The Scrapbook Motherload....and then some!

What a fun time!!! If you read my last post, you saw that I found this cute little scrap store in Bend, Oregon..... Scrapbooking Outside the Box. I thought I'd share with you some of the loot I picked up. We just got back on Wednesday, and then this weekend was crazy busy! On Friday, Krista had a purse party. What fun that was! There were lots of gals there already, since I was late for the opening run at the merchandise. It was crazy! I walked in and there were at least 20 women holding on to at least 4 bags each for dear life! Then there was this calm, where everyone was just waiting and watching for someone to put down a bag they were coveting! I think at one point, I was holding on to 5 bags. I just couldn't decide. I was carrying around this one bag that everyone seemed to want, I had a line for it. Then one of the gals who wanted the bag had a bag that Suzy really wanted. So, I made a deal with her, if she gave Suzy the bag she wanted, she could have the one I had. Afterall, it is Christmas, and I really shouldn't be buying myself 5 purses! LOL! She went for it, so Suzy got her bag and I picked up the cute one in the picture above! Krista put on a great party, lots of great snacks and drinks (even though I couldn't try one of those pomogranite martini's)!

Saturday, was a full day of fun! The group of gals I day crop with at the garage periodically (meaning not as often as I would like) had our annual cookie exchange. YUMMY! There are some yummy cookies in my house now! It was lots of fun chatting with the gals and eating the scrumptious cookies! Then we had our mechanic's gift exchange! Sylvia hooked me up with a fabulous gift of the new Foofala paper, buttons and ribbon. She even added a few pieces of yummo chocolate! Thanks Sylvia!!!

Then I took Michelle's fabulous class! What a fun filled day! I also picked up some more scrapping goodies at the garage as well. I put all my stuff including the purse on my couch and all I could think was WOW! I hit the scrapbook motherload....and then some!!!

Enough...let's be positive!

Since I earned my new title....Empress of the Evil Empire, I thought it was time to debunk that myth. No matter what anyone thinks, I am not powerful enough to control the evil universe, unfortunately, I can't even control the happy universe.

Thankfully, there are quite a few things that are making me happy happy happy these days!

1. Safeway.com. Since we just got back from vacation and like old mother Hubbard, the cupboards were bare, we decided to try out grocery delivery. I must say I was quite impressed. This will definately be a timesaving luxury! The delivery guy was great, and there were only a couple of mistakes and a couple of out of stock items. With the mistakes, I contacted their customer service and they credited our account instantly! Very nice and efficiently too! Love it!! When you order over $150 your order is free. Normal delivery is between $4.95 and $9.95. Totally worth it to not make all those impulse purchases and have all those heavy items delivered to your door!


2. Starbucks. Loving that the Gingerbread Latte is back!! Another awesome addition is the Andes Mint Brownie...YUMMO!!! I am also happy, that they just opened up a Starbucks nearby with a Drive-thru!!! So happy, that Little J can enjoy the comfort of his car seat, and I can get my Gingerbread Latte without leaving the comfort of the car, or having to lug Little J in and out of the car.

3. Scrapbooking Outside the Box. Found this cute little store in Bend, Oregon. What a delight! All the latest and greatest and super service. I missed my regular hangout, but this was a good substitute! Probably spent a little too much money there on my 3 trips, but I was going through scrap shopping withdrawls!

4. Bay Area Scrappers. Can't wait till this Saturday! What a fun filled day in store!! First, we're having our annual Cookie Exchange Crop! Love this crop and coming home with great cookies! Tomorrow, I'm spending the day making my Butterscotch Oatmeal cookies (will all the ingredients delivered by Safeway). Then we have our mechanics gift exchange and holiday soiree (nothing fancy, just good fun) and then I'm taking the canvas calendar class by Michelle Tornay. She is a genius!!! Glad to get to see my friends too, as being away, I've missed them bunches!!

5. Erin had her baby girl on Monday! What a blessing her friendship is! I am so stinkin' happy for her! Can't wait to see that precious little one!!

6. Good TV!! Tonight, it's Survivor: Cook Island! Go Yul and Becky!! and ER. Can't wait to be snuggled up in bed watching TV!

7. A good book on the nightstand! Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner is my current read. So far, so good. Next on the list...especially if your a scrapbooker is Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs. I've got so many books to read, but in the last two weeks, I've been to Barnes and Noble twice and picked up yet 4 more books to add to my mound! Especially fun, was taking my nephew Z and treating him to a couple of books as well! Love to encourage reading!

8. Playtime with little J! It's so nice to be home and be in our own space. It's always nice to spend time away and be with family, but there is nothing like your own space! Little J had two appointments today, but it was still nice to be back to normal. Love just being on the floor and playing! Also, Yukon came home today from his puppy hotel/spa stay. It's nice to have him home! G gave him a bath and he is back to smelling good and just relaxing around the house with us.

9. An awesome hubby who knows I am not the Empress of the Evil Universe and is upstairs as I type making me dinner!!!

Empress of the Evil Universe Part 2!

Empress of the Evil Universe vs. Drama Queen.

Question....If you ask me if I'm interested in watching a movie and I say no, then why would your next question to me be If I'm interested in watching Airplane 2...The movie? Um....my answer is still no!

Vent over :)

Empress of the Evil Universe!

I wear the badge proudly! I can't wait to get home and share all the fun stories of our Thanksgiving holiday. For now, all I can tell you is that somehow or another I have found all the power to control the evil universe....at least according to my MIL. LOL!!!!

Grateful....

I have so much to be gratful for!

I am grateful for my wonderful amazing husband G. I really am very lucky to have fell in love with and married such a wonderful man. He really is my prince charming.

I am grateful for the beautiful blessing of our wonderful son little J. Things have been crazy with his diagnosis, but he is such a wonderful gift from God.

I am grateful for our new little one on the way. I am so thankful that God is blessing us with another beautiful baby! I can't wait to meet her!

I am grateful for the results of our amnio being positive and that all appears to be healthy with our new little one on the way.

I am grateful for the love and support of my family. I know that I can always count on them in a pinch for whatever I need.

I am grateful for the great friends I have! You know who you are!! I love you guys so much and am so thankful that you have been so supportive of me with everything that has gone on over the last year. I am so thankful for all the time I get to spend with you and love all of our fun times!!

I am grateful for all of the daily blessing we have. A roof over our head, food on the table and the ability to take care of emergencies and to help others.

Most of all, I am thankful to God for all of these blessings!

Daddy is in big trouble!

With a new little one on the way, I have been bitten by the baby shopping bug! Lucky for G, I haven't bought anything yet, but this little one who won't arrive until April, has a Christmas list a mile long (at least)! Right now, I am coveting the Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bags! These are some beautiful snazzy bags! I figure, if I gotta carry around supplies for two little ones, I might as well have a beautiful bag to do it with! I'm having a hard time deciding between the Coco Roll bag and the Miso Lovely Roll bag. I'm also really liking their bedding too, I'm gonna have to find a place to check those out in person! WOW! I am in love!

Aside from all the shopping wishes, I'm also thinking of all the things to scrap before this little one makes its' appearance. I saw this great idea in the Simple Scrapbooks Slice of Life special edition book. I should have bought the book when I saw it at Barnes and Noble, but I passed and now I regret it. Next time I see it, I'm snatching it up. There were lots of great ideas in it. The one great idea, that I am definatley going to lift for this little one is an altered board book. I wish I remember who the artist was, but it was based on the Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Places You'll Go!
It was photos of the baby's first home, the crib, the bathtub, and other things that the baby would experiece in the next year. There was a bit of journaling for all of it. It was the sweetest, most adorable idea I've seen in an idea book in a long time. There were a ton of other great ideas as well. Definately something I must pick up! Why! Oh! Why! did I pass the first time!

My mojo has finally made a reappearance, but of course I don't have any of my scrap stuff with us on our little trip here. G said I would regret not bringing it along. Ssshhh! Don't tell him he was right! I have all these ideas spilling out of my head, and no stuff to accomplish it with! We did go to a local scrapbook store here. It is the cutest little store (besides my usual favorite
The Garage). She had tons of stuff that I have been looking for! I found the new American Crafts felt and plastic flowers, the new Cloud 9 Valentines line as well as the Heidi Grace Valentines line. It made me feel a little better to do some scrap shopping. I miss all my scrap buddies at the Garage though.

Since I don't have my scrap stuff, I'm hoping to get some good reading done. Keep your fingers crossed for that though.....I always have lofty goals of reading lots while away from home, but it doesn't always happen.

If you didn't know this before.....

you will know for sure now.....I am a television addict! Yesterday my entry was all about celebrating the Dancing with the Stars champions this year Emmitt and Cheryl. Today.....I gotta say I am loving this season of Survivor! I have been rooting for our local participant and his team Yul and Aitu! I'm loving it even more, now that those two looney heads Candace and Jonathan jumped ship and the four members of Aitu are still winning! I think it's even funnier that Candace keeps getting shipped over to Exile Island!

