Haldeman Adventures

Hello friends

2011-11-03T09:56:00.001-05:00

I am in the process of redesigning my blog, and will be

taking it private.

If you would like to continue reading, please

send me your email. My email is: sachaldeman@yahoo.com

Thanks!!

#willweeverbethesame

2011-10-25T12:26:00.019-05:00

*Excitement*

1. the state of being excited 2. a person or thing that excites; stimulation or thrill...

So most of you know we have been hoping & praying to adopt a newborn for the past 4 years. Two months ago we where introduced to a birth mom & after a casual meeting with her she told us the best news of our lives... she wanted us to adopt her baby. We were on cloud 9, that meant our dreams of being parents from the very beginning of a sweet little babies life was about to come true in 2 short months. We were so excited, we had 2 months to get our house new born ready & pick a name for our baby & that's just what we did. We were buying diapers, wipes, bottles, a bassinet, his first Halloween out fit (oh yes It was a boy). Every one was just as excited as Michael & I because they knew of the struggles we have been through to get to this very point, it seems we got a new package from friends & family every week for baby "L".

*Trust*

1. Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing. 2. Custody; care. 3. Something committed into the care of another...

Our birth mother... Hummm... OK this is my blog so I'm gonna tell it like it is... she wasn't young, she was a 27 year old ADULT that had already made a very adult decision & had aborted 2 prior babies (God bless their little souls) & went in to abort this sweet baby boy. BUT by the grace of GOD he hid this baby from her for 5 1/2 months & they told her she was to far along to take his little life (praise Jesus)!

She was an edgy/artsy girl covered in tatts (no judging I have a couple of little tatts myself) she had the big ear plates as ear rings, she was a roller girl & roller skated 3 times a week. She was a very pretty girl, she seemed to be immature, she didn't work, her mom said she stayed up all night & slept half the day, she said she went to Starbucks 3 times a day (who can afford that with no job)!?!?! But all in all the entire 2 months we knew her & went to her doctor & sono appointments she was very sweet & kind, she was also VERY dependent on her mother who was with her at EVERY single appointment (yes I said she is 27). It seemed she couldn't do anything with out her mom, but that was OK because I liked her mom, she was a nice lady whom I became very close too. Her mom & I texted each other a few times a day & talked on the phone about upcoming appointments and she seemed genuinely happy that her daughter was going to give that sweet baby to us. She said she had prayed about it & that she was so happy that God put us in there life, they both gave us there word & told us MULTIPLE times that we would never ever, NEVER EVER have to worry about her changing her mind, that she knew 100 & 10% that this was what she wanted. The mom said she truly & deeply knew that her daughter made the right decision & that she supported her because she couldn't raise him for her & that they WOULD NOT change their mind. ( LIARS )

*Joy*

1. a. Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness.
b. The expression or manifestation of such feeling.
2. A source or an object of pleasure or satisfaction: their only child, their pride and joy.
To take great pleasure; rejoice.

October 18th 2011, the day we were to meet our son... OUR SON (I loved saying our son). Oops back up one day, so the night before the big day we took our birth mom, her mother & little sister to dinner so we could have one last time of fellowship together before the big day. We had a really nice dinner & we had put together a gift basket for her, (I felt like that was the least we could do) it had some comfy PJ's, a nice robe, some magazines, lotions, snack foods, a journal (with a very personal note that I wrote to her in it) and a very special necklace from James Avery. She was very grateful & said she loved it! (She was wearing the necklace the next morning in the delivery room). So Michael & I go home after dinner super excited & nervous. We stayed up till 1:00 packing his little diaper bag, packing our overnight bag, charging our camera's for his little photo shoot, making sure all the last minute things at the house were done & ready to bring our baby boy home. 3:15am the alarm on my phone goes off (I don't think we ever really slept because we were so excited & anxious).

*Ecstatic*

1. in a state of great rapture or delight
2. showing or feeling great enthusiasm;
a person who has periods of intense joy

Its 4:00am and we are at the hospital waiting to go back in to her room in Labor & Delivery. We are both so excited & beyond happy she was allowing me in the room during the delivery. They got a late start due to the other momma's having babies (there was a storm the night before & they say that storms can bring on labor & I guess it's true) So they started the induction & broke her water at 11:00 & at 1:49pm I was standing in the room tears streaming down my face watching my son being born. She only labored for 3 hours & pushed twice?!? For not wanting babies she sure is a rock star at having them :o/

As soon as he was breathing & suctioned out they were whisking him into our own little room where we met Michael. We talked to him telling him how much we loved him & how long we had been praying for him, we thanked God for him, we had tears of joy poring down both of our faces.. even his baby nurse was crying. Then we got to hold & feed our little man he was a perfect little baby boy made in the eyes of Jesus, we were beyond happy & life was perfect! Our 4 long years of prayers had been answered. We allowed the birth moms family to come into OUR room with OUR family to see him (even tho we had papers saying we didn't have to, we gave them our word & we kept it) It was time for everyone to leave & time for the 3 of us to settle in for the night. We were never more excited to not get any sleep & do the feedings every 3 hours (**it really pisses us off when people with babies say to us you should adopt a older baby so you can skip the sleepless nights & poopie diapers?!?! WTH.. I wanna say screw you we would do anything to have sleepless nights & change poopie diapers so EFFFF off)!! Sorry back to our night with our perfect baby, he slept in my arms all night & I think I looked at his perfect little face all night, it was heaven on earth! The next morning we had friends & family coming to meet him, he was so sweet & just cuddled and slept in every ones arms. Around 1:00 the hospital case worker came in to tell us the were about to discharge the birth mom & have her sign the papers & wanted to take him for her to say her good byes & have closure. We said absolutely, she had told us 100 times she didn't want to EVER be a mom & we had no fears so off he went.. 1hour goes by...2 hours go by... then the case worker walked back in to our little happy bubble, the place where our dreams had finally come true, the place where we had wept with joy to God for blessing us with a son, the place where our prayer were answered... she didn't have to say a word, it was all over her face. Then the words that shattered the joy, shattered our dreams & shattered our prayers "she changed her mind, I'm so sorry but she is keeping him."

*Anger*

A strong feeling of displeasure or hostility

Today 1 week later I am numb, I have cried so much this week I don't feel like I have any tears left. Today one week later at home with out our son whom we were promised, I am very angry.

I am angry because we were lied to.

I am angry because we let our guard down & trusted these people.

I am angry because we had to come home with out a baby in our car seat.

I am angry because that sweet baby went home with a mother who just 4 months earlier tried to end his life.

I am angry because we had to explain to little miss priss that the little brother that she had just met at the hospital that very morning, the one she said prayers for every night was not coming home.

I am angry because we had to send out a mass text & e-mail to our friends & family telling them the horrific news.

I am angry because we had to have our family help us pack up all of his stuff in our house so we didn't have to see it anymore.

