goodbye 2012

I know everyone is reflecting on this past year, making resolutions for next year.  I am not a fan of making resolutions.  I never keep up with them.  I do however have some things I want to change, so I'm not so much making resolutions, as much as I am daily trying to be a better wife and mother.  That is my main goal for 2013. :)
This past year FLEW by... 2012 brought us:

1. Getting used to being a family of 4
2. Celebrating baby sister's 1st birthday (in August)
3. Celebrating big sister's 4th birthday (November)
4. Listing our house (and waiting, waiting, waiting on a sale)
5. Hubby finishing his graphic novel (1 1/2 year worth of work)
6. Daughter and hubby working on their first book together
7. Starting homeschool with my oldest Prek 4
8. A new niece was born!
9. Many Disney trips :)
10. Passing my American Citizenship test (I become official on Jan 25th after my ceremony)

Here's what I'm hoping 2013 will bring:

1. Finalizing the sale of our house (hoping this will happen quickly)
2. Moving into a newer/bigger house
3. Buying a mini van (I've been waiting for this one for 4 years)
4. Officially becoming an American citizen on Jan 25th
5. Publishing hubby's book
6. Publishing daughter/hubby's book
7. More Disney trips :)
8. Trusting God more and more!


I don't have 10 for that one. lol  I don't know what God has in store for our new year.  My hope is that we learn to trust and rely in Him more and more.  We are in the midst of several "small" trials, which combined can be very stressful.  I pray that I can trust more and more in God's timing and will for our life.  I don't wait for things very well, so I want to be better at learning what God has to teach me during these trials.  I'm so thankful He loves me enough to put me through these trials and that He wants to teach me something, or at least draw me closer to Him.  I tend to want things to happen MY way and in MY time.  I'm so thankful that it never happens that way and that my God loves me enough to plan for my life.

I love this verse.  Our pastor preached a wonderful sermon a few years back using this verse and it still stays with me.

Proverbs 16:9
The mind of man plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.


Praying God directs my steps for 2013!!!!

zoo day

This past Friday we took the girls to the zoo.  It was so much fun and I'm so excited that we now have a zoo membership again...

One of the first things we did, this was baby sis' first time feeding the giraffes.  It was so sweet that big sis wanted to sit back and watch her baby sister feeding the giraffes.

 Big sis feeding the giraffes

 Watching the pretty birds.  She was so excited they were flying around, she kept trying to catch them.

Our family!  I love getting family shots b/c it's rare. lol  I'm so thankful God has blessed me with such a wonderful husband and father to our girls.  I am still in awe that God has chosen to bless me with 2 amazing and beautiful girls.  I love them so much!!! 

 Nothing sweeter than daddy and daughter love.  Baby sis is a total mama's girl, so daddy always enjoys any chance he gets when she actually wants him :)  Big sis on the other hand, she'll follow daddy to the moon and back! :)

She sat in the stroller most of the time, or was held by daddy.  Then she requested to go down, it was so cute to see her walking with daddy.

 The only sad part of our zoo trip is that we looked all over for my daughter's favorite animal, peacocks.  But they are free roaming and we never found them.. Hopefully next time.

art corner

On Christmas night I went to bed bothered that my daughter has and got a lot of art supplies, but had no art corner to spread out.  Their play room is small, and there's no space for a little desk.. Her art supplies end up everywhere.  So I came up w/ a plan.  My husband and I have 2 desks in our office, we each have one.  I mainly use mine for storage, so I cleaned it all up, organized everything and turned my desk into an art corner for her.  I displayed her art and now she basically lives in that office w/ daddy.  It's so sweet. :)

Here she is.. I hung up her art, and in the middle is her name plaque.  Can you see her little Princess art kit she got for Christmas? :)  

COFFEE

I LOVE coffee!  when I discovered the keurig a few years back, I had to have one :)  So my wonderful husband bought me one for my birthday about 2 years ago.  Then this past week, I finally tasted french press coffee.  I had heard about it but never had it.  Oh my word, SO good!  So my hubby went and got me one for Christmas. :) I am enjoying it so much! It makes the best coffee.

