Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

A few days ago Shannon and I had a really sad conversation. We ultimately decided that we wouldn't have a Christmas tree this year. With the entire house being flooded and having to move everything out, and the repairs being so close to Christmas it just wasn't feasible. If we did put up a tree we would probably have to take it down just before Christmas, only to have to put it right back up, and if we did put one up after the repairs it would only be up for a few short days, and what if the repairs aren't done? So, we decided that we would spend Christmas at my parents.

It is kind of depressing to think that my kids will not have a tree with all of their presents wrapped under it. Which was something we all knew, when we decided to do the room remodels for Christmas the kids knew they wouldn't have many, if any presents at all. Well, as Christmas gets closer I really feel like it was a bad idea. I still intend on buying them presents. Shhh, don't tell. And then there was the flood..........errrrrr. The rooms are getting remodeled anyways. Double eeerrr!!!

So, let's go back in time about a month ago. Long before the house flooded. Long before we decided that we weren't going to have a tree.....

My son had to do an Atom model for Science. I took him to the Dollar Tree and low and behold they had a million and one Christmas decorations out on display. We decided that he would make his Atom out of Christmas Decorations. We were so excited. We knew this would be great! How many other students will use Christmas decorations for their Atom??? None! That is what makes it so great. You see, in the land of Middle School, you never want anybody to ever be like you, or have clothes on that are like yours, or have projects that are like yours, and if your child's backpack is like somebody elses....."Mom I need a new back pack" will be what you hear the very next day. In fact when we were picking out the ornaments to decorate this Atom we had to steer clear of bells. Somebody else was using bells.

Ok, rewind to today.....

I went over to the park to grab my sons stuff so he could train for a half marathon that he is running in early February. (Yay, go Rich!!!) And there it was.......My Christmas Tree!

It was an image from God. My son walking towards the park, with his very unique white back pack, in his running attire holding my Christmas Tree. It was magnificent!

I held myself together for the short time I grabbed his stuff and then as I drove away I began to cry. I laughed, I cried and I prayed.

I told the Lord "You knew didn't you? You knew that our house was going to flood, and you knew that I was going to be really sad about not having a Christmas tree for my children? You knew that I would need this, didn't you?" I must say, this God of mine takes care of me. He looks out for me and protects me from all of the ugly out there. What family doesn't have a Christmas tree at Christmas? NOT US!!!

We have the most beautiful Christmas Tree around. It is so beautiful because it is a gift from God. He made it long before Christmas was even a blip in my mind.

And, it was only $15.00 decorated and all!!!

(Don't worry Mom, we will still come to your house for Christmas.)

.....

I've been told several times that I should write a book. Apparently I have a talent. A talent that surprises me. I'm a pretty insecure person and I just don't see my self as being talented in much of anything. I know I can dance, I know I love my children, I know I can push a vacuum pretty well. But write a book! That is a task that seems unreachable to me.

However, I was watching Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations and the show that was on was an episode called "How we got here". Basically the show was about Bourdain's journey to becoming a writer and chef. He said something that made me think. He said something like: most writers are socially awkward, Most writers are introverted and don't enjoy being surrounded by crowds of people. Apparently writers do much better on paper than in person. So basically he was describing me. On facebook people think I am a hoot! In my blog people tell me that I am so funny. Well, I'll tell you the truth....when I can sit and think for a minute or two I can think of something very clever to type. There is also that magic "delete" key. It erases words that you really don't or shouldn't say. When I am in a conversation I am completely awkward and trip all over my words. Things never come out right, especially when I'm around new people. After I walk away from a conversation I always think to myself "Man, why didn't I say______" I frustrate myself sometimes. Let's just say, my social life has opened up since social networking has been invented.

I often sit around and wonder what I would write a book about. I have been told to write a book about Mia. I would just have to come up with so many adjectives, and that seems to be too much work. I could definitely write a book about my family. The Guidry family.......boy would we fill a book from cover to cover with so much entertainment. But let's just say...let's just say this book becomes popular? Because this family is quite interesting. Do I really want to smear this family's business all over pages of a book? I could write about my own personal journey to happiness...........I'm boring. I'm pretty much what you would call a statistic. Pregnant at 16, found the man of my dreams, raising a patchwork family....blah blah blah...... I once picked up a book about a woman that had 3 teenage boys. The book was all about her and how she raised these very diverse young men. It bored me. I don't want to be her. I can't do fiction. Yes, I made up plenty of doozies as a child, but I don't think my adult brain words that way any more.