I am angry because we have pictures on our camera & phones that we cant bring our self's to erase.

I am angry because we let her family in OUR room even tho we didn't have to.

I am angry because he can't wear the little Halloween outfit we got him.

I am angry because we didn't get to tell him good bye.

I am angry because we where only parents for 24 hours.

I am angry because we have to start over.

I am angry because we are to scared to start over.

I am angry because we don't think we can ever trust anyone ever again.

I am angry because we have a huge hole in our hearts.

I am angry because I'm so mad I can't pray.

I am angry because it kills me to see my rock of a husband cry.

I am angry because I am so mad at God.

I am angry because I'm back at work and not on maternity leave.

I am angry because God let us go through the most awful thing imaginable.
What more God, why are you putting us through this? We already went through a failed In-Vetro, an emergency hysterectomy, all the different babies that were presented to us that never happened... And now the worst of all... seeing what we where told for 2 months was our son, our baby "L" having him in our arms holding & loving him for 24 hours only to be taken from us after we fell madly deeply in love with him.

Today 1 week later I am VERY angry!

HELP

2011-08-08T08:29:00.003-05:00

UGH PLEASE tell me why my text doesn't show up when I create a post from my phone?!?!?!? I just posted About baby Harper & none of the writing is there?!?!?! WTC am I doing wrong? I'm getting really mad!!!

Harper is here :)

2011-08-07T22:54:00.001-05:00

Crossfit

2011-06-15T12:05:00.002-05:00

Holy Guacamole I started crossfit this morning and all I can say is.... Ouch!

This was by far the hardest workout I have ever done!!! I'm excited to see how my body will be changing from these killer workouts! Stay tuned ;)

Happy Hump Day!!

Happy Birthday!!!

2011-06-08T08:29:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to my husband, lover & best friend, you make me smile, you make my heart happy & you make me a better person. I love you soooo much!!! AND Happy Birthday to my niece Rylee! You are such a beautiful little girl, you have the biggest heart, you are such a sweet, caring & loving child!

I love you both more than words can say!!

I hope you both have a Happy Happy Day!!!!!!!

Baby proofin' & Baby showers...

2011-04-06T08:16:00.004-05:00

As most of you know we are adopting through CPS with the foster to adopt program. There is a long list of rules that come with fostering to adopt & one of them is all medicines & house hold cleaning supplies have to be locked up. Well with a house that was built in the early 50's there is NO closet/storage space. Every closet, cabinet, nook & cranny in our house is full to it's maximum capacity. So we had to come up with a plan, so I went to canton in search of some kind of storage help and found the perfect solution, SCHOOL LOCKERS! We sanded, cleaned & painted them & they turned out perfect.

My "SIL" Amy & my best friend Katie threw me a "stock the nursery" shower a few weekends ago. I am still very humbled & grateful for such amazing support from our family & friends.

This nursery/baby defiantly got showered/stocked.

We got so much wonderful baby stuff that I'm racking my brain for another storage idea ;o)

These where the preggo's of the group (excluding me of course)

some one got me a baby ;)

Psalms 126:3 The Lord has done great things for us and our hearts are filled with joy.

Dallas Zoo

2011-04-03T19:30:00.014-05:00

A few weeks ago it was Rylee (our niece's) spring break. So our Arkansas crew (Amy, Rylee & Landry) loaded up and came down to Texas to spend time with us on there break. One of the days we went to the Dallas Zoo. It was so fun we caught the train in Garland and it took it all the way to the front gates of the zoo. We spent most of the day at the zoo then we hopped back on the train & it took us right back to our car, it was perfect day!

The New Journey begins...

2011-03-03T08:33:00.015-06:00

Well we have embarked on a new journey in our adoption process & I thought I would share it with you. As you all (or most of you) know we have been trying to adopt for three years now.

We were hoping to adopt the "private" route. If your not familiar with private adoptions it is an adoption that bypass the use of agencies. Usually you hear of a birth mom that wants to put her baby up for adoption & your profile is presented to her. If she picks you as the family a lawyer will handle all the legal documents, negotiate payments to the birthmother, and represent you at the adoption court hearing. This has been a long 3 years with a roller coaster of emotions many different "prospects" but none that ever worked.

We contacted many different agencies but never really felt like we where a good fit. Until we found the latest agency that we LOVED but after 2 phone interviews and a lot of getting our hopes up we decided that 40,000 is not an option for at this time. Unless we when the lotto, but with our luck I know that will never happen!

So we have decided we are finally going to take down that "wall" we put up about CPS foster to adopt. The thought of having a precious baby placed in our home only to be taken away in a few weeks, months or sometimes even a year absolutely devastated us. But after a lot of praying and talking with other people that had adopted through fostering I had that "Ahaaa" moment!

Your own children are not promised to you forever. You never know when God will decided to call them home. So the children that are placed in CPS care need a home more than we will ever know. What a blessing to think you may have been the safe place that protected that child from whatever abuse it was removed from and just possibly saved it's life. If that baby's parents get their life back on track then then that was Gods will... praise Jesus. If not then we will be double blessed; blessed from helping a child in need & blessed because our prayers will be answered of finally becoming parents.

I often wonder will you be a newborn?

Will you be a little toddler?

Will you be a brother & sister pair?

or will you be twins?

The one thing I do know with every ounce of my being is that you are perfect! You are a child made in the eyes of Jesus & picked out just for us. God knew before you where even conceived that you belonged with us & that we are meant to be your Mommy & Daddy. We are meant to love, protect, mentor and guide you to be all that he has planed for you. I cant wait to meet you & I know you are coming soon I can feel it! Thank you Jesus for protecting "our little one" until you bring them home to us!

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you & not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Birthdays

2011-01-26T12:12:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday!!!

IzzyBella & Jenny we wish you both a very Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday IzzyBella & Jenny... Happy Birthday to YALL :o)

IzzyBella (niece) 1 yr today

Jenny (cousin) twenty something today...

I know.. but you never tell a women's age ;o)

Cans for Cody

2011-01-19T10:48:00.007-06:00

This week I got a call from my sweet nephew this is how the call went...

Cody: Aunt Sissy this is Cody, can you save all of your cans for me... I need money & my Dad is letting me crush cans so I can turn them in for money.

Me: Sure I'll save cans, what are you trying to make money for?

Cody: I need money for something very special...

Me: what is it????

Cody: I need money so I can go on the Nickelodeon Cruise this summer..

This conversation went down on Sunday & he called me again last night (Tuesday) to see if I had cans ready for him. He is so excited!! But I need help I don't have soda cans... only the occasional Fresca.... So I'm asking if you live near me in the Rockwall area & drink Cokes, DP, Sprite, Beer, Monsters, V8.... Please save your cans for my sweet Cody. I will come pick up any sacks full, bags full, boxes full.. whatever you can do for him.

***side note: My brother & sis in law are not making him pay his way... they just want him to learn the importance about saving money for special things.

