Saturday, December 8, 2012

Me and My 3 Weeks!

For the past three weeks, sickness has invaded my home. Nothing major, but isn't it amazing how much some thing like a cold can affect you? During this time, I've had aches, chills, earache, headache, laryngitis (my least favorite part because I love to sing!) cough, runny nose, stuffy nose....You name it! Poor little Landon has been very sick too and TERRIBLY whiny and attached to me. His diagnosis at Care First was an ear infection and pharyngitis (I had never heard of that before!) and getting his antibiotics down him has proved to be one of the greater parenting challenges we've encountered. LOL. Jameson seemed to sail through it all amazingly UNTIL about 2 days ago when we woke up very sick with a fever, horrible cough and laryngitis. He was pitiful. Tears were dripping off of his face while he tried to tell me his voice was gone. That's when I caved and drove us BACK to Care First where they diagnosed me and Jameson with "SinoBronchial Infections." I've missed two nights of our Revival going on this week :( but I'm excited that it's going on through tomorrow so I can make up for not being there! I'm happy to say that I think we're FINALLY on the mend. We still have a couple of days left of antibiotics and I'm hoping we'll be completely well by Christmas! Landon is acting more like his old self again, thank God! Jameson is taking his medicine like a champ and I'm on the third day of my Z-pack. Anthony also caught it but seems to handle it better than the three of us. (which is good since he's the bread winner!) I am SO thankful for our good health. I realize how precious it is and don't want to ever take it for granted. 

Here's an "amazing" picture taken at our Church Christmas dinner. (They are both smiling and looking in the same direction, their eyes are open all the way, their clothes are still clean after they ate and they're not doing weird things with their hands.) LOL! You Mothers know how amazing this is.



Count down to Christmas- 17 DAYS!!! Who has their shopping done??? I'm done with most of mine. The majority of what I have left to buy is gift cards. Jameson is extremely excited and reminds Mom every time he sees her that she has Christmas gifts for him. LOL. We went Black Friday shopping as a family this year. (Disclaimer: This was my husband's idea! lol) We got $30 in gift cards at Belk so we were pumped about that! Then they had men's dress clothes buy one get TWO free so we ended up getting THREE dress shirts for Anthony for $10 plus tax out of our pocket! I also got Leapsters for $20 and PJ's for $4 at Wal-Mart for the boys. I'm super excited about their "big" gift we put on Lay-a-way at a toy store in our mall. It's a huge 27 piece wooden fire/police station that Jameson has been drooling over in the "One Step Ahead" catalogs but thinks they aren't getting it due to the price. LOL! I cannot wait to see his face on Christmas!


Stay healthy, ya'll! 

I'm going to fill out Christmas cards,

Michelle

Friday, November 16, 2012

Spontaneous Shopping Spree! (Thanks, Mom! :)

Last Saturday while hanging around the house, I got an iMessage from my Mom that said, "You need to go to Crazy 8 today." They had 25% off the entire store and that included all their clearance. Lilianna was in dire need of clothing and she RACKED up! Mom bought her 18 adorable items that day and got awesome deals on all of it! Anthony had been in the woods deer hunting all day so I called him to see if he wanted to go to Bowlingreen with us. He whispered back that he didn't want to go :( but told me to go on without him. So the boys and I hit the road at about 6:00 pm. It seems like a late start, but since it takes an hour to get there AND they are an hour behind us, we arrived at around 6:00 pm their time. That gave us three hours to eat dinner and shop- plenty of time! We ate pizza and pasta from Sbarro in the food court and then the boys had a blast riding the big carousel. Then, with full tummies and the carousel ride out of the way, we went into Crazy 8, where we spent the remaining hour and a half. The boys sat on the little bench in the back of the store and watched the Crazy 8 kid's TV the entire time (and boy am I thankful for that thing!!! LOL) except for when I was trying clothes on them. The girls that work there were wonderful. I was thrilled with my little haul and got great deals. I was especially excited to find Jameson a nice dress coat (which he needed) for 47% off! I went a little crazy when I found Landon's owl shirt, too. lol:) Here's what I left with:

Grey pea coat for Jameson: $23.60 (reg. $44.95)
Jeans for Jameson: $9.74
Jeans for Landon: $9.75
Tie shirts for J&L: $4.49 each  (I'm super excited about these for Christmas!:)
Button-up plaid shirts for J&L: $8.99 each
Owl shirt for Landon: $5.24
Polo for Jameson: $5.24
Fish shirt for Landon: $5.24  

 Sorry the picture of Landon is blurry! I didn't want to leave him out so I included it any way.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

It's Been A While!