I really hope that they have sealed their fate by abandoning their tribe. If either one of them makes it to the final two...who would vote for them. Why would anyone want to keep a known deserter around, much less give them a million bucks. All I can say, is GO YUL!!!!!

All I Can Say Today is........

WAHOOOOOO Ride Emmitt ride!!! Emmitt and Cheryl rocked the house on Dancing with the Stars, and i am so glad they won!!! WAHOOOOOOO!!

So it's been forever.....

since I last posted on this ol' blog. Things have been super crazy around here...I can tell the holidays are on their way. So much to do and so little time to do it in.

We have so many projects going on around our house right now, it almost looks like a very picky tornado came in and blew a few rooms over. We are in the process of having our guest bathroom remodeled. Hopefully that will be complete by December 8th. We are also in the process of creating a new space for a new little bundle of joy! We are so excited that little J is going to have a sibling. He's doing so well now, that I can just imagine all the things he's going to do with his new little partner in crime.

I'd been missing my mojo for awhile, but I have been keeping up with my assignments at the garage. Thank goodness for this group of gals...they keep me smiling and completely sane with all the chaos!

Well, that's all for now, I'll check in with ya'll soon! Thanks for being patient with my lazy blogging lately....I promise I'll be more consistent!

Take Care!

I can't remember the last time.....

I went to Barnes and Noble! It's a guilty pleasure of mine to head for the bookstore and camp out with a mocha and a stack of books and just spend a little time reading the beginning of a few books to see if they will catch my interest. I'm really missing this guilty pleasure right now and hope I can find some time to get over there.

Going to the bookstore was always something my dad and I have done together over the years. I remember going to bookstores with him from the time I was little and even as an adult. I love a bookstore and miss it when I don't get to one in awhile. It's not like I need any new books. G says I could open a bookstore with all the books I have. There is just something comforting about having good books around and spending time at the bookstore.

I know when my dad comes to visit in December, that there will be a few trips to the bookstores while he is here. I'm really looking forward to it too.

A Fluff Post!

So, my desire to scrap is there, but my mojo is still missing, so again, if you happen to find my mojo....send it back!!

Anyway, I am so glad that all my favorite shows are back with new episodes! I couldn't believe how long some of these shows have been on, and I keep tuning in every year. For examply, ER has been on for 13 years! I couldn't believe when I saw that in the season opener description. I have not missed an episode since the beginning and I still LOVE that show! Other favorites I'm glad to see back are Law and Order SVU, Law and Order, CSI (Las Vegas), and Desperate Housewives. All of these are guilty pleasures for me. LOL Some new ones I'm glad to see are 'Till Death Do Us Part...Brad Garrett is hilarious! Brothers and Sisters as well. I think I am hooked on the show, and I hadn't even planned on watching it. I'm glad to see Calista Flockhart back on TV...I've missed her since Ally McBeal.

Reality shows? Did I forget to mention those? Survivor: Cook Island is rocking! Amazing Race 10....yep I said 10 already? I can't believe there have been that many! Laguna Beach, although it just isn't as good as the last 2 seasons, I'm still watching it though. Speaking of Laguna Beach....did anyone watch the spinoff...The Hills? I couldn't believe it when Lauren decided to stay with Jason instead of taking an amazing opportunity to work in Paris! I think it sucked that he was so unsuportive...it's not like he had much holding him back here....oh wait, the local club scene is important I guess. What an amazing opportunity she passed up....and then I heard they broke up.

I am definatley hooked on Dancing with the Stars! Go Emmit Smith....he and Cheryl Burke look so adorable together. I was kinda sad to see Shanna Moakler go...but I guess someone has to go every week. I just hope that Emmit Smith and Harry Hamlin stick in there!

I'm hoping that Dog the Bounty Hunter keeps catching criminals and taping his show. I'm hoping that his current legal situation doesn't interfere. I think his wife Beth said it best, when on the show Dog: The Family Speaks she said that by arresting Dog for going to Mexico to catch a horrific criminal, that we are telling criminals that to avoid prosecution and or your scentence, head south of the border. I think it's crazy! I realize that when you are in another country you have to respect their laws, but give me a break. Did Mexico really want Andrew Lustre in their country? How many women did he get a hold of there? It's better for both countries and Andrew's victims, that Dog caught him and brought him back for justice.

...hoping off my soapbox now :)

Where exactly does it go?

Lately, I have been feeling like scrapping, but have absolutely no mojo to do so. Where does this mojo go when it's missing? I think the thing that sucks the most though, is that I actually feel like doing some scrapping, but have zero ideas for what I want to do! So, why does mojo have to go away? Where does it go? Does it go to some other scrapper and we just pass the mojo around? Well, whoever has it.....I WANT MY MOJO BACK!!

Things have been crazy around here! We are actually trying to finish up the projects upstairs before winter hits. We've also been getting bids for a new furnace and new air conditioner. I can't wait till that happens. Hopefully it will make a big impact on our PG&E bill. G's dad is coming in a couple of weeks, and they are going to rip out the tile in our hall/entry way. They peeked underneath, and there is hardwood under there. Hopefully it is in good condition. If not, they are going to sand and try to refinish it, or we'll put new tile down. I've picked out a couple as backup. If the hardwood is salvagable, I guess we'll be turning into a shoe-free house....don't want to ding up the pretty floors you know!

Vegas was lots of fun. It was so nice to go to sleep without hearing the binkie banging on the crib, not have to change any smelly diapers and only have to worry about feeding myself! Wahooo! That's what I call a vacation. I really missed little J, but I could have stayed away a few more days. We were so busy relaxing, that I didn't even take any pictures! Shocking I know! I guess it just goes along with the "What Happens in Vegas....Stays in Vegas!! We saw the Cirque Du Soleil Beetles Love show at the Mirage. It was fantastic! If you get the chance, you should definately catch this show. This was the first time we've ever gone to a Vegas show, and now we are hooked. Hopefully next time we go we can see the Ka show playing at the MGM.

Chat with ya'll very soon!

Viva Las Vegas!!!!

So, G and I are headed off to Las Vegas for a few days. I' m really gonna miss Little J! He's staying home with Grandma and Grandpa, so I'm sure when we get back, he'll be good and spoiled! I'm really looking forward to some time for just G and I, with no other worries. It will be nice to sleep and not have someone (Little J) want to play fetch the binkie with me at 3am!! Friday, we plan on just relaxing and taking in a few sights and maybe a show. We have a guest visiting us as well who will be traveling along with us. It's Mr. Gnome! I'll have to share more with you about the Mr. Gnome project I'm participating in. It's so much fun! Mr. Gnome has already had a few adventures here including a ride along with the CHP! Anyway, more about that later and maybe some photos to boot! See ya in a few days!

Remembering....

What do you say about someone you've never met, but who obviously meant so much to so many people? On this September 11th, I decided to participate in a blog rememberance and tribute to victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The gentleman you see in the photo is John T. Schroeder. He was from Hoboken, New Jersey and died in the World Trade Center. He was 31 years old. After reading many tributes, and entries into guestbooks about John, it is obvious in 31 short years, he accomplished so much and most importantly loved and was loved by so many people. It's such a shame that his life was taken when it was really just beginning. Mostly from reading entries into guestbooks about John, I learned that not only was John's life cut much to short, but it has left a hole in many peoples lives. This is why the rest of us can never forget the events and tragedies of September 11th. We owe it to those who lost their lives and those who are missing them. I know that I will remember John in particular every year on September 11th along with the others, but I will also be thinking of their families as well.

There is something going on around here....

And I can't quite put my finger on it yet. Yep, you guessed it, I'm hijacking mommy's blog again. She's been so remiss in her blogging responsibilities lately. I've been giving her heck for it too! I'm glad she's home from her scrap time, but daddy and I had tons of fun while she was gone! I got to watch lots of football and lots of Elmo! What a perfect weekend! Daddy did take me to the store, when we ran out of milk...good thing he went, or I would have had to throw a fit or two! The only bad thing about the trip to the store, is that I really love to ride around in the shopping cart and check everything out, but he just carried me in and grabbed the milk and tried to leave. I put a slight kink in his plan and decided to play a spontaneous game of fetch my binkie with him!

I'm still up to many adventures and keeping mommy busy. I'm still playing my early morning version of fetch the binkie too. I think mommy and daddy are getting tired of it, but it's such fun, and I'm not quite ready to retire it yet.

When i figure out what's going on around here, I promise, I will fill you all in, so stay tuned!

Oh! I almost forgot, I gotta send a shout out to my friend Maggie! Her baby sister finally arrived! I tell you, I've learned a lot of tricks from this girl, and I know her sister will pick up on those tricks quick too!

