My Baptism

Last night was the night. The night I was Baptized. And I have to say that it felt great. And the more and more I think about it, I thank my mom and dad. Why do I thank them? I thank them because they let it be MY decision. Not THEIR decision. They didn't baptize me when I was a baby. The decision was left up to me. And I feel that it has more significance in MY life because it was MY decision. Unlike some other faiths, we as Christians get baptized after salvation. And you have to understand what salvation is and means. And as babies we just don't understand that quite yet. Obviously there were no babies at my baptism. We believe in full immersion (under the water). But there were people of all ages. And I loved that. There were kids who were 6 and 7 years old. Adults who were in their 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's and even 60's. I just relished the fact that in all these generations of people, all these people were coming to be baptized. Everyone was there out of love. Everyone had a different story. But we all had the same story. We all love Jesus and want to have that personal relationship with Him. And that's what it is all about. Our relationship with Him.

Sunday, June 29, 2008. It was a special day!

Check out my baptism here http://www.fbcw.org/media/mediacenter/ondemand.html?detail&id=363

Just Being Real!

This post is all about me. My faith. Lack of my faith. My spiritual journey. Being real. Getting real. My heart. Here it is.

My life changed on Father's Day. June 15, 2008! First, let me give you some background on my faith. I was raised loving God. I have always had a heart for God. Somewhere along the way, I lost that love. Why? I don't know. What I do know is that I wanted to change it. I have wanted to change that for a long time. While living in Vegas, we attended church. While living in Fresno, we attended church more actively. Getting our girls dedicated. I was involved with some MOM groups and even volunteered in different areas in the church. I really enjoyed Northside Christian Church in Clovis. Great people. A great church. But there was something missing in my heart. And after years and years of self exploration, I knew what it was. Jesus!

(Here is the email I sent to my family and close friends):

I want to share something with you that i have wanted to do for a long time and finally made the decision to do. on june 15 (father's day) i publicy and officially asked Jesus into my heart (in front of thousands of people. our church is quite large!). i feel that i have done this before as a child and maybe even as a teen, however, i wanted to remember this special event in my life and KNOW that june 15, 2008 was the day that i was saved! i was the girl at the very top of the balcony with sweaty palms and tears running down my cheeks and as the invitation song played to come forward, i did. and i'm so glad i did. i can't tell you how many times i have been wanting to do this. i made up every excuse in the book. this time there were no excuses. God was calling me and i couldn't resist Him any longer. so i began my journey down to ask Jesus into my heart. so even though it was on father's day, this will be a day that i will forever celebrate. the next step in my spiritual journey is being baptized . i will be baptized this sunday at the 6pm church service. being so far away from my dear family and friends during these special times in my life is hard. but i find comfort in your love and just knowing you are there in my heart. if you want to view the baptism live (sunday at 6pm EST. 3pm PST) you can. just go to http://www.fbcw.org/ and find the link to that particular day and service (look for podcasts/webcasts links). if you can't view it live, check back a few days later on the website to view it. this will be an amazing day for me and i appreciate all your love, support and prayers. i'm ready for this. my heart is in the right place.

For all of you who might be in a similar place as me, one thing I want to say to you, is don't feel embarassed. Don't be ashamed. Just be you! Show your heart. Feel your heart. And listen to your heart. You will know when it's right. Whether you are 11 or 31 (like me!) or 61, it doesn't matter. I know many people who might have asked Jesus into their hearts as children but want to REALLY ask Him into their hearts or KNOW for sure as adults and there is nothing wrong with that. So if you are that girl at the top of the balcony like me or the girl in the front row not sure where you stand with God, please go to Him. Go and talk to Him. Your life will be forever changed. And you will be so grateful. So very grateful. I am.

Just Like You!

This morning as I was brushing my girls goldie locks, I got to one of her many knots and she yelped, " ouchyyyyyyyyyy." I said, "I'm sorry baby. I'm just trying to get the knots out of your hair. And then she said, "That's okay mommy. I just want to be pretty. Like you." Oh my goodness did she melt my heart in that moment. I hope she knows how pretty she is no matter how many "knots" she might have!

