Thanksgiving countdown

i am exhausted. I went to bed at midnight last night and woke up at 5 this morning and have been going ever since. Ethan and I went food shopping and got the last minute items. Then I came home and made spaghetti sauce because we are having home made pizza and wings when everyone arrives on Wednesday. I had double use for the sauce because I wanted to make a lasagna while they were here. But I did not want to have to cook it while they were here. So, I made it today and cooked it. Now all I have to do is pop it in the over to heat it on Friday.

Then it was Apple Pie making time. I made that then decided to make my Cheesecake. I planned on doing a lot of the cooking tomorrow, but I have MOPS and then I just got a note home today saying they are having Thanksgiving feast tomorrow and parents are invited so I have to go check that out. I wouldn't miss that for anything. So right after MOPS we will be at the school...which is causing some stress on my part because I know that Ethan will be cranky....it is his nap time during her lunch time. UGH! Oh well! Hopefully I can be there for Emma and then sneak off early enough to get Ethan into bed.

So here are pictures of all my tasty treats. I love cooking...I just need a maid to clean up after me...because I am not so good in the cleaning dept. Anyway, I am exhausted and need to go to bed.

Oh yah and I am seriously considering cutting out sugar once Thanksgiving is over. I am so addicted to it....it's ridiculous. No wonder I am fat!

Handy Ethan

This is so cute and I think so smart that I had to post pics to remember this.

We have a hutch in our kitchen that I keep toys in for Ethan. All his trucks and tools are in there. Our kitchen floor is all tile. It's very cold these days, even though our house is a toasty 71 degrees. Ethan likes to sit in front of the hutch playing trucks, but its getting colder and colder on that floor with each passing day. So, my genius son figured out that if he took the rug from where I stand at the sink and moved it to the hutch, he could sit on it and play toys all at the same time.

No one taught him this.

Also as you can see he has a screwdriver in this pic. He took it and lined it up with the screws on the hutch and began to twist the screwdriver as if her were fixing it! So cute!!!

Our afternoon documented in photo by emma

Call me crazy.....

....I just have this strange feeling that I am going to get pregnant this month. I could be way off...but I just have this nagging feeling. Of course it could just be wishful thinking!

Wordless Wednesday

I am stealing this from other people. I thought it was cool though. You upload pics on Wednesdays. For those of you who don't know that's me and my mom.

Encouraging Word

Wednesday 11/19/2008

"I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayer."

~ Psalm 120:1, NLT

I am telling you people...it's always spot on! Amazing! And trust me, me and God had a nice little talk about the situation last night. I have no doubt something will come our way! God is good.

Crash and burn

Phil has been out of the Navy for almost 3 years now. He has been traveling since the day we got married only because he was in the Navy. Can I just say that this job he has now is getting old.

2 weeks ago was awful. Phil was upset all the time, he was moody (and in turn so was I) he was stressed.

Then last week he had the week off. By the end of last week, we were really enjoying our time together. It was nice having him here. Things seemed to calm down. The swearing even stopped.

Then yesterday it was back to work. Things seemed to be ok. I drove him to the airport we said goodbye and off her went. He called me when he landed, as usual and he had that all to familiar tone in his voice. He was frazzled and he had only been back to work for a few hours.

I am worried. Worried about him. A person can only take so much. He has been doing this for 3 years now and he has just about had enough. Especially now since our house did not sell and he works out there constantly. He is guaranteed to be gone Monday through Friday. I know God has us here for a reason...in this state/house/town etc. The doors opened so easily to buying this house it was just meant to be. Not to mention that we didn't even get one offer on the house when we had it on the market. We are supposed to be here...I don't doubt that. The problem is the job. He needs a new job desperately...this one will kill him if not.

I never realized how stressed I was living out here without him. Though having him here causes some pains at first (I have to admit I like doing things the way I want to) but overall it is a much better situation.

Right now he spends 208 days a year in a hotel...away from us. 780 meals in a year are eaten out at restaurants. This is bad cause he has high cholesterol and thyroid disease...not good for his health at all. Nevermind the raised blood pressure from all the stress because things are majorly screwed up there.

