Who's in control?

Have you ever had the feeling going through life that things just don’t seem to work the way you wanted them to? At times, felling like things are falling apart? Who is in control of your life? I have at times thought and felt the same way. I have to remind myself that I am not in control of my life…God is. Things will work on his time frame not mine. When I feel like things are falling apart, I remind myself that it is God’s way of putting all the pieces into their perfect place. However hard it might be, in the end He knows and I don’t need to worry about it. All I have to do is have faith and trust him wholly. With all the crazy things that are going on in with our family I want to take control, but God quickly reminds me that it’s for him to do, not me.

Today as I am reminded that I need to let go, it’s not up to me it’s up to HIM, I will give it all to him and give him all the glory during the process. He has never let us down, and never will. We are where we are in life because of him! So give it to HIM!

Who is in control of your life?

Our weekend

We had a great weekend! Michael was home and it was also his birthday on Sunday. I was off on Friday so we spent the day together! We had to go get car tags, which isn’t too fun, but afterwards we caught a movie and lunch! We saw “Horrible Bosses” and I must say it was hilarious. Always enjoy a movie with a great laugh! We picked up the boys early and spent the rest of the day relaxing at home.

Saturday we headed out to get a jump start on our back to school shopping! I can’t believe summer is ending, and school is right around the corner. I wanted to beat the rush and get as much done now as opposed to waiting to shop the weekend before. We were able to get all our things on Christian’s list. On a side note, I think I am the only person who is excited about school supplies. I mean Christian has to have new things, but I use the opportunity to restock my desk supplies with new pens, folders and fun things. It’s as much for me as it is for him! Also a good time for me to get re-organized! I have become very “non-organized” over the past couple of months and it’s driving me a little crazy.

Sunday was Michael's birthday!! We woke up and I made breakfast and the boys gave him their gifts. I had a couple of pictures from our beach trip printed and framed for his office, along with some of his favorite candy. The pictures in his office are older and it’s always nice to have new pictures. However by that afternoon Christian was complaining of a sore throat and was running a low grade fever. So we just stuck around the house. After a doctor’s appointment and an antibiotic he is feeling much better!!

Beach...Part 5

The condo had two pools that had water slides. One pool had enclosed slides and the other one had an open top slide. One afternoon while the two little one's were asleep Leigh and I took Christian and Jadon to the pool with the open top slide. They had a blast!! (Click on the picture to make bigger!!)

 

Saturday we headed home, and were sad to leave the beach. We had a great time and look forward to our next trip! What normally takes about 6-7 hours to get home, we got stuck behind a horrible accident for 2 ½ hours. Thank goodness for DVD players!

Beach...Part 4

Thursday after pool time, and before heading to the beach to take Christian and Colin’s pictures we had to celebrate his birthday! We opened presents, and had cake! Michael had given Christian a new DS game prior to use leaving, so he would have something new to play with in the car. We also got him a new case, a car charger and an accessory kit. He got the new “Cars 2” game from my parents, and money from Leigh and Kenny. We had yummy chocolate and vanilla ice cream cake from DQ, and headed to the beach for pictures.

Colin wasn’t too in the mood, he had gotten a little bit too much sun that day, and was just worn out. I did capture a few good ones, and I am excited to put them in frames and on the wall!!

I even captured one of my parents!

Beach...Part 3

The condo we stayed at was located In between the bay and the ocean. In order to get to the beach they offered a trolley, or you could drive over. By Wednesday no one had been to the beach, or showed too much interest. The pools were great and the kids were having a blast. Wednesday night we did go over so I could take pictures of Leigh’s kids, since the remainder of the week Jordan would be playing ball. We loaded everyone up and headed over, only to realize I made a the biggest photographer boo-boo, as we were getting to walk the mile pier (not really, but it was long) I checked my camera and my battery was dead!! I only brought my camera, instead of grabbing my whole camera bag, another lesson learned. Oops, so my dad and I ran back to the condo to pick up my extra one, I had already charged prior to leaving for vacation. The elevators in our condo had a tendency of being slow from time to time, and since I was racing against the sun I needed to book it. I figured I would run up the stairs to help save on time. Mistake number 2! We were staying on the 8th floor and by floor 3 I was already winded, and I just keep going until floor 5 when I exited the stairwell and waited for the elevator completely out of breath and embarrassed that I could run the stairs. I ran in grabbed my bag and took the elevator down the whole way. We got back to the beach and were able to catch some good pictures of the kids before the sun set.

Beach...Part 2

Wednesday was Christian’s birthday!! I think he is getting a little spoiled since we are always on vacation on his birthday. I also think he thinks that’s how it’s supposed to be, and as much as I would LOVE to agree with him, it isn’t. When we got home he asked what beach were where going to for Colin’s birthday. I said none, and he reminded me that the past two years we have also been at the beach either on or around his birthday. Thinking back…he was right!!

