Ain't Nothin' Keeping Me Down This Week....

Maybe I've mentioned this before, but I'm a church secretary and have been for 5.5 years now. I absolutley adore my job although it can be quite stressful at times....but what job isn't? Well, the reason I mention this is because this week is THE busiest week for me of the entire year! Well, that and Christmas week. I normally only have 1 (one) bulletin for each week to complete.....well, this week I have FOUR!!!! AND, we have Friday off (yeah) work so I only have 4 days to get it all done. At this point.....I'm almost done, just waiting on some music information from the choir director to finalize something for Easter BUT then I've got to input that information, print, fold, and have it ready by 1 PM tomorrow for the ladies to put together..all 450 of them!!!!! The bulletins to be done are: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and 2 services for Easter Sunday.

Good Friday....Jesus' Crucifixion

Easter Sunday.....He is ALIVE!!

Pretty Lily!

He is not here......

This is what I woke up with this morning.....PINK EYE!

Can you believe it? I've been sick as a dog since last Thursday, and finally went to the Dr. yesterday to get an antibiotic and now this! Are you serious!!?? During the busiest week of my year!? I couldn't be sick and I certainly can't have Pink Eye and be contagious! I HAD to work...This royally stunk!

Well, I'm off to try to rest my weary body and eyes. It is my deepest hope that ya'll have a glorious Easter and enjoy your time with those you love.



~Tina

Fav photos of DH!!

My husband....Tony....my love, my life......my everything. He makes me laugh, makes me cry, and all things inbetween. He's the most amazing daddy one could ever ask for!! The most amazing husband, well, not always....teehee.....but I'm sure I'm not always THAT amazing myself...lol. I could never be without him and cry at even the thought of it. I'm so proud of the man he is, his kindness, his gentleness, his terrific way of telling me things I don't want to hear but need to anyways....oh, wait, maybe I don't like that...lol.

BABY......You're amazing!!!!!!! Don't ever change!!!!! I love you so very very much!!!!!

Tony is an amazing daddy and how in the world Joshua can sleep DURING the race is beyond me!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE this peek-a-boo, I see you picture!!

At Indianapolis Motorspeedway with yet another sleeping Joshua!! LOL!!

Bristol, TN NASCAR race this year....It was GORGEOUS out!! Couldn't ask for better in March!

Along the roadside on a trip in TN.

All of us....me, Tony and Joshua. We're at the top of a tower we climbed on a hike.

They are the silliest things eva!!

Hey, how did "MY CAR" get in here? No, it is my dream car!!

This is truly my fav pic of Tony ever.....shows his pure silliness! Love that about him!!

Always willing to help...not only us...but strangers, too. He'd give the shirt off his back if needed!!

Another fav...They are a crazy, funny two!!

My two fav guys in the whole world!!

Mowing part of our 33 acres.

Camping.....and playing around!!

My guy!! Love this man so much!!

Joshua ALWAYS sits like that when we stop....lol.

More silliness from daddy while camping!!

hey mommy, ya comin' or what!?

This is the best......my life is so blessed!!!!! Love you guys!!

~Tina



What a Gorgeous Day with my Fav lil Guatemalan man!

Poor dh has been working so much OT because the Ohio River is up and that effects his job whereas they have to be on site 24 hrs each day (they normally only work day shift, M-F + alternating weekends) in case something is necessary. He's been working about 30 hrs OT each week. We miss him terribly!

Aside from missing daddy, Joshua and I had a great weekend. We played outside today ALL day. I cannot believe I took so many pics....I truly thought Joshua was exaggerating when he said, "Mommy, you've taken enough pictures today." and "This pose is too hard." I'll share that one with ya, it's so stinkin' funny how he interpreted what I was trying to get him to do...lol. Oh, btw, I took 147 pics or something like that......just today. LOL!!

Joshua, at one point, said, "Mommy, you're so fun and I love you so much!" aaawww....words a mama will cherish and longs to hear from her children. We played so much, I took tons of pictures and we played some more. I always give him a break (insert laughter here after saying how MANY pics I took today) from the pics....but remember, we were outside ALL day!

Well, our fun came to an abrupt ending when Joshua slipped on the rocks on the side of the driveway and got a  boo boo on his elbow. He was fine until I said the word....you know, the dreaded word every kiddo hates to hear...."blood." Then the freaking out ensued. He didn't want me....he wanted daddy immediately. But daddy was at work and he had to deal with what was there.....lil 'ole me. Once I started to comfort him, he was ok with it being "mama".....which mind you was immediately but he was screaming so loud I don't think he could hear me. Now, this was a small scratch....just the thought of it bleeding....was too much for him. Then, in his infinite unique ability to say the funniest things, said, "I've 'never' bleeded before when I got hurt," which is totally untrue.

