My Wedding Vows

This whole month of February in Sunday School we have talked about building a stronger marriage. It has been great. There have been some great reminders on how God created a marriage and how it should work. Today in class we talked about our wedding vows....what had been the easiest and what had been the hardest. We also talked about how to safeguard your marriage. So, I thought that sharing my vows would be neat because when Nathan and I got married we did not have the traditional wedding vows. They meant the same thing, they were just said differently. I love how they were stated. I thought I would share.

I commit to be patient and kind to you. I commit to put your needs and desires before my own. I commit to serve you with all of my heart. I commit to forgive you when you wrong me. I commit to be honest at all times. I promise to never commit adultery against you. I commit to never abandon you. I commit to never harm you. I commit to never divorce you. I commit to love God first and you second. And with this covenant, I pledge you my life and my love.

It is so upfront and blunt on what you are committing. I think these should be used more often. We will be married SIX years in June! I wouldn't trade him or anything (even though it's not been all bliss) for the world.

Random Things

I have been tagged by The Garner Family. Here are my 7 RANDOM things. (It really is harder than it seems.)

1. My favorite grass is St. Augustine grass. It reminds me of my childhood and playing outside barefoot. It was always so cold on on your feet during those hot Texas afternoons and nights.

2. Now food is a good random topic. I absolutely LOVE meatloaf and homemade fried okra and corn. I could eat that all of the time!!! I am not big on Mexican food by any means. I would choose Italian any day. And on New Year's day, I don't eat black eyed peas. I hate them!! Yuk!

3. Kids can be cruel, and they were definitely cruel to the red head. I was always made fun of about my hair color and how pale I was. I was always the kid at the pool that was taking the extra 10-15 minutes to get the sunscreen on, and THEN had to wear the t-shirt in the pool. It was AWFUL!! It was not until my adult life did I enjoy going to the pool/beach. In fact, I had never been to a beach until college...and that was nasty ole Galveston. A real beach...Destin, not until Nathan and I started dating...and that was after college.

4. I do have to say that I enjoy having everything neat at my house. I think it gives me a feeling of accomplishment for the day if everything is in it's place. I love to start my mornings by going through the house opening blinds, turning off porch lights, and making beds/picking up. Then, I can make breakfast and start my day. And of course, Mondays are laundry days. I have chosen this day to get all of my laundry complete. I can't drag it out through the week, or once again I would not feel that I had accomplished anything. Then, at night I go through the house turn on the porch lights, close the blinds, and turn on all the lamps. I love lamps.

5. In September of 2001 Nathan said, I need you to take off early on a Thursday and be off on Friday. We are going with Cobie and Craig (my sister-in-law and brother-in-law) to San Antonio. I thought, well that will be fun. Well, about a week later September 11th happened. So, Nathan said, I am wanted to surprise you, but since all of this has happened I need to tell you that we're not going to San Antonio, we are going to Las Vegas. I didn't want you to be scared to get on a plane. So, three weeks after September 11th, we flew to Las Vegas and stayed at the Luxor. That night in front of the Bellagio Nathan proposed to me while there was a water show. Now, the song he proposed on fits him so well....it is from Disney's Fantasia. No, it wasn't a slow, romantic song, it was an upbeat, totally Nathan song. I loved every minute of it!!

6. I started out college as a nursing student. I wanted to be a neonatal nurse. Well, after watching an ER special on the NICU, and crying the whole time, I thought that was not for me. So, I decided to just do nursing. Well, after one class in Anatomy/Physiology I decided I needed a new degree. So, I chose Elementary Education with a minor in English. I do now wish I had finished with nursing, and someday plan to go back and get that degree.

7. I like to toast my toast on the setting between the 2 & 3. When it's done, I butter both pieces and lay them in a paper towel facing each other. Then, I wrap that paper towel in another paper towel. I give it a few minutes to cool. It is so good and soft. Then, I add jelly. Mmm!!

Who knew I was so weird. :)

I am going to tag (since you are all bloggers):
Lauren
Ashley F.
Jayne
Tabitha
Jaime M.
Kelley P.

How Much Do You Know?

