Girls Night!

I was doing so good with blogging and then, Graham got off for 2 weeks, Christmas happened, we are still waiting on more Christmas and New Year's! I'll get back on track I promise.

Let's see, last Sunday we started our Christmas with lunch and Chinese gift exchange with the Hines'. Then we came home, took a nap to prepare ourselves for a night of crazy girls! I invited all of my cousins to come spend the night and make cookies together. I had 6 girls, plus me, graham and Addie in my small 1475 square foot house! WAYYYYY TOO SMALL for that many girls :) It was a blast though. We started making cookies Sunday night and baked for awhile, then they decided they wanted to dress up in my clothes and shoes so we had a fashion show. Addie was more than thrilled to have all these girls to play with. They even dressed her up too :) After pulling out my 25 formal dresses and all of them trying them on we made Graham film while they did their fashion show! Here are all the girls dressed up, aren't they beautiful! I tell you these girls really are beautiful inside and out. I love being about to watch them grow into young women. They are so pure and perfect, I'm sure God is pleased with this bunch :)

The next morning, we added Ellie to the bunch and started making even more cookies.


So let me explain this last picture....Last Valentine's day mom got Addie a pink and white dog, that Addie named "Pink" and hasn't let go of yet (except for the maybe 3 times we HAD to wash her, in which she screamed the entire time). Shortly after Pink arrived Addie got attached to this blanket, so Pink and blanket Go with us EVERYWHERE! Well, at the beginning of December, "Dolph" (Rudolph) joined the gang (thanks to mom), and when we went to see Santa "Pipkin" also joined (thanks again mom). Finally, a pink and white bear joined to clan 2 Sunday's ago (thanks to Mee-Mee). So now we take, Pink, Blanket, Dolph, Pipkin, and the new no named one whereever we go.

UPDATE: we actually got her to stop taking all of these out of the house. So we only take Pink places. But you better believe that when she brings you a book to read her, she HAS to get all of her friends and bring them to your chair to read also! And we CAN NOT go to bed without all of them!

I will post more on my Christmas week later! Have a nice day :)

My thoughts on the previous post

All of my life I have been told Christmas is not Jesus' birthday, it is just a holiday where family gets together. I was never told that we give gifts because gifts were given to Baby Jesus, I was told Santa Claus was just a magical man who would bring presents to all good little boys and girls. As a small child I didn't ask any more questions, really, who cares at that age WHY you are getting presents??



I was alittle older, still young enough to believe in Santa but old enough to ask questions, and I asked mom WHY would Santa want to make toys and give them away. Mom took me to our new interneted computer and told me to look on there( you have to realize my mom is a teacher, and all of her life and ours, she has taught us. She very rarely told us the answer until we looked for ourselves). I typed in my question and found only stories of Saint Nicholas, who filled kids shoes and socks with small toys (http://www.santasuitexpress.com/santa-claus-history.html?c1=sse&source=google&kw=santahistory I like this one the most!). I never found stories that said we give gifts because gifts were brought to baby Jesus.



A few weeks ago someone was telling Addie the story of baby Jesus, and that he is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Beacuse of my belief, and my strong will to voice my opinion, I jumped up (and totally handled it the WRONG way) and proceeded to tell them that WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN JESUS WAS BORN AND WE DO NOT CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AND JESUS' BIRTHDAY. Like I said, I should have pulled out the Bible and showed the verses to back up my beliefs, but I didn't. I made the person mad. I should have taken that opportunity to show WHY we don't believe that and WHY we will be teaching Addie different. I should have used that opportunity to study the word, and I didn't. I am sorry for that.



I know that my beliefs are based upon my upbringing, but I have studied this subject on my own and came to the same conclusions. I urge you to do the same. Drown yourself in the Word and decide for yourself. That's all I ask. If you come to the same conclusions you have been taught, then that is fine. Who am I to judge?? (Matt. 7:1-2)



Now, on another note. I also believe that if the World is going to take a day to celebrate Jesus' birth and reflect on Him, who am I to tell you that is wrong? Romans 14:5 says (NIV), " One man considers one day more sacred than another, another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who reguards one day as special,, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we dies to the lord. So, wether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, Then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother> For we will all stand before God's judgement seat. It is written: " as surely as I live," says the lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way." Then down into verse 22 it says, " so whatever you believe about these things keep between you and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin."

Along with my beliefs on alot of subjects, I believe I shouldn't condemn those who believe it is Jesus' birthday. Don't get me wrong, if you say it in front of me I will ask, " where in the Bible does it say to celebrate Jesus' birthday on December 25 (Christmas)?" I believe that if God wanted us to have a "Holiday" for Jesus' birth he would have said it clearly. But that doesn't mean you are wrong for taking that day to celebrate it, as long as you realized we don't know exactly when it was. I will not condemn you for your beliefs, and in return I ask that you don't condemn me for mine.



Isn't it alittle funny all the things we argue over? All the things in the world as we know it that weren't EXACTLY addressed in the Bible. Maybe the Bible mentions it briefly but doesn't give a RIGHT or WRONG answer. I think that is where God wanted us to be able to study his Word and decide for ourselves. That's where our Free will comes in. I can read the same verse as you and interept it totally different. I also believe that's why he put all the passages in there about not judging others, he knew it would come to this someday!



