Mavelous Monday.....or Manic Monday :-)

Here are a few more pictures from our weekend!

Madisyn and Jordyn actually slept on the balcony of our hotel room! I can imagine that was fun for two young girls.....though Maddy was saying her back hurt from the concrete today! Hey....she had a comfy bed in the room waiting on her! I am sure they had fun out there though....they had it set up like their own little room, talked, played games......and even a few little boys came by to flirt with them (THEY were on the BOTTOM floor and just talking UP to the balcony)!

This afternoon we headed out and met my friend Jamie and her Guatecutie, Olivia at the mall play place for a little while. Until Lyza started being a little terror....it was nap and lunch time, so I won't get too angry with her! She brought us some things we had asked her to get from Guatemala for us and a birthday gift for Lyza. In exchange, we gave her a birthday gift for Olivia and I gave her a ton of clothing that Lyza had outgrown. Olivia was SOO tiny compared to Lyza. She sure is cute!

We came home to very wintery conditions today......so Chris got the fireplace going right away, we got things put away, Lyza down for a nap and enjoyed the fire. It snowed/freezing rain a bit outside.....but the weather is supposed to turn really nasty for the next three days! I love snow days......so I hope it is at least enough for me NOT to get out.....not that I do a lot anyway, but at least I don't feel bad for not getting out if the roads are bad!!

Madisyn has an exhibition dance tonight at the High School. It is many area schools that all come together to show off their routines and even the high school and colleges perform also. It should be a great time and they have worked VERY hard...even having Saturday practices!! I will post pic's of that tomorrow and maybe a video as well!

Stay warm and blessings to all!!!

"Give Thanks for Unknown Blessings Already On Their Way"

~ Native American Proverb

• www.walkbyfaithphotography.blogspot.com/

A bit of Home...away from Home!

We are having a bit of quality time away from home....only about 5 min, but in reality, that is just how we like it!!! We are staying at the Mariott tonight...my favorite place in the world next to staying in the cabins at New Harmonie!! I'm a big sucker for their comfy beds, feather blankets, pillows, pool, hot tub and fitness room :-)) I had a few free nights...so decided now was a good time! Actually....my back is still killing me, even after the epidural injections last Monday. The pool and hot tub have done wonders for me...however, about an hour after I get out, the pain starts all over again. The indoor pool I normally use is closed for high school swim meets for another two weeks!

We have been here most of the day and as you can tell from the pictures Lyza and Madisyn are really enjoying the pool! Lyza is a little fish....and Madisyn is having fun swimming her around! We went to church this evening after a small dinner....then Madisyn's friend came over to stay the night with us also. We went for more swimming and working out after church......now Lyza is going down for the night so we are playing on the computer and the girls are running on the treadmill!

We are enjoying ourselves........blessings to you and your family!!

Things Mama's Love!

~~ Things Mama's Love ~~

A nice sunny day in the middle of January. We got to take Lyza to the park today to play outside! What a treat.....she wanted to throw mulch more than she wanted to play on the playground equipment though! That's ok...whatever makes her happy!

Followed by a Princess Portrait colored by Lyza just for Mommy!

Madisyn receiving an Academic Honors Certificate at her Honors Banquet last night!

Followed by an All A's report card....with only one B! Which she was not happy about....she went the entire year last year with ALL A's! We are so very proud though! WAY to GO Madisyn!!

• 

  
  An unexpected card in the mail from a friend that is sending words of encouragement!!!

The card reads:

Whenever I'm going through a tough time,

I try meditating.

That's the same thing

as "ignoring people,"

except you do it while

sitting crosslegged

on the floor.......

Hang in there!!!

Thanks Jen for making me smile!!! You are certainly good at that!

Favorite Foto Friday - ~ NEW ~

This week's FFF theme is "New"....thanks to www.kissthefrog4me.blogspot.com/

Check out her awesome site for a list of blogs with the same theme!

SO, NEW for me this week is the start of my NEW photography blog......Now that I am getting "Walk by Faith" Photography under way.....a new website is in the works! For now, I have just added a blogspot with many photos of children, engagements, families, weddings, family Christmas photos, scenary and candid shots. Nothing fancy.....just a page where you can go to browse some of my work! The NEW web address is http://www.walkbyfaithphotography.blogspot.com/ . It is by no means near completion, but I will let you know as soon as Jen's Design Shop has started and is finished with it. I know it will be a spectacular site when she is done. She is great at what she does!

