Merry Christmas Everyone!

We had a fabulous Christmas this year! The girls both loved all of their gifts from everyone. Kaylee got lots of horses and My Little Pony toys, playdoh and baby dolls and baby doll accessories. Mykenzie got board games, video games, dog/animal toys and baby doll stuff. They went shopping today so they could spend their money from their PaPa and Uncle Tony and Kaylee picked out more Ponies and Mykenzie picked out more dogs! lol They both got some clothes too. Uncle Mike sent them both some money and I think they are going to get a membership to the Discovery Center with it since they both loving going there so much this way we can go more often. They will both have some left but they truly don't need any more toys so they may save it till they find something they are dying to have :)

I had an awesome Christmas! My husband spoils me for sure! I got the wine rack I have wanted for my kitchen for 3 years and haven't bought, a belt (totally needed it badly), a car charger for cell phone, and some other things but my main gift was my laptop and a wireless router!! Yay! I am so excited to have this thing! I totally love it. Travis was pretty happy with his iPod. I got him the 80gb video one so he can put a TON of songs and movies on it. I think he will love it even more when he is traveling alot. Not a Wii but still pretty good I think.

Kaylee is such a dramatic kid to begin with but watching her open her gifts was too funny this year. Everything got a huge smile a loud squeal and a big hug! Mykenzie was even more enthusiastic this year. Normally she just opens, looks, and tosses them aside this year she was alot more excited this year. We had a relaxing day playing with new toys and eating turkey :) It was a great day, but now we have to find a place for all the new toys and get our house back to normal, take down the tree ect. Just think in 11 months we get to do it all over again :) I hope all of you had a wonderful day too! Pictures will be coming later, I haven't had a chance to install the software for my new camera yet :)

Merry Eve of Christmas Eve to Me!

We all gathered around the tree today after church to take a family picture. This is something we really haven't done and we really have next to zero pics of the 4 of us together. We got a decent, not great but I am happy, picture and then it happened. My camera lens would not go back in. It is clearly broken. Now this is probably something that can be fixed, maybe, however tomorrow is Christmas Eve followed by Christmas. Point being I need a camera and it wouldn't be done in time. So shopping we went and now I have a 7.2 megapixel Sony Cybershot camera. It is small and cute and teal! Woo Hoo! My husband rocks for buying me this when all of his Christmas shopping for me was already done. I am so glad that I won't have to go without a camera this Christmas! Thanks Honey! I love you!

Something nice for Santa??

Mykenzie "Mom, I think we should do something good for Santa, like leave carrots or something."

Me "ok"

Mykenzie "Really Mom I think we should do something nice for Santa. Like, maybe wax his reindeer's collars or something. I think that's a good idea."

Hi Santa!

I took the girls to the mall to see Santa today. Kaylee sat on his lap and barely whispered what she wanted. Santa kept telling her she had to speak up. Finally I told her that if she didn't tell him what she wanted he wouldn't know what to bring her and she finally spoke slightly louder so he could hear :) Mykenzie acted like he had the plague. She barely went near him, didn't tell him what she wanted and I had to "make" her get in the picture. This may be the last year for her :( They grow up too fast!

Oh how I love you Sonic!

I bribed my kids that if they were good today while I ran errands then I would get them a special treat. I decided that would be a frozen treat from Sonic. They both picked a small chocolate milkshake and I decided to try the new (well new to me) Java Chillers (Caramel of course). OMG it was so yummy! For $2.50 I will most definitly be back for more!

6 days left!!

Are you ready?? I am so beyond ready. I get too excited too soon and now I that I have been done shopping it took the fun out of it! lol I suppose I need to go do some other fun things instead. I plan to take the girls to see Santa, maybe today. We also may do our Christmas cookie baking today. Travis has to work work work so we wont see him too much but then he is going to be off off off so he will be here all the time! lol He has is work Christmas party for his "guys" tomorrow night, he decided to take them to dinner and then to play laser tag. He is pretty excited about it. He is so convinced that he is getting a Nintendo Wii for Christmas, I really hope he isn't too disappointed when he wakes up Christmas morning! I think while he is at his party and my kids are sleeping I am gonna tackle all of the wrapping that needs to be done. I have mailed all my gifts that needed mailed and they should have them all by now! yay! I mailed my last batch of Christmas cards out yesterday, most are local so they should get them pretty quickly. I hand delivered some to give it that extra "personal touch" aka I was being cheap! lol

So, Kaylee all day yesterday walked around saying "This is the worst Christmas ever!" Travis asked her why and if it was a bad Christmas or a good Christmas. She said it was good. So we explained that good would be best not worst! lol Now she is saying it is the "Best Christmas ever!" I am sure when she sees that she is getting 2 of the 3 things that are at the top of her list she will really think that it is indeed the best Christmas ever!

Gingerbread house?

We ended up waiting until Saturday to make our gingerbread house since Travis was still feeling yucky Friday. So after a long day of fun and junk food we made a candy house! lol We had several mishaps but in the end it tasted, I mean looked, pretty good ;)

Kaylee funny

We ran to blockbuster yesterday after I picked Kaylee up from school to pick up a gift card. When I unbuckled her seatbelt she said, "Thanks for keeping me safe mom" It was too cute and too funny! She is growing up so fast, there are some days Travis and I just look at her and ask when she got so big!

Yeah Baby!

It is December 7th and I am done with my Christmas shopping!! I think this is the earliest that I have been done ever and I got the latest start! I guess I could check my blog from last year and see cause that would be a close 2nd. I technically still have to get Mykenzie's ornament for Christmas eve but otherwise I am totally finished! I am still waiting for a couple of things that should be arriving in the mail for other people that I need to wrap but other than that all the gifts that will be leaving my house are also wrapped and ready to go!
I think I have all of my bases covered, I have 3 teacher gifts, a girl scout leader gift, 4 ornaments for exchanges, 3 books for exchanges, 23 of something for Kenzie's class as well as plates and napkins, all of the sets of parents, all of the nieces and nephews and my husband and children! I have already turned in my Angel tree stuff, sent in stuff for Kenzie's class to donate to a shelter and gotten my toys for tots stuff to turn in at Girl Scouts!! I am feeling pretty good and I did it all and stayed stress free!!! Yay! Now I just get to enjoy the rest of the time between now and Christmas soaking up the holiday and having fun! We are going to do our gingerbread house tonight! The girls don't know about that yet, they will be so excited! Oh and Frosty the Snowman is on tonight too!!! Tomorrow we have a birthday party and then our playgroups Christmas party where we will be getting a visit from Santa himself! They don't know about this either :) I am really looking forward to it. Sunday after church we will be spending hours at the table while the girls make their gifts to send to their grandparents. I love having them make something that comes from them for the people they love. Mykenzie is painting ornaments and Kaylee is doing Christmas sun catchers. A fun filled Christmasy weekend is in store! Have I mentioned that I love this time of year?

Christmas Fun!!

I so love Christmas cartoons! Watching Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, the Grinch, Frosty the Snow Man and Charlie Brown Christmas take me right back to when I was little like my girls are now. I love that we share that time together and the tradition of watching all the Christmas specials continues. I don't think I have missed them ever since I was a little girl. Seeing how much they love watching them and how excited they get when they come on every year makes me love them even more.