So as for me and my house, we will celebrate Christmas as just another holiday. A time for family and friends to get together and enjoy each others company. We will bake all kinds of wonderful food, listen to Christmas music, put up decorations, and go to bed hoping Santa will bring us toys to play with (Addie of course!). When that day comes that Addie asks me why we don't celebrate it as Jesus' birthday? I will give her the Bible and tell her to look for herself, and when she has reached a decision we would sit down as a family and talk about it. I plan on using the same method for each of her questions, pre-martial sex, dancing (I'm sure all you Church of Christ people are cracking up at that one), dating in general, abortion, and all those other political issues that I will have SO much fun arguing with her about :) (again everyone that knows me STOP LAUGHING!!). I am not here to judge you for your beliefs, I just ask that you go to the Bible and come up with your own beliefs. Don't JUST believe what people have told you all your life, check and make sure it's true. I bet there is at least one thing in there that you were taught that you won't agree with :)

Okay my last thought on this is if God wanted us to celebrate Jesus' birthday on a certain date he would have told us, and told us how to worship, and it would be clear. Just as it is clear the first church took the Lord's Supper every first day of the week (Acts 20:7). That they reflected on Jesus' death and Resurrection EVERY first day of the week. I am reminded also of the story of the Ark of the Covenant. God told them how to built it specifically, how to move it etc (Exodus 25). It was against the law to touch the Ark of the Covenant for any reason. When one of the oxen stumbled, Uzza, a servant of David, reached out his hand to steady it and God struck him dead (I Chronicles 13: 10-11)! I mean Uzza was probably just reacting without thinking and God struck him dead, because he said NO One was supposed to touch it. For this is why I try my hardest to do EXACTLY what God has said. Not to add, or take away. Where the Bible is silent, I will remain silent.

Again, these are MY opinions on the subject. I will not judge you or condemn you for what you believe. We should just leave the Judging up to God :)

Love you all!
Merry Christmas!

Christmas-----what do you think??

Christmas has long been a spiritual enigma, a veritable thorn in the side of those who respect Bible authority. Certainly, there is no Biblical authority for celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday. Where the Bible is silent, we, too, must be silent if we are to be true to ourselves and to our God. (I Peter 4:11; Matthew 15:9)

There is a growing tendency in the religious world today to bind upon Christmas the traditions of men. When one refuses to accept those traditions, they are branded as peculiar, narrow-minded and legalistic. A case in point is the religious celebration of Christmas. Repeatedly we are barraged by the news media and religionists to "put Christ back in Christmas.' Frankly, Christ was never in Christmas!

Some scholars admit that they do not know the exact date of Christ's birth. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, pg 726 states "concerning the date of Christ's birth, the Gospels give no help." The Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 5, pag. 642 records "The exact day and year of Christ's birth have never been satisfactorily settled." The Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 6, pg. 623 concurs "...no certain knowledge of the day of Christ's birth existed." The Everyman's Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, pg. 641 agrees "It is, however, certain that the time now fixed (Dec. 25) could not by any possibility have been the period of Christ's birth, as December is the rainy season in Judea." The following statement is taken from Vol. 2, pg. 276 of McClintock & Strong's Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological & Ecclesiastical Literature: "The observance of Christmas is not of divine order, nor is it of New Testament order. The date of Christ's birth cannot be ascertained from the Bible or any other source."

The early Christians did not know when Christ was born, for there is no record of a special date of it being observed. In the second century, a controversy arose over the reality of the human Christ. Some Christians began celebrating a feast day on January 6 as the baptismal date of Christ to prove that Christ was only a phantom nature, that He was a divine spirit only. To counteract this false practice, other Christians began to celebrate on January 6 and later on December 25 the coming into the world of the divine spirit as a physical entry....thus Christ's birthday.

Exactly when this practice began is not known;however, "....in the year 354, by order of Bipshop Liberious of Rome, December 25 was adopted." (World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, pg. 1425) Other historians have assigned such dates as March 25, April 19 or 20, and May 20. Six dates out of 12 months, in which some people, some time, some where have celebrated Christmas. In all probability, December 25 is not the birthdate of Christ because shepherds were tending their flocks in the field, and this would have been close to the growing season, not winter.

The term/name Christmas is of Catholic origin. "The name is derived from the medieval Christes Masse, the Mass of Christ." (Encyclopedia Americana) The Catholics had a special "mass" (their corruption of the Lord's Supper) for Christ and so they called it "Christ-Mass." In time it was shortened to Christmas. The religious observance of Christmas is a mixture of Catholicism/Romanism, paganism and heathenism. I do not believe that the name Christmas, even though of Catholic origin, perpetuates the erros of this ecclesiasticism any more than when I use the terms Sunday, Monday, Wednesday or Saturday I am perpetuation a belief in the false gods after which they were named. These words no longer convery their exclusive earlier meanings, and thus, Christmas signifies to many of us no more than a holiday.

The use of a tree is also shrouded in oblivion. Heathens used it first. Gradually it became associated with the festivites of the "Christmas season." About the same could be said of Santa Claus or St. Nick. Present day gift-giving grew out of the custom of feeding the poor and contributing to the needy.

The emphasis of the New Testament is upon the death of Christ and the benefits we may obtain therefrom, not upon His birth. God has ordained that His people never lose sight of the appropriate celebration for the church every first day of the week...Sunday, the Lord's day; when we remember His sacrifice, His cross, His death, His burial, His triumphal resurrection to assure our salvation. (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20; Acts 20:7, Icor. 11:23-29) This is the Gospel and the Good News is JOY! The world must be told that Christ is not a figment of one's imagination, a ghost, a historical misnomer....HE LIVED! CHRIST LIVES TODAY!

