Merry, Happy, and All That Jazz!

Okay, okay, you can berate and belittle me all ya want to...I'm a busy lady!! I've got limited time here on the computer in the library, so let me make a long story short, for anyone who was wondering:

My husband got a job! w00t!!! He's actually had it for awhile now, and I think that I may have already posted about this in a previous post, but I'll say it again - my husband got a job! w00t!!! That being said (and said again), he's been in Dallas since the beginning of November, and the kids and I moved in temporarily with my mom in Illinois. This ia great because, well, we get to have one last holiday with my family without the stress of travel, plus, we get to spend loads of time with my mom before we move away permanently.

Now this sucks because my children and I are apart from Papa Tango, which makes my heart shrink every little time I think about it, yet it makes it grow as well. The kids area greatly missing Daddy, but have gotten to see him every once in awhile due to flying standby (yay for working for an airline!!). This also bites because I have very little internet access at mom's house. When I say very little, I mean I can access email and facebook from my phone, but not really anything else - hence the serious lack of blog posts recently.

We are still looking for housing in the Dallas area. We'd better get a move on too, because I'm already on leave from work and the whole reason for taking it was to get the family moved and settled. We've got a couple places in mind, one in particular for which I'm waiting for some information to be mailed to me. Pray we can find something sooner rather than later so we can get this show on the road! In other news, I finally made it to the great state of Texas, and all I have to say about that is "YEEHAW!!". The traffic is in desperate need of some serious driving lessons, and some parts of Dallas are more than a little frightening. But the outlying areas are nicer and much less scary. This is a good thing.

So friends, be patient, please. I actually have my own library card now, so if I can sneak away during naps to post any updates, I will. If not, think good, moving thoughts for us and I'll be back in the saddle soon! I hope everyone had a very blessed Christmas, and if you're out and baout on New Years Eve, please be careful and responsible!

Seven Years

Sevens are lucky for many. Casinos are filled with them, as are lottery tickets. Who would think, then, that our seventh year of marriage would be the hardest we've been through yet?



I won't list everything my husband and I have been through in the past year. It's not glamorous, exciting, or interesting in the least. The point is, we made it through that seventh year...to today.

Our seventh wedding anniversary.



The seventh anniversary of the day I married the man God put on this Earth for me to find. Of the day when I gave my heart and soul to him "officially", although I knew long before then that he was The One. Of the day when we vowed to each other that nothing would come between us.

Well, the proof is in the pudding, people. The past year has been full of trials and hardships. And today we celebrate every single one of those days as a triumph of our love for one another. A love that held fast against outside forces. A love that is greater than it's ever been because we made it through all of them. We may have done things a little backwards in our relationship, but that's okay. It makes us unique. It makes us that much stronger.

Here's to a lifetime more of memories, trials, celebrations and anniversaries.



Thank you for putting up with me for this long. I love you!

Leaving...on a jet plane.

Okay, so I'm not. But I am leaving. Actually, we are leaving as a family. My husband has gotten a job with Southwest Airlines. This is excellent, as it's been a long haul with him being unemployed. The whole time has been trying for us as a family and us as husband and wife, but we're stronger because of it. And let me tell you this - we will never take the simple things for granted again!

This is also scary, as it requires a move from the Midwest...the only place I've known and spent all but two or three years of my life. We will be facing Dallas, Texas, head on come the end of this year. Patrick will be going on ahead of us, and I'll be staying here with the kids to make it through the holidays with my family. Then we'll make the trek down to Dallas to join him at the very end if this year.



What an exciting prospect, no? I've never been to Texas, that I can remember at least. I know this will be difficult. I know that I'm the world's biggest baby when it comes to heat - it makes me cranky and miserable. I also know that I'll be leaving behind my family and friends. I know I'll be a K-State fan in the middle of SMU territory.

However, the longer summer in Texas just means a longer growing season (and they do have air conditioning there, too, so I've heard :P ). And I do have friends that live in the Dallas and surrounding areas, and I've got an aunt, uncle, and cousin that live in a not-too-far away city. And I don't give a hoot about SMU, or the Horns, or TCU. I'm a K-Stater til I die, baby! (Plus, although I'll never, EVER be a Cowboys fan, at least I like Houston!)

So, this is the start of a brand new adventure. I'll admit to having cowboy hats and boots picked out for the kids already.



I will also admit to dreaming of moving right into a house on a couple acres out in the semi-middle of nowhere. I have dreams of a good garden, a T-bar clothes line, and an eventual chicken coop.

Dream house photo courtesy of Connor Homes

These dreams will stay just that for awhile though...it's been 14 months on one {teensy weensy} income, and we'll have to spend a short while recovering from that.

So, fair warning - I may be out of sorts for a little while. We will be busy packing and moving to our temporary home (thanks, Mom!!), then moving and unpacking. I do plan on taking time off from work to get the family settled, the kids school stuff figured out, and all the other little big things that will knock on our door. Oh, and if you live anywhere on the way from Missouri to Texas, keep your eyes peeled and ears open for us between Christmas and New Years!

