Practically Ava:

{Here's to blogging again}

2012-01-30T12:57:00.000-08:00

Whew! I never knew that a break from blogging could give me such a feeling of freedom! B U T, I think I am going to get right back into the saddle and start blogging again. I kind of reached my "wits end" with blogging in general for a while. And mainly. I think it was just a heart issue of mine that I needed to sort out.

I have had some conversations with my much wiser than me older sister, about this whole "mommy blogging" trend, and she so beautifully summed it up {HERE}

A few quotes that touched me the most:

"Frankly, I just didn't want to be a part of fighting this battle in my own heart of needing an audience outside of my home or be a part of "feeding" into that for someone else."

"I think the thing to embrace here is for those of us who choose to be a part of blogging is to extend grace towards one another AND to ourselves. We shouldn't read blogs and leave with the feelings of discontentment or that we're lame losers because we don't do (fill in the blank) in our homes, with our families, or in our kitchens. We must know that we are only seeing a glimpse of someones life and what they want you to know. Not the entire story. Playing games of comparison with other women who you really don't know entirely and accurately is harmful and a waste of our time."

So.....with that being said, I am jumping back into this blogging thang' with a new perspective and with a lot more grace!

Tho my life feels really lame and boring some days, to say the least, I have realized that there IS lots of life being lived in my home, and what a great way to journal these precious moments.

I love going back and looking at past post, and reminiscing about a certain picture, a funny story or a special craft Ava and I sat down and did together. It is one more way for me to embrace this life that is being lived in our home.........and come July we will really have some more life to embrace, with the arrival of another bundle of joy! ( i am sure there will be many post to follow about this little bundle!)

So here's to blogging in 2012! May this blog be a reflection of our life, that is full of perfect imperfections! A blog with no obligations, and a blog that extends grace towards myself and fellow bloggers!

{Sweetness}

2011-09-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

I spent today enjoying a few sweet things in life. I always try to keep our Sundays low key so we can rest up ,and be ready for another busy week.

I have waited for the day where Ava has that one thing that she is somewhat attached to. Call me crazy but I seem to think it is cute when kids have a special "lovie." Ava has finally found her beloved "lovie." Meet lab dog. Yes, I know such a creative name, but that is what she insists on calling it. This was her today after her nap getting some last minute cuddles in with Lab dog.

This week I decided to give Ava something special that I have been holding on to for her. This was my Tinkerbell snow globe that I received one year for Christmas. My mom was so good at keeping things that we might one day want to pass down to our children. Though this is no heirloom piece, I knew Ava would love it. And since it belonged to me as a little girl I knew it would be special to her. Her reaction was no let down...............she was thrilled!

This was her expression after I gave it to her! There was a squeal of excitement that went along with this priceless face. I love that my sweet little girl is so easy to please. She has sat in her floor all day listening to it play "You can Fly."

One another sweet note......I made some of our favorite banana bread. This is pretty much a staple in our house. I try not to cook too many sweets, but this is one that we enjoy frequently. It is requested quite often at David's fire station as well. I thought I would share the recipe. It is by far the best banana bread ever!

1/2 cut coconut oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup of chopped nuts

Heat oven to 375. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs together. Add buttermilk. Combine flour, baking soda, vanilla and salt in a separate bowl. Add to creamed mixture, mix until combined, then add mashed bananas. Fold in nuts. Pour into one large greased loaf pan or two small loaf pans. ( whichever you prefer.) Bake 45 min. Cool and turn out.

*If you choose to use the large pan cooking time should be increased a bit!!!

Enjoy!

I hope you are enjoying some sweetness in your life.

{4} and PreK

2011-09-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

Whew! I seemed to have forgotten that I have a blog! ( Not really!) Summer just got the best of me, and I was enjoying our sweet summer time, soaking up some sweet time with the family.

It happened folks.....my little girl turned {4}!!!! I told her she was not allowed to grow anymore, but she went ahead and did it. And while she was at it she started Pre-K on me.

Life with this sweet little face is full of so much JOY. Her sweet little spirit never ceases to amaze me, and it is a constant reminder of our Saviors grace and love. She is all things girl. You will likely catch her playing in her jewelry box and "accessorizing" or playing with her dolls.

Tea parties are another frequent occurrence in our house.

The old saying " they grow up too fast" is really starting to hit home with this momma. I am seeing it first hand. While I will always miss my baby being a "baby," I can honestly say I enjoy getting to experience her new milestones and stages. Watching her grow into a "little girl" has been such a blessing.

My Sweet Ava Joy,

I hope you will always remember how much you are loved by your Mommy and Daddy, but most of all by your Heavenly Father. Your love for the people around you is such a blessing to see. You are overjoyed to see all of your friends and teachers when you go to school. Your personality has blossomed into something beautiful. I pray that this sweet love you have for others would grow into a love and thirst for our Savior. I love you Ava joy! Love, Mommy

Scrubbing into SpRiNg

2011-04-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well not much has been going on in this nest other than a lot of scrubbing. I have scrubbed and de-cluttered almost every nook and cranny of our house. And let me tell you I was surprised by all of the "yuck" ( for lack of a better word) that I found.

I use to think I was pretty diligent about keeping my house clean, and honestly at surface level I am. BUT once I started moving furniture and appliances to clean behind them......oh my yuck!!!

If you ever want to do something that will make you feel like you accomplished something BIG......pull your stove out from the wall and clean behind it, and down the sides of it. I felt like my house was 10x cleaner when I was finished.

..............And while doing this I learned something that was life changing for me...........

Did you know the knobs on the front of your stove come off?????? I may be putting myself out there to look like a complete dummy.....and I am okay with that. But seriously it is almost as if I heard the angels in heaven singing when I discovered this. I have scrubbed around these things with a toothbrush only to be disappointed that I could not get all of the junk out. But not any more .....I will probably pull these little beauties off and clean them everyday.....why??? Because I CAN!!!!

And it is always nice to have a cute little helper nipping at your heals. Okay....I will be honest sometimes ( well most of the time) ....it is frustrating, but I am learning to embrace this time with her. She loves to clean with mommy......and I know one day that will not be the case.

going {{GREEN}}

2011-03-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

In my efforts to surround my home with more natural products ( ....a little bit at a time...) I decided to begin a quest of adding more green to my home decor by using live plants. I took a little trip to Lowes the other day and this is what I mustered up.

It is almost like plants bring a breath of fresh air to the room. And not to mention the texture that they add.

I have also fallen in love with this beautiful moss that I picked up a while ago at HL. The possibilities with this stuff are endless. I love the subtle pop of color it gives.

On another note I purchased this awesome Hymnal the other day, and I am having a little problem!!! ....I originally bought this little beauty because I have seen some pretty cute ideas out there using the pages from a hymn book........BUT I can not bring myself to tear the pages out. So here it sits.

And for my favorite type of green .....who can resist these precious little wild onion flowers ( weeds ) picked by a certain sweet little three year old.

amazing {bread}

2011-03-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

I mentioned HERE that I finally found a delicious and easy bread recipe!

You must try this. It is super duper easy and so yummy! I honestly have not bought a loaf of bread in the last few months because we are addicted to this bread. It makes the BEST sandwiches, and it gives a whole other meaning to the grilled cheese!

{amazing} and {easy} bread:

In mixing bowl pour:
2.5 Cups hot tap water
1 T. salt
1/3Cup of oil ( i use coconut oil)
1/3 cup of honey
The 2 T. dry yeast ( 2 packets of active dry yeast)
Then add the 2 eggs
Mix in your flour...( I use either King Arthur unbleached flour or the King Arthur bread flour) usually it takes about 6 cups of flour. I have learned that it depends on the weather and such...basically add the flour until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl.
After the flour is all mixed in, leave the machine to knead it for..10 minutes... ( i use my kitchen aid stand mixer and just let it run on speed 2 for 10 minutes)

Pour a pool of oil on your counter top,
Pull the dough out, with oiled hands, push all the dough into a big ball.
Cut that ball into 2 pieces...shape each piece into a loaf, place in Pam-sprayed pans.

Set the 2 pans of dough on top of the stove, cover with thin kitchen towel...
Turn oven on to 350*....Let bread raise for about 35 minutes, until it's about 1 1/2 inches above side of pan.
Place them in the oven..set the timer for 35 minutes.
When done, take them out, place each loaf on the cooling rack, slightly butter the tops..let cool.

You can also make this into a Whole Wheat bread:
for "all" wheat bread use about 5 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour
for a 1/2 white 1/2 whole wheat bread use 4 3/4 cups whole wheat flour and 1 3/4 cups white flour.

Enjoy!!!!!

~Printed Book Pages~

2011-03-04T18:36:00.000-08:00

I have been seeing some pretty cute things out there in blogland using book pages. So today while I had a little "free time," I decided to give it a whirl,and start tearing some pages out of the old books that I have been collecting.

The hardest part of this project for me, was deciding what cute graphic I wanted to print on my book page. {There are some pretty cute images out there!} ......Thanks to the graphic fairy I found what I wanted. Go HERE if you what to try your hand at printing some of these awesome graphics.

I started with this:

I picked up a set of four of these at an Estate Sale and since sea shells just aren't my thang'........

I ended up with this:

I distressed my frame a bit using some good ol' sand paper and just placed my book page in the frame. Super easy! ........I am all about that!

It is a perfect little accessory to my kitchen.....that is still not complete but coming right along.

Have a lovely weekend!

{Love} is all you need

2011-02-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

We have been busy today making Valentine's for Ava's friends at school. I must admit I think mommy has enjoyed this a little too much. Oh well , what's a girl to do with some cute little {vintage} printable Valentine's! I just could not help myself.

Ava was quite the little helper gluing these little cuties together. I love days like this with my sweet girl. Go {here} for a cute selection of printable Valentines!

We ventured out to a few garage sales this morning and enjoyed breakfast together at the donut shop. And heavens can my little girl pack away some donuts!! {it must have something to do with the fact that they are pink with sprinkles on them!!} .....oh and as a side note: Is it sad when your 3yr old wakes up on a Saturday morning and asks to go garage sailing?? I thought kids were suppose to like Saturday morning cartoons not garage sales!!! ......oh well I happen to think it is quite darling!!!

I hope you all are enjoying this season of {Love}. What a great reminder of our Saviors unfailing love!

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation." Psalm 13:5

"The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love." Psalm 33:5

: Giddy :

2011-02-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

Do you have something in your house that just makes you kind of Giddy when you look at it?? You know what I am talking about .....something that is just constant eye candy...you know that feeling you get when you are looking at your new Pottery Barn catalog or when you are browsing through your new Country Living issue??

Well.................I have something that just tugs on my heart strings ( other than my precious Ava)

I found these lovely curtains during one of my browsing adventures at Tuesday Morning......{yes I go on many browsing adventures! } I have been wanting some curtains for our bedroom, but I was not sure what to put in there. I will be honest, I am easily intimidated by curtains. I knew that I wanted some sort of print but I did not want anything too bold. I saw theses and I knew these where the ones I had been searching for! They are Waverly and are retailed at a whopping 180.00 for the pair and I scored them for 39.99!!!

I think they compliment our room nicely!

You know what else is just making me giddy right now? This precious little girl

Meet Exie Jo Kramer, born Jan 31. Isn't she beautiful! My sister has the most beautiful babies. I am so trilled to have another precious niece!

Okay I am on my way out to the farm to love on this sweet little angle!

~These are the moments~

2011-02-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

I am learning as a parent there are little moments in life that are worth pausing for.

As sad as it may seem sometimes it is just plain hard to stop folding the mounds of laundry, and sweeping the crumbs off the floor to admire the beauty of our children doing something .....or nothing.

I know that one day I will miss these little feet that pitter patter across the house to wake me from my deep slumber.

I will miss the sweet little voice that ask for juice or milk a million times a day.

I will miss wiping the little nose that seems to constantly run between the months of Dec and Feb!

I will miss the sweet little voice that sings praise and worship songs in the back seat of the car.

And I will for sure miss our crazy little bedtime routine that Ava has come up with!! .....it goes a little something like this....~butterflies, noses, kisses, hugs, sweets ( where she rubs our cheeks) , ears ( where she pulls our ears) and foreheads ( where we rub our foreheads together) ....and then kisses again! Whew!.....yes she does this everynight and has done so for about 1year or so! I am determined to get it on video one day soon to savor as a sweet memory.

I will for sure miss watching these little hands put puzzles together.

I suppose I might even miss walking into Ava's room and finding surprises like this!

Oh the joys of parenting!

Coming Along........

2011-01-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

So like I said in a previous post, we are updating our kitchen cabinets. I will be honest with you, I am not sure if it is worth all of the work. Although I LOVE the results, it has been a long process and we are only half way done. Now mind you we have been working on it off and on, so maybe that is why we are not finished yet. It have a hang up about my kitchen being completely torn apart and no being able to cook. So we are doing sections at a time.

Now I am envisioning a white bead board backsplash, and some sort of granite countertops in the {hopefully} near future. Okay....I will admit after looking at the picture, it has been totally worth all of the elbow grease that the hubby and I have put into these beauties. And I must add, that most of the elbow grease has been my amazing and talented husbands.

