I'm Strong Enough

I found this on Facebook today & I like it.

I look back at so many things I have walked through & I know without God in my life some days I wonder how I made it.

This says a lot and no matter what I'm strong enough.

First Day of School Already ????

Jennifer & Thaniqua all ready to go !!! Yay for the first day of school.




My three girls just getting ready to take off for school. I think Carly really thinks she is going.




Sleeping after all that fussing at school. Poor little Carly just wanted to go so bad.



Both girls had a good day !! Lots of old friends & some new ones. A few new teachers & missing some ones that are not there anymore. We are excited for the new year !!
Tonight I had the joy of filling out all those papers & signing my name quite a bit but so blessed to be able to help a child learn & thankful for the amazing staff at our school that really care about all those children.

2012 - 2013 School Year is totally gonna rock.

Oh and yes Ridge walked with me to school this morning & got to see some teachers & such. He really missed going back today but August 27th is not to far away. Excited for his new school year too.

My Little Rainbow

Mommy's Little Popsicle Queen ~ Little Miss Carly !!!



Alot of freezer pops this Hot summer. Friday the big kids went swimming so Carly & Mommy spent the afternoon watching Nick Jr & such. Two years & my baby girl will be in school. So I cherish all moments together.

So thankful that almost two weeks have passed & she is her Happy Happy self. God is so Good through everything.

Just Playing Mom

My girls are crazy for the Hunger Games series. About six weeks ago they went to watch the movie at the cheap theater here in town. It only cost three dollars a piece. Jared & Ridge also went along.

Well one day I looked outside & the girls were playing can you guess ?????

The Hunger Games.



We have the whole series & Jennifer finished the second book in 4 days , pretty good for her since she is only a third grader. She reads well though.

I just thought it was cute & thought I would share.

Emotional Week & A Walk

Tonight I took a walk , just as the sun was going down over the mountain.

Beautiful moment , I was alone no children or hubby just me. It's been emotional this week for me.



It's one of those weeks where something should have been happening for us. A new life , the baby I miscarried in Dec would probably have came one day this week. It's raw sometimes just to think what could have been or what should be happening ???

Not fair this life but God has plans so , I'm gonna trust him like I do. It's tough sometimes but I'm stronger because I have walked this journey. I have had some awesome highs & then some tragic lows. I'm still here loving & counting my blessings. I'm still thanking God for everything he has blessed me with & seen me through.

So tonight as I go to bed I thank him for this life. I shed some tears tonight something I needed to do & as I looked at the mountain the sunset , the darkness I remembered No matter what God is always there for me & you.

So in the morning I'm going to be that Mom that gets up & is so very proud of my children on earth. Thaniqua made the leadership group & has school just tomorrow. I'm blessed so blessed even though I hurt. I love my children in Heaven sometimes I don't always mention them but I'm so very thankful I was given the chance to be a Mother.

Wordless Wednesday

VBS & Happy Birthday Grandma

Wanted to share the Thaniqua & Jennifer's pictures from Vacation Bible school. They had a good time last week. They made lots of different things & learned a lot too.
I remember going when I was young. I used to go to our own church & then go stay at my Grandparents & attend there.




Also while speaking of Grandparents today would have been my Grandma's birthday so I'm sending lots of wishes to Heaven. I spent a lot of time with her when I was young she taught me so much. A very wonderful christian lady.

Grandma I hope you had a wonderful day !! Lots of Love & xxxxoooo 's

One Week Left ........

Well here we are one week til school starts.

Six weeks passed by quickly but the girls are ready. Thaniqua & Jennifer both miss there friends. This year should be another fun one. Thaniqua is a fifth grader. She was chosen to be on the leadership team also. We are really excited for that. Thaniqua has been reading & very active at church also.

Jennifer is a third grader & starting the GATE program for advanced learners. I'm so very proud of her. Jennifer over the summer done a lot of reading. She recently finished the Hunger Games & Catching Fire. Those were two Huge books for her but she did fine. She is getting ready to start reading Mocking Jay next.

