A Thrifty Day!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.