Our Day in Photos......

• Our day in photographs! We started out our morning by Lyza making Valentine Necklaces and Cards for Juliana and Amaya....then we proceeded to the hustle and bustle of getting ready for pic's. Yes, I am a photographer, but do you know how hard it is to photograph your own family??? Not easy.....so we took on that task today and I was rather pleased, aside from Lyza's typical 3 yr old picture behavior! That is why I don't have any good 3 yr pic's of her I guess!! We then had lunch in the mall and headed over to Walther's Golf n Fun to let the Guatecuties play at "Monkey Mountain"....can't beat that entertainment for $1.00. Thanks Becky and girls for the invite......Lyza wore herself out!

• On our way home we stopped in various places to play on the snow mounds a bit....as you can see, we got some pretty good pic's..... fun times, until Chris threw me in the snow..... What can a girl do??? :-)
• Enjoy our day in photos!

W.I.N.T.E.R

I woke up from my sleep study this morning to find about 7" of snow on the ground, some weather reporters are reporting a bit more....but most reported 7" right around our aread. I swear there is not a snow plow in Evansville....I had to drive from the East side back home and there was no median, it was dark and I am NOT a good driver (in the snow or otherwise!). But, nonetheless I did make it home around 6:30 am and even got a cup on hot chocolate at McDonald's on my way home. The sleep study room was VERY nice...like a hotel room, however, I don't feel as if I slept a bit because I am a stomach sleeper and it was impossible to sleep how I wanted since I was hooked up to so many things, on top of that...I have a nasty cold and couldn't breathe through my nose 1/2 the night, which kept the machine on its toes because it couldn't pick up me breathing :-))

I came home and slept about 4 hrs.... Madisyn did still have her soccer game, but Chris took her. They lost 3-5.... they'll get em' next time! I took Lyza out to play in the snow just before they got home....then Chris and Madisyn joined us for a little bit.....we then headed in to warm baths, cozy fire and dinner. Tomorrow we are planning on going to the mall around noon, having lunch, playing and then heading to Walther's Monkey Mountain to play with the Guatecuties! Of course Chris, Madisyn and a few of her friends will probably be found playing putt putt golf or laser tag! Should make for a really fun afternoon....I just hope I can breathe by then! It has made for a miserable day!!

Blessings to all!

Favorite Foto Friday - Jan Photos!

Above is my friend Amanda.... who is due with Baby Cole next Wednesday! This is one of my favorite pic's, because I know by this time next week..... Baby Cole's pictures will be one here! We are anxiously awaiting your arrival baby Cole!

• Thanks to my friend (click on sidebar Me Me and Monkeys Adventures) for using the "Favorite January Fotos" theme for this week. I must admit, I didn't get a lot of great photos this month and I rarely use professional ones that I do of others..... so these are some favorite family ones. I was REALLY hoping for a big snow or ice for the month of January (as it was this time last year we had an ice storm and I got awesome pic's ...of both family and nature). We are supposed to get about 3" tonight, so I am still hoping to get SOME snow photos of the girls for Valentines Cards..... January has seemed to fly by with all the activities Madisyn has been in..... and it seems that my medical tests are finally winding down. I got a good reading at my tilt test table yesterday....I did get to pass out, my heart rate dropped to just below 40 BPM, and I was sweating like a madwoman, crying and had I not been strapped to a table, I would have fallen over. That is a horrible feeling to feel as if your heart is going to stop! Ugg....anyway, I was there for three hours and they found I do have a condition with my heart (don't remember the exact name). They talked about putting in a pacemaker and I said no way....too young....not doing it. So they will put me on a beta blocker, forever I guess. That should regulate my heart rate, keep it from dropping and me passing out consistently. I also go in next Thurs for a sleep study test...the dr. has said my airway passages are small and chance that I have sleep apnea and stop breathing for periods at a time since I already have an irregular heartbeat and palpitations. Anyway.....after this round of tests and hopefully fixes, I am done with Dr.'s for awhile! A long while. I am actually feeling really well.....I went off most ALL medications dr.'s felt the need to put me on, cleared my system (which was NOT easy) and seem to have gotten some energy and zest for life back. For that I am sooo very thankful!

• We have a fun weekend planned with our kiddos..... Madisyn has NO activities tonight. Did you read that .... NONE! This is rare....so we are going to build a cozy fire, sleep on the air mattress and pretend we are camping while watching a few movies I rented and I may kick her butt in Wii bowling and uno a few times :-) It is supposed to snow...so how fun and soothing will that be? Tomorrow she has her first indoor soccer game..... and we may head to Monkey Mountain to join up with Juliana, Amaya and Becky to play for the remainder of the afternoon. Sunday we plan on church, then a movie.....

Enjoy your weekend and I hope it is blessed beyond belief....

• I keep thinking about how I don't want to wait for circumstances to change in order to live the way I was meant to live I just have to want it more than I want anything else. I usually allow myself to be preoccupied or pulled in multiple directions because I think I have to devoe little chunks of my mind to worrying about how I will solve some problem or finish some project, as if success with them will make me happy and free.

• The truth is, a life of freedom and joy is available right now. My main job is to stay connected to God. When my primary focus is bring present with him, everything else has a way of falling into place. When my focus becomes anything else, my inner vitality suffers and I become a lesser version of myself.

• Don't wait for circumstances to change your life....or to do what you want. The time is here and now, you only have one shot.....make it worth it! Live like you will not be here forever, because truth is.....you won't!

Turn Over......a new Belief.

