4 years.

It is amazing the changes that can happen in 4 years.

And I am not just talking about my marital status or becoming a home owner or a mother.

I am talking about the change the has been made in my heart. A change that I could not have done on my own. A change that only Jesus could be responsible for.

Four years ago I voted for the guy that seemed "cool". That promised a Change. And Hope for our future.

I haven't really seen that.

The only Hope for the future is that I am saved and I will be going to Heaven.

Every morning, while I eat breakfast, I do my daily devotional and read my Bible and pray. This morning, I got an extra helping of conviction to go with my pancakes.

The lesson was about making choices and making the choice as a reflection of our heavenly father.

So today, when I vote, I will vote for the man that has morals and beliefs that align with mine.

If we do not get our country back to the morals and beliefs and values that it was built on, the economy, the deficit, finances, it means nothing.

I will be voting for the person that does NOT believe in murdering innocent life - whatever stage of life that may be.

I will be voting for the person that does not believe in desecrating the union God created for a`man and a woman.

Our country is doing its best to be a God-less nation and where is that getting us? God does not bless those living in sin.

It's pretty simple.

One of the things about living in this country of ours is that we have the freedom to vote and the freedom to write and say what we think and believe. That is not something to be taken for granted.

So, no matter who you are voting for, take advantage of that freedom and honor those that have fought for it.

Go vote.

xoxo

Cutest Monster! Ever.

So here is the obligatory Halloween post from last night. If you follow me on Instagram, you have already seen most of these but I have to share them again.

We started the night in our neighborhood, where our dear friend and neighbor, Joyce, played paparazzi along with myself, documenting Avery's 2nd Halloween.

Headed up to her first house to trick-or-treat. She scored an entire bag of Goldfish! 

We stopped at my aunt's house and got 6 bags of animal crackers. Then a quick stop at Nana's to show off her monster costume.

And our final destination at my BFF Erin's house. She lives in a townhouse community like we do but her courts are a lot easier to walk around then ours and there are a lot more kids and we know most of her neighbors. I would go there before I had Avery and Erin and I would hand out candy (and drink) while her husband took their boys around. So it has become a bit of a tradition.

Here are a few from our third and final round:

 She made it to about 5 houses and then had enough - which was fine with us! It was cold and we were home by 7:30. She got the concept of picking candy and putting it in her bucket, she did not understand that she could only have 1 piece. She also did not get that she couldn't just barge into everyone's houses when they opened the door. She did say "Thanks" and "bye-bye" when we walked away. I'm guessing next year she will get the "Trick-or-Treat" part.

Avery's monster costume was from Old Navy, and I assume it is supposed to be for a boy (imagine that) but I tied a ribbon around one of her horns and a girl monster she was! I love that the entire thing is made of fleece so she was nice and warm all night.

We had fun and I hope everyone had a fun, safe, and happy Halloween!

Up next....Thanksgiving! My Favorite! Ever!

xoxo

Little bits of nothing and 18 Months.

I was definitely on a blogging roll...and now I am at a loss for what to write. A lot of what I want to write about is not blog sharing worthy. And I would only be writing to work through it myself, so instead I have been doing a lot of the "working through" in my head, during my commute, my devotional time and prayer time. Because if there IS one place I can go, it's to The Big Guy. He knows it all anyway, so what is the difference? ;-)

So today, for the purpose of writing something, I will try to lump a few (or many) random thoughts together cohesively and pretend it is a well thought out post with tons of emotion and meaning. Who am I kidding? That is pretty much what I do for every other post...

First and foremost, it has come to my attention that I "lost" a follower. Now, when you only have 7 followers, and one of them is yourself (so I can see how my posts look when published in the reader feed), it is quite glaringly obvious who dropped you like a hot potato. And while I continually hop around on my soapbox preaching that I am only doing this blogging thing because I like to write, have A LOT to say, and to try and document some of my child's and our familys' life, it still makes you (me) question the content and quality of you (my) writing. Yes, I will be the first one to admit that I lead a quite droll life, probably not much different then many other millions of people out there. So sorry to the one less follower that I did not meet your expectations and was considered worthy of kicking to the curb. Your loss.

Allergies vs. cold. This weekend started the running of the noses in our home. Saturday it was Avery and by Sunday evening, I was shoving tissues up each nostril to stop the snot flow. This week I have been surviving on Claritin-D (legal crack fo' sho') and Nyquil to sleep. I have also been picking and combing boogers out of Avery's hair and scraping them off her face. So gross. If she is not napping when I get home from work, we lay in my bed and watch TV until dinner. Then I drag my raggedy bum downstairs and throw something semi-edible together. While it is very tempting to just call the husband to pick something up on his way home it does not benefit us in 2 major ways: 1. health 2. wealth. I am actually a little proud of myself for fighting through this crappy feeling and making dinner.