Anyway, I said all that to say that there is a job posted online that is about 20 minutes from our home. There is still travel involved but the most you would travel is 3 months out of a year. It's a great company with great benefits and it would be doing something Phil is very interested in. I just wanted to ask for you all to pray that if this is meant to be he will get the job. There is a lot that has to go right. This company is very hard to get into, and we need to make close to what we make now for money at least until we are out of debt.
That is the biggest problem. He has had other job offers out here, but the starting pay is less than half of what he is making now. I understand having to take a pay cut and it would be worth it to have him here more, but we cannot loose more than half our salary right now. Especially since we bought a work truck for him to use with understanding that the company would give us a car allowance. If he leaves...we still have the truck and the payment...but no allowance. That is a problem. So I am just asking for prayers. We both know that we can't live like this for much longer and we need God to provide for us here in a major way. So if you think of it...say a little prayer for us. If it's meant to be...all will be taken care of. If not then there is something better out there.

Thanks! Now I am off to chop my hair and wax the eyebrows! YIPPEE!

Catch up time

I have been on the pitty pot for the past few posts and wanted to get away from that and tell you about the kids and what's been going on here.

Last week I have Emma's first parent teacher conference. Let me tell you, going there made me feel like I am doing something right. Emma is doing fabulous in school. Academically she is one of the tops kids in the class. She is in the highest reading group, and scored well above average on both of the screening tests that she had. She had to name as many letters as she could in 60 seconds, and she was able to name 44 out of the 52. She also was able to identify all the sounds to the letters! Very, very proud.

Best of all her teacher said she is very compassionate and caring. There are some kids with special needs in her class and she does not discriminate against them at all. She is also willing to help out those who are finding kindergarten a bit challenging. She will sit and help them with their work. She is also very forgiving, which she gets from Phil. Her teacher said no matter what anyone does to her she always wishing them a good night at the end of the day. It makes me want to cry. I have drilled this stuff in her head for years now, and we don't always see the fruit of our labor here at home. It's nice to know that she is going to have great character.
Now I know that academics is important and I do want her to be smart, but most of all I think that I want her to be a good person. What good are brains, if you are not a caring person?

So what else can I say other than I am very proud of her and I was beaming from ear to ear after that review.

And now from something that took me aback a bit. Her love affair with an older boy named Jamie! He lives on our street so they ride the bus together. I have never met the boy or his parents, but Emma was intrigued by the boy with the "orange hair"! Now this is all she talks about. Jamie this and Jamie that. I wonder what Jamie is doing etc. etc. Should I be worried here? HELLO! The child is in kindergarten! Do kids have real crushes at 5 yrs old? I don't know what to do. I feel like I am dealing with a teenager already. And to top it all off, Jamie is in 3rd grade! I have no problems with an older man...I mean technically this probably means they are about equal in maturity (nothing against boys it's just proven that it takes longer for them to mature). My problem is the obsession with a BOY at such a young age. What to do...what to do.

Now for my son. Nothing new on that front except I could just eat him up! Don't get me wrong I love my daughter to death. I was so happy to have a little girl and still am. But Ethan is different. I don't know how to explain it. Not that I love him anymore then Emma, it's just a different love. There are no words to describe it. It's just amazing. The other part is his personality. He is very lovey, dovey. Emma was never one to cuddle. She gives the BEST hugs but she doesn't linger! haha! Ethan on the other hand will come over, asked to be picked up and just sit on my lap resting his head on my chest. Last night he asked for just that. So I picked him up he laid his head down and let out a big "ahhhhhhh". It's like all the world was right resting on my boob! haha! And btw, I really think he is a boob man already. What is it with boys (of all ages)and boobs! LOL! NO really!
I am the only one he will kiss too. Phil gets jealous because Ethan won't kiss him. I am not really sure why he won't, and on one hand I am sad he doesn't (I am sure that will change) and on the other it makes me happy. I love that for some reason he only gives his mommy kisses.

Don't get me wrong....he is a major daddy's boy, but when it comes down to it he still needs his mommy. I feel like right now Emma doesn't need me very much. I think that's what it boils down to. Not that she doesn't love me...I know she does. She is just in a phase now where she needs her daddy more. Daddy is the light of her world. And to Ethan I am his. I missed that, and I am glad I am recognizing it this time around and cherishing it while I have it. Because before I know it the tide will change and he will be all Phil's!

We are preparing for Thanksgiving and phil's family next week! I am so excited I can't wait! It will be 5 days, and 6 adults and 5 kids all in one house! Chaos but I love it. I thrive in that environment. I love having family all around, I wish we could do it more often.