So here in lies the question.....What do I write about????

the great flood of twenty ten

I'm sitting in my living room, with my feet up on my bed. Why you might ask? Well you see, on the last day of Thanksgiving break my house flooded. This day was supposed to be the last day before I "hit the ground painting". I was planning on re doing the kids rooms for their Christmas present. I was in town, purchasing a few last minute room decor items and I received a phone call that now when I think back it was very underplayed.

Shannon called me and said "Hey (very calmly) when you get home, you need to rent a rug doctor, the toilet flooded our bathroom and bedroom"

I immediately began thinking about all of the possibilities. You see, sometimes (most of the time) my dear husband exaggerates. But, there are times that he underplays situations. Like "it only cost $100.00" Sorry dear, but $129.99 is $130.00. So I'm driving home, with chatty cathy in the car chatting away.........not knowing what to think.

When I got home this is what I saw......

Rich approached me at the front door with a look of terror on his face. His first words to me were "I think I cleaned your bathroom up pretty good"

Shannon yelled, "Rich wash your hands, you were handeling sewage"

Codi and Linsey had just gotten home from their moms house, and seemed to be sort of disappointed that this was how their home coming was. Rightfully so.

And the cats didn't seem too happy about the whole thing either.

Oh crud!

I kicked off my shoes, I had on my gold flats, didn't want to ruin them, and I ran into my room. The hallway was wet, and when I got into my room my carpet was a sloshy mess. The baseboards were stained, already, and the room stunk. It stunk bad! Shannon and rich did a great job of soaking up all of our towels in the mess, and they moved and tried to save as much as they could. Bless their little hearts. They tried to save the house.

How did this happen you might wonder, well, this is how:

Shannon was sitting on our bed, 2 feet away from the bathroom with his headset on dictating notes for work. He went to the restroom, not the big job and no toilet paper was needed (TMI, you might say, but that is a critical point). He flushed and went back to work. 2 hours later he stood up to make himself a cup of coffee and found him self ankle deep in water. The rest is history.......

Shannon and I stood in the room in disbelief. For the next hour I was in a horrible state of shock. You know when you pet goes missing and you walk in circles, you pick up the phone and try to dial somebody to help, you start sentences but don't really know what to say to finish them........multiply that by 20. We had never felt so helpless. The water was so bad. We weren't sure what to do, or how to fix it. Where do you start when your room and bathroom has been flooded?

We were able to get out hands on a rug doctor (a huge thank you to the Smart family) and we began to suck the water out of the tub. We worked for an hour sucking the water out of the carpet and eventually after filling the tub with 3 inches of dirty water and still sloshing around in our room we realized that this was way beyond us and our capabilities.

Shannon googled something like "emergency water clean up" and found this great company. This man came to our house with his two grandsons and immediately started pointing this magic wand that told him where the water has flowed to around the house. Let's just say there was a lot of beeping coming out of that magic wand. The water managed to seep into parts of that house that we didn't even realize it would go. That water, it's a tricky little mover. The men began ripping out our carpet and linoleum. They also had to cut huge holes in our walls. That was scary! But 4 hours later we found ourselves standing in a cement house with 5 blow fans and 2 humidifiers and we had strict instructions to leave everything where it was and leave the fans ON!!!

All of my belongings are in my garage, my dresser with all of my clothes, my end tables, my books, my pretty decorations.....everything!!!!! I was swiftly moved out of my house, while expected to still live in it. A very sad day for me. I love my cozy little home. (sometimes)

This nice man from Clean Master told us that we definitely needed to call home owners. He said this is a mess you can't handle on your own. No kidding!

When the inspector came to check things out he is in a state of shock as well. Apparently he hasn't seen toilet damage this bad. Well, if he knew my family, he would know that us Guidry's do nothing small. He wrote his estimate out saying that we will get all new floors, baseboards, paint, and of course patch the gaping holes in my walls.

Great you might say! Yes, I am excited to get new floors and base boards and paint, and especially excited to have those holes fixed but.....yes there is always a but! My dog is scheduled to have her precious little puppies December 11.

Like I said, us Guidry's do nothing small. Including our animals.

The cats refuse to go out side any more. They would rather romp around on my bed, that is placed to nicely in the middle of my living room. The kids would rather have wrestling matches on my bed, and I am going to go insane.

One with Nature

This weekend we are going camping. One of our families favorite things to do. We have a very secret place we love to go. In fact, we haven't camped anywhere else in the 8 years we have been a family unit. I couldn't imagine pitching my tent anywhere else.

