November 1st....Thankfulness

I feel like I am a pretty thankful person, but I know I could do a better job of it...especially of expressing it. So, for November I will blog each day (that is my plan) about what I am thankful for!  It is GREAT seeing people on FB updating their statuses with THANKFUL things!  

So, day 1.....

I am thankful for my amazing family and my wonderful friends.  

I am blessed beyond belief with an AWESOME husband and my girls can make any bad day all better. I am super blessed with my family, those near and far!!   I am so grateful for my friends too!  I have some of the BEST friends ever!  I am also so thankful for FB, it allows me to keep up with friends who don't live as close as I would like.  

I hope you all had a wonderful day!!!  Happy November and find something to be thankful for each day!!!  :)

New Plan!!!!

Okay....November 1st is tomorrow!!!  I can't even believe it!  Things are slightly calming down in my life, and that makes me happy.  :)

Starting tomorrow I have a few plans (in no particular order)...

1. Eat a piece of fruit a day!  (I have got to be better at this!!!)

2. Exercise more!!  (I haven't done near as good as I used to!!!)

3. Spend more quality time with my family!!

4. Try some of the new recipes and crafts I have found on Pinterest.  (There are soooo many I love)

5.  Find something to be thankful for each day!!

I hope you had a fabulous Halloween!!!

Seasons Change......

I LOVE summer.  I mean, I am off work in the summer, there is lots of swim time, I get to stay home with my girls, stay up late, sleep in late, wear flip flops.  Life is good!!!  But, I am always glad when fall comes around.  It is an AWESOME time of year!!!

Now, for me, I feel fall really starts in October.  Yesterday, October 1st, was a perfect fall day.  Temperatures started in the low 50s and ended up in the mid 70s.  I had hot cocoa in the morning and had my windows open in the afternoon and evening! 

The last 3 months of the year have some of my favorite things in them.  Now, before we get too far into my favorite things, let me point out I am not a fan of the cold, like bitter cold.  I love some of the events that occur in that time period, but I don't like freezing cold weather. 

Now, back to things that make me super happy about this time of year.

1. Soccer season....I just love watching my girls play!!

2. Football season...I love watching games (on TV and at the fields).  I love, when going to High School games, visiting with friends, watching my girls stare in awe of the cheerleaders, drill team, and band, and this year the Homecoming Court!!!

Allie in the Homecoming Parade

Autumn in the parade!

Autumn and Queen Carly

Autumn and I with Taylor.

Allie, well, Allie enjoyed the game!  :)

3. Warm foods...I know we eat warm foods all year, but soup and chili on a cool day is perfect!!!


4. Friends....I love the time you can spend outside, inside, at a get together, going out to eat, or even shopping!!


5. Having the windows open...I love letting the nice fall breeze inside!!


6. Cooking....I love making sweet treats, cookies, cakes, and other fun things this time of year.  


7. The holidays.....Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas....there are soooo many things I love about them!!!


8. Hallmark and Holiday movies.....they are PERFECT on a Saturday or Sunday!!!  

Enjoy the end of 2011, it will go by so fast, but there are sooo many reasons to go out and enjoy it!!!  

Priorities....

So, today was the BIG game....Arkansas v. Alabama!  The spot to be at 2:30 this afternoon was in front of the television!!!  We, however, were on the soccer fields!  Autumn had soccer games today...yep...games, today was her double-header!  Her first game was 2:20 and her second game was at 3:15.  For a couple weeks we knew this was coming.  We made all of the preparations....got the DVR ready, wore our Hogs attire to the game, informed people NOT to call us, refused to check FB, or any site that would give us info.

Today at 2:20 we were on the soccer fields along with quite a few other Hog fans.  When the game started, I never even thought about the Hogs (okay...that isn't true, I thought about them occasionally, but usually only when someone tried to talk about the game).  Autumn scored 2 goals today.  I was such a proud mom!  They tied both of their games.  Their first game the final score was 3-3.  Their second game was scoreless.  It was awesome because my mom even got to see Autumn score her goals!!  Mark and I both agreed we LOVED being out at the fields today.

The truth is, I LOVE being out on the soccer fields.  I LOVE watching my girls play.  I am always so proud of them!  I LOVE being with my friends.  We are lucky enough to have some of the BEST kids on our team and some of their moms are some of my favorite people.  The weather was PERFECT today.  It was a GREAT afternoon!  Now, when we did get home, we watched the Hogs lose from start to finish, and were proud to cheer for the Hogs (when they gave us something to cheer about).  But, the highlight of my day occurred on the soccer fields....with my family and friends.  It was a GREAT day!

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!

Complete Randomness.....

It is a cool and dreary Saturday morning and the truth is, I am glad.  It has been a busy week and the fact I don't feel the need to be outside enjoying the fresh air is okay with me (for the moment).  I am happy to be laying on the couch under a blanket thinking about the events of this past week.

Allie had her first soccer game this week.  It was a double-header.  In between the 2 games, she lost her first tooth.  We were so excited!  It had been loose for a while and we had been trying to get it....naturally, it came when it was time.  I was soooo excited for her and so glad I was there for it.  Autumn's first soccer game is today.  I can't wait to watch her play.  There is nothing more important to me than the things my girls are involved in.  I LOVE being there cheering them on!

Yesterday was a good day.  It started with a nice breakfast with Mark from Chick Fil A (you know I loved that), dinner at Larry's Pizza, and family movie night with Thor!!!  It was a great night to just "be."  As silly as it is, one of my favorite things about Larry's is the fact that the girls can go play games and Mark and I just talk...it's almost like  a mini date night.  :)  Thor was a good movie and we even enjoyed some hot chocolate during it.