We heart Georgia pines

One thing we love about Georgia is those tall Georgia pines. They are beautiful and green, green, green. My girls love the pinecones too. Collecting them has been a favorite. We have many "nature trails" in our subdivision and we hope to go down to one this weekend to see some fireflies. I guess the true "southerners" call them lighting bugs. What do you call them?

I Heart Daddy!

We had a fun day celebrating "Daddy." We went to church (I have another post about this. Later) and had a lovely morning. The girls wore jean skirts and t-shirts that read "I Heart Daddy." They looked super cute and we hope we made him feel very special on HIS day. We went to lunch at one of our favorite after-church spots where they have TVS in EVERY booth in the restaurant. Very cool with the kiddos. Later that day, he went golfing with his buddies. A must have when you are a golfer and on Father's day. How did you celebrate the Daddy in your life?

This one is for you Uncle Jon!

One thing about my girl is that she treasures her gifts from Uncle Jon. He has sent her two ARMY tee's and she just loves them. The other day when I told her to go and get dressed, this is what she came down wearing. I couldn't resist just letting her wear this outfit. Even though it doesn't match perfectly, it reminds her of her Uncle. And I love that. And even though he is in the good 'ole OK (Oklahoma), everytime she wears this shirt she tells everyone she knows who got her this shirt. Her Uncle Jon. And even though Uncle Jon will soon be deployed to Iraq defending my girls freedom, she loves him just like she saw him yesterday. And that is what matters most.

Damage Control

The title should speak for itself. As I was taking my shower this morning, my girl comes to me and yells through the shower door...."Mommy, Sissy has damage." Yes, she said "damage." I laughed. Anytime Sissy has a "poopy diaper" and my hubby is around, he always calls it "damage." I just have never heard my girl call it "damage." Should of known that someone is ALWAYS listening. Those little ears. Those little ears.

Here's to a damage-free day. Well, maybe we want SOME damage because we all know how the little ones get if they have NO damage.

"Mommy. Mommy. I have something to tell you."

As many of you know, my girl is a talker. She loves to talk to anybody and anybody is literally her friend. This morning at breakfast she is "chatty kathy " as usual and asking 101 questions. Why this and why that and I want to do that and this and that and this. Then she says, "Mommy. Mommy. (trying to get my attention) I have something to tell you." I say, "Yes, baby." She says, "Do you know that I love you?" I say, "I know you do and I love you too." Then she says, "...but, but, but Mommy. Do you know HOW much I love you? I need you to know. I just love you." I think to myself, "she is listening." These are the words I speak to her daily and now she is forming those words to show her love to me. I love it. While she is talking A LOT. She is listening too. And I'm so glad.

Here's to a happy day!

Have you Heard?

Bulldogs vs. Bulldogs????
How cool is that!!! Fresno State (where we moved from) vs. Georgia (where we live now). It's going to be a battle of 'da dogs!!! Fun, Fun!

A Broken Shoe and a Grumpy Dry Cleaner,etc.,etc., etc.

Let me tell you about my day. It was been quite an ordeal and it's only begun.

1.) Sissy still woke up sick this morning. Wants nothing to do with me. Only wants "Daddddddddddddddddddddddddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" And is letting everyone in the
neighborhood know it.

