Splendid Imperfections

I'll be back!

2009-08-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

starting Monday, my big kids are going back to school and I'll have a minute or so to post;)! I'm not excited that they're going back to school... at all!!!!! I am excited that they have good teachers! excited to write again...

erica

Wake Up America

2009-05-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

I said that in my best Bernie Mack voice! Oh my gosh! How did my boy Danny get voted off of idol? I like that guy so much and no matter what.... he is THE AMERICAN IDOL! I can't handle Adam for one second. I'll vote for Chris like a mad woman next week, but I won't watch American Idol EVER again! This is why we have idiots in political office.... because the same idiots are voting in those races too!

No show in history has ever inspired this much fury from me... it's pitiful, really!

The Other Half of Spring Pics

2009-05-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Spring Family Pictures~ some of my favorites... I know there are a lot:)

2009-05-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

Making A Happy Home Monday

2009-04-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

I participate in a carnival on Mondays hosted by my friend LL. Here's how she describes it....

This is a blog carnival that I host in which I wish to be held accountable....I need to be held accountable in getting some housework done.I hope to inspire and encourage others to accomplish things around the house. That being said, I would love for you to join me and post about some of your projects.Pick a project...ANY project. Make it big or small. Make it clean, more organized or prettier. Whatever you do, make it happier.....the happiness can filter down into your home.

You can check out what other ladies are doing in there homes by clicking here http://as-for-me-and-my-house.blogspot.com.

I'm in the middle of a series on MHHM where I pick 5 projects each week that I don't do that often. This carnival keeps me so accountable!

Here are my picks for this past week:

1. Organize ribbon tote. This is quite the undertaking! I make hairbows and have 142 bolts of ribbon and 2 boxes of scrap ribbon, glue gun, glue sticks, wire, clippies, hair bands, etc. It took 4 hours to do this; I'm so ashamed!!!

2. Wipe down walls and baseboards in kids restroom. GROSS!

3. Go through "sock basket" sort out everyones socks and throw out or find another use for the non-matching ones.

4. Clean out from under my kitchen sink. UGH! Why do I accumulate stuff under there? I emptied all of the contents and wiped out the cabinets, then I threw out empty or almost empty containers and refilled the cabinets. It looks so much nicer under there now!

5. I had Walter test all of our smoke detectors and make sure that they are all still connected to each other. The man who built our house was an electrician and he installed a cool network of smoke detectors so that if one goes off they all do. We had to replace 3 batteries.

This next list is long and hard! Come back next week and see what's in store:)!

Off to make my home happy,

erica

A Little Something New

2009-04-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

Ok. I've talked about opening myself up and being vulnerable again... Here we go! I know that God has been asking me to branch out, make new friends, pour into others, be accountable to others, etc. Because of hurt and pride, I haven't. I've made the excuse that I just didn't feel peace about it yet....Actually, I've felt like Hannah up there in the blue bonnets!:)

I've been going to the Wednesday night services at church (now that the weather is better; I don't get out at night in the cold:)) and our guest speaker has been encouraging us to make relationships with people who aren't saved in order to show them the hope that we have in Christ.. I really don't know too many people that aren't saved....

Over the past couple of weeks, my friend from high school has been inviting me to join her play group. I have been resistant to say the least!

God has been giving me every opportunity to fulfill my calling, needs, the needs of my little girls, and a unique venue for meeting new people over and over again; He's even convicted me about it EVERY Wednesday night! I just didn't feel good about it...

Until yesterday! Our pastor was preaching about training your flesh to do what the spirit desires and sometimes you just have to get up and make the first step. He not so gently reminded us that you won't feel good about everything that God asks you to do and if you wish to grow or go beyond where you've been.... you have to get up and get out!

Last night, we joined our new Growth Group and LOVED IT!!! Walt and I never love the same groups and we did last night.... God is so faithful! Even when we were so anxious, He made our sacrifice of time and self pay off in a HUGE way! We were both ministered to and we got to bless others. THANK YOU LORD! ALL THE GLORY IS YOURS!

I also came home and joined my friend Tiffany's play group. I am so excited! Some of the ladies even have twins, so I'm going to drag my sister too:)! They have lots of fun activities and I'm positive that Nadiah and Hannah are going to love it! I know I will too.

I'll have some new fun things to blog about now. yea!

branching out and maybe even liking it,

erica

Wordless Wednesday- Hannah's Dedication

2009-04-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

Making a Happy Home Monday

2009-04-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited; I figured out how to insert the picture for this post! WOOHOO!

I participate in a weekly blog carnival hosted by my good friend LL. Here's the link to her blog so that you can join us... http://as-for-me-and-my-house.blogspot.com/

This is her description of what it's all about....
Hello, y'all. It is time for another "Making a Happy Home Monday." This is a blog carnival that I started a few months back, in most part to keep me accountable to my own job.By posting pictures and doing this every week, I hope to encourage and inspire others to do the same....or something similar. You see, if your home is in chaos (or C.H.A.O.S.), then I just don't see how you can be happy. I know I can't. BUT, it is hard to make myself do stuff sometimes. So, I have decided to focus on one thing at a time. I might only do 1 thing per week...I might do 1 thing per day, but the point is, I'm doing SOMETHING. I try to make certain areas prettier, neater, or more functional.That being said, I would love for you to join me in this. Post some before and after pictures if you can. Describe things you are doing. Give me some ideas of areas I have forgotten about.

Over the next 5 weeks, I'm going to do deep spring cleaning. This will consist of daily projects that I don't do too often but are necessary. So in 5 weeks many projects will be done and my house will again shine. These are the past weeks jobs:

Monday: Wipe down all walls in living room and hallway.

