"A Baby Changes Everything"

I was trying to put the song on my blog "A Baby Changes everything" this is on Faith Hill's Christmas album Joy to the World. I seem to have become computer illiterate because I can't figure it out. However, I would like to post the lyrics. Enjoy.

Teenage girl, much too young
Unprepared for what's to come
A baby changes everything

Not a ring on her hand
All her dreams and all her plans
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

The man she loves she's never touched
How will she keep his trust?
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

And she cries, ooh, she cries
Ooh, oh

She has to leave, go far away
Heaven knows she can't stay
A baby changes everything

She can feel it's coming soon
There's no place, there's no room
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

And she cries, and she cries
Oh, she cries

Shepherds all gather 'round (Shepherds all they gather 'round)
Up above the star shines down (Star shines down)
A baby changes everything

Choir of angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything
Eveything, everything, everything

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

My whole life has turned around
I was lost, but now I'm found
A baby changes everything, yeah
A baby changes everything

Dear Jesus
I praise you for coming to us as a babe and changing everything, thank you for changing me.
I lift up my heart, soul, mind and everything that I am to give you praise this Christmas season.
Happy Birthday!

Love you,
ME

The Mother Letter Project.

This story, this project will catch your breath. I can't imagine the thoughtfulness that has gone into this gift but if you have yet to hear about it you must check it out and if you have the time to participate it's really quite amazing!! A family decided to make their Christmas presents for each other this year. The money that they are saving on buying each other presents is being donated to a small village in Africa. The husband decided to start a project for his wife and has asked people to come and write letters to her. The letters are to tell your story about motherhood, to give her encouragement, etc. I believe that if you post a letter you might have a chance to read some or all of the letters. If you go and check it out you will get a  chance to read the letters that have been posted so far but some of them are submitted only through email. I can't imagine that there isn't a woman out there that wouldn't feel loved receiving such a thoughtful gift.  I read some of the letters and they are so so beautiful. Ultimately that is why we blog. To share our lives and hear each other's stories. You must check it out. Click here. 

TAG I'm it!

My friend at SassyFrazz tagged me for a fun picture game. Here is how it works. You must go to your documents folder and go to your 6th picture folder, then go to the 6th picture in that folder and post it on your blog. Tell us a story about that picture. I must say my pictures aren't set up that way. I have two picture folders that are not located in my documents. So I chose my personal folder, went to the 6th folder and 6th picture. So do what works for you. I am going to tag my mom, melissa, maydaygirl, susan, and someone being me. :) Make sure to comment and let me know that you posted your picture. Have fun with it.

 

I don't know that there is a great story to tell here. Brodes is just over a year and we were in the backyard playing and I was paparazzing him as usual! He is just so darn stinkin cute, the camera loves him. ;)

Sophie to the rescue!

My hubby and I went out to Costco the other night. When we came in the door he dropped the eggs. :) Whoopsie. So I went upstairs to talk to our mentors. They watched Brody for us while we were gone. Don didn't realize I left and started to wonder so he came upstairs looking for me. After being upstairs for 15-20 minutes (??) SOPHIE runs upstairs. She knows she is  not allowed upstairs and has never done that before. I was surprised. So Don grabs Sophie and starts to bring her downstairs. I walk through Rob & Janets kitchen only to get a waft of something that is really stinky... it smells like something burning. So as I head downstairs it gets smellier and smellier, stinkier and stinkier. Are you getting the picture. I walk into the basement and their is smoke billowing out of the kitchen. Once the eggs were dropped they cracked. So Don decided to boil them. Well when he came upstairs he had obviously forgotten about the eggs and when the smoke started coming from the kitchen is when Sophie ran upstairs. Pretty impressive huh!? I think it's pretty funny... luckily nothing serious happened. Don is starting to act like me! As far as Sophie goes, should we call her Sophie or Lassie! ;)

Brodes Update

So I think the augmentin is working. At least he is sleeping better. He slept until 8:30am on Sunday! :) Also he hasn't had anymore diarrhea, his tummy seems to be better and he certainly has his appetite back. :) We have to go back on Jan. 6th to have his ears checked again. My only concern is that he is still pulling on his ear and scratching it. It's his right ear that was bad and that seems to be the ear that bothers him. So hopefully the infection is clearing. Overall doing better and is more himself then he has been for a couple of weeks. Please pray for complete recovery with his ears. My father has very serious problems with his hearing due to ear infections as a young child so it makes me a little paranoid. He has also developed some congestion and cough so I hope that he doesn't come down with something else as he gets over the ear infection. Anyway, thank you all for asking how he is doing. 