• "Experience is not what happens to a man: it is what a man does with what happens to him"
• ~~ Aldous Huxley

• "We are what we think. All that we are arises in our thoughts. With our thoughts, we create our world"
• ~~ Buddha

• "Drugs are not always necessary, (but) belief in recovery always is."
• ~~ Norman Cousins

• "Things do not change, We change."
• ~~ Henry David Thoreau

• "Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to it's original dimensions.
• ~~ Oliver Wendell Holmes JR

• "The Best is Yet to Come"
• ~~ Frank Sinatra

"Women saying Yes to God"

• Excerpt from " What Happens When Women Say Yes to God"
• Lord, help me to lower my head past my selfishness and pride, past desiring others to serve me and on to serving others, past wanting more and on to giving more, looking past me and looking to be in search of you. Help me always desire the lowered head, full of YOUR fruit and consumed with YOUR presence. Help me to be forever mindful of my ministries at home as well as the ministry opportunity past my mailbox!
• So often we think there is so little we can do to help others....those right here in our backyard and those hundreds, thousands and continents away! Truth is, there are opportunities everywhere we look....whether it be visiting the elderly in the nursing home, taking food to shut ins or friends who are not feeling well..... to the approach that seems to appeal to me, heading out to a foreign country to help spread the word of God, to love on orphans who have no one.....or like my husband, to foreign countries to do actual hard manual labor digging wells just so others can have water. WATER, something I know that I take for granted every single day. Ministering to a child, a friend or a co worker....is a great start. You never know when you may say "just the right thing" to set off that spark in their heart to uplift their day, their week, or their future. The need is out there my friends.....in BIG ways and in SMALL ways....find your purpose, find yourself and just GO FOR IT. Don't let anything hold you back. God WILL provide!

Dance Exhibition at OneTrueMedia.com

Madisyn's Dance Exhibition!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Seeking Approval??

• Do you ever feel like you are always seeking approval from others? I have felt this way most of my life....so you are not alone.

Why is it that we think we must "say the right things", "do the right things", "try to appease everyone in the room, all at the same time"? All God really wants is for us to just be "us". YOU are a unique YOU, quirks and all..... without those "quirks", You....would not be YOU!

We all have some sort of background, both good and bad that has shaped and molded us into who we are. Some of those things are hard to let go of....personally, one of mine was being sent into the military. Yes...it did me a lot of good, it made me grow up pretty quickly and now looking back at my time served, I wouldn't take a minute of it back. However, I will admit I went for all the wrong reasons, certainly not reasons that I would now join the service for. I felt pushed into it, and frankly....very unloved..as if I were not good enough, therefore....sent away! Wow...that was hard for me to say and I don't think I've ever said it that way before. Sometimes we have to dig deep in our roots though, to get to the root of some of our problems.

I have been looked down upon and frowned upon for failed marriages, making commitments that I failed to keep, speaking when I should have kept my mouth shut, adopting internationally when people think I should have adopted domestically, moving homes to often, being unsettled for so long, changing careers......WOW, my list of faults could go on and on.

Why is it though, those faults always seem to get pointed out and the positive things are so hard to compliment or speak to someone? Out of all the above mentioned things, miracles happened and good things came from them. We learn from our mistakes...we grow from our mistakes. We are human and God intended for us to grow, learn, make mistakes, ask for forgiveness, forgive, forget and move on. I tend to think I'm a pretty diverse girl for the hardships I have endured, the people I have encountered along my journey and the compassion I have grown to have for others less fortunate.

I also have a couple too many cats......who cares?? My closets aren't organized.....who cares?? My basement is a catch all and a wreck....who cares? I don't think God cares....I think he may think, hey Misty....you really should get that basement cleaned out and give all that junk to the less fortunate!

~~ Until Next time....... just be yourself! I am! :-)

Laughter......

"A day without laughter, is a day wasted"

Laughter....

reduces anxiety and stress,

oxgenates our blood and organs

improves circulation, and releases endorphins.

Laughter....

lifts our moods

reduces blood pressure,

and strengthens our immune system.

Laughter....

increases learning and helps you (and your children) retain knowledge,

reduces pain,

and just feels good.

Laughter....

knows no cultural boundaries -- you don't have to speak the same language to laugh with someone, and nothing breaks the ice better when you are in a group situation -- it is one form of communication in which everyone can relate!

Basketball is underway......

Basketball is underway for the Blue and Gold!

I love sports seasons.....sitting in the bleachers all excited really takes me back a hundred years ago when I used to play sports! Madisyn had her second game this week and they are now 2-0. She still dances at the 7th grade games....so it makes Tues. and Thursdays extra special! Lyza has been really good about sitting on the bleachers and cheering them on also....!

Go Jets....have a great season!

Favorite Foto Friday "Grandparents"

Thanks to www.memeandmonkeysadventures.blogspot.com/ here is this weeks theme of "Grandparents". I cannot seem to locate on folder that has more, so I will work on that. Also below you will find Lyza getting her first "hair relaxing treatment". It turned out soooo soft and for the first time since she was 6 mos, I was able to put a large tooth comb through it! It did not puff way back up, however, I did fluff it a little myself cause she just looked to weird! :-))

Stay warm, enjoy the snow and the family time!

Madisyn is home!!!! :-)))

Little Winter Getaway......

Sorry for the little buttcrack shot.....couldn't help it! We spent a few days away in a little cabin and had a good time! The first night Chris and I spent alone....and the second night Lyza joined us. She was really good and enjoyed herself...especially the ducks that were as big as she was!

I hope you have started out your new year with joy and happiness and that it continues throughout the year!