Faith

2011-01-11T10:07:00.006-06:00

This is off a blog I read... Her house burned down 4 days before Christmas.

This is a reminder about how even in the ashes God's word never fails,

never forsakes & always Heals.

If your going through a hard time or are lost I ask you to please let God's word,

His PROMISE heal & comfort you.

___________________________________________________

You are Mine
Sunday, January 9, 2011 Posted in confessions

**edited to add—this is one of the best sermons I’ve ever heard on baptism, from my pastor Paul Bushur.

Two months ago, Susan and I and the girls were making necklaces for my ’12 Days’ series. I knew right away what I wanted mine to say. I called my friend Kim, who had recently shown me pictures from Salisbury Cathedral in England. On their baptismal font were the words that I wanted on my necklace. Kim reminded me.

“I have called you by your name and you are mine.”

What a promise we have in our baptism. Christ calls us by our name. He marks us as one of His own. He seals us, protects us, hems us in, preserves us.
He opens heaven to us and promises to keep us safe in Him.
He gifts us with more than we can comprehend; life, forgiveness, heaven and the Holy Spirit and divine protection against the fires that threaten our very souls.
I wore that necklace everyday until 3 days before the fire. It got caught on something and came off, leaving an empty shell.I laid it on my nightstand and planned to re-attach it soon. It now lies in the ash heap——but the promise it gives does not.Yesterday, I read Susan’s blog and saw this post. I sat dumbfounded. She was thinking about my necklace too and looked up the context of where the verses came from.

Isaiah 43
Fear not, for I have redeemed you, O Isreal; I have called you by name, you are mine.When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Isreal, your Savior.you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.

It may look hopeless today.What we have worked for lies in ruinsbut He is there.What we have loved is destroyedbut He will never leave us.We may see no hope for tomorrowbut He holds tomorrow in His hand.He alone repairs our broken.He has given His promise and its’ everlasting melody calms our fears.

” I have called you by your name. You are mine.” ****WOW, talk about getting the chills!

Christmas Around Our House

2010-12-14T21:24:00.028-06:00

I was looking around our house at all of our Christmas decorations and I would look at something and think to myself that is my favorite decoration... no that's my favorite. What can I say I love all of my decorations each piece has a special meaning or it's something that makes me happy. Then I started thinking about what Christmas means to me.

First it is the MAGIC of the little baby in a manger. (Jesus is the reason of the season ya know)! It's also the JOY of decorations, lights & glittery things. It's the HOPE of being able to share all of these special things with a child of our own one day. It's the HAPPINESS you see on your niece's & nephew's faces when they open their gifts. It's the LOVE of time spent with FAMILY & FRIENDS. That is what this time of year means to me. Enjoy pictures of our home & the things that are priceless to us.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Happy Anniversary!

2010-11-20T12:05:00.004-06:00

Happy Anniversary

6 years ago today I married my best friend.

I love this man so much & cant wait to grow old together. He makes me smile everyday, he makes me laugh when all I want to do is cry, he picks me up when I'm down. He is the love of my life & the light in my eyes. I love you so much babe....

Just Sayin'

2010-11-02T09:26:00.002-05:00

"By adopting a child and helping them reach their potential, they help us reach ours. An adopted child is not an unwanted child; to the contrary. They are a child who was searched for, prayed for, cried for, begged for, received by arms that ached, making empty hearts full. Love is meant to be shared" (Author unknown)

Happy Birthday Cody Boo!

2010-10-31T22:00:00.007-05:00

Happy Birthday Cody!

I can't believe that 10 years ago today we were at the hospital waiting for you to be born. Your doctor & nurses were all in costume it was then I decided to give you the nick name of Cody "BOO". You are such a sweet boy & remind me so much of your dad. I couldn't ask for a better nephew. Sissy loves you to pieces!

2010-10-31T21:10:00.009-05:00

Happy Halloween

These are the "Trick or Treat" friends that stopped by tonight!!

Dylan: (he was Luigi but he got hot & took it off... we were the last stop)

Shelby: Mario Bonnie: Baby Bumble Bee

Rylie: The Cowgirl

Sophia: The Joker & Liam: Optimus Prime

Maddie: Candy Corn Witch & Cody: Luigi

Emma: Super Girl & Brody: Super Baby

Landry: Black Kitty & Rylee: Cute Witch

(The girls didn't come over they were at home in Arkansas)

Our sweet neighbors also stopped by & I forgot to snap a picture of their cute little family :(
Sorry Howery's ;o)

Our weekend vaca...

2010-08-22T20:05:00.023-05:00

This summer we went to the beach with Michael's side of the Family for a long weekend getaway. We had a beach front rental in Surf Side Beach. It was such a fun & relaxing weekend. We hung out on the beach, collected sea shells, buried each other in the sand, made castles, flew kites & had an amazing time with our nieces & nephews. I also went on my first deep sea fishing trip. We went out about 25 miles to sea & it took 1 1/2 hours to get to our spot. We tried to catch Mahi Mahi but they were not biting we did however hit the jack pot with Red Snapper...

Rylee & Uncle BooBoo (aka Michael)

Rylee

Jacob playing in the sand

Sweet baby IzzyBella chilaxing in the shade

PawPaw Money helping Rylee fly a kite

Rylee striking a pose

Landry aka "Miss July"

sports illustrated swim suit addition ;o)

Awww relaxing

This is where they store Jimbo's (micahel's cousins) boat. Thought that was cool!

enough said...

This is your chair on the drive out to sea...

Me & Michael (Captain JimBo & co-captain Kayla) Behind us..

Ashleigh (sis-in-law) & Me

Ashleigh's Fish

My Fish!

We are so thankful for the time we spent with our family!

Ok...Ok...

2010-07-26T19:14:00.011-05:00

I have to admit to everyone that I have been VERY lazy about something that wasn't even an option to me as a kid growing up. My moms rule was when your feet hit the ground in the morning you turn right around and make your bed. We weren't even aloud to come down for breakfast if our bed wasn't made. So I have been making my self take the 1 extra minute in the morning to make my bed & yes mom (she doesn't read blogs; I would bet $100 she doesn't even know what a blog is) But if she did I would like to admit & agree it does make you feel better when you get home in the evenings to walk in a room with a nice made up bed!!

SOOO do you make you bed every day????

Yuck!!!

Awwww... Much Better!!!!

Ouch

2010-07-06T10:40:00.007-05:00

Well a quick post from "Grace" here. Yesterday morning I woke up felling guilty about all the "not so good for you" food I indulged in this weekend. So I called my neighbor/sweet friend Pare' to go on a run with me & hopefully burn a few of the 100,000.00 calories I must of consumed over the long weekend. We started out with a nice run we got about half way through the run & a sweet couple in a yard of a house we were running bye said HI, so I look over to return a Hello and the next thing I know I'm flying through the air, my iPhone goes skidding to the right & my big old adult body goes skidding to the left. My left knee, right hip & right palm are all nasty bruised & skint up. Today I woke up very sore & still ego scorned.