Another thing that is coming right along in our household is this little dude.

Meet Blue. I know I know he is pretty adorable! I realized that I have not blogged about this little fellow, and he is completely blog worthy. I mean who can resist this face;

We have enjoyed adding this little guy to the family. My best friend Jalah is a breeder for these fabulous dogs. He is a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. Yes he looks like a fur ball that would leave dog hair ALL OVER THE PLACE ( pet peeve of mine!) .....BUT he happens to not SHED! Love it! He seriously has been the sweetest and easiest puppy that we have ever had!

And for those of you that I left hanging about this picture:

Okay I will tell you now. I went to a wonderful auction on Saturday and scored a shelf very similar to this one. I have had this photo bookmarked on my computer forever, because I love everything about it, especially the shelf. I love having pictures in my house and this provides the space to have lots of frames. I will say that mine is wood and perhaps a little longer than this one.....swoon~~. You will have to wait to see pics of it because it is still sitting in my garage at the moment. I promise I will post pictures after we find a way to hang this monster on the wall.

I hope you all are having a lovely day!

Lil' Cuties!

2011-01-23T18:20:00.000-08:00

I found these little cuties while wandering around World Market the other day! Please tell me I am not the only one that does that...... wanders around stores just "looking."

When I saw these I just thought of all of the endless possibilities I could do with them. And really who can resist a cute little chalkboard thingy!

I am quite aware that I could have made these. But priced at $3.99 for 2...........I would rather just buy them and save my creative juices for something else.

This was Ava's rendition of Mommy's creation. Love it! What can I say she is starting young.

And I have some very exciting news! .......Okay I will give you a hint. It has to do with the picture below and an auction......stay tuned.

Happy Birthday {DaDdy}

2011-01-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the most amazing husband that a woman could ask for, and to the most amazing Daddy that any little girl would be lucky to have! You make us sooo happy!

You are the best company to have ......even when deer hunting!

You are our beloved fryer of our turkeys

You are the best partner to have ......especially when competing in the Diamond Dash.

You have the best shoulders to ride on!

You do the BEST gorilla dance at Rainforest Cafe!

We love you sooo much and we hope your day is as special as you are to us!!! Thanks for making our days complete!

David,I love you so very much and I hope we will have many more birthdays to celebrate. I pray many blessings over your life for this next year. I love you. ~Kayla

*We had to celebrate Daddy's birthday last night and this weekend since he as the the fire station working hard for us today!!

Craftiness

2011-01-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

I have been on a quest lately to make Ava's hair accessories. I am learning as a mommy with a little girl, you can never have enough bows, headbands and clips!...........mainly because you will end up losing half of the ones you own. And because her little wardrobe is everchanging ....you will always need the right accessory to go with these new outfits!!! .......it is so tough being a girl!

I found a tutorial a while back to make these cute little flowers and I can't remember where I found it. I re-vamped it a little to make it smaller or larger and I played with the folds a bit to come up with the look that I like.

One of the main reasons I love making these is because they are quick and easy to make! ( and cheap!) I am all about crafts and DIY projects, but I will often weigh the benefits of making something versus buying something, based on how much time it will take to make it and how much all of the supplies will cost. I had all of these made in less than 45min. It is also a easy enough project, that interuptions by a certain sweet little 3yr old do not mess with my train of thought too much!!!

I am learning that Ava is a natural crafter.....:) She loves to sit along side me a make something similar to what mommy happens to be making. I really and truly adore this, but alot of crafts invole the glue gun.................that is why I let my 3yr old play with glue guns!!! Opps I just outed myself.

I found this handy dandy little glue gun that does not get super duper hot! She still has to be very careful. She has managed to touch some of the glue as she is working, and it has not seemed to bother her too much. I know that must sound terrible, but really I have touched the glue that comes out of this glue gun and I would consider it "a warm glue gun" rather than a "hot glue gun."

She stayed so content working right beside me and she had a HUGE sense of accomplishment when she was done!

I must say it turned out pretty cute!!! Mommy made a little finishing touch with the flower on top!! She got to wear her little masterpiece to school today for show and tell. And trust me she was all smiles!

My sweet Ava Joy mommy loves your little crafty hands and your creative little mind more than you will ever know! I hope you will continue to want to work right along side me in the years to come creating beautiful little masterpieces and memories. How much fun will that be!!! Love, Momma

Blessings!

Kayla

{Baking a Mess}

2011-01-09T07:13:00.000-08:00

Hello all. It seems we have had a case of the lazy days these past few days, and I fear that today will probably not be any more productive since it is cold and rainy out side.

Yesterday I did however manage to let Ava do some baking with me. She {LOVES} to get in the kitchen and cook with me. I am trying to be better about this, and ignore the added time it takes and the piles of flour that end up on the floor when she is helping me!

Please excuse the missing cabinet doors in the background! They are currently recieveing a little overhaul! ......I am forever grateful for cabinet doors since I am living without them right now. They hide all of my junk very nicely. Although I would LOVE to have a few areas of open cabinetry to display some kitchen lovelies!

Yummy! I have finally found the best easy bread recipe! This is just a mix and throw together recipe. Love it for something quick and easy. Ava and David gobbled it right up with some homemade strawberry jam! ......I unfortunately got a "taste!".......I have yet to figure out why I cook things like this while I am eating no carbs.

On another exciting note.......I will give you a sneak peak of our cabinets. They hubby and I have been working our fingers to the bone on our cabinets. I think we finally achieved the desired technique. What do you think?? Really I am seeking feedback on the cabinets! I did not realize how scary this process would be. The picture is not that great, but the after is Parchment ( off white) distressed look. As much as I {LOVE} stark white cabinets, I did not feel that they would have flowed very well with the rest of my house since my kitchen is open to my living area.

(The honey oak is the before)

Okay well I am off to maybe do some laundry! ......or maybe not?

{Sweet} DReAmS

2011-01-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

Hello folks! Wow! What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been. We had such a sweet December getting to see lots of family and friends. We have been off all week as a family, and it has been so nice to stay put and just be together. We only did one really productive thing while we were off, and that was paint and redo parts of Ava's room. ( more on that in another post)

As I sit here reflecting on this past year, and thinking about what this next year may possibly hold for us as a family, and me individually, I feel encouraged, scared, and confused.

I feel encouraged knowing that no matter what we may endure this year God will see us through it. I also feel encouraged to know that the one thing I know for sure is, I want my relationship with Him to grow into something more beautiful and intimate than I could ever imagine. At church this morning the pastor was talking about "resolutions." He said that as Christians our resolution should be " to know God and to make Him known." ........Yes it sounds plain and simple, but as I sat and thought about it, in the deepest depths of my soul there are parts of me that the Lord has not traveled to, and there is so much about my Heavenly Father that I have yet to discover. So this next year I will seek; purposefully pursue GOD and his love and mercy for me.

On another note I have a few sweet dreams about this next year. For those who know me personally or have followed my blog, you know I spend lots of time at various garage sales, estate sales and auctions. It is an addiction really. At these places I am surrounded by lots of very talented antique dealers and shop owners. It is a passion that I have found and {I love it.} I have always frequented these sales with the intent of purchasing something for my own house ( or my sisters house since it is a little harder for her to attend these sales.) I usually have my sweet mom right beside me .....shes my junkin' partner in crime. I always see lots and lots of things that are wonderful but I have no spot for them in my own house.....so I go on a "buyers diet" and don't buy them........BUT that is just it, there may not be room for these things in my house ......but somewhere in someone elses home it is the perfect piece!!!! Do you get where I am going with this yet???........So what if.....just dream with me here for a minute......I became one of those really cool junkin' people that we all read about on blogs who buys and sells stuff! I mean really I went to an auction yesterday and I passed up some really great deals that I could have bought and resold.......to be honest with you I have had this dream for a loooonnnnggggg time......i have just been too scared and intimidated to do anything with it. I mean really I could never be a cool as Miss Mustard Seed!!!! { Love} that lady...talk about super talented.

With all of that said, maybe, just maybe, this is the year to do something with this passion of mine!

And all in all, I know it is not my timing or will that will make this happen, this has to be in the Lord's perfect timing and will for me. And you know what that is okay with me!!

And since I have this pet peeve of mine that I dislike blogs with no pictures in them......I will leave you with some pics of our sweet December.

Many blessings to you and yours in 2011.......now I am off to bed to have visions of painted dressers, vintage clocks, and piles of "junk" dance through my head.

Papa ( my grandpa) me and Ava at her school program

Ava and Grandma at her school

Cookin' with Nana

Sweet Cousins

Ava opening presents at Grandma and Pops.....I must add she is wearing one of my dresses from when I was a little girl! She insisted on wearing it......too cute!

More sweet cousins in Christmas jammies

oh and if you are reading this in Google reader, click on over to my blog and see my updated header! It's nothing too cute just some cute pics of sweet Ava Joy.

{Merry} {Christmas}

2010-12-12T11:49:00.000-08:00

Well I figured it was about time to visit this ol' blog here and post an update!

I have finally managed to be "done" with decorating for Christmas. By that, meaning it is what it is this year. There are some pretty fancy pants Christmas decorations out there in blog land this year, and I have decided to not compete with those ideas! ( though most of them are brilliant and fabulous!) ......so here is a run down of what our house looks like for Christmas this year, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!! ................And I am pleased to say, I bought no new Christmas decorations this year.....I just pulled together the stuff i already had!

This is my mantel! This is by far my most favorite thing to decorate during Christmas!! I used the existing window, frame and ceiling tin that was already on my mantel, and just added some Christmas spirit around it. I purchased this Nativity set last year from Dayspring and I {LOVE} it! .........It is especially beautiful at night, when the silhouettes are lit up.

For our tree this year we opted to do a real tree! .....This was a GREAT decision. We have an artificial tree that is 9.5ft tall....it is a beast to decorate I tell ya! .....So we went to the local tree farm here, and purchased a smaller real tree, and it has been perfect! ......Now we just have to remember to keep it watered. I donned the tree with the existing ornaments that I had, and added some burlap garland. I love this stuff! I will be purchasing more of it after Christmas to go on my tree next year. You may be wondering what is with the Cowboy hat at the top of the tree......well my star was MIA this year. I have no idea where it wandered off to. This was my husbands solution ......and I think it looks pretty cute.

I used an old shutter and some suitcases to display our Christmas cards!

Although I really am missing my stockings hanging from our fireplace, I decided that was just not very practical for us. We build lots of fires during the winter ( maybe that is a product of being married to a fireman!) ........so in the years past it was a constant battle of taking the stockings up and down. So this year I went with something a little more low maintenance and I love the outcome!

I am really not a big fan of decorating my whole house for Christmas, but I did add some little touches to our bedroom. I love the simplicity of this cute little set up.

On a more important note, this is our center piece for our dining table. Yes it is baby Jesus. This is Ava's good deeds manger. The idea for this is, thinking of ways that we can give to Jesus on his birthday. Each day when Ava does something good on her own without being prompted, she gets to add some hay to the manger. So hopefully come Christmas morning, baby Jesus will have a soft warm bed to lie in built by Ava having a "happy heart!" She has caught on to this and absolutely loves it.

I hope you all are enjoying the coziness and happiness of the season of Christmas. There is no greater time of the year to reflect on our Saviors goodness and mercy.

Merry Christmas!

SuGaR and sPiCe......

2010-10-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

and everything nice....well most of the time!

A couple of days ago I was having a VERY difficult time with Ava. She has become a very skilled arguer at the young age of 3. Every time I told her "No" or anything to that sense, she had a completely "logical" explanation as to why she could do whatever it was I was telling her not to do.

Not only that but everything was DRAMATIC!!!!!! I know this is the way girls are, but I have not ever dealt with DRAMA at this level before. I mean seriously, I have not ever heard this child CRY so much in one day as I did that day.

Not to mention Nap Time. I really think TLC could do a show called " Nap Time Wars " or "Bed Time Wars" and make a killing off of it. I would watch it just for the security of knowing I am not alone, or to get tips even! Anyway............Ava has always been somewhat good at sleeping. Every now and then an issue will arise that we have to deal with. But on this very day when I told her it was time to take a nap ...... she looked at me and said, "Well mommy it is not dark outside." .....see "logical" excuse. Needless to say, I never convinced her that she never takes a nap when it is dark outside, she did not nap that day. Although, she stayed in her bed the whole time ( after being spanked several times) she never fell asleep.

...........So as the day progressed, unfortunately so did my frustration. Now mind you, this was a day that David was at the station so I was solely on my own for 24hrs! Typically not a big deal, Ava and I usually find plenty to do on these days, and all is usually well...........but not that day! I was the one and only "enforcer" that day .......and enforce I did, with the spanking spoon!

I really think there is nothing more discouraging than spanking your child all day, only to have her turn around and keep doing the things she is getting spankings for.......so I had to start being creative, by taking away her beloved scissors! .........yes you read that right scissors! ( they are kid friendly with a blunted tip that are only capable of cutting paper.....and sometimes not even that!) BUT Ava LOVES her scissors! She sits at her craft table for the majority of the day cutting up pieces of paper or scrap ribbon and gluing it onto paper! By the end of the day it looks like Edward Scissor Hands stopped in for a visit, but she stays busy, occupied and happy!

