My Sweet Baby Girl

It's been 5 months today since we lost our baby girl, Bayli. I long for her and miss her. I'm still struggling with some issues that surround our great loss, but I've learned to give it to Him instead of trying to do it myself. It's just not possible.

I know that God gave us Bayli for a reason. Even if it was but a short time. I felt her in my womb, and I still think occasionally I "feel" her. Some of that could be because I WANT to feel her. My faith has grown stronger since we said goodbye to our daughter. I just know that the closer to Christ I am, the closer to Bayli I am. I am at peace knowing that Bayli will never have to bear this enormous heartache.

Most everyone knows the 23rd Psalm:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

I pray every day because prayer works. Just give it to God. The hard part is not taking it back once we've given it to him. We weren't designed to be able to "carry" the weight of the world. I was blessed during my suffering. I asked God to please take away the loneliness of sorrow, and he reminded me that I have the most compassionate family and friends in the world. God is in control. We may not get the answer that we want, but God hears our prayer and has a plan for us.

Sometimes I fall short and find myself praying for things that I want, but then I stop and realize that just because it's something that I want, doesn't mean that it's something that I NEED! God provides everything I NEED, and my cup runneth over!

Randomness!

Well a few random thoughts around here!

The first thing, I got part 1 of my new hair style done today! YEA! I needed some help desperately. I wish I would have taken a pic after she got done styling it today. I know I'll NEVER be able to style it as good as she did. It looked so cute. Now that I've already gotten ready for bed and it's up in a pony tail, I can't really show ya what it looks like, but part 2 will be coming in about 4 weeks and then I'll give the BIG reveal!!!

Second thing, I'm so excited that I get to have coffee with one of my best friends tomorrow morning. I LOVE our Friday morning Starbucks coffee fellowship time!!!! I think I'm in the mood for a Pumpkin something tomorrow mmmmm.....! Who knows, I could change my mind before then. HEE HEE

Third thing, my husband gets to share his faith story at church Sunday morning. I'm so excited for him. They are focusing on evangelism this month and they are asking people to share how they were brought to faith. He's the first one that gets to share their story and it's a good one if I do say so myself ;)!

And fourth and last, my poor daughter is mourning the loss of 2 goldfish :(. I felt so bad for her. She cried for 1/2 hour when the first one died. Some how we went from a no pet, no animal home to a home that now has: 1 (9mo old very excited lab) puppy, 1 horse, 1 long horn steer, & 5 goldfish. I better clarify a little bit of that. The horse and the long horn steer are actually at my brother-in-law's house. I don't think the city would allow us to keep them in our small back yard! HA! And now we are down to 3 goldfish and we are praying that they make it. Not sure what went wrong other then I think we just ended up with a few bad fish. And the story of how we got the 5 goldfish is pretty funny too. Maybe I'll share that tomorrow!

I don't have any pics to share today, but I did drive by the house that I lived in until I was 3yrs old! HEE HEE!




I actually do remember it, vaguely, but I DO remember it. It's amazing that the 5 of us lived in this tiny little house, but what's even more amazing is the house that my father grew up in. My grandpa still lives in that house and there were 7 of them!!! I don't have any pictures of it, but I wasn't too far from it. I should have stopped by and took some pictures of it as well, but had to get back to pick my baby up from preschool.

And lastly, wish I had a good camera, but this is the best I could do with what I have. What a beautiful sunset as we had a nice birthday dinner out on a patio with my dad Tuesday evening.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!!!

My Precious Daddy & I Sharing Our Father Daughter Dance At My Wedding Reception!!!



My Precious Daddy (& Mom) By My Side When We Lost Our Precious Baby, Bayli(Tad bit emotional for me to see the pictures of my baby girl. I love her & miss her everyday!)


Thank you Daddy for always being there for me! I love you!

That's all I can manage right now.......

Where Did I Go?

No where! Isn't that sad :(. I keep intending to get a new post up, really I do. I think of these great ideas throughout the day and then when it's time to sit down, they're gone! So, in other words, I can't think of much to write about. It's probably going to be a little random, sorry for that! I'll try to do better, I promise!

I've been struggling to get myself back into the routine of things. This getting up early is not as easy to do anymore. I love getting up early when it's not planned, or when it's to go workout, but not to have to wake my sweetly sleeping babies up!

Sorry Dear Hubby Doesn't Know He's In This Pic! I Couldn't Resist, Can You See Kenidi's Hand Across His Neck? HEE HEE

I just can't hardly stand to wake them up (and they can't stand it either!)

