A Little History

So it's about time you got to know a little more about me. Joe and I have been together seven years and we have been married for almost five years. We had a beautiful baby girl in 2003. She was premature and lived twelve hours. Our 2 year old love bug looks exactly like her big sister. We had a beautiful house and both made very decent money. Due to circumstances beyond our control (it was a long list of crappy events) we lost our home in 2007. We are very blessed and a long time friend of Joe's offered to let us stay at his house until we got back on our feet. There is of course much more to the story than that, but for moment this will suffice.

All of that now being known, today we signed the lease on a house! I am so very excited that we will have our own place again! I can use my own pots, pans, dishes and decorate my environment! We can have friends over to the house and our love bug will have her very own room.

I am a little sad because our love bug took her first steps in the house we are in now. I am anxious because we are moving to an area that I am very unfamiliar with. Please do not mistake any of that for complaining. My family has been abundantly blessed by God. There are people who lose their homes and have nowhere to go, nothing to eat, no income. There are people who never got to have a beautiful house that they could lose. We have always had a roof over our head, food to eat, and overall what we needed and to a great extent the desires of our heart.

We are a very blessed family and I am so excited to move into our own home. My mother-in-law is also going to be living with us and that is a tremendous blessing in and of itself.

I have included a few pictures here of my family. I will include earlier photos in a later post. We recently got our current computer and haven't transferred all of our files yet. We will be moving in the next two weeks and then getting settled in. That will explain if there are little to no posts for a month or so. I hope you enjoy the pictures and pray for us as we settle into our new home.

By the way I love Alison Krauss. She has an amazing voice. It is so beautiful and pure and speaks to me in a very personal way. I have included one of my favorite songs called "Simple Love". This song is beautiful and reminds me of my dad. If he were still with us March 7th would have been is 86th birthday. I loved my dad very much and miss him tremendously. So, this song and it's placement are a tribute to dad. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Weekend Is Busy and God Knows it All

So this weekend is going to be jammed packed for us. I have all the normal stuff to do (grocery shopping, cleaning the house, cleaning the car etc.) and I am going to Ocala on Saturday to visit with my family. My mom hasn't seen precious in almost a month and my sister hasn't seen her for a month and a half. Then I have to head home early so Joe, precious and I can go to a friend's birthday party. I think Joe will be working on Saturday(at a different job) and then Sunday we will have to do all of our shopping and cleaning and get ready for the week. I hope I have enough energy for it all.
On a completely different topic, I am praying faithfully that God will lead me where he wants me to be. I came to the realization some time ago that God has perfect timing because He knows the "big picture" so He knows what is best for me and our family. I have turned everything over to Him and just pray that I am continually where He wants me to be so that His will can be done in my life and in the lives of others. Honoring God is something that as of late I am truly beginning to understand. I am thankful that I have gotten better at letting go and letting God. Please pray for me and my family that God leads us and guides us where we should be.

I Need a Vacation

I really need a night out with adults relaxing. It is just something every parent should do from time to time. I adore my sweetie pie. I just get to the point where I don't want to see or hear or think about Mickey Mouse or Dora the Explorer. The tunes and phrases are so catching I have more children's theme songs going through my head than one adult should have to take! Joe and I just laugh because we can repeat almost the entire episode of The Wonder Pets or Mickey Mouse to each other verbatim!
I also need a date night with my husband. We love our beautiful baby (okay she is not a baby anymore but she will always be a baby to me), but we just need some time to ourselves without bundle getting jealous.
I would love to go on another cruise. It was so beautiful at Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. No worries, no stress, just sun, sand and a cold ice tea in hand (okay, maybe Long Island does go in front of ice tea). Ahhhh. That cruise was AWESOME! I get relaxed just thinking about it. Okay, I'm off to dance to some steel drums playing in my head. Ya man (use Jamaican accent).