Our Christmas

Christmas eve, daddy worked till about 1.  That was the day our baby was supposed to have surgery, but it got cancelled.  So daddy went to work, at 2 he came home with big sis.  I was SO happy to finally have her back home with me.

She immediately started asking to make cookies for Santa.  Mommy happily obliged :)  She loves to bake, it's so sweet.  Nona gave me a new cake pop maker thing, I'm so excited to use it with big sis.  I think she'll enjoy helping me.

 That night daddy read about our Savior's birth.  I hunted everywhere for these cute Christmas Pj's. I thought they looked so cute.  Their snack is chocolate covered popcorn.  My first time making it. 

Baby sister got baby doll stroller, high chair, pack and play and bottles.  She also got a baby Belle.  This Cinderella came from papa a few days ago. lol  She loves her baby dolls.

 After we opened all our gifts, we headed to have Christmas with my inlaws.  We went to my sister in law's house this year instead of nona's b/c Aunt Jenn just had a brand new baby girl!  It was just easier for her to stay home and celebrate Christmas this way.  Here is big sis with her pile of gifts from the family. 

Me and my baby girl!  I love that smile!!! 

 We gave her a Princess art set.  She loves it!  My little artist in the making :)

 After brunch with the inlaws, we hung out a bit.  My sister in law has 2 girls, so 4 girls under 4 under 1 roof equals chaos! But it's so fun.  We came home for some rest, had dinner, then went to my sister's house for Christmas with my family.  My entire family has major sweet tooth.  So we just get together for desserts.  It's always so fun. 

Me and my precious blessings! Oh how I love them :)

Us!  I am so thankful God has blessed me with my wonderful family! 

Christmas is fun and I love spending time with family.  But it's exhausting.  The girls were over tired and wanting to play w/ their new toys.  They don't get to play a lot with their toys on Christmas b/c we are constantly driving everywhere to see family.   Big sister wanted to sleep with all her new toys. lol

annoyed

This morning was supposed to be baby sister's surgery.  We left big sis at nona's house last night.  Woke up at 5 am, got ready, got a very sleepy and hungry baby out of bed and went to the hospital.  We waited, got prepped.. Then the anesthesiologist came, noticed her cough and snot and canceled the surgery.  Baby sister's been dealing w/ congestion and stuff for about 3 months and her pediatrician has done NOTHING about it.  We saw the pediatrician last week for our pre op and she finally told me to start baby sis on claritin.  Now, I've been unhappy w/ the pediatrician for at least 2 years.  But I've stuck w/ it, b/c I LOVE 1 of the peds in the office.  But getting to see her, is luck of the draw.  I don't like the office, and don't like any of the other 10+ doctor's they have.  So I want to switch pediatrician's to a small practice w/ only 1 doctor.

I am thankful they canceled the surgery for her own safety.  I'm just annoyed b/c I want it done, I want that thing out of her face. :(  I'm irritated that the pediatrician's office cleared us for surgery even though they knew she was sick.  I'm pissed (yes I will use this word) that I've called and called the peds complaining about my daughter's congestion only to be told she's fine and babies "get sick"...

Letting Go...

... is hard to do.

On Monday I will have to go through something I never thought I would.  My sweet baby girl will be having surgery.  It's not "Major" surgery.  It's an outpatient procedure.  But I'm still freaking out about her having to go through it.  The surgeon is cutting my baby's face!!!! The idea of them taking her from me and not being able to be there every step of the way is breaking my heart!

Thankfully hubby was able to get the morning off from work and will be there with me.  The surgery is at least 30 minutes long.  I will be panicking that entire time.  Thankfully I've calmed down a bit, I've just been praying through it all.  God is in control of it all.

Being that we have to be at the hospital at 6:30 on Monday morning, after much debate and thinking about what to do w/ our oldest during that time, we decided on letting her spend the night at Nona's house sunday night to Monday.  It is very hard for me b/c I have never let her spend the night anywhere.  I hate the thought of not being able to tuck her in at night.  It'll be very hard to not have her here that night.  But we decided that we're going to be so stressed out with the baby and the surgery, we figured that big sis will have more fun w/ her grandparents.  And that way we can focus on just the baby.  Thankfully we know she'll be in good hands and will have a blast! :)

These 2 hold my heart.  So having to go through all this in the next few days is super hard for this stressed out mama.  Thankfully I know God is in control of it all!  