My allergies have literally been HORRIBLE these past few weeks!!!! I just can't find a good remedy yet (I've been trying everything I have). I get short snippets of relief, but then the symptoms just come back. My dear hubby probably did the smart thing and got a shot a couple of weeks ago. I'm just too chicken, but the suffering is about to do me in! And my sweet little Kenidi unfortunately has allergies as well :(. Poor baby! I feel so bad for her. I know how I feel, and to know that my baby is suffering, is worse than the suffering that I'm going through. She wakes up sneezing, sniffing and rubbing her eyes & ears every morning. I've not taken her to the doc yet. I'm trying to find something for her that will work. The Benadryl is supposed to be non-drowsy, but I think it really knocks her out and I don't like that. We think we found out not that long ago that she must be fairly allergic to cats as well. She had a really bad reaction after we had visited my in-laws and she was outside playing with all the kitties. At least that's what we think it was. On the way home, I looked back at her in her car seat and her eyes were not only red and swollen, but they had little bumps all the way around both eyes. The picture (taken from my not so good camera on my phone) doesn't show it quite as well as in person, but believe me, it was enough to make a momma worry!

Poor Baby, She's Trying To Smile!

And she was so stuffy all of a sudden that she was having a hard time breathing. It really kind of scared me, but I knew it was an allergic reaction to something so I quickly gave her some Benadryl and within about 30 minutes all the symptoms seemed to have disappeared and she seemed to be just fine.

But on the other hand, if it wasn't for the horrible allergies this time of year, I LOVE the fall weather that we've been having!!!! I've really gotten in the mood lately. I hope I don't jinx anything (watch we'll start having 100 degree weather now), but I've already gotten out SOME of my fall decorations!





I LOVE decorating for the fall. My dear hubby came home one day last week and said, "Is it Halloween already?" HA! I didn't even have the Halloween decorations out yet! I just got a few autumn decorations out, you know, like some pumpkins and leaves and that kind of stuff. I even got a new candle last week that REALLY got me in the mood!!!! MMMMMM, it smells so yummy! I wish I could put the smell on here somehow. Now I'm ready to start making some (lowfat beleive it or not) pumpkin muffins!!!! They are yummy!!!!!!!!!! And along with that, I'm ready for a Starbucks pumpkin spice! Oh, I'm making myself hungry!!! I almost forgot about the Autumn Treat ice cream that I got as well.....mmmmmmm so good!

Ok, I think I'm going to go indulge a little ;) I couldn't resist!!!!

Celebrating Less!!!!!

Well.....I haven't been here for a while, sorry! Just keep thinking I'm going to get a chance, and well....something (or someone) takes a priority! But that's ok.

I'm actually thankful for the "family" time that we've had these last few weeks. We decided to cut back on our activities, and I think it's made a difference. Our oldest daughter decided she didn't want to play soccer this fall, so that has really made a difference. She still plays the piano, but that's only once a week for about 45mins (except for her practicing everyday). She's also still in girl scouts and that's only twice a month. She really enjoys both of those and I think that's plenty. On top of reducing her activities, my husband and I cut back on ours as well. We were involved with about 4-5 different groups at church and found ourselves there almost EVERY night. Don't get me wrong, I love our church and loved the fellowship with our friends, but it just got to be WAY too much! We were struggling trying to get Harli's homework done, get dinner done, and then figure out where we needed to be and at what time. I LOVE that we have just learned to SLOW down. Less is more! We (well, more me I guess because daddy's not always home) have actually made a point to sit down at almost EVERY meal EVERY day and say grace and eat together! What a joy that is!!!!!! It makes such a difference! I just can't tell you how happy it makes me!!!!!

I always imagined myself being a stay at home mom and doing things the way my momma and my grandma did. I love being here for my children. I love knowing that right wrong or indifferent, succeed or fail, I did it! I raised my children myself (ok maybe not by myself, my husband is an awesome dad as well) and the way they turn out, is due to my rearing. I kinda like the old fashion way of doing things. I like making meals from scratch, although I don't plan ahead very well and that makes it pretty difficult most of the time. I think I might be a bit unorganized as well, but I try. I like crocheting. My grandma taught me, and I think I might be the only grandchild that learned. I like to sew, not so good at it, but it's pretty neat to see a finished product! It seems like we are constantly being pulled in so many different directions. Sometimes it's hard to say NO, but I'm learning to and I think that's a good thing!

