These are the moments we cherish

This picture pretty much says it all...Olivia is such a good big sister to Gabe. They're really getting along very well and I love this (& every) stage. She'll tell me what Gabers is saying, even though he only really says, "Hi" "Dadda" and laughs/giggles. Gabe is changing every day, he's starting to try to walk (not quite there yet, but is taking small steps). He's also eating real food and cutting down on formula! Woo hoo! Miss O is now potty trained! HAPPY DAY! That's pretty much my update on the kids for the moment. I am sure there are many more beautiful moments to come...Peace my friends.

Olivia being a good big sister to Gabe.

Fresh Starts

New beginnings can be blessings in disguise, depending upon how we look at them. I have faith that through Christ Jesus, we are able to make it, no matter what the situation (big or small).

Changes occur all the time in this world & I'm always weary at first of these changes, almost to the extreme nervous side. Once the change has happened, I'm usually just fine.

There's lots going on in my life right now, although not necessarily negative at all. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

Vacay away

Dan & I have been on a vacation with just the two of us since Saturday. We dropped the kids off at my mom & dad's house in Mooresville & went on our way.

This vacation has been very relaxing & just what Dan & I needed. We've had lots of alone time. We have gone to the Smokey Mountain National Park quite a bit, hiked, people watched in Gatlinburg (crazy nuts), chilled in the hot tub, relaxed in the cabin...did I say relaxed?! That's what we've been doing & I'm enjoying every second...but I miss my kids more than ever!

I know they're in good hands, so that's not the problem. I really appreciate my parents for giving Dan & I this wonderful opportunity to get away to the Cozy Nest. I just miss my "family" as a whole, but know that by Dan & I taking this time for each other, we are better parents to Olivia and Gabe, right ;)

I'm still thinking that we might come back early...we'll see.

Night night!

Empty Me

Empty Me-Chris Sligh

I've had just enough of the spotlight
When it burns bright
To see how it gets in the blood
And I've tasted my share
Of the sweet life
And the wild ride
And found a little is not quite enough

I know how i can stray
And how fast my heart could change

Empty me
Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me
So i can be
Filled with you

Ive seen just enough of the quick buys
Of the best lies
To know how prodigals can be drawn away

I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change
Empty me
Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me
So I can be
Filled with you

Cuz everything is a lesser thing
Compared to you
Compared to you
Cuz everything is a lesser thing
Compared to you
So I surrender all

Empty me
Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride

Empty me
Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me
So I can be
Lord empty me of me
So I can be
Filled with you.
Filled with you
Empty me

Enough

Lately i feel like nothing that i do is good enough for a certain someone, no matter what. It makes me very sad but I keep telling myself that God is not disappointed in me. I live to serve HIM.
Here's a song by Barlow Girl that I just love!

All of You is more than enough for
All of me for every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You
Is more than enough

You are my supply
My breath of life
Still more awesome than I know
You are my reward
Worth living for
Still more awesome than I know

All of You is more than enough for
All of me for every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You
Is more than enough
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/barlow_girl/enough.html ]
You're my sacrifice of greatest price
Still more awesome than I know
You're my coming King You're everything
Still more awesome than I know

All of You is more than enough for
All of me for every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You

All of You is more than enough for
All of me for every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You
Is more than enough

You're enough
You're enough
You're enough
For me

(Repeat 9 X's)

Goodbye May, Hello June!

It's been a little while since I blogged last, so I thought I'd give everyone a recent post.

May in a nutshell: hail a lotta rain!

It basically rained all but 6 days here this month. There have been lots if thunderstorms, thus waking Olivia up at night. However, we have been very fortunate to not have been hit by any terrible tornados.

I received a beautiful butterfly rain gauge for Mother's Day and Olivia loves to go check on it. It's neat teaching your children little nature-related things.

I had a fun surprise 30th Bday party for Dan at Buffalo Wings & Ribs. The best part was seeing his face when we walked into the restaurant. He told me, " Amy, what are you doing, we have to wait to be seated?!" "SURPRISE!!!!" Priceless!
It was great to see so many friends and family come out to celebrate with us!

Then I signed up to run my first race...the Fort4Fitness, thanks to Lisa Saxe's encouragement. It's only 4 miles, but will be a challenge for me!

We undertook a huge landscaping project and almost have it finished, thanks to Dan & his dad! It is looking so much better than before. I'll gave to show before & after pics for everyone once it's all done.

I was able to see my friend Casey, from Indy, thanks to my friend Angie for inviting us over to "swing & surprise!" it was great to see her precious newborn baby Ben!

Olivia continues to be in her Tumble Bunnies class, where we have good weeks and not so good weeks. She ultimately loves it because she'll pretend play that she's in her class and she practices her moves at home. Then
when we go to class (sometimes) she won't cooperate, throws fits, and doesn't want me to leave her. I think it'll take some time but it will grow in her. It's hard bringing Gabe with us bc it's her "thing", but he's not any trouble, it's just that O likes her attention.

Anyways, other than that, we had our first ever Game Night at our house. It was an absolute blast! We plan on having another one on Saturday, if anyone is able to make it!

