New Year's Eve

So it is New Year's Eve and we woke up with a sprinkling of snow on the ground which made the kids more than happy. One more snowfall to close out the year! SO the kids bundled up and headed up to make the most of this little sprinkle before it was gone....

Caitlyn and her friend Brynn with their Snow Mom. This is before they added the Snow Babies!

Snow Mom!

Chris making a snow pile!

Malcom's Snowman

Now that everyone has enjoyed the dusting of snow, we wait for Big Daddy and hope he gets to come home from work early today! We will spend the afternoon bowling with our good friends and their family and hopefully come back and ring in the New Year with the Ball dropping on T.V. and wine glasses full of apple juice for everyone!!

Wishing all of my family and friends a joyous and Happy New Year filled with peace and happiness! All my love to everyone near and far!!

The day after Christmas

So it is the day after Christmas and this mama is still worn out. The kids slept in and I am just relaxing and working on a few blog posts. I am so bad at this blogging thing. I don't know how to do very much. If anyone wants to help me please feel free.

I can't believe Christmas is already over. It seems like it zoomed in and zoomed out! I actually wish Christmas could hang around just a bit longer. Yesterday was just so great I didn't want it to end. A house full of happy children. My husband and I spending much of the day preparing food together to feed our crew! A quick nap on the couch to recharge my batteries! Just the atmosphere and the magic of Christmas! And it is over too soon! Today the kids are busying themselves with new toys and gadgets. Big Daddy had a few errands to run. I decided I would try to figure this blog out. Other than post new entries not much has happened on that front. But I will keep trying! I will figure this out! I will!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!

It has been one of those days where you are just so thankful that you can't even put into words how thankful you really are. I have without a doubt the greatest, most amazing family in the world!!

The kids got up VERY early this morning! Shame on me for stalling them until my coffee was ready. And then it began....the madness of paper flying and voices shrieking! Happy yells and oohs and ahhs! It was awesome! Even at 7 a.m. in the morning! Have I said that my family is amazing! They really are!

We had a wonderful dinner prepared by both my husband and I! It's always great to spend the day in the kitchen together!!

Big Mac got everything he asked for......

Tom Brady Patriots Jersey!
Gears of War Game

XBox360 Live!! And he is wearing his XBox360 Headset he got!
His guitar case!


Bri wanted mostly games. So that is what she got. With a few other things thrown in here and there.







Tristan wanted Legos, UBFunKeys,and some other things.


The look of excitment!
More gifts!

Cube World!

Chris wanted Legos and oh more Legos. Wait and an awesome Ford F150 remote control truck from Nannie and Pappy.



Tom Brady Jersey!! YES!!
Legos!!
Remote Control Truck! Thank you Nannie & Pappy!

More Legos! Thank you Abuelita!

And just call Caitlyn Littlest Pet Shop......with a cool guitar from Nannie and Pappy too....




Her new friend Emma!

Her Guitar! Thank you Nannie and Pappy!Daddy got her some Hannah Montana picks today!!
Art Supplies! I just realized we didn't get any pics of all of the Pet Shop Stuff!!
**Edited to show her playing with a small portion of her LPS toys!! She is addicted!






Big Daddy a few things he asked for......PS3 Game, Blue Ray DVD, CD, Football Gear













Mama got her Paula Dean, Rachel Ray, the book I wanted and to prove that Big Daddy listens to me.....these Awesome boots !!! I also recieved a most beautiful bouquet of flowers made by my lil princess and a sculpture made by my lil man!






My Beautiful Bouquet
My Lovely Sculpture!

I would say everyone enjoyed their gifts, but more than that we enjoyed each other. It was so great for us to all be together. All seven of us! Our great big happy family! Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve

All the kids are here. Christmas Eve Mass was great. Crowded, standing room only but great none the less! My best friend and her family are headed home after another wonderful Christmas Eve tradition! We spend Christmas Eve at my house just hanging out and being together. This year is a little more special than previous years because it is my God Daughter Allyson's First Christmas!! Yay!! And her first Christmas Eve with us! I am so blessed to have such great friends! I love them like my family. I got such beautiful and thoughtful gifts from Heidi & Holly. Gorgeous pictures of my two kiddos with my God Daughter and also gorgeous pictures of just Ally!! Such wonderful gifts! Now off to finish the last preparations for Christmas Morning....

Me with Ally
My husband with Ally



My AWESOME gifts from the greatest friends ever!! I have to find some super cute frames for the other pictures now! I can't wait to get them out on display!

A year!!

So it seems that when I started this blog it would be a wonderful idea and hopefully a great way to keep in contact with family and connect with new friends. However it seems to have fallen off the track and I haven't done a single thing with it in nearly a year!
And what a year it has been. I realize I have grown so much in a year. I have learned to let go of a lot of things. I learned to open my heart and be more thankful for all the things I have in my life. I have had an emotional rollercoaster of a year. But it all has brought me full circle and I am learning that life is short and I need to enjoy it to the fullest.
In a year I made the decision to finally extend my family and start trying for another baby. In a year I learned that I was not going to be a mother again. Pregnancy wasn't in my future without some type of intervention. I learned that intervention wasn't something I could afford at this time and wasn't sure I would ever be able to afford it.
In a year I put up a wall between my husband and I. I was self absorbed and angry that I wanted another child and couldn't seem to get pregnant. I spent so many months being sad and depressed and it seemed to just be like the flip of a switch....
Why am I spending so much time being mad and unhappy about what I do not have and the baby I so desperately want with my husband when I have a beautiful son and daughter who mean the world to me. I have no right to be mad. God has blessed me twice. There are so many people who will never have the joy of their own child, or have lost a child. In comparison to that I am more than blessed. So when I learned to be thankful for what I have and not what I do not have, it became easier to live with the thought that I wouldn't have any more babies.
In a year I became a Godmother. My best friend got pregnant right before I started really trying. and her daughter was born a month after we learned that we could not get pregnant on our own. Being her Godmother and having her in my life has brought me so much joy. She is an amazing and beautiful gift from God and I am so blessed to be a part of her life! I am so thankful to her mother for giving me such an honor and I hope my sweet God Daughter will someday think I am as awesome as I think she is right now! She is amazing!
In a year I am learning to know God and trying to deal with the struggles and pulls of the world. Having not grown up to know God, I still am not sure what it is all about. I feel something on the inside of me that I can not explain. And at the same time I feel something else pulling me in another direction. I want to know The Lord. I know that through him all things are possible. I want to be a better person. A better mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend. I want to invite him into my heart and into my life, but I don't know how to do this. I read so many wonderful blogs and the faith of these women is nothing more than astounding! They are so strong in their faith and their love. And I want to get there. I don't even know if anyone will ever read this but if anyone does I would love a helping hand to lead me along the way.
So in a year I have changed. And I am hoping I don't wait a year to post again. BUt in the next weeks, months, and years I am hoping that I will continue to change and grow and become a better me.