Seven

My blogger friend, Shelly, made a list of her favorite "Sevens" a while back... now that I'm back from Amish country I am going to do one: *These are not in order by any means*


My 7 favorite actors/actresses~

1. Meg Ryan
2. Kate Hudson
3. Emma Watson
4. Julia Roberts
5. Robin Williams
6. Katherine Heigl
7. Dakota Fanning

My 7 Favorite Movies ~

1. A Christmas Story
2. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (original)
4. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
5. Patch Adams/ Mrs. Doubtfire
6. 101 Dalmatians
7. You've Got Mail

My 7 Favorite TV Shows ~

1. Two and a Half Men
2. What Not to Wear
3. American Idol
4. So You Think You Can Dance
5. Everyday Italian
6. Property Virgins
7. My First Place

My 7 Favorite Musicians ~

1. U2
2. Coldplay
3. Rihanna
4. Carrie Underwood
5. Josh Groban
6. Kenny G
7. Nickelback

My 7 Favorite Things to Read ~

1. The Bible
2. Maeve Binchy
3. Harry Potter
4. Magazines
5. Shel Silverstein
6. Devotion Books
7. Any Children's Books
8. Gary Thomas *Sacred Parenting* *Sacred Marriage* *The Beautiful Fight*
I HIGHLY recommend him if you're looking to strengthen your walk with God! It is my goal this year to get through all 3 of these books, I've already started!

My 7 Favorite Places to Shop ~

1. Children's Place
2. Gymboree
3. JCPenney
4. Old Navy
5. Barnes and Noble
6. Target
7. Christmas Tree Hill

My 7 Favorite Flowers ~

1. Tulips
2. Lily of the Valley
3. Roses
4. Alstra Maria
5. Daisies
6. Hyacinths
7. Hydrangeas

My 7 Favorite Indulgences ~

1. Ho Ho Mint Mocha/Peppermint Mocha/ White Chocolate Raspberry Mocha
2. Sleeping In
3. Truffles
4. Yankee Candles
5. Time with my two loves
6. My Gram's Sugar Cookies
7. My Gram's Nut Roll (yummy stuff, I tell ya)

My 7 Goals for the Future ~ (a whole post will be devoted to this New Years Day)

1. Have a better relationship with God
2. Do devotions every.single.day
3. Get healthy the right way
4. Get finances straight, and stop being stupid
5. Be a better wife
6. Be a better mother
7. Keep the house completely clean at all times

Home and Prayers

Well, we are home.. finally! A week away seemed like a year. We were definitely ready to get back to our house, and our beds! Even our munchkin asked for "my bed"! I have a TON of pictures to post of this Christmas... and they are super cute. It was so much more fun this year with our punkins being almost 2 instead of 10 months... a lot more action! I also have some funny stories about a *sneaky* toddler! Those will all come throughout the week!


Please pray for Stellan! Remember, the baby who wasn't supposed to make it out of his mom's womb? Well, the miracle baby is needing more prayer! He is having trouble breathing, and his heart rate is up... head over to MckMama's blog (click on the picture of her and her kiddos on my sidebar).


I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Any fun plans for New Years? Our fun plans consist of being in bed by 10 :o) and I'm NOT complaining!

Merry CHRISTmas

We are leaving at 6:30am tomorrow for my ortho. appt. (I can't wait to get these braces off!), then we'll be on the road to our Northern home (Lancaster County, PA)

I pray that you all have a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy your families, the food, the memories, but remember deep in your heart and soul the real reason for this most wonderful time of the year!!

Loves! <3

HELP US!!!

Are any of you, my blog readers, a big tech junkie? If so, can you please help us?? Even if you've never commented before can YOU PLEASE HELP US? Someone keeps hacking on to our computer, and uploading porn! It's always lovely getting on the computer, and seeing some disgusting picture... So if you can give any advice, please help me!