This morning I have been preparing for the trip. The first thing I do when I prepare for a camping trip is print out the "Camping List".

This list has everything one would need out in the wilderness. EVERYTHING!!!

I scanned through my list as I do every time I print it. I cross off certain things we might not need on any particular trip such as the fishing poles, or 4 cots instead of 6 cots.....and as I read through the list today I started laughing.

The list in in alphabetical order, and some of the items that are listed next to one another read pretty funny: Tongs next to toilet paper, Ax next to air mattress. It just makes me laugh.

I thought I'd share my list for your entertainment, or for your use, enjoy........

Camping List
o Air pump
o Air mattress
o Ax
o Baggies
o Batteries
o Bee-bee guns
o Blankets
o Camp table
o Can opener
o Card table
o Citronella candle
o Coffee maker
o Cook set
o Cooking spoons
o Cups
o Dish soap
o Dust pan
o Fingernail clippers
o First aid kit
o Fishing pole
o Flash lights
o Foil
o Garbage bags
o Hair brush
o Hot plates
o Knives
o Lanterns
o Lawn chairs
o Lintels
o Lotion
o Matches
o Measuring cups
o Mirror
o Napkins
o Off
o Pans
o Picnic table
o Pillows
o Pitcher
o Plates
o Pocket knives
o Pots
o Propane
o Rags
o Rake
o Razor
o Rope
o Rubber mallet
o Scrubbers
o Shampoo and conditioner
o Shovel
o Silverware
o Sleeping bags
o Smokey Joe
o Soap
o Stove
o Sunscreen
o Table cloth
o Tackle box
o Tarps
o Tents
o Toaster
o Toilet paper
o Tongs
o Toothbrush
o Toothpaste
o Towels
o Wash rags

Food
o Bacon
o Barbecue sauce
o Beans
o Beer
o Bread
o Butter
o Buns
o Cheese
o Chicken
o Chili
o Chips
o Chocolate
o Coffee
o Creamer
o Eggs
o Grahams
o Hotdogs
o Ice
o Jelly
o Juice
o Ketchup
o Marshmallows
o Mashed potatoes
o Mayo
o Relish
o Snacks
o Tortillas
o Sugar
o Veggies
o Water

Many blessings....

In March Shannon was offered a new job, and a new career path. Something our family has prayed about for the last 8 years (our entire marriage). This new opportunity, little did we know, would really change our lives. Shannon's income would be cut in half. We really struggled with this change because we are raising four kids, and we had a hard enough time financially already. But we put all of our trust in the Lord. We also decided that we should start tithing regularly. Tithing is something that we always felt like we needed to do, but giving that money away, and not spending it on ourselvs was such a hard thing. However, this tithe was our way of telling the Lord that we trust him, and we have faith that he will provide for our family. And, oh my goodness has the Lord provided!

We are raising a family of 6, paying a rediculiously large mortgage, feeding our family, paying every bill ON TIME, sending our kids to summer camp, and taking family vacations! We are doing all of this on......wait for it.......$13.50 an hour, with no over time pay. (praying for the overtime to kick in soon, but Shannon's program is still too new to be able to afford paying over time)

Can you believe that! That is nearly minimun wage. How incredible and awesome is our God, that he has made it work. This is unheard of!

Now, that income isn't paying for everything, but the opportunities that are being laid down in front of our family is amazing. The Lord is providing for our children, and for Shannon and I.

I was really afraid that our children would suffer from this paycut the most. Shannon and I can go without financial perks, and understand, but when you tell a child that they can't get new school clothes, can't play sports becasue we can't afford the team fee or equipment, or that we have to stay in the house all summer and that we can't go anywhere because we can't afford it.......now that hurts. There is nothing that a mother hates more than to dissapoint her children.

But, once again the Lord provides. Below is a list of the things our children have done this summer:
We have many friends with swimming pools and they allow us to come over and swim whenever we want
The church has a scholarship fund that paid for Mission Springs Summer Camp
Free Movie Rentals
Movie theaters have Free movie days
Free trips to the water park
Discounted hotel rooms allow for a fun weekend at the beach
Visiting the lake is always free
Our most favorite place in the world Blue Canyon, is completly free
Coupons online allow for me to buy their favorite snacks such as gogart, ice cream, and candy
and, my most favorite one of all.......I have a mother that loves to spend money on my kids!!!!!
(this is the short list of all of the amazing things the Lord provided, and Summer is not over.....)