Taking away her scissors helped for a little while. For the remainder of the day I tried to stay strong and hold my own with her. I prayed a lot, put my face in my hands and shook my head a lot, sighed a lot, and wanted to cry a lot.....and did at one point. Yes it was bad.......especially when I had never seen this side of my child before.

The day ended, and by the end of the day I think she was so exhausted from all of the tantrums, she went right to sleep. That was a blessing, because I am not sure I could have handled much more.

Morning came and Daddy was home! .....( i think I am finally getting to the point of this story here!) I informed David of "our Day" that we had had. And of course he asked, "well, did you spank her."
"umm yes dear more times than I wanted to or can count." So we had to come up with a game plan!!! Our new game plan for that day was going to be, every battle is worth picking today.

Our philosophy with discipline has always been " you have to learn to pick your battles." This has worked for us. Not every battle is worth fighting when it comes to kids. It does not matter to me if she wears her pink shirt or her purple shirt. We have always tried to give her a since of independence, as long as it is within reason and our approval. .......and maybe we got to a point to where we were not picking as many battles to fight as we should have, and the consequences finally came to surface.

So with Daddy being home .....we were equipped and ready, " Army Aldape" was ready to fight!

......the rest of the day happened! Ava got only one chance to do what we were asking. She was allowed NO leeway that day. By about mid day we had our sweet little Ava back! ( Daddy was the main enforcer that day!)

Looking back on this I was reminded of one of my most favorite songs " Daddy's Hands." here are some of the lyrics.

I remember Daddy´s hands, folded silently in prayer.
And reaching out to hold me, when I had a nightmare.
You could read quite a story, in the callouses and lines.
Years of work and worry had left their mark behind.
I remember Daddy´s hands, how they held my Mama tight,
And patted my back, for something done right.
There are things that I´ve forgotten, that I loved about the man,
But I´ll always remember the love in Daddy´s hands.

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love in Daddy´s hands.

This song has always been very near and dear to me, as it reminds me much of my own Dad. There is just something special about a little girl and her daddy. There is just something in little girls that is devastated when we know we have disappointed or upset our daddy's. I see all of this in Ava.

It was amazing to me what a few hours of being disciplined by Daddy did for Ava, in this very phase of her little rebellious heart. I truly believe kids go through different phases. This is part of them learning how to react to the world around them. Apparently Ava had come to a point where she needed us to pick more battles with her, because she was learning how to take advantage of the leeway we had given her.

We are still learning how challenging parenting can be, but we are thankful for the wisdom and discernment that the Lord gives us.

"He who spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." Proverbs 13:24

"A refusal to correct is a refusal to love;
love your children by disciplining them." Proverbs 13:24 translated for The Message

Needless to say we still have plenty of SuGaR and sPiCe moments with this precious little girl.

Some {favorites}

2010-09-27T15:43:00.000-07:00

Once again I have slacked on this......somehow this is not surprising! Honestly my brain and life have been full of things to blog about, but I have not found myself sitting down to do it. Oh well such is life right!!!

One thing that I have been on a quest for, is simplifying my inventory of toiletries and cleaning stuff. My bathroom and shower were beginning to look like CVS. Seriously all joking aside, I had enough Shampoo and Condition to rotate them daily and not use the same one all week......maybe even for two weeks! eekk!.....I was always on a quest to find the best one, you know, the one that smelled the best, and controlled the fly aways in this 100% humidity weather! .....And if I had a coupon, and it was on sell you better believe I was going to buy it just to say I paid .50 for it!!! ........Well these little tendencies led to a somewhat ridiculous situation in my personal toiletry department!

I am pleased to say that I have overcome this little addiction and am loving my simplified bathroom!! Our shower now is home to only 1 shampoo bottle, 1condition bottle, and 1 bottle of soap! And these are all products that my husband loves as well so we share!

{ Shampoo and Conditioner}

Can I just say I LOVE this stuff!!!! This is Natures Gate Henna Shampoo and Conditioner! It is paraben-free, alcohol free, and pH balanced. ( yes did you know that there is alcohol in some shampoos! ) Natures Gate has several different ones to choose from, and all the ones I have tried are great, but the Henna one is my favorite! I get so many compliments now on how shiny my hair is!! Gotta love that! These cost around $4.99 a bottle at Village Foods ( the closest thing to a Central Market or Whole Foods that we have here.) I have seen them at HEB as well, but they are more expensive.

{Soap}

This is Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap. This stuff is simply amazing. It is free of detergents and it is a Certified Fair Trade Product. We love the Almond scent and the Lavender scent, for when I take a bath or shower at night. I also use these on Ava! ( carefully though because they are not tear free, they have essential oils in them and will burn the eyes. ) If you ever want to be entertained, sit and read the label on the bottle! It has me all sorts of confused. They are a little more pricey than other body washes, but I find they last FOREVER!! We have had these bottles for well over 2 months, and still have close to half a bottle left. The larger bottle you see is about $8.00 or so, and the smaller one was about $5.00. We have super soft water here, so I love that I do not feel like I still have soap residue all over me after using this stuff.

{face wash}

oh boy .....is this a touchy subject for me. I have battle bad skin for most of my life after puberty. I have spent hundreds of dollars on products with promising results, only to be disappointed. Yes, I have even tried Proactiv......it was equivalent to rubbing bleach on my face. Acne was gone, but it was traded for very red and dry skin. I know it works for a lot of people, but I have very sensitive skin, and it just tore me up!!! ...These two products above I { heart } so very much! My sister introduced me to a method called "Oil Cleansing," and I love her for doing so. I will be honest with you. My first reaction to the thought of rubbing oil on my face to clean it was terrifying. I mean, oil clogs pores and causes Acne right??? That is what the dermatologist said all my life. Well, I have news for all of the dermatologist who ever treated my skin issues by prescribing me birth control pills, ridiculous amounts of antibiotics, and the awful drug Accutane ..........cleaning my face with this oil has helped me tremendously! Sorry, yes there is a little bit of bitterness running through me here! ....okay I am over it. Back to Oil Cleansing. To read more about it go HERE. Basically you mix the Sunflower Oil and the Castor Oil together using a ratio that is good for your skin type. I use 90% sunflower oil to 10% Castor oil. If you have oily skin you would increase the Castor Oil a bit......really just go read the article it will enlighten you.

By no means is my skin completely flawless BUT it is much more predictable, and I don't feel like I am going to have a nervous breakdown while doing my makeup every morning, because my skin is so bad. I use to wear very heavy foundation to hide behind my acne. I am pleased to say now I wear only a light powder and concealer when needed. { LOVE IT!}

{Deodorant}

Okay I am not ashamed to say it, I am a sweater...and not the kind you knit and wear. The kind that you want to run away from in the other direction. Switching to a deodorant that was aluminum free was scary for me. This would mean I would sweat more.....or would it??? I am pleased to say that I made the switch to aluminum free deodorant, and have managed to keep all of my friends, and my husband. The shocking results.......I actually do not sweat as bad I use to. Imagine that! I will say that the transition period was hard. What was happening in my case, was the aluminum in my deodorant ( which is the anti-persperant) was causing my body to overcompensate and sweat more. Sounds funny I know! But now that I have taken that out of the equation, I sweat only when necessary, and not all the time. For this I am thankful because sweating is natural and normal, and one way the body rids itself of toxins. And now I can live in peace knowing that my deodorant is not contributing to a risk of getting breast cancer or Alzheimer's because it is aluminum free!

I have tried a few other aluminum free deodorants and this has left me feeling the most confident. Also shocking......my husband uses this too and loves it. And he is a big time sweater......the kind I sometimes want to run away from! I have seen this deodorant range any where from about $2.50-$5 a bottle. The cheapest place I have found to order it from is amazon in bulk. I have seen it at HEB, but it is about $5.00 a bottle.

{Cleaners}

These are my new favorite cleaners! .....Like I described my bathroom earlier, under my kitchen sink was not any better. It was full of cleaners containing very harmful chemicals that could cause someone to possibly grow three eyeballs if inhaled too much......not to mention the awful things it could do to a child if they got a hold of it. I love these J.R Watkins cleaners. I use the Universal one for pretty much everything except for mirrors and windows....hence the Window Cleaner on the left. They smell absolutely delightful. I have also used some of the Mrs. Myers cleaners, and I like them just as much. The bottles are smaller though and the same price of these $3.99-$4.99. I have lucked out a few times at TJ Maxx and have scored some Mrs. Myers for $1.99 a bottle!

{for my BABY}

Even though she is a big {three} ....she is still my baby! I love this shampoo paired with my Henna Conditioner for her. It leaves her hair silky smooth, and tangle free. She has never complained about it burning when it gets in her eyes. I think you could use this a a body wash as well, and I have. Even though it says Shampoo. This is also about $4.99 a bottle.

Whew!......Sorry I did not expect for this to be this long! I hope this helps my one blog reader pick some "better for you" toiletries.

There is one last thing that I will throw out there, and I will not be graphic about it. ( or try no to be!) The Diva Cup. Have you heard about this. I will be honest, when my hippie sister first told me about these I wanted to barf. Literally. Well after having a baby, and not being about the wear tampons afterwards for whatever reason, I thought I would give it a whirl! And I have never turned back since then. Love it! ......Anyway that is all I am saying about that. If you have any questions ask me I will enlighten you.......and for obvious reasons I did not take a picture of this. That would be major barf material.

Her {Big} day!

2010-08-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry For slacking off on this post! I have had it in my brain to post these pics of Ava's first day of school and I have not had the time to do it! ( Busy doing what I am not sure! )

Here are some pics of the morning of Ava's first day of pre-school. I almost got all teary eyed again when I looked at these......she is growing way to fast!..... and honestly I am loving every minute of it.

Sorry this is short to say the least .............but bedtime duty is calling ( story time, bible reading, prayers and lots and lots of kisses! )

...........stay tuned i have a "favorite things" post brewing in my head!

{Three}

2010-08-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

Well it happened my little girl turned {3}.....I can't believe it! It seems as if a transformation took place overnight. She woke up on Friday, her actual birthday, and she was a different more independent little girl.

We enjoyed the day on Friday as a family doing all things Ava! Tea parties, baby dolls, drawing, and eating pancakes! Here she is blowing out candles on her pancakes.

She was so excited when she opened her Dora shoes! I had to have a come to Jesus meeting with myself before I bought these. She saw these at the store the other day when we were shoe shopping. I was insistent on buying her the Twinkle toes sketchers shoes, and she wanted the Dora shoes. So like a good mommy I went back and got them for her birthday. It was worth the look on her face when she opened them.

Saturday we had a small family birthday party for Ava at our house. It wasn't anything too fussy just a nice family gathering. And I have to brag for a minute, David smoked the best brisket I have ever eaten! It was melt in your mouth good! I guess it was worth him waking up at 3:00 AM to put it on the pit. Anyhow, we had a great time with family celebrating Ava's {three} precious years.

Happy Birthday Ava Joy! What a JOY and blessing you have been to your mommy and daddy, and to everyone around you! Our prayer is that the Lord will use your soft sweet spirit to do amazing things for Him! We love you precious one!

.......I must say that this has been an emotional birthday for me! I am not sure why, I think it is just the combination of her being {three} and the fact that she is starting pre-school tomorrow! It has just been hard for me to grasp all of these changes at once. We went to meet the teacher tonight, and it was sweet confirmation that we have made the right decision to put her in pre-school. She loved it! She sat down immediately and started coloring and talking to her teacher. I almost cried when her teacher asked her what her name was .....she so confidently and proudly said " Ava!"

So it has finally happened folks' ................she is a big girl! ( but still only weighing in at 28lbs! .....so see she really isn't that big!!! )

{This} & {That}

2010-08-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well I am pleased to say we are finally getting settled back in our house and things are starting to look and feel like {Home}

I have a whole new accumulation of stuff that has been sitting in storage. So unpacking has been like Christmas! I had forgotten about some of the {new} stuff I have gotten. Things that I happened upon at Estate Sales, garage sales and thrift stores. So I guess they are new to me, there are very few things in my house that are new! And you know what, that is they way I like it.

Today Ava and I are having a VERY lazy day!! .....Well not entirely, we did manage to wash the car this morning. We did lots of "chore" type stuff yesterday.....like having the hubby help hang all of the stuff that I have been wanting to hang. So I guess it's okay for us to throw in a lazy day today.

Wow! ...I really have a little bit of writers block! Not much else is going on. I have been reading through Crazy Love. It is the best book that I have read in a while. I feel like it was the perfect book to read while starting this new chapter in our lives. I am trying to sort through what the Fall will look like in our house. Lots of changes! Pre-school, possibly soccer or dance for Ava, finding a new church to call home. But above all we want this season to be what the Lord has ordained. We don't want to be over committed to fruitless things, we are ready to be involved with a church body that is being the hands and feet of Jesus!

This is the top part of my hutch that I put above my sofa! I {love} the impact it has here.

I am loving this dresser that I snatched up at an Estate Sale for $20!


Not sure if my mantel will stay like this I like it but I don't LOVE it.....but I am out of ideas at the moment!