Tuesday: Wipe all light switches and electrical face plates in house

Wednesday: Re-Arrange my room (clean out from under the bed and behind all furniture)

Thursday: Clean out file cabinet (my least favorite chore ever!)

Friday: Dust all surfaces in house. This means picture frames hanging in hallways, knick knacks, furniture, blinds, light fixtures, shelves, I mean everything.

I really do feel so accomplished after this week. Come back next week for another installment of Making a Happy Home Monday!

happy monday,
erica

Thanks Kari Jobe

2009-04-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

for reminding me that I and my life sing for Him and no one else! I want to constantly remember who God is in my life and the power to love, heal and forgive that he possesses. I hate that I forget sometimes.......I also want to live everyday to please him and bring him many smiles.

If you don't know who Kari Jobe is... you haven't really worshiped:)! She is AMAZING! You can check her out here on facebook. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Kari-Jobe/92640840250?ref=ts

The song that I love so much right now is "I'm Singing", all of her songs are beautiful!!!

worshiping in song and with my life,
erica

Wordless Wednesday~ Twins and Grace

2009-04-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

Get Over It Already

2009-04-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Let me first start by saying that this is a pretty hard post for me... and my husband is and has been amazing through everything. This post is not going to slam anyone or any organization or even shed light to anyone that doesn't already know about the circumstances. This is just me needing a place to verbalize and for me to feel like somebody else out there might feel the same way in my shoes.

Last summer, I went through one of the most painful experiences of my life. I was personally and professionally attacked by some that were my closest friends and others that were in places of leadership and should have protected me instead of harming me. The situation devastated my family. No details are necessary... it was ugly and extremely painful.

During the past 9 months, I have had to face the very ones that betrayed me weekly (sometimes several times a week). Throughout the process people constantly tell me that we're so brave and that it says so much about our character to stay around and how much staying and being gracious says about us and my innocence... While all of that is extremely flattering and uplifting, we didn't stay around and go through intense personal pain for those reasons. We did it because God told us to. I don't often Hate what he tells us to do.... not ever really. This I have HATED.

Since Christmas things have gotten easier. I truly thought that I was over it all and that closure would be achieved soon. Until this morning. I was chatting with a great friend that moved about 4 hours away a few months ago and I began sobbing. Not crying, but sobbing... like I'm doing now. We were just talking about a worship song that I wrote. Nothing serious, nothing too deep, but it hit me; I'm still not over all of the hurt. I've helped my husband to come closer to healing, told good friends not to hold it against those at fault, and made everything alright for my kids. Why am I not over it?!?!!?!?

Why not? I'm a strong woman, well educated and independent, but I can't get over the pain caused by people who don't really spend any time thinking about or dwelling on me.

I don't want to be brave or to teach them all a lesson... the Lord has shown me that he will fight the battle for me. I believe this in my head and my heart! I want people to know that I didn't do what I was accused of and I want to feel accepted again. I want the stares to stop and the whispers to be silent. I want to have friends again even if they're not my true friends... I just miss hangin' out with people other than my sis and husband. It's not my friends fault; I've been the one to seal myself off from the world trying to protect my heart, but it's not working anyway, so I guess it's time to be vulnerable again... Maybe.

My dear friend gave me advice that she'd heard me give to someone else not too long ago (don't you hate when your own advice is given back to you?). She said, " the kind of hurt that you've experienced is one of the worst. It's actually good for you to really feel the pain and to take plenty of time to heal." Ugh. She's right.

Sorry that this has been a depressing post... happier words to come soon.

drying my tears because I hate to cry :),

erica

Making a Happy Home Monday

2009-04-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

For this installment of Making a Happy Home Monday I copied LL from a couple of weeks ago; I cleaned out the cabinets in both bathrooms. I can't believe that we had that much junk in my cabinets! UGH! I do love how they look now! I emptied them out completely, wiped them out and filled them with about a third of the contents.

Off to make my home happy,

erica

Spring Break Finale

2009-04-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

I just found this in my posts to edit... didn't know that it hadn't posted... boo!

On Friday morning, we headed to Waco to visit their zoo. We went with our friends LL and her boys. I must admit..... we were impressed! They had many animals that aren't at the Dallas or Ft. Worth zoos and most if not all were visible. It was clean and so beautiful! I had a great time.

Saturday was our stay home and clean the backyard day... woohoo! Ha! Walt and the kids called me a nazi. Whatev

On Sunday, we woke up went to church and headed to Six Flags. We had a blast! There were no lines and the weather was perfect! Couldn't have been better.

So Sad to see Spring Break end..... in the words of another WB character..... That's All Folks....

Lenny

2009-04-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

This week has been crazy! Lots of family drama last weekend.... mom, uncle, aunt, cousin, other uncle all acting like jr. highers... so irritating!

My sister and her sweetie pies came over to hang out on Monday and the real drama began while Nadiah and Grace were playing in the backyard. They came in at about 10:30 saying that they saw a bunny in the yard, we smiled/said yea and sent them back out. Then they came in saying socks is chewing on something red.... again I sent them out thinking it was a piece of her collar that she had torn up while we were out of town on spring break. The next time they came in proclaiming that socks was eating a rat. They DEFINITELY had our attention at this point! Andrea (the much stronger stomached between the two of us) went out to check it out and began to call for me loudly.... very loudly! I reluctantly went out and she begged me to get the girls in the house and come back out to help her. I am terrified at this point, thinking that socks is hurt or something. While I got the girls settled in the playroom, she put socks in the side yard and began sobbing.... now I'm freaking out because my sis doesn't cry. I go out and see what the commotion is all about; Socks found a nest of baby bunnies. There were 6 little newborn bunnies lying on the ground with punctures in them. We thought they were all dead and began to pick them up and dispose of them before our girls discovered what the mutt had done (this is her new name, no longer Socks the Wonder Dog) when I saw that one was farther away from the others and appeared to be breathing. It was alive! We were pitiful! We made him a new nest in an old shoe box, put material from the original nest in it and put him on top of the dryer so that he could stay warm.