Just fun stuff!

I have been pretty busy lately but it's been fun stuff. Last week I got to have a micro peel done on my face which was interesting. I had never had one before. It's basically a deep cleaning of your skin and pores. It's a little uncomfortable but somehow it still felt pampering. I got to go somewhere by myself and do something for myself. That same day Don and I got to spend the whole afternoon together. His mom came over and we went out to lunch and Christmas shopping!! It seemed like forever since we had a date. I got to end the date going out to dinner with my girlfriend and that was GREAT! We went out to the Green Mill and had pasta and margaritas! YUM! AND of course we had a few hours of girl talk and lots of laughing!!! Thursday night I got out AGAIN by MYSELF and went to my MOPS Christmas party. That was also full of girl talk, naughty treats and lots of laughing. Pretty good week so far right? Well then the weekend was fun as well. I don't remember what we did Friday night but Saturday we got up and went to the Macy's exhibit downtown. I really enjoy things that are creative. It wasn't my favorite story, It was the Day in the Life of an Elf. However, it was pretty and Brody was enthralled.  You could see his eyes light up and he was just in awe of it all. It was really cute. That night was more fun for me because we finally went and did something that I have been wanting to do since I lived in Rochester. Our Mentors that live upstairs knew where a Live Nativity was located. I tried to find one last year but didn't locate one in the citites. THey knew where it was and it was probably less then a mile from where we live. So they came with us and we all piled into the SUV and went through the live Nativity. It was really beautiful. We all took turns reading the signs and reliving the birth of Christ. I am excited to know that we will be around this area for a little while so that we will get to do this again for a couple of more years. 

It was a great week and weekend! I am so excited to celebrate Christ's birth with Brody. I know that he still young but I am starting to see that sweet sparkle in his baby eyes as he starts to discover that there is something extra special about this season!!

Not Me Mondays!!

Not Me Mondays is the opportunity to share our imperfections through being brutally honest!! Check out

 Mck Mama's blog and read more Not Me Mondays!!

I am going to preface this Monday by saying that if passing gas offends you or maybe you don't pass gas you may not want to continue reading this post. YOU have been warned!! BUT if NOT ME MONDAYS is about being brutally honest, well here I go...

I would never get stranded at the Y for the second time because I left the lights on our SUV. This wouldn't have been the 4th time that I would have killed the battery because someone who is logical and responsible would have learned their lesson the first time or even the second time. I would also never consider asking a strange man in the parking lot for a jump!! Nope not me. 

I would never try to make my husband coffee in the morning and not add water to the coffee pot. That's just ridiculous and obviously you can't make coffee without water, I would never do that. 

Wash, rinse, repeat... clearly this process starts with conditioner and we all know this from the time that we are about 5 years old. I would never try to wash my hair with conditioner, realize what I did and rinse it out only to proceed picking up the conditioner and doing it all over again. Nope Not me. 

I would never get frustrated with my child for being completely stubborn and unwilling to try new food. I have no idea where he gets his stubborness from. I would never consider plugging his nose to get him to open his mouth and then proceed to stick the food in there when he went to take a breath. What kind of mom would be so stubborn as to do that, NOT ME NOT EVER!

I would never go out to Costco with my hubby and then talk him into get a slice of pizza and a hot dog to share. That stuff is fattening and I would never eat that, especially after having a yummy dinner of pork tender loin and squash. What kind of pig would I be if I ate two dinners. I wouldn't even consider doing that. 

I would never sit in my car alone talking to my sister on the phone and feel the freedom to let go of my gas. :) I don't pass gas so this would never happen. Even if I did it would never be so loud that my sister would hear it and start laughing. This would never happen and I most certainly do not ever pass gas. NOPE NOT ME. 

More christmas pics of Brodes

Brodes Update

Brodes still has an ear infection. We had his 18 month well visit today. He finished his antibiotic this morning but the doctor said that the infection in his right ear looked worse then last time. So he is back on antibiotics and this time they upgraded him to augmentin. :( Poor guy. I really hope that he isn't going to have on going problems with his ears.