Junk in My Trunk

I'm the first to admit:

I'm a junk food junkie.

I can remember sitting in the basement of my best high school friend, watching movies, eating pizza, peanut butter, potato chips, and pickles. Oh if I had all those calories and all that sodium back right now, I don't know what I'd do with it.

Probably eat it.

Nowadays, I try not to keep too much of the junk on hand, because, well, I have kids and a husband to worry after. I don't want them snacking on all sorts of garbage, and I don't want them seeing Mama snack on all sorts of garbage. I want their memories of childhood filled with good wholesome, homemade foods, and the occasional dessert.

But that doesn't stop me all the time.

I love pizza. I love Pringles. And I love Pepsi.

I control all of these fairly well.

I also have an affinity for Nutty Bars. Did you know you can get them in single serving packages, right there at the check-out counter of your grocery store? Oh who am I kidding, they're not at all single servings. But they are for me (and probably ever other person who gets sucked in by their peanutty, chocolatey goodness). They're irresistible. And evil.



And I love them. I might hate Little Debbie, but I love those bars.

I sometimes try to take them apart, layer by layer, starting at the top. Then when I get to the very bottom layer, I put those two together, peanut butter-sides facing. It creates sort of a double-stuffed nutty bar, if you will. It's delectable. I do the same thing with Oreo cookies, but that's a different post.

Do you have a favorite junk food? Tell me you do, please. Let me know I'm not alone in my fight!

Lost heart.

Last night, my boys were watching a skateboarding competition that they'd recorded earlier. The kids were pretty good (all guys, which sort of disappointed me...I'd love to see a girl go out there and place right along with them). The prize money was outrageous, in my opinion. Anyway...

It wasn't over when bedtime crept up, so I had them stop it where it was, with the promise that they could finish watching tonight. Off to bed they went! This morning, I turned the tv on to have some noise while I emptied the dishwasher (a BAD habit, but a habit nonetheless), and it was turned to some station I'd never heard of before. There was a woman speaking (of course I can't remember her name). I was listening halfheartedly as I did the dishes, but I heard her read a Psalm which caught my ear. I didn't hear which Psalm it was specifically, so I googled it, and found it.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13

And I can't explain to you how absolutely necessary that verse was for me today. Or in the past few days. Or the past few weeks. Really, even months. This show was on a station I'd never seen before, a show I'd never heard of, and the kind of evangelic-looking show that I would normally tune off, simply because I don't get into that sort of preaching. Normally. But I kept it on. This woman had the audience laughing, and she was dressed like I would be dressed up on a stage in front of hundreds of people, and she was talking like I would've talked up on a stage in front of hundreds of people. So I kept her on. And I heard that verse. And God spoke to me.

Hard times are just that - HARD. But like that woman said this morning - you've got to get in the habit of replying with one simple phrase when something bad comes your way and knocks you upside the head:

I can handle it.

Because guess what? You can. Our God won't ever give us anything we can't handle without His guidance. Without His help. Without His loving kindness. Without His forgiveness. Without His grace. And He gives us all that and more, over and over, every single minute of every single day. Isn't that inspiring? Doesn't that make you feel as though you could climb the tallest mountain?

My God does not set out to make me miserable. He wants me to call on Him, and to keep my heart open to all He has to give. I know I will see His goodness in this life.

What am I doing??

You want the answer to that? You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!!

Okay, so the truth is, I'm not doing a thing. And I really haven't done a thing, all day long. Okay, earlier today I ran to the store because we were out of coffee creamer and milk, and Italian dressing for marinating the chicken my dear, sweet, grill-master husband is going to take for a ride on the Char-broil Express later today. And I watched a neighbor boy for a couple hours this morning while his parents ran an errand (you remember Jacob's friend Zachary from GinaGina's birthday party). But other than that, I've been a big lazy bum so far today.

I've also been busy (while GinaGina is napping) catching up on some email and blogs I follow. That being said, I have 2 complaints: 1) I really don't like it when I can't subscribe by email to a blog. I think the idea of following on google is good, but honestly, I hardly ever go to my google homepage. When I do, I have to sit for an inordinate amount of time reading all the blogs. That's not saying that I don't *want* to catch up on them! Some would say "Just pare down your blog roll, and that's that". I just can't do that. It's like going through your favorites on your computer. At least for me it is. And finally, 2) I also hate link loss. That's what I call it. I'm on a blog, see an interesting link, follow it, see another link, follow it, and before I know it, I'm 11 pages away from where I started, all filled with posts I want to continue reading, but I couldn't find them again if I tried! I try really hard to right click and open the link in a new tab, but sometimes I forget. I will say, however, that if these are the only 2 things I find myself complaining about today, I'm in excellent shape.