So, the moral of my story is Trust and Obey! For there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey!

Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now......

This morning when my sister walked in my house she said the litter box was very stinky, GASP!!! Well, not really that shocking. I've been so sick that I have let a lot of things go, and the litter box was one of them. I can't smell anything right now due to a major sinus infection so really, the stinky things have been at the bottom of my priority list. Probably not one of the best choices I've made, but.........I'm only human.

I had Codi take the box out and dump it. I walked into the garage to get litter and.....OH NO! No more litter! So I threw all the cats out and decided I had to go to the store after taking the kids to school. I really needed to go to the store anyways, we needed milk, and a few other things.

When I got home I noticed the box needed to be sprayed out....thanks to dear old Grandma, I now check this stuff. So I sprayed the box let it air dry, and kept the cats out.

About 30 minutes later the box was dry. I brought it in and called in the cats. They came in like a heard of buffalo being chased by a lion!

I had three cats very interested in what I was doing. They all three ran over with me to put the box in it's place, I open the bag and Lucy screamed at me the entire time. As I poured it in the box Toots did circles around me. Blue sat on the table and watched me with his usual cross-eyed look.

Once I had the litter in the box the three of them fought over who got to use the box first!

Apparently Toots was doing the pee pee dance around me, and Lucy was yellin at me to "hurry up" and Blue must have been in so much pain he couldn't do anything but sit and stare at me cross-eyed!

You'd think the dirt field across the street would have worked, but I guess they don't want to do their business where they play! Stinking up my house is a much better idea!!!!

I make me laugh

I've been sick for a week now. I felt like I was coming down with a really bad case of Strep Throat.....but some days I would feel fine. Just when I'd pick up the phone to make an appointment my sore throat would go away and my symptoms would subside. My illness was tricky! It went from a tiny sore throat, to a really bad sore throat, then to a clogged nose, then my nost ran, and then.....my eye gooped shut! Yes, gooped shut! I pulled out so many eyelashes in the cleaning process every morning I don't think my eye will ever be the same!

After alot of "encouragement" from my mom, and one too many sleepless nights and many many days with such a heavy head and acky neck and back I caved.

Today I went to the doctor pretty sure I would get a strep test and the doctor would give me the (much loved) Z pack! and in 2 days I would be just fine.

Dr. Buhr, my beloved doctor had a different schedule. It is funny how professionals know best!

He checked my nose, ears, throat, and glands.

"Hey doc, swab my throat! What are you doing?" That was all I was thinking.

He said when he was done, and I quote him "your throat looks really good!"

"How can that be doc, that hurts the most!!!!"

So finaly pushed on my sinuses....ding ding ding.....it hurt!!!!

I have a sinus infection! That explains so much. That explains the headach.....I always get a headach with a sinus infection.
That explains the sore throat.....drainage!!!
That explains the eye goop.....it traveled up to my eye.
And the clogged and drippy nose....duh! It's gotta go somewhere!

So I walked into the doctor office with a strep throat, and walked out with a sinus infection.

As I was driving home all of a sudden my cheeks became really puffy, I almost couldn't see over them! I felt the drainage coming down my throat, and my other eye started to feel really goopy!

My mind is very powerful!
And that is all I have to say about that!

My new favorite quote

I was just on facebook and I ran across a quote put up by my second cousin's wife. I am not a quote person, but this one particular quote really grabbed me.

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them" ~Mother Teresa

Isn't this so right? It is so hard to not judge the actions of others. It is so easy to mock others and put down their actions and words. But really, are we that perfect that we have the right to judge others?

Ummmm, I think not!

I am guilty of the judging, I try really hard not to be, but every day as I reflect on my day I am convicted of judging. I judge my kids, my parents, my husband (He gets it more than others unfortunately), my friends, and yes I even judge the almighty God. But what can I say...I am only human. I wasn't given that gift of perfection. I was however, given the gift of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ!

So next time you catch yourself judging remember........how can I be loving this person just as Jesus would if I am spending all my time judging them?

Patietently waiting.......

When Shannon and I first got married I shared with him my love for the Dachshund! I told him I had always wanted to have a few, and a few litters. I think they are just the cutest dogs in the world. So my loving husband, always wanting to fill my every want, went out and bought me two of the cutest mini doxy's I've ever seen. Ross is a blond/creme doxy with the cutest little legs, and the most cheer full disposition. Bridgette looks like a little dairy cow. We almost named her Jearsey. She is known as the baby. She has this baby complex and totally eats it up when receiving any type of attention.