I think it important that we notice a few facts about the birth of Christ. Christ was born of a virgin in the fulfillment of Prophecy. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23) Christ was born in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:1) Our saviour was born in a manger. (Greek "Phathan" ..English "Crib" , Luke 2:7) Christ was named by God: Emmanuel, Jesus, Saviour, Christ the Lord. (Matt. 1:21-23; Luke 2:11) Shepherds were in the field at night. Angels sang to them and they came and saw Jesus. (Luke 2:8-18) Wise men came from the East (bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh) to worship the King of the Jews. (Matt. 2:1-11) It is noteworthy that the wise men did not see Christ in the manger, but in a house. (Matt. 2:11)

God did not leave us to guess what we are to do in worship. The Bible clearly indicated how and what Christians are to worship. "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24) Christians are to sing (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), pray (James 1:506; 5:13-16; Hebrews 4:16; I Thess. 5:17-`8), give (Luke 6:38; ICor. 16:1-2; II Cor. 8:1-5, 9:-6-9), Observe the Lord's Supper (Matt. 26:26-29, Acts 20:7; ICor. 11:23-29), preach/teach (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 1:21; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:14-10, 42, 46). Nowhere does the Bible remotely suggest the religious celebration of the birth of Christ, and had God intended such, He would have made known the date and what to do in worship on that day. (2Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3)

I am personally appreciative that there is a day ovserved by Americans as "Independence Day" and another as "Thanksgiving." There is something wholesome and beneficial about these customs. There is nothing unscriptural about having turkey on Thanksgiving. The fact that it is NON-scriptural does not make it UN-scriptural. There is a distinct difference in ebing NON-scriptural and UN-scriptural. Church buildings (meetinghouses), baptistries, song books, etc. are NON-scriptural, but not UN-scriptural.

Much of the custom of "Christmas" is non-scriptural. Anything connected with it that even borders on un-scripturalness should be eliminated! Whatever is non-scriptural, but not un-scriptural falls in the class of Romans 14:13-23 & I Cor. 8. Giving gifts, decorating a tree, putting on a red suit and cotton whiskers, giving parties, using bright lights and leave of holly, Non-religious Christmas cards and song, and visiting relative are a welcome release from the tensions of daily stress and improves human relations. The custom in itself serves a good purpose. We respect the opinions of other who differ on the subject, but will not be bound by them.

We should be a Christian's attitude toward Christmas? We should attach no religious significance to this holiday season! We must teach our children that all religious traditions of Christmas are FALSE! Using Christmas as a national holiday to exchange gifts and visit with family and friends is NOT wrong. It is an opportunity to strengthen family ties, teach unselfishness and promote cheer and goodwill as can be done on the other occasions such as birthdays, etc. Finally, it is proof of the divinity of Christ to find Him so popular over 2000 years after his birth that the civilized world wants to celebrate His birth, whether it knows the date or not. Thank God for our Lord and His coming into the world by virgin birth. We shall continue teaching His Truth, regardless of "Christmas."

But....December 25 is NOT the birthday of Jesus; never has been never will be!

Written by Edgar C. Beard
Our preacher....




I'm SURE this will stir up alot but I would still like to hear your comments. Those of you who DO celebrate Christmas as Jesus' birthday have you just done it because everyone else does or have you actually researched it for yourself?
I will tell you my opinion on Saturday night!

Working

I am working on a post about Christmas. My preacher wrote an AMAZING article Sunday and I am in the midst of typing it. Hopefully I will have it posted by tonight! Be sure to check back and read the article.....it really is good :)
Happy Wednesday :)

Random thoughts

1. I have started 4 posts in the last 2 days and just can't seem to finish them.

2. Although, I do atleast 1 load of laundry every day, my laundry room is filled to the top..........it's filled with clean clothes because I have this HORRIBLE habit of not folding and putting up when they get done. Poor Graham has to sort through 5 baskets to find clothes for work. My goal today is to put it all up.

3. Addie spent the night with Graham's parents Friday night, we all went to the LV parade on Saturday, then Graham and I took her to my parents for Saturday night. We had a WHOLE weekend alone and we were asleep both nights by 10:30! Wow how your life changes when you have a kido :)

4. Josh (Ellie's dad), Ellie, Addie and I all searched for over 20 minutes yesterday for Ellie's shoe.............I am STILL looking for it! She is a pretty good hider!

5. Graham's last day of work is Friday, and then he will be off for 2 weeks. I hope we don't kill each other :o (JK ofcourse)

6. I am making a pot roast with carrots, mashed potatoes, homemade bread, sweet tea and an apple cake for dinner tonight (to make up for Graham having to search for clothes to wear :)

7. I went grocery shopping last night.......I saved $120!! And I spend just under $200 and got about 3 weeks worth of food! I was so proud when I got home..........Graham didn't say good job or anything..........he was mad because I bought the wrong kind of peanuts! You see what I live with???ARG!!!

8. I have to mail Christmas cards today.

9. I think I like this random post stuff :)

10. I am TRYING to find a new phone but really having a hard time spending $100 on a phone! Plus the whole $30 a month data thing (which we already pay for Graham's Iphone HE HAD TO HAVE). I think when you have been a customer for more than 10 years they should give you a phone for free!!

11. I guess I should get off here and make the girls something for breakfast, Addie should be up soon :)

Have a great day!!

Better pictures for Miranda!

Here is a better close up!

Beyond words!

Last night Graham and I took Addie with us to the mall to get a few more Christmas presents. We shopped around for awhile then I told him I wanted to look at a new cell phone (I'm due for an upgrade). After FALLING IN LOVE with this:

Graham says Why don't you wait just alittle longer and MAKE SURE this is the one you want. He REALLY made me mad. EVERY time Graham wants something he just goes and buy it, (Iphone is a good example. He wanted it I told him it was too much but he got it anyway!)but if I ever want anything it's always, we don't have the money for that, Are you sure you want that one, Are you going to break it. Just whatever he can say to make me rethink it because he knows I wont get it if I rethink it.