Okay I better get going before you and I both become basket cases, since this was a pretty pointless post! ......Looks like Ava has already become a basket case!

{pRe}- {school}

2010-07-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I just typed that as my title!

But yes folks' it is true! Yesterday we enrolled Ava in a pre-school program at a local church that will start in Aug!

My how time flies! I feel like it was only yesterday I was nursing this sweet little one and changing her precious "breast milk poo" diapers! ( those who have been there get my drift!).......And now we are entering the preschool world!

We were not sure if we were really going to go the whole pre-school route with her or not. But after much thought and prayer we have realized the needs of our child! ......She has a HUGE thirst for learning. Lately she has been so frustrated when she picks up her books and can't read them. I have been told by other parents of young readers that this is the first step in teaching them to read ......they have to be ready and willing. ( this will be our new journey at home, because I am well aware that reading is not part of the curriculum for pre-school!)

Ava caught on very quickly to learning her alphabet letters, and can tell you what sound each letter makes and sometimes a word that goes with each letter! ( sorry....yes I am very proud of the little darlin'!)

Not only does she have a thirst for learning she is a very social child and LOVES social interaction with other children! So we felt it was important that she start learning to interact with other children in a more structured environment.

.............Now don't think I am throwing her in pre-school for them to take all of the work off of me at home and let them do it. ( a common misconception!)

This is a very laid back program, and at this age {3} it really is more fun and play for them at school. She will only go 4 half days a week! That is what I LOVE! She will still have plenty of time at home with her momma! She will have to stay 2 days a week all day ( till I get off work!) ......But still all in all we are thrilled for Ava to get to learn and grow in this new experience. She was more than thrilled about going to visit her new school yesterday.

I am a very strong believer that every child is different and has different needs. So what is right for one may not be right for another. To be honest I was very reluctant to make this move because I wanted to make sure I was being a good steward of my time with her at home, and .......well this kind of thing cost money, so I did not want to be wasting money.

.....for a little bit of history, I started working part time ( 2 days a week) about a year ago, for the purpose of being called to be at home more with my family. I have absolutely LOVED every minute of this. Ava currently goes to a home sitter on the days that I am working. We have been BEYOND blessed with Mrs. Rachel. .....So naturally it would have been easy for me to just let her stay there for two days and then be with me the other days. ( which has been fun and exciting!)

But, I saw needs in Ava. The need to be with other kids, playing, learning, growing and experiencing new things!

So we shall see how this goes, and as always we will re-evaluated the situation as needed.

I will leave you with some pictures of our {Sweet Summetime!!!}

I think this is my FAVORITE pic of the summer so far! hahaha

{ Today } ....mostly in pics!

2010-07-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today was a rather exhausting and busy day!

.....And I have forgotten to mention that we are back in our house folks!

David was at the station today, and I am having to learn to adjust to him being away for 24 hours at a time. ( but when he is off for 5 days in a row it is BLISS!)

I try to stay busy when he is working just so the day passes by faster.....but there was rain in the forecast all day today so I thought we better just stay in. Loading and unloading a toddler in and out of a carseat all day in the rain, has proven to be pretty miserable in the past.

Cute heart PJ's that are Ava's favorite!

BUSTED! Jumping on the bed

BUSTED again pulling all of the bedding off of the bed!

Whew! Okay I am off the bathe the princess and maybe squeeze in some reading.....started reading Crazy Love......and it is crazy good!

{SuMmeR}

2010-06-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

( pic was taken at my best friends wedding in April)

Well I figured that is was about time to update this blog of mine! I have taken a little hiatus from the blogosphere! I was becoming a little overwhelmed with the blog world. Of coarse I have still been reading my "must have" blogs, but a little break was definitely needed.

So......let's see, what have we been up to???

In a few short weeks we will be moving back into our house. I think my heart just skipped a beat typing that! We are soooo excited. There really is no place like home. For those of you that have been keeping up with the " we will be selling our house saga,".....yes our house is still for sale. We will continue to leave it on the market when we move back in. It may sell fast, it may not! Whatever happens is well with our soul. I love my house, and it is prefect and fine for us, we are just hoping we can upgrade to something larger with room to roam!

On another fun SuMmer note....Ava started swimming lessons this week.

I finally had my I am so proud and in awe of my little Ava moment. Yes, I have always been proud and in awe of her....every single day. BUT this week it was taken to a whole new level. A big girl level!!! You see, her mommy decided it was best to put her in the preschool ( ages 3-5) class instead of the waterbabies class ( ages 18months- 2) With Ava being right on the cusp ( almost 3) I decided that she needed to be with the preschool class. This is a class where the parents are not in the water with them. We talked about it with her the week before, prepping her and telling her she would be swimming with her friends and her teacher.

I am pretty sure on the first day of class I was WAY more nervous than she. BUT when her name was called to go line up with her class for the very first time her face lit up! She got up, walked over there and said "bye mommy!" There was just something about watching her cute little swimsuit booty walk over there that made me a little teary!

And then it was time to get in to water! ......She did it! ( she could barely touch, compared to the others in her class, but she held her own!)

I don' think she quit smiling the entire class! I mean like ear to ear grin.

We sat and watched in amazement of this little girl that she has become. I felt like on of "those" parents, you know ...the "that's my kid!"

On another summer note, we are headed on vacation next week! We rented a little cabin on the river in the hill country! I will be sure to update with pics when we get back. ( I don't want to say where we are going till we get back, just in case there are any weird blog stalking crazy people out there! :)

I will leave you with some pics of Ava at her swimming lessons! And I promise to be back with an update soon.

gOoD nEws!

2010-03-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we got some great news from our renters!

Originally their lease went through Aug..........BUT they called and are needing out in June!

So.........we get to move back in 2 months earlier than expected.

This comes with a bitter sweetness........of coarse we will LOVE being back in our own place, BUT it has been a blessing to get to share Ava with my mom and dad, and my grandfather; who lives with my parents.

Yes, it has been a crazy ride, and a bit crowded at times, but the relationship that Ava has gotten to establish with her Grandma, Pops and Papa is one that will be cherished forever.

So in a few short months........we will be back in our HoMe....living as one CuTe little family! I must say that there is something great to say about living with family....you always have help!

Thanks Mom and Dad ( Grandma and Pops) for opening up your home to us!

......As I was browsing my pictures to find one of our house, I came across one of my favorite pictures of Ava!

SpRiNg

2010-03-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

I love that spring is finally almost here!.....In Texas it pretty much is here already!

Of course I love spring because of all of the crisp newness that is in the air, the blooming flowers and whatnots......BUT I mostly love spring because it means the start of my thrifting season begins.

This morning was an absolutely beautiful and perfect morning to venture out to some local estate sales that were happening.

On another exciting note; my sister and her families farm was featured in an article in the Texas Live Magazine! I am so excited for them and the amazing growth that their farm is experiencing.

{Simplicity}

2010-02-24T12:50:00.000-08:00

For such as small word, this word is something that can be very complicated!

I have been seeking {simplicity} in my life.

Not that my life is overly stressful....but I think we all have room to {simplify}

So what would {simplicity} look like in my life?

Would it clean out my purse removing all of the spilt raisins from snacks bags, or sort through crinkled receipts?

Would it cross off afternoons of running "errands?"

Would it mean organizing or not organizing ALL of the pics on my computer? ( because it is getting on my nerves that I do not have a very good picture "system")

I am not sure!

Well I read something the other day that was encouraging, and it helped shed some light on this whole {simplicity} thing!

Simplicity does not just happen.
Simplicity has to be sought.
Sometimes it's found by saying "no"- by realizing that a night home isn't always a concession to selfishness but a much needed time to be still, to slow down. Sometimes it's found by saying "yes" - by making the brave decision to take control of the things in your schedule that are robbing you from the peace of doing less, thanks to the option of doing everything.

At times God helps us succeed in bringing order into our lives, and sweet simplicity follows.Yet when order has disintegrated into near chaos, he can show us - if we will let him- how to rescue simplicity from the jaws of runaway activity.

Simplicity is his promise.... a peace he reserves not only for those who appear to have it all together, but for those of us who just seem to have it all to do.

So true and so encouraging!

" Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yolk upon you and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew11:28-29

"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the worlds gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful." John 14:27

So I am praying for God to teach me what {simplicity} looks like in my life!

2010-02-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

Last month while we were in Houston for David's graduation we stayed a few nights in a hotel!

This was not any old hotel .....this place was pure perfection in my eyes! This place was full of so much detail.

We stayed at Hotel Icon in Downtown Houston. If ever in the area I would highly recommend this place. Even though it was a very nice hotel, full of business people, the hotel was more than accommodating to us with our little toddler in tow. Not your typical chain hotel, more of a boutique hotel!!!!

And the best part is.....we only paid $80.00 a night. A typical night is around $200.00!

How did we manage this??

Well, thanks to my amazing sister in law for this resourceful information, we went to priceline.com and bid on a room! ..............It is so super easy and it is not a "gimmick!" It is for real. All you have to do is pick the area that you are staying in, and select 4 star hotel ( 5 star is usually not an option!) ..............The only catch is you have to pay before you know where you will be staying.......BUT with a 4 star hotel at 80 bucks a night......can you go wrong???

This has opened up our world to perhaps a few more little weekend trips here and there! Thanks Grace!

Ava's reaction to the hotel was extremely precious!!!!

What is it about hotels and girls...........they makes us giddy! .......even at the age of 2!

All she wanted to do was take a bath in the gigantic bath, and she was totally beside herself with the complimentary rubber ducky!

She was just so darn cute!

Here are some pics of this amazing place!!! Sorry the pics are not that great....i needed a wide angle lens to really capture the beauty of the room as a whole!

And let me just say these pics will NOT do the bathroom justice!!! It was BEAUTIFUL!!!!

I {HEART} my Firefighter!

2010-01-31T15:22:00.000-08:00

This past Thursday, my wonderful and amazing husband graduated from the Houston Fire Academy!

It was such a joy to watch this part of our lives unfold.

Like I have talked about before, this has been long awaited.

I am so proud and honored to serve a man who has sacrificially committed to this calling.

Earlier in the day, before the graduation ceremony, we got to watch David first hand in a fire demonstration.

My heart was filled with pride, while my eyes were filled with tears! .....Yes, it was a little scary for me.... BUT I know my husband has a passion for this.

.....Today .....Sunday......was his first day of work!! Crazy isn't it!

I awoke with him this morning at 4 am to see him off to work! I resisted the urge to take his picture all "uniformed" up!

......I am now on my journey of learning the steadfast faithfulness of our Father to see safety and provision over my husband!

I am {Dreaming}.....

2010-01-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

Of This............

Or wait ....am I dreaming?.....or is this soon to be real.

Not sure?

Time shall tell................

Isn't she a beauty!

Singing IN the RAIN!!

2010-01-21T14:22:00.000-08:00

Last week was wet and rainy, BUT not very cold.......so i thought it was the perfect opportunity for Ava to play outside with her new umbrella!

I love the days that we get to go outside! A two year old can only deal with confined walls for so long! (Of coarse I could not resist the urge to take some cute pics!).....pics to follow at the end!

On a different note.......has your child ever done something that just melts your heart into a million pieces?.....Ava has been doing this to me alot lately.

She is finally at the age to where she is saying things that are so reassuring to me .....that she is starting to get it!!!!

The other day we were walking into Target and she looked at me and told me " Mommy, Jesus lives in my happy heart, and not in my mean heart!"........It was PRECIOUS!!!

AND THEN.....yesterday....she opened my flood gates....the kind where it became suddenly pointless that I even spent time to put make-up on that morning. On our way to our destination....(mall and Chick Fil A) ....my ears were filled with the most JOYFUL, amazing thing ever! Ava singing this song almost from start to finish!!!

This momma needed to hear those sweet words coming from her two year olds mouth!!! Oh how they sounded more beautiful than they have any time before. ..... lately I feel like my days have been eaten up with constant discipline to Ava. Don't take me the wrong way here, it is not constant spankings, although she does get her fare share of those, it is just constant redirection and correction. We are trying to teach Ava the blessing and security of obedience....and to be honest, some days it is just plum exhausting!!! Hearing this just gave me some encouragement that she is learning!.....The best part was on the Holy, Holy, Holy part she had her hands lifted and all!!! ( yes, she was imitating her mommy, there is nothing wrong with praising Jesus while driving down the road!)
Anyway....here are some pics enjoy!!!!

{NeW}

2010-01-12T14:52:00.000-08:00

In almost 2 short weeks our lives are going to change.

They will change in a way we have been waiting for,
for a very long time.

My husband will graduate from the Houston Fire Academy, and begin his career as a Houston Firefighter/EMT. I cannot tell you how proud I am of this man. Any man that finishes a college degree and graduates from a Fire Academy practically in the same year is a HERO!! My hero!...(all the while upholding his duties as husband and father)

I cannot believe this day has finally come.

The day that NEITHER one of us are in school, the day where we can "settle" down and focus on just life....our life...our families life! How exciting.

This has not come easy, as we have experienced many ups and downs along the way.....but needless to say WE HAVE ARRIVED..only to bring GLORY to God because none of this would be made possible with out him.

So now what?

I am not sure .....I guess that is what I am struggling with, I am struggling to find my JOY in all of this!