We went inside, nursed his wound, put on the bandaide, and dried the tears and he was all better. It was time for dinner......oh my was this part gonna be up in the air because we were trying something "new" in our house for Joshua...sloppy joes. I know what you're thinking. Is she serious? This is something "new"?? Well, I have the pickiest eater this side of the Ohio, the Mississippi and all the lakes in between!! Dinner is always a difficult time for us....unless we're making the very few things he eats without a fuss. I've resorted to making what he'll eat....am I wrong? Should I MAKE him eat what we eat? and go hungry for days because he's got that temperment where he refuses to eat no matter how hungry he is if he thinks it looks funny in ANY sort of way.

Well, I was right. He REFUSED to eat the sloppy joes even though HE was the one who asked me to make them tonight. He said, and I quote, "They aren't the ones I eat at XXX House" (the place where he goes to preschool), "I only like the ones there...not yours!" Oh my word.....I'd had enough of the not eating at dinner and got more upset than I should've. I threw his food away after he refused to eat it after an acceptable amt. of time......and wow the crying and screaming ensued. But I get lost in what I'm supposed to do. Just let him sit there crying about how he won't eat it and only will eat the chips on his plate (No way) OR throw it away and let him learn that he needs to not act like this. I know I most likely chose wrong.....but I can't go back.

Ok....let's see some pictures of our day.......

We started out our day inside making "silly faces"

Serious picture finally after all that silliness.....but boys are silly lil things aren't they!?

Where will these feet lead you? Let the Lord lead your paths and you follow them, my son!

What will these hands accomplish? For now, I just love holding them!!

This is the one I spoke of earlier where the pose was "too hard" he said....LOL!

That's better!! You got it!

My favorite picture of the day!! I love his peeking through the bubble wands!

I need to learn how to stop the picture better to see each bubble? ho hum.

More bubble fun!

A boy and his dump truck....this is pre-boo-boo!!

Funny, but he despises getting dirty and kept telling me how dirty he was!! LOL!

Loving the Paper Jamz he got for his birthday!!

I'm off to bed for about the last 1/2 hour of my night.....haha....shouldn't even try. I'll try to be better about posting more often so ya'll can see my gorgeousness of a son.....Oh, tried to get ready for church this am, lol...got taking pictures and lost track of time.....oooppppsss. Missed church. Sorry, God. I'll not do that again. Peace to each of you.........

~Tina



Heartbroken and Momma's at a Loss

Where oh where do I begin? Well, since I've last written, Joshua turned FOUR years old!! That was on the first day of Spring! I asked him, on video mind you, if he was excited about turning 4 years old the next day, he said that he wasn't. Now, what 3 year old doesn't want to have a birthday that you know of? None that I've ever encountered, until now.

Concerned, naturally, I asked why Joshua didn't want to turn 4 the next day. He said, "When I turn 4, I'll lose mommy and daddy." and he started to cry. Of course I turned off the video right away to comfort my lil man.

Whatever I could do to fix that sweet & innocent lil guy's heart, I'd do it in a heartbeat! But this time, I couldn't. All I could do was hold him, try my hardest to comfort him and tell him repeatedly how much he won't lose mommy and daddy when he turned 4 or any time at all!

I do believe this all started quite a few weeks ago when I was talking to the FM (Foster Mother)'s daughter on Facebook and she stated that they'd LOVE to speak with Joshua via phone to hear his sweet voice once again. I spoke with Joshua about this and he stated that yes, he'd like to speak with the FM as well. I honestly think that once lil man started to process the whole thing, he thought he'd have to go back to Guatemala forever. I don't know what ever made him think that, but kids get wild things in their heads sometimes.

If you remember, in a post a bit ago, I spoke of how Joshua is VERY CLINGY to me, especially when I drop him off for preschool. I literally have to have someone pry him off of me to leave to go to work. I hate doing that to him but financially speaking, we need for me to work right now. I SO wish I could stay home with the lil guy and get him through this......but it just isn't feasible. Too many bills. Dang it. BUT, I will say this, I'm seriously considering taking him to see a counselor soon, very soon. Poor kiddo. I just gotta get dh on track too. I think he's getting there after this last comment about losing us though.

Well, keep lil man in your prayers.....he needs them. We do, too. I'm doing a lot of reading to find out what I can do to help. But there has to be something more......I feel like there is a missing piece to this puzzle. I won't ever give up hope or trying. Not on that lil man.....ever.

~Tina



Thank You God for Best Friends and Bubble Wands that Glow!!

Today, I thought for sure, was going to be a really really rough day for Joshua. I am the one who takes Joshua to preschool daily because dh always leaves before I even get Joshua out of bed at 5:40AM. Crazy life, huh? Well, this morning was all together different. Tony has an all day Educational Inservice (insert yawn here) so he was home long after I had to wake up Joshua (Tony left just before we did). Now, because Tony rarely gets to see Joshua off in the AM, Tony thought "WOW, this is a real treat!" Well, not for mommy it wasn't. Mind you, I am all for them seeing each other off in the morning, but not when the result is a full blown meltdown because Joshua "misses daddy so much!" Poor kiddo!!