Christian woke up early on Wednesday, before everyone else. My parents also being early riser’s headed out to find a donut shop to pick up breakfast. By the time they arrived back about 30-45 minutes later we were all awake. I gave him a huge hug and told him happy birthday! Which was followed by birthday wishes from everyone else. It made his day!! We ate breakfast and then headed down to the pool for a few hours.

This day my dad taught Colin how to hold his breath and go under water. Over the past couple of months at the pool I was enforcing with him to keep his month closed while swimming. All he needed to do was figure out the whole “holding his breath” which he got real quick, and wouldn’t stop. He would yell “mommy” and point to his month that was sealed shut, count “1,2,3, go” and head right under the water. He would pop up and repeat over and over. There were many times I would force him to stop so he could catch his breath. It was so funny, and he was so proud. I go a little bit on camera you can watch here. (sorry you have to turn your head, I'm getting used to my new camera, and can't figure out how to flip the video)

We headed up for lunch and nap for the 2 little ones. While they were asleep my mom and I headed to Dairy Queen to pick up a birthday cake. We headed back to the pool for a while before heading to the beach for some pictures. Our plans were to celebrate after wards but by the time we returned and ate all the kids were out. We rescheduled the party to Thursday.

We're Back!!

From vacation that is...well we have been back a week but it's been busy, and trying to get back into the swing of things. Were to start....we took off the week of July 4th, it's the same week we take just about every year. That's the week of Christian's birthday so we enjoy spending that time with him. At the beginning of the year we really didn't know if we would be taking a vacation or not. I just thought I would take a week and we would have a "stay-cation" and spend it around town. Which wouldn't be bad, there is so much to do in the city that we either hadn't done or has just been a long time. My nephew plays travel baseball and was having a tournament that same week in Orange beach. My sister and family were planning on spending the whole week, so we had the great idea of everyone going together. My mom booked a condo for the week and we were super excited to go. Jordan would be playing the second half of the week so he was still going to be able to enjoy the beach too.

They all left that Saturday the 2nd, while the boys and I planned on leaving early that Tuesday the 5th to drive down. We spent the weekend finishing up last minute things and spending time with Michael who happened to be in town. As always it was nice to have family time! That Saturday my cell phone died! Michael didn't want me driving by myself down to the beach so we both scored new phones! We were able to upgrade to a super new phone, which is so much faster than our older phones.

Tuesday morning came and we packed up the car and left the same time Michael headed back out of town. We hated he could make the trip with us, but we took lots of pictures so he wouldn't miss a thing.


Of course you can't go on a trip with out a goodie bag, little treats to help keep them busy along the way. Since I was driving alone it helped to keep them occupied a little in between movies.

 

 

The drive was good, and it seemed to go by pretty quickly. I guess the whole Alabama being an hour behind helped. We got there a little after lunch time, and we were ready to hit the pool. (side note, it was also the day Casey Anthony was found not-guilty and that kind of put me in a mood, but that's another story.) The condo was SUPER NICE! They had 4-5 pools outside, pools inside, some with slides, and a lazy river. One whole pool was specifically for little ones and only went about 3 feet so the Colin loved having a little bit of freedom to roam around.

 

That night we had planned on eating at "LuLu's" Jimmy Buffets sister's restaurant. It was so neat. You know your going to wait long, but they have so much outside to keep you occupied while you wait. The kids played in the sand, we walked around and just relaxed. After waiting a little over an hour we went to check on the status and were informed that there was a little mix up with our names, and it would be at least another hour to hour-and-a-half hour wait. By that time it was after 8:30 and we were hungry. So we left and hit up Arbys on the way back to the condo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christian

A few months ago I noticed a spot on Christian’s face. It was white, and very faint. I remember the first couple of times I saw it would be in the morning and I thought he just didn’t wipe his face good after breakfast. Then one weekend Michael noticed it. We didn’t really know what it was, I just said we should keep an eye on it and make sure it didn’t change. Now that summer is here, he is outside everyday either playing and/or swimming. He has started to tan over his whole body but this one spot on his face doesn’t seem to want to tan. I figured it was time to take him to the doctor and see what they said. I thought about taking him to the dermatologist but then realized if it’s nothing the pediatrician will know what to do, and if all else fails they will send us to one. So about 2 weeks ago I took him to the doctor. I saw the PA in the office, and she gave me a list of about 2-3 things she thought it could be but wasn’t sure. She said Dermatology was hard to diagnose and she thought we should go see one. At that time his doctor came in and thought it could just be a fugal, (I know nice right?) thing, and prescribed a cream for it. She said if it was it would help, it not it wouldn’t hurt but to use it until we could get in to see the dermatologist. I called them that afternoon (Friday) and they were able to get him in to be seen on Monday. I looked up the things the doctor said it might be, and honestly none of them seem horrible, maybe just weird looking.