We have been enjoying all the Christmas specials as well as listening to the all Christmas radio station and singing Christmas songs in the car. This is such a fun time of year!! It is so easy to get so consumed with everything you have to do and get so stressed over the little things that you don't truly enjoy it. I am just having a great time buying things for our family this year and enjoying all of the fun things, the simple things like singing Christmas music and watching cartoons, to taking a drive to enjoy every one's Christmas decorations. Seriously, it is "The most wonderful time of the year!"

It's killing me!

This doll may send me out of my stress free state of mind! lol Ok so I am not really stressed just a little annoyed. Since it works out in my favor I am glad that it is happening but annoyed none the less.

I originally purchased this doll with dark hair for Kaylee. It was so cute and I just knew she would love it under the tree this year. Well once I got it home and showed it to Travis after the kids went to bed I saw the fine print in the bottom right corner of the box that told me that it was in fact Spanish speaking only! So once Thanksgiving break was over I exchanged it at Toys R Us for the blonde since she is not Spanish speaking. Problem solved. I went to Target a few days later to continue my shopping and found the same doll for $10 less. So I bought it there and returned it to Toys R Us to save my $10. I was just going through the ads and what do I see, oh yes, the same doll once again for $10 less than the last price I paid! So I am totally happy that I get it even cheaper but I am annoyed that these stores just don't put the lowest sale price from the get go so I don't have to keep returning stuff!! I guess most people don't take advantage of going back for adjustments. So I started out paying $60 and this week will end up paying only $40, who knows maybe next week I will get it for $30! Pick a price people!!!

OMG Look at her butt.....

Cute

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Thanksgiving and this and that

Our Thanksgiving was great! We had some friends over and between the two families we had so much food it was crazy. I only had a slight mishap with the potatos but we don't need to get into that. lol Everything worked out and was yummy. After dinner the kids all ran around playing and the grown ups played some Texas Hold'em. I so love that game. I have never played with people before, well I've played with people just not face to face I am an online gal. Let me just say that I kicked butt and it was great!

Rather than brave all of the stores on black Friday we opted to stay home and invite some friends over to play. Much better idea I'd say. There was nothing in any of those ads to get me out of the house on such a cold nasty day. Sunday's ad's however are saving me about $20 cause some stuff I already bought is now on sale! Yay! I will be doing that tomorrow while Kaylee is in school as well as returning the baby doll I got Kaylee that is Spanish speaking only. Yeah.

I ended up sick for most of the girls Thanksgiving break but luckily they were really good for me and helped take care of their mommy since Travis had to work all weekend long. I wish we could have done something a little more fun on their break though. Oh well, Christmas break will be here in a few weeks. This my friends is when the potty training will take place. I am talking hard core potty training there will be no more diapers. I haven't been very consistent with the whole thing which is why it isn't already done I am sure but this is it. I have got to get her potty trained.

My car is fixed! It was making a nasty noise everytime I would hit a small bump or a dip in the road so I took it in today and to my delight it was covered under my warranty so it didn't cost me a cent! I love a warranty!! I thought for sure it would be something stupid that wasn't covered but I was seriously being positive and hopeful. I am trying to be more positive and less stressed about stuff lately and I have been doing a pretty good job. I have lost most of my brain function because of it cause apparently I can't use my brain without stress but whatever, small price to pay for being happy/stress free right! :)

And on a final note Cami got a $70,yes I said $70 hair cut today. Check it out
*Warning* you may not want to take a drink of anything prior to looking at the picture because you may have a small mess to clean up
Kaylee's reaction: "Mommy what are you doing? That's not our dog!"
Mykenzie's reaction: "Oh my gosh! She looks like a rat!"

Welcome Christmas!

We are welcoming Christmas into our house already!!! Our tree is up and is beautiful! Our stockings have been hung by the chimney with care. My new nativity scene is looking nice on my mantle. We just hung out outside lights. I still have some lighted garland to hang inside a little later. I still have most of my shopping to do but I am not stressed about it anymore! I still don't really know what I am getting my kids, I've already bought the things they REALLY want. Kaylee is going crazy for a singing pony. OMG if it wasn't so pricey I'd be handing the dang thing over just to shut her up about it! Seriously she cries every day, several times a day for it. It is insane!! She will be so happy Christmas morning when she opens it up :)

So my house is ready for Christmas and my fridge is ready for Thanksgiving. Travis invited some friends over (I know shocking right, lol). They are bringing some food as well, including the turkey! Yeah baby! I am gonna do a ham and some sides and she is doing a turkey and some sides. Sounds like we are gonna have a TON of food. We will be eating it till Christmas! lol I love the holidays!

Mykenzie the porcupine!

Mykenzie's school play was Thursday night and she did a great job! The play was adorable. I didn't get good pics but I did get it on video. They will also be playing it on our local channel 3 sometime in the near future :)

Kaylee's Thanksgiving feast

Kaylee had her Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday. It turned out that they wore costumes and sang a few songs too, I wish I would have known that so I would have brought my video camera. It was really cute though and she did a really good job. They had little crafts on the table that the kids had made as well as the costumes. Kaylee's class were the turkeys. On each feather they had something that they were thankful for written on them, she had Mommy, Daddy, Sissy and my dog on hers :)

Hmmm....

I have been a total slacker at blogging lately. I have been really busy yet I can't come up with anything to write about. That is just sad. My life has been a bit consumed with finding the materials to make a porcupine costume for Mykenzie's school play next week, but thank God a friend said she would help me out and make it for me. She says help me out I say save my life! lol That was a nightmare and I am glad it is over and I can focus on the fun part of helping Mykenzie with her lines and watching her in the play. Her line is "Thanks for showing up Mrs. Sun, that rain gave us the chills. I'm soaked right to the bottom of my perfect porcupine quills." It sounds like it is going to be really cute so I can't wait to see it. They will do it for the school Thursday and then for the PTO and the parents on Thursday night. The new school has a stage so that will be nice, we will be able to see much better than last time when they were just on the gym floor.

Kaylee's Thanksgiving dinner at school is Tuesday! Can you even believe it is almost Thanksgiving? We already had Mykenzies yesterday. This year just flew by. I must admit I am getting really excited for Christmas. I can't wait to put up all of our decorations. We are getting some new stuff for outside this year so Travis is excited about that. I have sucked with my shopping. I only have 2 people with a check mark by their names indicating they are done. I have nothing for my kids but I am hoping to pick some stuff up this week. I have a few definite things that I am getting so I need to do it before they all sell out. I was feeling stressed and crazy about not having more done but I am feeling better about it now. I at least have some ideas now and a week ago I didn't even have that so things are moving forward! lol

Mykenzie and I are headed out to girl scout camp in a couple of hours. I must say that I am dreading it. Not cause I don't think I will have a good time but because I have had a looong week and I have been up till after 1am for the past two days in a row which is not normal for me. It was totally worth it though :) I hosted bunco last night and it was soooo fun. I love hanging out with all of my mommy friends, I wish we could do it more often! But tonight I get to hang out with a bunch of 7-10 year olds and we always have a good time and I am sure all of their youthful energy will rub off on me, so I will manage to stay awake. I may be bringing some coffee though! Thank God we sleep in cabins with electricity!! That is my kind of camping :) I have nothing planned on Monday so after we take Mykenzie to school Kaylee and I will be having a day of rest! Perfect. Have a good weekend everyone

Happy Halloween (a couple days late)

We have had a great fall so far. We've been keeping busy with trips to the pumpkin patch, fall festivals and lots of school activities! We carved our pumpkins on Sunday and they were pretty rotten by Halloween!
Kaylee wanted nothing to do with cleaning out the pumpkin and was pretty upset when Travis flung some guts onto her.
Mykenzie on the other hand helped clean out her pumpkin and it was the first time she actually willingly did it!