That's all from us lately! I hope all is well with everyone else! Until next time....

My Cycle...not that anyone cares..but it's more for me.

Make an ovulation ticker

When will it end.

I am telling you I am near my breaking point. I have had headaches for 4 days straight. I am stressed to the max and it is oozing out every pore of my body onto all those around me. I don't know why I get so stressed out by stuff. It's just 'stuff'. It just seems like one thing after another is breaking and we need more money to fix 'stuff'. Sometimes I think life would be so much more peaceful and manageable if I were Amish. :) The newest thing added to the list is a blower fan for our wood stove. It broke yesterday. It's only two years old and it's shot. This little fan...just a little thing..but BIG in purpose. Without it...the heat would not be dispersed throughout the house. I have called to get some pricing and it looks like it's going to cost about $200 for this little piece of equipment. WHY?

I just feel like nothing is going right lately. I have had a few good days thrown into the mix...when I can see the other side and then WHAM! I am knocked down again.

I was brought to tears this morning cause Ethan pooped right as I was walking out the door. Normally this isn't a big deal, but it's just one more thing. Why can't ONE thing, just ONE thing go smoothly for us? It's been one attack after another since August...and I really don't know how much more I can take.

I am a witch....majorly..and I don't want to take it out on my family. It seems like I am always in a bad mood. Emma asked me today if I was mad, and I said no, and she responded..."then why are your eyebrows down."

God help me.

Don't judge me...you do it too!

This is what kids do, when you spend the whole morning on the computer when you should be playing with them.

God is always speaking to me.

Remember how I said before that whenever I go through something I wake up and find just the right Bible verse sitting in my inbox? All of the siblings in my family have been arguing for the past couple of days of something so stupid. This things spun out of control and it is absolutely ridiculous. I wake up log onto Myspace and what is the Bible verse that appears?

It is to a mans honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. Proverbs 20:3

Please pray

Please keep in your prayers this family they live just a couple of towns over from me.

Robert is an active duty Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army and was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer one year ago. They have 3 daughters: Lilia (5 years old), Skyler(2), and Morgan (1).

Here is a journal entry of his:

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2008 05:45 PM, CDT

Dear Friends and Family,

First I want to thank all of you for your prayers this past week. Praise God, we got through it and are stronger for it. I really had a tough time this week and was even having trouble with my prayer life and getting into the Word. I meet with my Pastors and a friend every Tuesday though and when they prayed for me I felt almost immediate relief and God given hope. I haven't even had to take much pain medicine since that day. I hope I can stay motivated in Gods word and prayer. It goes to show you how important Christians are to each other.

So, today I had a Dr. Appointment and this is the update. (1)The cancer is very aggressive and has grown significantly in just 3 weeks. (2) I have a 70 percent chance of this new line of chemo halting the current spread and a 35% chance of a drastic (greater than 70%) shrinkage. Oh, and shrinkage is a medical term bye the way. Also, I have a less than 1% chance of the chemo actually killing all the cancer. Let's pray for that one...OK. Statistically I have a pretty good chance of holding out another 8 months to a year if everything goes well. Without this new line of chemo I would have somewhere around 4 months is my understanding. So, even though this treatment leaves me ill for about 7 days it increases my life by twice.

Thanks again and God Bless.

Our problems are nothing compared to this poor family. Here is a link to his website if you can donate anything for his family etc. Right now people in the community are doing their own "Extreme Home Makeover" for his family. They sent them to Disney for 6 days and they are adding a bedroom and bathroom onto his house so that he can die at home. The family does not know that this is going on. They will be returning home from Disney this weekend. My heart goes out to this family.

http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do

New day dawning

Today, I feel better. I still have a fever of 100.8 but it feels like a relief to me compared to how I felt the past few days.
I think this sickness is finally coming to an end.


Now for the bad part......MY HOUSE!

I have totally been neglecting everything for the past few days. I have literally been doing the bare minimum just to get by. Now back to reality. But I must admit...I am so overwhelmed.

I have laundry stacked up to the ceiling....dishes overflowing my sink, carpets to vacuum, clothing to clear out and bring to goodwill. And really all I want to do is buy stuff.