That Monday we headed to the doctor to see what she thought he had. She took one look and knew what it was. She asked a few general questions and then took us into another room where there were no windows. She turned the lights off and used a black light over his body. She said even though we didn’t see any other spots with our eyes the light would show them. He had the one spot on his face right next to his mouth, and a very small one behind his left ear. She said she wanted to scrape it and look at it under the microscope. Christian did great, she never let him see the actual blade she used, just a slide for the microscope. It only took about a minute and then she went to look at it. She came back and said there wasn’t anything abnormal about it, but he did have a condition called Vitiligo. An autoimmune disease that eats the pigment in his skin. She asked if anyone had a thyroid problem, which I do as well as a few other people in my family. She said that sometimes there is a link between the two and she wanted to have him tested. She gave us a new steroid cream to use for two weeks, and the follow up with an antibiotic that would hopefully stimulate the pigment to re-grow. We have just completed the two week steroid and have now started to cream to help re-grow the pigment. I notice last week a small spot on his right side, and have started the cream there as well. There is a chance that it will spread, and a chance that the cream doesn’t work. Thank-fully we are very faired skinned, (as I told the doctor, I guess it’s a good thing to be pasty!!) and normally you would not see the spots. However since it is summer time, and he is outside he will darken, but those spots will not ever tan. We just have to be super cautious with the sun block on those areas and apply really good since they have no pigment they are more easier to burn. He doesn’t even notice the spots are there unless we are starring at them. They don’t itch, or irritate him so that’s good. We just pray that the new cream will work, and that the spots won’t spread to other parts of his body. We go back to the dermatologist next month for a follow up, and we are hoping for a good report!

Happr Birthday Christian!!!

Happy Birthday to our first born, I can’t believe today you are 7!! Time really flies by so fast. I can remember the day your daddy and I found out we were pregnant with you!! My whole life I have always wanted to be a mommy and we are so thankful that God allowed us to be your parents. You have been an absolute joy in our lives, and we love you more than anything. You are super smart, and so inquisitive. You ask a lot of questions, and we love seeing your mind just work. You are very caring, compassionate and have a huge heart. You just finished the first grade and are so excited about going to 2nd. You still love firemen and still have your mind set on becoming one when you grow up. You like reading, playing outside, playing your DS, and playing with your Legos. You are a great big brother and Colin adores you and looks up to you so much. We are excited to see what year 7 holds for you and us!

2004

2011

Happy Birthday Buddy!!

We Love you!
Mommy and Daddy

Happy 4th of July!!

I love the 4th of July! One, It’s a paid day off, and two it normally means spending time with family and a cookout! Every year we take this week of for our vacation and the past few years we have celebrated the 4th in the happiest place on earth…..Disney World! Unfortunately our plans are a little different this year. Yes I took the week off, but we are not spending it in Disney World. It’s alright, we are doing something just as fun!! Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July!!

Because it makes me smile…..

Couponing!! Yep, it’s the greatest thing and I am totally addicted!! I have been doing it a little over two years now, and the only thing I wished was that I had started it a long time ago. I love being able to stockpile things, and knowing that if/when I run out I have a spare one or two in the closet. I know a lot of people have watched the Extreme Couponing on TLC, and I am NO where near that crazy! Yes, I have binder; Yes, I take it with me just about everywhere; Yes, people stop me in the store and ask questions, but I am used to it. We have a pretty big pantry so I can usually fit a lot of my things in there, and I have 1 (small) hall closet that has a couple open shelves that I store the “stock pile.” Christian knows I coupon and the other day asked me if I was going to have a grocery store in our garage! So funny!! Since just about every person featured on the show have created stores in their basements, garage, living rooms and bedrooms. That’s just a little too crazy for me. I have gotten my mom and sister hooked, and they love it too. I make a list from the sale ad’s, gather my coupons and I am on my way. I do not go from store to store, I hit Kroger and Publix, and occasionally CVS. I can’t tell you the last time I went to Wal-mart. I go once a week, and depending on the prior week’s sale and what I have I can sometime’s skip a week and go every 2! I have cut our grocery bill in half, when once spending on average $550 a month to a nice average of $250-$275! It is so worth my time, and effort to save that kind of money!

I thought I would share my trip to Publix on Sunday. They were having a good sale on a few items, and with store coupons and manufacture coupons I did really good. Some of the things are not what I normally buy, but I needed them for our vacation this year. Buy now on sale…and save until I need it.

What did I buy??

2 Publix Sour Cream
2 Boxes Whole Fruit Frozen Bars
4 Packs of Solo Plastic Plates
2 Packs Vanity Fair Napkins (Free)
2 Packs Vanity Fair Large plates
2 Packs Vanity Fair small plates
4 Boxes assorted Ritz Crackers
2 Benadryl’s
2 Boxes of Band-aids
4 Bottle of Johnson and Johnson baby soap/bubble bath
2 Cans of Wet Ones antibacterial hand wipes

Total cost $86.41
Total Spent $29.97
Savings of $56.44

About 66% Savings!!

I think that kind of savings is worth the time spent….don’t you??