Trick or treat here is on Halloween night so we went out from about 6:30-7:30 and got a ton of candy and then came home and passed some out to the trick or treaters. Kaylee decided that she was going to be Princess Dora for trick or treat and Mykenzie chose a witch.
They had a great time and Kaylee was really into it this year. Every time she would get candy from someone she would run to us and say "Can I get some more candy!!"

Here are some more pics of the seasons events

Thanks for Helping me Light the Night!

Part of our group of walkers :)


Chandra, Jacy and Barbara


Rain, thunderstorms, hail and tornado watches were in our forecast yesterday. We must have had a lot of people watching out for us including Jenna because all that held off and we ended up having perfect weather for our walk. It was a wonderful way to celebrate Jenna's life and remember her. It was humbling seeing all of those that have lost someone to these diseases and to see all the people who were still fighting their battle. We came together and walked for our friend and with all of our donations we raised over $4000! Thank you to all of those who donated! My friends and family helped me raise $405 for LLS, beating both my written and "personal" goals! You guys are awesome!

We wore buttons with pictures of Jenna as well as Light the Night Blinking Buttons and a sticker that said "I am walking for Jenna". We had a Jenna's Friends banner and carried red illuminated supporter balloons wishing we would have had a white survivor balloon in our bunch with us. Jenna was with us in spirit and I think she would have been thrilled to have us do this in her memory. Janna (Jenna's mom) walked with us and when she wanted to go dance with the band when no one else was, we knew Jenna was there too. We all danced, just our group, people who normally don't dance joining in. We celebrated Jenna's life. We all miss her so much and hope that by our donations we can help LLS get one step closer to finding a cure so no one else has to lose someone they love.

It was too dark for my camera (it sucks) but while we were waiting for the shuttle there were lights on a building so I got some photos while standing in line. Other people took more so I will add them as I get them. Light the Night Pictures

This is the photo we used on our buttons! Silly Jenna!

Finally a picture link

Here are the pictures from our trip to Gatlinburg in case you wanted to see some more. Enjoy them here.

Light the Night Walk

Our walk for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society is now officially less than a week away. I am happy to say that today I finally surpassed my goal. Thank you so much everyone who has given their hard earned money to such a great cause. Those of you who still want to donate there is still time!!! Check the links to the left on this blog for the link reading Sponsor Me in the Walk. It is easy to do and will only take 2 minutes of your time. Our team is doing great I can't wait until the day comes and I can give you the final total of what we have all raised but it is looking pretty good so far!

What a View!

Our trip to Gatlinburg was really nice. We got in Monday around 3 and checked into our beautiful cabin with a spectacular view! I turned into my MIL and took a ton of pictures of the same mountains!lol They were so pretty and at sunset, ahhh, breath taking. The leaves were starting to change on the trees and the difference between Monday and Thursday was already amazing. I am thinking if we would have gone a week later the leaves would have been mostly changed and that would have been really nice. But we were happy with the view with our green leaves too! lol

Tuesday we went to the Aquarium. I personally liked it better than the Atlanta one. The girls had a blast and really loved the sharks. I was amazed by the huge turtle skeleton they had hanging from the ceiling!

The outlets were a total bust! The Old Navy is no longer an outlet, apparently they have done away with those. There were no good deals to be found. I could have spent a fortune at the Bombay outlet though! Part of me wants to go back and buy the things I wanted but didn't get. I am dissappointed in myself for not buying at least the hall table I wanted. I was trying to be good! lol

We went to oober gatlinburg. The ride up was really nice, beautiful view. The black bear habitat was pretty neat too. We had a bear that was posing for us and then another that kept doing this trick that apparently he knew was funny. I felt really badly for them though, they looked really sad and not in the best conditions. They said that they were born in captivity and couldn't survive in the wild but still they had the saddest eyes. Since none of us can ice skate we skipped the rest. It was pretty run down we thought but the tram ride was worth going on.

I think that is about all we did other than go out to dinner several times. We just hung out at the cabin and played pool and hung in the hot tub. It was a nice trip. Mykenzie was bummed once she found out about Dollywood. She wanted to go so we told her next time when she was bigger and could ride more stuff we would go, that perked her up! lol Not sure how soon we will go back but we had fun and are really glad we went :) I am working on putting pics on shutterfly now so hopefully I will have a link soon.

Here's to You!

Ok, so this is totally out of character for me but Jenna would have done it so I am gonna suck it up. I wish I would have been smart enough to do my hair and makeup first but I am in lazy mode so it isn't gonna happen. She looked better in it than I did anyhow! :)

Today marks 3 months. 3 months since this world lost a wonderful person and all who knew her lost a wonderful friend. I just wanted to feel close to her today so I am wearing her shirt. I haven't been able to bring myself to wear this particular one yet, because it brings back alot of memories, good ones though. But it seemed like today was the day. Miss ya chickie




From Jenna's Blog, Thursday October 19, 2006



Today I went with Jacy, Chandra and Barbara and got myself a ton of new things! It was so nice to just pick out what I wanted and get it! I got myself 4 new pair of earrings at Dillards. Three bras and 5 panties at Victoria Secret that ACTUALLY FIT right! Who knew where your gals really belonged?! LOL

3 pair of jeans and a TON of shirts at Old Navy. I also got the kids a few clothes too. Here are a few Pics. I'm too lazy to put them all on and take pics... I figure you'll see them as I wear them in pics. I wish I had other hat options instead of this one hat. Once it cools down I can wear my beanies. I kept joking with the girls today that I was going to walk into a salon, rip off my hat and say, "What can you do with this?" LOL Of course as joke, since I'm basically bald except in the back and sides! LOL

The Rockledge, FL stalker has been found!

That's right people, I have been searching and searching to find out just who has been reading all of our blogs from Rockledge, FL. I have spent alot of time thinking about who in the world would visit all of our sites. Well the mystery has been solved folks. I am confessing here and now that I am indeed the Rockledge, FL stalker! I have no clue why I show up coming from Fl but indeed I do. There ya have it, I solved the case. Who would have thought the answer was right here in my own house! Now I wonder who is out there from Texas. One thing I know for sure, It isn't me! lol

5 days and counting

Our trip to Pigeon Forge is just 5 days away! I have spent the past 2 hours online searching for things for us to do while there and I stumbled upon OUTLET MALLS! Woo Hoo!! I didn't know there were outlet malls there! I am really excited now! lol I have no clue what else we are going to do. I know we will make stop at the Aquarium, the girls will love that. And if you spend $150 at the outlet mall you get a free adult ticket! LMBO I have been reading reviews of different things and thank goodness I did cause alot of things I had on my list of possibilities everyone who reviewed them said they were awful! Seems like most people think the best places are the aquarium and the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, which is awesome cause the park is FREE! Which means, oh yeah baby, more money for the outlet mall! My name is Jacy and I am addicted to shopping! So anyone been to this area before? Got suggestions for fun things to do? Any good shows? We are skipping Dollywood but I was considering the Dixie Stampede. Not sure yet. The cabin we rented looks like it is gonna be beautiful with a spectacular view. I hope I am right about that and the pictures aren't lying to me! We are so excited for our mini get away. We will be there October 1st and check out on October 4th!

