I've Been Saving Up All Day...

...that's what my Grandma says every year, "I've been saving up all day for this" as we sit down to eat Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. For the past few years we've joked about it as we all sit down and it's something we all wait for Grandma to say before we start eating!

This year at Thanksgiving I think about how thankful I am for everything and everyone in my life! I am so thankful for my loving husband and my awesome baby boy, Ryan! (OK, he's not technically a baby anymore but he's still my baby!) I am thankful that we are all healthy and happy and that in these difficult economic times, we still have full-time jobs! I am thankful for my siblings, sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws, for nieces, nephews and another on the way! I love the holiday season and look forward to spending lots of time with family in the coming weeks.

I'll update with pictures from our Thanksgiving festivities soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

He loves the water

Tonight Ryan has washed his hands no less than 32 times, or something close to that! He has a stool in his bathroom that he can stand on all on his own and he loves to wash his hands, brush his teeth and just play in the water. Tonight I caught him on video singing the tail end of "happy birthday", making silly faces and cleaning the sink! Here's a glimpse of Ryan in action.

Oh Happy Day!

Six years ago today was our amazing, beautiful and FUN wedding day! Here are a few photos of us through the years:

Dating in 2002 - 2003

Engagement Pictures

Wedding Day!

Me with Mom & Dad

Pregnant with Ryan!

Ryan's Baptism

Coast Trip in 2008

Happy Sixth Anniversary, Jake! I Love You :)

Thanks for the comments on my Truth post. Really, it helped me to think about even more than I was already pondering.

I'm sad to report that I have not ventured outside of my comfort zone and attended church yet. I have, however, been able to be in contact with an old (in years, not age) friend that is very dear to me and we have agreed to be each others support and church attending partner! (Chaundra, if you're reading this now, I just realized that Sunday is our 6th wedding anniversary! Needless to say, I'm hoping to either get away for the weekend with the hubby or at least enjoy his Sunday off together. I may have to attend church on Saturday evening local and then meet up with you the following weekend...Life sure is busy these days!)

Tracy, I look forward to hearing more about your Beth Moore study. Keep me posted on how it's going!

Tamara, thanks for the comments. Our prayer time is coming along and yes I would love to converse with you about these issues! I'll be in touch soon.

Right now though, I have a 2 year old who is running through the house playing "hide & seek" with his daddy and I think I want to join in on the fun!

I'll post more soon with some pictures of our weekend birthday party and visit with family.

**UPDATED** Please know that I DO know when my anniversary is, I just didn't realize until I looked at the calendar that it is falling on Sunday this year! Just wanted to clear that up for anyone who may be thinking..."she doesn't even know when her anniversary is"!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Somehow we always say the least
To those we love the best
And hope our thoughts are understood
Although they're unexpressed -
That's why it means so very much
When days like this are here
To say how very much you're loved
Each day throughout the year!

Love you Mom, Happy Birthday!!

Truth

Ever since we found out we were expecting with Ryan, I've always pictured us as a church-going, Catholic-practicing family. We had Ryan baptized but we have never made the commitment to going to church every Sunday. In the beginning of our marriage it was difficult to predict Jake's days off and I never wanted to take Ryan (who could, in an instant, become a crying infant in church) to church alone. I read a lot of blogs of Christian women who belong to small groups within their church family and who rely on their faith to see them through every day situations or trying times in their lives. I LOVE it. I am inspired by these women (most of whom I've never met in real life - but I stalk their blogs because I am so inspired).


I've also been reading a lot lately about Beth Moore Bible Studies - and don't laugh - but I don't know who Beth Moore is and I am so anxious to find out what it is that a Beth Moore Bible Study is all about!!


So I am going to challenge myself to attend church as many Sundays as possible this month even if it means I go alone or just with Ryan. I want Ryan to be familiar with and understand the Bible. I am also going to challenge myself to incorporate some new things into Ryan's bedtime routine. On top of putting on his pj's, brushing his teeth and reading bedtime stories, I want to start bedtime prayers with him too.


This might all sound really random to most people who know me but this is always how I dreamed my life would be and now that I'm responsible for my own actions and the way I raise my child, I guess I have no one to blame but myself if it doesn't happen.


