Pumpkin Patch 2012

Over the weekend we went to OUR second annual pumpkin patch :) This year my sister and her family decided they'd like to go with us. It was a bit of a trying day because Maddy would not take a nap. We went out early to do a little shopping. I'm in search of boots and because I don't know much about boots and the do's and don'ts it took a little longer than I anticipated. We also got Maddy's halloween costume and to my surprise she did not pick Minnie Mouse...she chose to be a lady bug. She has a love for ladybugs. I also was searching for her some shoes because she only has one pair right now that she can wear and they are pink and while they go with most of her outfits, there are some outfits they just don't match very well. I knew exactly what I wanted to get her but can you believe that the three stores I went in did not have her size on anything really. She is size 8.5. I've found that after size 6 it's just been so hard finding anything she can wear. I decided to just order them online. I really need them for Friday because they are having their football Friday where they dress up in their favorite teams colors. She has a TN cheerleader outfit and pink definitely will not go lol. Anyways, she fell asleep on the way up to the pumpkin patch, but unfortunately after a few minutes of being asleep we had to slam on our brakes which made her head fall forward and from there on out she was awake. I'm going to let the pictures do the talking, but I will say it really seemed as if everybody had a really good time.

 Getting her to sit still and look at me and smile was just impossible. She would sit and look straight for literally .2 seconds before she was moving around trying to find things to do.

 Last year she wouldn't attempt to "milk" the cow. This year, she was all over it. I think it had something to do with my youngest niece doing it too. Maddy ended up sitting on the ground where all the water was going and had one muddy leg. After that luckily it was time to go in lol

 This is called the corn popper. All the kids had a ball on it! Maddy kept wanting to go back on it. I actually thought it would be loads of fun to do myself, I didn't see any adults on it so I decided to just be a mom and watch  :)

 Maddy could swing on the tire swing this year. Again, not something she could do last year. They didn't go high at all. She didn't like it as much...I think she felt like she was going to fall because she's used to a bucket swing where she can just sit there and enjoy.

 Even Nana joined in on the fun. It was so cute. Maddy "helped" my mom climb up on the bale of hay...she is such a caring little girl.

 Of coarse the corn box. It feels so good in there. It's a great way to relax. One of the moms said she'd like a bed made out of corn..I kinda wouldn't mind trying one of those myself lol.

 I thought this was a neat shot.

 Maddy takes baby everywhere and makes sure she gets to have some fun too. After this picture she did forget about baby...and so did I for that matter. Luckily my mom saw it and put it in her bag for us lol

 On our way to the pumpkin patch

Maddy had a ball looking for her a pumpkin. She originally had a small orange one that was sitting all by itself. For some reason she decided she didn't want it after all and when it was time to find "the one" she ended up with this tiny tiny green one. I liked her first one better because it was orange and bigger, but really in truly this was the perfect size for her. She carried it around and was proud of her pumpkin. My mom is keeping the pumpkins the kids picked out to decorate her front yard with. She sent me a picture and it is so cute. I will have to take a picture myself because the one she has has my nieces in the picture and my sister doesn't want their picture all over the internet :(

It was a fun filled day!

Favorite Moment

Ever since getting her swing set for her birthday, Maddy asks every day if she can play outside. Unfortunately for her she generally only gets to play outside on Monday and Friday during the week and then of coarse Saturday and Sunday. This week has been a little different. We weren't able to make it outside on Monday. Tuesday is bath night. Wednesday was Maddy's dr. appt. and we had no church. I had already told her she could play outside which had her super pumped. Before having a swing set all Maddy talked about was the slide, but I think since getting a swing set she has really come to love the swing. I love spending time with Maddy no matter what we are doing, but pushing her on the swing has become my favorite. We talk the entire time and I get to really see how she thinks and what she likes and things like that. It's a real bonding time and I just love it. I decided to video a little bit tonight. I only have the video camera on my phone since mine is broken. It's a little long because she just stared in the beginning. Anytime I pull out my camera she quits doing what she's doing and just stares.

She is such a good mommy and takes really good care of her baby. When she swings she notices the sky and the birds and hears all the noises and asks what it is. She also says she thinks it's going to rain tomorrow all the time lol. I'm so happy we were able to give her a swing set to play on...she absolutely LOVES it!

