Kids are smart......

Isn't it amazing some days you can act like a crazy woman, throw a fit, bribe, beg and threaten and still no one wants to help mom! And then, suddenly, you get days like today. Everyone helped with everything asked and unasked! Two years ago this month, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that in the beginning had me completely wipe out, exhausted all the time, barely able to walk some days and in constant pain. There were days I would sleep for literally 17 hours of the day and do that for days on end, my body would literally just shut down. After about a year of doctors, and at one point 12 different meds I went into a remission state. I felt awesome, better than I had in probably two years. It was great, my kids were excited to finally have "mom" back and I know Ryan was relieved not only that I was healthy and finally feeling alive again, but I'm sure grateful for the help of another adult! Late this year I started feeling my symptoms returning and as luck would have it, my body literally just shuts down when it needs to. Well, today was one of those days. I literally did not get up until about 2pm today and really had to drag myself up to do that. I could have slept well into tonight, I'm sure, but I really had a lot to do and in my mind, I had already wasted more than half of my day. I wanted to get all of our Christmas decorations down, they had already been up a week longer than I normally leave them. I wanted the house put back together and all furniture in the rooms they belonged in and all the regular decor put back up. I was just so tired. I pulled all hands on deck and not one complaint! Since we decided to stay home tonight and ring in the new year with the girls, they asked to have friends over, we told them they could but only if things got accomplished, and they not only got done what I asked, but more than I had hoped! Everything is back in shape, where it belongs, pantries cleaned out, things purged and the chaos seems to have been removed! I love it! The girls were more than helpful and Ryan more than did his share. All of this is pure proof in my mind that god truly does give us just what we need right when we need it. Just as with my health, I really have no choice in whether I slow down or not as god really just shuts me down to heal, for this I am more than grateful as I can be pretty stubborn.

As we ring in the new year, and you are wanting or needing for something at this time, remember, god really does give us what we need when we need it. God bless everyone tonight. Be safe.

About Us.......

So, I've never taken the time to tell you anything about my family. Here's the skinny. My husband Ryan and I have three daughters; Allyson, Allysa and Alizabeth. We have three dogs, Birdie, Bogey and Bear. We also have 2 albino clawed frogs and a pond full of fish!

Ryan is a chemical engineer and works for GE as a Chemical Sales Account Manager. Ryan is active in our church and helps keep stats for our high school basketball team. He loves to golf when he gets the chance and was very smart early on as he taught all of our girls to golf when they were little.....Papa always has a golfing buddy if he's looking for one!

I am a dental assistant by degree, but have worked as a consultant and corporate dental trainer for the past seven years. Having been downsized twice in the last year alone, it is very apparent what the economy is doing to the dental industry as a whole. I am currently enjoying staying home with my girls, but working hard at listening to the plans god has for me. I do know he has a plan, of this I am certain. I love to scrapbook, golf and stay active in our church. The girls and I work with the toddler ministry and enjoy getting our "little kiddo" fix while helping out!

Allyson is 17 and a senior at North Montgomery High School. She is the editor-in-chief of her yearbook this year and a very talented artist. Allyson is a manager for the boys basketball team an will be working with the baseball team as well this year. She has played guitar for the past six years and loves music. She stays active with church and youth group and this year had the opportunity to experience Chrysalis, she loved it! Allyson is in the midst of college applications, scholarship applications and deciding not only which of the 7 schools she wants to attend, but which of two completely different majors she wants to pursue. I can't wait to see what god has in store for the rest of her life.

Allysa is 13 and in the 8th grade at Northridge Middle School. Allysa plays golf and is a cheerleader for school. Having been a dancer for several years, Allysa transitioned to cheer leading this year and loves being a "flyer". Mom on the other hand has taken a little longer getting used to seeing my girl fall from heights multiple times! She will tell you she's going to cheer for University of Texas and then go on the be the cheering pediatrician as she makes the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleading Team! I'm glad she has goals, she works very hard when she has a plan! Allysa loves to help me at church with the toddlers. She has started babysitting for our friends this year and can't wait for her sister to go to college so she can have all of her babysitting jobs!

Alizabeth or Lizzie as she prefers to be known, is a 5th grader at Sugar Creek Elementary. Alizabeth is a complete "mini-me" of Ryan. She is incredibly intelligent and most days to smart for her own good! She constantly challenges us with her leadership abilities and most days I have to remind her "how bout you be the 11 year old today and I'll be the mommy today!" Having always been the "baby" of the family, this year we have really watched Alizabeth grow up. It's been a great joy. In January of 2009, Alizabeth gave her life to the lord and was baptized in November. She has an incredibly giving heart and Ryan and I are proud of the things Lizzie does for others.