I challenge you all to make a change in your lives, to do something you've always dreamed you would do but just haven't followed through with. Maybe it's something as small as being kind to strangers, offering a "good morning" to the co-worker that you never speak to, or foregoing the lazy, sleeping-in on Sundays and attending church yourself. If anyone wants to join me in going to church, the more the merrier!



John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from

Barney!

Here's Ryan trick-or-treating at Grammy & Papa's house.


And Ryan being shy and not wanting to be a part of the cousins picture on Halloween!

Here are the rest of the cousins (sorry for the blurry pic). Bryce the football player, Kayla the witch, Anthony the baseball player and Jaylynn the lady bug.

We took Ryan with his cousins to the church in town instead of our original plan of the church in Hanford because he skipped his nap and was really cranky. He wanted to be held the entire time. Here we are in line for the Cake Walk.

It was a good but long day. We're hopeful Ryan will be more active and interested in Halloween next year and we can enjoy the church activities a little more next year (Ryan says, "yeah, right!").

Hope your Halloween was fun too!

Pumpkin Patch Kid

Last weekend we met up with our friends and Ryan's godparents, Jarrod, Michelle and Preston for a visit to the pumpkin patch. It was a first for both Jake and Ryan! (I don't have any pictures of all 6 of us - we were just trying to get each of our own children to pose for the cameras - which as you can see below, was not an easy task!)

Here's Jake and I on the hay ride...oops, I cut Ryan's head out of the photo!!

Isn't this the cutest Turkey you've ever seen?

And how about a picture of two little bunnies? Here's Ryan and Preston sticking their heads through the bunny cut-outs!

It was a fun time and we came home with 1 pumpkin which we look forward to carving this weekend.

Happy Fall, All!

We have a climber...

...a crib climber, that is!

This morning when I heard Ryan calling me from his crib, "Mommy, up" and "Up Mommy" I opened his bedroom door to find him laying in the middle of his blankets and R6 (his new teddy bear from Build-A-Bear) smiling away at me. He quickly jumped up and our conversation went something like this...

Ryan: Shower?

Me: Yes. I just took a shower. Did you hear the shower?

Ryan: Yes! Shower!

Me: *smiling at my sweet "baby" boy!

Ryan: Out?

And then what I hoped to never see him do because after all he is still my baby, right? He CLIMBED over the side of the crib and landed on his two feet on the floor!! He looked up at me and just smiled and then said, "Mommy, up!"

So, unfortunately for me, because I am not quite ready for my Ryan to be a big boy yet, we will be removing the front railing of the crib tonight and replacing it with the guard/toddler bed rail instead. Hopefully Ryan will understand that he is not to get up out of bed unless we come in to get him up - otherwise I'm afraid we'll hear him on the floor of his room playing with his monster trucks after bed time!

Welcome Baby Natalie

On Friday my sister and brother-in-law welcomed their first child, Natalie Faye, into the world! The whole family was there waiting for the word from Daddy David that Natalie arrived - it was 12:28 p.m. on 10/9/09, she weighs 7lbs 10oz and is 20 1/2 inches long! Mommy and Natalie were both recovering well.


I finally got my hands on her --- isn't she a cutie! Here's our first picture together; Auntie Patty and Natalie.

And of course we had to get a bow on her right away!


Here's a photo of Ryan holding his cousin - look at all that dark hair Natalie has (and what happened to my little baby? Ryan looks so grown up in this picture!).

We spent the weekend at the coast so we could check in on the new family as often as possible. We spent some time with Kevin and Shannah at their place, eating dinner, watching football and enjoying Ryan being his usual talkative, playful self.


Here's a picture taken while we walked the pier in Pismo with Grammy and Papa. Papa bought Ryan a seashell so he could "hear the ocean"! Ryan was intently listening to "the ocean" through that seashell!

We had a fun weekend with family and look forward to catching up with them all again soon to love on Natalie and see how much she changes in her first few weeks home!

Congratulations Michelle and David on a healthy, beautiful baby girl!