I don't have any pictures to share this time. I'll work on that. That seems to take a lot of time to do as well!

So, take a little time to enjoy less!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Momma!!!!!

This is my Grandma, my momma, ME and my little sister! Isn't this a great snapshot? I love this picture!!!! (Thanks Shawna!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course my momma holds a special place in my heart. She's ALWAYS been there for me no matter what. I can't always say I've been the "best" daughter (I try :)), but there's always room for improvement.

With that said, I actually have had my mom on my mind a LOT lately. Today, I went to a funeral for the mother of a very dear friend of mine. I'm very sad for her that she doesn't have her mother, but rejoicing that she is finally cancer free and rejoicing with our Savior! When I had the opportunity to talk to my friend about a week before her mom passed, I asked if there was anything that I could do for her. She was very appreciative, but said she really didn't think so. She shared with me that right now (before she passed), that all she was doing was waiting. She said the end is inevitable, we are just hoping that it's peaceful. She told me, "I can play this waiting game. This isn't the hard part. The hard part will be when my mom is gone and I can't pick up the phone to say, "Hey mom, can you watch the boys for me?" Or, "Hey mom, do you have the recipe for such and such?" That's going to be the hard part for me when I can't just pick up the phone when I NEED my MOM!" I just cried! I had never thought about it that way. I still NEED my MOM too and she's still here! How lucky I am to not only have my mom, but I still have my grandma too! I'm taking this time to say how much I LOVE my momma and my grandma too! I can't imagine my life without them, because I DO still need them both! I think that I have taken this time that I have with them for granted. I've been so wrapped up in my life with MY family, that I don't always take the time that I need to express my heartfelt love and appreciation for my mom and my grandma. I am going to make that a priority because our days are numbered and I don't want to miss one moment and I certainly don't want to wait until it's too late to tell them how much I LOVE THEM!

Love to you MOM and all those momma's out there!!!!!!

Running (AWAY~Just Kidding!)

This Week's Topic: What is a favorite "alone time" activity?

Alone time is pretty rare for momma!

When I am COMPLETELY alone, I love to put on my ipod (LOVE my music) and go for a jog. I do one of either two things when I'm running. I either just listen to the music and clear my mind and look at all the beautiful things in nature, or I do some pretty major thinking or praying. Guess that's three, oops. Sounds crazy that I can think and pray with music in my ears, but trust me, it's possible. And since I don't get to jog very often, I don't make it very far, but I hope that I can work up to a longer jog soon. Someday I secretly hope to run a marathon! I know it's just a dream, but you gotta start somewhere!

Usually my alone time consists of short snippets of my family sleeping. During those short times, when I can't actually leave the house (because they are too young to be alone and hubby is gone) I find myself vegging on the couch and watching some of my favorite shows (General Hospital, Greys Anatomy, Private Practice, Brothers & Sisters or Army Wives) that I DVR, but usually delete because I never really get to watch them. If I'm not doing that, then I'm usually on the computer catching up. I don't usually get the opportunity to get on the computer if my husband is here because he is usually on it or he's sleeping and the computer is right next to him and he can't sleep if I'm pecking on the keys!

Also on the rare occasion, I might make a quick trip to the grocery store by myself. It's not the greatest entertainment, but you sure can get a lot done in a short amount of time!

When I was going to bootcamp and getting up at 4:30am, I would come home and everyone was still sleeping. I could get almost all my chores done before 7am and have the whole day to work on projects, when Kenidi

She can be a little stinker sometimes!


But THIS is Kenidi MOST of the time!

would allow it! Those were some very productive days. I miss them!!!!

So that's what I like to do when I'm alone, how about you? Join in by clicking on the button at the top.

So We Don't Forget

Just in case you've been following me on Wednesdays, Wednesday's Walk from Lynnette's blog has changed to:

Just click on the button above if you want to join in (link up) or just to read what it's all about!

Today's topic is:
School Days - Tell us about a school memory from when you were a child - or school memories with your children. If you're a homeschooler, feel free to tell us something about your homeschool day (a special activity, first day of school, field trip, etc).