I then called our vet to see what to do and was shocked when I learned that no vets around here see bunnies. Really, well what the crumb am I supposed to do with it. I am a dog only kind of girl. Seriously! I like other animals, but I don't like things that smell badly... at all! Anyway, I finally got the number to this vet that was supposed to know all that I needed to do... their advice was... put the bunny back in its nest. I explained that the mutt would just get it again and kill it. She then suggested that I get a medicine dropper and give it a few drops of kitten milk or baby formula and try to nurse it and let it go when it's up and hopping around. OMGOSH!!! My sis and I were both so anxious about raising a bunny... I was gonna leave it on the vet's front porch:)! After I gave the bunny so much milk so fast that it shot out its little nose, we decided to call our Amma (the best Grandmother in the world). She proceeded to tell me of this friend that she has that rescues and nurses bunnies.... I couldn't have been happier!!! We made plans to drop off the bunny at around 6pm.

While I was gone to pick up the big kids from school, Andrea noticed that he wasn't getting warm enough. So she put some blankets in the dryer, stuck the bunny under her shirt (we're moms, skin to skin contact is the best) and covered the bunny up with the warm towel. When I got back it was my turn.... this part was so fun! I took Lenny and put him under my shirt right under my breast bone and covered him up and began to lightly storke him. He began to move and kind of perk up and ate a bit more. My sis and I felt so accomplished! The kids got to love on it and take pics of the sweet little thing. I'm not going to be a vet or anything or even own any new types of pets, but I did have fun caring for our sweet baby. We named him Lenny after the character from Of Mice and Men. The latest word is that he's doing just fine and doing what all bunnies should do! Woo hoo! We did it:).

PS: We're still not talking to Socks:)

Spring Break Wednesday and Thursday

2009-03-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

We slept in on Wednesday morning and left the house at around 11. We headed to Costco; Micah and Sarah had never been. They ate every single sample that they were offered! Ha! It was almost embarrasing....

We filled our basket with a variety of treats and then headed over for "lunch" at their little cafe. They sell all beef 100% kosher hot dogs. They were very tasty for cafe dogs.

Nadiah was in entertaining mode and Sarah and Micah literally could not containt their laughter! I snapped some cute shots of their real smiles. I love this one!

Showing off....

On Thursday, I cleaned and got things ready for us to go to Disney on Ice (Thanks Sherri for the hook up)! Nadiah couldn't have possibly loved it anymore than she did! It was really cute, even the big kids liked it.

Her favorite part was Tinkerbell.... she's actually obsessed:)

See above for pics... I'm not sure what's going on with my pictures today

Spring Break Continued....

2009-03-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

My pics are acting funny today.... oh well. The above photos are out of order...

After a fun filled Monday at Sea World, we started the drive back home. We made a pitstop for dinner at Auntie Anne's. We each got a pretzel dog, something to drink and a yummy pretzel! We were actually going to be secret shoppers for the spicy family.... but daddyspice was there. Once everyone was full, changed, cleaned up and potty breaked.... we headed home.

Our beloved 11 year old dog socks was being cared for by Adam (one of my former interns) and my sister. Adam got his wires crossed and left socks in the house from noon on Sunday to about midnight on Monday. Poor thing! She left us a little mess, but not too bad. WE FELT HORRIBLY!!!

On Tuesday, my sister and I took the kids to Double Dave's for lunch and then to the park. They had a blast! I love how well our kids pay together! We played on all 3 playgrounds at the park... we were there several hours and loved every minute of it!

still more to follow,

erica

Spring Break Days 3 and 4 Sea World

2009-03-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

On Sunday and Monday we went to one of our favorite places.... Sea World. Sunday started out chilly and a bit misty; it was perfect because the park was almost empty! There was no wait for the rides and we had great seats for all of the shows! Talk about amazing! My camera was broken so no pics from Sunday:(...

Monday was much busier at Sea World. It was beautiful weather! We fed the dolphins

and the sea lions

and took pictures with Shamu

Here are the kids so done taking pictures! They were troopers!

Still more to come,

erica

Spring Break Days 1 and 2

2009-03-24T19:14:00.001-07:00

We packed so much stuff for spring break this year that I'll need a few different posts to get it all in. On Friday the 13th, we picked up the kids at 10:30 (we made them stay long enough to be counted present for school) and headed to Round Rock, Texas. We met up with mommyspice, daddyspice, and spicygirl at their Pretzel Shop for a grand tour and a snack, We tried the world's best pretzels! We were thrilled to be with our friends again! Walt and I have missed them so much! We picked up pretty much where we left off and had the best time.

Before we filled up completely, we headed to the "Bunkhouse"; the spicy family lives on the coolest ranch! Micah and Sarah were AMAZED at the surroundings. The view from their porch is breathtaking! Nadiah and Hannah had a fantastic time playing with Spicygirl's Littlest Pet Shop collection. We chatted for a while and then headed to one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE restaurants, Chuys!

Walt hadn't ever been to Chuys and he is smitten! Ha! Our kids loved it too. There were 5 kids together that evening and they behaved so well! We then headed back to the pretzel shop to pick up desert... yum!

We spent the night at the Bunkhouse for our first night. We had 2 rooms all to ourselves to use (Thanks so much Mommyspice!), but our kids had their own plans for the sleeping arrangements that night. They voted that the boys would sleep in one bed and the girls would sleep in another.... that's great if you're not the mom of 3 girls! Needless to say, walt slept much better than I did that night:).