Okay, just one more thing to clarify, I am not taking over mommy's blog, I promise she will be back to fulfill her blogging duties. I just saw that my grandma left a comment, and I knew she'd come back and wanted to share my adorable photo!

Too funny!

Scrapbook Diva!

Still Recovering...

Just got back on Sunday evening from our fun scrapbook girls getaway weekend. It was so much fun! I'll have to share m0re about that later!

I've missed you all, and I have lots to share, but right now, I am tired and cranky, so I'm going to go to bed!

Mommy has too much to do!

So, I get to invade her blog one more time!! It's been a busy week around here! First, I wasn't feeling well on Monday and Tuesday, so mommy said we could just hang around the house. I was so glad, even though I know mommy had lots of stuff to do. I was feeling better on Wednesday and my friend came over to help me with my speech. Another friend was supposed to come over, but she ended up not being able to make it, which I was happy about because I was super tired from my earlier play time and waking up through the night with this cough. Today, my friend Jessica came over to help me out with some cruising techniques and some stretching and climbing skills. We had a blast! She always brings this huge exercise ball, that is lots of fun to bounce on! I was worn out today too, so I took a super long nap. This was good for mommy, because she got lots of house cleaning done. I'm not sure she really liked doing it though...I'm pretty sure she would rather be playing with me.

I'm gonna tell you a secret now...you have to promise not to tell mommy or daddy though. I'm really taking these long naps, so that I can play this really cool game with them at night before I fall asleep. It's called fetch my binkie! Here's what I do...first, I pull myself up to stand in my crib, then I start whining a little. When the whining doesn't work, then I toss my binkie out of the crib and start whining louder. This one always gets them. They really come running! I've got those two trained!

Mommy has so much to do to get ready for her trip this weekend. Daddy and I are making her go away, so we can sit in front of the big screen and watch some football! We really got her fooled though. She thinks that it's us doing her a favor by letting her go off with her friends to this scrapbook thing, when really we just want a guy weekend! She always lets me watch my main man Elmo on tv, but then she watches that soap opera of hers. I'm so glad I won't have to watch it tomorrow. Hopefully dad has a full day of Elmo programming ready for me!

Oh well, I know she's gonna have fun too. Peace out ya'll! Mommy will be back on Sunday!

So Happy!!!

I just found out today, that there is a wonderful family working on the process of adopting beautiful Mekayla!!! Sweet! That just made my day!

Just found out tonight, that another little girl who has been up for adoption in Texas for quite awhile has also found a home! I'm so glad these little girls have found families and that these families found them to be their missing pieces!

It makes my heart happy to know that these little ones have found loving homes and that their special needs will be met!

Just getting the word out....

There is a beautiful little girl in Las Vegas, that is in need of a loving family to adopt her. Her name is Mekayla and she is 5 years old. It is my understanding that she was abandoned by her parents and due to her special needs has been unable to find a family to adopt her. Please read her story and if you or anyone you know might be the family for her then please contact them! Ever since I heard about her and saw her photograph she's been on my mind. While I wish that we could adopt her, I don't think we would be able to with learning the ropes and getting used to Little J's needs. I'm just hoping that someone might read this and feel it in their heart that Mekayla is the missing piece of their family and give her the home and the love that she needs.

**For information on Mekayla, just click on her name to be re-directed to her page.**

Also, Mekayla's 6th birthday is coming up in the month of August. If you would like to send her a birthday card, I will have the address to send it to in the next couple of days. I think it would be amazing for this little girl to receive so much attention on her birthday! Just post in the comments if you would like to send a card and as soon as I get the address, I will share it with you.

I know, I'm a slacker!

I haven't posted in awhile, but things have been so busy around here lately. We're starting to really get into the swing of things with little J's therapies. He's been working so hard during his sessions and afterwards as well. This kid just doesn't stop! We've added one more therapy session starting this week and I know we have one other to get started. This kid's got a calender a mile long! It's been really hard trying to find a balance between what little J needs, letting little J just be a kid, having family time, having us time, and getting the things of daily life done.

While I know, that there are many things that little J needs, I don't want our lives to revolve around his diagnosis. I want him to have time to just be a kid and I don't want him to get burned out on all the therapies. I think we're doing a good job with the balance so far, but to be honest, just looking at his calender sometimes tires me out.

Well, also as you know, little J was quite proud of himself for his new skill of standing in his crib and playpen. Well, now he's has taken to climbing up on his knees to play with things on the furniture as well as climbing onto our ottoman....so this kid is really giving me a run for my money now. I'd better find time to hit the gym and get my stamina up!

Thank you to everyone who emailed me checking in to make sure all was okay. I really appreciate it. I promise, I'll get back to ya'll soon!

Take Care!

Meet My New Friend!

I got a new camera today!! I am so excited! Last Christmas, my awesome husband bought me a brand new Pentax Digital SLR, because while we were on vacation, my standard film SLR got dropped and was no longer working well. Well, over time, the thing kept sucking up batteries faster than the energizer bunny could manufactuer them! The last straw was the other day when we went to a birthday party for a friends 4 year old. The theme was Superfriends, and can I just say that this mommy is the bomb digity! She went all out! She actually made superman capes for all the kiddie guests! The only little girl at the party got a Wonder Woman cape. They were the cutest things...alas I got no photos to show for it. The batteries that I had bought for my pentax the day before were already dead....not even 12 hours after I bought them! And just in case your scratching your head wondering, no I did not leave the camera turned on! As a mater of fact, I even took the batteries out of the camera after I snapped a few pictures to make sure it wouldn't suck them dry. So, I took my poor Pentax back to Costco today and exchanged it for the friend you see above. Afterall, with all of Little J's photo moments, I can't be without a reliable camera! I'm looking forward to a long loving relationship!

BTW: I hope to be able to upload some photos from the superfriends party afterall. Someone is going to share their photos with me!! I must say all the kids with their capes on were adorable! Little J even has one in his size!!!

Shhh...don't tell my mom!

Mom is taking a nap, so I'm hijacking her blog right now. I was quite the busy little J last night! It was so hot in our house, that mommy and I had a camping night in the family room. Mommy said it was almost like a drive-in movie....whatever that is. Anyway, I was up to lots of shenanegans last night! When mom had my crib in the corner, I kept climbing up and banging on the wall! Afterall, I didn't want to sleep, I wanted to play, so I figured she should be up playing with me. She didn't take to well to that, so she moved my crib away from the wall, so I couldn't bang anymore. Darn! Luckly, I'm pretty resourceful, so I kept my climbing routine and resorted to whining a little...it got her attention! Finally, she gave up on trying to ignore me and sleep while I wanted to play, but she left me in my crib and went in to "pea" with the door shut. I finally gave up and dozed off about midnight....but I had plans! I set my internal clock for 3am! Mommy was fast asleep.....it was a shame I had to implement my plan, because she looked so peaceful...I climbed up again and banged my binkie on the side of the crib! Yay!!! She woke up!!! Now I know she'd play with me. Boy was I suprised when she layed me back down and left me in that crib and went back to her comfy spot to sleep. Oh well, I gotta get ready for the superfriends party tonight at my friend Jesse's house. It's kinda hot for a BBQ, but what the heck, I'm always up for a good party! Hopefully Mom will take some pictures at the party and I'll get her to post them later!

If you didn't read my Mom's previous entry, then you'd better, because I'm pretty happy....just look at my face!

Do you think he knows?

Do you think this kid knows that he's accomplished something big? Do you think he knows that Mommy and Daddy are proud? I do! I think he knows, that he's been working very hard to accomplish this major goal....He's standing!!!! Of course, when he decided to make this great accomplishment, Mommy was not at home. Thankfully G took it upon himself to capture Little J's proud moment!
He's been working very hard at this for at least a week now, and he has just kept at it like the energizer bunny! For awhile, I didn't think this day would come for quite awhile. Afterall, we just started therapy 2 weeks ago, so he's only had 2 sessions. So, either the physical therapist is a miracle worker or this kid is just full of determination to prove that he can do anything he puts his mind to! Can you tell that Little J likes to ham it up when the camera is out? Lucky for him we always have the camera nearby and mommy likes to scrap those photos!
So far, Little J's therapies seem to be going quite well. He really seems to like the two therapist he's started with. They are both really sweet and seem to really enjoy what they are doing. His physical therapist was so funny on Thursday, Little J was getting really tired by the end of the hour and she said that she knew he was working hard because she was sweating! She said that doesn't happen to often. Go Little J, give them all a run for their money!

Something to remember....