I'm going to be brave here and tattle on myself just a bit. I was a little naughty (or maybe ornery) in grade school. I had a problem talking! (I know imagine that!) When I was in the 2nd grade (I went to a catholic school), I had seven (count them) SEVEN pink slips! I was almost expelled!!! Can you believe that? All of you who just said yes, I'm giving you a look right now! I would get in trouble for talking and when the teacher would ask me to stop, I would kindly tell her, "Just a minute. I'm not done yet!" And then I would get a pink slip. A pink slip was NOT good. Especially when I got home and had to explain AGAIN why I got another pink slip. When I got my 7th pink slip, I had a personal invitation to go, not to the principals office (already been there!), but to the PRIEST this time. Oh boy was that BAD! I was told that if I got one more pink slip in the 2nd grade, I would be expelled! Believe you me, I did NOT get another one. I guess the threat worked.

I would like to say that all that is WAY behind me and I'm so much more mature and well behaved, but probably NOT! I still have a little bit of an ornery streak in me at times. Okay, all of you that I gave the look to earlier, I'm giving it to you again! STOP THAT! I just know how to turn an awkward situation into a fun situation! YES, THAT'S IT!

And I wander where my girls get it? From their father of course!!! HEE HEE!!

Both My Babies Are In School Now!

My oldest, Harli said she LOVED her 1st day of school, which was yesterday. She's was a little leery about getting the "new" teacher because he's male, but I think she's glad now! There are only 2 male teachers in her school and she had this preconceived notion that a male teacher was going to be mean. I told her that my 4th grade teacher was a male and that he was one of my all time favorite teachers. He made everything about learning fun. I think she agrees! She says he's really funny. Today was a different story! She came out of school today and told me that she's ready for summer again. She figured out that 3rd grade is going to be a little harder than she anticipated :)!


Today was Kenidi's 1st day of preschool(my 3yr old). She did great! Both my girls are so independent. She was not the least bit concerned that I was leaving and that she was staying. I thought all was going great and that I was doing incredibly well holding back the tears. I left the classroom and headed down the hall and was ALMOST out the door when I ran into several Kindergarten moms that were crying. I LOST IT! The tears just started uncontrollably! I was leaving my BABY there!!!! Needless to say one of my best friends in the whole world rescued me! She asked if I wanted to meet her for Starbucks and of course I said ABSOLUTELY!!! What an awesome friend I have. So I went to pick her up from school a few hours later and she was not ready to leave! She informed me that she was going to stay for a little longer. When we got outside, she informed me that she was not going with me, that she was going to ride the bus. I just giggled at her. She wasn't worried about mommy at all! I finally had to pick her up and carry her to the car. I think she's gonna like school! I don't know I guess we'll see after her 2nd day :)! HA!

I just HAVE to tell you a story about last night!!!!!! When I went to tuck her in to bed we had a very LONG talk. It was a good talk. I was worried about some of her friends and some of the influences that they have on her (like I was telling you about in my last post). I asked her about her 1st day and we talked about that and then she proceeded to confirm some of my fears by telling me what one of her friends was doing at recess. This "friend" was in charge of everyone (so she thought) and told others weather or not they could join in when they were playing. Harli said she didn't like that and it made her sad (even though she was one that was included). I told her that maybe she should tell this "friend" that if she can't include everyone, then she (Harli) doesn't want to play either, or ask her why they can't play something that would include everyone! I went on to tell her that in the bible God talks about how we should treat others. That we need to love EVERYONE and one of the hardest things to do is to love those that don't deserve to be loved. She agreed and the conversation got even deeper. I explained to her that what we are doing here on earth is preparation for going to heaven. I told her that my walk with the Lord had changed a lot since we had Bayli and I asked her if she could tell and she said yes. She asked me a lot of questions including how did she know for sure that she would go to heaven. I explained what I knew and she cried. She asked if she could pray with me and ask Jesus to live in her heart. We both cried! It was so amazing! I'm so happy to know that we are all going to be in heaven together!!!!!! :) I had been thinking about how to bring all this up with her and had NO plan as to what I would say or when, but it just all worked out! God is GOOD!!!!

Starting School Tomorrow

Tomorrow, my oldest starts back to school. She'll be a third grader this year. I have some mixed feelings about this. I'm excited for her because she loves school and she loves her friends. She's been ready for school to start pretty much since summer started. Don't get me wrong, she loves summer as well, but she's ready for school to start.

When I tucked her in bed just a while ago, I told her I was going to miss her being gone all day again. She said, "Mom, why'd ya have to say that? Now I don't want to go." See, she's kind of a momma's girl too. I didn't mean to make her upset, I just wanted her to know that her mom would miss her and be thinking about her on her first day back. I guess I should have thought about it and said something like I can't wait for you to get home or something clever. I don't know. This whole parenting thing is so hard sometimes!

