telling, isn't it?

I love that little curly-haired blue-eyed girl. I need to remember she's only 5. I can do better too. Here's to better nights with a little less trouble and a lot more fun with my sweet little trouble-maker.

Our week!

2010-07-09T09:41:00.001-05:00

Ava's Fashion Show of some of her new school clothes-

matching socks! ;)

Good thing she's not silly...

Cool backpack...

I got Sydnee something too :)

AND I did some canning! Ignore the goofy faces and concentrate on those fabulous containers!

Lastly- Lucy's started rice cereal...she is so excited about it. :)

and that's been our week!

Lucy blows raspberries...

2010-06-27T20:13:00.001-05:00

It's a little choppy, but sooooooo fun!

Lucy blowing raspberries...

Sydnee turns 4

2010-06-21T12:30:00.008-05:00

Our Sunday lunch- Hawaiin Haystacks, pulled pork, cake- a yummy way to celebrat Lucy's blessing day & Sydnee's family birthday party.The darling cake by Melanie...

our birthday girl...

Everyone gathered for the blessing/birthday luncheon

At Sydnee's party the day before. Did I mention Sydnee's Primary class is huge?

Daddy telling them about the obstacle course...

The darling cupcakes for the party, again by Melanie...

They may look gross to you, but the kids loved the "octupus" hot dogs!

And who can resist a fish watermelon? :)

For Sydnee's actual birthday, we spent the gift certificate from Aunt Heather & treated the girls to a little polish job. Did you know there was such thing as yellow nail polish?

Todd and I thought it was so funny how our girls acted like they had done this a million times...

Would you expect a different color for Ava's nails?

Here are our very silly girls eating dinner at McDonalds...not OUR favorite place, but hey- it wasn't OUR birthday! :)

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-21T10:40:00.001-05:00

We were suppose to go to Dallas this weekend, but we stayed home & got a lot accomplished on Saturday. We emptied our game closet to make more room for food storage, organized my "office" and reorganized the play room. We want to try to get our 3-month's supply by the end of the year.Then we headed to the Y for swimming and raquet ball fun. I need to take a picture of Lucy in her bathing suit- not much of anything is cuter!

Here are some pictures from Father's Day as well.

Happy Father's Day to my favorite person in the whole world!

So I don't lose my Marbles...

2010-06-15T13:40:00.002-05:00

I posted this on StampWithLinz & thought I would post it here too...

Hello friends. I'm sorry its been so long. The truth is, I haven't been doing much anything creative in a while...and I haven't wanted to! When I have tried, its not been up to par. And here's the 2nd part of my confession- I've gone digital. Almost everything I have done in the last 4+ months has been almost all digital or hybrid. I love SU!'s My Digital Studio and since my hands are usually full or holding a baby, it works for the time and space I have at the moment.

However, that doesn't mean I can't share my digital projects with you- so I will do that. I'll start with last night and work my way backwards. We had a Family Home Evening last night where we introduced our new Summer Program- Don't Lose Your Marbles/Summer Sanity. Everyone- except my little bitty baby- got to design their own tag for their jar. We have them displayed in the kitchen for easy access. Everyone did a good job. My husband even got into it. :) It felt good to be creative again. We'll see if it lasts. Check it out!

Happy Anniversary!

2010-05-24T13:45:00.002-05:00

Todd and I are celebrating 9 years today! Happy Anniversary honey!

It's not ALL Todd

2010-05-24T13:21:00.004-05:00

above Sydnee, below me

above Lucy, below me

above Ava, below me

I'm in there too... :)

For all of you that say my girls looks just like Todd, here's some proof I had something to do with it!

Time flies...

2010-05-06T12:45:00.000-05:00

hi fam!
Busy morning as usual. :) Tonight is Ava's kindergarten round-up. Where has the time gone? She is very excited, and so am I for that matter. This will be a new chapter in our life. :) Here are a few pics of rememberance (and laughter)...

Lucy's sweet smile

2010-05-03T09:52:00.001-05:00

Sign it! We did!

2010-04-30T20:04:00.001-05:00

those silly girls!

2010-04-28T14:30:00.002-05:00

:) updating the 72-hour kits to include Miss Lucy!

Update on Lucy

2010-04-26T11:36:00.002-05:00

The tests are back & Lucy has kidney reflux, grade 1, on one side- which is a mild case. We are grateful for this news. She will be on daily maintance medication & will be tested several times in the future until she has grown out of it, which usually happens at a year. So that is good news. The doctor said that everytime she has a fever or such, we will need to check for another infection first- so that she doesn't have to go through all of those many horrible tests again. So that's where we stand on that. Thanks for all the love & prayers. We sure love this little trouble-maker! She is one sweet baby!