The next day, we chatted and hung out while the kids explored... they went out to see the cows, some wild pigs, and just about anything else they could find. They loved EVERY minute of it. It gave the parents a chance to hang out and chat it up.... so great!

We left around lunch time to head down to the Embassy Suites in San Antonio. That night we ordered room service and swam... our kids love room service:)

Nadiah and Sarah played fashion show and dropped my camera...it broke... boo!
These are the last shots taken by the beloved easyshare... walt bought me a new one on Sunday:)

Hannah ate our entire container of Chipotle Guacamole!!!

more to come,
erica

Making a Happy Home Monday

2009-03-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

For my project this week, I decided to make a necklace hanger. I hate how jumbled my necklaces look in my jewelry box and am always nervous that I'm going to break one of they ever get tangled. I saw this somewhere, I think on one of those crafting blogs that I like so much...

Supplies needed:
1 memo board
2 packages of small mug hooks
hammer
nail

I bought my board at Walmart for 4.00 on clearance and the hooks were only .97 each; I love inexpensive crafts! To begin, I decided how I would like to hang my board (horizontally or vertically). I counted my necklaces and made sure that I'd have enough hooks for all of them and spaced the rows accordingly. Then I began by creating holes about 4 inches apart in the board by hammering a nail into the board. Next, it was time to install the hooks....I just used the holes that I created to make installing the hooks easier; I couldn't have done it without making the starter holes first! I hung the board in my closet and hung all of my necklaces up. One really cool thing is that my dangly earrings can hang on the strips of ribbon that are on the memory board.... dual purpose, cute, cheep, and fun.... you can't beat that!

I'll blog about spring break over the next few days.....

erica

I HEART FACES

2009-03-02T13:30:00.001-08:00

I've never done this before but it looks fun! Here is my messy girl... She loves cereal bars!

Wordless Wednesday- grace and nadiah

2009-02-25T08:11:00.001-08:00

Happy Home Monday

2009-02-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

For this instalment of HHM, I chose to work on an area of my house that I rarely/never think about.... my hallway. I have always wanted to hang pics of the kids in the hallway. Walter absolutely despises mix matched frames and pics randomly thrown on the wall, so he has been very resistant to me hanging anything in our very bare hallway. We both like black and white photos and black frames. The color of my hallway is called tuscan and it looks beautiful with the black frames.

This project took some time! I had to select my favorite photos, upload them to CVS and convert each one to a black and white shot. Then the fun part began... putting the pics into the frames. There are almost 100 pics hanging in the frames.

After we had the pics in their frames, we had to hang them. Walt and I avoid doing household projects together; he has a hard time with my perfectionism... I have a hard time with his un perfectionism:). We actually did a good job working together. I guess 11 years teaches you a few things about team work. It's also the first job that we've done and both been happy with. WOOHOO! He even said that I was right. Music to my ears... We liked the hallway so much that we added the white frames to our living room.

happy home making,

erica

Lucy, I'm Home

2009-02-20T06:11:00.000-08:00

My Grandmother made a great comment the other day about Nadiah. She said, " I bet if you followed Nadiah around all day and just studied her facial expressions, body movements, and listened to what she said and didn't say(but you knew she was thinking it) it would be like an episode of I Love Lucy or a walking vaudeville act! HA how true it is.

Nadiah is my 3 year old daughter. She is absolutely gorgeous and fabulously intelligent. She's also incredibly stubborn and as quirky as they come!

Yesterday, I followed her around while she played and interacted with the other kids and I. She really is funny. She can't hide how she feels, you can read everything she thinks right on her face! She talks with her hands and it is hilarious, but she gets mad when you laugh at her if she's not purposely trying to make you laugh. She wants to look cute everyday, she gets dressed and takes a matching purse EVERYWHERE we go, but she hates people to tell her how cute she is.

She can add and she's 3...she can't say her ABC's yet. She loves for me to read to her and she knows when I skip some words....UGH! She loves for me to snuggle with her, but doesn't like me to breathe on her or put my arm totally around her. She's totally afraid of insects!!! Music is already her passion(she loves to sing with mommy), but she doesn't like how other people sing. She loves to play outside but hates to get dirty. She completely freaks out when the house is messy, but hates to pick up... she only likes to clean with spray and wipes.

She can hold her own with her brother, sisters, and cousins, but absolutely melts down when kids that she doesn't know well don't play nicely. She loves Dora and Diego, but can't sit still long enough to watch an entire episode. She loves to have her picture taken, but hates to be told when to smile.

This girl is just a series of contradictions!!!

As I was sharing this list with Walt, he said..... "that's because she's EXACTLY LIKE YOU"! What have you done to her?:)"

He is right( I hate to say that)! I have never been able to hide what i was thinking. You pretty much know what I think and where you stand with me by the expressions on my face. Most of the other above crazy things are just like me too, UGH! I don't want my kids to be as crazy or in Nadiah's case crazier than I am:)!

This must explain why she and I have such a strong bond and I'm the only one that truly gets her!!!!

trusting God for him to undo any permanent damage,

erica

Playing Catch Up

2009-02-12T05:58:00.000-08:00

I have a bit of catching up to do... This is Hannah on her 1st birthday. She really loved her cake!

This last Friday night, we surprised the kids and took them to dinner downtown and then on a carriage ride. We had so much fun!

This is how my girls sleep. So sweet!

I found these little numbers at Cracker Barrel on clearance....couldn't pass them up!

This is Nadiah when she had her tonsils out on the 28th

We've had lots of fun! Now Sarah has the flu and Micah is sick today too..... ugh!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Home Monday

2009-02-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

I've been looking forward to this post for almost a week...