Do you think maybe I talk to much?

You know how some voice mails are limited in the amount of time that you have to leave a message? Well one of my girlfriends cell phones is like this. The problem is that I am a detailed person. I have to explain to you why I am calling, everything about the message and how I came to call you and sometimes in the message I might just need to tell you about my day, how I am feeling and what's new. The problem that I have is that the voicemail system does not understand me and isn't sensitive to the amount of time that I need for my messages! OR maybe the problem isn't the with the voicemail and I just talk to much? Hmmm... 

I have QUESTIONS for you!

There are two things that I want to know about all of you. The first one is in regards to Mommy moments AKA: embarrassing moments. I frequently share about the flighty things that I do, you know the ones where  you temporarily lost your mind and  you can't seem to figure out why in the world you did that. OR the really embarrassing ones that you vowed to never tell the world!! Well those are the things I want to come. So please leave me a comment or write a story on your blog about a funny that you did and then come back and leave the link in your post.

The second thing is in the spirit of Christmas. I love traditions. Hubby and I have had discussions about what kind of traditions we want to have as a family for Christmas. So I would love to know what some of your traditions are. Either ones that you do now or what were some that your parents did with you. I really want to hear about holiday traditions but you can also share regular family traditions that you do.

Our tradition so far is to share Christmas morning together as a family. I like to make a nice breakfast. That's about it. I would like to add to it, because right now it's a little sad. We had the idea that we would like to go to a live nativity every year but we haven't been able to find one that is within a reasonable driving distance. We are thinking 20 minutes or less. 

We also started the tradition of going to the apple orchard every fall as a family. We have done that the last two years and we look forward to many many years of this! I hope you will all participate and I can't wait to hear about your funny moments and learn about your traditions!

Poor Brodes!

It's really awful to watch your kids when they are sick. I feel so so bad for them. Brody hasn't slept good for sometime. He has had multiple ear infections and is currently on amoxicillian for the upteenth time! Well I am guessing that it's probably due to the amox... ??? whatever.. but now he has diarrhea. poor baby. It started yesterday. Don got it bad last night. Brody filled the diaper to the maximum and he didn't realize to what extent.

So he picks up Brody to bring him with to get a new diaper and that's when all heck broke loose. He apprently added pressure to the maximized diaper and well we got poop all over the floor. It was bad. It continue on today. He has been sick all day and isn't eating. I am curious though has any other mommies had this kind of experience with amoxicillin?? How have your kids reacted to it. Brody has been on it before and never been like this. Anyway, I just had to share with you all my crappy story. :( Poor babes. 

Christmas Early

I am definately excited about Christmas this year. I love seeing the snow falling outside. Not that snow has anything to do with Christmas but I always love it when there is snow on the ground for Christmas. 

Last weekend Christmas came early! We went to visit my parents and had an early Christmas celebration. It was a really positive time and fun. My step mom arranged an activity for all the kiddos and the dads to do together. She took kitchen towels and ironed on pictures of little kiddos on them. Each kid got a towel to decorate and the dads got to help them. Then they presented them to us. It was really sweet and thoughtful. The kids really enjoyed it and all the mommies got a chance to visit with each other which was fun. 

Just before we opened presents one of the grand kids read the Christmas story and then we talked about why we give presents at Christmas time. It was cute to hear the kids answer the questions. It was such a positive way to go into opening gifts. :)

I was really excited for celebrating Christmas with my family this year. Our family is a combined family. My parents got married when I was 12. We have not always been the happy family. We certainly have our issues but I have seen God come in and start to bring healing, break down walls, and reconnect my family. I think this is one of the main reasons why I feel so filled this Christmas because there is nothing like seeing God at work. I am also excited because I believe that it's just the beginning. I know that there is more work to be done and I have hope that God will do miraculous things. 

NOT ME MONDAYS!!

When my hubby gives me an opportunity to go rent a movie by myself and choose one of my liking I would never ever consider renting the movie TINKERBELL and making him watch it with us... nope not me. 

I would never go to the bank drive thru and then drive away with the tube. What kind of crazy woman would take the bank canister with her. I would never do that while talking on my cell phone either. 