We all try daily to live more for Christ and become better examples and share his word with others. Pleasant View Baptist Church is the church we call home, and I truly have felt at home form the first moment I stepped into this church. If ever you're looking for a church home, we'd be happy to have you.

I hope you enjoy following our lives, on a more selfish note, I can't wait to have this journal of our lives. One more way I can hold on to the past.

Picture this.....

We have a family friend who is a professional photographer, a very good one at that. She has taken our girls pictures several times, both for fun and as a hired professional. It looks like an advertisement for her business all around my house. I am a huge photo buff, and love to have pictures of everyone and everything all around. I love to capture that "moment in time". So when school started this year, my youngest two daughters both said they did not want "school pics" taken, they wanted Tammy to do them. Well.....today I finally got around to that! Now, mind you, Allysa is 13 and Lizzie is 11, it really doesn't seem like it should be that difficult to get school type photos taken. WRONG! Alizabeth acted as though she'd never been in front of a camera before and had no idea how to "move" for the camera....it really became quite comical but again amazing that it took more work than a two year old to get hers done. Allysa has had her pics taken by Tammy to many times to count. Mackenzie is one of Allysa's best friends so even on sleep overs they normally "beg" Tammy to get her camera out.....she is usually more than kind enough to oblige, consequently I have some awesome photos around the house of her impromptu shoots with the girls. AGAIN.....trying to get a "natural" smile out of Allysa without stimulation is really HARD work! Both of her sisters were constantly cracking jokes or reciting favorite lines from movies to get a "real" smile out of her and even after the first shoot was done, we had to go back and shoot again as Tammy and I neither one liked anything she got the first time.....with a 13 year old!!!! What you need to understand is; Lizzie started dance at a young age and has started cheering this year. Allysa has been a performer most of her life, so she can turn on a smile in the blink of an eye. She has been a dancer for years and is now also a cheerleader, when someone asks for a "smile" or "facials" she can turn it on, big! Tammy and I are both very aware of this "barbie" smile as we all like to call it, Mackenzie is also a dancer and cheerleader so neither of us will settle for less than natural when pictures are not for performance purposes, their smiles are pretty, but "fake" non-the-less! It made me wonder, have I raised such performers that the "natural" is foreign to them? It was never intentional, but of course simply what you tell your child to do when on stage or cheering at a game....."smile". It made me even more thankful that I get pictures of all the events I do, as these are of the girls in their element, playing, cheering, giggling with their friends, being silly and cutting up. I love all of the photos we've had professionally done around the house, but after today am even more grateful for all the candids I have.

What are you "faking" your way through right now? Do you even realize you do it? Is God trying to tell you to be yourself?

Exhasuted!

Well......it has finally hit, that post holiday crash! I have a house full of sleepers today and poor Ryan is off working. It seems as though we have gone non stop since Christmas Eve and our girls not only have all of our activities to do, they also have their dad and all of his families parties as well.....throw in a late night NMHS basketball game at Mackey for the Superhoops Holiday Tourney and suddenly your at that wall....that going no further, no impasse, do not pass go, god takes over and throws you in that deep your not waking from it until he says so sleep! Allysa and her friend Hannah went to the "all-nighter" for youth group last night....dropped them off at 8pm and picked them up at 7 this morning, and they didn't sleep! The youth house was FILLED with teenagers this morning when I picked them all up and everyone seemed to be in pretty good spirits. The girls headed straight to bed when we got home (as did I) and I haven't heard from them since. Lizzie was up on the couch when I got home, so I snuggled in with her and we both promptly nodded off til papa kissed us goodbye as he headed out to work. Finally about 11:15, I emerged from my fog. I had grand plans for today......I have lots of helpers with willing hands....best laid plans. It's moments like this where I know God has stepped in to say...."listen" for I know the plans I have for you. I have worked very hard at "listening" this year, and yet I know I still have so far to go.

What is God trying to tell you right now?

New to blogging, bet I will be addicted soon!

So, I'm new to blogging, but have been reading some friends blogs for a few weeks now and decided I'm addicted before I even start! I think blogging is a lot like my Facebook account. In Facebook, I've reconnected with people I haven't talked to in years and its been a great way to catch up on their lives and families. I think with blogging, I will enjoy being able to have this as a chronological account of my families lives, you know, the simple day to day stuff that you soon forget, but was great at the time. I'm a big memories freak, I love photography and was blessed by my husband a few years back with an awesome camera to catch every moment in life. I scrapbook and love to capture all those special moments in layouts! I have artwork, report cards and homework from every school year my kids have completed. I buy my family each a new Christmas ornament every year that has to do with something going on in their lives at the time. I am emphatic about getting a family picture every year, and we love to look at years past and giggle about our hairstyles and clothing! I love seeing my kids grow up and become their own people, but I do everything I can to preserve the past. I want to give them all I can to remind them of what they did to become the people they are.

What memories have you preserved today?