It's been too long since I posted any thing! Since I've fallen in love with my new BFF, the iPhone, my laptop is often neglected along with my blog. I don't have too much to blog about but I never posted pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch (a MONTH ago) and I better do that while it's still Fall and before there's snow on the ground!

I was very discouraged with the outcome of the election and for a couple of days, dwelt too long on it and let fear start to creep in. It's scary to think of what we and especially our children will face in these final days! But coming into God's house the Friday evening after the election and feeling His wonderful spirit from the very first song gave me that encouragement and comfort I needed. I don't have to fear the future when the one who holds it is also holding ME! 

My brother and his wife were married 9 years ago today but they are spending their anniversary apart. Josh is a supervisor for Vectren, a natural gas company. He's been in New York helping Hurricane Sandy victims for a week now and is supposed to return home Sunday. My Uncle Scott is also in New York with his Church group helping to feed victims and do what they can for the needy. (Amazingly, ten weeks after his kidney transplant!) He feels so grateful for what he's been given and wants to give back! Please pray for Josh and Scott's protection and for God to use them.

I'm excited about the approaching holidays but baffled by how fast another year has flown by! I'm looking forward to that delicious Thanksgiving meal, precious time with family, and those Black Friday sales!!! : ) I've bought a few Christmas gifts already but still have quite a few people to cross of my list. I was peeking at Wal-Mart's ad today along with a few others online. I've thought about getting a new pre-lit tree this year. I've really enjoyed decorating the house for Fall and I'm equally excited to put it all away and replace it with CHRISTMAS decor!!!! 

Five paragraphs later, I'm realizing that I had more to blog about than I thought! Ha! Hope it wasn't too boring for you. Here are a few pictures of a fun trip to Mink & Walters Pumpkin Patch. It's a wonderful place and best of all, FREE! (Thanks to my friend Angie for posting the idea!) The boys had SO much fun that we went back again another day with Mom & Lili. 

Happy Thanksgiving, Ya'll,

Michelle
 





Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Simple Fall Craft


The boys and I took a walk around our yard today and collected leaves in Ziplock baggies. At one point during our hike around the pond, Jameson asks me out of the blue, "Are you nuts?" Ha Ha! Landon would pick up an ordinary, brown crunchy leaf and exclaim, "Look at this!!" before putting it in his bag. Then we came inside where they dumped their leaves out on the table (yikes!) then glued them to their color choice of construction paper. I had to help Landon but Jameson made his on his own. It was super fun and Mom had to make one too. ; ) I love the Fall and I'm taking in all of her beautiful colors while she's still here!

Michelle



Monday, October 22, 2012

Family Pictures by "Pop's Potos"

So, last week I picked out all of our outfits for Dad to take pictures of us in after Church (even though I knew the forecast for outdoor pictures wasn't good.) I was wearing a favorite black and white dress of mine, Anthony was wearing a brand new black plaid shirt, and the boys had black plaid western shirts, jeans and boots on. However, the weather really didn't care about all of that! Just as predicted, it was extremely windy and rainy and "non-picturey".... Ha Ha! We got a few snapshots on the porch but that's it.

Yesterday the weather decided to be absolutely perfect and gorgeous. We were all wearing the same color, so I figured, "Why not?" It just took a few minutes for my Dad to get these! (He's pretty awesome like that;)  Thanks, Pop! I love them. =)




 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Fall Photographs by Pop

Here are a couple of pictures that Dad took of the boys today! 
I love them and I'm looking forward to getting some family shots soon!


Thursday, October 11, 2012

Autumn Days Gone By....

Pictures are so precious to me! I love looking at them and seeing how much the boys have changed and grown. These were taken two years ago, Fall 2010.



And this one is from last year, Fall 2011.


This is from our family vacation to TN last year, Fall 2011. We had so much fun!


Dad is going to be taking some Fall pictures of us soon and I can't wait! 
I'll post them after they're taken and edited!





Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Easier way to show you my KKCS buys...