Well all the way home I was mad. I brought up the other things that were bothering me too. Like, I know that he talks to people all day and is tired of it when he gets home.........but I talk to 2 year olds! I NEED him to ask me how my day was and atleast ACT like he is paying attention to me when I tell him funny things the girls do all day. I have just really felt neglected this week and I wanted him to know he hurt my feelings.

We got home and I was getting something to drink, I turned around in the kitchen to see Addie walking towards me with a long box. She gave it to me and I just held it. I said to him, "First of all, you can't give me my Christmas present because I'm mad at you, and two you got me that Lens for my camera! " He was beaming from ear to ear and said, "Open it." Echoed by Addie, "Open Mommy!"

I have NEVER been so shocked in my life! (When Graham proposed, I knew what he was doing) He really got me this time. See ever since we have been together I have showed and talked about tennis bracelets. How one day when we are rich I want one. It is one of three pieces of jewelry I have ever asked for. First I wanted an engagement ring, and then I wanted a pearl necklace (to match my pearl ring, earrings, and bracelet) and a tennis bracelet. We have looked at them before but I am VERY picky. I love Antique looking jewelry. The Bracelets I have found that look antique are always like $10,000. Okay maybe not that much but out of our price range.

When I opened the box and saw the diamonds smiling back at me I closed it! Ha, like on a movie where they are so suprised that they close it. I didn't think that really happened. I opened it again and I may have screamed...................REALLY loud.......and CRIED really hard! I went through, we can't do this.....you already got me a lense.....WE CAN'T DO THIS! But his perfect smile said it was okay! It's amazing how his smile can make me not worry!

I'm sure you figured it out but he got me a tennis bracelet. A VERY beautiful tennis bracelet. That ALMOST puts my wedding set to shame,lol!

I know I know these pictures aren't the best but if you click on them you can see it better!

I am SOOOO excited!

(Note: Graham did GREAT, I was in tears all night. But he is still introuble for hurting my feelings. Buying me a nice gift doesn't change the fact that he has ignored me all week :) OKAY OKAY, so he is in just alittle bit less trouble :))

Oh Headbands.....How I love thee......

I LOVE HEADBANDS! There I said it! I may actually have alittle problem with it.....yesterday, after Addie had pulled them ALL out and was trying them on I decided to count them. I have 53 headbands. I have every color you could imagine, I have big flashy ones, and so discrete ones. I have them with huge bows on top, huge flowers, and there are several I have made myself with ribbon and hair-ties. I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! My problem though??? I stay at home 85% of the time so why in the world do I have a small fortune in headbands?
I have this black one with the huge flower............I. LOVE. THIS.. I think it is too cute, Graham on the other hand HATES it. He HATES them all, but what do boys know, right?

The bottom one is one I NEEEEEED. No really I NEED it!

Random Thoughts

1. I started using a lip gloss last week and now my lips are so dry? I can't figure it out, but I am SO addicted to the lip gloss I can't stop using it, therefore my lips just get dryer and dryer :(

2. Addie ate diaper rash cream on Monday and again on Tuesday. Trust me, after the first time I hid it in a drawer in her closet. Although, she has NEVER gotten in that drawer before she did yesterday to find the cream!
(NOTE: poison control says she will be fine!)

3. I can't remember for the life of me getting out of school for flooding??? yet it seems they get out all the time for it now. I guess they deserve it, since they have so many days built in that they don't get back....what's up with that?

4. I am officially a crazy woman, I have planned a sleep over plus make 100s of cookies the nest day for all the girls on my side of the family. There will be 8 girls from the age of almost 2 to 13 over here! I am SO EXCITED! We are going to watch girly movies, eat junk food and play!! Then get up and make ALL KINDS of sweet treats!!

5. I am getting better at blogging in the mornings before Ellie gets here and Addie gets up!

6. Lately When I look at my hubby I realize I have totally married the most WONDERFUL man in the world. And he just gets HOTTER and HOTTER every day :)

It's Christmas time in the city!

Saturday night I dressed Addie up to take pictures infront of the tree (we were bored). She was really funny she kept laying on the floor posing. Everytime I would put my camera down she would get it, give it to me and go lay or sit infront of the tree. Can we say future supermodel??

Snow in Tennesse in DECEMEBER???WHAT??

Can I just say that it is AWESOME that we live within 5 miles of each of our parents?? Friday Graham wanted to go hear a band downtown so we just let Addie spend the night with my parents. So easy, packed a bag in like half a second and ran her down there! It's SO NICE! That is the MAIN reason we are having a hard time looking to move into a bigger house. The bigger houses here are just too expensive so we would need to move about 20 minutes away to get what we want.

Anyways, so Graham and I went downtown to hear this guy sing. He was REALLY good, but he didn't start playing till 10:30! That is past my bedtime. We still had a good time hanging out together!

When we came home about 2:15 (am, yes it was LATE!!) it was just starting to snow. The weather guys said it would lay but they say that alot and we get NOTHING. So we try and not get our hopes up.....................BUT when I woke up at 7:30 Saturday morning it was all white!! PERFECT AND WHITE! Ofcourse I jumped out of bed, got ready and went to get Addie from mom's, thinking she would be so excited about playing in the snow. WRONG!

I hurried because I knew the snow would melt soon. This was one morning that I could have slept till 11 or 12 even BUT no I got up and went to get my sweet little girl. My sweet little girl that did this when we took her to see the snow

She is crying! She Cried MOST of the time. THere was about a 2 minute span where she thought it was fun to throw snowballs at mommie..........
Then Addie realized the snow was WET and that was the end of that! All that trouble getting ready, getting her ready for 10 minutes outside!

Can we say HORRIBLE BLOGGER??