Hair cut

In march it will be 2 years since I've gotten my hair cut.  The last time I got it cut, I was about 10 weeks pregnant, had just gotten off bed rest and needed a change.  After that, I wanted my hair to grow long, then the baby came and I never had time to go.  I also didn't have a hair dresser, and those are so hard to find! Especially for my hair.
SO for the past few weeks I've been so over the long hair.  It needed a cut.  My sister found this salon with a great package deal.  So we went.  It wasn't until last night when we went that I realized I'd just chop off 10+ inches and donate my hair, my 3rd time doing so in 4 years.  :)

I've NEVER gotten highlights or dyed my hair.  As my sister said I was a color virgin. lol  SO I was nervous to add color.  But highlights were part of the package deal and I wanted to try it and figured it'd be a good way to cover my grey hairs. :)
I love my hair and can't wait to go back and get some more highlights :)

Before and after shots 

surgery

My sweet baby girl is scheduled to have surgery on Monday, the 24th.  Awful day, I know, but we've met our deductible and this was the only day they had this year... Alas, I'm FREAKING out!  I've cried, I panicked... I can't look at her w/out crying.  Knowing that I have to hand her over to a surgeon and not be there with her just breaks my heart.
She has a benign lesion on her chin, that has been growing since September. So I'm happy to finally have it taken it off her face.  I will be glad when Monday is over and I can relax.

Beautiful mama's girl :)

 See that "dot" on her chin, left side.  Yeah, that's coming off on Monday.  I'm super glad to have her face back.  I'm just stressing about the whole thing.  I Know God's in control and I just need to keep praying.  This mama will be happy once this is all over! 

Santa

ok ok, we do talk to our kids about santa, but we are not teaching them that santa is "real"... He's just a guy, like Mickey Mouse.  I don't like the idea that all their gifts come from Santa, I mean, if my kids ask for a toy, mommy and daddy want the props for hunting all over town for it ;)
Anyways, that's not the point of this post.  The point is, that even though we don't teach them that Santa is real, I am so starting to like anything santa.  I'm loving the reds and whites and belt buckles... So I'm changing all my Christmas decorations, slowly. :)
So far this is what I've done this year.

I bought red shredded paper at the $1 tree.  Wine glasses from $1 tree that I bought a few months ago.  I put the paper in 3 wine glasses, wrapped black ribbon around it along w/ a rhinestone for a belt buckle :)

 I did the same thing with a vase.

 And my mantle has a new look... 

And a look at the whole fireplace with my brand new santa!  I got this at Kmart on sale.  I love him! :)  My goal is to replace my stockings, but the one I fell in love with would mean spending almost $100 for 4 of them, so I'm waiting on them. :) I did make the girls stocking's last year...

 close up shot

 My new santa.. :) Isn't he cute?

I bought this santa a few days ago at Joann's for 60% off, at $5. :)  I have him on my buffet table with the girls handprint christmas tree pictures.  I love him too :)

Just thinking...

As I type this, I'm sitting on the couch, watching Mickey Mouse with my girls.  I keep thinking back to the school shooting in CT.  Thinking about those parents who will never be able to kiss and hold their sweet babies again.  Those parents never dreamed that they'd lose their babies in such a way, so tragic.  They have to live with this senseless tragedy and broken hearts forever... 

I am brokenhearted over this.  And praising God that my 2 babies are still with me.  Thanking Him for 2 healthy girls, so thankful that I can hold them and love on them.  

I was cleaning up toys this morning and complaining about what a mess they make.  And then I stopped.  What those parents wouldn't give to have toys everywhere that they need to clean up.  So I thanked God right there for the mess! lol  I will take the messes.  

Yesterday did bring about some good news for our family.  My sister in law delivered her 2nd daughter, my 2nd niece. :)  She has a head full of gorgeous blonde hair!  She was the tiniest baby of the family at 6.12 pounds.  I loved getting to hold her and can't wait to see her again!  What a sweet blessing she is!  So thankful that she arrived safely and both she and mama are doing great!