Hey ya'll,

I wanted to show you what I bought for the boys from the Fall consignment sale but didn't want to take, edit and post over 35 pictures! lol! So I put my iPhone to work and recorded a video clip instead. This is new for me and I feel a little silly doing it but it's WAY easier! I hope it isn't too much of a bore for ya and I don't get made fun of! lol
 
The consignment sales are where we buy the majority of our sons' wardrobes and I usually find a lot more in the Fall than I do in the Spring. This sale I spent A LOT of money, however- I made over $560! My earning far exceeded my spending so we were good! In this clip, I show you most of the clothes I bought but some of them were in the laundry baskets or their pajama drawers! One particular Mossy Oak camo outfit (not in the video) I found for Jameson has become a favorite of his.....I think he'd choose to wear it every day if he could! I also forgot to show you Jameson's Rescue Heroes fire truck that he actually prayed I would find! It was under a table and only $2! He was one happy little boy when he saw me bring it home that evening along with his first bike! It looks like a dirt bike and was just $15! Then of course, the John Deere Gator was our big purchase for $140. They have spent HOURS riding that thing already....No regrets getting it! 

I love saving money!!!

Michelle : )   


 

Thursday, October 4, 2012

That moment....

You've been there, too. You know, that moment when your "baby" takes on a different look! An older look. A less babyish look. He starts to slim down, grow a bit taller. Those legs are looking longer and start to run faster. His hands are less chubby and his fingers can navigate around your Iphone like nobody's business. Those baby cheeks start to lose some of that oh-so-kissable chub. It feels sort of deja vu and I'm not ready for it to happen to this one too. He's just as kissable and snuggly as ever but his appearance is changing and it makes a Mama's heart sigh and whisper, "Please stay little!" We're entering a new phase. One in which our "baby" is 2 and a half years old. I hope that I'm soaking in all of these moments with my boys adequately enough!  : )


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Owl Kitchen!

Some of you know that I've been wanting to paint and redecorate around here and I'm THRILLED to say that one room is checked off the list! My Kentucky Kids Consignment Sale money helped me get the things I wanted for my kitchen and I'm super excited to have a change! I wish I would've taken some "before" pictures but to help give you a mental picture, the walls were yellow and I had pineapple/fruit decorations in it. (It was starting to look a little "Granny" to me and I wanted a new look!) I had been spying this owl stuff in town and mentally drooling over it. I got it all from Kirklands and Burkes and I still want to get the canister set. (Hopefully, Kirklands will mark it down lower than $39!) I picked out "Cozy Cottage" paint color and inspite of our inexperience as painters, it turned out fine. Saturday was an extremely busy day for us and painting probably should've waited but my new things had been sitting for a week and a half and I was ready to go for it! Anthony had already put a new alternator in his truck, fixed the lawn mower, mowed/weed-eated, and cleaned the gutters out. I helped him clean out the gutters then I ran to town to get the paint while he got the kitchen completely ready. Ya'll know that pulling out appliances requires cleaning behind them, (which hadn't been done in a LONG time around here) so my fingers scrubbed until they hurt! I also fell in my bathroom while changing clothes (funny story I won't post here...lol) during the wait for the first coat to dry. Needless to say, we were pretty wore out that night and very sore the next morning at Church! My leg is still sore and the bruise from my fall has actually gotten bigger....weird! But it was worth it all! lol! I'm already planning what I want to do with the other rooms and looking forward to more changes! =) 

Michelle

I'm thinking about ordering some thing from "Stitch Me Primitives" (my talented friend, Angela) for that empty wall by the refrigerator!
    
 



My sweet hubby jumped right in and helped me put the kitchen back together. He hung the valances right out of the packages (which I wanted to iron or fluff in the dryer) but they don't look too bad the way he hung them! =)


Thursday, September 20, 2012

Proof that it's worth it!

I thought that since I posted pictures of my piles of work for the KKCS, I'd also post one of my check that arrived today! When you open that envelope and hold that check in your hand, you quickly forget about all of the work! (Sort of like having a baby! LOL!)

Heading to the bank,

Michelle
 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

What's for dinner?

I haven't posted one of these in a while! Here's my hubby's plate that was waiting for him when got home from work today. Barbecued chicken, mac & cheese, green beans, corn on the cob and homemade biscuits. (Anthony is a water drinker but I had a glass of sweet tea with mine.)

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Our "big" KKCS purchase!