Me and My Gang....

So the concert was Friday night and I know you are all on the edge of your seats dying to know how it was. Well it was freaking awesome that's how. Did you think I would say anything different! We ate at Chili's before we went and were still sitting there at 7:30, the concert was at 8! lol So after I went in the back to find our waitress so we could pay we high tailed it out of there and only missed a few songs in Jason Aldean's set. He was good too. I really enjoyed dancing like a fool by myself to "Johnny Cash" and "Hicktown"
Then out came Rascal Flatts kicking off the concert with "Me and My Gang" Great way to get us rockin. They had a stage set up in the center of the arena (I want to know where it was last time cause we would have been soooo close to it) and they all sat there and sung songs that weren't released as singles but were on their albums, not the ones I would have chosen but still I like the songs and then they sang one from the upcoming album (in stores tomorrow). The songs are all really good but it was a long stretch of slow. Then Joe Don for some reason played "Somewhere over the Rainbow" on electric guitar. I love the song, it was a pretty cool version, but I really didn't see the point overall and could have done without it. Last time we went he sung "Friends in Low Places" during his "alone time" on stage. Much more interesting. They sang the song "He Ain't the Leavin Kind" off their Me and My Gang album and at the end brought out members of the US Marines. It was really nice. When they finally got to "Stand" it was much harder than I thought. I honestly thought that I had spun the songs to see them in a positive light so I wouldn't get sad at the concert. Well, that didn't happen. To my happiness Chandra was boo hooing right along with me which then made Barbara start too. Who would have thought she'd have been the stong one! lol I am sure there were many people who thought we were insane but that song means alot, what can you do. Jenna was definatley missed but I couldn't help but feel like she was with us!
The concert I went to 2 years ago was better but this one was still awesome! My pictures are awful though. UGG. I guess I should just be happy I got some since I got none last time. After the concert we went and kept the Melting Pot open till all hours of the night, I am sure they were thrilled! lol It was yummy though :) Thanks for a fun night girls! Here are the rest of the Pictures.

Time to fess up!

I have this new sitemeter on my blog, which isn't doing what I actually wanted it to do but it is giving me interesting info! Some of that is WHERE people are who are reading my blog, as in City and State. I must say that ALOT of these places I have never even heard of so now I am more curious than ever to who actually reads this blog. I write dumb stuff for myself forgetting sometimes that it is available for all to see. Now I want to know who all is seeing it. Don't worry I will continue to write and bore the crap out of you! LMBO I am just easing my curiosity! Even if I don't know you I want responses. Seems like alot of people look at this thing but not alot are commenting! Now is the time, time to FESS UP if you are indeed a lurker on here! :) It is not hard to comment people so I want to see some names in the comment section of this post! I love it!

Take Me There!

To the Rascal Flatts concert that is! I love their new single Take Me There and can't wait to see it LIVE! We now have just 4 days left till the show! Time has flown by this time and I can't believe the day is almost here! Jason Aldean is opening for them and I really like his music too so it will be an awesome show. Hope our seats are as good as we think they are! This time my camera is coming with me! I can't wait!!! Oooh and their new cd comes out in 8 days!! (the 25th) Click here to watch the NEW video for Take Me There :)

Hello Fresh Air

Our weather here has been beautiful!! I am so excited to have my air conditioner off and my windows open! I do think that by doing this I am messing with mine and Kaylee's allergies though. It seemed that we were never going to get a break from the 100+ temps we were having but it is official and fall weather has arrived. I have already been eyeing the mums and pumpkins! I can't wait till the pumpkin patches start opening in another 2 weeks! I bought Kaylee's Halloween costume 2 weeks ago and Mykenzie has filled me in on who she wants to be and surprise it is another Disney Princess! Kaylee is gonna be Princess Dora. Princesses are cute but I would love if they would pick something else for a change! I hope that these temps last for a long time before winter starts setting in, I don't like to be cold but 60 in the morning and ending at 80 is PERFECT!!

No more hospitals!

Both Coby and Ryan are home and doing well! Thanks for the prayers :)

Prayers

Please take some time to stop and pray for Rachel's 9 day old baby Coby. Rachel has been my best friend for 27 years (our whole lives) for those who don't know. Coby is in the hospital today with meningitis. The doctors aren't sure if it is viral or bacterial but they are treating him as if it is bacterial just in case. He will be in the hospital for at least the weekend. The doctors say that he is eating well and his fever has gone now so those are both very positive signs. But meningitis is scary enough in an adult let alone a 9 day old newborn baby. I know they would appreciate any prayers they can get for him. Say one for Rachel and Jacob too, I am sure they are scared out of their minds right now.

As if having Coby in the hospital isn't bad enough, Chandra's son Ryan is also in the hospital today with low oxygen levels. Pray for him that he gets better quickly and gets out of there. This unfortunatley has happened before with him and it isn't as bad as it has been in the past so that is a good sign but I am sure some prayers surely can't hurt.

Where do they learn this stuff

So I made Kaylee some macaroni and cheese for lunch like I do so many days since she is obsessed with it. Well I am straining the water and the steam is billowing over top the sink. She starts fake coughing and says "oh mom, all that fog is making me choke!" Ok so I know it isn't fog, but it makes sense for a 3 year old to think that it is. BUT how does she know what fog is to begin with?? She has been in school for a total of 6 days and I haven't taught her about fog. I am sure I have mentioned the word in her presence but how does she know what it is?? It is amazing to me the things that kids know without being taught, just observing.

Mykenzie found a new website to play on yesterday, I forget what it is called but it is through PBS. I helped her sign up for it and let her play for a little bit before dinner last night. When it was time to eat she came down stairs and proudly announces that she has already learned something from the site. "Ears help you balance!"

I guess they pick things up everywhere. It is just so funny to see them turn into little people, learning new things about the world :)

Babies Babies everywhere!

It has been a constant thing with my playgroup for the past 2 years. There is always at least 3 people pregnant and has been up to like 8 at a time! It is nuts. The trend continues on there but also with my friends back in Ohio. Rachel just had her 3rd last week!! Congratulations guys! Beth is getting ready to have her baby in about 5-6 weeks! Yay! And some other friends have recently had babies too. Anyone else have any announcements to make?? Mary? I haven't talked to you in a while! lol
Congratulations to all of you who have just had babies or just found out you are expecting! Just don't give me whatever you've all been drinking! lol

Who Knew

*Half of a turkey or cheese sandwich
*A hand full of sliced apples or grapes
*A few cubes of cheddar cheese
*Half a snack size bag of mickey mouse pretzels
*Yogurt
*raisins
*4-5 100 calorie chocolate chip cookies
*Juice Box

These are the things (in different variations) I put in Kaylee's lunch box Tuesday's and Thursday's for school. Ordinary things that she would eat at home but when they are all together in her very own lunch box, suddenly these things transform her into a "big girl" and she is the happiest big girl in the world to hold her lunch box and go off to school. Every morning she wakes up and starts talking about her lunch and what we will put in her lunch box. Who knew lunch would be the cause of so much joy.