Family Pics

2010-04-12T10:12:00.002-05:00

My sweet friend Nicole accomplished the impossible- taking our family picture! The girls remembered how to smile for her! Check it out: here.

2010-04-02T09:10:00.001-05:00

TODD!

Welcome home, Lucy- again!

2010-03-31T21:12:00.004-05:00

It's good to be home. For those that don't know, here is our story of the last several days.

Saturday I spent the day with family traveling to Ft. Worth for an uncle's memorial service after he lost his bout with cancer. I took Lucy with me and it was fun to introduce her to family. That evening we went out to eat with family. Sunday all of our family would be gathering at church for Sydnee's blessing day. After everyone separated to their separate sleeping places- we all settled in for the night. Lucy slept in our room since we were housing Scott & Katie. Around 2am Lucy was moving around, acting uncomfortable. I got up and fed her, and as I began changing her diaper I noticed how warm she was- so I asked Todd to get a thermometer to check her temperature. Uh-oh, 101.5- with infants anything over 100.3 is considered dangerous- so we called the on-call doctor and she told us to take her to the ER. Blessedly, we had family here, so we could leave in the middle of the night without worrying about Ava & Sydnee.

We got into triage quickly and they began with all of the tests. Blood work, urine analysis, and the awful lumbar puncture/spinal tap. Todd and I, having never been through anything like this, were extremely anxious and worried. With the lumbar puncture, we were wrecks. The ER doctor had a difficult time finding the right spot and had to do it twice. I cried as much as Lucy did, Todd gripped his arm so hard that you could see his finger nail prints for a while after the procedure was finished. It was probably the most difficult moment I've experienced as parent and maybe in my life. I hope to not have that feeling ever again in my life.

After some time, it was decided that she would be admitted to go under observation and wait to see what the test results would be. Early on, they determined no menigitus, which was a good sign. The rest of the night and then into the day- we spent our time waiting on the results. Slowly results began to come in- and most of them came back normal, which meant more waiting. On Monday morning our doctor came in- he was such a welcome sight- and said that the urine analysis looked abnormal and he suspected she had a urinary track infection. He ordered an ultra sound, and that evening it came back normal- so more waiting to see what the blood cultures would produce. Another night. The following morning all of the tests would be back, and it confirmed the UTI. Lucy was put on oral medication and was able to have her IV taken out. She had not been too comfortable that day, so the doctor opted for 1 more day of observation. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning was our best night at the hospital in that Lucy slept, ate, and acted normal. Hooray! We came home this morning- grateful to be back with family.

Throughout this experience, I have learned a few major lessons. First, I'm grateful for all of the family/friend support that we have received. I have felt their prayers throughout this process. In fact I felt those prayers lifting me up and calming me down when all I wanted to do was cry. We have been surrounded by well wishes by way of Facebook, phone calls, e-mails and visits. I'm convinced we have the best friends in the world, seriously. I already know we have the best family. :) This experience also opened my eyes to what it would be like to have a chronically ill child, blessedly- our little one is on the road to recovery, but I got a taste of what it was like to be in those shoes- to not know what is going to happen, the waiting, the same 4 walls for days on end. I hope that I will be more compassionate to those that experience this in the future.

I should also say how grateful I am for our pediatrician and the staff at Hillcrest Hospital- everyone from the cafeteria staff, cleaning crew, technicians, and especially the nurses and aides. They made this horrible process bearable and provided the basic things- like food and conversation- that I alone was not able to provide for Lucy. I hope to do something nice for them someday soon.

Lastly, I learned a little about myself and my capacity to love and be loved. Since Todd needed to go back to work- at least in part- I stayed at the hospital full-time while Todd's parents watched the girls. Anyhow, its amazing how these experiences can clarify things in your mind/heart. What a blessing are friends and family that pick you up when you are down and step in to make life as normal as possible for the family that is absent from the hospital room. I learned that I love this little girl a little more each hour, and although I've only known her for a short period of time, she's won my heart. What a blessings are her smiles after such a heart-wrenching experience. My heart also grew a little more with the love of my girls that were waiting at home. Perhaps I can be more patient and loving to them now. And my heart grew for the man who stood by the whole time this happened. I kept thinking that it was a blessing to be able to go through this ordeal with my best friend. Not sure I could have done it alone, anyways!

Yes, we are home now- but not quite out of the woods. More tests will be run to tests for long-term problems and to see if the antibotics worked their magic...but for now we will love a little deeper, hug a little longer, thank a little more loudly, and enjoy our time together...because that's what its all about!