Have you ever felt just plum disoriented with life??? .........

I know I am probably piddling in my own pitty...so forgive me for a minute.

But if you are not aware of our living situation...we are not in our own home. Meaning we rented out our house to get us through this journey that was full of many unknowns, and now we have until August to be back in the comfort of our own home......So we are living with my parents!.....It is not terribly bad, it is just not our home.

I am struggling with this newness of our life, because I have waited for this day for a long long time...to feel "settled"......but really I still feel so unsettled.

All of that to say.....I know that the Devil is just trying to steal my JOY! I mean don't get me wrong, I am so happy for my husband BUT why coundn't this have worked out better.... my way...like the way I always dreamed it would be.

Lord forgive me.....I am selfish and in need of a savior!......Thank you Jesus!

I wish I had some fancy words for you on how I have overcome all of this....but I don't! My heart is aching for what I longed for! ( selfish I know!)............BUT I can tell you that I am praying against all of this.....I know that I have plenty to be Thankful for.

We love you Daddy!

{ LoVe It } - {HaTe It }

2010-01-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

So I have this new Love Hate relationship!

It is with something that is soft, Messy, colorful, slatly and causes my OCD radar to go off.

You want to know what it is....................

Play Doh!!!!!!!

I love that it keeps my 2 year old occupied.

I hate that my daughter likes to "tatend" ( pretend) to eat the play doh, but really eats it.

I love that it lets Ava use her creativity.

I hate that it caueses my OCD tendencies to come out in a mighty big way, when the colors get mixed.

I love that it helped Ava learn some letters of her Alphabet when we built them out of Play doh.

I hate that I feel like the living room rug will be polka dotted with dried play doh.

I love that play doh is only .99 cents a piece and can be easily replaced.

I love it even more that you can make your own play doh!

I hate that Play Doh "crumbles" are taking over my life!

I love that Ava always asks to "play my play doh!"

I love to watch Ava play with her Play Doh.

I love it when she makes flowers out of Play Doh and brings them to me, or when she serves me Play Doh pancakes.

I love it that I can get an entire meal cooked while Ava plays with Play Doh.

I guess I am falling in love with this messy glob of goodness!

I guess I will have to learn to deal with little jars of mixed Play Doh. It just fits into our little life that is less than perfect but always colorful!

Christmas in Pics!

2009-12-28T14:02:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a blessed and special christmas! We were overwhelmed with blessings! Here is our Christmas in Pics! Enjoy!

{CuTeNeSs!}

2009-12-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

I saw this new Gap commercial and thought it was too cute! Maybe it is because I am a sucker for leggings, skirts and boots ( and for the Gap!!) And the bright colors make my heart sing!

{:Bounty of Birdies and Such!:}

2009-12-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

Today on this cold and rainy day, my sweet husband and I ventured out to a few garage sales. Our initial destination was a garage sale listing that said they would have a bunch of vintage pocket knives, needless to say that was a flop!......After all thats the story of garage sailing, you win some and you lose some!!!

But I was determined to not let our Saturday quest go to waste. We ventured around the corner to find another sale going on. I was pleased with the few little treasures that I walked away with.

A cute little mirror display with three little birdie votive holders.( whole set for $3.00) This had a cute whimsical feel to it, and it satisfied my love for birds. Not sure if I will keep these or if they will make in into my give as a gift bounty!

I almost passed up this old brush and comb set, until my husband said, " that is real silver you need to get these. " After I purchased these for 5.00 I fell in love with the thought of them one day adorning a vanity in Ava's room.

Hope you are all having a great Saturday and enjoying the Christmas Spirit!!!

Blessings!

{Wrapping it Up!}

2009-12-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

This year my wrapping looks like this! ...My goal was for a no fuss wrapping job, and I must say this was a super easy look to achieve. There was no standing in the wrapping paper aisle at hobby lobby trying to decide on which paper I want, and not to mention finding the perfect ribbon to go with it. Just give me some brown craft paper, cute 50% off ribbon, a stamp, and some card stock!

I am in LoVe with the whole idea that less is more! ....I cannot wait till we move back into our home, and I can start implementing this approach.

Loving this....

2009-12-06T15:18:00.000-08:00

Today I am loving my new Chris Tomlin Christmas CD that I bought!!! It is Christmas music that makes you want to lift your hands and praise JESUS!!!

And I am loving that all of our Christmas shopping is pretty well DONE!!!!

photo compliments of Country Living

Blessings!!

Thanksgiving at the Beach!!

2009-11-30T19:23:00.001-08:00

This year we went to Corpus Christi for Thanksgiving here are a few of my favorite pictures of Ava that I captured on the beach on our way out of town! I have many more pics to share of our wonderful Thanksgiving that I will get to in a few days!

{ No Words...}

2009-11-21T18:44:00.000-08:00

There are no words to describe the amount of Thankfulness my heart is filled with for getting to look at this face everyday!

Hope you all have a wonderful {ThAnKsGiViNg}

A {HuMbLe} find!

2009-11-10T17:43:00.000-08:00

At the request of my wonderful sister I am inclined to write this post. This past Saturday my mom and I ventured out to another city wide garage sale in a nearby small town. ( these are always the best!) Although I did not find too many things, I did happen upon something that tops all of my other finds. This was something that I LEAST bit expected that I would ever find, let alone own. I have entertained that thought of owning one of these one day but it was not going to be any time soon because of their hefty price. This is something that will help us on our quest to healthy and a more natural way of living. So what is it ? THIS..............................

This is a grain mill.......one of the top of the line ones I might add! ( i paid $25.00 for it, they retail at near $400) I was in complete shock when I found this thing. The only reason I really even recognized it was because my sister just posted about one HERE! (She just received one for her anniversary last week.)

Now a little bit of background as to why this is amazing! I have been having some very terrible issues with digestion. By issues I am not talking about typical IBS symptoms, although that is all any doctor would probably diagnose me with. I am talking about a stomach pain bad enough to make me feel like I am having a contraction. These pains usually last for about 1 whole hour and are constant, not come and go. I have been able to possibly link this to my bodies inability to digest wheat products properly. Lately have have been doing my fair share of research about this and seeking answers. It has been my hearts desire to find a way to rid my body of this rather than start taking some pill. I have covered this issue with much prayer asking the Lord to show me what direction I need to take in order to find healing. I know that he can heal my body of this, and I believe he will. But I also feel that he is teaching me LOTS of things during this whole process.

I am sure you are wondering how a wheat mill ( or grinder) is going to help with all of this. I am by no means a scientist, but I will try and explain this to the best of my ability.

This is all so new to me and I am trying to do a little more research to make this a natural thought process for me, rather than something that I have to think really hard about for it to make sense! So here it goes.

After wheat is harvested we are left with whole kernels or wheat berries that are then refined or milled into flour. The milling of wheat is a process that breaks down the grain, which consist of three parts, the endosperm, the bran and the germ. The bran layer is where nearly all of the fiber is. It is also a great source of magnesium, zinc, iron, phosphorus, and vitamins E and B complex. The germ layer contains high amounts of protein and large amounts of the same vitamins and minerals in a high concentration.

Grinding wheat using any process will produce flour, but the refining process has evolved into something that is not necessarily the best. The modern refining process strips the grain of its bran and germ layers, striping it of it's vast majority of nutritional value. These are removed to give the wheat a longer shelf life. The flour that we see in grocery store is then bleached using chemicals such as benzoyl peroxide......( the same thing that is used to treat acne....why is this in our food???)

Considering the lack of nutritional value and the addition to chemicals, I am convinced that grinding your own wheat is the way to go!

This leads me to the topic of phytic acid in wheat. (I know this all sounds very scientific but bear with me.) Phytic acid is something that exits in large quantities in whole grains. It is said that this can inhibit the bodies ability to absorb key vitamins and minerals. Phytic acid is also something that the body has an inability to break down. In order to rid wheat products of the phytates you have to ferment your flour. ( this will be a future post, once I learn at little more!)

I am not sure what all of this means to me, I am still learning. I DO firmly believe that I did not just happen upon this wheat mill, or that is was coincidence, I believe it was God giving me a tool for my healing. I am still amazed and humbled at HIS ability to provide.

And the best part is, now my sister and I get to learn the ropes together. Are you ready Lyns?

A new fashion statement!

2009-11-08T17:08:00.000-08:00

This weekend I did something that I NEVER thought that I would do...............................

I went hunting with David and I wore camo!! What is this world coming to! ...And I have to admit I had a great time. David and I usually have fun together no matter what we are doing, as long as we are together, but I never saw this day coming NEVER! I was raised with a dad who is an avid hunter....I mean like camo is his favorite color, and I never had an interest in any of this growing up, but I guess it is different with my husband. I am learning to take interest in some of the things he likes. He is so great doing ALOT of things that I like, so this was the least that I could do for him.

There was just something magical about sitting in the woods with my husband with no other distractions enjoying the peace and quiet of nature. Really it was magical. I brought along "Breaking Free" by Beth Moore ( wonderful book!), to read while we waited for our bounty. Let me just make this clear.......I just go along to SIT with him and give him support and company! I am acutally scared of shooting guns! ( although I would love to learn to bow hunt one day!)

We didn't gain any bounty BUT I think all in all we gained some great quality time together. We got to enjoy a sunset and a sun rise. Yes, that is right a sun set AND a sun rise. Not only did we go hunting once we went TWICE! ( only for a few hours each time!)

Thanks babe for letting me experience this piece of your world with you, I really had a blast!!!

{JUNK }

2009-10-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had a pretty fruitful junking weekend! I love how my sister-in-law talked about "junk" here! So true! It is not uncommon for me to purchase something while someone else ( usually my husband), is in the background thinking "what is she going to do with that?" You have to see the potential, he is slowly learning!

So after a long morning of junkin' with my junkin' buddy these days, my mom, I felt like I had hit the jackpot!!!

Now keep in mind everything that you will see in the pictures cost me $40.00 total for EVERYTHING!!!

So here it goes..................

I scored two very cute floor lamps ( that work), a fabulous shabby chic fireplace screen ( the lady I bought it from informed me that she paid $200 for it, and by the looks of her house I believe it!), 2 plant stands, 4 metal shelve brackets, a little wood frame, 2 pink shutters ( i have big plans for these in Ava's room), and a cute little cheese ball tray!!!

Aren't these shutters amazing.............at only $3.00 each! All I can say is move over Roundtop, I am on to some better deals! Not really I will always have a special place in my heart for Roundtop and all of it's eye candy!!

And I must not forget to mention these adorable little Lands End rain boots that I got for Ava! They are practically brand new.........$1.00!

I would love to hear what you think of all of my {JUNK}!!! Do you think I am plum crazy and this really is just a bunch of JUNK??? Really I would love to hear!!!

Hope you enjoyed!

Have a great day!

{PuMpKiN} {PaTcH} pics!!

2009-10-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

Taking time......

2009-10-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

...to look back and remember some of the memories of our home! ......This season is such a hard season for me to not be in our house. ....This is the time of year when my projects that I have been procrastinating on usually get done, and not to mention all of the decorations that come along with fall. So what is a girl like me to do without her own house......get over it I guess!

No really, this season of life has really taught me a lot about me and my home. Basically, I was downright obsessed with making it beautiful, and never took the time to realize the beauty of my home beyond the "decor" ....the memories, and the life that was happening inside my home. I am totally not saying that making a home beautiful is wrong. I think it is great for women to make a beautiful and functional place for their family. But like The Nester says, "it does not have to be perfect to be beautiful!"

So, today I am remembering some of the memories that happened in our home before we moved out!

Nana reading to Ava after her bath.

Ava outside helping Daddy with yard work.

Ava reading in her bed like a big girl.

Ava with Grandma, Nana, Great-grandma Evelyn, and Abuelita.

Me and mom at David's graduation party.

David trying out his fire gear for the first time.

I hope you all are having a great fall season! ......As for us we are going to continue to make some beautiful memories during our stay at Grandma and Pops' house! I know that it will not be long until we are back in our little house!

By the way I landed some beautiful treasures this weekend ......so I will post some pictures soon! One is waiting for a new coat of stain.

New weekend beauties

2009-09-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! This weekend I was able to land some beautiful finds at some beautiful prices. We had a very low key weekend with very little plans ( for a change!) ......We ventured out to Brenham, TX to see my sister and my favorite nieces on a whim. Then we ended up heading on over to Round Top to make a few stops.We were not expecting to do this which was a BIG deal for me! Round Top is something that I have to prepare myself mentally for, because it can be VERY overwhelming. .....None the less we went. As always I saw many beautiful things that I could have bought. But I like to wait and make any possible big purchases till the last day ( which is next Sunday) There is a better chance of getting a better deal! And I will hope for rain....sounds crazy, but I have landed some pretty awesome deals at Round Top in the rain! .....I guess the dealers are not wanting to load up all their stuff they have not sold in the rain.

I found a beautiful linen table runner for Ava's room, and a very cool pear cutting board! I looked at the price tags at first and passed them up because it was just not "cheap" enough for me. Upon exiting the tent I saw a sign that said "All items 50% off!" .......And instantly the price was right.