Part of me has seriously considered homeschooling. As a momma, I'm scared for her. She's just getting to that age that "girls" can be really cruel to each other. She's already experienced a little of that, but I know it's only going to get worse. Why does it have to be that way? How can you stop it?
I try my best to teach her that God wants us to love EVERYONE. She's so sensitive. She gets her feelings hurt VERY easily and she has to have the reassurance that people like her, kinda like her momma (although not so much anymore, I don't think?). I try to tell her that one of the hardest things to do in life is to love someone ESPECIALLY when they don't deserve it. BELIEVE me, I know. I struggle with it myself, but just like I tell her, the reward is even better.

Anyway, kind of got off the subject for a minute. I'm going to pray about this fear that I have and ask God to guide me or to give me wisdom to know what to do. She's such a social butterfly. I'm afraid that she'll miss all of her friends too much if I did home school her, but then I wouldn't have to worry so much about all the negative influences that she'll be around. She has told me before that she wants to be home schooled, but I never know how much of that to believe. She really does love to be with her friends. If you have some wisdom to share, please don't hesitate! I would love to hear what others have done to conquer this delima.

Now tomorrow is a whole NEW story. My youngest (baby) starts preschool tomorrow. It will be her first, first day! Everyone asks me if she's excited, but truly I don't even know if she really gets it yet. When I talk to her about it, she gets confused. We had her enrolled in a different preschool and we took her to that preschool for a tour and now she thinks she's going to both. The preschool that she IS going to is the same elementary school that my oldest is going to just down the street, but we didn't find out that she was accepted into that program until July. By that time, if you didn't already have her enrolled somewhere, it was too late. So we had to enroll her in two different preschools and just play the waiting game. CRAZINESS I tell ya! I told you this whole parenting thing is hard sometimes!

Anyway, I know they'll both be fine, but momma can't help but worry! That's what we do!!!!!!!!!

An Emotional Day......

I hope you don't mind the interruption, but I need to share my feelings today.

Yesterday I started a very joyful post about our trip to San Antonio. I was going to use it for Wednesday's Walk, but I didn't get time to finish, so here I am instead.

Today was Bayli's due date, exactly 3 months and 2 weeks since we said goodbye to our little girl. It's been a very strange day for me. I've been trying to hold back the tears and distract myself today, but it just hasn't worked. I finally broke down just a little while ago. My day started off when I woke up late and didn't get my daily prayer time in like I usually do. Because of that, it felt like I hadn't really ever started my day, yet here I am and it's 2:16pm. Are you wondering if I made time for prayer? Yes I did. Finally. Boy did I really break down big time during prayer, but I feel so much better now. Partly because I needed to talk to God about my feelings and ask him for strength, and partly because I needed to let some emotion out.

I still think of my baby girl often. Believe it or not, I can picture what delivery was going to be like and I can picture holding her in my arms. She probably would have been here by now. I can picture the joy and chaos that a new baby brings. I was so looking forward to it, even though she wasn't our original plan. I dream of the day that I can be with her again. I hope it's soon! I want us all to be in the wonderful place that she is. I imagine it to be even more beautiful than I can imagine. Did that make sense?

I thank God everyday for the special people in my life that have helped me tremendously since we lost Bayli. They hold a special place in my heart, but I've figured out that it's God that has helped me and been there for me and he put those special people in my life.

I truly am thankful for having the short period of time that we had with Bayli. I know she was given to us for a special reason and now she's basking in God's glory!

So thank you for letting me spill it all out today. I sure needed it!

Blessings,

Our Family Vacation

Here is a quick preview of our family vacation! I'll tell you all about it in my next post, but here you go!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Ten Things About Me

Ok, so I have to start by saying, I've been gone (literally) out of town on an unexpected, unplanned, very adventurous, fly by the seat of our pants family vacation and we had a BLAST! I'll spend my next post all about that, but this one will be a GTKY post from

Just click on the button to "GET TO KNOW" Lynnette a little better!

Anyway, about me.....I'm really not that interesting, but I'll give it a shot!

1. I completely wash off my dishes (not a single spot remains) BEFORE I put them in my dishwasher. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering if I ran it yet or not and I have a hard time figuring it out. I guess this must be weird because everyone tells me that I'm crazy. HA! I already knew that!