Here is a silent movie (didn't realize I had the mic off) of our room.

Picture for the announcement!

2010-03-16T11:22:00.003-05:00

This was a painful process, mainly b/c I tried to get some pictures of Lucy with Ava & Sydnee. Please note that the picture I chose for Lucy's birth announcement...is a solo shot. :) Ava & Sydnee told me they forgot how to smile. I believe them.

Here's a few for your laughing pleasure. This first pose is a gem- the laying down was Ava's idea- so I humored her.

Lucky Lucy & The Award-Winning Picture

2010-03-02T16:48:00.001-06:00

Todd's work was having a little contest titled, "Why I work safely" where you had to submit pictures of the reasons why you are safe at work. Simple concept, right? Well, Saturday evening- the same day Lucy was born- Todd submitted this photo into the work contest from his laptop at the hospital. The top prize? A Garmin nuvi GPS unit. What does Todd walk in with today? The top prize! Thanks Lucy!

What a week!

2010-02-26T13:52:00.004-06:00

Tonight at 1:30am will mark the 1 week anniversary of my water breaking, and since I haven't posted my story yet...here it is!

The last few weeks have been daunting. Over the course of 4 1/2 weeks our ward had 4 funerals and being the RS President- I organized (with the help pf many) luncheons/dinners for all of the close families and friends of those whom had passed. I was happy to do it, but it took a toll on me physically- seeing that I was 8+ months pregnant and had to be on my feet a lot. All of that in addition to my normal routine of keeping up with my little ones, other parts of RS duties, and my constant nesting urges made for an exhausting month.

Last week we had a fabulous Visiting teaching conference on Thursday evening, I helped with Ava's preschool on Tuesday and Thursday, got 2 weeks of groceries on Wednesday (with both girls), and taught Sydnee's preschool Friday morning. So once preschool was over, I crashed. I was bone tired, so I let the girls play and I rested...the whole day! When Todd got home we had dinner- which he probably made, I can't remember. Once the girls were down, Todd and I got to work. I had decided I wanted some furniture moved around a bit to make room in the nursery and put a bed in the playroom. Todd did all of the major moving and I did the little stuff. We went to bed LATE- like between 11:30-midnight, BUT the house looked great. Snacks were packed, an agenda for the girls was written out for the girls, our bedroom was clean and organized, and my bag was packed ready for my induction date on Thursday morning- 6 days before my due date. Well all night while we were getting stuff in order, I just felt funny. I won't go into details, but I just felt a little off. So once I had fallen asleep- way after my bedtime- I felt really weird. I get up out of bed and *GUSH* my water has broken. Whoa. Now my water broke naturally with Ava as well- so I at least knew what to expect. So I woke up Todd and began to gather my things. I love my husband and I get a kick out of his "oh my goodness this is serious" panic mode. I asked him to start by calling friends to have them watch the girls. He helped get stuff together and we got ready for departure. Uncle Jim came and we were off. I asked if he had grabbed the camera when I had asked him to- nope- turn around. Back on the road. We've called our parents. At the hospital- walking in with a towel between my legs- niiiiiiice. They check me in while Todd calls our siblings. Once we are in, we get settled and we wait. I hadn't felt contractions before my water broke, but then they came. Once we were several hours into it, I asked for the epidural. I got it- I hate getting those in- and they turned up the pitocin. After a bit, I knew it hadn't worked like it is supposed to- I could still feel everything on one side of me. The same thing had happened with Ava and the epidural had worked completely with Sydnee so I knew the difference. I kept praying it would work. :) Nope. Blessedly, 7 hours after my water broke, 1 hour after I had received the epidural, she came. Lucy Christine: 7 lbs 10 oz, 19 1/2 inches long, pretty and pink and healthy. What a blessing.

Since then we've made it home and experienced our first several days of our new life. And I know there will be difficult, sleepless nights ahead of me- but I couldn't be happier. Lucy is a sweet and darling princess and I can't help to smile when I look at her.