I TRY TRY TRY to blog. But when I have a second to sit down I find myself looking on Facebook or just sitting still and watching TV. I really thought the older Addie got the more time I would have to do things while she was playing. But she is just so DARN cute when she says, "Mommie, Play Pleaaaassseeee!" I can't resist! How IN THE WORLD while I have time for baby number 2? I really feel like I am ready for it but it makes me sad to think of the one-on-one time I will be missing with Addie!

Let's see, I don't think I even posted pictures from Halloween? How bad am I? Addie was a Autumn Fairy! It has been very important to me to MAKE her costumes every year. And I found a picture of this one on a blog and made my own. Ofcourse, it turned out completely different from the picture I was going on BUT I thought she was so cute!

Thanksgiving has never been a big holiday for me. While growing up I ate EVERY sunday with my WHOLE family. So it's really just another 'sunday dinner' except it is on Thursday and we eat alot more food. That's it! Well last year we had to go to my family at 12, leave there and drive to Ooltewah by 2 and eat with the Jones' side (dottie's side), and then Friday night we ate with The Hines. It was HARD to do with a 9mth old. Especially My 9mth old who has been on a VERY strict schedule since she was maybe 3 or 4 weeks old. Needless to say, when the Jones' were getting together WAY before Thanksgiving and the Hines' were doing it later or not even at all I wasn't too upset. Then the Sunday before Thanksgiving my family decided to go to Sherwood (my whole family is from there) instead of doing dinner at papa's. The timing was ALL wrong and would totally mess up Addie's naptime so we decided not to go (And because it's just another day to me). So that morning my parents and Cale came over for breakfast and I made Pumpkin pancakes, apple cider syrup and coffee. Then Graham's parents and brother and sis-in-law came over for dinner. It was VERY NICE to stay at home ALL DAY!

Now it is the beginning of December and Santa has got, sorry Made all of the things that Addie wanted (or.........Mommie wanted Addie to get), and I really only have 3 or 4 more gifts to buy for family! I've even wrapped them all too! I'm pretty proud of myself! Well, for wrapping, I totally overdid Addie's Christmas so much that I went back and pulled things out to give her for her birthday! But I think she will be really excited about her Big present! I am so excited for this christmas because Addie will hopefully be a blast! I can't wait for her to open presents on Christmas morning,and help me make cookies and cakes and candy and all the other cooking and baking I seem to do this month!

Last Saturday we put up our Tree and Addie was such a help. She helped string the lights and she was the best ornament hanger there ever was! The only problem is that she won't leave the tree alone now........she keeps rearranging the ornaments! We made a pink and black tree to go in her room complete with pink lights! I am VERY excited about it!

Sorry I don't have any pictures at the moment of it :)

New blog

I have started a new blog which I am REALLY excited about! It will be all things domestic! Cooking, cleaning, laundry, crafts, etc! Go check it out! I promise I have set aside time every morning to post!

www.pinkstilettosinthekitchen.blogspot.com

Have a great day!!

Sweet Treats!

I'm sorry I have been the worst blogger in the world! Fall has been a BUSY season for us. We had a wedding at the beach (complete with a whole week stay for me and Addie), baby showers, anniversary trip, family trips, then the normal cleaning house, laundry, all that fun stuff!

Over this time I have realized that I like to blog but when it comes to it I always pick to cook or bake something instead of blogging. So I am going to start adding some of my recipes into my blog. Some will be my own blood, sweat and tears and some will be from cookbooks, blogs etc. But when I find a recipe from someone else that I LOVE I HAVE TO SHARE!

I have gotten a few comments on FB to post some of my recipes so here are a few to start :

BRANDY'S OREO TRUFFLES:

1 package of oreos

1 8oz. package of cream cheese

1 box of white chocolate bark

1. Crush 7-8 cookies and set aside.

2. Crush the remaining cookies (I use my magic bullet or a plastic bag and hammer!) and then add the cream cheese (soften it first!). Use the back of a spoon to mix these two.

3. Roll this mixture into small balls and place on wax paper covered baking sheet.

4. Melt the white chocolate. Dip the balls into the chocolate, tap to get the excess off and set back on was paper. You can sprinkle the finely crushed cookies on top for decoration.

5. Once they all dry, refrigerate!

(NOTE: You can do this with any cake mix also. Bake the cake as directed and then let it cool. When the cake is cooled, crumble it into a large bowl and add Cream cheese (softened), mix the two together and roll into balls. Dip in chocolate (white or dark) and let dry then refrigerate! I make these at Christmas every year will all kinds of different cookies and cakes!)

BAIRD HOUSE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

(Graham surprised me with a "last trip before the Addie came" the Christmas before Addie was born. He took me this B&B in Valle Crusis, NC,The Bair House. It was wonderful. Dee-Dee is the most amazing cook and I begged for the cookbook the entire time we were there. Unfortunately she was waiting on the new copies to come in so I couldn't get one right away. But Graham ordered it for my birthday. To say the least I WAS TOTALLY EXCITED! (I MAY HAVE SCREAMED ALITTLE!)

3/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter (soften)

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 12oz bag chocolate chips

1 12oz bag of Reese's peanut butter chips

you can add nuts if you like them

1.Cream sugar and butter,mixing well. Gradually add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.

2.In another bowl combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring until just blended. Add the chips and nuts.

3. Drop by rounded tablespoon on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack and ENJOY!

(I call these PMS cookies, they really do the trick! THEY ARE WONDERFUL!)

OKAY HERE IS THE BIGGY!

