NEW Season...

Okay and away we go! I have found a job with a local physician's office. It is not what I would call a great career move, but does allow me to work in the same town and is fairly low pressure. It is a very fast paced environment but when I am home, I am home and I don't have to think about work while playing with the kids, cooking dinner and doing homework.

Tomorrow the kids will go to Ms. Belinda's house and will be away during the day for the first time in 8 months, so tomorrow will be a "new" phase for them as well. Tucker will eventually go to Ms. Belinda's full time, but for this week, he and his big sister will go for 3 days: M/T/W. I am glad I can start Tucker with Emily at his side. I hope this will ease his transition. Plus, Emily can give me the scoop of the happenings of the day. Sneaky mom.

In other news... Tony is getting that football itch and can't wait for the team to get here and begin the season. In all honesty, I'm with him! I'm ready for Fall, and for all the fun football season brings. I am hoping to get out to some of the away games this year and would love to take advantage of the last game being in San Antonio. We'll see!

Much love to you all!

what am I doing wrong>>>>>?????

Okay... HELP! Why do I have 2 layouts on top of one another. If I remove the blogger template I have a jumbled mess. But my friends blogs have their cute background behind their words... what am I doing wrong!?

Hurry take a picture before you forget!

Okay, so I've been sorting through my digital pics on my computer and I am simply overwhelmed with the thought of organizing them, buying them, editing etc... Don't get me wrong. I love to sit and mess around with pics of my kids, I could do it all day! But therein lies the problem. We as parents don't have all day do we.

Yea- yea, I know I've done Creative Memories and other scrap booking events, that all have "quick" and "easy" organization tools. In fact I was even a consultant for CM for a "quick" time. But the fact is it still takes time. And being more of a big picture person versus a detailed individual, it all works against my nature.

But seriously, we have created this mess for ourselves! I mean I have albums from my glorious middle school days! I really don't have any sort of emotional attachment to middle school.. no offense of course to my 6th grade boyfriend (sorry Nathan L.)

As a mom, I feel a serious NEED, to capture with my camera every cute face, funny expression, sweet-outfit- wearing body as if I will never remember any of it. The need is like.... nesting or something.. its like if it doesn't happen nothing will ever be as it should again! AHHHH!

Now, really I believe the pics are for the kids, as they love looking through and remembering for themselves. It makes them feel loved and cherished and it is a great way to show them who they are and where they come from.

But really, come on now, I think we can tone it down maybe just a little bit.

Settling in...

Day by day we are making a new home and it is beginning to actually resemble something like a domestic dwelling inside versus a cardboard jungle. I can tell that we are going to be happy here and have plenty of space to breath now.

The dishwasher really is an amazing machine. I missed it so when I was in our previous residence. It's truly amazing how much time that box cuts down on kitchen cleaning time.

OTHER NEWS>>>> Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr.
Emily has performed 4 times thus far and is looking forward to this weeks performances as well. I really am surprised I have now heard any complaints about the endless practices or performances. Impressive for my easily bored daughter. Maybe this is her thing. Although we may have to work on her on stage attention span.... Last performance she was singing but turned around watching the actors behind her. They were dancing and, well she wanted to watch. ; ) Sweet Emily.

MOM'S VISIT>>>>> Mother Day x 2
My wonderful Mom flew to KY to pay us a short for fun visit. She is an expert organizer and I thank God I have her for that and wonder why I did not inherit that trait. Although I think she views it as a flaw or illness rather than the gift that it is.

We decorated and cleared out an entire room of boxes.. WHEW WHOO! I'll post pictures soon. It was just great to spend time together and for the kids to love on and play with their Grandmommy.

The Bunny: Cocoa

The biggest recent news at the White house is that we have a new member in our family. We now are the proud owner of a bunny named Cocoa.

Emily has literally been praying every night for a dog. We've told her if when we move to a house with a fenced yard we will consider it. However, in Kentucky, they don't do fences.... no seriously, not many houses around here have actual fences. Those with dogs, mostly have electric fences.

This brings me to my second announcement... we are moving, again. But this time, oddly enough, we are moving 3 doors down the street. We are busting the seams of our current home.

So back to the bunny.... We can't have a dog at this our new house either (no fence yet). When I told Emily we would not be able to have a dog, tears began to flow and the purest voice of confusion emerged... "but Mom,I've been praying and asking Jesus every night!"