2.) Walking into Walmart my shoe (a pair of thongs) broke. YES. What timing. So my options:
Go into the store and buy some new ones OR Go home and change shoes (If you know me, this wans't happening. Once we are gone. We are gone. Too much work getting two kids in and out of the carseats and all the drama in between) OR Continue walking into Walmart and do shopping with a broken thong. Drum roll please..................... I chose the last one. Why? I have no idea. Maybe because I'm crazy and I like to make everything I do difficult. I don't need another pair of thongs. Even when they are only $2.00. I don't want them in my closet. I like my ROXY thongs. Thank you very much. I know, I know. I'm a thong snob! :)

3.) The dry cleaner lady. WOW. First thing- Everyone I have met in Georgia has been nothing but nice, warm and welcoming. Not the dry cleaner lady. And I have used this place since we have moved here. She has been rude a couple of times and I just thought "maybe she is having a bad day" or is hating her job as the "dry cleaning lady." Well, today proved that she is just a disgruntled I-hate-my-life person. This place is right by our house and has a drive-thru. Key when you have kids. Today as I drive up, I give her my ticket. She brings out the clothes and I give her my debit card. She looks in the back seat and says "oh, there are babies back there." And I say "yeah, can you just put them right here (motioning to the passenger side where she can hang them." As she is walking over there she says, ".....that was rude to ask me to hang them there!" Ok, so my first thought is, "well, this is kind of your job and that is rude to even make a comment." I picked up about 19 pieces of clothing (my man's stuff, which is heavier than womans stuff) and there is no way for me to hold that stuff and hang it up on the passenger side of the car.....unless I get out of the car. So anyways, I wasn't going to just "let go" (which I probably should have) of her comment and I said something like," we just moved here and I'm sorry but I was just used to having the girl hang them wherever there was space and they were a bit heavy to lift while sitting in the car." And she said, "yeah they are heavy to walk to the car." Are you kidding me.....This is YOUR job and I'm paying YOU for YOUR service. So to say the least, I will be happily finding me a new dry cleaning lady. And I'm sure all my neighbors and friends will be finding a new one too! :)

4.) Sissy's short nap. Enough said about this one. You all know what kind of night I am in for.

5.) My husband forgetting to hook up the DVD player in the family room. I rented Bucket List from the $1.oo rentals and want to watch it. Sure we have a DVD player in the playroom, but sitting in the girls pink (child size) chairs, doesn't sound so comfy to me.

6.) My beloved MAC studio fix is a shade too dark. Looked great at Nordstroms, not so great in my bathroom.

Pink and Perfect!

My girl just loves taking pictures. And one thing she likes the best is taking pictures of her feet. And another thing she she just loves is the color PINK. Her toes cannot be red or blue or mauve. They have to be PINK. And I love that!

Sick of Being Sick

My girls have been more sick in the last few weeks than they were all last year-probably! Last week they had high fevers. This week they have high fevers and all the other cold sypmtoms too. So they have been grumpy. Not sleeping like hey normally do and just getting antsy as we have had to be home a lot these past few days. Between the chuch nursery and the daycare at the gym, I think they have been catching every little cold out there. Yuck! Even chocolate chip cookies and candy won't do. That's when I know they are sick! Here's to a germ-free week. I sure hope so!

Out on the town

I just love exploring the city in which we live. And we are LOVIN' it!! We went to the "Imagine It"- Children's Museum. The kids had a great time. They painted. They fished for some "fake fishies." They molded with moon sand. Played with the trains. Well, kind of. The boys could of played with the trains for hours while my girls played with them for a whole two minutes. Not their thing. They wanted to be crafty and check out the painting and sand making places. My kind of girls. They had a clown show. My girl was "the chosen one" to come up and stand with the clowns up on the pedestal for the last "show tune." Check out her face. She was in heaven that she got picked, but terrified at the same time. Funny thing is, the clowns asked the kids at the beginning of the show to raise their hands if they wanted to be part of the parade. Many kids raised their hands as my girl did too. She wasn't picked. :( That didn't stop her, she jumped right up with the other "picked" kids and participated in the parade like she was "picked." I laughed. It was pretty funny. Being an innocent three year old is just so sweet and endearing to watch. Check out this place if live in the ATL or visiting. We had a lot of fun!

BFF. Part 2.