Sad

I love this song. The video is stupid but I love the song. It makes me think of Jenna even though it is a love song. Miss ya girl.

I love Pink!

Some of the lyrics that I love, listen to the song....

If someone said 3 years from now, You'd be long gone. I stand up and punch them out! Cause their all wrong.....

When someone said count your blessings now, before their all gone, I guess I just didn't know how. I was all wrong

I'll keep you locked in my head, until we meet again. I wont forget you my friend, what happened...

But I keep your memory, you visit me in my sleep, but darlin, who knew

Some People!!!!!! Buyer Beware! cussing invovled

OMG I think I have steam coming out my ears right now! I am furious with a person that I have never even met! On July 28th I ordered a cell phone charm off ebay of an orange ribbon (leukemia awareness) I got it via the Buy it Now option. With shipping my total was only $3.50, so it wasn't alot of money but it is the principal of the whole thing. So 3 and a half weeks later and 3 emails, VERY polite emails at that, later and I have not heard a word about my order nor have I received it. So I sent the following email to her...

"This will be my 4th email that I have sent. I am really trying to work hard to resolve the issues that I am having without leaving you negative feedback. It is clear to me after reading your feedback that you really don't like getting anything negative. I would prefer not to have to give it to you so I keep attempting to contact you so we can get the matter resolved without going through that. It seems as though you sell a lot of stuff and it would be very easy to overlook an order and for that I am trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. It has now been 4 days shy of a month (ordered on July 28) since I placed and paid for my order and I still haven't received it or any contact from you with all the attempts that I have made. All I ordered was a simple little cell phone charm for the small price ot $3.50 to show my support for leukemia awareness since I lost one of my very good friends at the age of 35 to the disease. I really wanted to have this charm, and I had planned on sending more business your way since a few friends were interested as well. Now I will just be happy if I ever get the thing. I can't continue to wait forever to not leave negative feedback about never receiving my item so I figure on August 28th which will be a month since I ordered and paid for it, If I don't have it or haven't heard from you, I will have no choice but to leave negative feedback. Please email me at this email addy as soon as you receive this email."

Gets the point across without being too bitchy right?? Well after not hearing anything prior to this email and checking out her feedback where she got very vicious with people who left negative feedback for also not receiving their items, she FINALLY responded and said she would send me a replacement. Well guess what it is weeks later and I still haven't gotten it. Now that my Rascal Flatts tickets are sold (I didn't want negative feedback going into that cause I had to sell them) I get on ebay to finally give this lady the feedback she deserves. Well her store is CLOSED so I can't do it! So I filled a report with PayPal and this time I left a not so nice message to her that sounds a little like this....

"I have contacted you 4-5 times about not receiving this item and never heard anything from you until I threatened to leave negative feedback. At that time you told me you would send me a replacement item or refund my money, neither of which you did. I was very polite and tried to get the situation dealt with in a civil fashion but that obviously got me no where. Shame on you for saying you were giving your money to charity and then ripping multiple people off. I know now that I am not the only person who has not received their merchandise. It is a real shame that there are people like you willing to take advantage of others. You should hang your head in shame and embarrassment."


Yes, I know I was a bitch but I was pissed. So then here is what that Bitch said back to me along with my refund....

"first of all our store is closed and we did not get any other messages then the ones we replied to. You couldn't even give us feedback if you tried so we are not threatened by that. We closed the store for lack of profit. And you are the only one complaining about your item right now. I will not attempt another delivery for I have already sent 2 with postal proof I also can fight this claim because I have postal proof but unlike you I am not rude. I will refund you immediately even though I do not have to. Please do not contact me again or I will file harrassment."

Harassment!!!! WTF ever Bitch. I would LOOOOOOVE to see that postal proof. Bull shit she sent it to me twice and I never got it! So to all of you ebay shoppers BEWARE just because you see a 99.9% rating still go and read feedback! I would have NEVER ordered from this woman if I would have known how she spoke to people and how many people never received their order. The only reason she had that rating is because when people left negative feedback she bullied them until they "mutually withdrew" their feedback so that kept her percentage up. Just because the percentage is up and feedback withdrawn, you can still read what was said. Do your research always on people before buying from them. All that venting you would think I'd feel better but I don't! I am still MAD but the venting is over

Well, don't I feel productive

Today was the first day that Kaylee was in school and I actually came home and did nothing out of the house. I got some exercise in this morning. Oh yeah you heard me right. Now lets just see how long it lasts! lol Then I tackled the stopped up bathroom sink and got it fixed FINALLY! It is so nice not to have the water take forever to drain. I got my bathroom and bedroom looking so nice, I think I let them get so messy just cause it makes me feel so good after I get them looking so pretty. Well, that's my story anyhow! lol I got a bunch of laundry done and put away and I scrubbed the girls bathroom. It is amazing how much you can get done when you aren't interrupted a million times. I kept forgetting she wasn't here though and kept trying to be quiet and I almost didn't go in her room and put her clothes away because I was thinking she was taking a nap! I wish she was in school tomorrow now too so I could finish cleaning my upstairs. I need to get it all done tomorrow anyhow though cause I have big plans of carpet scrubbing this weekend! I am gonna procrastinate a little bit though and take Kaylee to a playdate so she can have some fun.
We had the big dreaded teacher conference today after school to find out why Mykenzie is continuously getting notes home that she isn't getting her work done in class and that she isn't using her "time management" well. I was sick of getting notes so I went in to see what the problem was. She said that Mykenzie is smart and is capable of doing all of the work that is put in front of her and she is fairly convinced that her biggest problem is the kid that was sitting next to her. She moved her yesterday morning away from that particular boy and she had no problems today or yesterday with getting stuff done. The teacher said that she was hoping that Mykenzie would help the boy get a handle on what he was supposed to be doing but the opposite happened and he was making her do things she wasn't supposed to be doing. She also said that she has started to take a better approach to her work and has been asking for help when she needs it and asking what she is missing. So hopefully the conversation I had with her on Tuesday night helped her realize that what was going on was not acceptable and the threat of not being able to be in girl scouts this year I am sure helped a little too. lol But mainly getting her away from this major distraction, I mean boy will help tremendously. So hopefully no more notes home!! I told the teacher that Mykenzie was concerned that she was going to get yelled at if she got out of her seat to ask a question and she said she would make sure that she talked with her about it individually as well as to the class about how that is what she is there for. So that is good and may help someone else in the class as well. I am feeling much better about the situation than I was the other day. She still has some things to work on but they are normal 2nd grade issues so I am not worried. Whew!