Lately, I've had several people ask how I am able to keep our house looking nice most of the time. I have one word for you....LISTS!!! I have a list for every day of the week and I don't go to bed until the list is complete. I love it. I don't stress about things that I have to do because I know that in the next couple of days they'll be done.

I'm a busy girl... my son plays hockey, daughters cheer, we go to church twice a week, husband is in school, sister has twins, and I stay home with my 2 baby girls. I have to stick with my chore chart in order to keep from feeling overwhelmed. I am easily overwhelmed by laundry and sweeping/mopping, so I keep it up in order to avoid the ugly o word. There are times that I do get overwhelmed, births of babies, when we come back from vacation, Christmas, and when I or 2 of more of our kids get sick. For the most part, my house is clean and happy. I know that the only way any of our days are happy is for my house to be clean.... we are all stressed when it's not.

SO..... Here's my list. I haven't shared it before,because I didn't really think that i had anything to offer. I have so many areas of my life that need to be improved on..... this is just one area that I've gotten decent at:) I also come from a long line of compulsive cleaners. I mean seriously compulsive! I'm nothing compared to my mother and grandmother!!!

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday

Micah	Micah	Micah	Micah	Micah	Micah
Clean off Table	Unload Dishes	Clean off Table	Unload Dishes	Clean off Table	Unload Dishes
Put away Clothes	Dust	Put away Clothes	Dust	Put away Clothes	Dust
Pick Up Room	Put Away Clothes	Pick Up Room	Put Away Clothes	Pick Up Room	Put Away Clothes
Wipe/P-U Bath	Pick Up Room	Wipe/P-U Bath	Pick Up Room	Wipe/P-U Bath	Pick Up Room

Sarah	Sarah	Sarah	Sarah	Sarah	Sarah
Unload Dishes	Clean off Table	Unload Dishes	Clean off Table	Unload Dishes	Clean off Table
Dust	Put away Clothes	Dust	Put away Clothes	Dust	Put away Clothes
Put Away Clothes	Pick Up Room	Put Away Clothes	Pick Up Room	Put Away Clothes	Pick Up Room
Pick Up Room	Wipe/P-U Bath	Pick Up Room	Wipe/P-U Bath	Pick Up Room	Wipe/P-U Bath

Nadiah	Nadiah	Nadiah	Nadiah	Nadiah	Nadiah
Pick Up Toys	Pick Up Toys	Pick Up Toys	Pick Up Toys	Pick Up Toys	Pick Up Toys
Brush Teeth	Brush Teeth	Brush Teeth	Brush Teeth	Brush Teeth	Brush Teeth
Put Clothes Away	Put Clothes Away	Put Clothes Away	Put Clothes Away	Put Clothes Away	Put Clothes Away

Erica	Erica	Erica	Erica	Erica	Erica
Load Dishes	Load Dishes	Load Dishes	Load Dishes	Load Dishes	Load Dishes
Wash and Dry Clothes	Wash and Dry Clothes	Wash and Dry Clothes	Wash and Dry Clothes	Wash and Dry Clothes	Wash and Dry Clothes
Put Clothes Away	Put Clothes Away	Put Clothes Away	Put Clothes Away	Put Clothes Away	Put Clothes Away
Change My Sheets Clean Kitchen	Wipe Down Couches	Change Babies Sheets	Wipe Down Couches	Change M&S Sheets	Wipe Down Couches
Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
Bathrooms	Dust	Bathrooms	Dust	Bathrooms	Dust
Pick Up Living Room	Pick Up LR and K	LR and K	LR and K	LR and K	LR and K
Bedroom	Pick Up Bedroom	Pick Up Bedroom	Pick Up Bedroom	Pick Up Bedroom	Pick Up Bedroom
Floors	Floors	Floors	Floors	Floors	Floors

Walt	Walt	Walt	Walt	Walt	Walt
Trash	Trash	Trash	Trash	Trash	Trash
Sweep	School	School	School		Swiffer Wet

Wishing you a happy home,

erica

it's been a long time...

2009-02-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

Since I posted a blog. Sorry guys! I've missed you all very much. My sister had twins and life got crazy for a bit. One of our babies was in the nicu, so Sugie (that's what my nieces and nephews call me) was pulling the night shift and taxi driving my sis during the day for 10 days. Then they came home and the real work began! I had to recover my home from walt and the kids hangin out unsupervised:)! The only area of the house that wasn't destroyed was Sarah's room... no surprise there. Then Walt started back to school. This is always an emotional time for me.... makes life tough, not as tough as many... but tough. Next, I got my hiney back in the gym!!!! So, i've been a busy girl. I'm going to try to do a few posts a week. Glad to be back in the land of blogging!!!

This is Baby Eddie, I call him Ace

This is Isabella, we all call her Izzie.... she really loves her sugie!
Here are my little lovies... Until Andrea had Grace, I didn't know it was possible to love another child so much! I am crazy about these babies!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-23T16:20:00.001-08:00

I know that this is supposed to be wordless, but I need to explain the extreme amt. of glitter. Sarah did a make over on me.... she was so excited:)

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

2008-12-23T15:41:00.000-08:00

Today's TMTT is a family favorite. Most of mine are.... I guess they all are as the family votes on them. Ha. Ok, here's the recipe for Fajita Foil Packs:

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts depending on family size 3/4 to 1 cup Salsa of your choice

2.5 to 3.5 cups of cooked rice

1 to 1 1/2tsp. garlic powder, 1tbsp. fajita seasoning

1 each: green and red pepper, cut into strips
3/4 to 1 cup finely shredded cheese

Prep Instructions:

Heat oven to 400ºF. Fold up all sides of each of four 18x12-inch sheets of heavy-duty foil to form 1-inch rim; spray foil with cooking spray. Combine rice and taco seasoning; spoon evenly onto centers of foil. Top evenly with remaining ingredients.

Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place in baking pan.

Bake 30 to 35 min. or until chicken is cooked through (165ºF). Let stand 5 min. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening packets.

I usually serve with a salad and some steamers. My aunt serves with tortillas. It's really great either way.

enjoy,

erica

Making a Happy Home Monday

2008-12-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

I was so excited for this post! I wrapped presents all day yesterday and finished up this morning.... and then I come to post and LL had done my idea. We hadn't talked about it at all.... Great minds, you know.

So, I changed my HHM to show some of my Christmas Decorations around the house. This is by no means all of them.... we go all out for Christmas:). Dusting them is the highlighted chore:)

Cookie Cutter Tree

Entertainment Center

Sofa Table

Nadiah and Hannah's tree

Sarah's tree

Off to hang all of our laundry..... to keep my home happy

erica

Magic 8

2008-12-22T07:58:00.000-08:00

LL tagged me in this meme. Looks fun....

The Magic 8

8 T.V. Shows I watch:

(I don't have TIME to watch 8 T.V. shows, I watch all of these, but I don't keep up with any of them:()
1. Monk
2. Psych
3. Burn Notice
4. What Not to Wear
5. Law & Order CI and SVU
6.CSI
7.Dancing with the Stars
8.American Idol

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Chipotle
2. Texas de Brazil
3. Papasitos
4. The Blue Mesa
5. Fogo de chao
6. Outback
7.Chuys
8.Cuba Libre

8 Things that happened today:

It's only 10 am, so not too exciting yet....

1. Made Breakfast
2. Checked Email
3. Talked to Nadiah about not yelling at her mommy
4. Cleaned my kitchen
5. Made sure that the kids haven't opened their presents
6. Looked at my Facebook
7. Switched the Laundry
8.Currently watching a movie (Mist) with my kiddos.

8 Things I look forward to:

1. Christmas!
2. Warm weather coming
3. Hitting the gym again
4. Starting weight watchers again
5. My twin niece and nephew coming in mid Jan.
6. Running my 3 miles
7. Hannah walking

8. Getting my bathroom re-modeled

8 Things I wish:

1. That Nadiah's surgery goes smoothly
2. My niece and nephew come healthy and happy
3. That I had a laundry maid
4. That Hannah has grown enough not to need any further testing
5. That Walt was done with grad school
6. That my friend Mandy lived about 30 minutes closer
7. That I make it through the winter weather
8. My house was always clean

Don't know 8 people that LL hasn't already tagged..... so surprise me:)!

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

2008-12-21T14:47:00.000-08:00

LL tagged me to do this meme. You're supposed to go to your pictures on your computer and find the 6th pic in your 6th folder and blog about it.... Here we go:

This is Nadiah, our 3rd child, at Holiday in the Park. We had such a fun day together. The kids went sledding, we drank hot chocolate, looked at pretty lights, rode so many rides (it was the day after Thanksgiving so everyone was shopping) and we watched some holiday shows. They had really cool fire pits around so that we could warm up... nice for mommy who hates the cold:)! We loved it. This picture is so fitting, because Nadiah starts talking about the swings from the time she finds out that we are going to Six Flags.... EVERY TIME! We have season passes, so we go a lot and she rides them 4 or 5 times every time we go. It's so cute. This time however, she rode them so much that she pee'd her pants and I had to clorox wipe the swing!!! It was still a great family day! I don't think that I have 6 people that follow my blog to tag.... So, I'll tag

LL already did it
Susan
mommyspice
momto3jjj
tollesons4him
Alishia

happy picture finding,
erica

Here we go!!!!!

2008-12-21T08:57:00.000-08:00

Ok... most of you know of my love for the gym but lack of motivation to go daily. My mom (so much smaller and in relatively good shape) has the same problem. We just don't like to work out. We know that it's good for us and that we feel better when we do it; we just are so unmotivated to actually get up and get busy. Well, we've found our motivation. In mid May, we're running 3 miles of the marathon to benefit several charities. Mom's motivation is financial (she's footing the bill for herself, my step-dad, brother, walt and I to do the race), mine is for sheer embarrassment! I don't want to run at a snails pace:) while my family trot past me. So, January 1st, I start weight watchers again and I started race training this morning. I'm actually really excited!!!!

The second motivation is that once we reach our halfway to goal weight or fitness level, we're going shopping! With my mom, shopping involves a trip of some sort.... WOOHOO!!! I'm motivated! Please Encourage me often:) I'll need it!

There will probably be several posts about this as I'm going to view my quest as a part time job.... sorry if you get sick of hearing about it!

on the way to healthy,
erica

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-17T11:14:00.001-08:00

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

2008-12-16T12:48:00.000-08:00

Home made Burritos

This recipe is a new family favorite..... especially for the kids.

Ingredients:
1 1 lb bag of pinto beans
salt, cumin, garlic or garlic powder, onion or onion powder
2 cups of shredded cheese
1 package of large tortillas (key to success: buy the store brand of tortillas, they are usually made in the deli and are so much fresher)
Sour Cream
Salsa
Jalapenos

Preparation:
I soak my beans over night and put them in the crock pot in the morning and cook on low. I don't add spices until about 2 or 3. Once all spices are added, turn the crock pot to high for about 2 hours. Pre heat the oven to 375. I wet all tortillas slightly and put them in the microwave just to heat them a little. I use my blender or hand mixer to make the beans the re-fried look. Then, I spread the beans over the tortillas and top with cheese. Fold them up and tuck in the edges.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes turning half way through. Serve alone or with sour cream, salsa, or jalapenos.