I am greatly blessed! Somedays, I have a pitty party for myself, and wonder why Little J has his disorder. I wonder sometimes how this could have possibly happened, and I've even been angry with God. As I've said before though, I have seen evidence that God has not deserted me and that he is answering my prayers. When Little J was first going through the process of testing, I prayed over and over, for him not to have anything wrong. I prayed, that he was just a little behind and that he would somehow just catch up. Afterall, while we were going through the exams and everything, many of our friends had shared stories of their children or children they knew, who didn't walk or talk until they were older than 2 years. So, I prayed and prayed, that this would be the case with Little J. The more I thought about the testing they were doing, the more I prayed that everything would be fine. I would look at Little J, and all I would see is this perfect little boy. Full of joy and love...absolutely perfect! When we finally got his diagnosis my heart was broken and I was at a loss. Why had my prayers not been answered? What could I have possibly done to have caused this to happen? Why?

That night, I laid in my bed and I was thinking of my prayers. I no longer knew what to pray for. What could I possibly ask for now? When saying my prayers that night, that is exactly what I told God. I simply said, that I no longer knew what to pray for. I said, that I know there must be a reason for this and I wish I knew what it was. I prayed that God would help me to remain faithful. That he would show me the way on this journey and that he would keep us and our little J close to him. I can say 100% without a doubt, that I know that God has been with us.

Recently, I found a book at the local bookstore. I wasn't searching for a book on our situation, I was actually there to pick up another book for an upcoming bible study. I found this book at random. It's called Focus on the Family, A Special Kind of Love by Susan Titus Osborn and Janet Lynn Mitchell. It is full of stories about families and children with special needs and their walk with faith. Every single one of these stories spoke to my heart in some way. I felt like these families were sharing their intermost pain, joys and faith with me.

This is from the introduction by the authors:

If you've picked up this book, more than likely you love a child who has special needs. The awesome reality is that long before this child was born, God chose you to be a part of this child's life. Yes, God chose you with your talents, abilities, temperament, and inadequacies-knowing that you would be perfect fo the job

I am so honored and blessed that God chose G and I for Little J. He brings so much love and joy to our lives everyday, and I couldn't imagine our lives without him....just the way he is.

Something else that has been inspiring me these days...is the video in my sidebar. If you want to see something so inspiring that there are no words to describe it, then press play. Prepare to cry! When I say cry, I don't mean to cry in sadness, but in the joy of this love! Many of you have probably seen it by now, since it's been posted on blogs left and right lately. I'd seen it before, but it wasn't until Erin sent me the link in an email that I was reminded. Thanks Erin for sending this reminder...I needed it.

Turning on your blinker does not give you the right of way!

Okay, so I've tried being totally positive about everything. Sometimes a girls gotta vent about something though. So, here is the run down.

1. Just because you turn on your blinker, it does not give you the right of way. It just tells me you want to come over and it's up to me if I choose to let you in front of me.
2. Just because I let 1 person in does not mean I'm a pushover and I'm going to let in the other 20 trying to get over.
3. Instead of trying to cut over about 2 inches before where you want to turn, you might want to consider trying to change lanes a little more ahead of time. I realize, that it is very important for you to get there before me, but sometimes it just doesn't work that way. You can't always get what you want. If you didn't know where you were going, that's fine, but is it really saving you that much time by cutting over in front of me rather than just going to the next opportunity to turn around?
4. If you are sitting in the lane next to me and you are not in front of me or behind me, but next to me and you turn on your blinker...I CANNOT SEE IT! Remember, your blinkers are on the front of your car and the back of your car. So, if I don't let you in, don't assume I'm not being nice...IT'S BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WANTED TO COME OVER!

which, leads me right back to my original opening.....Turning on your blinker does not give you the right of way and I am in no way required to stop my forward motion to let you in. So, keep your middle finger to yourself!

Vent over....Peace out!

Charles Swindoll once said......

The longer I live the more I realize the impact of attitude on life....the remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the strings we have, and that is our attitude.

-Just something that spoke to me today. :)

Big Brother is Back!!!

I can't believe this show has been on for 7 seasons already. What's even more shocking is that I have been addicted since season number 1! This I think though will be the best season yet! I'm really hoping that the team from Big Brother season 6 can pull off a win for one of them. I was so rooting for Janelle and Kaysar last season. Anyway, while I have to say that I am addicted to this show like crack, I can say that I have yet to hit the internet dealer for the 24/7 live feeds. I keep thinking about how much scrap stuff or what cute pair of shoes I could buy with that $40. Hmmmm....

Why have I been such a shop-o-holic lately? I have no idea what has gotten into me, but I've had the urge to shop like I've never shopped before! Thankfully, I've been very good at controlling myself. Talking myself out of things, being rational and all. I did hit the mall today, but I came home with nothing...nada...zero...zilch! I tried some stuff on, found a pair of pants, that I'm sure I'm gonna decide that I really do have to have, but I'm thinking on it first. We'll see how I feel in a few days.

I need to follow Jen's lead and get with the program and start purging the excess, because everyone who knows me knows I have excess. I am a pile maker. I make piles of stuff everywhere...books, mail, scrap stuff, pieces of useless paper, catelogs. You name it, I have a pile of it. I need to get rid of these piles! In my defense though, I come by this trait lovingly and naturally from my Dad. He's a pile maker too. Thankfully, G is okay with my piles. I think he's even starting to think it's homey. LOL. Hmmm...maybe I should take this time to start purging my piles instead of blogging....I'll have to think about that. Peace!

So Proud!

Little J is just so stinkin' cute, and he is making G and I so proud! He's really becoming a little stunt boy now! For the last few nights, he's been testing the waters at pulling himself up in his crib. He has been so motivated to get himself up! When he was born, my parents bought him a music box, that plays a little light show and tells a story and sings songs. It's called the Dreamscapes Soother by Leap Frog. He's always loved this thing, but since we came back from Switzerland and got the voice activated Winnie The Pooh Moonlight Dreamshow , we've been using it. Well, in the last couple of days, he's decided that he wants both of them playing at the same time. So, now we've been determined to climb up to it. It's not just enough though to be able to reach up and turn it on.
The goal now is to actually get to it and look directly at the light screen. Usually, this kid is asleep by 9:30, but lately, he's been staying up till about 10 trying and trying to get to that standing position. At 19 months, most parents are complaining about chasing after their little one, or they are beaming with pride that their little one is learing to be potty trained or even speaking in sentences. Sometimes it's hard when your little one is behind, but I can't help but beam with joy and jump up and down as I see little J trying all these things. He as such amazing tenacity and such strong motivation to do anything and everything. Everyday I see just how big the little steps he takes are. I also know, that this amazing little boy is going to take us on one heck of a journey!

Little J is pooped too!

So, this photo is from the other day, but I can say without a doubt, that Little J was tuckered out today. What an amazing little kid this is! He had his first physical therapy session today. Before the therapist came, she told me that they usually run anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how long the little one is willing to work. Little J worked his little booty off! He worked the entire hour. By the time the hour was winding down, you could tell he was so tired out. They were moving him this way and that, doing some resistance training, some muscle building and working on the cues to get him up on those knees and eventually those feet! What a wonderful day, watching him work and move and interact with others. SWEET!

So Stinkin' Cute!

So, what have we been up to this weekend? Well, if you ask G, he'll say work! He's been painting and washing cars and hanging out with Little J. If you ask Little J, he'll say just having fun! It has been a busy weekend, since G does not get very many of them off, we have to take advantage of them when we can! G finished up painting our living room and hallway. OMG does it look awesome! I got some shopping done...YAY! First I went to the annual flea market at Stampers Warehouse. I didn't spend too much just $32 and I got quite a few Stampin'Up and Close to My Heart stamp sets. I love getting these sets! I also picked up the new A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking with Patterned Paper by Ali Edwards. This book is AWESOME!! Run out and get it now!!! I did a little more damage at the mall...but again not too much. Sorry, no shoes this time :(. We also had a great dinner at Outback Steakhouse with some friends of ours that it seems like it's been ages since we've hung out. Must make it a point to do this stuff more often and not let the time run away.

The week ahead is looking busy! Little J starts his physical therapy on Tuesday. He's already trying to do so much before they start! He's really been amazing me this last week with all the new things he's trying to do. It's kind of weird, that here I am with this amazing little kid who is already 19 months old and behind on his milestones, and I'm jumping around doing the happy dance for all these seemingly little things he's trying to do.

Today, little J spent some time in the bathtub....he just loves being in there! Whenever we pull the camera out, you can count on some huge grins and smiles! I love this photo of him peaking out over the top of the tub.

Elmo's Pooped!