Oh man, my hear just sank... the moment has come for her.... the moment she learns that God's answer is not always yes. So I responded with the truth of, "God has answered your prayer, but right now, I guess God knows that a dog is not the best pet for us right now. Maybe we can do some research and find a pet we can have."

So, she decided on a turtle. Yep a turtle. So we went to the pet store to find our turtle. But you see, the bunnies are in the same area as the turtles....and our fascination and admiration of the cuddly little fur balls began.

The following two weeks we talked to the father... Tony Joe that is. We gained approval, researched, read rabbit magazines, and prepared a home for our lucky wabbit. And tada, enters Cocoa.

Cocoa is a Hotot Dwarf bunny- 5 weeks old from Berea, Ky. Tony Snow is from Berea, so I'm sure all bunnies from Berea are just as smart.

Cocoa has really begun to open up and show affection toward us. That was really rewarding for Emily. They are nervous animals by nature, but with time, I understand they will bond with their owners. She is very curious and searches the nooks and crannies of our living room when let out.

The first day we had her, she pretty much stayed in the back of her cage. Day 2, she actually "begged" to be let out. This is day 3...so I am keeping my fingers crossed that she continues on this path of funness.

Victim of image advertising...

Has anyone else notice the Coca-Cola trucks around recently. I don't know what it is.... Maybe a new coat of paint or new design or a re-intro of the classic design... no idea, but all of the sudden I see them everywhere.

Remember in the '80s and early '90s when Coke was the beverage of choice... that somehow seem to be diluted by Pepsi & Dr Pepper, but I don't know folks maybe our classic Coke is makin' a comeback.

I hate to admit it but due to the Coca-Cola image being impressed upon my brain... I actually have reached for at Classic Coke bottle for a pretty dedicated Dr.Pepper fan family. I actually stopped myself yesterday, and thought, why am I buying this... we prefer a Pepsi/Dr.Pepper. But that dang comforting red label almost got me.

Blueberry Baked French Toast

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/blueberry-baked-french-toast/


All I can say is YUM....

Ya gotta check out my friend's friend's blog....

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Full of great tips for families, cooking, and real life stuff. Plus, just a fun read.

God granted us common sense... so use it

As Christians, we pray about our family, our jobs, our purchases and everything else... and then we wait. We wait for an answer or confirmation before we make our move. I believe this is the right thing to do, but we must not forget that God gave us not only a spirit, but a brain. He wants us to put it to good use. So of course we must pray and see his will for our daily lives, however, you can't walk through life weighting for a miraculous sign at every corner.

Be confident in the knowledge and wisdom that HE has provided and trust HE will not fail you. He gave you a miracle of a body along with that soul. By my own experience God's plan is not always logical. After all talking to a burning bush is not the most logical thing to do. But His plan is always available and if you seek with a pure heart, you will find it. (in His time) Seek your wisdom from experiences, pray, pray some more and use your brain.

Thank you for allowing me to preach to myself....

Our Super Star Emily...

Emily auditioned for her first stage play. Several of her friends are active in plays since the Danville Community Theater is so family friendly and tons of fun. This performance will be Schoolhouse Rock LIVE!

It caught my attention because Emily has a VCR tape (yes I do still have a few tapes around the house) of the top 100 Schoolhouse Rock songs. She loves it and watches it frequently. So I knew she could relate to the music. I really didn't think she would get a part but thought it would be a positive experience for her to just audition. To our surprise, she will be singing on stage this summer!

Even though Tony and I already knew she had landed a spot, we decided to take her by the to let her find her name on the list for herself. So, we picked her up after school and told her we had heard they posted the list and we could go by to see. She immediately got a nervous look on her face. I told her that no matter what, it was a fun experience even if she didn't make it this time. (he he) We pulled up to the theater and we barely had stopped the van before Emily jumped out and ran to the window. It took her all of 5 seconds to find her name, and literally began jumping for joy! It was really fun to see.

I hope she enjoys this experience. It is a lot of practice and time, so we'll see how well she deals with it. I think she will have a blast and make a few new friends along the way.

Folks, I'm sold. I have officially put the coupons to the test. So, the great news other than saving $ is that I can avoid Wal-mart and still save if I choose to. YAY! I purchased $170 worth of groceries at Kroger a few days ago and through the use of coupons and my Kroger Card and downloading coupons on to my card (great idea btw) I reduced my purchase to $130. WOW! That's $40 free!