My kids even go back for seconds!

enjoy,
erica

Happy Home Monday

2008-12-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long! I've been running around like crazy with sick kids, a field trip, Walt and 2 major papers, kids parties, Sarah's birthday party and freaking out that Hannah is going to be 1 on Saturday.

Ok... On Monday, I cleaned like a mad woman! I had a stomach virus and still managed to dust the entire house, clean the kids' bedrooms, my room, bathrooms, the living room, kitchen and swept and mopped all of our floors. I feel so accomplished! And..... I feel like my home is very happy:)

erica

Thankful!

2008-11-26T07:56:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to list some of the things that I'm thankful for. Some of these are deep and relatively private, I don't think I've shared them publicly before... I certainly haven't put them on the web!

1. I'm thankful for a deeper relationship with God than I've ever had. My love for him has grown and intensified over the past few months. It's not the oooo I pray hours a day read my bible day and night, go and witness every evening, and pass out tracts to my neighbors kind of devotion. It's just a true friendship; it honestly was developed partly through pain, but totally worth it! I am so excited about the year to come and to see where we go together.

2. I'm thankful for my truly amazing husband. He is my dearest friend and the one that I'll love for the rest of my life. Those of you that know us, know that he has supported me this past year in a way that is completely like him. He's encouraged me to be gentle, loving, kind, forgiving, passionate, and excellent in everything. yep, just like Walt. He's pretty easy on the eyes too:)

3. I'm thankful for my 4 children. Our oldest is our 9 almost 10 year old son, Micah. We are getting to a really cool stage with him. He's so handsome, funny and smart. My biggest worry with Micah is that he is a schmoozer, but even in that he's charming. Next there is the child that every mother prays for, our 7 almost 8 year old Sarah. She is and always has been sweet, beautiful, kind hearted, so funny, obedient, and scarily smart. Nadiah is our gorgeous 3 year old. She is our "class clown" and so so sweet. She has hit that very fun stage where we can really play lately. She loves all things mommy and I love her. Sarah calls her the Evil Genius. Nadiah's super quick! Last but not least, there's Hannah. My baby forever! She's so cute, sensitive, rotten to the core and truly the BEST baby ever. I can't wait for more and more of her personality to come out. She is an absolute delight.

4. I'm thankful that my brother is home!!!! He has completed his 3 years of treatment and is back with the family. I missed him so much and worried about him even more. It's been a little tough reconnecting with a 17 year old, but I love trying.

5. I'm thankful that I get to stay home with my children. I'm not going to lie, taking away 30k a year from any family is tough, we have a budget again and I'm sticking to it.

6. I'm thankful that we've found at least a temporary fix to our church hunting situation. We're done hunting. We're going to continue at the Oaks (9 service and Wed. for the kids) and go to Relevant for their 11:00 service. It's a long day, but Walt and I can heal in peace and serve with great leaders in order to fill our longing for serving.

7. I'm thankful for great friends. New ones, old ones, ones I've found again on Facebook, and ones I'm related to. They have been like life support for me. Thank you to those that read this and are my friends. Your words of encouragement, love and unconditional belief in me has inspired me to be better.... more like each of you and more like Jesus. I am so blessed to have so many great friends. When I was feeling like my work, service, devotion, relationships didn't matter, you are what proved me wrong. Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-25T19:43:00.000-08:00

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

2008-11-25T08:49:00.001-08:00

I am going to put my own spin on this fun Tuesday Carnival. I saw it on LL's blog and love her recipes. I do a lot of cooking (5 to 6 nights a week) ; I'm going to ask my family to vote on their favorite food from the week before and I'll post it. I'm sure most will be kid friendly (as the kids will be 3 of the 4 votes). No matter how simple or complex it is.... it's their choice. This week's choice is fun and absolutely kid friendly.

Zesty Tortellini
Ingredients:

2 packages of fresh tortellini or ravioli or 1 large package of frozen (just thaw)
1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce
1/4 fresh Parmasian Cheese
1 and 1/2 cups of Mozerela Cheese
1/4 cup of Zesty Italian Dressing (light is fine)
1 Can of Beef Broth

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat Oven to 375
Combine Spaghetti Sauce (after emptying, fill 1/4 with water and shake; poor that in too), Italian Dressing, Beef Broth, 1/2 of the parm and 1/2 of the mozerela in a 13x9 baking dish. Toss in the pasta to coat. Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes.
Remove foil
Top with left over cheese and bake for 15 minutes.

This makes at least 6 servings and is a sure hit. I think the dressing is the secret.... I always pair it with a salad and some Birds Eye Steamers Broccoli.

Happy Cooking

erica

Making a Happy Home Monday

2008-11-25T08:38:00.000-08:00

I know that I'm a day or so late, but I got the worst stomach virus last night and was out of commission...

On Sunday night and Monday, I packed up all of my newborn through 9 months items. It was freeing and sad at the same time! I love not having all of that stuff here anymore. I love that my little niece Isabella and nephew Eddie will be able to use the items.... I just don't love the idea that I won't have anymore newborns....Ever Again! It's not really that I need anymore (4 is a lot), I just love everything about pregnancy, child birth, nursing, and motherhood. I think Walt will have to have a "Shack" moment to get him to agree to anymore... and I don't know what I would do with more children.... but I'd love every minute of it!

There are no pics, because I forgot to buy batteries for my camera. Next week, I'll post some shots.

tollesons4him: Giveaway!!!!

2008-11-24T12:58:00.000-08:00

Check out my friend at tollesons4him for a chance to win a fun Giveaway. She's celebrating 10,000 hits on her site. CONGRATS!!!!

tollesons4him: Giveaway!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-19T08:11:00.001-08:00

Ok, I know this is supposed to be wordless, but I like this. I'm going to start participating in the carnivals...I think. This is the easiest one to start with....