On Saturday I also turn the big 3-0. It's weird thinking that I'm not going to be in my 20's anymore. I feel old, but I know I'm really not. It's just a weird feeling~

Well, this old lady is really tired and needs to go to bed!

Peace!

Positives for Tuesday

Here are 5 positive things that happened today:

5). Dan came home from lunch to see us.
4). I actually broke down and had a good cry (this hardly ever happens), which helped.
3). Olivia was great in Tumble Bunnies this time around! I was starting to worry about having to pull her from the class. Answered prayer!
2). I was able to get in a great weightlifting workout. It felt so good! I haven't done this in a long time but know that it helped me lose tons of weight before.
1). I was able to sleep in until 9:00am!!!

Thank you Lord for this beautiful Tuesday and the gift of life that is invaluable!

GNO Fun!

Tonight was so much fun! I had a Girls Night Out at my hair salon, Phresh! It was absolutely a blast! Erin has been my stylist for a long time now and she offered to have a Style Lab Party for me (2nd time that I've had a party, but it's been awhile). I invited some of my friends from church and a couple others.

Phresh outdid themselves with great customer service, helpful info, free food and drinks and an all-around much needed relaxing night with girlfriends! Some of the girls had a chance go sit down in one of the chairs to get 'the look' demonstrated on them. The Stylists were great about answering our questions about our hair and really made it personalized to our needs. We learned about how to do a fun summer up-do, recent hair trends, how to care for our hair from shampoo to drying and brushing. They also taught us how to do loose wavy curls and how to piece and straighten our hair.

I feel all phreshened up on my hair trends and it was great to see my friends again! Thanks Erin, Mary, Lyndsay, Sheena & Phresh for allowing us to have a fantastic Girls Night Out!

XoXo,
Amy

Spring 2011 in Pictures

Favorite pictures from Spring 2011

Olivia & her Bitty Baby

One of my favorites of Olivia & Gabe

Gabe was hungry...yes, that is a real rabbit.

Olivia with Quackers

I love this pic of Gabe...pure joy!

...and we are going to end this blog with a great big Gabers SMILE to make your day! Until next time, peace my friends~

Gabe's Swing

I must say, I have a very thoughtful husband. He got Gabe his own swing for our playset. Gabe's too big now for our indoor baby swing, but now that the weather is going to be nicer, this will get lots of great use!

We put him in there today and he just absolutely enjoyed it! I'm so very thankful to have a great husband who provides so much for our family! Thank you Dan for being a kind husband and an amazing daddy! We can't wait to swing again!

Easter Vigil Mass

Dan & I went to the Easter Vigil Mass tonight and I must say, thanks to my mother-in-law for watching the kids, I absolutely love this service. I know it's the longest service of the year, but I am actually looking forward to having our children go to that Mass with us once they're older.

It also brought back many emotions & memories for me from a year ago, after I joined the Catholic church.

I'm so proud of my husband for being an RCIA sponsor too. If he brought Josh anything of what Lindy brought upon me, that's incredible. What a cool way to share your Catholic faith, Dan. I'm thankful for my sponsor everyday.

Happy Easter everyone! Jesus saves!

My Therapy

I had the opportunity for some "alone time" this afternoon, so where do you think I went???

If you answered Von Maur, then you must know me ;) I went for some retail therapy & The Von usually hits the spot.

I went upstairs to the women's clothing Dept. first, only to realize that there was nothing I wanted. Everything I found that I liked was full price and I refuse to pay for non-marked down items. I looked and looked but couldn't find anything. I even tried on a few things, but nope, nada, zilch.

The sales associate, Stephanie, is incredible and even tried to help me, but I guess I wasn't feeling it. So, I went to see my friend & Dept. Manager of the Girls' & Kids Shoes Dept., Kimberly. She always cheers me up. I looked for deals for the kids but I still didn't find anything, except a bib for Gabe, which is his gift from the "Easter Bunny."

Olivia will get many useful things from the Easter Bunny, yet Gabe gets a bib. Poor buddy~ but honestly, will he realize at 9 months, I don't think so. Let's save our money~Gabe needed a bigger bib, so I think my purchase was worthwhile.

I also realized that retail therapy is over-rated. I first noticed this on a business trip that I went to with Dan to Chicago (before we had kids). I was actually bored of Michigan Ave.

I guess that retail therapy is worthwhile if your with good friends or family (sisters/mom). I think I'm growing up at almost 30. Ha!

From now on, I think Dan's right, Internet shopping all the way~

After work surprise

After picking the kids from the sitter's I get the car unloaded only to hear Olivia tell me that she has to throw up...yuck! Just as I grabbed a throw up bucket, she throws up all over herself & the kitchen floor. At least it wasn't on carpet this time, but what an unexpected surprise that was tonight. I then have her a bath and she's been extremely fussy.

Gabe, on the other hand got a bath first thing this morning because he decided to soak his diaper and crib in urine.

Good times all around!

I can't get ahold of my husband, so he must be in some meetings...

Oh my & O just found the real camera and took my pic while I'm nursing Gabe! Fantastic!

Thank you Lord for this day in which I get to spend with my beautiful children! I am very thankful for all of my blessings. Please give me the patience and understanding to get through the rest of the day.