This week is the Fall Kentucky Kids Consignment Sale. I've been volunteering, selling and shopping there for several years and I absolutely love it! Yesterday was the "presale" for workers, consignors and new Moms. I found TONS of clothes for my boys as well as a bike for Jameson and a few Christmas gifts for them! I worked the 12:30-4:30 shift today then Anthony picked me up (with roses and a card waiting for me:) and we went out for our 9th wedding anniversary to Longhorn Steakhouse. It was extremely DeLiCiOuS and fun even if our kids had to come along! ; ) Afterwards, Jameson wanted to go to the sale to look at toys. For the first time, they have "restock sellers" who checked in their items this afternoon and evening. When we left to go out to eat at about 5:00, my friend Theresa had been working on checking in restock items out at the side door and when we returned at about 7:15, they were finishing up check-ins. As soon as we walked in to look around, she motioned for me to come outside with her. There she showed me 2 John Deere power wheels that had just arrived. The boys wanted both the Gator AND the lawn mower/wagon but we decided on just the Gator after thorough inspection, price checking on my phone and even talking to the seller before she left! So it looks like I spent EVEN more money....lol....but the good news is we got a sweet deal on the boys' very first Power Wheels vehicle and I probably won't be spending more money than I make any way! I might post my other purchases later on.....

Happy with my bargains,

Michelle

9 years? Really???

When I do the math, I know 9-13-03 really was that long ago. It just doesn't seem possible! I'm thankful for my wonderful husband that God gave to me. Two beautiful sons added to the mix makes me one happy lady! I'm so blessed to have all three of my guys in my life!

Here are a couple of wedding pictures. I'm in a hurry and cheated on these. (They are pictures of pictures! Lol! Hope they look decent enough to post.)


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

God is so good!

One week ago today was Uncle Scott's transplant. We are praising God for how well every thing went! He kept His hand on Dad and Scott during their surgeries and is helping them during their recoveries also. I'm happy to say they are both resting at home and doing well! Dad was in surgery for five and a half hours and in recovery for four. It was a scary time and I didn't even think I was going to get to see him afterwards. My flight home was scheduled for 8:10 but I was advised to arrive at the airport by 6:45. I was a little upset about not getting to see Dad before I left but God worked it out so I could. I just love how He does things like that! He knows the desires of our hearts before we can even whisper a prayer about them! Then He comes through at the last minute, surprising us with a reminder of how much He cares. Aunt Angie was giving me a ride to the airport so we were getting ready to board the elevator to head back up for me to say "Good-bye" to Mom. We were seeing other patients heading to their rooms and were actually talking about how amazing  it would be to see Dad. Just as we were about to get on the elevator, here came the man of the hour around the corner of the hall toward us! It seemed too good to be true but when I saw that it really was my Dad, the tears came! The guy transporting him said, "Some thing told me I needed to come this way!" I was SO relieved to see him and know he was okay before I left.

I can't tell you how much he inspires me. The Bible says that there is no greater love than a man laying down his life for a friend. My Dad demonstrated that kind of love toward his brother on September 4th. He underwent a potential life threatening ordeal to give the gift of life (a kidney) to Scott. He went through more physically this past week than he has ever been through and we count him as a hero! Dad, I want you to know how much your selfless act has touched me! I hope to be that kind of person some day.

God answered countless prayers and we'll never be able to thank Him enough for being our present help in time of need! Uncle Scott's kidney started working immediately and I have no doubt that GOD did that! His kidney is functioning better than the doctors expected! He is doing well and recovering at home. They are extremely grateful. God is SO good!

Please continue to pray for both of them! There's been a lot of pain and although it's getting a little better, they still need your prayers while they recover. (especially Scott, who still deals with his diabetes) Dad told him he couldn't have his pancreas....lol! He also stated that he's never doing this again. Lol! Scott teased and said that the kidney was a "used" and "hand-me-down" gift. The surgeries didn't take that sarcasm out of either one of them! Ha Ha!

Thank you to every one who prayed, sent cards and showed your love and concern! It means a lot to them.

Until the next post, (which will likely be KKCS related :)

Michelle

Monday, September 3, 2012

Prayers, please!!!