Oops

I just found this post that never made it past draft stages... I wrote it in April but intended to add more to it. Well I never did and now it is too late but I am posting it now anyhow. I had already forgotten about it because she no longer says these things. They change to quickly, I can't keep up!

Kaylee has been saying funny things these days so I wanted to make a post to share them all.

She loves Tinker Bell, and after going to Disney she got to see alot more of her but also of Peter Pan and Captain Hook. She doesn't call them by those names though she refers to them at Tinker Pan and Tinker Hook. It is too cute hearing her say it.

I informed her that when her diapers are gone she has to start wearing pull ups and panties and going pee and poop in the potty. She has refused to wear either of those up till now but she needs to start if she is ever going to be potty trained sooo, while at Target I let her pick some out. She chose Disney Princesses over Dora (she is growing up..sniff)
When we got home she was carrying the package around and showed Mykenzie and told her "Look sissy, these are my giant panties" So now pull ups are giant panties at our house! lol

It has been brought to my attention....

That the link I had for Kaylee's birthday pictures wasn't working. Just in case anyone else wanted to see them and couldn't the link has been fixed. You can either scroll down or look on the left side of your screen under August and click Kaylee's Birthday pictures to see them :)

"Mommy! You're Here!"

My baby started preschool today! I have been so excited about this all summer long but when the moment actually came that I had to turn and leave her in that class room I wondered what in the world I was thinking! She is my BABY! Of course I know she will be fine and she will love every minute of it, for me it is hard to think that she is growing up. She went in and sat at the table and started on a puzzle, I took a few pictures and then gave her a kiss and told her I was leaving. She gave me a quick hand wave and said "Bye Mom" and that was it. She was instantly transformed into a big girl. She is growing up so quickly! She peed in the potty this morning twice before school started and she must have went at school as well because she came home dry with all of her pull ups still in her backpack.

This morning before we left I packed her backpack with all of the things she needed for the day, her rest towel and her pink blanket to sleep with, a change of clothes just in case and her pull ups and wipes. I got all of that stuff in and just looked at it trying to figure out how in the world I was going to fit her lunch box and folder in as well. After some rearranging I managed to get the lunch box in and told her she would have to carry her folder. I helped her get it onto her back and as soon as I let go she tumbled backwards because the thing was too heavy!LOL It was so funny! Luckily they get to leave their towels at school so we wont have to do that everyday!!! They almost kept her pink blanket too, thank the Lord that I realized we were missing that, or tonight would have been a nightmare! Her teachers are Ms. Nikki and Ms. Kelly and they said that she did really good today and was 1 of only 3 kids who fell asleep at nap time! They had a little birthday party for the August birthdays (there are a ton in her class) so she was really excited that she got to have another bday party! When I got there the kids were all wearing conductor hats and standing on the carpet looking at books. I had to say her name twice before she finally saw me and when she did she ran to me and gave me a hug and said "Mommy! You're Here!" She had a great day and loves her new school. I am glad that I decided to put her in this year but I definitely miss not having her with me. I am sure I will find plenty to do in my free time though ;-) Enjoy the pics of her first day. Click Here

Sick Girls

I have some sick kiddos the past few days. Mykenzie had a fever Tuesday night for about 3 hours and it went away so she went to school Wednesday. Then Wednesday Kaylee got a fever, it ended up peaking at 103.4 Wednesday night and by the time I got it to break Mykenzie started running a fever again!!!! UGG So Kaylee's went away and never came back but Mykenzie's lasted until Saturday, so no school for her Thursday and Friday. They both went to the doctor Friday and Mykenzie just had a virus and Kaylee's croup is back (she just had it on the 9th). So Mykenzie is better and is back to school, Kaylee is on nebulizer treatments as well as an oral steroid and she is doing so much better now, so unless there is a big change she will go ahead and be able to attend her first day of preschool tomorrow! We are going to meet her teacher tonight.

Whew!

I tell ya, I have had a busy month! I am a stay at home mom so my life generally isn't go go go all the time. Between birthdays and school starting, school shopping, kids being sick, my air conditioner breaking, nights out with my girl friends and just everyday stuff I need a rest! lol I can't figure out how working moms do it!

Mykenzie had a sleepover last night with Barbara's girls. This is the first time she has had any friends stay over and she was so excited! They all seemed to have a really good time. We watched High School Musical 2, yeah baby! Well I kinda watched they ran and jumped and danced! lol It was fun though. We were up till 11:15 playing board games and then I sent them off to bed where they quickly fell asleep :) Mykenzie was a grouch today due to lack of sleep for the week, but she had a bday party for one of her friends from girl scouts to go to, so there was no rest for her. It was at one of the places where you paint your own pottery. She had a good time painting her horse and playing with the kids.

Tomorrow we are gonna get up and go to the pool before it gets too hot (it was 112 degrees according to my car today) and then it is a day of REST!!! I'd skip the pool and stay in my pj's if I could but they have been begging to go to the pool so I suppose we should take them. Next week I don't have alot planned but I am sure that will quickly change and the following week begins my freedom! Oh yeah, my baby gets to go to MDO (mom's day out) Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have so many things I want to do during those hours, go to the gym, read, work on my scrapbooks, hang out with friends, do my shopping in peace, help out at Mykenzie's school, ect. ect. I just don't think I will have enough hours to get it all done. I have to take advantage though, my years of staying at home are quickly coming to an end. AHHHH

Now it is almost 9pm and I am old so I am gonna go read myself to sleep! :) Good Night

Bummer

Well I am finished. I have finally caught up with the Stephanie Plum series and now and am suffering from withdrawls! lol I have a ton of authors that I want to check out between now and next summer when #14 comes out, but I am still sad that I am done with Stephanie for now :) If anyone out there has suggestions on books I'd be happy to hear them. I don't want sad stuff right now. I am not in the mood to be sad. I want light hearted funny books that leave me feeling happy :) Bring them on people.

Look at me!

I am on a roll! 4 posts in two days! Woo Hoo Plus I finished #12 of the Stephanie Plum series and am half way through Plum Lovin'. My house on the other hand looks like a tornado went through it and if you want something clean to wear, uh yeah just forget about it! I'll do it eventually

Out of the mouth of a 3 year old

So Mykenzie and Kaylee were fighting the other day over a toy (BIG SURPRISE) and Kaylee has a pretty big temper, she looks at Mykenzie and starts wagging her finger at her shouting "This is ridiculous sissy! You give me that Right now! This is ridiculous!" I was laughing so hard hearing her say the word ridiculous to yell at Mykenzie.
She looks sweet and innocent and sometimes she is. We went and picked Mykenzie up from her first FULL day of school and we pulled into the garage and Kaylee looked at her and said, "I'm so glad you back sissy" It was so sweet and I think it made Mykenzie's day. Nice to know they like each other with all the fighting that has been going on these days :)

Yes, that is what it says!!!

For those of you asking about the shirt I am wearing in the picture, this is what it looks like...




Pretty much sums up my feelings

Awesome Weekend and First Day of School

I had such a great weekend! I guess it was making up for my week being completely ruined by my kids getting sick! Friday night I went to Meredith's house for Bunco. We had a great turn out and we had such a great time that we ended up staying till about 1:30am! All the money that we pay to play was counted at the end of the night and our total was $200!! All of that money is for the Jurgens family so it is awesome!