My girl loving on her Sissy after naptime. I just love when I catch them in these sweet little moments (because you never know when it will change!). And if you are wondering. Yes, Sissy's mattres is on the floor. No "real" bed here. That's a story in itself. I will you give you the short version. Sissy slept in her crib until she was about 2 yrs and 2 mos old. Was she climing out? Yes she was. But since we were making this big move from Cali to Ga. I didn't want to take everything familiar away from her. So we brought her crib to Ga and she continued to sleep and climb out of it. Finally after being here for a month I decided to buy a toddler bed for MY GIRL. She didn't like it. Cried in fact. So I moved it to Sissy's room and she didn't like it either. So.....I just decided to get rid of it and have her sleep on her mattress on the floor. Now everyone is content. Eventually I want the girls to share a room and get bunk beds, but I cannot trust Sissy for one minute around stairs, let alone a bunk bed. She would be climbing and jumping all night. So until we are ready, we will all be contently sleeping in our beds. And Sissy on the floor.

Best Friends Forever

Having my girls 15 months apart has been a tough job. I'm not going to lie. But when I see moments like this, I'm so happy that they will always have a special bond that only sisters can describe. BFF......:)

Making B-Friends. Part 1.

My girl loves making friends. Usually it's the girls she runs over to and asks to be her friend. She is the girl who loves to hold hands. She is outgoing. And I think she will be a loyal friend. And she loves having friends. People she doesn't even know are her friends. People she meets once are her friends. You get the picture. The other day we went to the pool and I turn around to look for her and I see this. I have to say that my girl has good taste though. Besides being a super cute blonde boy, this boy was NICE. He wasn't running around like a crazy boy or shooting my girl with his squirt gun. He was actually showing her how to use his squirt gun. And at one point he actually gave my girl HIS squirt gun. Oh-so-nice! And he was gentle and kind. No pushing and yelling Spider-Man kind-of-stuff involved. I just sat back and watched all this unfold. She still talks about "her boy" today. I hope "her boy" will always be a boy mama approves of!

My Girl. My Photographer.

My girl loves taking pictures. And yes, I have let her use my camera. Not my SLR Canon camera, but my other small-fits-in-my-purse Canon camera. My girl loves taking pictures of me, the TV, her pink painted toes and her babies. This one she took while waking up Sissy from her nap.

Baby, Oh Baby!

My girl is SO into feeding her babies (breast feeding that is). She has seen me do it with her sissy. Although I'm not sure she remembers it as she was only 15 months when Sissy was born. She has seen her Auntie feed her cousin and she has seen many of my friends feeding their babies too. But most of all, I just think she is a girl and a little mama in the making. She is very girly and has always loved playing and mothering her babies.

Checking out the town....

.....my little ladies had a little too much of "checking out the town" and were pooped out and decided to take a nap. One thing about them is that they have schedules and when they get "off" their schedules they usually get grumpy or decide to take things into their own hands and do this! Matt and I actually got a little "talk time" in when they were napping. There was no fighting over which movie was going to be watched (Strawberry Shortcake or Care Bears??!!), passing of sippy cups and snacks, screaming at the dirt on the window because they thought it was a spider.....the list goes on and on. We checked out where we live and are loving it!

We went PODS style this time around!

For all of you who know us, we have moved way too many times in the past few years. Here is the run down: (all within the last 5 years)

1.) Cali to Vegas 2.) Vegas to Matt's Mom's House 3.) MMH to Fresno 4.) Fresno to new home in Fresno 5.) Fresno to MMH (again) 6.) MMH to new home Clovis 7.) Clovis to my mom's house in SR 8.) My Moms House to Windsor 9.) Windsor to MMH 10.) MMH to Georgia

WOW. That is 10 homes (and moves) in the past five years. That is crazy. We also did some of this with babies and being pregnant. I wouldn't have it any other way though. Through all of these moves we have grown and have made some great memories along the way. With all that said, I hope Georgia will be our new home!

Making our way.....

Just a picture from Matt's drive from Cali to Georgia. He made the drive in about three days. The girls and I and my mom will be flying out and our other car will be shipped to good 'ole Georgia.