On Sunday, while still in the hospital, I was also released from my responsibilities as Relief Society President. I had known this was coming, and was hoping to be able to say my good-byes as the leader, but Lucy had other plans...and actually, I don't mind a bit. I had worked 2+ years in that calling. There were times when I wanted to give up, when I was sick of the taste of humble pie, and when I just flat was tired of dealing with emotional women! However, in the last few months as I worked on 3 of their funeral arrangements, welcomed several babies, cared for many sick, and assisted some financially afflicted- I began counting my blessings. Not the type of counting that I was "glad I wasn't in their shoes" but the kind where I was grateful to be a part of something greater than myself. When I was asked to serve in this position, I thought the bishopric was CRAZY, but I knew what my mother had instilled in me- that I could do anything I believed in, so I believed and in the end- I was changed for the better. So although I won't miss a lot of the aspects of this calling, I will miss being the leader of so many wonderful women who worked hard to bring about the Lord's work. And I guess, in a way, Lucy represents the results of my service. I know that sounds funny, but now that Lucy is here- I get to see the fruits of my labors. The kindness that I have extended over the years has reached back and I can see the bonds of friendship strengthening me for the next part in my journey- and for all of this I am grateful.

So it has been a week. A life-changing week, and I couldn't be happier. What a blessing.

Snow much fun!

2010-02-24T11:02:00.001-06:00

First bath with helpers!

2010-02-24T11:01:00.001-06:00

Daddy & his helpers gave Lucy her first official bath- I LOVE that last picture of her! :)

Visitors!

2010-02-21T19:47:00.000-06:00

24 hours+

2010-02-21T08:53:00.004-06:00

Pictures from today

2010-02-20T18:51:00.001-06:00

Lucy Christine the night before. Lucy's first smile captured at 3 minutes old!Taking a bubble bath for the first time.
*YAWN* I'm beat!
"I get the goofy faces I make from my daddy."

Love at first sight.

Sisters = Best Friends!

Baby day is a-comin'

2010-02-09T13:44:00.001-06:00

Just got a message from my doctor's office. They have scheduled an induction on Thursday, Feb 25th. Wow. That's 16 days people. I'd better wash some baby clothes. Wow.

Now we could still change it if we need to, but I think this will be best...but boy is this a reality check!

Dinosaurs, Volcanoes, and Prehistoric times!

2010-02-05T13:30:00.002-06:00

From the preschool blog today:

It was another fun day at preschool. We were excited to welcome Alan Gunnell as our guest speaker. He spoke to us about all the rocks that have anything to do with volcanoes- it was a lot of fun & the kids really liked touching the rocks & asking questions. Thanks Alan!We then moved on to our usual circle time, although I forgot a few things and read a book about volcanoes (which was one of the few books that was some-what on a preschool level!) Then we moved on to make our edible volcanoes. I have to admit, this was a lot of fun for everyone- and I'm glad someone else thought of it and I found it to copy them. They started by choosing their "lava" color, and then sticking their "volcano" into the "earth". We make the volcano erupt by icing the tops of the ice cream cones- very colorful. We added some "lava rocks" aka sprinkles, some larger rocks aka raisins, and some gummy bears- like they were running away from the lava. :) The kiddos enjoyed making and eating them. I loved seeing how different they all came out and how watch kiddo approached the eating of the volcano. :)
Then we moved on to art where we made volcanoes errupt with red torn up pieces of paper and added dinosaur stickers. Since our snack went so long, we only got to do our first page of our packet, so they have homework! :) After that we watched this video of a volcano erupting:

maua lua world biggest volcano erupts in hawaii
by vatofredy

And this one with the sound off:

EMBED-Volcanic eruption - Watch more free videos

And then we erupted our own.......PLEASE ignore the high-pitched woman's voice.

We read a book about the Dinosaur's actual size and called it a day. A super-fun day at preschool! Love those kiddos!

This one is better...

2010-02-02T13:57:00.001-06:00

I can't believe I'll have 3 of these little ladies in my house all at once!

Oh my they were babies not long ago!!!

2010-01-30T10:43:00.000-06:00

Just practicing...

2010-01-28T05:09:00.004-06:00

I am working on some baby announcements for a friend. I started working on this at 4:15am...because I'm an insomniac. :) I won't post the inside, but the outside is so cute...I don't have any pictures of the baby yet, so I used my own- its my sweet Ava when she was *tiny*! Such funny little expressions...somethings never change!

The actual print will not have a watermark. :)

PS

2010-01-27T20:33:00.001-06:00

I'm out of panic mode now. I was just having a moment. :)

Thanks for all the love!