On a sadder note, I seem to be knowing a lot of people who have been losing loved ones.  My heart has been hurting for all of them.  Last night a sweet 8 year old girl (that I have been following the story of) became the newest angel in heaven.  She had been battling cancer and her fight is now over.  When it comes to cancer, I hate saying someone lost their battle....it gives the cancer too much power in my opinion.  This girl, Morgan Anderson, was a fighter and she has touched more lives than she could ever realize.  I can imagine no greater pain as a mom than losing a child.  Yet, knowing the fight that kids can put up and the faith and strength they show, I can imagine no greater pride as a mom either than knowing your child fought the best they could.  Watching the Glen Rose school district come together has been inspiring.  It has also taken me back to my journey with Miryah.  The pain, the pride, the strength, the anger, the loss, the love.

I was reminded recently reminded by my friend, Jill (through her blog), that my first job is being a mom.  I take no greater pride in anything than my job as a mom.  I will cheer loudly at every soccer game and hold them as much as they will let me.  Though my girls will make me crazy, cause me stress, and have me wanting more sleep.....this is the life I have always wanted and never want to be without.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Hug the ones you love.  :)

Can we do this again, PLEASE?!?! :)

Let me start this blog by saying that I LOVE my girls.  I ADORE my girls.  I would do ANYTHING for my girls.  That being said, I have loved this weekend and my girls are with my mom.  Is that terrible to say? I don't think so.  There are few things I have realized this weekend,

1. I LOVE my husband.  I have realized how much I just enjoy being with him.  We have had a great time.  He went jean shopping with me (and convinced me to buy 2 pairs!!!), we watched football (Go HOGS!), we did our Wal-Mart shopping, we were just together...and I LOVED it.

This is not from this weekend, I just love this pic of us!  :)

2. I was tired.  I slept 12 hours last night and had taken a nap yesterday afternoon.  I knew I was worn down, lots of emotional things had ended recently, school had started, soccer has started, just normal crazy life...but I had no idea how tired I actually was!  Sleep was SOOOO needed!

3. I love food.  I always love food....but I ate whatever I wanted (or what Mark and I wanted) and didn't worry about making sure the girls were happy too.....or forcing them to eat what we may have been eating.  For some reason....I ate a LOT of food this weekend.

Mark and I have had time to ourselves before, we are blessed with people in our lives who are willing to take the girls whenever we need them to.  But, this weekend was different....we didn't have anything we NEEDED to do.  We were just at home.  It was soooo nice.  We still have the rest of tonight and some time in the morning......it has been perfect.  Thank you, Mom!  :)

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Just a couple of side notes...not sure what to call these, but things that have been on my mind that I just wanted to share...

1.  Do things that make you happy....buy things that make you happy....I'm not saying to go into debt...but be happy....this is your life and you should enjoy it.

2. So often it is easy to complain or be negative.  Think about the things you talk about during the day, are they positive or negative?  Try to find more positive things to talk about than negative.  Now, believe me I know we all have negative days, but I truly believe we can be happier people if we focus on the positive and don't dwell on the negative.

3. Take time to be with your spouse.  Kids are a blessing, but make sure you focus on the person you have chosen to spend the rest of your life with.....fall in love again and let them know how important they are to you.

I'm more in love with Mark today than when we first got married!  :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  I am planning on it!

My Allie-bug :)

I think once you have a child and start considering having another one, you wonder if you can possibly love that child as much as the first.  I always knew I wanted 2 kids.  I had assumed I would have a girl and a boy (basically because that is how it was in my family) and Mark always assumed he would have 2 boys (because that is how it was in his family).  When we had Autumn I was soooo excited!!!  When pregnancy number 2 came along I was sooooo excited!!!  However, I wondered can I possibly love this new baby as much as I do my first, Autumn?

Allie's pregnancy was very similar to Autumn's.  I was sick A LOT!!!  I only threw up for the first 5 months with Allie though.  :)  I gained right about 24lbs. with her.  Her due date was September 17th.  I had just started a new job in August and figured I would be able to get through the first 4-6 weeks of school before I had her.  WRONG!!!  Allie was early.  I taught all day, that Friday.  I had lots of pains..but just assumed they were Braxton hicks contractions.  When I got home that night, Mark was going to take Autumn to Russellville to meet my mom so she could keep her for the weekend and Mark and I could have a final weekend alone.  Such a great IDEA!  By the time he got to Russellville I could barely stand up....the pain wasn't awful...but it was tough.  He didn't eat with my mom, like planned, when he dropped her off, but came straight back.  I told him I was fine and again assumed this was a false alarm.  In fact, I told him to stop and get dinner before coming home because I knew he was hungry. He got back from dropping Autumn off around 7:30 and we left for the hospital around 8...at that point my contractions were about 5 minutes apart, but I knew they would send me home, I was wrong.  Allie Paige was born at 10:51 that night.  I received my epidural around 9 and was pain free from that point on.  :)  Allie was 6lbs. 2oz. and was 19 inches long.  She was PERFECT and I immediately knew, I could definitely love a new baby as much as I did my first.

Allie has continued to bless us each day.  Her creativity, spunk, and determination keep us on our toes and in fits of laughter.  I am soooo blessed to have the sweet child in my life and I could not love her more.

My sweet girl celebrates her 6th birthday tomorrow (Sept. 2nd) and I only wish for her all of the happiness and love in the world.....she has definitely made my world a better place!

Have a wonderful night....:)