Within 30 minutes of my next find I was having a conversation with my mom, who was with us, that I would love to find some Hobbie Holly plates to hang on Ava's wall. Low and be hold, check out my next finds.

And would you believe these were also priced at 50% off! I guess these were just meant to be mine.

I had one more sale to catch this weekend. A co-worker of mine and her husband own a nursery and a gift shop that is going out of business. And I landed these.......

For now they have found a home on my moms mantle .....only until we move back in our house! I can't wait to fill these with some seasonal goodies........leaves, pine cones, Christmas balls, fruit, oh the endless possibilities.

I can't go without leaving you with some pictures of my true little beauty!

She rode around the entire mall like this! Oh how I love little girls and all of the accessories that come with them.

This is why Ava loves our time at Grandma and Pops' house. The toy closet. Need I say more!

Sitting in the toy closet!

Me and my beauty!

............and me and my other beauty! Yes he is beautiful, okay ....I'll say handsome!

A Thrifty Day!

2009-09-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got to go on one of my treasure hunting adventures. David and I ventured out to the small town of Rockdale, Texas. There they were having a "city wide garage sale." We got to do this without our little Ava in tow. Thanks to my mom. Don't get me wrong I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, to be with Ava but garage sales and two yr olds don't exactly mix very well. Although, she has been on her fair share of thrifting adventures with me.

Besides getting to add to my collection of treasures, the greatest treasure was getting to enjoy my husbands great company. I love that we can do these things together and just enjoy the beauty of being together anywhere, ....even looking through a bunch of junk....and we saw plenty of that. The things people try to sale, and the things people will buy never fails to amaze me.

Anyway, I must say I am very pleased with the treasures that we found!

I was able to walk away with a beautiful antique wicker table with a beautiful solid wood top for only $15.00. I knew this table was gem when I saw it. I can just imagine it on a future back patio, or in a sunroom.... I will have one of these one day!

I also got two marvelous gold frames. I have been on a quest to find some of these! I have a beautiful bronze "A" that will look beautiful in the center of one of these. I paid only $5.00 for the large ones and the smaller one I got for free. Can't beat that!

I picked up a few mason jars for $1.00....these will look stunning with some fresh cut flowers in them....I am thinking hydrangeas. ......And last but not least, I got an old jug that has been converted into a lamp. ( the cord just needs to be pulled back through and the top screwed back on.) This was my most expensive purchase of the day ringing in at $20.00, paired with the small frame. I tried to barter the price down but the seller was not budging, so I gave in a paid $20.00. The jug itself is probably worth around $50.00-$75.00. ( i need to do some research on the markings!)

I can't wait to use these treasures in our home......when we move back in! Until then they will be tucked away safely in our storage unit.

Hope you enjoyed!

My thrifty finds!

2009-09-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

I have had this love for "thrifting" for a while now! This meaning, I love waking up at 5:30 in the morning on Saturday to hit Garage Sales and Estate Sales. I also shop resale shops and Goodwill very frequently. I love the mystery of what I just might happen to find at a great price.

I love it when someone walks into my home and says "that is so neat where did you get that," and I am able to say at a Garage Sale for $1.00! It is such an accomplished feeling. Some of my most favorite things in my house are from garage sales. Right before we moved I bought an adorable pink "chippy" paint rocking horse for Ava at a garage sale for $3.00, come to find out the lady that was it selling told me her dad made it for her when she was a little girl. OMG how in the world could she sell it! I even asked her if she was sure she wanted to sell it, and sure enough she said YES. You would be surprised at the things I find. It is truly a treasure hunt.

Under our current living circumstance ( remember we live in a camper! ), my heart has been torn from the love of decorating my home! Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE to decorate my home. It is not uncommon for me to go to bed rearranging my house in my head, and thinking of my next project.

David has a love hate relationship with this infatuation of mine.....but he greatly enjoys having a comfy, functional, and beautiful home! It is not uncommon for him to keep me company during my "thrifting" adventures. He's the best. He never questions why I am buying what it is I am buying he just smiles and nods.

Anyhow, today while Ava and I ran a few errands I stopped by a resale shop that is in our new neck of the woods. I have been eyeing this place for a while, and I have not stopped because well, we are living in a camper not a house, so decorating has been on the back burner. BUT the other day I came to the conclusion that my thrifting adventures did not have to stop. We will be in our home again in less than a year, so I can just keep buying treasures for our home and add them to my storage unit full of our others treasures from our home. Yes, this is a sickness I tell you, a sickness!

Anyway here are the treasures that I picked up today!

One is a metal clasp glass jar that says flour ( at $1.99), and the other is a white wire vase ( also $1.99!) There were many neat things in this shop amongst the piles of junk......I guess junk just kind of comes with the territory! .....You just gotta have a good eye and look beyond the junk, and sometimes you can even find potential in a junky old piece of furniture......paint is amazing I tell ya!

I passed up a very cute milk class pitcher with a matching set of cups ( $6.00for the set) and two original large mason jars with the metal clasp top at $6.00 each! ( great deal for original mason jars, I have seen the small ones priced at 12.00 each!) ....I only passed these up because I was having to carry Ava , these stores are not exactly stroller friendly! I may just have to go back.

By the way I can't wait, we are fast approaching Roundtop!! If you don't know what this is google it! We go every Oct and April. It is a junkers bliss! Miles and miles of stuff.....yep just stuff! I LOVE IT!!

Camper Mishap!

2009-08-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I believe yesterday marked my first BIG blooper as a mommy. Sure I have had silly stuff happen like almost letting Ava roll off a bed, forgetting to feed my child lunch ( I know I am terrible, hey the child does not have a "hearty" appetite), and so forth. But yesterday was my biggest mommy oops thus far.

As you all have been updated recently on our living arrangements, we are living in a camper right! Well, yesterday the trash needed changing, because in this little of an environment, a semi-full trash can start smelling as if you are standing in a dump. So anyhow, I sack up the garbage and take it outside to the sidewalk to be taken to the dumpster later. Well, I figured this was only going to take a few seconds maybe 30 sec. max, so I leave Ava in the camper happily playing with her toys.

Upon arriving back at the camper I was greeted by a door that had been LOCKED by my precious daughter! I stood outside the camper trying to make sure what had just happened had really happened, and within a few seconds I realized it had indeed. My two year old child is in the camper unattended and I have absolutely no way in. This is not like living in a house, there is ONE door and no possible way of finding an unlocked window and climbing in. OH MY GOODNESS what am I going to do. I am outside with no keys and no phone and most importantly no Ava.

I begin to talk to Ava trough the door trying to get her to unlock the door. I am pretty sure she had no idea how to undo what she had just done. At first she thought we were playing a game, but she soon realized mommy is outside and cannot get back in. She begins to cry and keeps asking me to open the door. Yes my heart is breaking at this point, and the thought of any kind of discipline that Ava was going to receive for doing this went out the window, all I wanted to do is hug my sweet little Ava.

I talked to Ava for a few moments, long enough to calm her down a bit, because I was going to have to go get help.

I ran to the camp office and told the sweet little lady what had happened. I was not sure what I needed, a locksmith which, who knows how long that would take or the fire dept. I know they are always available to get kids out of locked cars, but what about campers. And in the back of my mind I am thinking, oh great CPS is going to show up and question me why I left my 2 yr old alone. Yes, by this time the waterworks were flowing.

The sweet lady tells me you go back to the camper and I will send one of the guys ( meaning the maintenance ) people down there.

So back to the camper I go.

I stand outside the door, calling for Ava once more, making sure she is alright. ......And I got NO response ........By this time I want to just start crying that real deep panic cry. But I tell myself that I have to stay calm. I begin praying for God to protect Ava and keep her from any harm, and for him to help us find a way out of what has become a TERRIBLE situation.

After a few minutes I hear the most precious sound, the pitter pat of her little feet. Once again, she was back at the door and she was fine. She was talking to me asking me " Mommy what doing?" .....Well sweet child I am standing in the blistering heat because you decided to lock me out! Of coarse that is not what I said. I just began talking to her to keep her happy, so she would not get scared again.

After a few minutes "Josh" shows up. He is one of the guys that works out here.

He has tools to pick the lock, ......but then he asks me....do you have a laundry shute in the camper??? ....And a light came on....yes we do!!

He says "well lets take a look at that first!"

The laundry shute is under the cabinet under the vanity sink, that opens to the storage compartment under the camper......the opening is about a 12 "x 12" hole. I am looking at this tiny hole thinking ......there are parts of me alone that will not fit through there, there is no way.

But then I look at Josh....he is a tiny guy.

To end this long story.... yes Josh climbs through the TINY hole and rescues my sweet Ava. My heart is forever grateful for little Josh.

I embraced Ava with a hug, and I didn't want to let go. I think she was as equally glad to see me.

After this happened I could not help but think about our heavenly father. I thought about that as long as we stay in his presence and in his arms we are protected from a lot junk. When we are living our lives just as we please, and we "lock"him out of our lives, we are opening ourselves up to a lot of dangerous opportunity for sin.

"...He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. " Ps 23: 3b

"You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." Ps 32: 7

Just as Ava was in the camper all alone at 2 years old, she was very vulnerable to something bad happening to her. When I am with her I can help protect her from most things. ( i know I cannot protect her from everything )

I am grateful today that all is well, and Ava and I were both given a learning opportunity yesterday. Ava got a lesson on why not to lock doors, and I was reminded of the provision of protection from sin that Christ gives us when we are walking with him. Praise God!

Today is Ava's B-day!

2009-08-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our sweet Ava Joy is TWO today! It has been such a blessing to our hearts to be parents to this sweet little girl.

Ava,
We love you so very much! We hope you have a very special day.

Words cannot describe the amount of JOY you have brought to me and daddy!

You make parenting easy! You have such a sweet and sensitive spirit, it does not take much to show you the error of your ways.

Our prayer is that you will grow into a God fearing, God loving and God serving woman.

Today we are remembering holding you as a tiny little baby!

We love you!

Love,
Momma and Daddy

Our new journey!

2009-08-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Hello to all who have not given up on the Aldape's and our lack of posting! Our lives have been in quit a whirlwind the last few weeks. ......BUT I am pleased to say that the winds are now settling and we are embarking on a new journey! I have received many e mails and calls about what we are up to, so I figured I would fill everyone in!

On June the 15th David started the Houston Fire Academy! He has since almost completed the EMT part and will be EMT certified soon. He is finishing his rotations and will take his National Board on Aug 26. After that he will start the Fire School part which is much longer! I am so proud of all that he has done and accomplished withing the last few weeks.

Since the Houston Fire Academy is obviously in Houston, this meant a very long commute for David, or us figuring something else out. Initially we were going to sell our home in Bryan and completely uproot and move to Houston, but we decided against that for many reasons. One being, we would like to come back to our home when he is out of the academy. Without knowing what the economy is going to do. having a home right now is a very good thing.

The first two weeks of the academy David commuted from Bryan to Houston Monday-Thursday. These were very long days for him. He left the house around 3:30 AM and did not get home till around 8 PM. He was such a trooper and never complained. I knew that this was not a good situation for him. He had lots of material to study and this provided him with NO time for that, on top of NO family time.

So back to the drawnig board we went. We did lots and lots of praying and seeking the Lords will for our family. We knew that David was suppose to be in the Academy, we just needed to find a way to make this work for our family.

With in a week we put the house on the market for lease and my sister and her husband generously provided David with a fifth wheel camper to live in. Thank you guys sooo much.

This meant that David was in Houston Mon -Thurs WITHOUT US, while Ava and I waited for renters!

With in another week we had found renters! God is soooo good.

We found renters on July 11 and they wanted to move in July 30th! Yikes! This meant lots to do!

Thanks to my mom and Dad, and Davids dad coming to help, we got all packed up and moved out. The packing fell mostly on my shoulders since David was tied up with the academy. For two weeks I was working full time, packing, taking care of a two year old, dealing with many things with the leasing agency, dealing with getting a new home insurance policy since our home was now a rental property, and much much more. Alas, by July 30th it was all DONE! My parents were amazing. My mom came almost every day after work and helped me pack, while my dad came and did whatever I told him to do! ( in a very nice way of coarse!) I cannot thank them enough.

Okay...now to more current!.....What does all of that mean for us now.........Well as of yesterday Thursday Aug 6th, I completed my last week of work as a full time dental hygienist. My boss graciously let me cut back to 2 days a week. I will work Mon and Tues. ( and stay with my parents) and then Ava and I will join David at the camper the remainder of the week. This way I still have my job when we move back home! ( a part time job that is!)

The Lord has been so good to us during this time of what felt like "trial and error." It is amazing what He can do when you just have faith and leave it up to him.

I am sooo excited to start this new journey with David and Ava. I am looking forward to being able to be at home more to serve David and Ava. I have waited a long time for this. More to come on that issue later ( working vs not working ) I need to get my feelings and emotions all together about this. I have a HUGE testimony to share regarding working outside the home that I would love to pass along to others.

I will try to post pictures of our new home..... the camper! It really is a nice cozy place. The best thing about it is we always have family time because it is so small! HAHA ....Really it is not bad at all! ....In the mean time I have a sweet little girl that is waking up from her nap an dying to go swimming! .... Oh yeah, we have a pool here at the RV park!

