Wordless Wednesday - Big Jumps!!

Last night we went to the mall in Reno, and they have a trampoline where the kids are attached to bungee cord-type things. Emily has always been interested in it, but was always too scared to try it. Last night, she decided it was time, ans so did Natalie!!! They had a blast! Sorry for the image quality and the blurriness, but I took the pics with my cell phone and they were jumping!!!





Happy Wordless Wednesday! Leave a comment or a link to your post so I can come check it out too!!

~Katrina

Thankful Thursday

It has been a while since I really had the time or energy to blog much. I love when I haven't really written anything and come to find myself writing a Thankful Thursday post! Really, focusing on the blessings that we have in our lives is a much better use of time than looking at everything that may be wrong.

Today I am thankful that God has given me the perseverance to make it through this last semester of school. Chemistry was quite difficult for me and my Philosophy class was a gigantic waste of time and energy for the most part. Last night I finished taking my final for Chemistry and will find out in about a week how I did. I still have a paper to finish for Philosophy - due tomorrow.

The main reason that I am thankful that school is out for a while now, is that I can spend all of my time focusing on my family. Right now, they really need it. Emily, the 3 year old, is starting to become defiant and I think that has a lot to do with her not getting enough positive attention while I was focused on school. Natalie is potty training, and anyone who has ever been down that road before knows that is a time consuming process - well worth it too!!

I have been facing many obstacles in life recently, and was not sure what to do or where to turn. Through lots of prayer and reflection I am back where I need to be, praise God! I am thankful that even when we are not sure what to do or think about turning our back on God, He will never do the same - He is everything we need, always! And He is good enough to remind me of that daily!!



Please join us at Women Taking A Stand this month as Laurie hosts Thankful Thursday. You can link up your post or just read through some thoughts from amazing women!

I hope you have a truly blessed day!

Never a Wasted Tear?

I have heard before that there is never a wasted tear. I don't remember the conversation or the exact circumstances leading up to the conversation, but I remember enough...and it was too similar to my day today.

I am not really sure if I believed then that there were no wasted tears. From each one comes some realization - some profound, some simple - and with each tear the soul is cleansed a little. It sounded good. So I kind of hung on to it for a number of years. Maybe it is like a child clinging to their favorite blanket for comfort - no matter how old, tattered, or torn it might be.

I feel myself trying to cling to the comfort that I have not wasted literally hours today crying, that somewhere in there something wasn't wasted. But to be honest with you, I don't feel comforted, cleansed, or anything other than sad, wondering, lost. These are the times that I should really rely on God, but right now I cannot find it in myself to do so.

I am scared. I am terrified that no matter how much I want for something to be different, there is nothing that I can do. Life seems to be full of surprises, something at every turn. I have been, for the past 4 years, in a pretty good place. I found the strength that I needed to get out of and away from a lot of crap. I believe that I did not do that by myself or for myself - it was all God. And right now I am trying so hard not to blame Him for not doing the same for all who need it.

If you could, please take a minute and say a prayer for my brother and those in his life. He really needs to change his life before it is too late.
Thanks.

Happy Mother's Day

I just wanted to really quickly tell all the moms and grandmas out there...
Happy Mother's Day!

No body can image the work that it takes to be a mother until they actually become one. Likewise, the rewards are unimaginable until they are obtained. The sweetest thing I have ever heard is the sound of my children's voices saying "I love you Mommy!" and that too is something that cannot be imagined or explained, only felt!

So I hope that today was filled with many good times, smiles, laughter, and joy!

Home Improvements!

So for the last several weeks and weekends, Zack and Mike (Zack's buddy from work) have been working on our yard.

They have leveled it out and used a roller to pack the dirt, they built a retaining wall along the back fence line, and just finished a chain link fence that is supposed to keep Emily, Natalie, and Tiny Man from getting into the part of the yard that has the garden and will have the swimming pool.

When we were starting to look at houses, we looked at A LOT of houses. I don't know what it was about this one, but I wanted it the first time we came inside. It certainly needed a lot of work done (it was a foreclosure) but it has been fun doing the stuff. I have never been able to paint a bedroom pink for the girls or pick a theme for a bathroom that might involve paint, or pick the carpet, etc. This has been, and continues to be, a great adventure for my family to take together!

One of these days I will take some pictures and post them, but for now you are just going to have to believe me! :) I am having fun, and I know Zack is too, with the responsibilities that "bought" when we bought this house!!

So far, my favorite improvements are definitely outside. It may be because it is turning warm and we spend more time out there, or just that I have watched our property begin to transform from what was to what we want it to be.

What is your favorite home improvement?

Boys Sent Home From School For Wearing Clothes With American Flags on Cinco de Mayo.

This morning, as I was checking my email, I noticed a news blurb on Yahoo that said "Students Sent Home Over American Flag Shirts". Naturally, it peaked my interest.
I am appalled at the idea of kids being sent home from school for wearing clothes that have American flags on them - I DO NOT CARE if it is Cinco de Mayo or any other day, this is still America.
These boys were not being racist, a few of them are part Mexican.
When did it turn into a crime to be proud of THIS country?

I Passed Again!! :)

Tonight we got our second Chemistry exam grades. I was so excited to see that I passed again. So excited, in fact, that I am going to do another happy dance (or Snoopy is)

Hoping for one more happy dance for the final!!

What An Absolutely Exhausting Day...

I swear today was absolutely exhausting - mentally, physically, and emotionally.

From the time that I got out of bed this morning until a few minutes ago, there was something.

First thing this morning Emily decides that she is going to move a dining chair so that she can reach finger nail polish, not a good idea. So she gets some cute, red, sparkly polish and tries to paint her toe nails - did not turn out so good for her, me, or the kitchen floor. Thank God she had the sense to paint it (entire foot) in the kitchen and not on the carpet or the new furniture.

A while later, after breakfast any way, the girls were playing dress up in their room. I checked on them, they were playing nice and having fun. So I decide I can sit down and study a little bit - MISTAKE!! Naturally I was concentrating while I was studying, so it took me a bit longer than usual to realize that there were no playful giggles or any kind of sound what-so-ever coming from the girls room. That was because they were not in there, they were in my bathroom. They had gotten into my Mary Kay foundations that I use for parties (all colors) and were some heavily made-up children. Not to mention the floor, sink, some clothes, et cetera were also affected.

By that point in the morning, I already despised this day.

So the girls got put in the bath and it took me quite a while to bring them back to their natural colors. As a side note, foundation is supposed to match the color of your skin, not change it. This is something that Emily and Natalie apparently know not, because their shade would have been about Ivory 204 to maybe a Beige 300, but no...the used Bronze 700 or some crazy way too dark for them shade. Anyway, after the bath they had to sit on the couch and not move for a while - not an easy thing for them, after all they are 3 years old and 19 months old. The other part of their punishment is they are allowed absolutely no cartoons (under any circumstances) for one week. So, obviously, I got little to no studying done after that.

By the time my husband got home from work tonight, I was so ready to leave for school. But after Chemistry class tonight I feel even more exhausted because there is so much to know, to learn, to memorize...There is only one week left before "finals week." That in and of itself is a terrifying thought. I am trying to keep up with everything that I am supposed to be doing, but it is getting harder everyday, or so it seems. I wish that I had started college directly out of high school, before life got so busy. :)

Speaking of busy, I get home from school tonight to find that Emily had gone into my bedroom -- that she is not allowed in -- and taken a thing of acrylic paint and gotten it all over the carpet while I was gone. Lovely, huh?

I am tired. I want to sleep. I hope that you all have a good night and a great day tomorrow!!!