First Hair Bow Post

2008-11-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

I love to make hair bows! I learned out of necessity ( I have 3 daughters and couldn't justify buying boutique priced bows for each of them).

I've worked hard over the past few months to improve my skills.

My girls have worn a wide variety of bows over the past few weeks:)

These are just a few that I made for my sister's baby shower. They are smaller and less flashy, because that's what she likes. I can make them as big or small and as flashy or not as you'd like.

All of my bows are shipped for free. Tell your friends.......

Fall Family Pics

2008-11-12T11:56:00.001-08:00

A new friend of ours is trying to get into photography. He took some complimentary shots of our family on Saturday. He did such a great job. Any of you with more than one child know how hard it is to get good shots and with 4....Let's just say, I was dreading it. The whole experience was fantastic! Here are a few of the pics.

Creative Writing Winner....

2008-11-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! My baby girl (Sarah) won 2nd place in the UIL Creative Writing Competition. She was one of 3 out of 120 second graders selected from Life School Red Oak. They competed against other schools and districts. As if that's not good enough... She also scored higher than any other Life School competitor in any category. We're so proud!!! Micah said that when they announced it over the loud speaker today, he jumped out of his chair; for once he's excited for her.

The funny thing about Sarah is that she is relatively untouched by her successes and intelligence. She was more excited to tell me that her tube fell out of her ear than anything else:).

I love my first born daughter, my baby for 5 years, and the one that will care for me when I'm old!!!!

SHOUT OUT TO Tollesons4him.... She was your's in Pre-K:)

Photography

2008-11-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

I have had a blast lately practicing photography. Really, I'm just shooting tons of pics of my cutie pies and end up with a couple of great ones. Here are some of Sarah and her cheerleading friends. I'll be posting more over the next few days.

She's a good little cheerleader and has so much fun doing it. I love to watch her and to fix her hair and get her ready for it. This has been great bonding for us:)

Fall Festival

2008-11-03T08:05:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun Friday night at the Fall Festival at Faith Bible Church. Our kids dressed up as a Skateboarder (Micah); an American Idol Contestant (Sarah); a Ballerina (surprise surprise Nadiah); and a Fairy (Hannah). They were so sweet. Here are a few of my favorite pics.

I love to watch them enjoy themselves. They are truly the greatest kids! I know that every mother thinks they have the cutest kids... I just happen to be right:)!

Our Civic Duty

2008-11-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

For some of us, voting has become a chore. Not for my handsome hubby! Walt voted for the first time yesterday. He became a citizen last December and is completely enamored with the thought of what a privilege it is to vote. We took the kids (I know... we're idiots for taking 4 kids to vote) so that they could see how important it is to take part in giving us a voice in Washington. It was so exciting.

Walt standing in line looking so yummy!

Walt giving me the eye to stop taking pics!

Walt calling me to tell Micah to stop taking pics while hanging out the window!

I am somewhat anxious about the results of this election, but I am praying "Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." Call me crazy, but I didn't vote. I won't go until Tuesday. There's something about voting on election day that I love..... even with the long lines:)!

Update

2008-10-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

We are on our way to getting better! Hannah had/has RSV; she's getting so much better since the steroid and shot of whatever helps cure it. Her fever started to break last night and she slept a little better too.

She gained an ounce in 5 weeks. I know that sounds like so little, but considering she only gained 2 oz. in 5 months.... we'll take it! We are so excited!!! She is smiling a little today too. Thanks for praying for our little princess.

Her blood work came back completely normal! Her cultures are normal and her blood count is perfect. Thank you Lord for peace of mind and for your touch on our little girl.

Hannah's Sick!!!

2008-10-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

We don't know what could be wrong. Our perfect little one that never had a sick visit until she was 7 months has now had 9 unexplained fever episodes (in only 3 months). She goes in for blood work tomorrow and I hate to watch them poke on her. She's still so little; she's only gained 3 oz. in 6 months and not gotten any longer. She eats better than any of our kids and she's the sweetest tempered baby that I've ever known. Really, this is a cry for prayer for Hannah and for her mommy and daddy. Walt and I haven't slept for 3 days and are snipping at each other and the kids. I know it's hard to believe....I'm not a jewel when I'm sleepy:)!

I do want to take a second to say that I truly trust God no matter what the tests show! I will bless His name and know that He has my best interest at heart and that He loves her more than I ever could. The pic above is so symbolic of our lives. Hannah is so happy riding in her daddy's arms. She squeals in delight as I am chasing her. She knows that no matter what... she's safe and even I can't get her. That's kind of how I feel; I know that if I draw close to my Father, he'll hold us safe and everything will be ok. I will squeal in delight as I grow to know "Papa" God deeper every day.

I just hate to see her in pain....ever

Thanks for your prayers guys! Thank you Lord for giving me the baby that could make any mommy long for more just like her. She's truly a PERFECT GIFT.... to a splendidly imperfect mommy.

I just corrected the grammatical mistakes in this post.... I can only say that I hadn't slept in days:)

erica

I'm a blogger

2008-10-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to LL and Mommyspice for inspiring me to write and journal through blogging. I've stalked their blogs for long enough....I've contemplated this for months now and I've run out of excuses... so, here's my first blog. On my blog you'll find lots of pics of my sweet babies, crafting, my mental musings, and complete randomness! You won't find much whining, guy stuff, love for cold weather, or gossip. This could be fun.

I'm in one of those seasons of transition where everything in my life is changing. It's fun, scary, exhilarating, and motivating all at the same time. To get me started here's a picture of the kids at a Pumpkin Patch. actually, i can't figure out how to load pics:(

Happy Blogging,
erica