A few weeks ago, my Auntie JoAnn and Uncle Doug came for a visit. You know they couldn't come see Little J without something in hand. Little J has a huge love for anything Elmo! A great example of this love, is a couple of months ago, Little J and I were shopping at Wal-Mart. Little J was sitting in the cart while I was bent over picking something up from a lower shelf. All of the sudden, I feel something hit the back of my leg, and then I hear this little whine. I look up at Little J, and there is this one GIANT crocodile tear on his cheek. I look down, and what do I see at my feet, but a Ginormous Tickle Me Elmo. This thing is bigger than Little J! Somehow, he had managed to grab hold of it from the shelf and pulled it off. So, I pick up Elmo, and Little J immediately starts smiling and hugging Elmo. I go to put it back on the shelf, and here comes the whine and another little tear! I put Elmo in the back of the cart thinking, that when little J is not looking, I will quietly put this Elmo away...afterall, who would pay $40 for a ginormous Tickle Me Elmo? Little J did not take his eyes off of this Elmo! Elmo made Little J so happy, that I am the one who paid $40 for a ginormous Elmo! Anyway, the photo you see at the top is Little J's newest addition to his growing Elmo collection. My Auntie and Uncle of course did not come empty handed, they brought Hokey Pokey Elmo! Elmo does the whole dance! After you make him do it three times though, he tells you "Elmo's Pooped!" G and I love that part the best! I can tell you for sure, that Little J will be giving any and all Elmo's a run for their money. This kid can watch, play with, hug, love and laugh until all the Elmo's are pooped!

The current Elmo population at our house: 3 and growing!

Whew! Time to settle down!

We have been getting inundated with visitors lately! I love having company, but it is also nice when your house settles down and you can get back to your routine and just being lazy sometimes. We don't get very many family photos, so I had to share this one. We took G's mother and sister to San Francisco for the day. We made a stop on Treasure Island on our way over the bridge and got some great photos. We really just spent the day wondering around being tourists. G's sister had never been down before to visit us and had never been to San Francisco. We did the whole Pier 39 thing, including hot clam chowder soup in a bread bowl, then we tood a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and down Lombard Street. After all the hot weather we've been having, we pick the cold and foggy day to head over there. Little J just loved having his Auntie here! He actually whined when she was getting ready to leave.

Auntie K really helped G out. She painted our entire living room for us! G's been finishing up the hall way, and soon we will be able to move our furniature back in....along with a few new pieces I'm looking for ;)! I can't wait to get it all done and enjoy the calm of the space.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. Little J and I spent it shopping! Poor G had to work, so what better use of the day, than to shop a little! No shoes today, but I still have a pair to put a photo up of (I know
Jen your still waiting for the photo)! I did get Little J a cute new outfit from
Gymboree at an amazing 60% off! Gotta love that! I also made a killing at New York & Company. I love their coupons! I also finally caved and bought some
Bare Escentuals make-up on QVC.

Well, it looks like I've written a novel here tonight! Now it's time to go tackle my lists of things I need to do, things I wanna do, and such. Let's hope I can clear all those lists!

Just For Fun!

See how well you know your United States geography! I'll fess up, I only got 80% with an average error of 160 miles. Have fun!

Things have been crazy here, with our company. Today was the first day that G, little J and I have had the house to ourselves for awhile. It's nice! It was great having G's sister here though...she painted our living room for us! I love it! Can't wait to get new furniture and get it all set for relaxing!

I did get some new shoes...I'll have to post those later..they are CAUTE! We spent a day in San Francisco and got some great pictures...I'll have to post those later too. I also went back to an old hobby...counted cross stitch. I have not done that in say 15 years! Don't think I'm giving up scrapping though!

Good Fun!

The other night I got to go out to dinner with the BAS girls and some scrapping celebrities. What fun that was! We had a great dinner at Chevy's and some good conversation! It's always fun hanging out with these ladies! Also in attendance for dinner was THE Ali Edwards! What an awesome person she is! Her positive attitude and great personality are contagious! I loved chatting with her! I also got to meet Cathy Zielske. My camera battery was dead by the time the night was ending, so the picture of Cathy and I is on Suzy's camera. She was another great person to chat with! So sweet!

Welcome baby Tanner!!

Angel and Christian welcomed their new little bundle of love to the world today! Little Tanner Mason Kekoa was born at 1:24pm. He weighed in at 6 lbs, 10 oz and he is 18 inches long. Congratulations Angel and Christian! Congratulations to Granny Suzy and Grampy Paul too! This Auntie can't wait to meet him!!!

YAY!!

Just a quick update! After 3 agonizing weeks of waiting for my bloodwork to comeback from the genetics lab, I am officially not a carrier for the disorder my little one has! This means, that we have a less than 1% chance (which is the same odds as every other pregnancy) of having another child with the same disorder. We have been so looking forward to expanding our family, and now we can with minimal risk! I am also relieved to know, that had we done genetic testing prior to getting pregnant, there would have been no way for us to forsee this.

Photos of my new shoes!

Just sharing a few photos of the new shoes I'm loving right now!

These first shoes, I got at the Steve Madden store at a mall nearby. I love the fact that they were on sale, as I've been looking for a cute pair of brown wedge style shoes! Can't wait to wear them!


!



These, were just calling my name! I saw that beautiful orange, and I was hooked! Then, when the sales girl brought the shoe, and I saw the name of the style, there was no way I was leaving without them! They come in a cute blue and green as well, and I'm thinking I might need the blue color too!

Random!

Things that made me happy today:
-My Mocha Coconut Frappacino!
-G getting up with little J and letting me sleep in!
-G making dinner and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards!
-Loving my 2 new pairs of Steve Madden Shoes (I'll post pictures later)!
-G telling me to go do some more clothes shopping! (I didn't go, because I'm waiting until I have time to go to SF to a few stores I've been wanting to hit)
-That the new Janet Evanovich book comes out tomorrow! TWELVE SHARP!
-My nap in the guest room at 4pm!
-Little J's smiling face today, and when I left the room he comando crawled after me and cried! I just love him!

Things that made me unhappy:
-That the neighbor picked today to have their driveway jackhammered up at 9am sharp! There went the sleeping in!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Just want to take a moment today to wish all the Dad's out there a very Happy Father's Day! Some Dad's I'm especially thinking of and sending extra special wishes to are:



My Daddy! Thank you for everything you have done and do for me! I love you very much!

G! Of course! As I've said before, I am so lucky to have a husband like you, and little J is so lucky to have you as a Dad.

Both of my Grandfathers! They have both gone on to Heaven, but I think of them each and every day.

All of our friends who are dads or are soon to be dads!

Elmo is the Bomb Digity!

At least in our house that is. Little J is an Elmo freak!!! I have an Elmo story to share, but your going to have to wait for it, because I still have to take the perfect photo to go along with it. All I can say right now, is that Elmo makes little J happy. Since Elmo makes him happy, he makes me happy too!

Things have been crazy in our house lately! We have had tons of family visiting, and that isn't going to stop for at least another week or so. That's just fine with us too! It's been so nice having everyone come to see us and offer their love and support for our new journey. It was really nice to have my stepmother here, to go to Little J's evaluation and eligibility appointment for Early Intervention Services. I was a bit nervous about this appointment and what it would entail. We knew, that it would primarily be an evaluation of what types of therapies little J was going to need. Since he was diagnosed with something so rare, we knew that he was going to be automatically eligible. My stepmother is one of the few people who can keep me grounded and focused when my emotions start to take over. The appointment went very well. I really think that the team of people doing his assesment really got a clear picture of what little J can and cannot do. I also cannot wait until we can get all of the right therapies in place and going. Little J has been making such great progress in the last few months while we've been waiting for this appointment, and I am very anxious to see what he will do once the pro's get a hold of him!

There are so many things I am thankful for these days. Mostly though, I am thankful for my family, my friends, the doctors who are working with our family and all their care and concern, and that my faith in God is strong. Everyday, he shows me that he is there for us, that we are not alone, and that everything is going to be just fine.

Today, the things I am praying for are that God will keep his guiding hand on little J and our family, and that he will give the doctors, therapists, us and others that work with him, the wisdom, knowledge and capabilities to work together to give little J every opportunity to stay healthy, be happy, live as independently as possible, be able to do anything his little heart desires, and live his life to the fullest. I also pray this for all the other families of little ones going through similar circumstances.

Just wanted to share a silly picture today!

I have not had much time to scrap lately, but I sure have been taking some silly photos! Little J and Daddy have lots of fun playtime, and it always gets the giggles going! Little J has been on a big I LOVE DADDY kick! On Daddy's days off, he wants to be with daddy and play play play! I really love watching Little J an G play and hang out together. I love how they are so close, even as young as Little J is. It really melts my heart, when Little J and I go looking to find G and see what he's up to, and the minute Little J sees him, his face just lights up and the giggles come pouring out. Then, he reaches for him just waiting for that big hug, that only Daddy can give.

Here is Rick looking at Suzy!

Okay, so this photo isn't from my camera, I haven't taken the stupid thing to get developed yet. I only have my SLR-digital, so I had to rely on one of those disposables. Wow, I am not used to having to actually take film for processing anymore! Anyway, we had a great time, and I KNOW Suzy had a great time!

Thanks Lizz, for sharing your photos! I can't wait to see the rest of the ones you took.

I promise, as soon as I get the ones I took developed, I'll share with you! I'll try to find out which stories I have permission to share.