Happy Birthday

2010-06-08T06:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my Love Michael & my darling niece Rylee! June 8th is such a special day for me to celebrate the day God blessed this world with these two very special people. I hope you both have a wonderful day. Happy Happy Birthday to yall, Happy Happy Birthday to yall, Happy Birthday to Michael & Rylee...Happy Birthday to yall!! I Love You Both!!

Easter near & far...

2010-05-24T18:02:00.019-05:00

I know Easter was over a month ago but better late than never... Riiight!! Here are some pictures from our family Easter. We had a very fun filled weekend.

The Saturday before Easter we were in the Houston area with Michael's "HUGE" family reunion/Easter bash. His family started this a few years ago & the kids love it, they have bounce houses, hay rides, a Easter egg hunt, swimming & all the food & fellowship you could ever want. We stayed all day Saturday then headed back home that evening to make it in time to celebrate with my family.

We had a yummie Sunday lunch at moms aka Granny's house.

Then all the kiddos lined up baskets in hand for a Easter egg hunt.

We had a wonderful time with our nieces & nephews.

The kids Sunday at mom's waiting to get the green light to start the hunt...
Off they go....
Our nephew Cody & his cousin Kenzie

Our beautiful nieces Rylee & Maddie

This is where the Haldeman family & friends

have their reunion/Easter bash..

Me & Michael

Rylee & Landry with the Easter Bunny

Rylee showing me her loot..

Michael (better known as Uncle BooBoo) with his girls!

We hope yall had a very blessed Easter... We sure did!!

Dirty Thirty..

2010-05-03T20:27:00.021-05:00

It's been a whirl wind these past few months. I feel like all we do is go & go & go! So that means I'm behind on my post, but it also means that I have a tone of fun post coming your way!!!

So check back often!

One of my besties Nicole turned 30 back in March so we did it up right & had a girls night and stayed at Hotel ZaZa in Dallas. We had such a wonderful night, we started out the evening doing our hair & makeup together in our room. Stacey worked at Mac back in the day so she was soooo kind to do all of our makeup, we all did fake lashes... Soooo fun!!! Then we headed to eat dinner at Tillmans, a very fun & fabulous restaurant. After dinner we went to a few night clubs to celebrate Nicole's night!

Rylee Weekend....

2010-03-11T19:15:00.012-06:00

Our sweet niece Rylee came down to stay with us a few weekends ago. We had so much fun with her! We went to a Birthday party, had a dinner date with some of our family & had a play date with some of Rylee's besties. She is such a sweet girl, we wish we could see her every day!!!

Ry & CB at the Lil' Gym birthday party

Uncle BooBoo had a good time at the party too..

On our way to our dinner date with The Bosses' , Jenny & Nan

Showing off her new flower head band

Jenny, Ry & BooBoo

Me & Ry

Ry & two of her besties

The girls ended the night having a dress up fashion show.

Rylee we miss you every day! We hope you move back to Texas soon!!!

*** I am Thankful for.....

Our nieces & nephews
Camera phones to receive pictures of them when they live soooo far away
Pictures to capture the memories, because they grow up way to fast

Baby Preston

2010-02-28T07:09:00.002-06:00

One of my BFF's Katie is about to have her baby.

I told her I wanted to do his "name" for his nursery.

My inspiration came from the fabric on his bumper pad in his bedding....

I can not to wait to meet you baby Preston!!!!!

I am thankful for:

~My friends & their adorable babies

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow....

2010-02-21T13:33:00.011-06:00

We had a Winter Wonder Land in Rockwall....

Chelsea & I playing in the snow at work

At 10:am we had 4 inches

The snow got to heavy & our neighbors limb snapped

& fell into our back yard

Our home February 2010

3 things I'm thankful for:

The beautiful snow we got & that it came on my day off...
Cameras to capture the beautiful sights
Hot chocolate

New year new start..........

2010-02-01T21:17:00.003-06:00

I've been in a bit of a funk lately! But I (along with a few of my peeps) had a "come to Jesus" with myself & decided that I'm the only one who can control how I live my life... (yes January was part of the funk) Sooo It's the 2nd month of the new year & I have a new attitude, and a new outlook on how I need to live this one life, because I have no idea how long it will last. We all know how bad I want a baby, and that will never change! But it made me think, I have a wonderful faith and I know HE will make that happen. So while i PATIENTLY wait, i need to be thankful for, happy with, & celebrate the things I have already been blessed with. So I'm back, out from under the rock I was hiding under. Please check back for blogs celebrating this sweet life of mine!!

*****A new thing, I want to add a "thankful" list at the end of all my posts.... (thanks for the idea Sharon)

Today I am thankful for:

~My Husband who always picks me up when I'm down!

~Friends who care enough about you to tell you when your being a B!

~Advil PM.... sweet dreams & good Night ;)

Happy Anniversary

2009-11-20T07:00:00.006-06:00

Today I celebrate 5 years of marriage to my best friend. We have grown from high school sweet hearts to soul mates. I'm so blessed to have him as my husband. He makes me smile everyday. Even when I am mad or upset he can make me smile.

Michael thank you for making our life together a fun one, we have been through so much through out our relationship & marriage. I wouldn't want to go through this crazy, but fun life with out you. I cant wait to grow old with you. You are the LOVE of my life!

I love you soooo much.

HAPPY 5th ANNIVERSARY BABE

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our wedding day ...

Church

2009-09-24T07:16:00.000-05:00

The definition of church is: "a building for public worship". I have been going to First Baptist Church since I was an infant... really I was born into that church!! I have been through two wonderful pastors, the O so sweet & late M.L. Jones & now Steve Swofford. I was baptized in the church, I made life long friends in the church, I've shed tears and said good bye to loved ones in that church, and I really feel at home in that church. But the past year every Sunday I dread going to church because MY "building for worship" has lost me. I'm not feeling connected with the music at my church. I know that every body praises and worships in their own way, and I’m not saying that FBC's music is the wrong way, but it is not touching me the way I need it to. So I've been "church hopping" I’ve gone to a VERY large church with an AMAZING praise & worship team I felt like I was at a Christian rock concert it truly lifted me up, BUT I felt like a small butterfly that landed in the middle of the ocean. I could go to that church everyday for the next year & the pastor would never know I was there.... I didn't like that. So then I've "hopped" over to a church that is just starting. It has been meeting in a school & at some of the members homes until they get a building. It had that AMAZING music I crave & what was sooo impressive about this church is they rocked out (Christian style of course) with only the basic music instruments & 5 people on the praise team. I loved this pastor & he defiantly knows everyone because it is so small & still growing... but it has that charismatic style with speaking in toungs & alter calls. This little Baptist girl has NEVER seen that before and not sure how I feel about it yet? So I’m in limbo, I feel guilty for leaving the only church home I know… I know God does not care where you go just as long as you go… but I’m steel torn… So I guess this is just a “vent” post…. PRAY for me on this matter!!!!!