2. I'm addicted to chocolate! I REALLY mean that. If there is ever a choice and chocolate is one of them, it's ALWAYS chocolate for me! I should probably check into some meetings somewhere. I'm sure their are some. ;)

3. I love to be adventurous with new foods! There are very few foods that I don't like. I think I like just about EVERY fruit and vegetable out there, but I suppose I haven't tried them all. I'd be willing!

4. I love to do hair! I taught myself at a very young age how to braid and just expanded from there. I have two girls that won't let me touch their hair :(, it makes me very sad! I would love to go to cosmetology school and do hair, but don't have the time right now. Maybe when the girls are older.

5. I, like most, love photography! I'm not very good and have a terrible camera, but it's fun capturing the moment and then reflecting on it later. Sweet memories!

6. I LOVE horses! My husband and I had 2 when we lived in the country, but we moved to town and had to sell them. So far my oldest daughter carries on that passion. She wants to move to the country so bad. We have hopes to again someday (dreaming of a two story with a wraparound porch and a porch swing and all the farm animals to go with), but not sure!
YES THAT'S ME! I use to ride somewhat competitively, barrel racing that is.

7. Music makes me move! That's so funny in so many ways! I LOVE to dance, but mostly I just love to listen to music. It gives me chills and makes me cry sometimes. It can change my mood in an instant. If you scroll down to the very bottom of my blog I put a pop out player for you to enjoy some of my favorites right now. I listen to just about all genres except rock (can't understand the words) and rap (too graphic for me). Music makes me reflect on memories (because my daddy is just like me :) or maybe that's the other way around, hee hee). I grew up in a house that ALWAYS had a radio on (& it still does to this day). It doesn't matter if they are home or not, the radio is on! And very proud that my mommy & daddy are still together and happy as ever to this day! Very rare these days!

8. I like to travel, but rarely get to. Someday I would like to travel the world (with my family of course), but that's probably just a dream. Nature is breathtaking! I love to see new animals in person (especially in the wild, their natural habitat). I love the awesomeness of seeing something that I've never seen before (mountains, oceans, rivers, canyons and all that's in between!).

My family (mother,father,brother & his family,sister & her family,grandmother & some aunts & uncles & their families) all go to Breckenridge,CO for Thanksgiving every year! LOVE IT!

9. I love to exercise obsessively! (Hmmmm......I seem to have a lot of issues don't I?) Lately I've had ailments that have kept me from it (seems to be my lower body right now: feet (can't figure that one out yet?) & shin splints OUCH!), but once I get started, I can't stop. I just crave more and more. I might be a bit competitive as well!

10. My husband's name is Tiger! Try introducing a new boyfriend to your parents and having to tell them that! HA! No, really, it's not his birth name, but it's the only name that he's ever gone by. His grandma nicknamed him that and it has stuck his entire life. I've yet to meet a person that has actually called him by his given name. I doubt that 99% of people that know him even know what his given name is! He says that Tiger Woods wanted to be just like him because, well.....he is younger then my husband you know! HEE HEE

Ok, so maybe that wasn't exactly what you thought it was going to be, but it's just me! Catch me next time to find out what our adventurous vacation was all about!!!!

I'm So Excited!

>It's Wednesday's Walk again! Please join us if you want. You can visit Lynnette's blog to see what it's all about!


I've been waiting to tell this memory. It's actually not my memory. It really belongs to my husband, but it means so much to me and I know you'll enjoy it as well.

Back to our story.....
I was born & raised Catholic. It's a strange thing to try to describe. I kind of think that once your Catholic, it's like being Jewish, you are always Catholic. I don't know if that makes any sense, but anyway. I went to a Catholic grade school until I graduated from the 8th grade and then I made the HUGE leap to public schools. Talk about culture shock!!!!!

My husband wasn't really raised with any sort of christian background. He went to church a few times growing up, but never really had a chance to learn what it meant to be a christian and certainly didn't have a relationship with Our Lord & Savior.

After we got married and more importantly after we had our 1st born, I struggled with how to raise her. I wanted to make sure I was doing everything PERFECT! (HA!)
I would talk to my husband about going to church and he would go with me, if I REALLY wanted him to, but he just never seemed to get anything out of it. Needless to say, we didn't attend very often.

Fast forward about 5yrs to 2003. Some very good friends of ours invited us to a bible study that they were going to at a couples' house (Bill & Mary Harrison). They were just starting a new series called "A Purpose Driven Life". It was opened to any denomination. It was quite a drive for us, but I REALLY wanted to go. I asked Tiger (my husband) several times and he pretty much blew me off and kept saying NO! Finally, I told him that I had decided that I was going by myself, but I really didn't want to drive that far by myself, especially for the 1st time. So he VERY reluctantly said that he would go with me for the 1st time to make sure I made it to the right place safely, but I better not EVER ask him to go again, because the answer would be NO! (You're already guessing what happened next aren't you?)