OOOOHHH! I just noticed something. He is wearing the same shirt in the photo that Lizz took, as the one he is wearing in the video to your right! Do you think he just has more than one of the same shirt? Or do rock stars (that reference is for Suzy) really wear their clothing more than one time like the rest of us?

Hey all you 80's fans!

Do you remember this guy? Do you remember drooling over him on General Hopsital? Do you remember listening to his tunes at your junior high or high school dances? Well, lucky me! After all these years, I finally get to see Rick Springfield in concert. I am attending the Star 101.3 Second Chance Prom with my good friends Suzy and Lizz. Just for the record, we are not wearing prom gear. Well, there is an alterior motive for going to see him. Lizz and I sort of have a little job to assist on at this gig. Here is the scoop.

Do you remember that episode of Friends with Isabella Rossellini? It was from 1996, and it was called "The one with Frank Jr." Anyway it's the one where Ross has his laminated list of all the celebrities he is allowed to "date" without getting in trouble. Well, my friend Suzy has one such list. The list only contains one name....you guessed it Rick Springfield. So, Lizz and I have been appointed as the girls who are to catapult Suzy onto the stage to make all her dreams come true.

I got my Fuji disposable camera ready! This event should provide us with some real fun photos. Stay tuned! This event should be SCRAPALICIOUS!

My Handsome Guys!

Even with everything going on in our house these days, and our future heading down a road we did not anticipate, I find myself to be one of the luckiest women in the world! The other day, I was a little pensive about our future, and I was a little sad about the future that I had originally imagined having to be altered. Then today, I woke up and took another look at this photo I snapped of G and little J. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and to have this beautiful little boy. Everyday, I wake up and get to go to his room and see his smiling joyful face! And let me tell you, this kid never wakes up on the wrong side of the crib! He always has that bright happy smile and the minute he sees me, I hear his joyful laugh as well. I know this journey will not be easy, but what journey is? I know we will hit some bumpy spots, but that is what our family and friends are there for. To help when our tires are flat, we run out of gas or need a tow. So to all of you who have offered support and help, I may not call you today or tomorrow, but when and if we need a little push....I've got your numbers! Thank you!

On a side note, many of you know, that G and I would like to expand our little family. All we are waiting for now, is that little test that I took. There is like a one in a gazillion chance that I may be a carrier for this, but since our insurance is willing to pay for it, we decided that it's better to make sure that I'm not that one in a gazillion. If the blood test comes back positive then we would have a 50% chance of having another child with the same disorder. If it comes back negative we have the same chance as every other family on the planet..less than 1%. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Also, if you have an extra spot on your prayer list, please keep us in your prayers, that God will give us the strength and courage to face the tough days, and that he will help us stand strong in our faith in him.