10 Things ~ Letter "S"

My blogger friend, Becky, had a "Top Ten" using a letter of the alphabet. She assigned me "S", so here is my top 10

10. Sleeping ~ everyone has to love sleep... c'mon... sometimes it's the best part of the day!

9. Sparkling lights shining through my Spun glass ornaments ~ my favorite part of our Christmas tree!

8. Socks ~ I love me a good pair of funky socks!! I have ones for a lot of the holidays (Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day, etc)

7. Sugar cookies ~ my Gram's sugar cookies are the best in the world, and she sends me some every Christmas... they're amazing!

6. Singing ~ I love to sing with my girl, and have her repeat the words back to me.. she's starting to learn a lot of the songs, and it's fun to listen to her own rendition!

5. Starbucks ~ I am a huge coffee fanatic... I especially love their Peppermint Mocha in the winter.. I could seriously have one of those things every day

4. Stained Glass~ If you have read my blog at all, you know what a huge fan I am of glass... one of my favorites is stained glass, and watching the light shine through it ~ it's absolutely STUNNING

3. Snuggling ~ with my husband, daughter, and doggy.. there is no better place to be than sitting nice and close to one of those three, and feeling the love radiating out of them!

2. Sins being forgiven ~ it amazes me that God loved me so much that He sent His only son to die on the cross for me.... His love is so incredible, and I don't deserve any of it...

1. Savior ~ without Him, nothing in my life would be here... I wouldn't be here.. I am so eternally grateful for my life, for my family, and everything that my great God has blessed me with here on Earth, and I am even more grateful for my home that He has waiting for me with Him in heaven!

So... if you wanna join in, either ask me for a letter or click on Becky's name above, and she'll give you one! It's kinda tricky, but fun!! :o)

Trying to Love

I am trying to be a good Christian, really I am trying! Christ instructs us to love everybody, just as He loves everybody. My only problem is that I am totally 100% completely HUMAN! I try to get along with everyone, and find at least some good in each person I come across. I try to remember what My Father instructs me to do, but sometimes it's just so hard. Obviously this is leading to something, so I'll just get on with it... one of the women I work with drives me nuts. It's so hard having to be around her every single day. It is always so nice when she has lunch duty, and we don't have to listen to her. She's so self centered it's ridiculous. Everything has to be about her, or her son, or anything that comes close to encompassing her life. If someone asks you a question about yourself or your child, you can't even get a complete sentence out without her blurting out, "Well, I did...", or ,"My son does..." A conversation can never be about anyone else's life because she constantly.butts.in.and.talks.about.herself! I'm not the only one that is totally bothered by this, either. Whenever she does something, she wants huge recoginiton for it, even if someone else has already done the same thing. She also won't hesitate to make you look bad so she'll look great (even when it comes down to giving false information about someone, and not finding out the truth before she opens her mouth). She is recently divorced, and has lost a lot of weight. Yes, she looks great, but that doesn't give her the excuse or permission to hang all over our married vice principal (even at school functions like the PTA Holiday Concert). She also didn't hesitate let people know that she may be pregnant, but didn't know which one of 4 guys would be the father; YET she is seen in the community as a Godly, loving, empathetic, sweet person. I don't know how many times I've heard what a wonderful person she is, and I only want to mutter back, "you should try working with her, and your point of view will do a 360 degree change".

My husband and I went out to dinner tonight. After going to this "girls" house last night before my faculty Christmas Social, can you guess who was the main topic of our conversation? I am trying so hard to have a positive attitude toward her, but there are times when it gets so hard because of the things she does. It offends me when someone asks ME how MY daughter is doing, and I can't even get "She's doing well, she has been..." out until I'm cut off so she can tell everyone yet another thing about her child.


Please pray that God will help my attitude, and that He will put in my heart to be a more loving example. Please pray that His presence will fill my heart and mind, and that I will not be so negative about this person. I know she's not going to change, so I am the one that needs the attitude adjustment in order to be more like Christ, whom I try and want to emulate!