The Church in the picture was a church we saw off of our Balcony in San Antonio

Labor day weekend

2009-09-13T14:40:00.018-05:00

Over Labor Day weekend Michael & Chris had a softball tournament in San Antonio, so we decided to make a weekend of it!! We had a fun time exploring downtown, the river walk, the Alamo & the big event SEA WORLD!! It was a very fun trip but I had more fun watching the joy in the faces of Rylee & Emma.... awww to be 4 again!!!!

The Haldemans, The Howells & The Downums on the river boat..

Rylee & Emma watching a show at Sea World

Yieks

Michael with the girls...

Me & Rylee

Rylee & Emma at a Childrens Musume in downtown....

The girls infront of the Alamo

we didn't make it in...(pretty borring for a 4yr old)

but we had to take a picture!!!!

new find....

2009-08-11T13:28:00.002-05:00

Hello blog friends.... I would like to say that I have decided that I am a seasonal blogger. I feel like I post more blogs in the colder months rather than the warmer months. So don't give up on me ( i have a couple of weekend trips planed so I promise more post soon).

I wanted to share a new favorite, I found this yesterday and LOVE it!!!! It's only 100 cal & 1 point on weight watchers...... ANd it's deeeeLish!!!!!!

4th of July!!!!

2009-07-10T17:29:00.007-05:00

4th of July

It has been a looooong time since I've updated. Here is a few pictures of our 4th celebration. We had a very relaxed 4th this year... we slept in, went to the old town parade, went swimming at our friends & finished the day at Harry Myers park to watch the fireworks.....

we made a HUGE pallet with all our friends

The Justice family

Katie, Avery & Emma

Me & Michael

Oooo Ahhhh

the show is over... back home we go!

Happy Birthday

2009-06-08T17:49:00.007-05:00

Happy Birthday

Today is my dear Husband & sweet niece's Birthdays....

so here is a Birthday tribute to Michael & Rylee.... I LOVE YALL!!!!!

The shirt Rylee has on in this picture is Michael's t-shirt when he was little... & that is Micheal's face on the front of the shirt.... to cute...I LOVE this picture!!!!

This is a video for Rylee!!! We love you and we will see you on Friday!!!! Hope you have a Happy Happy Day!!!!! XOXOXOXOX ~BooBoo & Sissy

2009-05-27T07:14:00.001-05:00

This sweet puppy wondered into our yard & stayed with us alllll day while we did yard work. That evening I walked him all over old town looking for his owners, no one claimed him. So he spent the night with us & the next day I called the shelter & local vet's offices to see if anyone called looking for him... No one had called :0( Dr. Loftis scanned him to see if he was micro chipped & he wasn't. SOOOO we adopted him out to my friend Lindsey's co-worker & friend. They fell in love with each other & I'm so Happy he found a wonderful new home!!!!

Dinner with Friends

2009-05-25T07:34:00.000-05:00

We went out to dinner with our friends & neighbors Justin & Lindsey. We tried Houlihans at Firewheel & we LOVED it!! It had a fun atmosphere & a great menu to choose from.

Here's what we had...

We had some stuffed mushrooms....

Lettuce wraps..... (Michael made a BOLD statement & said they were better than PF Chang's) They were very good... but not better!!!!!

Michael had the Cheese burger...

Lindsey & I shared the Salmon Salad...

It was allllll yummy!!!!!

Baby Shower Weekend

2009-05-23T07:21:00.000-05:00

We made a surprise trip to Arkansas to my dear sis-in-law's baby shower!!! The surprise was a hit, she had no clue! We had sooo much fun, her friends in her MOPS group are darling & very welcoming to her Texas family. We also had a blast helping put the final touches on her nursery. We cant wait to meet baby Landry!!!

spring flowers

2009-05-21T07:27:00.002-05:00

Here are some BEAUTIFUL red roses from our rose bush in our back yard....

and the smell soooo good!!!!!

Easter

2009-05-19T20:53:00.008-05:00

Yes I'm FINALLY updating!!!! Whooo Hoooo, I'm so behind so here we go, Here are a few pictures from Easter with the nieces & nephew. We decided to get some sugar cookies to ice....

and as you will see below... the kiddo's LOVED them!!!!

OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!!!!

2009-04-18T16:54:00.005-05:00

Wow God keeps revealing him self to me & showing me how amazing his is when you put your Trust and FAITH in him. Last Tuesday when I had that sleepless night I was lying in bed thinking I need to reach out to this young woman... so that's when I decided to give her my adoption book & the note. I had not heard from her at that point & had no idea what would come from this but felt led to do so. WELL.... I open my new bible study book today to read my chapter and it said: There are times in life when we must take a step forward in order to find out, one way or the other, what we should do. Some doors will never open unless we take a step toward them. It also said: if i pray about a situation and dont seem to know what I should do, I take a step of faith. WOW I took that step & she called the next day..... OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!!!!

2009-04-18T07:47:00.004-05:00

These are words to a song my dear sis-in-law Ashleigh found for Michale & I... (talk about the ulgy cry again)

This is The Gift We Could Not Give Each Other
Words and Music by Michael Mclean

When she was a little girl she held her dolls like children. Dreaming of the day when she'd have babies of her own. Now those dolls lie on a shelf as lifeless as the dreams she dreamed. It's become the deepest ache her heart has ever known. There's a man who's trying his best to comfort her with roses.Telling her he'll find a way to make their dreams come true. He's been saying this for years,but now his tears reveal the truth. In his heart he fears there's nothing else that they can do. Then a gift is given, a phone call straight from heaven. There's a child that's nearly due that a young girl's giving you. She gave more than just one life when she makes of this man and wife a father and a mother. She gives the gift they could not give each other. More than we could ever know this couple thanks the heavens. Every time they hold their child,they feel they hold the world. Words will never be enough to share the way the family feels. From deep inside their hearts they want to tell that girl: Not a day is ever through till we've thanked the Lord for you. Your sweetness lingers near in our hearts and thoughts and prayers. You gave more than just one life when you made of this man and wife, a Father and a Mother. When you gave the gift we could not give each other.You have changed our lives forever. Only you and God above could give this gift of love we could not give each other.

Not a day is ever through till we've thanked the Lord for you. Your sweetness lingers near in our hearts and thoughts and prayers. You gave more than just one life when you made of this man and wife, a Father and a Mother. When you gave the gift we could not give each other.You have changed our lives forever. Only you and God above could give this gift of love we could not give each other....... this is when the ugly cry started!!! I cant wait till the day I get to tell a very special girl those beautiful words!

God's Amazing Work.....

2009-04-16T22:29:00.012-05:00

This is going to be a long post, but definitely worth reading. Get out the Kleenex!!!!