Saturday morning was time for Rascal Flatts ticket buying mode. Chandra, Barbara and I were all poised at our computers and ready to go. I was the first one in and my seats were section 118 Row EE, Chandra was next and hers were section 208!!! So we hurried and bought the ones that I had. Once the transaction was complete we of course kept searching, we really weren't finding anything better, until Travis got on and he found us section 114 (which is right by the stage)seats are a little higher up than the others but still we'd be closer. So we bought those too! Now I have 8 tickets to the concert and have to sell 4 of them!!! Wish me luck, or call me if you are interested. They were $311.50 for 4 tickets :)


After that was finished we all went to Opry Mills to pick up some last minute back to school stuff, I finally found Mykenzie some tennis shoes and I got myself a pair of black shoes that Travis HATES! He hasn't been liking any of the shoes I've been bringing home! lol I like them, so that's too bad I suppose. I also racked up at The Children's Place! I got Kaylee 6 shirts (2 of them long sleeve), Mykenzie got 2 shirts and 2 pairs of jeans and my total was $78 but after my coupons I only paid $48!!! She let me stack coupons, I have no idea if she was allowed to or not but I really don't think so, but hey I'll take it!!!

Sunday we went and had lunch and then went to Mykenzie's open house at her school. This is her new school that literally just got finished Friday! It is beautiful on the outside! The inside is super nice. They have huge flat screens in each class room. Her class has 6 new Mac. computers and MP3 players (not sure why). There is so much space in there it is amazing! The school she has been at was so small and this one is just wonderful in comparison. The library is gorgeous too, it doesn't look like it belongs in a elementary school! We got to meet her teacher. She actually called on Friday to talk to Mykenzie and let her know who she was. She seems really nice so hopefully we have a great year. She is older though and we haven't had an older teacher yet so I wonder how different it will be. There are only a couple of kids that she knows so she was a bit nervous going into class today.
Our morning went pretty well for us considering we really haven't gotten up and gotten moving that early all summer. Kaylee was horribly whiny but she is fine now. I walked her in to school today cause there was no way she would have remembered which way to go. I was gonna do carpool line tomorrow but I think I will walk her in tomorrow as well. I forgot to take pictures this morning!! She was pretty happy I left my camera at home though once we got to school. I may just bring it tomorrow though! lol I will at least get a pic in front of the house. Now we are gonna find something to do to pass the next couple of hours till we go pick Mykenzie up. It is only a half day today so we don't have long. Tomorrow I will take Kaylee and do something fun since Mykenzie will be in school all day long.

Kaylee's Birthday Pictures

Here are some pictures from Kaylee's birthday :) Click Here

Happy Birthday to Kaylee

Today is Kaylee's 3rd birthday! I can't believe she is this big already!! She had a great day starting with daddy going to get her donuts for breakfast! After eating she opened all of her gifts. She got a Leapster and some games and a few other little toys. We all got ready and headed out to Chuck E Cheese, where she got a crown and balloon which was very exciting for a 3 year old! We all enjoyed playing all the new games they have and ended up blowing through 230 tokens!!! Yikes! We got over 1400 tickets though and Kaylee got to pick some cool prizes. We headed to Walmart to pick up the cake we ordered and came home and sung happy birthday, and Kaylee joined in on singing to her! lol Then it was time to eat cake and play! We were going to go to the pool but it is too hot out to even go swimming!! She had a wonderful day, and on Wednesday she will get to celebrate again with some friends! I will upload pictures and post them soon.

What do you think?

I finally upgraded to the new blogger and decided that since I lost all my info anyhow I may as well change the look. I hope everyone likes it. Just felt like it was time for a change. Please notice that to the left hand side you can find all of the links to anything concerning the Light the Night walk. There is a link you can follow to make a donation directly to Jenna's husband and children or there are links to donate to Light the Night and to sponsor me in the walk. I forgot to mention in my last Light the Night post that if you are in need of renewing a magazine or just wanted to subscribe to a new one if you do it through the link on your left 40% of the proceeds go to our teams fundraising efforts for the Light the Night walk. There is also a Thank you section to shout out to those who have already donated. Let me know what you think of the new look :)

One Month

I am not sure how but I have managed to survive this month. I can not believe that a month has already gone by since we lost Jenna. Things are ever so slightly easier than they were and I know that it will get even easier with time but I wish we could fast forward to then. Lately I have found that I am angry more than anything. Angry that a wonderful person who would have done anything to live is gone and so many horrible people will live on to an old age. Angry that this wonderful mother who fought with every ounce of her strength to stay alive for her children is gone but I know people who now are speaking of suicide and not appreciating their life at all. Why would God take Jenna rather than one of them?? Angry with anyone who says or does something that seems the slightest bit insensitive. I know that people don't mean to do and say things that are hurtful but that is how they come across when your heart is already hurting so much. Angry with people for moving on with their lives, it is so hard to see that life is moving forward without her. I have been saying that I am still in denial and I am happy there. I can take myself to a place in my mind that allows me to just pretend for a little while. Unfortunately I am finding out the hard way that I am reliving losing her and experiencing that horrible pain that I felt the day that she left us, over and over again every time something happens to snap me back into reality. I am trying to find a way to stay here now rather than in my fantasy world but I am telling you, my fantasy is much better.

Barbara and I spent the entire day together today, we thought that it would be better if we weren't spending the day alone with our thoughts. We talked and laughed and cried about Jenna as we always do when we are all together, but today especially it was nice to have someone to talk to. I am thankful to have her and Chandra (who we so missed having with us today) as my friends and I am thankful to have had Jenna in my life, without her I would have been alone these past few years that I have lived in TN.

Thank you Jenna for being my friend and for bringing me into your circle of close friends, you gave me a greater gift than you can ever imagine. I miss you and I love you. I pray everyday that you are at peace and happy in Heaven. Every time it rains Mykenzie swears it is you crying because you are sad and I hope that if she is right, and you are crying, that you are crying tears of joy. Joy, because you look down on those who love you and you see what a mark you made on their lives. That you see how much you have inspired so many people and that you have taught us all to live our lives to the fullest and appreciate every day that we have here and how lucky we all are, even when it seems like everything is going wrong. Kaylee keeps asking to come to your house and see you. She tells me at least every other day that she wants to "go to Jemma's house to play" or "I wanna go see Jemma." Yes she is still calling you Jemma, though I miss the beginning when it was Jemmy! lol I just can't bring myself to try and explain to an almost 3 year old why we can't go, so I just hug her tight and tell her "I know, I want to go see Jemma and play too" We all miss you and think about you always, cause you touched us all and gave us your love. We will forever love you

Light the Night

Jenna's friends here in TN have come together to do the Light the Night walk in memory of Jenna. If you have not heard of it before, Light the Night is an annual walk set up to raise money to find better treatments and cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. This holds a very special place in our hearts, especially now and we want to do our part to support the cause and hopefully, one day find a cure to these awful diseases. I am on here to encourage you to participate in a walk near you or to donate today! The Nashville walk will be October 18th. If you would like to sponsor me (please sponsor me!) follow the link below even if it is only $5, every little bit helps take us one step closer to curing these diseases so no one else has to suffer a loss from them. We had been hoping to take this walk this year with Jenna by our side, cured. We had discussed it last year when Jenna was first diagnosed and we all believed that is how it would be. God apparently had another plan for Jenna. Though I think it should have been our way instead, I am trying not to question Him. We will walk on, for Jenna. We will do our part and I hope you will join a group or donate and do your part too. I love you Jenna