Panic Mode

2010-01-25T10:21:00.003-06:00

Last night after the girls were in bed and before Todd had come home from his fireside- I was just goofing off a bit on the computer. I checked my friends' blogs, FB, etc...anyhow on our family blog we have a little counter that says how big the baby is and how much longer I have to go. WELL! I have a melon in this belly with a little over 5 weeks to go. When I clicked to see more information- it said that I should have my hospital bag packed and to be resting as much as possible. Well, that sent me into panic-mode. I didn't have my bag packed! We're still so unsure about what to do when the baby comes, and WHOA- I have to give birth again, and people- it hurts! I was reading on the list about the things to bring and it reminded me of the pain...hello, wasn't thinking about that at all! Guess there's no way around it, though! Anyhow- it gets worse! Once Todd got home and saw what I was looking at he wanted to see a drawing of what the baby looked like right now. So I went to BabyCenter.com where I had kept up with that stuff with my other two and logged in all of the information. I hadn't updated Sydnee's status since she was born and it reminded me of her actual due date- which was 6 days before her due date. So SO SO! That means that BOTH of my babies have not made it to their due date! Ava was 9 days early and Sydnee- although it was a scheduled- was 6 days early! Whoa, people! And that all means... my due date is 4 weeks and 9 days away! Are ya with me? Panic Mode!!! And then there's the whole vehicle thing, so don't even get me started on that- but I think we have confirmed that if we do get a newer vehicle- we'll get a Honda Odyssey. So there- that's my present hysteria.

Moving on....

Yesterday was really good. After church Brandy and I did birthday visits to 4 sisters in the ward who have a birthday in January. The visits were all really nice. There are 30 women with birthdays in January- so we're trying to get to all of them, but we're behind so far! We are also trying to get the VT interviews done- so we're CRAZY busy. Anyhow, the last sister we went to visit was in the hospital. She is presently in the Medical ICU, so we went in and talked to her, but she was asleep and unresponsive. I had not met her before because she has not physically been able to go to church for years. Anyhow, she was one of the founders of the church in the Waco area, and is loved by many of the long-timers here. We also have another sister in the hospital fighting stomach cancer. I love this lady, so I hope she can kick this. And although it sounds like a lot for 1 person to be thinking about- in addition to my own crisis- I'm grateful to it. Being in this calling gives me a badge to care for people in a way that perhaps I wouldn't on my own. It gave Brandy and I the "right" to walk into a hospital and visit a sister whom we didn't know, leave her with a note and prayer- so that when she woke, she would know that someone from the Relief Society came by to show her love. In my service I often think about being on the other side of the service- meaning the receiver. We all need a little love every once in a while whether it is the form of a visit, a prayer, a hug, a smile, or a card. I'm grateful this calling pushes me in the forefront to be on the thinking-end of it all. Who is in need? Who wants to hear from me today? Who needs my smile, my hug, my visit, my card? It is a blessing. It keeps me grounded and closer to the person I want to be. I've eaten a lot of humble pie to get to the place I'm in now and I know I still have a ways to go, but I'm in a good place. I don't know exactly when I'll be released, but I am grateful for the 2 years I've served. I think it took me 1 year to get over the shock, 1 year to keep my chin above water, and now I am seeing more clearly the blessings that this calling has given me. I grateful the Lord saw me as a leader for the women in Waco, even when I did/do not.

SO, that's what's on my mind today. Pretty deep, huh?
Now then...when did my house get so messy? Actually, its not- but I think that nesting phase is in full force because dust in corners of the hallways is driving me nuts.

Thanks Mom & Dad

2010-01-24T19:14:00.002-06:00

So Friday night wasn't *quite* what we expected for our big night on the town, but we sure had fun! We love our friends, the Moores, and were happy to spend some fun time with them even if most of it was spent waiting...let me explain.

The restaurant we wanted to eat at told us it was going to take 15-20 minutes to set us...OK, no big deal, right? Well, we got there right at 5:30 and were right next to the theatre BUT at 6:15pm and we're still not seated. Our show starts at 7pm. So after trying several times to get them to seat us- we left. Darn. I was excited to eat some real food. So where did we end up? Wendy's of course. Todd and Sydnee were thrilled. So- scarf it down, eat it up style- and then we ran to the theatre to see "A Year with Frog and Toad" at the Hippodrome.

It was such a cute little show and the kids LOVE going to the "fancy theatre" so we always try to make the kids' shows. This is our 3rd. My Mom & Dad gave these tickets to us for Christmas. Here are some silly pictures of the girls (and handsome Preston) after the show. They gave out balloons this time...you'd have thought it was cash, the girls were SO excited.

It was a super fun night with some of my favorite people. No- we didn't get to REALLY "eat out" but I didn't have to cook- and we did have fun, so I can't complain one bit. Thanks for giving us a reason to hang out with, Mom & Dad...it might be the last time for a while since Mandy & I both have #3 on the way!
xoxo

PS These are their new dresses from the Prices, we saved them for something special- aren't they great colors?