Clean dogs. It is no secret that the poor pugs have taken the back seat in all aspects of our lives. I try to ignore the guilt that creeps up when I take notice to them. Yes, they are fed and watered and let outside to roam their yard. But 2 years ago they slept in our room, in their own beds. Now? They are in the kitchen. In a corner.

I hate to admit it, but before last night, I can't remember the last time I gave them a bath...and if you have ever known a pug, you know they have wrinkles and if those wrinkles aren't maintained, they get STANKY.
So yesterday, after work, I ran to Walmart and bought them a new bed and some doggy shampoo and came home and gave each one a bath. First I brushed them, because pugs shed. A lot. All.Year.Long.
They were so happy to be clean and have a new bed. I wish I could be satisfied as easily. The best thing about having dogs (or a dog if you are a sane person unlike myself) is that they love you no matter what. No matter where they sleep, or how often you do or do not bath them. If only humans could emulate even a fraction of a dog's unconditional love this world would be a much different place to live.

And I'm running out of juice so I should stop while I am ahead (am I?).

BUT!

I saved the best for last. And the best being Avery.

Today she is 18 months old! I'm kinda in denial of that one.

This was sent to me by my sister this morning on their early morning run to Target for 'nanas (bananas) cause this girl can't live without 'em!

I plan on writing an 18 month old post - for me and her. Tonight. I promise.

And to those of you that actually read this blog, thankyouverymuch. I know its not always interesting or consistent but it's from my heart.

xoxo

Random things that get my undies in a bunch

1. Stick figure family stickers on cars. Just lame. And more obnoxious? The stick figures with Mickey Mouse ears. Come on.

2. Lack of girl's shoes that are not pink, purple, sparkly sequins, tackiness. I have bought Avery boy shoes just to avoid these. I am well aware that she will most likely want these shoes when she gets older. But right now she doesn't care and I get to decide. In fact, I buy Avery boy clothes too because there are so many jive girl clothes out there.

3. Christmas cards. And my stress level. Our Christmas card last year was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Although I deserve little credit because most of it should go to my amazingly talented BFF for her fine photography skills and My Publisher for the perfect card. But I feel this enormous pressure to do just as good, if not better, then last year. I am making myself crazy (and broke) trying to get together the right outfits. I have anxiety and guilt about whether or not to include the pugs (who have graced every single Christmas card before Avery came along) but if we do include them, what a nightmare the session will be because they are morons and do not listen. Picking the right location, luckily we have many places in our area that are beautiful and perfect for pictures. But if I see one more family photo in front of the red SM barn...

4. Never ending phone calls to our house phone that are  telemarketers or for the election or collection agencies looking for the people that used to have our phone number (and I think still give the number out). We do not even look at the caller id when the phone rings because 98% of the time it is one of the above. The other 2% is Ryan's nana because she thought she was calling his cell phone. I've put our number on the Do Not Call registry but it just doesn't stop!!!

5. Law abiding citizens who drive the exact speed limit. GET OUT OF MY WAY!

6. Deer. It's humping season around here and these deer are out of their damn minds.

7. Switching my winter and summer clothes and realizing the same stuff that didn't fit last year STILL doesn't fit this year. hmmm, I wonder why that could be? Oh right, because I'm still a fat a** and have not changed my eating habits or exercised. (I almost wrote "exercised more" but that would be a lie because I don't excerise at all) Somethings gotta change. Apparently writing about it and complaining talking about it doesn't just make the pounds melt away.

8. My disgustingly, dirty kitchen floor and the amazingly fast way it gets dirty after I clean it. Oh yeah, I have 3 pugs.

9. That I paid over $20 to go to the movies on Sunday with my mom. A ticket, soda, and popcorn (all small). *Please reference #7

10. My desk at home. It is becoming a mountain of papers. I am even too embarrassed to take a picture of it to post on here. I need a good, toddler free day to go through and organize. Not counting on that happening any time soon. Hope there are any bill in there that need to get paid anytime soon. If there are, I may just take a picture of the desk and send it in with the late payment.

11. I got my annual OB/Gyn appointment confused with my bi-annual dentist appointment. I thought my dentist appointment was tomorrow at 3. Nope, its my annual tomorrow at 2:40. Whoops. Wrong ends. I guess I will have to get my undies out of a bunch for that one.

Please excuse my negativity and bad attitude. I am sure my husband will be grateful that I am venting on this blog instead of to him.

Proof God is always listening to you (me) - my sister just texted me and asked what pad she should use to steam my kitchen floor. Thank you Jesus and baby Jesus! I have the best sister. I know I always say it, but I really don't know what I would do with out her.