Perhaps that is my trigger.....I think I use shopping to cope with being overwhelmed. I am trying my hardest to resist temptation but it's not as easy as it sounds. Gymboree is having 30 % off until Sunday. I really, really want to buy some stuff. But guess what? I shouldn't. I am being bombarded with email after email screaming....."look at the great deals" "buy me, and me, and me" UGH! I can't take it. Yet I feel like I can't bare to face the mess that is my house!

I feel like I am in AA

Hi my name is Andi and I am a Shopoholic! haha!

Now I am off to attempt to tackle this mess. It's probably better that I not sit in front of the computer at the moment anyway.

Tired of drama

I am so tired of all the drama. Family = drama. I swear sometimes I just want to scream!

Irate!

I am so aggravated today. I am so frustrated the way the voting system works. I just don't get it. If you have had a minute to look at the "voting map" today or even yesterday for that matter most of the states are already determined. The only ones that will determine this race are: Montana, North Dakota, Arizona, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Now here is my question. Why the hell do we even vote in any of the other states? Why bother if there are only 10 states that will determine this election.

You here all these people screaming...VOTE, VOTE, VOTE....but does it really matter?

For instance my state NY. Because there is such a high population in the city who are generally liberal, democrats, our state automatically goes Democrat because there are so many people in the city who vote that way. Therefore majority and all electoral votes go to Obama. But this happens EVERY voting year.

What is one to do? Move to a state that believes as you believe? I don't know. I just feel like my vote is wasted. It doesn't matter what I think because no matter what are state is already determined to be Democratic.

I just wish somehow they could split some of the larger states and perhaps make the voting a little more fair. I know it seems fair, but if you have been to the city and then come upstate you will see that we are in a whole different world. Not that everyone here votes for McCain...I'm just saying...the general population up here all believes the same, but we are penalized because we don't have millions of people living up here.

Oh well. Not much you can do about it I guess!

But I did vote. And from my ranting and raving you can probably guess for who!

Happy voting day....and God Bless America.

Really sick now

Ok so I am really sick...I mean really sick. My fever has been 101.5 for a good portion of this afternoon. I have been letting the fever do it's thing in hope that it will fight whatever I have going on here. But as time drags on, so does my energy. I don't really "feel" sick. I feel strange....tired...no energy and I have the chills, but other than that no real sick feeling.

It is now 4:30 and I decided to take my temp again. 102 degrees! This is actually really high for me because my normal temp comes up at 97.8 or so. I broke down and took some meds because I am here alone and the only one who can take care of the kids. I am hoping that the fever will break soon. But...if not...bedtime is really soon and that means momma can go to bed early if she wants!

I hope tomorrow is better. Especially since I have to leave the house tomorrow! MUST VOTE!

CIPA

Huh? What did she just say? What is CIPA (pronounced SEE-PA)? CIPA is an extremely rare inherited disorder of the nervous system which prevents the sensation of pain, heat, and cold.
Do you know how very dangerous life is when you have CIPA? At first glance this sounds great. I NEVER have to feel pain. That is until little Johnny sticks his hand on the stove and burns his hand so severely it can never be used again. Pain...as awful as it is...is there to protect us.

I was watching HOUSE last night and they had a patient with CIPA. They were able to drill through her head and she felt no pain at all. They preforms surgery on her stomach while she was awake, because she felt no pain.

It made me think of my life lately. There has been a lot of pain. But maybe, just maybe this pain is here to protect me. There is a reason for pain. It can make you cautious, it can protect, it can make you learn from your mistakes. Pain is the tool that we use to make us stronger. Pain makes us more appreciative. Pain can help us grow.

Though pain is nothing we like, it is necessary to our well being. Sometimes we can even look back and say...I am so glad that happened.
I don't like pain, but I am thankful for the trials in my life. They have made me who I am today. It has made me strong. Thank you Lord for the pain. Thank you for giving me to opportunity to suffer to see how great you are. You have done great things in my life.

The Story of Job the Long-suffering.

In ancient times, east of Palestine, there lived a righteous man by the name of Job. He was a just and good man, who always strove to please God throughout his life. The Lord rewarded him for his piety with great wealth. He had many hundreds of large and thousands of small cattle. His large and close family of seven sons and three daughters comforted him.