PIONEER WOMAN'S CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE:

Cake:

2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 cups of sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup of buttermilk

(if you don't have buttermilk you can add 1 tbsp of white vinegar to just under 1 cup of milk and stir together. In this case use 1/2 tbsp white vinegar and half cup of milk)

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 sticks of butter

4 heaping tbsp of cocoa powder

ICING:

1 3/4 sticks of butter

4 heaping tbsp cocoa powder

6 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 pound of powdered sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (again you don't HAVE to use nuts)

CAKE:

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar and salt. Stir together and set aside.

In another bowl mix buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and soda. Mix with a fork and set aside.

In a medium saucepan melt the butter. Add the cocoa powder. Whisk together to combine.

Meanwhile boil one cup of water in another pot.

When the butter is melted pour the water in. Allow to bubble for a minute then turn off the heat. Pour the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture.

Stir well for a few minutes to cool down the chocolate mixture, then add the egg mixture.

Stir together until smooth then pour into a greased cake pan and bake for about 20 mins.

ICING:

While the cake is baking make the icing.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth.

Add the milk and vanilla

Add the powdered sugar. Stir together.

Dump in the nuts and stir to combine.

Immediately after removing the cake from the oven pour the icing on top. You'll want to avoid spreading so pour it evenly over the cake.

(GO MAKE THIS RIGHT NOW! IT'S WONDERFUL!)

Okay so there are some SWEET treats to try! Later I will post so starters, main dishes and soups!

Bragging rights!

*Caution: I am about to brag about myself!*

So I have been doing 30 day shred for about 2 months now, and have been making healthier food choices. Last night I was getting ready for church and decided to try a pair of red pants I bought back when I was a Faulkner..................THEY FIT! They were alittle snug but still I got them on and was comfy enough to wear them! I have been SO excited! When I stepped on the scale this morning I have lost 43 lbs since Addie was born! I still have about 20 to go to meet my goal but the pants fitting has DEFINITELY boosted my determination! YAY for me!

Sorry, I know I am REALLy bragging BUT I think I get too every now and then!
Happy day to all!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

I was just browsing craigslist, like I do everyday, and I came across a picture that I has really upset me!

It was of a man pushing his baby in a stroller with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth!

COME ON!

Dude do you not know what that does to a baby??? And if he HAS to have one while walking his baby down the street he probably does it in the house too! Can we say lung cancer? ear infections-which lead to ear problems, growing problems and the 1,000,000 other things this causes????

Granted I MAY be jumping to conclusions, he may not have it lit and he may NEVEr smoke around her............but i doubt it!

It aggravates me to no end when I see a pregnant woman smoking. Does no one ever tell them that its like holding a pillow over your baby's face for the 4-5 mins it takes you to smoke it? Is it REALLY worth that? These people are so selfish! Too selfish to have kids if you ask me!

Oh the ongoing project....

It seems like FOREVEr ago that we started this kitchen remodel, and we STILL aren't done! Back on 6-18 I wrote a post saying we would have a new kitchen in 2 weeks..........hahaha........wow was I wrong! It's now 10-6-09 and we are not finished! I will have to give Graham alittle break, he is in the middle of his MBA and for the past 8 weeks he had 2 classes and it about killed us all! He would work all day, come home, eat dinner play with Addie for about 20 mins and work on school till midnight or so and then the entire weekend. It was HORRIBLE, and he will start that again in about a month, argh!!! Anyways, we FINALLY got the wall out, support beam in, the countertops in, the cabinets painted (OH MY GOODNESS WHAT A NIGHTMARE, another post another day!). Graham has put up all the dry wall but has yet to mud it! I have painted all the walls except for the part that needs to be mudded. HOPEFULLy, one day we will finish this nightmare! Here are some of the pics!

* These pics are SO out of order but I don't feel like moving them all around!*

Obsessed!

I am COMPLETELY obsessed with this website:

http://chefscatalog.com

If you love to cook, and love high quality products, this is the place for you!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE just looking around at all the neat products. I have started a wish list for xmas. If Graham could come up with about $8000 (as of this moment) I could have everything! ofcourse I don't see that happening. But I have listed them from most important to least. I HIGHLY recommend you take a look at this website! I'll post some of the must haves later, right now I am about to head out the door to go to Montgomery for my niece's birthday party tomorrow AND then the BEACH on sunday for a whole week!!!! YAY me and Addie!

I'm Running around I'm so EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AHHHH! I am SO EXCITED! I just Pre-ordered a copy of this:

The Pioneer Woman Cooks! It goes on sale October 27th! I have tried SEVERAL of her recipes and never once had one turn out bad! I LOVE her, I spend HOURS and HOURS searching through her website, reading her blogs on photography, family, cooking, mainly her life! You should really check it out! http://thepioneerwoman.com/ one look and you'll be hooked I swear!

So everyone go on over to Amazon.com and pre-order the most WONDEFUL cookbook ever!!!!!!

My little sweetheart!

Addie will be 19 months old on Thursday! Where has the time gone? I mean really, everyone always said it would fly by but you don't realize it till you have a baby!

She is into EVERYTHING these days, she tests me beyond belief! I don't know where she gets that from??!?! The other day she was taking a nap, and I was trying to do laundry and clean. I hear her wake up but figure I have time to put one more load in. As I am switching the laundry out I hear a commotion in her room................then I hear her RUN to her door, well run INTO her door, fumble with it a few seconds and finally get it open. Then she runs down the hall, finds me and says, "Mommie I poop!". I'm thinking, 'OH GREAT! where did you poop?' since she went to bed with a diaper and pants on and now she is only wearing her tshirt. Addie gets my hand and runs me into her room where I find this:

Her pants laying in the floor at the door, her diaper laying beside her bed and POOP on the floor beside her rug! I was thinking how glad I was that she had pooped because it had been a day or two and I was worried. As I am standing in her room I just look at her and she looks up with a BIG SMILE and says, "Mommie I poopied! AND WIPED!" lol. I look around and she had wiped herself with a blanket! and she was ever so proud of herself!