Tuesday is the BIG day when my Dad donates a kidney to his brother, my Uncle Scott. We found out in March that he's been in third stage kidney failure for quite some time due to his diabetes. After much prayer and consideration, Dad felt peace about offering to be his donor. The past couple of months has been spent in preparation for September 4th. I'm flying out with Mom and Dad tomorrow (Monday) evening at 6:45 to Chicago where the transplant will take place at the University of Chicago Hospital. I'm nervous and asking for your prayers for my Dad and Uncle. We are trusting God for Him to take care of them and cause things to go as smoothly as possible! We want Scott to have his life back. He's suffered enough and deserves the quality of life the rest of us have. I ask that you cover him and Dad in prayer for the next several days! Also keep Mom, Aunt Shelly (Scott's sweet wife) and Gramma in your prayers! They will need strength and comfort in the days to come.

One more request- pray for every one's protection and traveling mercies to IL and back, whether by plane or car. This will be the first time I have ever flown. I'll be home Tuesday night. My flight is scheduled to land at 10:15.

(Anthony is staying home with the boys and I'm getting extra snuggles in tonight so maybe I won't miss them too badly;)

Thank you so much for the prayers! I'll post an update after the transplant.


Michelle


Friday, August 31, 2012

It's that time of year again!


YES, I have a ridiculous amount of clothes.

YES, I only have two kids.

YES, I have a lot of ironing to do.

Y E S, I'm excited about another Kentucky Kids Consignment Sale!!!



My SUPER awesome husband took one of his vacation weeks during the sale! It's also the week of our wedding anniversary and I can't wait to get away for a date together! We're thinking maybe Louisville and the NQC. As always, I'm excited about working, selling and SHOPPING another KKCS!

Happy tagging, ya'll!

Michelle

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Our Summer Trip to the Lake ~ Part 2

First off- Unlike the last post, this one mostly has higher quality pictures from my camera. However, there are a couple that are from my Iphone and I apologize for the lower quality shots!

Friday was more of a relaxing family day. We slept late (except for Anthony who fished every morning) and I made a big brunch of biscuits, gravy, eggs and bacon. Then we sat on the porch, hung in the hammock and just relaxed while the boys played.



They were thrilled with the stairs in the house and the toys in the basement! There's a treasure box full of dress-up clothes so during our stay, they became almost every thing in the box! Here's Jameson as a fireman.


The place is full of antiques and has so much charm that it's easy to fall in love with it quickly! I loved this shelf.
 I also loved cooking there because I LOVE how the range is placed in the island and I can watch my family in the living room while I'm cooking!


Here's me and the boys on the boat dock enjoying the water.....


We hung around and relaxed together most of the day. Then later that evening, Anthony took us in our boat around the bend to a perfect little spot for the boys to play in the water, make mud pies, and just be boys. I'm telling ya'll, they had a BALL! What am I talking about?! We did, too! lol! It was so relaxing and fun. We had water fights, skipped rocks on the lake, yelled to hear our echos answer us back, and just enjoyed God's handiwork out there. Jameson didn't get much out of the previous day of swimming and tubing. But THIS was right up his alley! (He could touch the bottom here!) He would've stayed there all night I think! lol! His favorite thing to do was ride the "jet ski" Uncle Andy bought for them. He also proved his 100% "boy-ness" by digging handfuls of mud out of the bottom of the lake, wiping it on his face, and wiping it on ME! (all while cracking up laughing!) YUCK! I don't even like walking in that stuff with water shoes on! Landon decided he'd try a bite of the mud pie I made for him and found out very quickly it didn't taste like real pie! lol!!! It was hilarious. His facial expression was priceless! He loved throwing rocks in the lake from his little bucket and while we were blowing bubbles, he was determined to catch one on his hand like his big brother did. It took a while but he didn't give up. I loved watching his face while he stared at the bubbles in amazement! It was just a gorgeous evening and we made some great memories together. We loaded back in the boat and took the short trip around the corner back "home" again where we bathed our very dirty bodies and I got some spaghetti going for dinner. I made chocolate chip cookies later for dessert and we enjoyed our last night at the lake house.


Saturday mainly consisted of eating left-overs, cleaning, doing laundry and packing so there isn't much to write about. The Dembeks stopped by and it was really nice to chat with them. We gave them the "Thank you" letter I'd written. I'm going to send them a real card with a bunch of pictures to show them what an awesome time we had at their place. We said "Good-bye, lake house! We love you!" and pulled out. Anthony had a fishing tournament to go to so the boys and I went out to eat and shopping in Leitchfield before we all got home late. We all decided that this was easily our favorite family vacation ever and we can't wait to go back!

Thanks for reading my "journal" called a blog,

Michelle