But the Devil was jealous of Job. He began to vilify him before God, "Doth Job fear God for nothing?... But put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse Thee to Thy face." Then God, in order to reveal to all how faithful Job was to Him and in order to teach people patience in their sufferings, permitted the Devil to take away all of Job’s possessions. One day robbers came and drove away all his cattle, slew his servants, and a terrible tornado from the desert destroyed the house in which Job’s children had gathered together, killing them all. Job not only did not complain against God, but he said, "God gave, and God hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord."

The Devil, put to shame, was not satisfied with this. Again he began to slander Job, "All a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth Thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh (that is, strike him down with disease), and he will curse Thee to Thy face." God permitted the Devil to deprive Job even of his health, and Job was stricken with the most terrible disease — leprosy. Then even his wife began to persuade him to complain against God. His friends, instead of consolation, only further grieved the innocent sufferer with their unjust suspicions. But Job remained firm, did not lose hope in the mercy of God and only begged the Lord to testify that he was suffering in innocence.

In his discourse with his friends, Job prophesied about the Redeemer and of the future resurrection: I know that my Redeemer liveth and on the last day He shall raise from the dust this my corrupted skin, and in my flesh I shall see God. I shall see Him myself; mine eyes, and not the eyes of another, shall behold Him (Job 19:25-27, Septuagint).

After this, God, having shown to all the example of devotion and long-suffering in His servant Job, appeared Himself and commanded his friends, who had regarded Job as a great sinner, to ask for prayers from him for themselves. God rewarded His faithful servant. Job regained his health. He had seven more sons and three daughters, gained back twice as much cattle as he had before, and lived another one hundred and forty years in honor, quietly, piously and happily.

The story of long-suffering Job teaches us that God sends misfortunes not just for sins, but that sometimes God sends misfortunes even to the righteous for an even greater confirmation in goodness, for the shaming of the Devil, and for the glorification of the righteousness of God. The history of the life of Job also reveals to us that earthly welfare does not always accompany a virtuous life for men and teaches us also to be sympathetic to those in misfortune. Job, by his innocent sufferings and patience, foreshadowed the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bored

This is my third post today. I am bored. Bored out of my mind. I have so much to do around here but I don't feel well and don't want to do anything...but I want to do something. Something other than housework and cooking! Any ideas?

I will now take my bored but and go get some lunch. Even though it is only 10:41 am. We got that extra hour of sleep but boy does it seem like the day is just dragging on.

And Phil is hunting. So that does not help the boredom factor.

I want to go spend money...but I just paid for a huge chunk of the Disney trip...so I have no money to spend. Oh woah is me!

Disney makes me happy

I cannot believe it is November already. I am really happy these days. Florida is giving us something to look forward to, and to keep my brain busy. I thrive on the planning and trying to make it as fun as possible. Though I don't freak out if things don't go as planned. I think I like to plan these things out as much as I can so I know what will be happening. I get very anxious if I don't know what's going on.

So I am totally excited! This trip is actually costing us a bit more than we expected but I have made some changes that saves us money. 1 of them being the rental car. We originally wanted the car for the whole time. That meant we had to pay for the extra days since we could only redeem 7 at a time. The total cost was $295 out of our pocket. That is until I called Disney. They are going to pick us up at the airport and shuttle us to the Magic Kingdom, and shuttle us back to the airport to pick up our rental the day we leave! How great is that. That is saving us paying for 2 days rental, plus 2 days of car seat rental. The cost went from $295 to $87. And since we saved all that money Phil allowed me to plan something that I was SO hoping we could do. Dinner with Cinderella! How cool is that? You can't even tell me that if you were a 5 yr old girl you would not LOVE to have dinner with Cinderella! I called and they had one reservation open for the days we would be there and it was at 7:55 pm but that's ok....it will be worth the wait! So even with doing this we will be saving ourselves $60 from the original car rental price!

Disney truly is a magical place. I really think I could go there everyday and never get sick of it. It's like you step in and all your worried melt away. So cool! But I will settle for 2 days in December. That will be fun too!

Sick

We are now ALL sick. It started with the little man. He was been sick with a cold for about a week now. I thought it was just teething but when I caught it, I reconsidered my theory. Now let me tell you I feel awful. I think its a cold/fly combo. I definitely have a cold, but I also have awful pain in my stomach, a headache, and chills then sweats. It's great!

Miss Emma also has caught this wonderful condition. She seems to recover quickly though so I am hoping it stops at the "snuffy nose" as she calls it.