I have never felt more lifted up by the grace of our Father than I do now. Most of you know Michael & I are trying to adopt. Three weeks ago we dropped off our profile for a potential birth mom. I can say this is the longest three weeks of my life, we have been praying like nobodies business! I went three weeks not hearing anything and I couldn't take it any more. I decided I needed to try and reach out to this young girl to let her know that I care about her as well as the baby and that we are praying for them every day. I decided to give her a book called Adoption Miracles. My dear friend Allie gave it to me and it touched my heart & helped to answer some of the questions I had regarding adoption. I got a blank card,wrote a simple note & put it with the book. My friend ask me to come to a bible study where this young girls boss would be & said that I could give this lady the note & book to give to the young girl. Well the bible study was AMAZING I loved every minute of it, the women were all so sweet & they welcomed me with open arms, I laughed, I cried (the ugly cry with snot and mascara running wild) it was such a spiritual night. This one woman was there and she had a praise she wanted to share with every one.....

The post below is off of my NEW friend's blog, and the young lady she refers to in this post is ME! Now sit back and read about God & his amazing work!!!!

OK, so I have a few minutes to type about what happened at bible study last night. It was so powerful to me, I HAVE to share! So I joined this bible study a little over a month ago, and I love it. One of the first nights I was there, a lady talked about a situation in her life. She has a daycare and one of her employees found out she was pregnant. She wanted to have an abortion. So prayers were lifted for this girl and for this baby in her womb, that God protect this child. She went to the Dr. and found out she was 6 months pregnant, and couldn't have an abortion. Thank you God! So she was looking into adoption. I wanted to jump across that room and cram my information in her hand to pass along to this girl. I felt myself jump in my chair! But I refrained. I thought about it all night, and went home and prayed about it. I woke up the next morning with this AMAZING peace about the situation. I didn't feel led to approach her about the adoption, but I felt led to pray for her and I have ever since that day.

Fast forward a few weeks. Last night I was at bible study. I gave my praise about our adoption situation. The lady that leads the bible study was in tears, and so was I. Absolute tears of joy, gratitude, gratefulness and appreciation for the gift that God is blessing us with. I look around the room and many of the ladies are teary eyed. But there is this one girl sobbing. I realized that I knew her (well know OF her through a friend of mine, it is her sister in law). So I say to myself I need to go talk to her after bible study. This precious young lady has struggled with infertility for a while. I didn't know she was trying to adopt, but it got brought up later in bible study. I was asked to pray over her and gladly accepted. I know her pain, I know her struggles, I have walked in her shoes. But, I have been blessed with two beautiful sons, so I imagine her pain and struggle is greater than mine. She is a sweet young lady and I truly feel in my heart that God has a child picked out for her. So, over the course of the night it was brought up that she is trying to adopt this baby. I was overcome with chills. Overcome with emotion KNOWING why God gave me such peace about that situation. This baby wasn't for me, it is someone else's. God had plans for me in the works, he has my baby picked out for me. And this absolutely precious young lady just might be the one that is able to adopt the baby that we had talked about several weeks before.

This post may not be for anyone but myself but WHAT A CONFIRMATION of faith, of listening to Him, of God's greatness and God's plan. I just sat there in awe of my Heavenly Father last night. So after bible study this young lady and I talked for quite a while. She HAS a baby coming to her, I can feel it. God is working on getting that child to her, I know it. I just pray that it is this baby that should be here in the next couple months. If you have a moment after reading this, and feel compelled to do so.... I ask that you please pray for Michael and Sarah, for this birth mom and for this baby.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR MICHAEL, MYSELF & THIS SWEET GIRL & THIS PRECIOUS GIFT FROM GOD!!!!!! WHAT AN AMAZING GOD WE HAVE!!!!!

Day at the park.....

2009-04-14T07:29:00.000-05:00

Cody helping me push Rylee...

Rylee said this was her "Red Rocket" (from Little Einsteins)

Cody posing by his name at the park..

Swinging in the tire swing...

Cody loved climbing the"mountains" at the park!!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T07:58:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter Everyone!!!!!!!

Here are two adorable little Bunnies to wish you a hoppy day!!!

Avery age 8months

Maddie age 2 years

Happy Birthday to my dear friend Katie!!!! Have a happy birthday today I hope the Easter bunny brings you some birthday eggs!!!!!

Turkey VS Beef

2009-04-11T07:27:00.001-05:00

Check out the grease from the beef... Nasty!!!! The Turkey had no grease..

Why oh why would you eat beef????

Rylee...

2009-04-10T16:36:00.002-05:00

This is my first video blog post!!! This is my niece Rylee putting on a show for me!!! Enjoy.....

Pajama Party

2009-03-11T20:55:00.012-05:00

I had a pajama party with my niece Rylee & sweet friends Katie & Avery. We had so much fun!!! We had pizza from Palios, put together a puzzle, played limbo & watched Cinderella. The night was soo much fun, Uncle BooBoo (Michael) even hung out with us girls all night!!!!

We Miss you Rylee!!!!!

This is the cute puzzle we put together, we had one piece missing...

... the frog's face, So I asked Rylee to go find the missing piece

& told her it was the frogs face....

This is what I found.... she did what I asked & brought me a frog's face...

Gotta LOVE kids!!!!!!!

Our Limbo station....

Avery & Dakota never knocked the bar down....

The party ended with a slumber party on the air bed watching Cinderella!

Happy Birthday

2009-03-01T07:51:00.001-06:00

It was Avery's 1st Birthday this past Sunday & what a beautiful day it was...

She had a bounce house for her & her friends...

Her cake was inspired by her favorite rubber ducky...
Angie @ Baby Cakes did a wonderful job, looks just like her ducky....

This was her cute "smash" cake

Happy 1st Birthday sweet Avery... you light up our lives every day!!!

Sweet Caroline

2009-02-27T07:55:00.000-06:00

I hosted a shower for my dear friend & co-worker on Saturday......

Me & Chelsea (aka Lil' momma)

Her FABULOUS cake from Baby Cakes by Angie, the bottom layer was strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese icing, the top layer was butter cake with butter cream icing.

Blake was sooo excited about all the gifts they received

This is a picture of the Hackberry Hero's (her neighbors)

who came over after the shower to hang out!!!!

Craburkey Burger

2009-02-25T21:35:00.002-06:00

This is the result of a craving for crab cakes & a turkey burger...... I had some frozen crab cakes from Swans & turkey meat.... I mixed the two meats together added 1 egg & some bread crumbs. Let me tell you my friend it was FABULOUS!!!! Sooo Good!!! The Bud Light lime was the perfect addition to a perfect burger!!!!

THE NEW DECK

2009-02-07T23:00:00.013-06:00

When Michael & Jacob started the deck on Saturday the temperature was in the 30's Sunday it had warmed up to the mid 60's & a few friends showed up to help

It took them 2 day's to finish the deck... I fed the helpers Pizza

Michael got the steps built the following weekend..