Love to you all!

~~~~THEY ARE BACK~~~~

Yay!! My sweet heavenly dream of a drink is back at a Starbucks near you!!! The long missed by me, and the much enjoyed by me Mocha Coconut Frappaccino is now available again! I was so excited when they introduced the new Banana Coconut Frappaccino, that I excitedly whispered to my local Barista...does this mean, that I can now order my Mocha Coconut Frappaccino's again? The word I'd been longing to hear were finally echoing in my happy ears....YES!!! I've been drinking them faithfully for a full two weeks now, with no stopping in sight! Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I ended up having TWO today! The first one, I picked up while running those errends and the second one I picked up on my way to get pampered with a pedicure. Sweet heaven! A good book, a comfy massage chair, someone massaging your feet and making them all soft and pretty, AND a Mocha Coconut Frappaccino! All is good in the world again!

Did you know, that there are a total of 4 Starbucks in the town I live? Did you also know, that as of today, there are now 9 coffee shops in the town I live? Dude, I guess me and my neighbors really need our caffine! Peete's coffee opened up at 1pm today. It is right next door to the dry cleaner we use, and at 12:30, there was a line of people waiting at the front door, kind of like that Mervyn's commercial where the chick is saying open, open, open, open. Now that the Mocha Coconut Frappaccino is back though, I'm going to have to remain faithful to my Starbucks Barista.

It's time for a margarita or two!

What a beautiful day it was today! G was off of work, so he let me sleep in! Yay!! What a great hubby to get up early with little J and take care of all his morning needs! I love G's days off, because he always wants to take care of little J in the morning for me. After sleeping in a little, I did have some not so fun errends to run. Had to pick up a blood test order slip from my OB's office, and then drop off another form at J's pediatrician. Then, off to get my blood drawn! Wahoo...I just love going to the phlebotomist! Anyway, I went in, at noon, and there was one person working and like 10 people waiting to have blood drawn. I decided that I would go back later. I could tell it was gonna be quite awhile, since they were trying to take blood from a sweet little baby and not having the best of luck. Finally went back in around 4:30, now there were only 5 people waiting. Anyway, before I continue, I've got to add my gripe of the day right here:

When you go into a medical office for services, and they tell you that they are not a authorized provider for your insurance carrier, why must you hold up the rest of us who are in the right place and argue the point?

Okay, so anyway, it took awhile for me to get the blood draw done, because strangely enough they had never heard of the test that they were ordering for me. I told the guy that it was okay, since I'd only heard of it 3 weeks ago! They finally found the code for my obscure little test, and I was on my way.

So, what does a girl want after giving her blood and anxiously awaiting the results...yep, she wants to not have to cook dinner, and wants a margarita!

G took little J and I to Chili's for dinner. Yummy, and so close to our house....love not going to far from home. So, I order my margarita and we have our dinner, and oh my! I think I need another margarita! Yep, I had two margaritas! Since I don't drink very often, and even though I ate a big meal, I was a loopy girl after those two margaritas!

I want to thank all of you how have sent me emails and posted comments on my blog, that I really appreciate all your good wishies, prayers and support of little J, G and myself. It really means a lot.

I hope you never lose your joyful personality.

I've been thinking about this lately. When we first got little J's diagnosis, this is what G said to me. He told me that my joyful personality and my positive attitude were the first things (besides my cute appearance lol) that drew him to me when we first met. He also told me that those were his favorite qualities about me and that it inspired him! He also said that he hoped I would never lose that, especially with little J's diagnosis. WOW! He never told me that before.

Lately inside, I've been feeling a little torn between the hopeful and hopeless. I've kept my hopeful face on for everyone to see, trying to push the hopeless deep down. I know if I'm hopeless, that I will lose my joyful personality, my positive attitude and I won't be doing little J any good. It's only been 3 weeks since we got our diagnosis, but I've been fighting these feelings. See, G knows me, he knows that I've always wanted to be a mommy and have that "dream" family. Getting to the point in our lives where we would start having children was the first thing I ever worked really hard at. As I've said before, G is a big planner, so he had many tasks that we needed to complete before we started thinking of formula, bottles and diapers. Anyway, with the diagnosis, he was really afraid of how it would affect me. I was afraid as well.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Yesterday was the first day, that I didn't have one hopeless thought. Not once. Today, there was not one hopeless thought in my head! I have been feeling nothing but hope and positive thoughts for this journey now! I have been meeting and chatting with so many mommys who for one reason or another have felt the exact same. These women have inspired me! Ya'll know who you are! Later this week, I'm having lunch with a few other mommys who have children that have the same diagnosis as little J. One, even has a little boy who is one month older than little J. I'm really excited about it, because these women will be able to relate to exactly how I'm feeling, and they are all a wealth of knowledge! I can't wait! I really hope that little J and little A can grow up being great friends!

There is also a lot of very promising research going on! I'll be getting the information to sign little J up for some of these at the lunch. G and I have decided, that we should sign him up, if we go and we find out that it isn't something we want for our little one, we can always turn it down. I don't want them doing anything crazy you know. I do want him to have the opportunity though. Don't worry, I'm not looking for the miracle cure, but if one happens, I'm not going to tell it no!

Oooh~! And can you believe I actually scrapped! Hopeful and Joyful me = Scrapping mojo! Now, if I could only get my scraproom cleaned up...no mojo for that!

Thank you!

I know it's been awhile since I've posted. Things have been crazy busy around here. Little J has been diagnosed with a rare non-hereditary genetic disorder. Needless to say, G and I have been heartbroken. It definately was not the news we were hoping for, nor that we expected. I really want to thank everyone who has been saying prayers for us and sending good wishies our way. We really appreciate them.

We are so thankful to have so many wonderful and supportive friends and family members.

Little J is doing well, he is very healthy and we have no worries about that. It is more of a co-ordination and developmental disorder. We've been working on getting him hooked into all the right programs for early intervention and setting up the various doctors he may need in the future. Man, am I sick of doctors offices and forms to fill out.

Little J is an amazing little boy, and he brings so much love and joy to us each and every day. We have complete faith that he is going to be amazing. We have seen so much progress and determination in him, and we know that God is with our family each step of the way.

At first, when we were first going for the blood work, I prayed to God every night for everything to come out fine with his tests. When we got the results, I was at a loss. I prayed to God that night, asking him why and telling him that I just didn't know what to pray for now. That's when I just asked him to keep our family close and to give us the strength, peace and encouragement we needed to do everything that little J needs. I also asked him to help me trust my faith in him.

The next day, I was really just out of it, G told me to get out of the house for awhile, so I headed for the mall. I had walked around aimlessly for about an hour, when all of the sudden, I was just going to lose it. I knew I had to get out of there. I was a bit dazed and just aiming myself for the nearest exit, when I ran into Sharon from our adult bible fellowhip (ABF) at church. What a blessing that was! It was so nice to see her and talk to her. I felt so much better! The following week, I woke up one day and just felt like crying. Wondering, why this was happening to my little one. About an hour later I received a phone message from Nicole also from our ABF at church. She has been down the same road we are traveling, and just hearing her message made me feel so much better.

I do have complete faith! I know that there will be obstacles ahead for our family, but I know that we will have exactly what we need. I know that God has a plan in all of this, and I know that little J is going to make some amazing differences in our lives and out in the world! He is in one word PERFECT!

People Suck Part 2.

Yep, I got another people suck story for you! I bet your excitied! LOL. Anyway, went out to get G and I some takeout yesterday. As I'm driving along, I notice that I really need to get some gasoline since I don't think I'll make it home if I don't. I stop at a nearby gas station and get out to pump my gas. There is this mean looking old man at the gas pump on the other side of me. I run my card, and start pumping my gas. I'm leaning against my car waiting for the pump to go off, when this old man looks at me and says "There are too many of you (insert an ethnicity of which I am often mistaken for here)'s here." Needless to say, I was so stunned, I couldn't get my mouth to work. So, unfortunatley I was not able to put this idiot in his place, because I really could not believe that even if he was thinking it, that he would actually say it. In case that man happens upon this blog....Dude! YOU SUCK!

Some People Really Do Suck!

So, I'm taking part of a title from Lizz's blog because it seems fitting. Things have been crazy around here lately, with the little sick bug hanging around our house and all the crazy rainy weather we've been having. Well, being in the house is getting a little stale. Since little J has been feeling better, and the weather has been returning to "California weather", we've been venturing out a bit. We had a great time at the park yesterday, and watned to do a repeat performance. So, we were up a bit early this morning, got ready and were heading out the door for a few errends and a little fun. I loaded up little J's travel gear...you know the stuff, a little juice, a few snacks, and the diaper changing neccessities. I took them out and put them in the car, and didn't notice anything. I went back in the house and grabbed little J and my purse and headed out to strap him in his traveling barco lounger...(that is what we call it, because it looks so comfy!). I jump up in the back seat with little J and fling my purse into the front seat. I notice that all the contents from our glove box are all over the floor in the front of the car. It looks a little strange, but then I think to myself that G must have been looking for something he needed in the glove box and left some stuff on the seat, and when I flung my purse, I must have knocked it off. So, back to strapping little J in. I then open the passenger door, to put away the mess I think I've made, when to my suprise, the entire contents of our center console is all over the driver's side floor. Yikes! Someone has been rumaging through our truck! Suddenly, I really freak, because I realize that just before I went to bed, I had this feeling I should go out to the truck and get my garage door opener out of the car....whew...there it is on the floor! Why I chose not to go get it is beyond me, because usually, I follow those instincts. Anyway, shockingly, they didn't take anything. The only things they really could have taken was the CD changer, but maybe they didn't see it. We really don't keep much in the truck...thankfully. Supprisingly, they didn't take our latest choice music...Toddler's Favorites, and Baby's First Sing-a-long. Guess the renditions of the Alphabet Song, Do You Know the Muffin Man, and the Wheels on the Bus were not what this person had in mind. We're still baffled what scared them off....did someone come by? Did they open our garage door and see the suprise inside? Hmmm...I guess we'll just have to keep wondering. So, to end all this, SOME PEOPLE SUCK!

From Coconuts to Walnuts.....

I want to thank everyone for all the well wishies for little J. After his fun evening in the ER last week (and G is glad you enjoyed his tale), things started to look better. He seemed to be feeling better. Then Monday came....his poor little glands looked like coconuts on the sides of his cheeks and his temperature was running between 100 degrees and 102 degrees. Thankfully, we were able to get him in to see his pediatrician the same day. She gave him some antibiotics, and his coconuts have shrunk down to little walnuts! As for the other cryptic post before, we are still going through some testing, so keep sending those good wishies. When I know more of what's going on, I will definately share with ya'll. I definatley also have to post the praises of his pediatrician soon as well. Little J is so lucky to have her as his doctor, and she deserves a wonderful tribute! Next time we see her, I am definately getting another photo of little J with her.

HAPPY EASTER!

Just want to wish everyone a very happy Easter! I finally completed my Easter Mommy duty and took little J to see the Easter Bunny...talk about waiting until the last minute. Little J was still a little under the weather, but it was the last day...so we had to do it. Thankfully, I know I was not the only one who waited until the last possible opportunity...that line was huge! It took about an hour and a half to get through that line. Wouldn't you know it too, just as little J and are at the front of the line, it's time for the Easter Bunny to go check his carrots and take a potty break. It seems to me, that last time we went to the mall to see Santa, the minute we get to the front of the line, he has to check the reindeer. A piece of advice, if you see me in line for this kind of thing, you might as well go get something to drink first, because there's gonna be an extra wait. Little J didn't feel like smiling this time though. I can't complain. The lady in front of me had a screaming kid and the lady behind me had a screaming kid. There were so many kids screaming, and so many little characters running around, that little J couldn't figure out what was going on. All he really wanted to do was pull the Mr. Easter Bunny's hair. Next year we'll get the smile. I'm sure of it! I can't complain, that kid is usually such a ham. You know what G said? He says that little J is just copying the Easter Bunny's expression. They both have the same look on their face. Too funny! Have a great Easter everyone!