Sponsor Jacy in the walk here

Check out our team page here

Read more about Light the Night and find a local chapter near you here

To read more about the wonderful person we are walking in memory of please check here and here

If you would like to order a magazine follow this link and 40% of the sale will go to our teams total for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society

Our front flower beds before and after

So Sore

Yesterday we totally ripped out everything in my front flower beds. They were such a mess! The stuff was so over-grown and for some stupid reason we bought ground cover, well it worked and it covered the ground! LOL It looked awful! So we tore it up. Then we went and bought a bunch of new stuff and got it all planted. Travis is at the store buying new mulch now and then we will be finished with it. In the mean time I feel like I was hit by a truck. My entire body hurts! I have every intention of taking it easy today and just having a lazy day with the kids, well after we spread the mulch that is! lol

Ohio

We left on July 1st to drive to Ohio. Travis flew in ahead of us because he had plans made (that ended up cancelled) so it was Angie (who doesn't have a license), me and the 3 kids. I was expecting the worst with 3 kids but I must say they were so good. We did great till we got lost outside of Columbus. It was thanks to MapQuest not us! they gave us directions to a road that does not exist. Luckily the road that didn't exist took us to a road that we should have been taking, just in the opposite direction. So we got turned around and winged it from there. Thank goodness I grabbed my atlas!!

We got into Canton and I dropped off Angie and Lily at Travis' dads house and headed out to his moms where we stayed. The next day (Monday) I hung out with my sister, and we went and visited my Grammy and then went to my dads and spent the night. We went shopping and to lunch with Aimee and Abby and then headed back to Sharon's (my MIL's). This is when I did a major clean up job on her den and dining room. I did an awesome job if I do say so myself! lol I love organizing things and rearranging. The end results are so awesome!!

On the 4th (Happy Birthday to Me) we hung out with Travis' friends Derek and Tracy and the kids swam in their new pool, rode the 4 wheeler and jumped on the trampoline. We all had a great time. Travis then met up with some other friends and took Mykenzie to see the fireworks with them. I took Kaylee back to my MIL's so she could go to bed cause she was grumpy.

Thursday we headed to Grandpa Tony's (Travis' dad) and spent a couple hours with him with a break in the middle to go to a yummy Italian restaurant with Angie and Lily. Then Travis took me to Rachel's moms and dropped me and the girls off so we could hang out and spend the night. We stayed there till about 6ish looking at scrapbooks and chatting. We went to Rachels fed the kids, played outside and looked at more scrapbooks :) We got up in the morning and went to see Ratatouille, then met my sister and Abby at McDonalds for lunch. We went to Mindy's scrapbook store and then she dropped us off at Cheeseburger in Paradise where we were meeting Travis' family for dinner. Uncle Dan (Travis' brother) was in town from VA and we hadn't seen him in two years so we had a good time and got alot of weird looks from our photo session we held at our table.
Next morning got up and went to Bob Evans (I miss that place) with most of the same people from the night before. Then to Value City and off to my Aunt Shari's house to visit. We got lost for an hour but we FINALLY found the house. It was an adventure for sure. Our last night we turned in early and got up and got going after a few stops at houses where we left crap at. We made it home in record time of 7 1/2 hours, should take 9-10!!! I guess Travis has a bit of a lead foot! lol
We had a good vacation I am glad I got to see some of the people I love. I missed out on seeing Beth and I am sad about that as well as one of my uncles and my grandpa. It is hard to cram so many people into a few short days. Here are the pics from the trip

What else

Even though Jenna's passing has been in the front of my mind for 2 weeks now other things have been going on. I suppose it is time for me to write about those things as well. Angie and Lily came to stay with us for almost 4 weeks through the month of June. We had a lot of fun, alot of kids fighting and crying and made lots of memories. I must say though I do NOT know how people have twins! Holy Crap! Lily is 2 1/2 and Kaylee is just 2 months shy of being 3 (well at the time) and when they got along they were so cute but when they didn't WATCH OUT! Here are some pics from their visit.
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcuWTNo2bNGq8

Rascal Flatts - Stand

Thanks Chickie

So I know this is gonna sound strange but to each his own. I am sitting in my kitchen feeling pretty low. I tried to find a distraction so I started cleaning out the small basket that sits on my counter. Well what do I come across, the birthday card from Jenna that she gave Mykenzie at her party, which was the last time I saw her. Then I find the stack of newspapers that were stacked underneath the basket and on top I see Jenna looking up at me. I got up and walked into the laundry room, clearly time for a new distraction. I was emptying a suitcase into the washer and just broke down. I was sobbing and talking to Jenna, telling her I didn't know how we were gonna get through this and then on the radio came the song "Stand" by Rascal Flatts and seconds later I found a stack of tissues in the suitcase (no clue how they got there) I swear it was her telling me that we would get through this. The song "Stand" had such meaning for her while battling cancer and now I think she was telling me that those words ring true to help us with our grief as well. So thanks for sending me that message Jenna and thanks for the tissues. I miss ya girl.

Days Go By

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since Jenna passed away. I can't believe that time is still going forward so quickly. I just want it to stop for a little while so I can sit and be sad. It isn't though. Life is still moving forward, the days are now weeks and there is nothing else to do but move forward as well. I seem to do best while around other people. I can talk about the funeral now without sobbing and I can remember funny things about Jenna now and laugh more. I can talk about other things, yet most of the time it brings up thoughts of her and stories of her. Everything comes back to her. When I am alone with nothing else going on is when it is the hardest for me. I can't bring my thoughts away from her and that is when I break. I still can't imagine life with out her around. I have gone 2 weeks before without seeing her but there is still email, there was still her blog to read and catch up with her by. Now nothing. So you take it one day at a time.

Last week I was in Ohio, I left on Sunday, the day after the funeral. It by no means took my thoughts away from her but it was like another world. People wanted to know about her and I told her story so many times it was like a recording. The people who cared the most it was hard to stay strong around though. Even though I talked about her, it wasn't real up there. Now I am home and back to the reality of the situation. It will get easier I am sure but now it is still hard. It is hard to go out with friends and know that she will never again do those things with us. It is hard to log onto our playgroup board and see that life is moving forward and she isn't a part of it. She posted about everything, now there is silence. The shock of it all is still there, I am not sure when it will go away but I know it will. The place she has in the hearts of all who loved her will forever remain. The place she has in my heart will be there always.

So as I go through each day, doing things that must be done, I move forward. I don't want to, but I have to. I have to do laundry and grocery shop. I have to laugh and play. Jenna would be sad but she would celebrate life and be greatful for all she had. I will try and learn from her. She taught us all how to be brave and strong and now we actually have to put those lessons to use and love with our whole hearts and live our lives to the fullest, we never know if today will be our last.