Let me back up a bit. When I leave Joshua off at Preschool, it is a real battle! I'm talking full blown screaming, kicking, wailing, crying, "Mommy don't leave me!" kind of battle!! I literally have to have one of the staff at the preschool pry him off of me in order for me to get out the door and all the while, he's screaming and crying how much he doesn't want me to leave him. (insert a tear here)!! BUT when I pick him up in the afternoon, he's running up to me, hugging me hard and telling me all the fun stuff he did that day.

So you see, I go through this daily, BUT when he "gets" to see daddy in the mornings, it is alltogether different in a not so pleasant way. I feel so awful for both of them. I want to just scoop him up, dry his lil tears and tell him it'll be ok. But in his lil world and in his lil mind, it isn't. He's already been through so much in his short little life and I have no way of imagining how hard that is on such a little tyke.

Well, back to this morning.....

Yesterday I bought him a Bubble Wand that lights up and swirls at the top (Toy Story, which he loves) and he fell in love with it and was playing with it this morning taking it from dark place to dark room to show me what it looked like in the dark! We both oohed and aahed at its sight of glowing colors!! Then, in a flash, it was time to leave for work. Darn....we were having so much fun, too.

Joshua spun his light and read his Lightning McQueen book all the way to preschool. Friday is toy day at his preschool, meaning that is the ONLY day they're allowed to bring toys from home to share with other kiddos. This morning he asked if he could bring in his Bubble Wand to show Hank, his best friend. I said, ONLY if you let me take it back out with me because today isn't Friday, as I went on and on explaining why. Joshua agreed. It was deep down inside me my hope that this little light would somehow magically make Joshua feel somewhat better (or forget) about the earlier happenings of the morning with daddy.



Can you imagine making this HUMONGO gianganitc bubble? I am sure your kiddos and my Joshua would LOVE to do it too!!  But no, his is more like the one below except with a spinning color wheel on top that glows!!!!! Hey, he loves it!!!

Just imagine.....Come this weekend.....we'll be Bubble Wand making fools!!!! I sure hope that we get some monstrous bubbles outta this thing!!!! Well......I'm off on an adventure this weekend.....to a NASCAR race with Tony and Joshua. We have season tickets to Bristol, TN and we go 2 times a year (plus other races as well). So.....I'll write more later about this weekend....Something EXCITING is happening besides BRISTOL!!!!!   ~Tina

They Taste Just How I Remember!!

All day, and I do mean ALL day today I had a sweet tooth craving to beat all cravings and I had nothing in my food drawer stash!! Sweet that is. I had plenty of tuna and soup....but that just wasn't gonna cut it.

It was my "turn" to pick up Joshua, as I am usually the one to pick him up anyways since Tony works sooo much OT and we (Joshua and I) decided it was time to hit the grocery store for some "stash".....lol. Yes, if you're wondering, Tony is working OT as we speak. He's working a double today. Joshua and I were searching for "just the right sweet" to eat after dinner tonight.

We searched high and we searched low.....and this is what we came up with......

PEEPS!!!!

Mind you.....

It is now open season on the PEEPS!!!!! Beware you marshmallow treats in

yellow, pink and blue.....your head will be bitten off by my son while he

laughs his lil hiney off as he says, and I quote, "Oh no, there goes my head!"

BTW.....it (they) tasted oh so good and just exactly as I remember it!!

~Tina

Facelifts are too Expensive so I gave it to the Blog instead!

Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying the new look (Facelift)!! I am THRILLED with it! Nikki Cochrane did an amazing job and I would highly recommend her to anyone!

Well, this past week and weekend was an absolute whirlwind! Joshua and I both ended up with Bronchitis! YUCK. It really knocked us both for a loop. He still has that croupy cough and I'm calling the Dr. tomorrow to see if he can call in another prescription for both of us. I still feel like someone is sitting on my chest constantly.

Then, to beat all, Tony's favorite Aunt (Aunt Kate) passed away last week and we had the visitation and funeral to go to. I felt so awful for him and was thankful that I am here for him. My heart bleeds for him. He's so sad. We just have to remember the sad ones are the ones left behind and we need to support each other. Aunt Kate is in a much much better place and is no longer in any pain or confusion.

One of Tony's cousin's also adopted from Guatemala (and Russia as well) and I'm excited that we'll be in contact and hopefully will be getting together and getting the kiddos together. She doesn't live very far from us at all. I finally got to meet her and her daughter this past weekend.

NASCAR is in full swing!! I'm sooo excited and we'll be off for Bristol, TN in 10 days!! Joshua is sooo excited too. He absolutely LOVES NASCAR racing. This is truly one of my favoritte things we do all year long.....going to the races! I love the atmosphere, the noise, the fans, the rumble of the cars as they pass and you can FEEL it in your chest, & well.....just all of it....LOVE IT!!!

OMGosh.....I got the most exciting friend request on Facebook the other night. It was from Joshua's FM (Foster Mother)!! I'm thrilled because we've always been able to keep in touch via e-mail but now they'll be able to see pics of him growing up on a daily basis and we can even chat. How cool is that?!

Gotta run.....gotta work in the morning......Blessings to you all......

~Tina