A Journey 4 Hope Auction

My friend, Tamara Buitenwerf, and her family are hosting an online auction on their blog, A Journey 4 Hope Auction. The auction will be up until October 23, 2009. Please visit their blog, read their story, check out the auction items and bid on an item (or 2, or 3) if you find something you like! Thank you in advance for helping them out!

A Journey 4 Hope Auction

The Picture Post

I've been lacking in posting pictures lately. Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks around here.

Here's the birthday boy on his birthday. He doesn't look happy here but I promise he was having a blast swimming with Addy!



The monster truck cake!



Opening presents ---



And playing with them as he went along ---


The big finale gift --- thank you G.G. for the new bike!


Wearing Uncle Kevin's cowboy hat and acting goofy for everyone ---


Giving Baby Natalie kisses! Next time we see Auntie 'Chell and Uncle David, it will be Natalie's birthday!


Papa and Ryan sharing a lollipop!



We had a busy and fun weekend. Now time for laundry and getting ready for the busy work week ahead.

Dear Bob & Jillian...

After watching last night's episode of The Biggest Loser, this is the letter I would like to write to The Biggest Loser team trainers:

Dear Jillian & Bob,

I am a faithful watcher of The Biggest Loser and have been for the past several seasons. Although I am glued to the television each Tuesday night to tune in to how well the contestants are progressing along their weight loss journey - I must admit that I am not excited about the joint effort in training all the contestants together this year. I guess I liked the competition side of things between the two of you better. I do appreciate the contestants working together towards their common goal and I suppose that is what truly matters.

The reason for my letter is to ask you a question: Why? Why the black leather jackets on weigh in nights? And if you must wear them, Bob, can you wear one that doesn't look like it should be worn by a girl walking the halls of the local high school? I mean, let's face it, this season was most-likely taped during the summer months in sunny Southern California, it can't be cold enough for a leather jacket. The poor contestants are standing next to you wearing nothing but spandex shorts (and sports bras for the women)! I'm just sayin'...

On a lighter note, way to go BL Contestants for surpassing your 150 pound weight loss goal on last night's episode!

Sincerely,

Biggest Loser fan but not a fan of the leather jackets!

Ryan's 2nd Birthday! Video by Brandi

Ryan's 2nd Birthday! Video by brandi - MySpace Video

Shared via AddThis

HAVING FUN IN THE POOL WITH ADDY!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ryan

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday dear Ryan...

Happy Birthday to you!

I had read somewhere a long time ago about a good way to "journal" your child's favorite things throughout the years. I'm going to start this with Ryan this year and continue on until he is too embarrassed to answer my silly questions! I will make a binder to add a page each year on Ryan's birthday but I'm also going to post Ryan's answers here for you all to read. The "interview" went a little something like this:

Mommy: Happy Birthday Ryan! How old are you?

Ryan: Two! (holding up his right hand instead of 2 fingers!)

Mommy: Ryan, what kind of birthday party are you going to have this year?

Ryan: Monster trucks!

Mommy: Ryan, what's your favorite color?

Ryan: number

Mommy: No, what's your favorite color?
Ryan: blue!

Mommy: Ryan, what's your favorite number?
Ryan: Six!

Mommy: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Ryan: Barney grow up.

Mommy: Who's your best friend?

Ryan: Mommy best friend!

Mommy: And who else?
Ryan: Daddy best friend!

So there you have it, Ryan's birthday interview on his 2nd birthday. :)

Happy birthday, little man. Mommy and Daddy love you so much! You're growing and changing every day, never missing a beat along the way. You're talking from the minute you wake up in the mornings until the minute the lights go out at night. You're such a joy to have in our lives and we hope all your dreams come true, even if you want to be Barney when you grow up! Love you!!

Is That Really Possible?

Is it really possible that tomorrow my little munchkin will be 2!?!? Where oh where has the time gone? I feel like it was just yesterday I was frustrated not knowing my true due date and being taken off work a month early due to stress, high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. Having to really watch my food intake and check my blood sugar 3 times a day. Those are great memories. But what's better is having my little companion, my cute little cuddly boy who has given me more great memories in the last 2 years than I ever could have imagined.