Olivia's sayings:

Cute things that Olivia says:
"Gabe, I need my mommy time too!"
"Let me see it mommy!"
"Mommy, thank-you for making the dinner!"
"I want lipstick mommy!"
"Daddy's going to work to make the money!"

Olivia warms my heart! She's a joy and I cannot express how grateful to God that I am for her!

Zumba

Here's my random post about Zumba and my weight loss goals...

I love my Zumba time and do not want to give that up, but I'm not seeing the results I want. I told Dan tonight that I'm frustrated with myself and really want to lose this weight. He then asked me if I thought that Zumba wasn't doing it for me. I told him that Zumba is my outlet and that its my diet that needs improvement. I also told him that I need his help on this. He said that I've done it before and can do it again.

It just seems so different this time around. Now I can't go to the gym 2 times a day and eating 6 small healthy meals a day isn't an easy task, ESP when I don't even take time out of my day to pee. Just sayin.

Children change your life in a good way, it's just not as easy to focus on yourself. I give all of myself to others and really should focus more on taking time for me, or else, let's face it, my family is doomed. If momma's not happy, nobody's happy. Ha!

I just don't know the right answers to how to make it all balance. Dan's extremely busy with his work, so I don't want to cut into his time. I guess that I just have to find ways to make it work. Somehow, even if I have to get my booty up in the morning before he goes to work to workout. Ugh. It's so worth it though, right. I really want this, so I'll make it happen!

First step, get the diet in line...
One thing at a time, results don't happen overnight! Ok, I'm going to try and get some sleep now.

Time Flies

One of my friends and I were talking about preschool today and trying to figure out when they'd be in preschool. It occurred to me that Olivia will be in preschool in 1 1/2 years. Oh my goodness! Can this be true?! It doesn't seem possible, she's only 2 & I just had her like yesterday, right?! Wow! Time flies! I'm holding onto each moment!

Tumble Bunnies

Olivia had her first tumbling class tonight with her friend Ava. I enrolled Olivia at Tumble X to try and get her involved in a nice sport that will help teach her basic core fundamentals. Plus maybe someday she'll become a future Olympic Gymnastic or even a Cheerleader, who knows. At this age it's about having fun around others her own age and we will see where it takes us.

Her teacher, Miss. Katie, is a sweetheart and must have so much patience to teach 2 year olds. Olivia and Ava were both a little apprehensive at first but warmed up near the end. Olivia liked it so much that she didn't want to leave and threw a long fit for me there after class. Oh to be 2 again~

It'll be interesting to see how they do next week. Go Tumble Bunnies!!

Counting my Blessings

Blessings:

1). A roof over my head
2). A loving healthy family
3). A hardworking & supportive husband
4). The ability to work PT
5). My parish
6). My hair stylist, Erin, who I love
7). Zumba & Kandi's awesome classes
8). My Zumba friends
9). Olivia is going to be in Tumble Bunnies starting tomorrow
10). Gabe is crawling all over the place now
11). An awesome sitter, Steph rocks
12). My mother-in-law for watching O& Gabe one day a week
13). My Zumba shoes that I just ordered, so pumped
14). Olivia taking more interest in the potty
15). Our upcoming vacation in June to Gatlinburg, TN
16). Nice weather, fresh air, time on the playset & stroller walks
17). Our fence will be up soon, the posts are already in place. It will be so nice to not have to worry about our dog running off.
18). We have really nice neighbors, I consider that a blessing.
19). Being able to continue to nurse Gabe. I know this is personal & weird for those of you who don't understand, but my goal was 6 months and he's now almost 9 months. I'm going for a year, but we will see. TMI~but still, a blessing.
20). My CRHP sisters, you've changed my life through HIM!

Ok, I need to try & rest now. Good night all & don't forget to count your blessings!

You've got to be kidding me

So today's To Do List included: 1. Go to the bank 2. Go to the drive-thru pharmacy & 3. Go to the Post Office

One would think that wouldn't be so bad, right... WRONG!

Oh my...the 3rd one was a doozie! Olivia decided to throw a huge fit and refused to get out of my vehicle. After about 10 minutes of holding Gabe & trying to coax her out of the car, she finally got out, only to try & run into the busy street. So here I am, holding Gabe, my big box package that I have to send out and trying to chase/save my 2-year old.

I must have looked like an idiot bc everyone was just staring at me. Great~ Then Olivia insists that I carry her too, so here I am, struggling to carry all 3 of my "packages" into the post office (Olivia, Gabe & my package).

Oh it gets better...once inside, Olivia still wouldn't let me put her down, so I had to stand in line like this and to top it off, I got random unnecessary comments from older men. One man in an 80's suit decides to tell me that it'll be even worse when the 3rd one comes along!!! I just said, "you think so?!" Ahhh!!! You've got to be kidding me!!! Men! They totally don't have a clue!!!

Playdate Fun!

Today I had a playdate at my house, for a total of 10 lil ones and 6 adults. We had fun & even colored Easter eggs. I'm blessed to know such wonderful women and their beautiful blessings! Thanks for your time ladies, we must keep up with the playdates from time to time!