The Glass Is Half Full

A lot has been going on since my last blog entry. I am reminded everyday how very blessed my family is. We have a few friends that have gotten disturbing diagnosis as of late. We have a friend that was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma and another that was diagnosed with MS. We have so much to be thankful for. Our health is not something to be taken lightly and I feel all too often people do. I answered the phone the other day and a gentleman made the comment that any day he wakes up and he's on this side of the grass it's a good day. I couldn't have put it in a better perspective than that.
I know that it's not always easy to keep that in mind. It was just today that my optimism annoyed Joe. I get down too. We are all going to have days where we just want to have our pity party and damn it-we will cry if we want to! It is ultimately though your perspective of the world that affects your mood and attitude. The longer I am on this earth (thank you God for the time I have been here) the more I learn how true that is.
Now all optimism aside, I must get some sleep so I can be productive for work tomorrow. I will write more later.

Let the Muddy Waters Flow!

I was awakened at 1:30am on Wednesday morning by my daughter who was throwing up. The bed, the sheets, her-all were covered. I had to wake up Joe so that he could hold sweetie while mommy cleaned everything up. I felt so bad, she was just shaking (this was only the second time she had every thrown up). I got everything cleaned up and back to sleep we went. I honestly thought that something she had eaten did not agree with her and that all was well. I got myself and sweetie ready for the day and dropped her off at the sitter's house. I explained what had happened to her sitter and told her to please call me if I was wrong in my theory. I then headed to work and had just parked when my phone rang-and guess who it was-the babysitter letting me know that precious was sick again. I went inside and told my boss that I would be out for the day, and went to pick up my baby. She threw up a few more times and had quite the diarrhea. It all seemed to be better by early evening but you never can tell. It is with that in mind that this morning-I was quite fearful of dropping her off again. I worry, as do all parents about their children and if what they are doing is the best thing. It may not seem like much-but I would hate to have dropped her off and then get another call that she wasn't feeling well again. I am relieved to report that I didn't receive a call and that indeed she is feeling much better. It's not always easy. There are so very many roles you are required to play on a daily basis-mom,wife, good employee, friend. I think the most any of us can do is remember which role(s) always take the highest priority.

Ideas for Improving Recession Revenue

I have made a resolution to stop watching the nightly news. I just cannot tolerate being inundated with gloom and doom on a daily basis. The American economy is definitely in crisis, that is not up for debate. Things are difficult right now-no argument here. What infuriates me is the same message day in and day out. We realize the state of affairs-now please nightly news-WHAT CAN WE DO, EACH INDIVIDUAL TO CHANGE IT. If they would focus on how all of us can get the most (really) out of the income we are bringing in; or they could focus on what others are doing to make ends meet. Here is another one-try showcasing all of the GOOD deeds and acts of kindness. My point is that we need an idea of what we can do to manage and also some news about people being amazing human beings and not deplorable ones.
It is with that in mind that I have thought of a few things that may do both (help people manage their income and have a bright spot in their day). The first is not new, but may be for some. It is a clothing exchange. You organize a few friends and ask them to clean out their closet (it is time for spring cleaning) of any unwanted/unused clothing. All of the friends then meet and display what you have brought. It is great because if you want something fresh to wear, or need some new clothes (weight gain or weight loss) you can get them at no cost to you or your friends. The second idea is a food swap. I have a two year old with constantly changing taste buds. What she devours this week may just not taste good next week. I always have food that will not be used by my family before it expires. If everyone gathered up their groceries twice a month and swapped with each other just imagine the amount of waste that would be reduced. We as Americans consume far more than we actually NEED-that is a problem! We should all try to reduce our wastefulness.
I have now stepped down from my imaginary soap box (hold your applause please). My family has a close and dear friend who is having a very difficult time of it right now. His home is not only in foreclosure, but he also has diabetes and this week he was told that he has MS. He is a wonderful, hardworking husband and father of three. I am asking everyone that I know to pray for him and his family.
I must end this posting for now but not before I urge all of America to love and care for each other. We are all in this together and we will only make it through this dark and difficult night by leaning on each other.