With all that off my chest and onto the internet, I am off.

xoxo

Things I'm Regretting Thursday

• The pack of 3 double chocolate chip cookies I bought at the cafeteria because I know they are semi-stale, and I need them like a hole in the head. 
• The $1.49 I spent on above cookies of which I will only eat 1/2 of and then crumble up the remaining half and dump crumbs in the hallway trash can at work so I can't dig them out in an hour when I regret  only eating 1/2.
• making plans tonight, right after work. Because I know as soon as I walk through the door, I will want to put on sweats and veg on the couch. But I committed so off I will go. 
• not packing my lunch today. Which ALWAYS leads to bad food choices at lunch. Today I am eating roast beef and carmilized onions, chips, and a soda. Gross me out. I will be regretting that all night. 
• not doing the housework I had intended to last night because I was lazy, and now will not get done til who-knows-when since we are busy until Monday. 
• all the plans I made for this weekend. No rest for us.

A Penny Addition

Back in June I wrote about finding a penny in my car.

Since then, I am still finding random coins here and there, always a reminder that I need to rely on God.

This morning my mom forwarded me an email she received from a friend.

Please read:

You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck
gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I've ever heard this twist
on the story. Gives you something to think about... 

Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend
the weekend at the home of her husband's employer. My friend, Arlene, was
nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on
the waterway, and cars costing more than her house.. 

The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this
rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. Her husband's employer was
quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene
knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of
extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely. 

As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant one evening
the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband.

 

He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment.
.
Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him..... There was nothing on
the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a
few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the
penny.

 

He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a
great treasure.

How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he
even take the time to stop and pick it up?

Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand
it no longer.. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin
collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the
penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What
was the point of this?


"Look at it," he said. "Read what it says."
She read the words, " United States of America ."
"No, not that. Read further."
"One cent?"
"No, keep reading."
"In God we Trust?"
"Yes!"

"And?. ... ." 

"And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I
find a coin, I see that inscription. It is written on every single United
States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in
front of me telling me to trust Him. Who am I to pass it by? When I see a
coin, I pray. I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the
coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at
least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting
a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are
plentiful!"

When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped
and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my
mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, "In God We Trust," and
had to laugh. "Yes, God, I get the message!" 

It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the
last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And, God is patient.  


****************Thought for the Day***********************

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it...

 

If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.

He sends you flowers every spring.

He sends you a sunrise every morning...

Face it, friend - He is crazy about you!

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without
rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and
light for the way.


******************Read this line very slowly and let it sink in.....***************

 

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. 

**I could not find a source for the content of this email (in italics), I just cut and pasted it from my mom's email. If anyone that reads this knows where it came from, please leave me a comment or send an email and I will update to give credit where credit is most surely due.**

The past 3 days.

As I sit here in front of the fireplace, with the wood crackling and the warmth making the room toasty, my heart is full. *I started this last night but didn't get to finish until today...figures. Better Late than Never, right?

This weekend was nothing out of the ordinary. It was over too fast, like they usually are, but it was good.

Friday is work-at-home for me so we kept our attire comfy and casual:

That evening I met my cousin and her kids and our aunt at the school my aunt teaches at and we went to dinner then we went back to the school to go to the school's bi-annual kids sale.
It is a huge sale and tons of people come. Most of the proceeds go to the school (as it is part of a church) so that is a plus. Avery does not need another stitch of clothing for the fall/winter. Between this kid's sale, hand-me-downs (my favorite) and a few staple pieces I bought new, this girl is clothed for pretty darn cheap! It is also nice that she is wearing clothes for longer now instead of once or twice for a month.

Kid sale loot (IG repeat - sorry!) and a sweet backpack for $10!

Saturday was a lots of errands - waxing my furry lip so I don't embarrass The Husband at his friend's party that night and in hopes that Avery starts calling me Mama some time soon instead of Dada, Target for a gift for said friend and Clorox wipes (stop the press, I made it out of there under $50), food shopping (which I have found to be much better done on Saturday for a few reasons - 1. it ends up being the last thing either The Husband or I want to do when Sunday rolls around and 2. everything is stocked up, on Sundays it seems to be hit or miss on our weekly staples. The only downside is The Husband usually works Saturday mornings and he is much thriftier at the grocery store then I am - like at least a $80 difference. So I guess this is yet another area I need to discipline myself in.

Sunday was the best day.

The girl and I went to church and she won, hands down, the cutest outfit.

I was getting her dressed in our room before church and The Husband asked why I always dress her in clothes I would wear. Without a blink of an eye, I replied, "Because we got style".
He rolled his eyes.
And I showed him the Likes on Instagram and Facebook and told him that they don't lie.
He better check his style Mr cargo shorts, tee shirt and hoodie.

Since those super cute cords Avery was rocking' were a little snug, we quickly changed into comfy clothes when we got home from church.

It is much easier to ride a horse in fleece then cords.

The Husband had a toasty fire going all day and I threw a pot roast in the crock pot for dinner.

We did nothing but we did it together and that is what made it the best day.

xoxo