This is one of the games we played at the diapers and wipes shower. I thought it was fun, so I wanted to share. I am going to give you the baby animal, and you try to figure out the name of the mommy. I'm putting the answers at the bottom, but don't peak. :)

Number your paper 1-21:
1. puppy
2. kitten
3. cub
4. larva
5. poliwog
6. kid
7. fawn
8. calf
9. farrow
10. foal
11. filly
12. duckling
13. gosling
14. joey
15. chick
16. hatchling
17. cub
18. pup
19. whelp
20. flapper
21. kittten or pup (hint: look at "Diapers & Wipes" Shower blog)


Answers:
1. dog 2. cat 3. bear 4. bee 5. frog 6. goat 7. deer 8. whale 9. pig
10. male horse 11. female horse 12. duck 13. goose 14. kangeroo
15. penguin 16. aligator 17. panda 18. shark 19. tiger 20. swan
21. beaver

How much do you know? :)

Diapers & Wipes Shower

Today my Sunday school girls threw me a "Diapers & Wipes" Shower. It was great. It is always nice to get to have adult conversation while the kiddos play. Jennifer had great snacks (I could have eaten ALL of the cupcakes...hince the great picture of me and the balloons.) and fun games. Who knew a kitten and a pup came from a beaver. Crazy! :) Thank you Jennifer for doing this. We now have a good stock of diapers and wipes. I appreciate it!!! Only 5 days to go!!!

A "cake" made of diapers. Pretty cool!

See, I don't really need any cupcakes. :)

Regan and Ella Marie

Much Needed Prayer

I am in desperate need of some prayer right now. For the last two to three weeks we have been sick with something or other. It started with Kennedy having the stomach bug. Then, it moved to Regan. Then, we ended up with sinus infections (of which I'm still trying to overcome). After that the girls ended up with ear infections...Kennedy double. We finished antibiotics on Monday. Well, today school called and said that Kennedy had a fever and I needed to come get her. So, I picked her up from school and we went to the doctor and he said her ear infection had not gone away. So, we are on another round of antibiotics. I only have 6 days to go before we have a newborn. I just ask that y'all pray that we can all be well by then so that he doesn't end up with something. Just pray for God to heal this household and protect us from other illnesses out there (that we could pick up from church, school, the store, etc.) I'm at my whits end with all of the sickness. It doesn't help to have raging hormones either. :) Thanks!!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

You just never know what is going to pop out of a child's mouth. They definitely tell it how it is and keep life simple.

Yesterday I took Regan to her class and another mom was standing there. She is due about a month after I am. Regan looked at me and then looked at Lianne and said, "Mom, your belly is bigger than hers." Way to put life into perspective. :)

Regan has gotten a rash from something. I think it's an allergic reaction to something on the playground. Not really sure though so we're taking Benadryl and putting cream on it. So, today she asked me while getting dressed, "Mom, who named it Benadryl?" I said I didn't know. She said, "It was God's friend. You know the one that had no clothes on but just pants?" I said, "Adam?" She said, "Yes, Adam. He named everything." :)

And that says it all right there.

Through a Child's Eyes

To any adult a lufa is just something that you put body wash on and bathe yourself with. (If you even know what a lufa is.) To a child it could be so much more...a ball, something to chew on, something to throw at a sibling, or according to Kennedy, pom poms. I bought Regan a lufa because she asked for one, and then of course had to buy Kennedy one. Well, Kennedy got a hold of both of them and started doing cheers in the kitchen. It was so cute. I had to share. (If only I knew how to do video on this thing.)







For those of you that have commented, I will try to do better on posting more frequently. :)

My Little Star

Regan has been taking dance since the middle of August. She does really good. She takes tap for 30 minutes and ballet for 30 minutes. They are really working hard for their recital. It is Sunday, June 1st if anyone wants to come see my little star shine. :) I thought I would share a picture of her in her dance outfit. This is not her recital outfit, just what she wears to go to dance.

Dr. Visit Today

Well, I went to the dr. today...last one! Yea!!! I am now dialated to a 3. So, unless something happens between now and Wednesday, we are scheduled to be induced at 7am Wednesday, Febrauary 27th. Only a week to go!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Oh What A Night

Nathan is out of town this week (great timing, huh?). He gets back on Thursday evening. I am on the countdown. Last night we had thunderstorms, so therefore, Regan was in my bed. She is terrified of them. Before that, Kennedy decided to come sleep with me. Then, once the thunder and lightning started Gizmo (the dog) decided to freak out. So, Monday night I had quite a bed full. Well, tonight....or morning...I really don't know which anymore, Kennedy came down the stairs crying. She wants her daddy, she wants something to drink, her ear hurts. So, this has gone on for TWO hours now. She is finally asleep in her bed. Where am I?...WIDE AWAKE on the computer. The delights of motherhood. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