And here are some cute new pictures of my 2 cuties!  I'm so thankful God has blessed me with them.  Some days I get so scared, I pray I am raising them the right way. 

Aren't they so sweet! :)  They love each other, when they're not fighting. lol  Big sis has her moments that she bullies baby sis.  BUT to be honest, the bigger bully is baby sis!  She does NOT share her mommy well at all and if big sis wants hugs or to be held by me, baby sis has a MELTdown.  We are working on that. lol

Oh how I love them!  Nona gave them this super cute shirt!  I made their cute red pants to match and penguin bows. :)  And baby sis is all about the bling, so I went on the hunt for some santa necklaces.  She loves them! 

Art

My buffet table usually holds our Christmas village this month.  But this year b/c we're packing up to move, I decided not to put up too many Christmas decor, including the village... Instead this year, I put up my hubby's Santa print along with handprint Christmas trees my girls made.  Big sis is on the left, she was so proud that she did it on her own.  Baby sis is on the right, she had a lot of help from mommy :)

I love displaying my loves' art works.  Aren't they all so talented? 

SICK

This has been a horrible week for us!
Tuesday morning I woke up to find baby sister COVERED in puke in her crib.  It was a sad sight for sure.  She never cried to "tell" us she was sick :(  She shook the whole time I bathed her, it was so sad.  The rest of the day was spent with more throw up, sleeping, being super clingy to mommy, fevers... She finally ate some crackers when daddy came home.  By the time she went to bed, she seemed much better.  At 4 a.m I woke up with hubby sick.  He stayed home on Wednesday and slept all day.  He had a fever of over 100.  It was really hard to keep the girls away from daddy.  They wanted to play w/ him so bad.  Thursday morning came and it was my turn.  What an awful feeling!  I couldn't keep anything down and felt so bad that my baby had to experience that.  By mid afternoon I was able to keep down some ginger ale.  Then some jello.  I then had a fever of over 100 and slept all day and night.  I woke up at 11 pm realizing that I had never showered, but fell back asleep. lol
Today I woke up better.  It's 7 p.m. and I still don't have an appetite, and I can't stand up for long periods of time b/c I get woozy.  But I am starting to get a little bit hungry, hubby is working late tonight to make up his hours, then will bring me some dinner.

The stomach flu is going around our church.  It's insane!  I am super thankful that big sis never got this, and I hope it stays this way.

I was just talking to my sis in law and told her that my #1 goal is to get us all better b/c she's due w/ my niece tomorrow :)  Though it doesn't look like baby will be coming tomorrow.  Which is a good thing b/c her oldest daughter as well as herself and husband are all sick.
So please pray for them. :)

Christmas time fun

A few days ago we did handprint Christmas trees.  My oldest LOVES to craft and paint.  This was baby sis' first time painting, she wasn't a huge fan. lol

Baby sis cleaning her hands

I helped baby sis with hers, I loved how it came out. :)

 As I said before, big sis loves to paint.  She refused to let me help her.  She asks everyday if she can paint. lol 

 She is so creative and wanted to make her tree look like our tree, with the "blanket" aka the tree skirt. :)  The only time she asked for my help was to paint a star on top.

 Her project all done! 

us

So thankful this wonderful man.  So thankful God chose me to be his wife.  He is amazing!!! 

Family photos

Last weekend we took some family pictures so we could send out christmas cards.  We took some family shots at a location then did some of the girls with each parent at home.  It was easier that way and the girls cooperated much better. lol  Hubby did some magic on photoshop and the pictures came out great! :)  Can't wait to send out our Christmas cards.

This is my favorite one, my sweet baby on her favorite seat eating her first sucker. :)  

Daddy reading a Christmas book to his girls

Me and my loves!

 I LOVE our family.  So thankful for God's blessings! 

Wordless Wednesday

I love this man! :) 

Park day

Life's been a bit hectic so on Sunday we kind of took it easy and spent the day as a family.  We took the girls to the park to get them out of the house.  I love the park by our house. :)