As soon as the wood drys out we will be able to stain the deck.

A BIG thank you to my brother & our friends who helped that very cold weekend!!!!

The Bug

2009-02-07T21:40:00.008-06:00

My poor husband got the stomach flu Thursday night.....

When he got his appetite back I made him home made potato soup.

This is his Nan's (grandmothers) recipe.....

5 skinned red potatoes

Chop to small pieces & put in a pot with water only covering the top of the potatoes,
Boil till the potatoes are very soft then mash keeping the water...

You will need salt, pepper, milk, butter & flower..

add the salt, pepper, 3 tbs of butter & in a container w/ a lid put 1/2 a c. of milk & 3 tbs of flower, shake very well to avoid lumps... once combined add milk mixture to soup.

You can add more butter, salt & pepper to taste.

Yummie!!!!! This soup is very comforting!!!

Heart Broken

2009-01-21T19:49:00.014-06:00

I had the BIGGEST heart break of my life tonight!!!

I pulled up to my Gym to work out & saw my nephew's school bus in the parking lot. (My nephew is 8 & goes to a private school in Caddo & the drop off & pick up are at my gym's parking lot). So I walked over to see if he might be on the bus waiting to be picked up & he was. The bus driver opened the door & I said "Hi I'm Cody's aunt, I'm not picking him up I just wanted to say Hi." Cody comes up from the back of the bus with this frustrated look on his face & the first words out of his little mouth was "don't say anything". To witch I responded "Cody, I just wanted to say Hello" & he said "Sissy I said don't say anything, step away from the bus". As you could imagine I was in shock, I asked him "Cody what's wrong, I just wanted to say hi" & again I get "sissy don't say anything please get away from the bus". With a huge lump in my throat & fighting back tears I told him bye & walked away.

I rushed through my work out because I couldn't think about anything other than what had just happened. I get home & immediately call my brother's house looking for an answer. The phone is ringing off the hook with no answer. The lump in my throat is growing bigger by the minute. Finally Jacob calls me back, I tell him the story & he gives the phone to Cody & this is what I get...

Cody: "Hi Sissy, what are you doing"

Me: "Cooking dinner, what are you doing"
Cody: "Eating McDonald's & fixing to play rock band with Maddie"
Me: "Cody when I saw you tonight at your school bus, what happened"
Cody: "Sissy I just don't want the big kids to make fun of me,
But I will love you forever it's OK"

I will love you forever, that's all I needed to hear!!! I don't know what broke my heart more..... getting blown off by my nephew or knowing that my little nephew is becoming a big kid.

The heart breaker

Thankyou!!!!

2009-01-20T18:00:00.004-06:00

A BIG thank you to Allie & her sweet friends for making over my blog. You ladies are Fabulous "K"ick butt blog designers. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!!!!!!

The Blanket

2009-01-15T07:29:00.001-06:00

This is a thank you to my sis-in-law Ashleigh. She made this blanket for Michael & I this Christmas, and as you can see Michael loves it! Thanks for this warm, comfy & beautiful blanket.

The wine room....

2009-01-13T07:42:00.004-06:00

My mother-in-law (Yolanda) loves of a good glass of wine, so one day she decided to try and make her own batch. As you can see it was a success, her wine is very delicious. She & my father-in-law recently moved to Houston & she found a perfect room in the new house for her wine room!! "Yo's Cat House Wine" came from her love for her cat & fine wine. She let me watch her make a batch and it is very interesting, one batch will make 25 bottles of wine. As a wine lover my self I am very lucky to have Yolanda in more ways than just her FABULOUS WINE!!!! Love you Yo!!!!!!

Sweet Jacob

2009-01-11T18:51:00.007-06:00

Our nephew Jacob

We went to Houston over New Years to spend time with our family on Michael's dads side. We had a ton of fun with Jacob, he is getting so big. We wish we could see him all the time, but Ohio is a loooooooooong way away. We hope they decide to move to Texas one day!!!! We love you Jake ~ Sissy & BooBoo

Christmas Eve

2008-12-26T22:30:00.009-06:00

Christmas eve at Nan's is always fun...

Me (Sissy) & Rylee

Rylee & uncle BooBoo

Rylee got some cute fuzzy red slippers...

She loved them!!

Rylee hit a home run with dolls, barbies, clothes, chap stick aka lipstick , purses & jewelry

and the newest addition to our Christmas eve crew..... Callie Brook Merritt.

Christmas eve at Nan's is always fun... We always have a fabulous spread of food including the famous red velvet cake. Everyone has a stocking with their name on it & they always get stuffed plum full of goodies. Michael & I found some fake lotto tickets & decided to play a funny on some family members this year & it worked. It made for a very fun & funny night!!!!

Christmas brunch at the Caubles

2008-12-26T14:32:00.000-06:00

Christmas Day at my brothers house

Cody LOVED his rocket launcher

Granny helping Cody reload the rocket launcher

Cody singing a song for us off of his new Rock Band game

Maddie playing with Cody's Rock Band drums

Maddie got a ton of learning toys & some cute Fancy Nancy stuff.....

Christmas at the Caubles was so much fun, Jacob made a real nice breakfast,

we had mimosas & watched the kiddos go nuts opening gifts!!!

Christmas Morning

2008-12-26T11:20:00.010-06:00

Christmas Morning at the Haldemans...

Our PJ Christmas picture in front of our tree

Here is a picture of some of the things that my Santa brought me....

a new watch, new ear phones for my Ipod, gift certificates, a new bamboo cutting board, perfume & lots of good stocking stuffer's.

Michael is checking out his stocking stuffer's...

Michael was very happy with his new Ipod.....

Dakota looking in his stocking....

He got a scoccer ball & new doggie treats!!!!

Hope

2008-12-10T07:15:00.000-06:00

I found this angel right after we made the decision to adopt. It says " however motherhood comes to you it's a miracle". Talk about getting a sign from the big man. I keep it in my kitchen window so I can read it every day. When getting out the decorations for Christmas I came across this HOPE ornament & thought the two belonged together. I know the good Lord will bless us with a beautiful baby, I HOPE sooner then later, but he knows his plans for us, so this Christmas & everyday I just pray that God will protect our baby till he or she comes home to us.

Girls Night Christmas Party

2008-12-08T19:46:00.015-06:00

We had our second girls night Christmas party at my house,

( i think it's officially an annual party now).

We had fabulous food (thanks to Allie), wine, champagne punch

& our always fun gift exchange. We did a Christmas theme this year...

We did the traditional exchange where everyone puts their gift in the pile & you pick a number, you can steal up to 3 times & number 1 gets to pick last as well.

I picked # 1..... Whooo Hoooo!!!!

The girls... with the help of the self timer on the camera

Me trying to take a picture through the mirror...

This is the first gift I picked, a real cute bowl with a hand painted snowman inside.

This is the adorable snow flake necklace I stole from Allie....

