Not much going on...

Well, as I write the title I realize that is not entirely true. Just nothing that seems important to write about today. We actually have ALOT going on these days. I am in full vacation preparation mode. Most of my thoughts right now are geared toward getting ready for our eight day vacation. I am trying to work nonstop to stay caught up at work and actually try to get ahead so I will not have to work while we are in Florida. However, I figure there are worse places to have to do my day job! Reading manuscript while sitting at a pool in the most magical place on earth might actually make it a little fun. Not to mention the cocktails making the edits more interesting. ;)

I did not realize how much I really have to think about to make this vacation run smoothly. I have to pack for the kids, and this is no easy feat. If you have a kid with asthma you know what I am talking about. I am pretty sure everything will be fine since it is so humid there, but I don't want to take any chances and I don't know if the Disney conglomerate has a 24 drug store equipped with a nebulizer. UGH! And then there is the issue of the plane. What do I take on the plane for them to do? We don't have handheld game devices like so many people do for their kids these days. I don't think books are going to do it. YIKES!

Then there is the issue of packing for Chris and I. That is not really that difficult, but how many nice outfits should I pack? Will we really get to go out after the kids are in bed, will we want to? Then there is that weight requirement for luggage these days on top of having to pay for every piece we take on the airplane! Again, YIKES!

Chris will have his birthday while we are there. Do I take his present with us, or do I just wait until we get home, or do I buy him one there?

Then there is the issue of the time of our flight on Saturday morning. We leave Dallas at 7:50am. That means that we will have to be at the airport about 6:30am if not earlier. We are about a thirty minute drive from the airport, so that means we have to be out of the house by 6:00am. What in the world was I thinking?

The last little issue that has come to light in the last few days is that Chris will be traveling that week as well. GREAT! No help that week. He will get back on Friday night before we leave. UGH!

Okay...so I did not mean for this to be a complaining or whining post. I realize that it certainly sounds that way and you all are probably thinking...Oh I feel terrible for her, she is going to Disney World, I feel SO sorry for her. I am just starting to get a little overwhelmed with everything. We have gone on vacation before, but never to this magnitude, and never on a plane. I could pack and pack and pack until the car was full. I even have a luggage rack on the roof so if I needed to add more stuff I could. AND all of this is going on along with everything else in life.

Need to make a list...need to pack a little every night...need to get back to work...

Today is Dawn's B-day!

Today is one of my best friends from Junior High birthday. This post is dedicated to her. It is so funny because I don't have pictures of her. We have been friends for so long, but we hardly ever take pictures of one another.

She is an amazing woman. She has two kids, home schools both of them, runs a business with her husband, is active in her church, and loves sock monkeys! I am so proud of her. I love her dearly. We don't always see eye to eye, but she is the closest thing I have to a sister, and from what I can tell about siblings that is the way it is.

Happy Birthday, Dawn! We love you and we miss you! Hope we get to see you soon! Have a wonderful day!

Seasons in Texas

Seasons in Texas are very subtle. At least in Dallas. We switch very subtly from fall to winter, then from winter to spring, then from spring to summer, and then from summer to fall. My favorites are always fall and spring. These are the two that seem to have the biggest change. In the fall I love to watch the leaves turn beautiful colors and experience that first cold snap when it goes down from 100 to 70 degrees. Then in Spring I love to watch the buds come out on all the Bradford Pear trees and see the green grass start to pop up all around. I also love the first real warm day.

I have always wanted to live up north because I hate the summer in Texas, but I realized this week that I would really miss the heat on my skin. That first day when you can walk outside and feel the heat and know that summer is on the way. What is your favorite season?

Flashback Friday

Just a couple of random pictures of the kids.

Oh my goodness...look at those sweet cheeks, and the two teeth coming in on the bottom.

She was about 8 months old here. Wow...I can't believe she was that small.What a looker...he seemed so big to us here....

The Wii Monster

Okay, so we have a Wii in our house. Chris and I decided that we would get one to play together, and I really do like playing it when I have time. Which I have to confess is not that often, but never fear, the boys in my house totally make up for my lack of use.

If we let him Ben would play Lego Star Wars, and Lego Batman twenty-four hours a day. I didn't think it would bother me that much to have him play video games, but oh my goodness, it really does. It is the first word out of his mouth in the morning, and the last thing he sulks about before bed each night. He has become our Wii Monster.

No with saying that he does come by it honestly. Daddy LOVES video games. Any type, really. He will sit and play solitaire on the computer for hours if he has nothing else to play. This morning he told Ben that if he was the first person in the house to get dressed he could play this morning. So my normally poky five-year-old is dressed in seconds. Within minutes, literally two or three, he is seated on the couch getting ready to play Lego Star Wars. Daddy keeps going into the living room to give him tips, and remarks to me, "Man, I really want to play too!" Boys!

New Thing

I realized this week that I read ALOT of blogs. Most of them have a large following, but they are really good. So for those of you religious readers out there who want some more fun, I am going to highlight a different blog each week. So make sure you come back and check out the left hand side of the blog, very top. If they have a button I will put it there, then move it down so you can always find it! Enjoy!

March is already here!

I can't believe March is already here. Chris has come home from Dubai and now we are pushing toward our huge family vacation at the end of the month. I have also noticed that I have taken on quite a few extra-curricular activities. I have had to stop and make some priorities, but really I am loving it. I feel like I am doing what I have been called to do. And talk about taking risks! Geez, I am taking risks all over the place these days. My major goal this year is to take risks. Step out of my little box and do something. Well, I am here to tell you that I think I have made a good start.

Let me tell you what I have decided to do so far this year. I am leading my Thursday Night Coffee group and we are slowly working our way through The Shack. Which, as an aside, if you haven't read it is SO good. Do not be turned away by the seemingly unsettling subject matter. I promise you it does not dwell on that part. I have started a writer's group with two other writer friends of mine to help us grow in our writing and keep us accountable for writing. Writer's are not always good with follow-through if you were not aware. :) I am praying about leading a small-group for my church, I still haven't gotten a totally clear answer, but I feel like this is where God wants me to be. I am also participating in a mommy's group through the kids' school. We had our first night out last month and have one scheduled for this month. It is wonderful support since we are all working mommy's who dearly love our children. We can share the joys and sorrows of being a mommy. I am also in a Bunco group once a month with some wonderful women as well. Risks all over the place!

I promise pictures and wonderful stories of the kids soon, but I just wanted to check in since it has been two months since the beginning of the year and I have managed to keep my goals and start working toward them. Usually by now I have thrown the baby out with the bath water so to speak. I feel very hopeful, and I know that has to do with being in God's will for my life. Following Him and trying to listen carefully for His guiding. How are your goals/resolutions going?