Well, here we are two years later and I have one pregnant dam and one very satisfied stud!

Bridgette has been pregnant for what feels like FOREVER! I guess that is partially my fault. When I saw the "deed" being done I counted wrong on the calendar. I figured the puppies would be here around May 5. Boy was I wrong! Here we are May 18 (Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband) and no puppies. Day 63 falls on Friday (today is Tuesday) however, the vet tells me it could be "any day now". Those words are dangerous to an anxious mother to be. I have had a week's worth of sleepless night checking on my mother to be constantly throughout the night. Every noise she makes, I'm up! She is one noisy sleeper! She moans and groans all night long.

I swear Bridgette has been in labor, I mean full blown labor at least 4 times since last Wednesday. I think she snuck on my computer and read up on the signs of labor just to mess with my mind. She has even gone as far as turning her nose up at food. She digs around in her "nest", her belly gets really tight and she strains. I know these are all things that just happen to pregnant women, but when you are a person and the dog in the one that is pregnant, it is kind of hard to know the difference. Do dogs get Braxtin Hicks???

Last night was the the worst. I just knew I would get to wake my kids and husband up with new puppies. ERRR, wrong! She woke up this morning, ate a full breakfast, and ran around the house and greeted everybody like any other normal morning. I am truly 100% baffled!

So I'm sitting here on my laptop with my dog that has been "in labor" all night long laying next to me and she is sleeping the day away like nothing ever happened.

I called the vet and asked if there was something she could do like take a walk, have sex, you know the normal things a doctor would tell a woman to do to jump start labor, and she laughed at me and said "No, we have to let nature take it's course." I am definitely not a fan of "nature" right now. Enjoy the pictures of my poor little girl looking as big as a barn!

The Lonley Housewife

I forget how lonely it is being a stay at home mother. I'm not talking about all the quiet time during the day while the kids are at school, and the husband is at work. I actually find myself very busy during this time of the day, and I am not looking for conversation then. In the morning I am so busy with cleaning, prepping for dinner, laundry, driving "forgotten items" to the kids school (and my mother), cleaning up after animals and resting for the busy activities of the evening I don't have time to think. I also have a phone buddy I call once a week. We catch up on the latest and greatest of Kerman, mommy tricks, and of course our husbands.

In the late afternoon from the hours of 3-7 I am also so consumed with my children's homework, dinner time and practice. I don't even think about life around me. That is when I feel like I should have gone to clown school and learned some juggling tricks!

When I say I am a lonely housewife I am speaking of the few hours just before bed time, my bed time. The kids are all in bed, the house is quiet the chores are for the most part done, dinner is cleaned up and nobody needs me. I'd love to just sit and talk about my day, and about the new things the kids did, but for some reason I have a hard time finding somebody that wants to do that with me. I need an ear......

Shannon is so consumed with homework right now, and his new job that I hate bothering him. When I do approach him with something to talk about, he doesn't blow me off, but I can tell that he is bogged down with a million, billion other things. I feel like my daily interests are just not that exciting, or important right now.

I am an individual with NEED to tell everything! (If your my facebook friend you definitely can tell I need an ear.)

I can vaguely remember this feeling about 4 years ago when I used to stay home. I remember having a pitty-party for myself every evening.

When I went to work, I didn't feel so lonely. I didn't feel the need to talk about stuff so much. Maybe I was just so tired by the end of the day I just didn't care. I also found that my interests were interesting to Shannon. I wonder if that is because they were about other adults??? I wonder if he could relate to them more???

I guess as time has gone by I have grown. I have learned that it isn't all about me. (Gasp, how could that be?) I don't have a pitty-party anymore, I just know this is how it is. Will I just get used to it?

At the end of the day, every mommy just wants somebody to sit and chat with about the adventures she has gone through.

Sigh......The lonley life of a Mom! (I'm not complaining, just explaining)

ps. I better not hear from one person "You should think about going back to work" I DO NOT need to get out of the house. I love that I am home and here for my family. I just wish they could be here for me a little bit more.

2010

Well, my last post was the first day of school, here I am and the school year is almost over. But, what a whirl wind of a school year it has been. We have tried new sports, successfully made it through a foot surgery, battled the awkwardness of Middle School, graduated college, reached "big girl" status, changed professions, painted the inside of a house, done our homework, studied for tests, caught up on laundry then lost it several times. We are in the middle of raising 2 teenage boys and two girls, 7 and 10 going on their early 20's, raising a litter of kittens and praying for a grandma who has been diagnosed withe the early stages of breast cancer, and working really hard on not loosing the small ounce of sanity that we (me) are still holding on to.