There are many things one could/can do for the theme "NEW", but I decided to add some photos of Lyza that I took this past Tuesday. They were too cute to not post. I have been trying to update and rearrange my blog daily to get it just how I want it......so, it kinda goes with the theme and has a NEW look as well! I hope you enjoy it!

"It is very difficult to go back and make a brand NEW start. But you can always start from now and make a brand NEW ending."

"Let your presence light NEW light in the hearts of people."

-- MOTHER TERESA

"One’s destination is never a place, but a NEW way of seeing things."

Blessings to you as you start your weekend.....may it be filled with Laughter, Love, Happiness and Faith!

~ Misty

~~~ Thursday Thoughts ~~~

* Thoughts for Thursday*

* Look for reasons to get active - and let your inner radiance shine*

*Your attention is like a muscle: it needs to relax in order reengage*

*See your more difficult moments as opportunities to rise above*

* Don't miss the opportunity to get outside and experience the warmth of the season*

* Once you decide to take action, you'll be surprised by how things fall into place*

* Discover ways to embrace boredom. It's part of the human condition*

*YOUR words have a bigger impact than you realize*

*Sometimes the expression of LOVE is the most powerful healer of all*

* When you seek to enrich the lives of others, you find the most satisfying form of success*

* Authentic love brings out our authentic selves, the people we want to become*

* Kindness is at its best when we don't have to stop to think about it*

* Never underestimate the power of kind words to change someone's life*

* Patience: Allowing someone to be imperfect*

* If we want to love others well, we need to be patient with ourselves*

* Patience could mean the difference between leaving a positive legacy or a negative one*

All of the above are things that I have at one time or another (most more recently) have had problems with. As time goes on, as I learn more, grow older, wiser and learn from my mistakes....I have learned just how VERY TRUE these "thoughts" are. In my life.....and in the lives of my friends, family and aquaintenances. Take time if you will to ponder some of these random "thoughts" and see where you might be able to improve upon yourself. Improving ourselves is a daily task.....a daily task only WE can take upon ourselves to become a better person....the person we all know is in us and strive to be.

Many blessings to you today.......and always!

Miss Madisyn......the one girl who keeps me striving to be a better person, example, friend and mother!

Wordless Wednesday.....ok, a few words!

Wordless Wednesday just cannot be done without words....sometimes things just need some explanation!!!

The reason for "just now" getting Christmas photos you ask?? Well, since I am now a photographer I cannot bear to take her somewhere and pay for pic's when I can do them myself! So.....the week before Christmas Madisyn was very sick, so Lyza never did get to wear her Christmas dress to church, or at all for that matter! So yesterday since we had snow, even thoughI was hurting I was bound and determined to dress her up, take her out in the snow to my "photo grounds" and get some outdoor photos. As you can tell by the middle pictures, this did not go well! I did get a few that could be touched up.....however, the indoor ones turned out better! She immediatly picked up the snow yelling "Coooood" before I could even get her to the props and get going on the photos! I did get a few frame worthy ones......so I'll just have to go with those. Madisyn is going to do her "dress up" thing fairly soon so I will get some of them together and stage the Christmas photos once again! Ahhhh, the joys of being a photographer and feeling as if the photos on my wall must match the season! Poor kids :-)))

Thanks to Jen for helping me to colorize some of them to make them look decent!

from "Cups of Encouragement"

Christopher got me a coffee mug set called "Cups of Encouragement" for Christmas. The title on my cutesie mug was "Joy" . This was a mug set with encouragement word notecards, but he got it for the verse on the coffee mug! He says he chose this particular one.....for I needed to remember the word "Joy"...and the verse on the mug read:

JOY:
"This is the day that the Lord has made: let us REJOICE and BE GLAD in it"

Psalm 118:24

He felt I need to remember "Joy" on a daily basis, as he knew I was going through such a difficult time in my life.

The mug set came with some inspirational note cards:

Todays notecard read:

"Nothing touches God's heart more than the jubilant praise of His children. We can choose to focus on our temporary struggles or we can celebrate that God is in control. When we choose to live a life of praise, our trials pale in comparison to God's love and care."