Again thanks to all who helped physically and through prayers during all of this!

My Big Girl!

2009-07-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, I will admit it it has been way to long since my last update! ....Actually I think I am keeping up with my trend very well! .........And this post is way overdue because it is actually old news to us, but it will be new news to you all! ( maybe, if there is anybody left who has not given up on me and still reads this!)

Our little Ava is Potty Trained! This has been in the works for a few weeks now. She started taking interest in the potty a long while ago and I never really aggressively tackled the issue. A few weeks ago, I had a three day weekend and we actually stayed home for the most part, so I thought I would give it a whirl! I was pleasantly surprised at how well Ava did.

She is pretty well trained in the area of #1, and we are still working on the #2 department. I hear this is the most challenging. I am not too worried at this point, because she is already way ahead of the curve in the potty training department.

My goal is to make a sticker board or something to that sort, for the bathroom as a reward for going #2 in the potty. The child loves stickers!

I must say her panties are the cutest and littlest things I have ever seen! Her favorite by far are her Dora ones that her Abuelita, "Lita" gave her. And her little hiney in them is just precious.

I am learning that being potty trained does not necessarily make things easier, especially in public. When the child says "TT" that means now mamma!

And then there is the whole public restroom dilemma! YIKES! I am already phobic about public restrooms anyway, and adding a curious toddler to the mix is even more frightening. She does not understand yet that touching a potty at home does not mean we can touch the pottys in public. We are both learning, and I have put the Clorox wipes people back in business because I carry them in my purse and wipe the seat down. There has to be an easier way.

I think my clever husband may be on to something. Last week we went out to eat and Ava announces that she needs to "TT." So I look to David and say why don't you take her. He said seriously in the men's restroom they are always gross. And again I said yes.

So they get back and I asked how it went and he said "Great!"

I am thinking, not one of my public restroom experiences have ever been great with her, so what made his so GREAT. In the mean time my clever dad who was with us says, "you weren't suppose to use the urinal!" Funny dad!

David said he just had her stand on the seat while he held her and she squatted and went TT.

At first I was thinking, what in the world, and then it clicked, that is not a half bad idea! I can always depend on David to come up with stuff like this. Thanks babe!

On another Big girl note Ava is in a big girl bed! She has been since April! I told you this was way old news!

I found her the most precious English Antique Youth Day bed. It is soooooo cute. It came complete with a custom mattress and several sets of bedding. The size of the bed is larger that a crib, but shorter than a twin, so it was very helpful that everything was included. I turned the bed around to where the back rail is in the front to keep her from rolling out of bed.

I was not sure how Ava was going to do with her new bed, but she did great! I think because of the way I have it set up, it still has the cozy crib feeling to it!

The other morning I was getting ready for work, and in her monitor I heard her box fan turn off, and the she started saying " Mornin Mamma!" She said this like 4 times before I went in there and found her standing so proud and accomplished in the middle of her floor. How sweet!

The pharse "they grow up way too fast," is starting to bring meaning into our lives!

Ava we love you and we are so proud of the things you have already accomplished. We know that the Lord has great plans for you in all that you are ever going to do! Love you! Momma

Lots of new news!

2009-05-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since I last posted, and we have been very busy in the Aldape home, so I thought I would finally get around to sharing our happenings!

First and foremost... I am an aunt again! ( or tia as my nieces call me or "chia" as Laney Rae says) My sister had her third precious girl Ruthie Claire on Friday May 22nd. She is absolutely beautiful and is perfect in every little way. We are so happy for my sister and her sweet family on this new edition. This little baby girl is already loved so much by so many people, especially her big sisters.

Miss Ruthie Claire Kramer

Me and Ruthie

My mom and her 4th precious grand-daughter!

Ava and her new cousin

While my sister was in the hospital recovering, I got the privilege of taking care of Laney Rae, her 2 yr old. And let me tell you, this was a great privilege! I have not laughed so much in my life. This girl is full of energy and brought so much joy to our home this weekend.

I must say, I have a new appreciation for moms of twins! Laney Rae and Ava are only 5 months apart.....so basically I had 2 two yr olds! Yikes! Needless to say I was very busy, but I loved every minute of it and enjoyed all of this precious time with my niece.

We had an action packed weekend full of twice the messiness, twice the potty training, twice the drama, twice the craziness, twice the storytelling, twice the cuteness, and twice the fun! Ava loved having Laney Rae with us, and I think she was a little bored tonight without her here.

Unfortunately, this weekend ended with Laney Rae getting a stomach bug! Yuck! Although I can gladly say, I am thankful that I did not get to experience twice the puking. We love you Rae Rae and we hope you feel better soon.

Twice the craziness!

Twice the storytelling!

Twice the cuteness!

Twice the fun!

Twice the potty training!

Twice the messiness!

I must include a picture of my oldest niece Kaylyn! Isn't she beautiful!!! She got to enjoy the weekend at her Aunt Honey's house playing with her cousins. We love you KK.

I love my precious nieces and I love being a "Tia" to these sweet girls. I can't wait to see what personality little Miss Ruthie will have.

Oh my gosh, my GALLY!!!

2009-03-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well.... the last few days have been a whirl wind of sorts! It all began with having my gallbladder taken out on Thursday. This was not an emergency surgery, it was planned as of last Friday, ....so I was expecting this. The surgery itself was not too bad, just a lot of soreness. The hardest part is not being able to pick up Ava. I will not miss this tiny little organ one bit. It is amazing how much pain that little thing can cause.

My parents were so helpful and kept Ava last night, and brought her back this evening. ( over 24 hours without my baby!)Thanks mom and dad! I am sure Grandma and Pop's arms didn't have to be twisted to much. They never mind time with their grandkids! Needless to say Ava had a blast, and came home with lots of new goodies...some shoes, a new chair and these.................
Painted toenails! Aren't they precious? Ava keeps looking at them saying "pretty." What can I say she is a woman after her mother's own heart, she loves the look of freshly painted toes. I guess I will have a pedicure partner in a few years.

I have to say it is not easy for me to sit around and do NOTHING! David has done such a great job of taking care of me and matters of the house. Yesterday I was running a slight fever and he was very persistent about taking my temperature every, what seemed like 5 minutes. He even called the "nurse on call" for me as a concerned husband. Luckily there was nothing to worry about and a slight fever is somewhat normal. Thanks babe for taking such good care of me!

This is proof that David has been cleaning up the house ..................
I looked at the fridge this morning, and noticed that Ava's magnets were all nicely lined up and paired together! Ava is smart but not this smart, David did this! How cute!

This is what it typically looks like when I pick them up! Hey it works!

Needless to say, I am glad my surgery is done and over with, and I am praying this will take care of my symptoms!

Here are a few more pics of what Ava has been up to since the last time I posted! ( a month ago!)

....The greatest of these is LOVE......

2009-02-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:11-12

My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us - perfect love!
The Message 1 John 4:11-12

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you all had a great day surrounded by those you love. We did! We spent the day in Brenham with my family, at my sister and brother-in-laws farm. It was so neat to have Valentine's Day fall on a Saturday, and be surrounded by the love of your family.

Though the weather was not all that great, rainy and gloomy, we still enjoyed being at "the farm!"

Jumping on the trampoline! Or trying to anyway, it was wet!

Pushing the puppy in shopping basket

Opening goodies!! Thanks Pops and Grandma

Riding Laney Rae's horse. She loved this thing!!!

The eggs that were collected for the night.

Me and dad washing the eggs.

Ava, Laney Rae and Grandma

This is my sister, the Farmer's wife! And let me tell you, she really has her work cut out for her. During my brother-in-law's 24 hour shift at the fire department, she mans the farm. She has two very active children she is home with and is expecting her third GIRL in May. Her days are full of moving cows, feeding animals, and putting them up for the night, collecting eggs, taking care of customers when they show up on the farm, and much much more. All while tending to a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old. You go girl! It was nice to be there tonight to help a sista out!

Oh how I have missed these........

2009-02-08T17:37:00.000-08:00

Last week a terrible, awful, horrible thing happened in our home.

We got a visit from the awful stomach bug that is apparently making it's way around Bryan/College Station.

The "bug" started it's awful vengeance on my precious Ava. We were not sure at first if this was a true stomach virus, or a side- effect from the old milk cup that Ava found that night. ( I know disgusting, from what I hear this is normal and will happen at least once to every child!)

Ava started throwing up that night, and from then on it was AWFUL!!! For those of you that have experienced a 18 month old with a stomach virus, you know what I mean. There is no warning when to expect the next " episode." I had the couches covered with towels, and had given up on changing my clothes after the four time. I really think there needs to be a 24 hour help line for mothers who are dealing with puking kids, because I was on the verge of tears. I had one, and it was my sister! Thanks Lyns!

After 24 hours we survived and Ava stopped puking, BUT now we were dealing with some pretty scary dehydration issues. Like no wet diaper for over 24 hours. Yes, this mama was freaking out, and thinking the worst ...like... oh my gosh her kidney's are shutting down.

Friday morning we got the wet diaper we were waiting for, and I am telling you the scent of a soiled diaper never smelt so good.

IT DOES NOT STOP THERE THOUGH....

After Ava was all well and good.....I ended up with the awful bug! David ended up escaping this thing.

We have now all re cooperated and are well!

I have spent the last few days wiping everything that the little "bug" could have attached itself to in my house. I forgot how addicting these wipes are.

A few months ago, I quit using cleaners with harmful chemicals in them,and started using more natural homemade cleaners! And my house has never felt cleaner and fresher! ( see my sisters amazing recipes on her blog www.yonderwayfarm.blogspot.com )

BUT after having this terrible visitor, I needed a peace of mind that the creature was GONE! ( and these wipes kill EVERYTHING..probably including brain cells! )

To those of you who had an encounter with this visitor as well, congratulations for surviving, and to those of you who are next on the list May God Bless you.

My first "Bumpy Ponytail!"

2009-02-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post some pics of Ava and her styling "bumpy ponytail." Let me explain. I was talking to my sister the other day, and she said " I just don't get it bumpy ponytails must be in." She had gone somewhere that day, and noticed that all the college girls were sporting " bumpy ponytails." Which I happen to be a big fan of! I remember the years that I kept Aqua Net in business with my big bangs and slicked back ponytail! Oh no, not anymore! So here are some pics for you Sunshine! Even 17 month-olds can do the bumpy ponytail!

Our very Merry Christmas

2009-01-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

This year we got to enjoy the joys of Christmas with a toddler. Last year Christmas included mom and dad opening Ava's many gifts, while she sat and had no clue of what was going on. Not this year! Ava was very involved in opening her presents. And as always, she was showered with so many wonderful gifts! ( Thanks to our wonderful families! We love you!)

We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house. We enjoyed watching all the kids open their presents ( My niece Laney Rae who is 21 months old, and my other niece Kaylyn who is 4). And then we did the traditional adult gift exchange, which we do white elephant style. This is by far my FAVORITE part. My family has such good taste. There are some great gifts that are often fought over! This year David and I ended up with a fancy pants MP3 player and a fancy touch screen digital picture frame, which we then traded for a Shark steam mop! I know you are thinking a steam mop....yes a steam mop. This is not any old steam mop. It is mop that SANITIZES your floor with steam, while using no harsh chemicals. It is AWESOME!

Christmas Day was spent mostly at home, and then went to my parent's house for Christmas dinner. We woke up and exchanged gifts as a family, and had Ava's Santa gifts set out for her when she woke up. ( we are calling them Santa gifts for now, but we are still evaluating what Santa Clause is going to mean in out home! )

The day after Christmas we headed up to our home town Grand Prairie to see David's family. We enjoyed the traditional tamale dinner Friday night, which was delicious as always, and we exchanged gifts in the company of the cutest little Santa you have ever seen (our nephew Johnathan, picture to follow!). We roasted smores in the fireplace and enjoyed some good company.

Our New Years Eve consisted of going out to my sister's and brother-in-law's farm in Brenham for their traditional New Years Eve party. This is always so much fun! We stayed warm by the awesome fire while watching fireworks,and enjoying delicious apple cider.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Let it Snow!

2008-12-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday here in Bryan / College Station it snowed! Yes....real white beautiful flakes of snow fell here! AND, it did not melt as soon as it hit the ground. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!! There is just something about snow falling that makes a person feel all warm and cozy. I arrived home to a warm cup of hot cocca topped with marshmellows, chili cooking on the stove, and a fire going! ( Yes, I am married to superman!)

We took the moment in as a family and snapped some pictures. You know you are in Texas, when everyone is outside with their cameras when it is snowing. I am sure the people up north are laughing at us Texans. :)
It was so funny on my drive to work to see all the kids at the bus stops having snowball fights.

Ava was not sure what to think of the snow. Her new word lately has been "cold." She got to use that word a lot yesterday. Needless to say, we did not build any snowmen or have any snowball fights, but we had a great time enjoying the beautiful snow.

What we've been up to!