I would never let Brody cry or scream like crazy in his high chair so that I could try to get through my emails quick. What kind of horrible mom would I be if left my kid like that. 

I would NEVER EVER consider giving someone a gift that somebody else gave me. Regifting is just awful and cheap and I would never be as cheap to give away something that somebody gave me. Even if I did think that it was better fit for that other person. Nope I just wouldn't do that. 

AND I Would never leave out the NOT ME MONDAYS button just because I am clueless and have no idea had to do the buttons and I would never be so lazy as to not even attempt to try to figure it out. NOPE NOT ME

Thank You!

I just told you all about my darling friend Sarah at SassyFrazz, well I need to Thank her for awarding me the Butterfly award! Sarah thank you so much for your thoughtfulness. Sarah's blog is so fun to read and visit. She always has fun hilarious stories, reviews, and giveaways! 

I also want to thank Miss Sassy for the Ipod shuffle that I won. That was a GREAT giveaway! Wahoo... I should have thanked you sooner. Thank you so much.

Now for the butterfly award... I would like to pass this award onto my MOM. My mom is a truck driver and writes about her experience driving cross country! Love you Mom.

Warning: This post may be slightly over exaggerated, and contain dramatic material!

You know you are tired when:

your eyes hurt so bad you feel like they might pop out of your head

when waiting for anything gets you so crabby you feel like screaming or just giving someone a dirty look. (Like just being in line a Target which is something that every normal person does and really isn't a big deal)

you feel as though you don't even understand what it means to be rational and wonder if you will ever get back there. 

When your child throws food on the floor and you feel like picking the food up and stuffing him with it like a Thanksgiving turkey.

the thought of making lunch or dinner makes you want to cry.

(which I pulled myself up by my boot straps and already made lunch and dinner is in the crock pot. PRAISE the LORD for crock pots... )

you can't prioritize anything that you need to do because you can't think straight. ( ex: son is napping, go nap - instead blogging!!! I promise I am going right after this.)

you can't stand yourself because your moody and crabby from being tired and that makes you more crabby. (seriously)

when someone calls the thought of picking up the phone exhausts you.

it's somehow easier to blog and complain then it is to take a nap.  

In case you were wondering

So the last month my blogging has been sporadic and at times non existent. I have been doing pretty good this week but I just wanted to share with you all what I have been up to. This fall I did a promotion for JR Photography and I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into. :) I booked 10 shoots for the promotion but I had an additional two outside of the promotion, so in the last 4 1/2 weeks I have had 12 photoshoots!! WHEW!! So if you want to see what I have been up to you can check it here.

Cyber BABY SHOWER!!

Seriously a CYBER baby shower! What's next? What an amazing and fun idea. Words can not express how much I am blessed to have my wonderful girlfriend Sarah over at Sassyfrazz in my life. Sarah is expecting baby #4 and we can all celebrate with her by checking out her cyber baby shower and participate in shower games and door prizes!! Wahooo! I love a good party! ;)

Ok. So for the party games. The first game is to enter the sweetest picture of Daddy with their new baby! Well my wonderful talented friend Melissa took this beautiful picture of my husband and my son. My husband is beaming with pride as he is holding our darling boy and I love that Brodes is looking up at his daddy! I hope you love it as much as I do! :)

The second game is to guess the birth weight of Sarah's second son. 

My guess would have to be 8lbs 10oz. ( I am sure I have the stats somewhere but I figured it wouldn't be fair to look them up.) :)

The third game is to make something out of playdoh! I don't have any playdoh around. Maybe in about a year I will but not right now. I will pass but thanks for all the fun games!! :)

Elvis was riding in the backseat of my car today!

Yep you read it right. Elvis, the King is alive! Today I got a wild hair and decided that I would listen to the soft rock station rather then the Christian station. So Elvis was on singing  Blue Christmas. Have you ever heard that song? Very 1950's with all the oooohhh, and the awwww's... do you understand what I am saying? That is when I heard the singing coming from the back seat. Soft whispers almost, oooohhh and awww's. Very much out of tune and very much singing. I wonder if I will have an Elvis impersonator in the family when I get older?? :) Hahaha.. It was the cutest thing to hear my little boy trying to sing. :)