Anywho, back to my plans today. I will start laundry sometime, and I'd like to go to the library too. I stayed up entirely too late last night finishing the book I've been reading. I couldn't believe what time it was when I finally turned the last page of the book and checked the clock. I groaned, thinking that the kids simply wouldn't understand that mommy stayed up too late reading and would you please sleep in for just this once?? Although I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I woke at 8:30 with a start, listened for a few moments, heard nothing, and was able to drift back off to sleep for a little while longer.

Other than that, my day plans include watching college football with Patrick and the kids, grilled chicken, recipe copying and maybe some knitting. I know, I know - I lead a life of total excitement, but you know what? I love it. I wouldn't trade being here with my family for anything in the world.

This is the day that the Lord has made...

Here I sit, sipping the last of my coffee, listening to the cat meow incessantly, wondering when the forecasted rain (and subsequent cooler temperatures) will start outside, waiting for my internal "time to leave for work" bell to chime.

It's quiet here for now, peaceful. The boys have been sent off, Thomas to school, and Jacob to "Steppers" before school practice (Steppers, from what I understand, is sort of a dance troop for guys. We haven't seen a performance yet, as they haven't had one, but between this and Drum Line, Jacob's pretty psyched). GinaGina is sleeping soundly, as is my husband. The only sounds here are my fingers on the keyboard and the occasional noise from Dexter as he tries to balance on top of a box of litter, on top of an unused dresser, next to the basement crawl window, watching squirrels taunt him through the glass.

It's almost Friday, thank goodness, although this week has flown by (and I even had a shift on Monday!). At the same time, this week has FLOWN by, and I understand now how my children have grown so big and tall right before my eyes, in the blink of an eye.

We've got lots of work ahead of us, none of which I will post about now, but soon, my friends. Part of me wants to clean like mad this weekend, but the other part wants to sit and read, watch my children play outside, knit or crochet a little, or perhaps get out my long lost cross stitch project I need to finish for a Christmas present, maybe go to the park for a cookout. If it's cool out, I might even bake some bread. Sounds like I need to try to find a happy medium!

Happy almost Friday!

Happy holiday!

Did all of you have a refreshing long weekend? I certainly hope it was filled with fun, sun, gorgeous weather, football, barbecue and cold drinks! Mine had some of that, but also had work today (boo!). That also means, however, that I will get holiday pay on my next check - that's a yippee right there!

Over the weekend, my younger daughter turned 2 years old. I can't believe how time has completely flown by...seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital and sat and stared at her for hours on end. Now, she runs around like some crazy baby, and we still sit around watching her.

My sons Thomas and Jacob, Jacob's friend Zachary, and GinaGina.

Her party (and I use that term loosely, since it was nothing significantly planned out at all) was successful. Snacks, homemade chili, and a frosted pink birthday cake made it great.


Yay for pink frosting and sprinkles!

GinaGina's favorite thing is, by far, Dora the Explorer (much to my chagrin). She runs when she hears it on tv. We have several episodes DVR'd for her viewing pleasure, as well as a DVD of 4 episodes. If she's upset, you can always get her to calm by singing the Dora song and quoting the beginning of an episode. She'll continue quoting and forget what she was upset about.


GREAT find!

Along with Backpack and Map, my mom got her another Dora DVD with 3 episodes we didn't have DVR'd! SCORE!


What 2 year old doesn't need another AC/DC shirt?? And Thomas looks thrilled to be there, doesn't he?

One of her favorite episodes of Dora is the cowboy episode, where Dora and Boots are dressed in their cowboy gear and have to deliver cowboy cookies to Benny. She loves it, and rides her stuffed unicorn around yelling, "Yeehaw!". So, we had to get her some gear.


Giddyup, pinto!

Zachary also gave her a stick horse, which is awesome except that it talks and whinnies when a button is pressed on its ear, which really freaks GinaGina out. So she's sticking with the unicorn, from what I can tell. She's also going for the country singer gig, which she can totally pull off.


Just give that girl anything that resembles a microphone, and she's good to go.

So even though I had to work today, the weekend was an utter success. The weather was just stunning as well - we were able to keep the windows open all weekend long (until today, because I'm a wimp). I can't say it was relaxing, although we didn't DO much of anything. We were all exhausted by the end. Again, I hope your weekend was beautiful and special.

It's been too long...

...not to let you know about a GIVEAWAY as one of my first posts back! Head on over to Catholic Icing for an awesome rosary giveaway! The Clay Rosary Girl is giving away one of her amazing handmade clay rosaries to one Catholic Icing reader! You get to choose any rosary!

Any.Rosary.You.Want.

Her stuff is just gorgeous, and she even shows you the process and the meanings to the beads as well!

So please, check out Catholic Icing and The Clay Rosary Girl today. Two incredible websites + one fantastic giveaway = lots of happy readers!

It's...ALIVE!!!!

Yes, I'm alive and kickin', ladies and gents. I promise you, I'll be back very soon and hopefully writing on a regular basis - at least checking in more often than, I don't know, once a year!