This school year has some changes the biggest one the kids have to wear uniforms. I'm not sold on it but I do see the good in it as far as bullying & pressure on what some students choose to wear. The uniform is a plain red , navy blue or white polo shirt. Uniform style pants , tan , black or navy blue. They can wear jeans fitted at the waste , no holes or rips. Shorts & skirts tan , black or blue & not short. I went to the meetings on this & I asked for jeans just because Jennifer still isn't a fan of snapping her pants yet & boys are hard on dress type pants at recess. So they can wear the pull up jeans as long as not tight or leggings. Even though Ridge is in middle school now I know how boys wear things out.

Also another big item is & it is sad , this could be the last year of year round school for us. The district does not want to do it after this school year. I'm hoping that we can change there minds on this. I went to two meeting & gave my opinion. I know when we moved here I didn't think I would like it year round but I feel all the children do so much better this way. I'm taking notes & doing a poll watching growth in some certain areas just hoping we can help them see the reason to not change. My kids all love it.

Well as for Ridge he is has to also wear uniforms but he does not start school until Aug 27th. He is nervous but ready for a Huge step Middle school.

Then there is Carly who tells us all the time I'm going to Kindergarten , not quite two more years. She probably could she knows so much from the others.

One week for my girls & we are excited.......... July 30th.

Amazing Shot This Morning

After I wrote my post last night I woke up to this .........

God is so amazing & I'm thankful for everything in my life , the sad & the good times.

Everything in life has beauty.

Lately .......

Lately ..............

I have been down , sad ............

It's been tough lots of heartache , things that should have been .......

But ......

Just as this verse reads :



Life can be beautiful , sometimes I just need that reminder. God makes everything beautiful. Even after the storm so amazing.



Thank you God !!!

Carly Update

This little Carly is amazing so very glad she is back to normal.

She is a tough girl. I remember being pregnant really wanting a boy but I was happy w/ a healthy baby.



She had a little cough after all the mess last Sunday.

I just wanted to share something that I thought was pretty amazing through all this. I called the poison control center to ask some questions & you know what ????? They called me every other day checking on my sweet girl. I understand that is what they do. It really got me that they checked on her. The lady that spoke w/ me on the phone every time she called was the same lady I spoke w/ last Sunday. They keep a case log on every case. So very amazing , so I hope that no one has to go through this , but if you have to these people are very amazing. I'm thankful for them but most of all God for being there watching over my girl.

Wordless Wednesday

Help Find NATE

This lady Lynn who lost her life is from Ashland ,Ohio. 20 minutes from where I grew up. I did not know her but it breaks my heart.

Praying they find Nate soon.

So very sad .......... praying for the family & friends of Lynn. She leaves two children 3 & 13 years old.

Soapy Scary Sunday

It was a pretty normal start to our Sunday , I woke & had a good jump on the day. I went over to the laundry room at our apartment complex to start some laundry. All the washers were in use so I brought back the laundry & put it behind the couch. I usually keep the laundry packs below in picture in the storage closet outside. This morning I put the last two in the pack w/ my clothes.



I cooked breakfast & got the girls a bath. Thaniqua was waiting for her ride to church. I had a headache so wasn't going today. I went to the bathroom & came back out to the kitchen & next thing Carly is telling me Mommy I'm sick. I look at her & blue stuff running down her lips. My husband grabbed her as she was so sick. Here she got into my laundry soap & bit into one of the laundry cubes. So we called poison control which I have never had to do before. She was very ill & we called them back because she was having trouble breathing.

Here is where we spent the rest of the day.



The first picture is when we first got to the hospital which was around 9:30am. She looked so terrible.



Her first popsicle at about noon. Sorta happy but doing good. She had to have a chest X-Ray but she did well & things looked good.



Last picture just before she was released at 3:30pm. Popsicle & happy again.