How True this Is...and it still amazes me how these "small notes of encouragement" seem to jump out at us when we least expect it. What a treasure. So I will be passing this notecard on to a friend.........I believe surprises in the mail, a note of encouragement unexpected are some of the most wonderful things you can receive. They take little money, little time to write a note of encouragement to let a friend know we care.......and what an uplift it can bring to your day!

Thank you again Lord, for another wonderful day.....despite the pain and limited things I could do...I spent most of my day in prayer, playing games with my kids....and soaking in memory verses or uplifting quotes that just topped off my day!

Blessings to you!

Let it Snow....Let it Snow....Let it Snow!

Snow Day....Part #2!

Ok....I had to add some photos, after reading the forecast it doesn't look like any more snow tonight or tomorrow......so we took Lyza out for a few minutes after her nap and just before dark. She had not yet asked to go out.....but just watching her in the window talking about the snow and snowmans were enough to melt my heart, get her in some gear and get her out in the cold stuff for a few mintues at least! She had fun....but we kept her out for only a few minutes!

Sisters in the snow......with dad throwing snow at them! Fun!!

Sisters! Snow! What Fun!

Fields and Barn


Daddy and Lyza going in for the night.....

YIPEE.....SNOW.....THIS IS FUN STUFF!

Daddy and Lyza

Lyza's first scoop! Cooood!

Snow Day Part 1

Today I had my second epidural in my back. The dr. went up a bit higher this time with a little more juice to hold me over a little longer. What they do is first give me valium....let it settle in while doing my paperwork....then head me off to the surgery room. They do three injections in my back of numbing medicine and gave me a bit more potent stuff this time around because of wanting to scream last time. After a few minutes of settling in......they give me three injections of epidural juice with very long needles into my spine. Last time the epidural lasted about 4 weeks on the nose. They have scheduled me to come back in 8 weeks this time since they made it a bit stronger. They also have me on painkillers as needed and a new potent numbing cream, as the last cream wasn't really helping much. We'll see how this one does. After I gave them my story of using the cream from Mexico....they laughed, then gave met his new cream that most dr.'s do not use, or like to use because of its potency....but didn't hesitate to give it to me so I would stop using the cream from Mexico! We got a good chuckle out of it.

Chris took me this time and since we woke up to a few inches of snow.....he stayed home with me and the girls! Yeah...this ALWAYS makes me feel better having him at home. Madisyn was off school today for MLK day...but I don't think he could stand the thought of them going out in our first real snow this year and him not being a part of it! He is a big kid you know........no really, I know his intentions were to take care of me and the girls......for I hated to have Madisyn babysitting all afternoon/evening on her day off of school. She had a friend over last night and after a late night snowball fight (Chris and I made a pile of snowballs and threw them at them in their room without them expecting it) and some playing of the wii.....we all headed to bed around 11 pm~ including Lyza. So...we all slept in a bit, which was nice. I loved having him home....he cleaned up the dishes, made lunch and dinner, ran 1/2 hr to a bordering town to pick up my medicines, played outside with the girls......and we are now settling in to watch some TV together. I am sure we will call it an early night....because my intention was to nap all afternoon....and I did not! It has taken me forever to get this blog done! What a jewel I have though.......Madisyn is so compassionate and tries to take care of me...and Chris is taking care of everyone and everything else so perfectly. I am blessed!

Enjoy the photos and the promises of Maddy's photos and info from her lock in have not been forgotten......I will continue with that hopefully tomorrow!

Blessings to you all!

Stay Warm!

Madisyn out in the snow this afternoon! My little Snow Bunny!






Madisyn and Chris....getting ready for a snowball fight or wrestling in the snow with the dogs!

Someone got knocked out already!!!!!!

Fight is on!!

All is peaceful before the snowball war!!!

PRETTY SNOW!

Madisyn singing with the WII!!

Think she's doing a good job??? She is really good, but it doesn't appear so here!

Jordyn singing with the Wii!

Best Buds!

Graceful Chris doing Yoga! You go baby.....

Madisyn doing????.....dunno, but at least she looks happy!

Getting ready for Yoga! She is a little better than her mama.....ok, a lot better! My balance stinks...but it does cause an uproar of laugher in our house!

JOJO......that is what Lyza calls her! She has for a very long time! Very cute!

Our Yoga Expert!

Madisyn and her friend A. at the last dance performance they had!

Miss Lyza....in her pigtails playing with her car!!!

Lyza making her funny face!!!!