One quick story: Last night Ryan came running in the living room and jumped up on the couch with me, laid in my lap and just giggled. I held him tight, rocking him and told him that this is what I used to do when he was just a little baby and he laughed! I rocked him and pretended to burp him and he thought that was so funny!

Tonight we go birthday party shopping. Tomorrow we party!

Recipe for Confidence

• Choosing a top that you're not so sure is work-appropriate.
• Throwing on a cami underneath the top you're not so sure about and deciding it's a "go"!
• Going in to wake up my (almost) 2 year old, realizing he's wet the bed, picking him up out of the bed and having him say, "Mommy pretty" while pointing to my top that I previously was not so sure about!!

Needless to say, he made me feel good about my wardrobe choice today and my co-workers even commented on the top too! Apparently there is no reason to second guess my work attire. Ha!

Haven't posted much lately and that's only because I haven't got much to say! Nothing new going on around here. We're planning for Ryan's 2nd birthday party next weekend but that's about it. I suppose I'll be back with more pictures soon.

OH - a quick shout-out to Tammy!! Tammy, I went to the Madera District Fair last night with some girlfriends to see Gary Allan! It totally brought back memories of the year my parents bought me tickets to see Gary Allan, Shelley Wright and Mark Chestnut at the Hanford Fox Theater for my birthday and I took Jessie with me to the concert. Can you believe that was 10 years ago!?!? Two words to sum up the Gary Allan concert last night: Handsome; Perfection!

cry, cry Baby!

Last night my in-laws offered to keep Ryan for the evening and take him along to run some errands and have dinner. I was excited for the little break in my day between working 8 hours and doing the nightly routine at home! I opted to skip the gym last night so I could go home to (catch up on As The World Turns and lay on the couch) make dinner, put away some laundry, clean the kitchen and relax. When Nanny and Papi brought Ryan home at 9:00ish last night, Nanny walked Ryan up to the door and I could immediately hear crying. NOT crying because he couldn't wait to get in the door to see Jake and I - crying because he DID NOT want to come home! I tried calming him down explaining that Nanny and Papi needed to get home and go to bed too and that he would see Nanny first thing in the morning but he was having no part of that explanation! I told Ryan he was hurting Mommy's feelings and that I was so glad he was finally home but again he was having no part of my reasoning! We finally told Ryan to wave bye-bye and took him in the house where he proceeded to cry and throw a fit.

While out and about with Nanny and Papi, Ryan got some cool little plastic dinosaur toys. One of said toys makes noise like a dinosaur when you press the button on its belly. I was able to get a smile and a few laughs out of Ryan when he tried scaring me with the dinosaur sounds! We shared a few laughs and colored a little with his new colored pencils before I changed his clothes and put him down for the night.

I only got to spend about 20 minutes with Ryan last night but it was probably the longest 20 minutes of my day! I love this kid more than life itself - but he can throw quite a fit when he's not getting what he wants and obviously the last thing he wanted yesterday was to come home and spend some time with his Mommy who missed him dearly for the 4 hours he was gone!

Yum-O!

Thanks to Rachael Ray, we had a delicious dinner tonight!


We had Honey-Mustard Pork Chops with The Works Baked Potatoes.
This is the sour cream, bacon and shredded cheddar cheese waiting for the baked potatoes to be done...then I scooped out the potatoes and added it to this mixture before adding it all back to the potatoes...so good!


And here's the finished product (that Pepsi is Jake's!). Thanks Rachael Ray for making recipes so easy even I can follow them!


Hope everyone had a great weekend.

No Soda and a Gym Membership

I just realized that it has been 2 whole months since I last drank a soda! Woo-hoo! I've had a few sips (maybe 3 total) since I gave them up but it has not been as hard as I thought it would be to quit drinking them.

Also...

I rejoined the gym! Myself and my co-workers are now all signed up with new gym memberships and are going to help one another stay motivated to going to the gym at least 3 days a week. We are all very busy gals and have families to go home and take care of in the evenings so devoting an hour or so for 3 nights a week is going to be a good start for us.

It's like a mid-year resolution!