As soon as we got home she was eating some potato chips & drinking some Kool-aid , laughing. You would never know how she started her day. I'm so thankful God was watching over her. I'm thankful everyday he there for us always. I'm also thankful my husband was there to help me it was such a fast moving ordeal but we made it.

I still felt like the worst Mom of all. The hospital told me these things happen all the time & Carly was very lucky we moved as fast as we did. It's so very hard to see your child in trouble. I'm so thankful for so many people today. As I close my daughter is sleeping in her bed tonight safe & sound.

P.S. Carly also said Mommy's laundry soap makes you sick.

It will never be left again where she can touch it.

Cookie Pops

Friday morning when I went grocery shopping they had these marked down to $1.25 a box.



I never thought about buying them before they cost to much almost four dollars. Well on sale I bought a couple boxes. So tonight after dinner we made them.

So yummy & all I really need is some popsicle sticks. Kids loved them & we shared with the neighbors too.

Been having problems w/ lots of bullying going on w/ my kids so I decided tonight to kill it with some kindness. That's what God says. Hope it helped & the kids were all happy.




Just thought I would share this look at Jennifer's picture ........ No silly face & her tongue is in her mouth. Amazing she always does something silly , Love that girl.

Tonight Feelings Hurt

This a little long & this post isn't something I do a lot but I felt I needed to write & try to get my feelings out. Venting a lot so here goes.........

Tonight has been a lot for me. I have been upset & when it comes to the step-children I sometimes have to bite my tongue. I know that when I married Paul they are a part of our lives. I guess I just wish they made the move sometimes not always us first.

I seen this note below posted on Facebook a couple weeks ago. It really makes sense I feel.



I wasn't married to Ridge & Thaniqua's Father. We lived together & a part of me is glad we never married I went through quite a bit w/out all that too. I know that I always tried even though it was hard to tell my children that your Dad is a good person down deep. I know that even with there Father passing away two months ago I tried my hardest to always say something kind & loving. Just because we didn't get along I felt like they need to always feel loved by both of us. Even w/ the drugs & such I did my best. It wasn't til after he passed that I found out from his brothers that he was happy I made the choice to do what I did. So that means down deep he wasn't really trashing me either. We will be going home to Ohio soon for a visit & I'm not sure what will happen because the Ridge & Thaniqua I think were sorta looking forward to maybe seeing there Dad but I'm doing my best to help them through this.

The other reason is a month from today my step-son Paul's oldest is getting married. The kids are all excited about a wedding especially Jennifer & Thaniqua. Well I'm happy for them but I really don't know what to think of it all. Yes Justin told his Dad early about it & then Jennifer & Paul had birthday's never heard from him. Carly had a birthday never heard from him. We got our invite to the wedding. Jared had a birthday nothing ........

The biggest one was Father's Day no call email or letter. I know it hurt Paul but he never really said a lot.

So tonight Justin texted us wanted to know how many were coming ??? Paul sent it back plus he asked Justin if he sent invites to Paul's side of the family ?? We never heard anything back. Nice ??? We know the answer there was never any sent. It's sad & right now my husband is hurt. Yes his family is spread out & they are older but like we both said they might have got a card or maybe even a gift from them. It's not right they are family to. It really bothers me that Justin & Christy did this. I'm not judging but tonight I don't blame my husband for being upset. I only know that Paul said his x-wife would have it her way but it's just sad. Justin is a part of both of them.

We actually found out a month ago that his brother & another sister who asked us about the invite had got nothing.

So tonight I'm praying that God will help us all. A wedding is supposed to be a happy time. I just can't believe that this happened. Life is so very precious & its the little things that really matter.

Wordless Wednesday

Photos from a Special Friend ~ Mountain Climbing

Thaniqua's teacher that she had last year for 4th grade went mountain climbing & I thought I would share some pictures we got to see from her trip. She is a amazing teacher & a very special lady to us all. She hiked the Ruby Crest Trail. So beautiful , hope you enjoy them.

Someday I would love to do something like this but maybe on a small scale. So thankful she shared some photos with us. Looks so fun.