2008-11-11T18:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updating! Life has had it's way of keeping us very busy. Ava has been so much fun the last few weeks. Her little personality is blossoming. It is so fun to watch her, because you never know what she is going to do next.
She is saying so many words now, like:
momma
daddy .... ( it is cute because sometimes she tries to call him David, because she hears me call him that!)
dog
book
bites
hi
bye
whoa!
Birdie ( our dog)
Hush ( to the dog)
No! ( this is my least favorite word)
trash ( she likes to help by throwing her trash away)
ball
bath
uh oh
And she tries to say many more!

Well this post is loaded with lots of pictures ....so I will not bore you anymore, and get to the good stuff! Enjoy!

HALLOWEEN !!!!!!

Enjoying her first sucker!
CANDY!!!!!

Momma and Ava trick or treating at Grandma and Pops house

Grandma and Ava

The cutest Little Bo Peep!

Ava and her Scarecrow overalls! These were a garage sale find.

Ava got to see her Uncle T Bob and Megan! We love you T Bob!

Ava sporting her sponge curlers

Ava is learning to color!

Pumpkins and Pigtails

2008-10-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

This is by far my FAVORITE time of year! It must be the colors that make me like this time of year. I love the months of October, November and December. This is the time of year when my wonderful husband is climbing in and out of the attic for me pulling out my decorations.

Fall makes me want to live somewhere where you can actually see the leaves change colors, somewhere where the highs are in the 70's and somewhere where there are beautiful apple orchards. But I can still manage to get into the spirit of fall here in Texas where fall is just a milder form of summer!

Last weekend I decorated my porch!!! This was the highlight of my weekend. ( I know that is pretty sad.) ..... what can I say I am a sucker for decorating. ( on a budget that is!)

And now for the pigtails....... Ava's hair is finally long enough for pony tails. Isn't she cute. Now I just have to teach her how to sit still long enough to get them in.

She reminds me of the cute little girl from the movie Monsters Inc.!!!!!!!

We have BIG news!!!

2008-09-21T13:26:00.001-07:00

We finally got Ava's ears pierced!!! I have been putting this off for..... well about a year now, and I finally got up the nerve to do this on Friday. I wish I had done this earlier because she is just so precious with her little earrings. The process went something like this......

We were out driving around Friday afternoon, running errands and I turned to David and said "hey lets go get her ears pierced."

David turned to me and said " that would make my day!!"

Side note: David has been wanting to do this for a very long time, and I have been the reluctant one. He is so precious about his little girl being a girly girl!

Anyway....... We went to the mall, and I knew that we better go in the entrance closest to the piercing place, because any extra travel time could give me time to make a run for it with my sweet little girl in tow.

We show up at the place, and I told the sweet girl behind the counter that we wanted to get our daughters ears pierced. ( AKA we are here to let you poke some holes in this precious girls ears and make her scream bloody murder.... I mean shots are bad enough but they are not optional. )

The girl looked at Ava and said " okay, well the second gunner just went to lunch, but she will be back in an hour." *** For those of you not familiar with ear piercing lingo, this means that there are two people doing the piercings at the same time to make this "less traumatic."

I said "oh.... okay well, maybe we will be back in a hour."

Okay when you decide to do something like this on the spur of the moment, the last thing you want to do is wait an hour to do it.

So we leave the store and proceed to walk around the mall for an HOUR!!! All the while I am making up all these scenarios in my head on what might happen to her if we pierce her ears... they might get infected, she might pull them out and swallow them, other kids might beat up on my already tiny child and pull them out of her ears...you get the point. But I continue to keep my composure and go with the plan that we are going back to the place in an hour.

I decided that it might be a good idea to have a tasty Sonic drink ( cranberry limeade ) ready for Ava, so we can offer it to her while she is screaming. ( I mean who wouldn't like a sonic drink after having 2 needles shoved through your ears ???)

Well, after all of this drama WE DID IT!!!! ( myself included!)

They pierced her ears, she screamed for maybe 30 seconds, and then was happy with her sonic drink. By the time we paid and got cleaning instructions she was smiling and waving bye to the sweet girls who just caused her pain!!!!

As we were leaving the mall I looked over to my sweet husband and he was pushing the stroller grinning from ear to ear. ( how sweet!)

Here are some more pictures of our big girl with her earrings.

Daddy's little princess!

Ava's 1 year pictures

2008-09-21T09:54:00.001-07:00

Ava with her Sunshine

These are some of the pictures that my sister took last month. My sister is sooooo talented!!! She is pretty stinkin' amazing! Thanks Sunshine! We love you!

We are back!!!

2008-09-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

Okay okay you can all stop with the hate comments!!! I have finally decided to update our blog. We have been without computer access at home. We are at my parents house today and I thought it would be a great time to update the blog!!

Alot has happend in the Aldape household within the last few months. Last month we celebrated Ava's first birthday. Because there are sooooo many people that love this sweet little girl, she got to have two birthday parties. She had a party at her Nana and Papi's house in Grand Prairie, and a party here in College Station. They were both swim parties, since the girl LOVES to swim.

Ava is and has been for over two months, officially a walker!! She started walking in July. July the 4th to be exact. How appropriate that she started walking on Independence Day! ( she really tries to be an independent big girl! ) I find myself busier since Ava is walking, and trying to run. She is in to EVERYTHING!!! But it keeps life interesting. I have to say I much prefer walking over crawling though....... mainly because it is my excuse for getting to buy here cute shoes, and let me tell you the girl loves shoes. The other morning I was putting her shoes on her and she got so excited and was laughing so hard she tooted on my leg!!! How cute!

On top of her shoe fetish she also loves purses!! She is a 100% girly girl . Before we leave the house she goes over to her toy basket and gets her purse and wears it on her arm. What can I say I am already a great mentor to this little girl ..... she has already learned so much by just watching mommy! I cannot be more thrilled to be the mother of such a precious little girl.

Daddy's little cowgirl!!

Big girl on her bike!!!

Playing with mommies shoes

Easter Pics!

2008-03-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we enjoyed spending time with friends and family in Grand Prairie. We spent time with our special friends the Ahlstedt family. We had some fun times of love and laughter! We miss this family sooooo much. This used to be our choice of friday night entertainment when we lived in Grand Prairie. We always cherish the time we spend with this family.

We also got to spend Ava's first easter with Davids mom and dad ( Nana and Papi ) , Grandma Celia and Aunt Karen. We enjoyed easter service with them at our old church. We got to see so many people that we have not seen in a while, and they got to meet our sweet Ava.

Here are some pics ENJOY!!!

Nana and Papi

Aunt Karen

My first piano lesson with my Abueltia (great-grandmother)

Auntie Jalah ( we love this girl!)

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

2008-03-11T18:39:00.001-07:00

You should really check out this website it is really fun! Who knew I could look like this beautiful woman. We won't mention who some of Davids matches were..Clay Aiken! HAHA I guess this isn't really that accurate!

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Free genealogy - Family history

Talking and Teething

2008-03-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

Ava has changed so much within the last few weeks! She had her six month Dr's appointment a few weeks ago and she weighed a whopping 14.6 lbs!! She is such a little petite girl. The Dr said she is growing just fine and is right on schedule.

Yesterday I felt in her mouth before leaving for church and I felt a tooth! I knew she was teething, because, well being a dental hygienist I knew what to look for. I knew it would not be long before she had a tooth. You would never guess she is teething because she is still laughing and smiling. She is such a sweet and happy baby.

As for the talking part...well she just comes by that naturally thanks to her daddy!
The other day I was feeding Ava in her room and in walks David. She looked up at him and in the sweetest little whisper voice said "Da." She has since done this several times when she sees her daddy. I love that my little girl already has a special place in her heart for her daddy. There is just something so special about a father and daughter relationship. David is so proud of his little "princess."

We can't wait to see whats next on our parenting journey!

Domestic Detergent

2008-02-25T06:59:00.000-08:00

This weekend I made my own laundry detergent! I was a little questionable about this, because I am very picky about my laundry detergent... I was currenty using Tide liquid pure essentials, which can be some high dollar stuff with the amout of laundry that seems to accumulate around my house! I knew there had to be a better way, and I wanted to discover that before I am washing clothes for a possible family of 5 or six!!! Thanks to a very wise woman ( my sister ) she had the answer for me!!!

My sister has been very inspiring to me about finding ways to save money on house hold products, as well as informing me about the toxins that are in the everyday products that we are using. I have adopted many of my sisters "ways of life," and I am loving the results!

I must say I was very impressed with this detergent! My clothes looked clean, felt soft and my whites were amazingly white! Way to go Lyns! You are billiant.

To check out more info in this and to see the recipie for the detergent click HERE

Six months and Beautiful

2008-02-18T13:06:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe that our baby girl is six months old! I guess time really does fly when you are having fun. Ava has brought so much happiness to our lives. I have learned so many things over the last six months. Here are a few of my reflections on being a mother:

1.) Children really do grow up way too fast!! I have always heard people say " you better enjoy every minute, because your children grow up before you know it." I have already witnessed this. It seems like yesterday we were preparing for this precious baby...and now she has been a part of out lives for six months!

2.) I do not remember my life with out her! It is true, once you have a baby, you cannot remember your life prior to children.

3.) Being a mother helps me better understand my heavenly fathers unconditional love for me!

The past six months have been full of many challenges, a few sleepless nights, but mostly full of happiness! It has been a great joy to share all of this with my amazing husband. He is a great father, husband and leader. Thanks honey!

It is amazing how much she has changed and accomplished the past six months. Ava is now eating foods. She loves sweet potatoes!! She is rolling all over the place and sitting up on her own. The other day she started drinking from a sippy cup! Big girl!

Here are some amazing pictures that my sister took of Ava. She is an amazing photographer. I am so thankful to have her to capture some of my most precious memeories.

The Greatest Commandment

2008-02-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

"So chosen by God for this new life of LOVE, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, WEAR LOVE. It's your basic, all purpose garment. NEVER be without it. "
Colossians 3:12-14 taken from The Message

Since today is Valentines Day I am evaluating how I am loving the people in my life.

Am I putting them before myself???
God calls us to "submit to one another out of reverence to Christ" ( Eph 5:21) Submit, meaning to put others before ourselves.

If I love God then I should love others in a Christ like way. Meaning forgiving others as fast as I have been forgiven, putting others before myself, not holding grudges( lev 19:18) etc.
The best way to share Jesus with people is loving them like Christ!!!!

We are told that "where your treasure is there your heart will be also," matt 6:21 So if we love God with all our heart then the things we treasure should reflect Christ.
I feel so much conviction in my life about the issue of materlism. Am I living for the temporary or am I living for what is eternal???

It is so easy to get side tracked on what really matters...... God does not care how cute my house is, if I am wearing the lastest fashion, if my house is spotless, etc.

In the end what matters is ....did I live my life in a way that was pleasing to the Lord.

With all of that said.... how are we suppose to Love other people when ...they get on our nerves, they have a difference of opinion, they have different political views, they hurt us, whatever the reason maybe.....it is easy! The supernatural work of Jesus in us allows us to love others.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Here are some pictures of the Loves of my life!!!!!

Thanks for my Valentine outfit Nana!!!!

..Light unto my path....

2008-02-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

Today as I was in Ava's room changing her diaper( a blowout) , my ever surprising husband walks into the room and says "come into the bathroom and look what I did."

As a sweet and wise wife I replied " okay let me finish this, and I will be there in a minute."

As I am finishing the diaper change, I had some very interesting thoughts but mostly fears running through my head, and I think I repeated the phrase " come into the bathroom and look what I did" about 4 times!

If my husband were 25 years younger ( yes he is 30!) I would have been in a mad rush to put on some gloves and a mask, and probably find a fire extinguisher. Needless to say I was very nervous.

As I start my treck across the house, I am wondering, if what I am about to encounter is as atrocious as the present Ava had just left for me.

Upon entering the bathroom, all things seemed to be in their place, and I was still able to breath throug my nose, if you know what I mean ....BUT I did notice something strange. There was more light than normal. I walked a little further to figure out where the light was coming from, THIS is what I found....

Yes folks, this is a lamp on top of the cabinets above our toilet!

You see, my husband shaves while he is in the shower and he aparently got tired of not having enough light.

I always knew it botherd him that there was not a light on this end of the bathroom, but I never thought he would go to these extremes to put one there. I guess learning to do some electrical work is in out future!!!!

Oh how I love my husband. He keeps my life interesting.

Since this blog is suppose to be about Ava here a some news pics of her.

She is learning to sit on her own!!

Sweet daddy time!

We be bloggin'

2008-01-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

Okay, Okay, I know everyone is doing it, and WE ARE TOO!! We have officially joined the blogging world! But first I must confess, I have been into this blog thing for a while. I have been a blog stalker!! Okay I have come clean!

I decided that we have something way too cute living under our roof to not share with the rest of you..................

This is Ava Joy!!! She is now 5 months! She has brought so much love and JOY into our lives. We cherish every minute that we spend with her. I must say she has the sweetest disposition. Being a mother has completely impacted and changed the way that I live my life. It is a beautiful earthly demonstration of our heavnly fathers love for us. When I think of how much I love Ava, I cannot help but remember that I have a heavnly father that loves me more than I can comprehend.

Well this is the start of our blog ...and hopefully the start of something good. I have not realized how rusty my writing skills have become, maybe this blog will help improve them a bit.

Here are some recent pics of Ava hope you enjoy!