He went with me and was so moved and overwhelmed that he just had to come back to see what it was all about. He had questions every week and his curiosity was exciting to watch. Neither one of us really had a bible, so Bill gave us each our own bible. We finished the series and kept going every week. Tiger kept coming back with more questions and he would read his bible diligently. Bill was so nice. He told Tiger he could call him anytime day or night with any questions that he had, and Tiger did.

After several months of going to bible study every week, Bill finally asked Tiger what he was waiting for. Tiger was a bit confused. He said, "What do you mean?" Bill said, "What's keeping you from giving your life to Christ?" And (I'm gonna cry), Tiger said, "NOTHING!" So of course Bill said, "Then let's do it!" He kneeled down next to Tiger and put his hand on him and they prayed together and gave his life to Christ! I cried and Bill cried (I'm not sure if there was a dry eye in the room). The next week Bill prepared a celebration dinner in honor of Tiger. It was a day that I will never forget!!!!

Growing up Catholic, I don't really have a memory of when I "came to Christ". I can't remember a time that I didn't know about Him or believe, so I love to share my husband's story. I separated myself from the Lord for several years, but when my husband started his walk, it drew me closer then I've ever been before. I kind of feel like his walk, has become "our" walk.

Tiger and I thank God everyday for our friends that invited us and to Bill and Mary for opening their hearts and home to us. I wish I had pictures of Bill & Mary, but never thought about taking a camera at the time. Our lives are forever changed!

The story continues of course, but I don't want to make this too long so I'll save the rest for another Wednesday's Walk! Thanks for sharing this precious moment with us!

Busy Weekend = Not Much Sleep

Whew! Fun, but glad it's over.

Friday started out with a darling dance recital featuring both my girls! What a rare treat. They are spread out enough age wise that they don't normally do too many things together at the same time. They had been to dance camp all week at church and at the end of dance camp was the recital.

The theme for dance camp was "Every Little Girl is a Princess". They had fun & performed again at two of the services on Sunday morning.

Saturday was pretty exciting as well. We had a cookout at the park with Harli's softball team. It sprinkled & rained a little bit, but the kids didn't mind. They had a good time.

After that, we went home to change clothes and off to Hutchinson! My brother-in-law is a race car driver and he travels a lot. We don't get to see him race very often, so when he's close enough, we try to go. He raced Friday night and Saturday night and did REALLY well. He won his heat race and the A feature Friday night and he won his heat race and got 2nd Saturday night. Very exciting! We are very proud of him!!! I didn't get any pictures, but wished I would have. The races didn't get over until after midnight and they had fireworks afterwards. Needless to say, after driving home and unloading we didn't get to bed until ALMOST 3:00 AM! Then, got up to go to church Sunday morning. NOT ENOUGH SLEEP!!!!

Today wasn't the best day & I know why! I normally start my day in prayer and today I didn't. I could tell a difference all day. The day just didn't go right. The girls and I slept in because we didn't get much sleep over the weekend. When we finally got up, I was already being beckoned for chocolate milk and from there on it didn't stop. I was having a hard time appreciating life and all the joys that come with it. I got on the computer and came across a blog that just made me sob and reminded me how precious life really is (http://www.storyofjudson.com/christina). God sent me a reminder. Thank you Christina for sharing your precious little boy with all of us.

I love life and my precious family and I am thankful to God everyday for all the joy he brings. I can't wait to see my baby girl again and hold her. I'm ready to go now, but I want to take the rest of my family with me!

A Family Fun Day & A Beautiful Picture To Share!

Yesterday was really a fun day. We got to spend some rare quality time with daddy. He was off yesterday and we decided to go to the zoo! We hadn't seen the tigers yet so we spent most of the time there, but got to see some other things too.
WOW!

We cherish the time that we get to spend with daddy, because he is gone a lot working. I'm very thankful that he provides for our family and that I'm able to be home with the girls, but mostly he's doing what he LOVES, driving a truck! His daddy was a truck driver and he's been driving since the day he could legally. Being a truck driver means that we don't see him as much as we would like, but there have been times that we have seen him even less, so we are grateful. He's here almost daily or nightly, but sometimes for very short for brief periods and it's during the night (when we are already asleep) and didn't even know he was here because he's up and gone before we get up. Needless to say, he doesn't get much sleep. But he tries to be home as much as possible and we're happy about that.