Christmas Teacher

Since Christmas is right around the corner (hard to believe it's a week away!), my students are starting to bring in a plether of gifts for me. I love it when they come in, carrying the brightly colored bag, with a glorious, shining expression on their faces. It's so cute because they can't wait to give me the gift, and watch my face as I open their present. Over the last 5 years, I have received some pretty interesting presents, and I have also received some really awesome presents. I teach in a very poor area of Virginia, so a lot of the presents are hand-me-downs. I don't care because it's the thought that counts, but I get a kick out of some of them. Here are my top "interesting" and "favorite" presents:


Interesting~
* A Christmas teddy bear that had dead bugs throughout it; like implanted in to the fur!
* Cookies with cat fur hanging off of the plate and in throughout the cookies (and, yes, she asked me to eat one as soon as she handed the plate to me)
* A Christmas mug that was chipped, and obviously used numerous times

Favorite~
* Barnes and Noble gift card ~ that rocked
* Candle with stained glass shade (the first two were from the same kid... he got an A for the semester, for sure! JUST KIDDING)
* Snow globe ornaments
* A tin of "International Delights" powdered coffee mix because he knew I loved the stuff, and drank it daily (sweet and very thoughtful)
* Rubber duckies for my baby girl
* Truffles


All Time Favorite
* A note thanking me for being an awesome teacher, for loving him "as my own child", for "being like a mom" to him, and for "touching his heart and soul" That made me bawl, for sure!


I've already been told that I'll be getting more things tomorrow. One of my little boys knows that I am crazy about glass stuff, so his mom found a glass fish and spun glass angel for me.

It's so cute to see what they bring in, and how excited they are to be giving me something that they chose. I give each of them a huge hug, and a big thank you because I appreciate their effort to think of me.

I Bombed!! :o(

Have you ever thought you said something really amazing and encouraging to someone, then thought back on what you said, and in reality it was totally horrific? Well, that is exactly what I did this morning. After reading the plight the Freeman family is going through concerning their precious baby Kayleigh, (Click the words, she really needs prayer) I was an emotional wreck. Hence, instead of leaving an uplifting message letting them know that their precious baby girl is still fighting, and is still being taken care of by the Master Healer, I go and give her a death sentence!

"As I sit here and read this, my heart breaks for you. I have prayed for your family starting the second I read about Kayleigh's story, and have never stopped since. I'm sorry that you have to go through this. No parent should ever have to go through this. But, it's God's plan. And His plan is the best plan there is. And, wheI hope you find peace in knowing that you will be reunited with your sweet girl again in Heaven. And when you see her, she will have a healthy heart, and won't have to suffer through everything her poor little body has been through the last 5 months. You are being uplifted in my prayers so much, and I pray that you will continually feel God's amazing presence with you during this time. I wish that I could hug you, cry with you, be there for you, and tell baby Kayleigh what a precious angel she is to everyone. Please just know that you have touched so many people's lives. It has been an honor praying for your baby girl, and getting to see the pictures of her beautiful little face. Your baby girl has shown what a true fighter is, and has inspired so many. May God's peace be with you.


For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11


Kayleigh's future is holding hands with the most amazing being ever. That in itsself is amazing!"



How insanely disgusting is that? I could have told them other, more important, comforting things, and I acted as if their daughter was taking her last breath! I am so disgusted with myself. I hate it that I let my emotion get the best of me, and when I read that "Kayleigh's body is starting to slowly shut down", it was automatic death for her. NO! It is NOT automatic death. God is the one who chooses that, not the doctors, and nobody here on Earth! Why couldn't I have said something to that effect? I wouldn't want someone to act as if my daughter was already gone. I would want someone to tell me that she still has a chance, and to trust in God for Him to heal her, and give her that chance.

I blew it... like majorly blew it, and I feel horrible!

Five Dollar

Yes, this is a hand. My child's response every single time she sees a hand of any kind that has all 5 fingers showing would be "Five doddar (dollar)"... meaning Subway's "Five dollar foot long"... which would also be her favorite commercial to sing to, dance to, and basically get her groove on to while listening to it on the TV! We've shown her a myriad of hands and "Five doddar" is her response every.single.time! AHHHH

So, Where Do You Shop? I Shop at the Mall in the Lost and Found Bin

One of my boys cracked me up today, and I have to share. First, an explanation of the kiddo is needed. You know the guy on the show "Lost".... the really big, insanely-afro-hair-looking, white dude? Yeah, well, I have a kid like that in my room. He looks exactly the same as that dude, just he's biracial. He fits the name of the show in which he looks like he comes from, too. "Lost" is the perfect word to describe him.