Just a little something G wrote....

So, this has nothing to do with what I had posted about little J earlier, so no worries there. Here is G's recap of our fun evening:

T'was the night before going to see the Easter Bunny at the mall when all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a little J. With ma in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled into bed for a one nights rest. When all of a sudden we both heard such a clatter, a loud cough and flaaaa, ma jumped from the bed to see what was the matter. She scurried down the hall to little J's room she went, she then called me in. I then also sprang from the bed, down the hall to little J's room I went and there I saw our poor little J baby laying in his bed next to some thrown up Chef Boy R Dee. Wet towels, wet sheets, wet wipes, what ever you could find Ma screamed. I hurried to wipe off poor little J and the Chef Boy R Dee. We then got little J all changed and were about ready to sit him down a spell then what do my wondering eyes should appear, that's right more projectile vomit from little J's mouth 100%. We then wiped him down with what ever we could find and changed his outfit for a second time. We then were able to sit little J in his chair, but a moment only did it last, that's right more projectile vomit 100%. Oh why, oh why, I moaned to Ma why did you have to feed little J the spaghetti he had thrown. Little J threw up his dinner, his lunch, and his snack, when still more kept coming 100%. We scurried out into the old Yukon sleigh and drove on down to the Hospital for a little stay. We walked into the emergency room and it was filled like packed snow. We asked if they could see him immediately and they said no. I then sat with Ma in the corner and had little J do his best, that's right more projectile vomit all over the waiting room floor 100%. It's now 4 and a half hours later and we are all back at home. Oh please, oh please, don't let me hear anything else thrown. Little J was given some medicine and ice to replinish his fluids. Let's try this again Ma to get that one nights rest. Good night.

P.S. It wasn't really Chef Boy R Dee, it was baby spaghetti, but when it comes back up it all looks the same.

Sorry if this grossed anyone out too much, but at least G has shared a chuckle out of our oh so fun evening! Little J seems to be doing fine now. He's all snug as a bug in his bed! :)

Keep sending good thoughts and prayers.

Little J had his appointment today, which at this point is inconclusive. They are sending him for additional testing, and right now, I am emotionaly drained. I'm on the edge between being extremely worried, to just trying to keep a positive vibe going. Just please keep positive thoughts and prayers for Little J and our family right now. I'm sorry that I am being so cryptic at this point, but I don't want to put anything out there, until I know exactly what the results of the tests are. It will be awhile before we get anything back, so until then, just keep the happy thoughts coming if ya'll don't mind!

Just had to share this photo!

This has to be the cutest photo I have ever seen in my entire life! Okay, so I know that I say that everytime I post a photo. We had this photo taken at one of those old time photo places while we were on vacation. Little J was such a ham! I was so suprised at his willingness to ham it up for us too. While we were on vacation, the first few days at the beach were very eventful. When we first got there, little J ended up in the emergency room with a fever of 104.5, that we just couldn't get to come down. Poor little thing was so out of it. We were in the emergency room for almost 5 hours while my heart was breaking as they were doing all of these tests on him to try to figure out the cause of the high fever. As always, he was such a trooper! He survived the blood draw and the antibiotic shot. He also survived the place they said is not for mommys. They decided to do a chest xray. The nurse took little J and G into the xray room. All I could hear was my poor little one screaming! G said they put him in this contraption, that he could only describe as something resembling what Hanibal Lecter was in whenever they would move him in that movie Silence of the Lambs. It was a tube thing that made his arms stick straight up over his head, and his little body in the tube. He sat on this thing that was like a saddle. Ugh, so glad I didn't have to see that. I was already heartbroken that he was sick to begin with not to mention on the needles. At first, they were talking about admitting him, but once the fever came down, and he was acting more like himself, they said if they could see him drink fluids, they would let us take him home. Thankfully, he guzzled down the 8 oz. of Pedialyte they gave him! Whew! The fun wasn't over yet though, we had to give him medication around the clock to keep the fever in check. Then we had to return to the ER doctor to have a morning re-check of his condition. After that, we thought we were free and clear, his fever had subsided, and we were told to not give him any more medication unless the fever returned. His fever returned 6 hours later. We went back to giving him the medication and called our home Pediatrician. She said more than likely it was related to his MMR vaccination and that if it was, it would subside by the next day.....by bed time, we were well on the way to recovery! Yay!

I bet you think the fun stopped there though! NO WAY! When we go on vacation, there is always more fun to be had. After not having much sleep from the round the clock medication giving I did, I was so looking forward to the sleep I was gonna get the next night. I was all cuddled up in bed, read my book for awhile, and driffted off to a peaceful sleep around midnight. At 1:35 am, we wake to this horrible sound. G and I get up and are trying to find the source of this horrific sound....it's the fire alarm! We both try covering it up, like it's the one at home and the battery is dead. We then look at each other and come to this realization, that we are in a hotel facility and they are not on your regular Energizer battery! Supprisingly, G and are are the only ones in our 3 bedroom hotel suite awake. The In-laws, my nephew and his friend, and my little J are all sound asleep. How on earth could they possibly be sleeping? So, G runs and knocks on all the bedroom doors, we start putting on some warm clothes (since it's freezing and raining outside), I pack up a bag of stuff of little J and we are ready to vacate, when we realize that still no one else in our suite is awake! So, G knocks on his parents door again, and on our nephews door. The In-laws wake up and start to leave, but G has to physically go in and wake up our nephew and his friend. We start evacuating and have to walk down 8 flights of stairs. By this time, the stairwells are a quick moving line of lots of sleepy people. As we get to the bottom floor, we saw what looked like smoke on the first floor as we were exiting. That really freaked me out. When we finally get outside and the Fire Department arrives, we find out that it was all some spring break shenanigans! A group of teens apparently set off the fire alarm and let off some smoke bombs. We still had to wait for the Firefighters to clear the smoke and do a check of the building, so we were all standing out in the freezing cold for about an hour. Little J was all wrapped up in 2 blankets, one over his head, and he thought we were playing a game. He was laughing the whole time! It was such a terrible prank. There were so many little babies out there with their parents trying to keep them warm and cozy, lots of older people who you could tell that the stairs were probably a difficulty for them. I was actually freaked out the entire time, when we were getting ready to leave, I went to grab my wedding ring, and could only find the engagement ring and I started crying (I'm such a baby!). The only things I could think about were having the things that little J needed, making sure we all got out okay, and that I had my wedding ring. I was horrified when I couldn't find it. Shockingly, I didn't even think about my camera until we got the all clear to go back inside.

Just got home!

Hey everyone! Long time no blog! Hope everyone has been fabulous! We just got home from our two week vacation with my in-laws. We had some ups and we had some downs. I've got tons of pictures to upload and share with ya'll. Lots of stories too! I hope to be able to get a good post in tomorrow night. We've got lots of stuff to finish up this week on G's last week of vacation. I'm meeting our tax attorney tomorrow, to get out taxes completed. I'm really hoping for a nice refund!

It was so nice to have everything go so smoothly today. I had lots of things to do including restocking our food shelves! I had to go to the hospital where little J was born, to have his medical records released for an upcoming appointment he has. Keep him in your prayers if you don't mind. He will be having is motor skill development evaluated next week. He's a little behind in some things, so just as a precautionary measure, we're having him evaluated. In my heart, I'm sure everything will be just fine, but I'm sure a few prayers wouldn't hurt any!

Spitting Nails....

You know, the kind that you hammer into the wall. Have you ever been so mad at someone, that you could just shoot the negative words out like you were using a nail gun? Spewing them everywhere in every direction? That's how I feel right now, but I'm not gonna let that negativity get to me. I'm gonna have my yummy Panda Express dinner and enjoy my little piece of heaven on earth {Venti Peppermint Mocha Frappacino}. Then I'm gonna watch a little TV, and then I'm gonna scrap. I'm gonna scrap that anger away! Maybe then, after my vacation, I can deal with it in a more positive manner. See you all later!

Oh What Fun!

I had such a great time today! I was so fortunate to reconnect with another friend today! It's amazing to think of how long we've lost touch for. It wasn't an intentional out of touch thing either. It just happened. Life got busy, we were in different spots in our lives and time just slipped away. It's really been 8 years since we've gotten together. It was so great to see her today too. Things just really picked up right where they left off. We chatted incessantly about what's been going on in our lives. We got to meet eachothers new baby. Mine at 15 months old, and hers at 3 months old! I felt really bad for the waiter, because it took us forever to order. We'd start looking at the menu, and then get back to chatting. I'm so happy now!!

Reconnecting

Wow! This has been a busy week for me! CrAzY Busy! It all started with a birthday party for Josh to attend last Saturday, and it's been non stop since 10am that day! I've been so blessed this week, to start reconnecting with old friends.

Before G and I met, I had a couple of friends, that I used to go out with constantly. If it was a Friday or Saturday night, we were together, going out to parties, clubs, dinners, you name it, we did it! Well, after G and I started down the path to marriage, I wasn't hitting the single scene anymore, and we kind of lost touch. Well, recently one of these friends got married, and moved very close to where G and I live now. She, out of the blue emailed me and invited me to their housewarming/houseblessing party. What a wonderful day! She met my new little one, and I got to meet her new hubby! We didn't get to chat much, but are definately planning on not losing touch this time! Next, my little sister from my Sorority Alpha Phi, contacted me by email the other day. We'll be planning a get together in the near future. Tomorrow, I'm meeting up with another friend that I haven't seen in quite a long time. She just had her first baby last December, so we're gonna meet for lunch and introduce our little ones! What fun!

We're getting ready to head out for a mini vacation with G's family soon. I'm looking forward to getting out of town for a little bit, and relaxing and taking some photos!

I'll let ya'll know how lunch goes tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to it!

Back to Scrapping!

So, things have been very busy around here. I'm not quite sure exactly what I've been busy with, other than chasing little J around. Every day, he is more and more on the go. I've finally gotten a little bit of mojo and been able to find the time to scrap a little. It's been so fun to try using the stuff in my stash. There are so many new things out there that I want, but with all this stuff already sitting in my room, it's hard to justify it. So, I'm back to my challenge. USE THE STASH! I've been really trying to do things that are different for me in scrapping as well. It's been lots of fun!

We've got a lot going on in the next few weeks! We've got a birthday party to attend, a housewarming/house blessing, and lunch with a friend I've been out of touch with for awhile...who just had her first baby a few months ago! We're also getting ready for a little vacation on the Oregon coast. Should be lots of fun times ahead! I can't wait to take some great photos on the beach! Also, on the way up, there is a tulip festival that we're going to stop at. I LOVE TULIPS! I can already picture the perfect layouts! Have a great day everyone!

Just a Quick Hello!

Everything has been crazy busy around here lately for one reason or another. I just wanted to send a quick hello to all my blogger buddies, before I run out to do some errands. One errand includes trying to find a sheet of sherbert bazzill paper. I was so inspired to do a layout last night, I got to working on it, and I splotched my ink pad on the sheet of paper, where I can't hide it! And, of course it was my last sheet of that color....go figure. Anyway, I'll post it as soon as I get it done! I can't wait!

In other notes, just wanted to send prayers out to the CHP officer involved in the accident pictured above. He was on the center median waiting to make a u-turn on the highway when a Snapple truck plowed into him doing 60mph. He is so lucky to have survived! And I'd like to add a PSA... when you see an officer pulled off on the side of the road, kindly move over a lane to give space and make it safer for the officer and any others that are on the side of the road. It's acutally a law in 38 out of 50 states! I know it wouldn't have made a difference in this accident, but just thought I'd take the opportunity to throw that out there! I'll post more later tonight!

Take Care!