I've been keeping myself very busy with taking care of the kids, cleaning the house, and trying to get out of my part time job. Finally I have succeeded at one of those things.



My job started out as a 3 day a week deal, I knocked it down to 2 days a week, and after a lot of piles of laundry, dirty toilets, and no dinners on the table at night I have finally convinced my budget that I can no longer work outside of the house. I can say, with alot of joy, this is going to be my last week of work!!!



My kids have all grown so much this school year. Codi is working on escaping the awkwardness of middle school. High School next year! That is just too weird. My mom's neighbor mentioned to me that my kids are all growing up so fast. My reply was "I can't believe my oldest will be in High School next year". That was the first time i verbalized it, and just as the words came out of my mouth the words paralyzed me. "A kid in High School". WOW!!!



Rich....well let's just say there isn't enough time in the world for me to write about his changes. I will try to get through this one without tearing up and ruining my keyboard. The most common words that I hear myself thinking are "Where did my little Richie go?" He has grown and matured so much this year, mustache and all! Yes I said it.....mustache.....we like to call it his Pedro stash! He hates it, but honestly I don't even see it when I look at him any more. It doesn't stick out like a neon sign on his face.....anymore. Something else that Rich has gained is INDEPENDENCE. Well, sort of. When my little boy started Middle School, he had his KCS friends. All really good kids, all from really good families. It was safe, it was familiar, and I heard all about the going on's of the day. Slowly this group of friends has deteriorated down to obsolete. He now has new friends. I only know who one kid is, and barely know this kids family. I hear they are all good kids...and of course I stalk their facebook's to make sure, gotta love that fb! I don't hear a word about what goes on at school anymore. When I ask, I get a "It was cool". I'm told he has a girlfriend, and he swears this girl is just a friend. (crossing my fingers he's telling the truth) Although Rich has gone through so many changes and shifts in his personality I can still say that I love the person he is. He is still so much fun to be around, and when it's just the two of us we can still laugh and carry on like we do. We still have tons of "inside jokes" such as "ja-panies", and "two ticket'ers". But I'd still like to hear about what goes on during his day. I've been told he will come back around the age of 20. So I sit and wait.........



Linsey has also traveled leaps and bounds! She had such a challenging year last year. We discovered that she had a learning disability, something we assumed, but she was just too young to test. Her teachers last year weren't the best for her, so her grades suffered A LOT. Her spirit went down the drain with her grades. But I must say, she has pulled herself out of that drain with a vengeance!!! She had the best teacher in the world this year who has cared about her like she was family......well, she was, but this is just what Linsey needed! My mom has done great things with Linsey this year. She has almost received Honor Roll twice, she gets Citizenship award every quarter, and she just smiles more. What more could a parent want? Smiles are much needed for the soul!



Miss Mia.........not my baby anymore. Definitely not my baby any more. She is in full blown "girl" action! Independent, spunky, opinionated, in charge and in control! i must say, my little girl has become a great humanitarium. She started a charity called: Mia Helps, and collected money to feed poor people. She raised over $300.00 and donated it all to the Kerman Food Bank. A very proud moment for her Father and I. When there is a spider she begs me to not kill it becasue it "isn't hurting anybody" God help me when this child learn about recycling and going green. I seriously wouldn't be suprised if Mia becomes a vegetarian when she is older. (and not becasue she doesn't like how meat taste) I might even have a grandchild from Ethopia one day.......just sayin, nothing with this child suprises me. When Mia has her mind set.....it is set. We have tried some different things with her this year. We are trying to get her moving around, and busy. You see, if being a couch potato was a Olympic sport we could safely say that Mia has been in training since she was 2. So, I signed her up for gymnastics, she loved it, I signed her up for soft ball.......not so much. She also wanted to do swimming (something I would have never guessed to put her in) and she LOVES it! It has been a lot of fun trying out new things with her.

I am really excited for this summer. I will be home with my kids.....every day! There will be a lot of sleeping in, day trips to the beach, late nights, and Popsicles! I think Mr. Fix it will visit us throughout the summer as well. I have so many unfinished projects laying around the house.

2010 has definitely brought this household a lot of changes, but so far the changes have been for the better.

I am really excited to see what is in store for us in the future.........