So, this morning, he comes in proudly clutching a Superman lunchbox with all of his goodies neatly tucked inside thrown in every which way. He was proud as a peacock to be carrying that lunchbox. After he sits down, unpacks, and gets ready for the day, he comes up to show me his new digs... "Look, I have a Superman lunchbox!" "Oh, cool, where did you get that from?" "Well, I saw it in the "Lost and found" in the cafeteria, and picked it up since I needed my lunchbox". Thinking that it was HIS lunchbox, I told him I was glad he found it, and told him to go work on his morning work. He went on his merry way, and I thought that was the end of the whole "lost and found" business.

Fast forward to lunch..... I had lunch duty today, so I was sitting in the cafeteria the whole time. The same kiddo came up to me 5 minutes after lunch started, his soup all over his face, shirt, pants, and shoes (no kidding), and asked me if he can go somewhere. I asked where he needed to go, and he told me to the lost and found box. I told him that he needed to go sit and finish his lunch, then wipe off his entire being so he wasn't drenched in vegetable soup. He went and sat down, and I saw him up like 5 minutes later... can you guess where he was?? Nope, it wouldn't be the LOST AND FOUND BOX. Then, I decided to stroll over and see what he was up to, and tell him to sit back down. He looks at me excitedly and goes "Oh, man, look I have 4 hats... one for me, my mom, my grandma, and my sister". I asked him how he had lost all of those hats at school, and he looked at me kinda stunned. I proceeded to ask if those were his original hats that he had lost throughout the year so far. His reply "Ummmm, well, no". So I ask why he has them. I get "Well, because they are in the lost and found, and when you lose something, people put the lost stuff in the box so other people can go and found it". I politely explained to him that the lost and found wasn't meant to be a shopping spree. It is for items that students have lost to be placed so they can go look there, and try to find items that they have lost. He looked at me sort of perplexed, and didn't understand why he wasn't allowed to use the lost and found as a mall type of deal, but I told him that unless something started out as being his, he had lost it, and it was in the box, he wasn't allowed to take anything out of the box. He tried his next trick, and asked if it would be ok to go and get a hat if "on days like this, and it's raining, and your mother forgets to give you a hat and your hair is all wet and poofy, can you go to the lost and found and found a hat?" I told him no, once again, and thought it was over. Being a pretty sentimental kid, he looked kinda depressed, and then his final reply was "But, that doesn't make me a feef (thief) does it?"

My Girl <3

I decided that all of my blogger friends need to see how cute my girl was from the beginning much my girl has grown in the past 2 years.



This first picture was taken a day after she was born. She was born 2/27/07.

This picture was from her first Christmas. She was 10 months old... she was still unsteady sitting up on her own!!























Now, she's 21 months old. I can't believe she's almost
2 years old. I also can't believe how insanely much she has
changed!! She's such a great kid. Just looking at the smile
on her little face shows you what a vibrant personality
she has, and what a sweet girl she has grown to become.
She's so so so much fun!!
































Mommy loves you, baby girl. I thank God every single day
for blessing me, and allowing me to be your mommy. You are
the light of my life, and I couldn't imagine what life would
be like without you. You are such a sweet, loving, amazing, beautiful
girl. Mommy and daddy are so fortunate to have you, little one!!

We love you! <3

PLEASE PRAY!!