Kids sure are funny! How in the world do you not laugh at them? Earlier on Friday I was changing the laundry out and Addie was standing at the door, I said, "Addie, go get Pink and your blanket, it's time for a nap." This is when my child grew into a teenager in all of 5 seconds....she rolled her eyes, turned around and said, "OHHH SH**!". REALLY? HOW DO YOU NOT LAUGH AT THAT?? I turned my head and cracked up. Ofcourse I got myself together and told her that was a bad word and we don't say it but man on man, that was a hard convo to get through without laughing! (BTW-she didn't hear that from me, she heard it from her father who got in big trouble over it!).

I hope you all have a great day!

Dreams

Oh how I want a B&B! Since I was a little girl I thought that would be the perfect business to own. Graham and I could work together, my children could play at home, we would meet all kinds of neat people, I WOULD GET TO COOK BREAKFAST AND COOKIES EVERY DAY!, I would clean, and sit on the porch in the evenings with our guests and learn about their lives! How wonderful does that sound? The only problem is I don't know where I want to have one at. I suppose it would be nice for it to be around here BUT then again I want a house with history in neat new city!

I change my mind on location all the time! When we drove up the east coast for our honeymoon I wanted one in Mass or Maine, I went a two mission trips in high school to Cape May, NJ and wanted one there, then last year we went to Wyoming and ofcourse I wanted one there. Wyoming is one place Graham and I agree on. Mainly because he wants to have a ranch, BUT we could have a ranch B &B!

I look constantly at different ones for sale, today I found this jewel of a place on the Maine coast:

This charming place is in southern coastal Maine and has 10 rooms with 2 suites! I LOVE IT! It's within walking distance to town and beautifully landscaped all for $1.3 million! lol! Actually, that really is a pretty good price!

And then there is this one in Cape May, NJ:

This one looks across the street to the ocean! It too has 10 suites and ALOT of history in the home all for $1.2 million!

ahhh dreams! I wish Graham was as adventurous as I am. I really would just pack everything we could and do it!

What a crazy few weeks!

let's see......after the whole "chemical Pregnancy" as the docs call it (I still consider it a baby that I miscarried) we have had some serious conversations about Birth control and Hines #2.

WARNING: I'M ABOUT TO GET REALLY PERSONAL!

There I warned you ;)



I decided to leave the IUD out, you can read below about some of the reasons behind this decision. But I have tried several pill forms of BC and they all throw me WAY off and I am CRAZY. I used the Ring when we first got married but that resulted in Addie (haha). So we thought maybe we would try to get pregnant (not that it is hard for us, apparently) and then Graham 'get fixed' (I LOVE THAT, it's like he is a dog or something,ha!) and I would get my tubes tied also. But we were faced with all the fears of having another one....Have we had enough time with JUST Addie? Will she still get enough attention? Do we have enough money for two(NO! but we didn't have enough money for one either!)? And ofcourse I thought of the stupid stuff, Where will we put another baby(Graham wasn't too keen on the idea of moving, JUST YET)? How will I get to take naps if I have two!? (Stupid, I know!) and I was worried about not getting to buy Addie EVERY cute outfit I can find!

I'm still not convinced we need another baby. I think deep down I want another, but I went through alot to get Addie here. How can I do that while taking care of Addie too? Graham on the other hand WANTS ONE NOW! Easy for him to say he doesn't have to carry it for 8 or 9 months! After much consideration, we have decided to TRY and wait till the end of next summer to get pregnant again. We are planning a trip to Disney World next Spring with Addie. I KNOW, I KNOW she's too young! We think she will LOVE it! She may not remember it when she is 20 but we will. And it's NOT going to be the only time she gets to go (we plan on every other year as the kids grow up). Graham and I have always agreed, trips are IMPORTANT. We have taken SEVERAl awesome trips.

Pregnant? Not Pregnant? Pregnant?

Sunday night- I wasn't feeling myself so I took a pregnancy test.......it was faintly positive! After freaking out for alittle while I became concerned because I have an IUD.

Monday- I called as soon as they opened and told my doctor what was going on...they told me to come on in as soon as I could. At my appointment they did 2 urine test....both negative. So they did an ultrasound..negative (but did find a large cyst). To MAKE SURE I wasn't pregnant they did blood work and sent me home. That afternoon the nurse called me back and told me that the bloodwork showed that I was indeed pregnant and I needed to come back in Tuesday. Monday night was very hard. We know we want more babies but this was out of the blue and we weren't ready. I know I know when are you ever ready for a baby? But all of you that have had a shocker know what I mean. I went through the all the "stupid" questions: Have we had enough time with Addie alone? Where would we put another baby? Are we ready to start all over? Finally, after talking with my mom I felt better and by Tuesday I was even alittle excited.

Tuesday- I go back to the doctor and have my IUD removed and make yet another appointment for Wednesday for more bloodwork to determine how far along I am.