And this fabulous bracelet came with it. It's always good to be #1!!!!!

Sorry Allie, Love ya!!!!!!

My 30th

2008-12-07T16:14:00.013-06:00

Michael had a Surprise party at Iron Cactus for my 30Th Birthday

Here are all my sweet friends that came to help celebrate...

Michael got me some UGGs ...

Thank you to everyone who helped make my Birthday Special!!!!!!

Cody's Birthday

2008-11-10T07:04:00.000-06:00

For Cody's 8th birthday mom (better known as) Granny & I

took him out to Incredible Pizza for dinner & games.

Then it was off to Toys-R-Us for Cody to pick out his birthday gifts from us....

We had so much fun with him that night!!!!

Cody showing off one of his birthday gifts he picked out...

Maddie wanted to wear Cody's new mask....

Maddie was trying to scare her daddy....

Halloween

2008-11-07T12:31:00.014-06:00

Halloween was a lot of fun this year!!!

We had cool decorations, freeky foods & fabulous costumes......

5 point pizza

2008-10-17T07:37:00.000-05:00

I really wanted pizza & knew it was way to many points with my weight watchers so I came up with a weight watchers friendly pizza... 5 points for the whole pizza!!!!

one whole wheat tortilla

spread one wedge of light laughing cow cheese

spread 1 tsp. of pesto

layer with some turkey pepperoni

sprinkle some 2% mozzarella cheese

top with slices of tomato

Bake at 400 degrees for 5 min. and enjoy!!!!

Pumpkin carving time

2008-10-15T07:06:00.000-05:00

My mom & I took pumpkins to my brothers house to carve with the kid's

Maddie was more into her cake than the pumpkin carving...

Cody wanted to make scary faces ... and it made Maddie laugh!

The finished product.... we had fun!!!

WW Broccoli Cheese Soup

2008-10-13T07:34:00.000-05:00

Weight Watchers Broccoli Cheese Soup

3 cans of fat free low sodium chicken broth
1 can of rotell
2 lb bag of frozen broccoli & cauliflower
8oz of 2% Velveeta cheese (reduced fat)

**I added some squash & Zucchini

Boil the broccoli, cauliflower, squash & zucchini in the chicken broth, cube the 8oz of cheese, when it comes to a boil add the rotell & cubed cheese.

Stir & enjoy!!!!! 1 cup of soup = 1 point

Patio Furniture

2008-10-12T07:16:00.000-05:00

This is some old wire patio furniture passed down from my family, that needs some TLC...

Some black paint & a few hours of labor on a Sunday afternoon

one man's trash is another man's treasure!!!

Arkansas

2008-10-10T23:33:00.001-05:00

Our trip to Arkansas

We get off the airplane & we found our adorable niece holding this sign.

What a perfect welcome!!!

They had their annual "Bikes, Blues & Bar-B-Que" festival while we where in town.....

and some of them scared Rylee....

We got to go to the Zoo!!!

We had sooooo much fun with our little Rylee....

2008-09-23T08:48:00.000-05:00

Treasures from home...Thanks mom!!

My mom was sooo sweet to let me have these fall pieces from my childhood

Mom gave me the Pilgrims, wood pumpkins & the turkey

My fall display couldn't be more perfect now...

Flower Beds

2008-09-20T07:44:00.002-05:00

Our flower bed's before......

The flower bed's after..... (Much Better!!!!)

2008-09-18T07:51:00.005-05:00

This is my dear "Honey" she was an angel on this earth & now she is an angel in heaven. She also collected angels.... so this weekend I got an angel tattoo in her memory...

light champagne salad dressing

2008-09-17T07:36:00.002-05:00

Allie & I tried this wonderful salad dressing and it's ONLY 2 points for 2 tbs. on weight watchers!!!! I loved it!!!!

Maddie & Sissy's play date

2008-09-15T21:14:00.003-05:00

Maddie came over to hang with "Sissy" for the afternoon....

Maddie took a brake from her snack to read a book. She is sitting in "sissy's" little red rocker. Maddie is the 5th generation to enjoy the rocker in our family.

Love you mom!

2008-09-15T07:17:00.001-05:00

Garage Sale Time

2008-09-13T16:42:00.010-05:00

Katie and I had a joint garage sale. Check out all the awesome loot!

I found this "Carrie"~ish pink too-too and couldn't resist wearing it all day!

There were a BUNCH of clothes

Baby Jake

2008-09-04T11:28:00.001-05:00

Our Sweet nephew baby Jake!

The Kid-o's

2008-09-02T11:23:00.000-05:00

I took Cody to see Wallie. And the sun was in his eyes for the pictures, so he needed to borrow Sissy's glasses!

Maddie!

Our Home

2008-08-31T09:02:00.000-05:00

I WILL get yard of the month once in my life...I'm just sure of it!

The Pink Chef

2008-08-29T11:16:00.000-05:00

Our niece Rylee mixing up a sweet treat!

Dakota

2008-08-27T11:10:00.003-05:00

Our precious baby Dakota

Adoption Profile

2008-07-08T13:37:00.006-05:00

Please feel free to forward this one to anyone that might have some information or might be able to help. Thank you!

Michael & I have been married since November 2004 and live in the Dallas area. Michael and I met when he asked me to his senior prom, and we have been together since that day over 12 years ago. Michael is one of the most kind, compassionate and generous people I have ever met. It is impossible to be in a bad mood around him because within minutes he will have you laughing. His sense of humor and quick wit initially drew me to him but his kindness and warm heart won me over. Michael is a hard worker and a wonderful provider. In his free time he enjoys re-modeling our home, yard work, and playing league & tournament softball.

I work for a local dentist as a Dental Assistant. I worked for a dentist right out of high school, then life took me down a different career path as a cosmetologist. I found my way back to the dental profession and fell in love with this field. I only work four days a week and absolutely love my Fridays off! I love working out, I am an avid runner and I am currently training to compete in a triathlon in August. I enjoy working in our flower beds (I’m still striving for yard of the month). I also enjoy working in the nursery at our church on Sunday mornings, I have the “crawlers” who always brighten my day. Family & friends mean the world to me. We have two nieces and two nephews whom we absolutely adore. They love visiting their “Aunt Sissy” and “Uncle Booboo”.

Michael and I have been through extensive fertility treatments including In-vitro fertilization to conceive, but sadly have not been successful. We believe in our hearts that God must have a different plan for us and that we are meant to adopt. You have taken such a brave step to consider adoption, and for that we are eternally grateful. We believe our strong faith, love, and commitment to each other will be the foundation for our family. With these we can promise this precious baby will be loved and nurtured to be the person he or she is destined to be. Your loving decision will always be in our hearts and your child will always know how courageous, selfless, and truly loving you are. We want to commend you for your strength and courage and may God continue to bless you.

Test!

2008-06-28T22:06:00.002-05:00

So this is my first one! Lots more to come.....stay tuned.