Dear Friends,

I am asking you to, please, get down on your knees, and pray your heart out for the Freeman family! You can link to their blog on my "Pray for Kayleigh" button on my sidebar. Kayleigh is a 5 month old preemie, and she is in desperate, desperate need of prayer. She has already had heart surgery, and is suffering from hypertension. Her hypertension is causing her pressures to become "fixed", and that is NOT a good situation. This little girl has the chance of not making it, which is insanely scary and incredibly sad. Please pray for her parents, Adam and Aimee. I can't even imagine having to watch my daughter go through this, and there was nothing that I could do to help her. Their recent blog is heart wrenching. Please also visit their blog, (CLICK HERE) and let them know that you're praying for them. They need this now more than ever!! Please, please, take a second (or a lot of seconds) out of your day to send a prayer up to God for baby Kayleigh!

Ornaments

I don't know if I have told all of blogdom about my obsession with ornaments or not, but you're about ready to be told! Ever since I was born, my parents and paternal grandparents have gotten me a Christmas ornament each year. I basically have a ton of them, and was able to decorate my own Christmas tree when I moved out and got married. I cherish this collection. It's one of my absolute favorite things I own. My mom and dad still get my brother and me an ornament every year. This year, mine was a set of spun glass (my favorite favorite type of ornament) icicles with Mickey Mouse's head at the top. They went to Disney World the week before Thanksgiving, so that was one of my presents. We've even started the tradition with our little angel. She's not even 2 years old yet, and has 4 ornaments of her own already. I look forward to the surprise of what kind of ornament my mom has picked out for me each year.

Well, my husband knows I love ornaments, especially glass ones. There is a glass studio 2 hours north of us in Staunton, Virginia. They have a cool thing where you can come and blow your own glass ornament. These two pictures (there are more, which you'll see) are of MY ornament that I BLEW (not to sound disgusting or anything, but there really isn't any other way to put it)!! I got to choose the colors, so I chose multi-colored OF COURSE. Then, I got to watch him take my glob of scorching hot glass, put it back in the fire and rotate it to shape it in to a ball, he blew in to it a little bit, dipped it in to the multi-colored glass bits to make my colorful ornament, then I got to blow a steady, low pressure flow of air in to the ornament while he shaped it. These two pictures are of the guy putting an extra glob of glass on top to make the hole for where the hook goes. I think this is going to become a tradition because I loved it.


I also found a local potter in town (pottery is another one of my obsessions), and I got a new awesome purple and tan pottery coffee mug yesterday. He's also going to make me a set of stoneware dishes; which is something I've longed to have for a very long time. All in all, yesterday was an amazing day. Crazy, but totally amazing!

Only My Child Husband

We were all having fun playing with different toys tonight. Reading books, watching Noggin and playing/singing along, blocks, and Play-Doh were some of the activities going on in our house. After we got everything cleaned up, and it was time for the kiddo to get her bath, I looked over to ask my husband a question. Fortunately, I looked over before I spoke because I caught him doing something that made me about wet my pants. My husband, yes the grown, 30-year-old-man child that resides in my home, was using the purple Play-Doh to make an imprint of his nipple. Yes, folks, unforunately, you read that 100% correctly. He then went on to make imprints of his ear, nose, and belly button. After that, he was advised to stop while he was ahead, and before he got anymore ideas! So, there you have it ~ an evening at my house.... never a dull moment!


P.S. As soon as I cracked up, his first comment was, "You BETTER NOT put this on your blog". YEAH RIGHT, DUDE!

Not Me! Monday :o)

It's been a while since I've done one of these!!

* I absolutely did not leave a bag of cucumbers out in my classroom since before we left for Thanksgiving.... and I didn't walk in my room this morning, and about keel over dead because of the stench!

* I didn't find every excuse possible to not clean the house this weekend because I had a cold/fluish sort of thing going on, and I just felt like laying around and being lazy.

* After taking medicine for the aforementioned cold (Vicks 44D PM), and having the meds knock me out~ I didn't pretend that I didn't hear our daughter screaming her lungs out in the middle of the night last night because I couldn't drag myself out of bed. My hubster was feeling fine, and I didn't think that he could take care of her all alone.

* Once I finished making peanut butter rice krispie treats, I didn't oblige my adorable little munchkin everytime she went to the counter and asked for "butter, pease" because she LOVED them. I wouldn't let my child eat that kind of stuff. (Really she doesn't get that much sugar, and when she does, she goes hogwild).