Wednesday- I cart Addie and Ellie (with the help of my wonderful cousin Jordan) to the doctors office to have labs drawn. That afternoon I get another call saying the hormone levels went down and it was a "chemical Pregnancy". SERIOUSLY??? I was finally okay with this and excited! So once again I start to cry! (this was seriously the 100th time since Sunday!) It really was for the best because if I was pregnant and the baby was due when I thought it would be, it would have been due right when graham was finishing his MBA....not a good time. We would have made it and it would have been fine but still not ideal. Okay so this brings me to why IUD's are BAD!
A Chemical Pregnancy is an extremely early miscarriage. Most the time this is due to chromosomal problems with the fetus so the body rejects it. It's also a very common thing and even more common with IUD's. In most cases the woman will test positive before she has missed a period (very early) but a miscarriage occured before you can see the heartbeat on an ultrasound. Most women don't even know this happens. -that's what scared me the most, could this have been happening every month? could I have been pregnant several time and the stupid IUD miscarry it? OH MY GOODNESS! What am I doing to my children!
With all this said, I want to encourage every woman out there THINKING of an IUD to reconsider. Granted I loved the IUD until I found all this out....and it probably does say it in all the information they give you to read before you get one but who really reads that? I don't want anyone else going through this, I had a miscarriage in November due to my IUD but didn't have it taken out (it wasn't the same situation as this time, the baby was further along. My doc also told me it can take a few months for the IUD to get in perfect position). Oh how I wished I had just taken it out then. So please, research the IUD's before jumping into it, there are alot of things that can happen with it. So many that some doctors won't use them! That says something in itself! I'd be glad to share more of my experience with you if you are thinking of an IUD, so please let me know.
Thank you for the prayers this week. I am better today knowing that God is in control and he does everything for a reason. That sure is a hard concept to take in huh? We are better and will just continue to get better. If you could still keep us in your prayers the next few weeks that would be great. Thanks again!

Julian Michael's is kicking my B***

I am SO sore! Monday I started Julian Michael's 30 day Shred and let me tell you..........it's tough! BUT it's awesome! The reasons I Love it:
1. 3 mins of strength, 2 mins of Cardio and 1 min of Abs. So when you are getting tired of jumping jacks or butt kicks you are about to stop and go on to something else and you just have to push yourself for 2 mins....how hard is that?? Even a person with NO motivation can do this! Come on it's 2 mins!
2. The entire workout is done in 30 mins!
3. I feel AWESOME when it's done
4. Even though I am SO SORE I am still looking forward to my workout each morning! (That has NEVER happened to me before!)
5. Lastly.....Everything I have read about it says that people who do it everyday loose weight usually about 20 pounds in 30 days! I can do anything for 30 mins a day for 30 days!

I totally recommend everyone doing this workout! Even better...If you have Comcast On Demand workout 1 and 2 are free right now, so you have NO excuse not to atleast try it!!

Good Luck! Look forward to pics in the next few weeks!

Random

I know it's been like a month since I posted but we have been EXTREMELY busy around here! We started the kitchen remodel and it's still going on. Graham knocked out half the wall between the living room and kitchen and started the dry wall and cleanup of the wall (still not done). Last week I painted the walls LIME GREEN, and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I was VERY nervous about it at first but I am so glad I stayed strong and went with the crazy color, it looks really good. Last night I started sanding and painting the cabinets. WHAT A JOB! It really sucks, luckily I don't have ALOT of cabinets. My plan is to get them all painted by Friday. Actually I WILL get them painted by Friday because I just started and it's a complete mess! Mess+ 2 little girlies= trouble! Graham went last week to the countertop place to order the color we agreed on and it came up to like $200 more than we thought because of the finish on them. I told him to wait and let me look at some more because I wasn't INLOVE with them enough to spend that much money on them. After alot of looking and arguing with him we have picked another color, so I am calling to order them today. It should just take a week to get them back. SO MAYBE, just maybe we will be down with the in 2 weeks (after the countertops get in Graham has to finish the dry wall, he can't finish it till the bar piece comes in ). Did I mention we have something planned for every weekend from this past weekend till sometime in OCTOBER! Seriously! AND Graham has 2 classes instead of 1 for the next 8 weeks, which is taking MOST of his time! I keep thinking if we can just get to Nov we will be fine but then it will be Thanksgiving, and Christmas! AHH! Oh yeah, Graham has planned a get-away for me and him for our anniversary in October too! He won't tell me where he is taking me but says its really pretty and I will love it!

Addie has climbed out of her bed 2 times now SO I am on the hunt for a new "big girl" bed for her. I figure since we are changing that we should just go ahead and redo her room, as if I don't have enough projects going on........by the way, I started sewing again last week :). Anyways, Dottie has given her and antique chest so I have totally scratched the idea of hot pink walls, zebra prints, black furniture etc and I am going for a sophisticated "pretty" little girls room. My friend Heather showed me what her friend was redoing her little girl's room in (does that make sense?) and I LOVE IT! Since I don't really know her friend I figure it's okay to copy, hehe. Here is a picture of the bedding........

isn't it BEAUTIFUL?? I love it BUT I don't love the price....for everything we "need" it would be about $800! Seriously?? Who pays that much money for a little girls bedding??? I showed it to my mom and she said we could do it. So I am just going to order a few things and we are going to make the quilt ourselves, I love having a crafty mom! Currently, Addie's room is painted pink and green stripes so I am just going to paint over the pink stripes with white. It will take awhile but I am going to slowly buy her and antique chest, nightstand, and vanity, which will grow with her through her teenage years. For now we are just going to get a white toddler bed but eventually she will get an antique big bed. I think it will be very cute.....just don't know when I will get around to starting it :)

King of Pop

As everyone in the world knows The King of Pop has passed away today :( Michael Jackson was a BIG part of my life when I was little. I listened to his music all the time! I loved it all from the old stuff back in the Jackson Five days to his most recent. MJ was such a GREAT entertainer in every aspect of the word! I know he turned alittle weird the older he got but if you look as his childhood you can't help but be inspired by him. He overcame so much abuse to become one of the few names that will live on forever. So to Michael, your music and legacy will live on forever and to his family and all those who loved him, my prayers are with you!

Share your favorite MJ song!

Mine is :

Man in the mirror