Did You Miss Me?

It's been a month and a half since my last post here!

Life has been busy.
I'll try to catch you up a little bit.

Let's go back to October...

Chloe *finally* lost her first teeth!
The first one was loose for over a year.
She lost it while eating crackers. We had to go to the Dr. later that day because she wasn't feeling well and while we were there, the nurse pulled the one next to it!
She was super duper excited and the tooth fairy was very good to her since she lost her first two in one day!



She had very high expectations for the tooth fairy!




Next was Halloween...

Chloe was a gorgeous lil witch...



And she won 1st place in the pumpkin carving/decorating contest at school with this piggy...



November 1st we finished up our football/cheer season.



November also brought us 50's night...



We had rootbeer floats, played games and celebrate the 50th day of school.
Chloe like the hula hoops the best. haha



AND...I turned another year older! 27 is gonna be a good year for me, I just know it!

Look at the gorgeous flowers I got from my fabulous boyfriend...



Next was Thanksgiving.
I didn't take any pics. It was a hard time...the first Thanksgiving and big holiday without Grandpa. I miss him *SO* much.
But thankfully Denise was able to get this super adorable photo of Chloe, Koby and their Kunk!



On the 25th my fabulous father turned 50.
We didn't get to celebrate because he was out of town. :(
Thanks for being such a fabulous dad, daddy! I love that our relationship is stronger than it has ever been.

And HOW is it already December?
Only TWO WEEKS until Christmas!?!?!?! WOW!
The year is flying by me!

Chloe and I had the bike parade this past Saturday.
It wasn't what we hoped for. We were both stressed out and we ended up in tears when we got home. We apologized for being impatient with each other and she was much happier once I gave her a Christmas present early. The lil stinker!
She looked darn cute, though...

It was COLD so we had hot chocolate! Mmmmm!





Later that afternoon we spent the day hanging Christmas lights with Ryan and Katlynn.
The girls were SO excited to get on the roof to help hang lights. I was a nervous wreck and Chloe kept saying "It's not a big deal. I promise I won't fall."
She'll understand that someday when she has kids. lol


We are getting ready to face some changes.
Chloe's dad is now taking her every other weekend.
This will be her first weekend away. She's not ready. I'm not ready.
She tells me she is scared and doesn't want to be away from me for a whole weekend. :( I hope it's easier on her than she expects.
Say a lil prayer that she has a good time...and that I don't lose my mind without her!

See you soon!

Vote for Abby!

My friend Laura has entered her beautiful baby girl, Abby, in the KISS FM's Most Kissable Baby Contest!

She has made it to round 2.
Please go here to vote for her.

http://www.1061kissfm.com/pages/contests/baby/index.html

Abigail Minks.
You will get an email to confirm your vote.
Please click the link in the email!

Thanks!

GOOOOO ABBY!

Chera Does It Again

Chloe and I had our holiday pics with Chera last weekend! As usual, she captured Chloe perfectly!
Get ready for some Chloe-Beauty-Overload....







She FINALLY lost those 2 bottom teeth a few weeks ago...

Invisible Mother

This was posted on my mom's board this morning.
Thanks for sharing it, Jenna! :)

Invisible Mother......

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the
way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and
ask me a question.

Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously, not.

No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible. The invisible Mom . Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a

clock to ask, 'What time is it? 'I'm a satellite guide to answer,'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ..

Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.

I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it. 'And the workman replied,
'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.
It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.


And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Great Job, MOM!
We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.

Marsha Thomas

My Favorite Jewelry

My favorite jewelry maker just launched her new website!

Go visit her site....and order some gorgeous jewelry while you are at it. (Go ahead and order me a Christmas present while you are there. Thanks.)

I get SO MANY compliments on my necklaces from Lindsay.
She treats her coustomers well and she's fabulous!

Check out her new site!

www.lusciouslinzcreations.com

felicity

Everyday I write a little message to Chloe on her napkin for lunch.

I have been signing it
♥ Mom

This morning she said, "Did you put a note on my napkin this morning?"
I said, "Yes...."
She said, "Will you please go change the "Mom" to "Mommy"?

Made my day.

Update on Us

Once again, life has been busy.

Poor Chloe was down with the stomach virus last week.
She missed some school and took a while to get back to "normal". (Yes, I realize she is never "normal" hehe)

She is having a hard time with the big difference between Kindergarten and 1st grade.
She is exhausted in the mornings and tells me that 1st grade is SO MUCH work and not as fun as Kindergaten.
I refrained from telling her that it only gets worse.
She is doing well, academically, though.
Her teacher is getting ready to get her started in the Accelerated Reading Program and her grades are good! Yay!


I've been a bit of a downer lately.
There are so many different things going on and I feel like I am being pulled in so many different directions. Just as one thing calms down, it seems like something else is waiting right around the corner.
I'm trying to look beyond the negativity and focus on the positives.
I'm a blessed person and I have so much to be thankful for and happy about but somehow I am stuck in this funk.
And when I start feeling down about one thing, all of the other troubles I push to the side come back to the surface.
I'm trying to build on my relationship with Christ. I have to remind myself that He is in control. I have to remember to give my troubles to him and to let Him and His word guide me.
So, I just ask that my friends keep me in their prayers while I find my way through these little bumps in the road.

I miss my Grandpa a lot.
Everyday there are reminders of him. That's a good thing....it shows what an impact he made. But it's also hard. It's been 3 months and I am still trying to process that he is "gone".
With the holidays approaching, it seems to be getting harder.

Anyway, I am looking forward to getting out of this funk and focusing on God and the people and things that bring me joy.


Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Have you heard about

failblog?

You MUST go to www.failblog.org

This one is my favorite. I was in tears.
http://failblog.org/2008/08/18/cop-fail/

Labor Day Parade!

The girls participated in the Laobr Day Parade on Monday and had so much FUN!
The weather was nice and the girls all did an awesome job!
I didn't get many good pictures since I rode with them but here are a few.

Chloe ready to go.


It was soooo early. She played in the trailer while we decorated. We had to get there at 7am and we were sleeeeepy!







Alicia brought donuts! Mmmmm!





Go Owlets!





We came home and crashed!
It was a really fun day!!

Go Owlets!

Chloe is starting her second year as an Owlet!
We had cheer camp a couple of weeks ago!
We will have a parade this weekend and our first game next weekend! Woo hoo!
Now if we could just have some nice Fall weather, it would be perfect!







Here is a video of the girls doing their chant and cheer on the last day of camp.
Chloe is the little shrimp on the front row who says "Owlets Hit It!"


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Chloe B. First Grader (at last)

Last night we had dinner at The Purple Cow to celebrate going back to school.

Chloe and Koby with their Great-Grandma



Chloe and Koby having purple ice cream.






Chloe was sick and running a fever all weekend.
I was soooo worried that she would wake up feeling bad this morning.
But she didn't! And she was SUPER excited to go back to school.

All dressed and ready to go!



Showing off her cute "Little Miss Sunshine" backpack...



YAAAAAAAAAYYY!!! I'm going to FIRST GRADE!!!!



She did GREAT!!!
No tears....so big improvement over last year!


And a few pics from years past....

1st day of Kindergarten...last year.



And 1st day of Preschool! (2006)

Isn't She Lovely?

Here are the rest of our pictures from our session with Chera!

Isn't my baby beautiful!?