* I wasn't a mean wife, and I didn't laugh in my husband's face when his mother told him that his brother was back with his pathetic, psycho, looney ex-girlfriend. I also didn't rub it in to my husband's face that this is going to be his sister in law (I'm not claiming her), and that he'll get to deal with her every time we're at their house. (I also didn't totally go off on said lunatic the Christmas that I was pregnant because I wasn't about to pop, my patience weren't a millimeter thick, and she didn't get on my nerves). I totally wouldn't have told my husband that the second she gets on my nerves (now that she's basically in the family for good because this is like the 10th time they've broken up, and neither of them can find anyone else... sorry but it's true) this Christmas, I am going off on her. She sits there and says inappropriate stuff, and asks him every other second "do you still love me?" Can you TELL WHY SHE DRIVES ME NUTS??? Sorry.... rampaging a little!

* In the last 2 weeks I haven't had a Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks twice, and a Hoho Mint Mocha from Caribou! I wasn't in heaven at all while enjoying my pepperminty, holiday goodness!!!

* I haven't slacked off in putting up my Christmas tree. It wasn't supposed to be up Saturday, and it's not still sitting in our shed!

* I was not exhausted today, and did not keep mixing up my words while teaching. One of my little boys, who knows way too much for his age, didn't look at me and ask, "Have you had too much to drink already today?". Because, you know, I'm always on top of my game, and I always know what I'm doing and saying because I'm cool like that :o)

Head on over to MckMama's blog, and see what other people didn't do this week!

Christmas Princess

Well, here you have it ~ my little chica's outfit for Christmas!! My mom got the dress (orginally $65.00) for a KILLER deal at Boscovs (a PA department store). It also comes with a headband, which is perfect! And we had fun finding sparkly Dorothy shoes to go along with it. Now all we need is a white sweater so her little arms don't get cold.

You will definitely be seeing pictures of her sporting this attire the weekend after we get back from Pennsylvania. I can't wait until she wears it! I love love love having a girl because I can gussy her up, and make her all cute. It doesn't add to her Mommy's fun that she's a total girly girl at the age of 21 months, either! I know this means we're in trouble when she's 13, but for now, I love it when she asks me to paint her nails or put pretties in her hair.

Hello, I'm Rudolph Brianne, Nice to Meet You!

<------------ I'm officially his twin :o( I wish this cold would go away. Plus, my girl caught it from me, and she's miserable, too!!

Lovely Sight

While I was driving to get the girl that I work with today (yes, I had to work on a Sunday ~ and had to be an hour away at 9am..bleh), I saw something similar to this picture. I didn't have my camera, so this will have to suffice. But, I did enjoy seeing *SNOW* on the ground, and thought it was cute seeing all of the cows standing around in it. I haven't seen snow on the ground in maybe 3 years! It was definitely exciting... I could use a little more of that!

I'm Ready for the New Year!

I'm ready for January 1st to arrive. I have already sat down and made 4 lists of goals for myself and my family. I have my personal goal list, a goal list concerning my Christian life, a list about the things that need to be done and maintained around our house, and a financial goal list. I've shared all of them with my boy, and we're both really excited to try and accomplish all of these goals throughout the new year. We both think all of the goals are attainable with a lot of hard work and dedication, which feels good not starting out feeling defeated. Do you make goals for each new year? I think it's kinda fun. So, January, I'm ready for you, and 2009, I'm gonna kick YOUR butt instead of you kicking mine :o)

New Rendition

Here's a new song (to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree")


Oh kidney stones
Oh kidney stones
Why dost thou ail my husband?

Oh kidney stones
Oh kidney stones
Why dost thou ail my husband?

All the pain you put him through
Doctors visits and the ER, too

Oh kidney stones
Oh kidney stones
Why dost though ail my husband?

We patiently have deal with him
His attitude really makes us grim

Oh kidney stones
Oh kidney stones
WHY DOST THOU AIL MY HUSBAND? :o(