The Small Things In Life

Some things in life you really don't realize how important they are....until you don't have it. Well, when we bought this house we didn't have a fence. We thought, oh that's fine. It will be great to have an open space. Well, with two dogs and two...almost three kids, it's not so easy. The dogs have run off a number of times. Just picture a huge, pregnant girl walking/running down the street to try to catch up with them. Or better yet, Nathan in his Sunday best tromping through the woods. Well, today is the day I have anticipated ALL week (and even last week). We got a FENCE!! Yea! It's complete. I let Lily and Gizmo out to "try it out", and they ran and ran and ran. They didn't stop running until I let them in, since it is 31 degrees outside. Now, Carter can come at any time. My life will be so much easier. NO MORE LEASHES!!

Carter's Baby Shower

On Saturday a couple of friends of ours threw us a shower. It was a great time filled with eating (my favorite part), fellowship, games, and gifts. Our family came in from out of town, which was so nice. The girls really enjoyed "helping" me unwrap presents. We got a lot of good things. We are all set and ready to go. 2 1/2 weeks!! Can you believe it?

Be Mine...Valentine

A good friend of ours had all of the Sunday school class over for a fun filled Valentine party. The kids absolutely loved it. They got to decorate a sack for their valentines to go in, there were delicisous cupcakes, and lots of dress up. I don't know who had more fun, the moms or the kids. Thanks Allison!!

Regan's Painting

I just wanted to show you all a picture of Regan's painting that she got for her room. It is so awesome! You can go to: http://www.prettypleasechildrensart.blogspot.com/ to check out some of Ashley's other works. Ashley has some great pieces that she's painted, and her prices are on there.

Big Day....February 27th

I went to the dr. today...which is always such a delight. One of my favorite parts is getting on the scale to see just how much I have been eating in the last week or two. The best part is when the nurse doesn't even start low and work her way up...she starts high and works her way down. Great self esteem after that. :) Anyway. We scheduled to induce at 7am on Wednesday, February 27th. (Sorry all of you March birthday people. I know several of you were hoping for your big day.) So, he'll be here in less than three weeks!!! Yea!!

Bunco and Babies Night

We have a neighborhood bunco group that several of us started. It has been great. I have met some AMAZING women. I love being able to have such a diverse group of friends. Anyway. Tonight was bunco night with a kick. They threw a shower for myself and another one of our mommies to be, Jamie. It was a great time, and I really appreciated every minute of it. Thanks "Bunco Girls"!!!

Never A Dull Moment

Yesterday Nathan and I were upstairs getting Regan dressed for church and picking out Kennedy's clothes. Well, our siren from our house alarm started going off. So, Nathan ran downstairs and found that Kennedy had been playing with the hand held keypad. So, we were about to load up in the car when Nathan decides to turn on his cell phone. He has a message from ADT. They have notified the fire department and they are on their way. So, I call ADT back to tell them what had happened. While I'm on the phone I hear the sirens...getting closer, and closer, and closer. By the time I was off the phone, not one, not two, but THREE LARGE fire trucks were infront of our house. And to top it off the Captain of the State Troopers for our area, who lives around the corner, showed up in his own personal vehicle. So embarrassing. Nathan went out to explain what had happened and to apologize etc. The phone began ringing off the hook from concerned neighbors/friends. They didn't see smoke, so they thought I was having a baby. Like I said, there is never a dull moment with children. :)

Out of Control!!!

I probably should not even put this on here, but several people have asked for "belly" pictures. I really don't think they knew what they were asking for because they are DEFINITELY getting BELLY pictures. :) I go to the dr. on Thursday and we'll see how everything is going to see if he will for sure induce me on February 27th. That's ONLY 3 1/2 weeks away!! I'm going to have THREE children! WOW!!

A Big day for a Big Sister

Since Carter and Kennedy have gotten new bedding and furniture, we thought that Regan deserved something too....since she is the BIG sister. :) So, we took her to WalMart and had her ears pierced. A lovely lady named Marsha did such a wonderful job. She was not even scared. She had a shocked look on her face when they did it, and she was expecting more pain. I told her it was over and she started laughing. She is such a big girl! I can't believe she'll be 5 in August! Time flies!!

New Rooms

I just wanted to share with you some of the pictures of Carter's and Kennedy's "new" rooms.

A New Blogger

I am VERY new to the whole blogging thing. I have been encouraged by several friends to start a blog. I think this will be a great way for our family and friends to keep up with us without me having to send out a thousand emails. So, enjoy and let me know what you think.