Now, the true test was when I went to Wal-mart and tried to use my coupons and only saved $3.50. So, I thought well, maybe Wal-marts beginning prices where lower. But I compared several items on both receipts and guess what... Kroger wins overall.

There is a caveat... this excludes the prices of health and beauty products... Wal-mart or you local drug store may still be a better bet.

I hope you give it a try. I'd love to hear your results and success stories, or perhaps you have a helpful tip!

Spiritual update

My January post is interesting to me as I have been somewhat refined since then. I just happened to run into a friend who invited me to a bible study. And so I went and am loving it. It is, Annointed, Transformed, Redeemed by Beth Moore, Pricilla Shirer, and Kay Arthur. Which that line up you know it's going to be powerful.

I have realized that I was with holding my heart from my God. I was saying and doing what I was suppose to as a Christian but withholding the most important connection from Him b/c I was feel a little "unblessed" and frustrated with God for where we are in our life. I have been selfishly dissatisfied but also felt I was wrong for feel that way and so I didn't confess it to the Lord. Guess I should pay more attention to my header verse on this blog...

Anyway I am getting over my devastation with God and working toward WHOLE-HEARTED obedience. I have had my "discussion" with God now and express my frustration. I can also see some things now that he has protected me from and trust that he is still doing so.

I will continue to love, trust and obey as I get through these trials. AND I will not POUT: (Pour old unloved thang" as Beth put it.

Coupons?? Or waste of time.

For a while I have casually clipped coupons, and using them (that is the key for some- using them). Sometimes I am proud of the deals I get and other times like this passed Sunday, none of my coupons seem to match up to be a very good deals. So my 30 minutes of organization prior my store visit seemed like a waste.

However did any of you see the Dr. Phil show yesterday about saving money?! It was really great. I am determined now to become an expert frugal mom and cut my gro bill in half. If you did not see it, go to Drphil.com and watch the segments. You can also go the blog frugalcouponmom.com and get your info from the source. I am very impressed and encouraged to try the coupon thing again.

I'm just bummed I already did my shopping this week. I want a redo.

See If I can get this thing going...

So, here I am in Kentucky! I like many Americans am currently not in the workforce. Although, this no work thing does not exactly fit our budget, I'm certainly enjoying being home with the kids.

The kids are loving it too! I am on the hunt for something to do. If I can do "it" from home, that would be even better. I am praying and listening, but feel like there is a lot of interference from other stuff making it difficult for me to hear! So, I'm open to suggestions.. Maybe you can hear better than I. : ) Wish it worked that way.

In the mean time I am busy as ever with the house and kids, that I 'm not sure how I ever fit work in. But, it took some work to get to this point. At first I was a little shell shocked. I had to just sit, look around and think, what am I suppose to do? What do my stay at home mom friends do all day. Then when my child became hungry on a regular basis and was dependent upon ME to feed him (Emily at school) and my husband was low on underwear, I remembered, Oh yeah, I had a household to run. And, I began to see all the things around the house that had to be put off or neglected all together, because there was just no time to do them before.

So, I'm busy. But busy in a good way. Now, I just have to figure out this budget/work thing.

I would love to post new pics of the kids, but my crazy computer will not allow me to download the software. I'm missing a driver or something. Maybe I have time to figure that one out now. Well, if I do! You'll know, because I'll flood this blog with pics.

Tucker is hilarious at age 2. We love to watch, listen and laugh with him! He has a strong spirit and loves to play with cars, truck and trains. He prefers the ones that don't make noise or go by themselves. He likes to push them around and make up his own noises. He has a big imagination. When playing with him, he usually makes me turn off the toy if it tries to take off on it own.

Emily is enjoying her school and making new friends. She describes herself as an "action girl" not a princess girl. She claims to not like the color pink, except bright or hot pink. That is funny to me because I have always described her as a hot pink girl and not a baby pink girl. She is currently in Gymnastics and loves it.

Tony and I are doing great as well. Centre College is a great school and has amazing opportunities for the students. Recruiting kids to play football here is not too difficult as the product really sells itself. Centre really has an excellent reputation especially in KY.

Tony had a winning first season as the Offensive Coordinator. There have been a lot of changes for the team and staff to handle as they learn a new offense. But all is going well, and we have high expectations for the following seasons ahead!

Its time for Tuck and I to go pick up Emily from school. Talk to you again soon!