In order for us to go to the zoo, we unfortunately had to be there during what would normally be Kenidi's nap time, but believe it or not, she was really good! She still got her nap, but it was just later then she's used to. Sometimes it's ok to bend the rules, right? It's worth it when you get to spend good quality time together as a family!

She's lovin' on daddy! LOVE IT!


My oldest, Harli LOVES the zoo! A day at the zoo is a fabulous day for her!!!
She's my little Tiger! Hee Hee! Her daddy's name is Tiger! I don't know how to get that off here. Not sure why it says to see more images????

Have you ever noticed the beauty at the zoo? Harli LOVES flowers so her and I were just in awe of the beautiful flowers that we saw while we were there!

I wish I could figure out how to put all these next to each other instead of all under each other?????? Things I gotta play with I guess!



On another beautiful note......

I LOVE this picture!
Three generations: Grandma, Mom, Me & My Little Sister

Thanks Shawna for the awesome picture and the awesome friendship and fellowship. Can't wait till next year! Look out KC here we come! I have to say, if you've never had the chance to experience Women of Faith, I highly recommend it!

That's it for today, but you can bet I'll be back!

A Piece Of Our History for Wednesdays Walk

I forgot to mention that "Wednesday's Walk" is from Lynnette Kraft's blog: You can click on either button above to join or read what it's all about!

Our Wedding Picture
(We were SO MUCH younger then!!:))

Last time I posted, I talked about the memory of the loss of our daughter. This time I'm going to write about a happier memory and give a little glimpse of our history.

My husband & I started dating when I was 18 & he was 19. We dated for 7yrs before he finally proposed & we finally got married. I say that like I was waiting, but in reality, I loved my life just the way it was & really didn't care if we were married or not. We were "living the good life" so to speak. We were (and still are) best friends and spent nearly 24/7 with each other. We lived together (wasn't exactly the right choice) and we also worked together. That's where we met. Anyway, when he proposed, I didn't exactly respond they way you would think I should have. I think I said something like, "What? We didn't discuss this!" and of course his response was, "Does that mean yes or no?" I did finally say, "Yeah, I guess, but you sort of caught me off guard. I wasn't prepared for that at all!" Which was the truth. I feel awful thinking about it now. How shocked and hurt he must have felt. I just had honestly not thought about getting married and wasn't sure I was ready (I guess 7yrs isn't long enough:)). I did a lot of thinking and decided that I certainly couldn't see myself dating anyone else, and I KNOW I didn't want to start over with anyone else. We had already been through several ups and downs, but we truly did love each other and made it through (by the grace of God).

My younger sister and older brother had both just gotten married in the previous 5yrs and my parents made a suggestion that we "go away" somewhere and get married. My siblings weddings were very stressful for my parents. They were certainly going to support us if we decided not to, but the opportunity to travel and not go through the stress of a big wedding sounded awful appealing! They of course laced the thought with the support of money as well! So we thought about it and really we had already been living together and dating for 7yrs and neither one of us thought we needed a big wedding. So we decided to go to Vegas! We had several people that went as well. I have a cousin that lives in Vegas, so of course he came to the wedding. Both my parents, my sister and my best friend and her husband (that is also my husband's good friend).

The Whole Wedding Party

It was such a beautiful wedding! We got married in the Riveria and they did a fantastic job! I couldn't have been happier! Everyone else was just there for the wedding and then went home afterwards, but we stayed there for a week (which was plenty long enough in Vegas) and did some sight seeing and just had a fantastic time.

When we got back from Vegas we had a huge reception. Not sure that we ended up saving any money by not having a big wedding, but we had a great time. We were still able to share our special occasion with all of our friends and family that couldn't go to Vegas with us.







Tiger & I toasting at our Wedding reception

My Daddy & Me


Sometimes I think that maybe we should have had a traditional wedding back here with all of our friends and family in a church, but I don't regret it. We are where we are now because of the decisions that we've made and the path that was laid out for us.

We did a lot of things the wrong way, but we've learned from our mistakes and we are better for it now. I have so much more to share from that moment up until now, but you'll just have to wait until next time to see what that is!

I have got to figure this whole blogging thing out! It took me just about all day to get it done with the pictures! WHEW!

Thanks for enjoying our memory!
Kelci