3 Year Check-Up

So I was a little late this year in getting Maddy to her 3 year well check. Her birthday party planning completely took over everything and I found myself a week later never having called to set up the appointment. I have since ordered me not one, but TWO mom planners lol. One is a normal planner you take with you and then the other is a magnetic calender you can hang on the refrigerator.

It's really amazing and from now on will be my planner of choice. They give you space to write in your family members names so you can see who is doing what. I know I only have a family of two...well three because Manny is definitely family and has his own spot, but between work and church and home I found myself forgetting to do a lot of things. Now I have our events scheduled in and I can rest a little easier.

Maddy had her dr. appointment yesterday at 2:10. It was the fastest appointment ever. She weighs 30.5 lbs and is in the normal range and is 3'2 tall which landed her in the 72nd percentile. Her BMI is 14.85. Her doctor's office has completely changed. They took her picture when we signed in...I guess to keep in the chart. Instead of looking on the paper for the growth chart is completely done on a laptop now. My favorite thing is they now send a copy of the stats with you now so I don't have to remember how much she weighed and all that. I just wish they put on there where she fell in the growth chart. Maddy was a bit nervous so she was super quiet and stayed attached to me. She did super well. Luckily there were no shots...there will be next year :( She is going into size 4T. She's been in a 4T shirt for a while, but we're slowly fading pants into 4T. She's still in a size 4 diaper/pull up. Yesterday I decided to let her wear her big girl panties. She LOVES them, but it didn't help in the potty area. She pottied on her bed and didn't tell me until we were fixing to go play outside. This morning for school she got mad at me because she couldn't wear her big girl panties to school. I'm going to start putting them on her when we get home.

Random Thoughts

I know I have been starting out or at least talking about how rampant the devil seems to be running lately. This post is no different. I myself am being attacked and I know several other people are as well. Through this rough time I have at least learned something, although it's sometimes going to be easier said than done. One thing I have learned is that regardless of our situation or circumstance, our joy should still be there. I have been reading the wonderful devotional my mom got me and I am amazed at how personal it feels. I'm going to write a portion of the devotion for October 5. "Remember that joy is not dependent on your circumstances. Some of the world's most miserable people are those whose circumstances seem the most enviable...True joy is a by-product of living in My Presence. Therefore you can experience it in palaces, in prisons...anywhere..." The next day, October 6 it talked about following Him wherever He leads though we may not see the big picture...walk by faith not by sight. I could go on and on up through today because everything  has just been so relevant to what has been going on in my life. I've recently learned of another fellow blogger who tragically lost her husband over the weekend. They have an 11 month old daughter and I just cannot even begin to fathom the pain she must be feeling. She lost the love of her life and became a single mother in just one night. Her daughter will never know who her father is. Sure she will hear stories, but she herself will have no memory of him. Today was a silent day of blogging and I chose to participate. It's not quite midnight, but it's close enough. I have prayed and thought about this family all day today. I do not know them at all, but my heart aches for them. As my personal circumstances got worse I read about how the uphill journey has been long and it's okay to vent but to vent to God because it helps us see things from His perspective. When things get real hard I do tend to want to complain. I thought of this sweet lady from Arkansas who was dealing with an unexpected death and how she has not one time complained over social media or her blog. Her entire world has been flipped upside down and if she can keep from complaining, so can I.
The second thing I have learned in all this is that I need to trust God COMPLETELY. I need to not worry about the future or try to plan for this or for that because it makes me self-sufficient. This is the part that is easier said than done. I know God has a plan for me and I know He will take care of me...I just have to trust . I had such a great year last year that I think I walked into this year thinking it was gonna be so easy. I didn't need to rely on God as much...I could take the reigns. When things get hard I cling to Him and when things get easy I tend to let go. I think I have a plan to work on that, but I won't know until I try :)

My blog is having a minor change. It will still look the same, it's just getting a different name with it's own domain and few other changes on the back end. These changes aren't entirely my choice, but I feel it's the best decision for now.

I am so thankful God loves not just me, but all of us. I am so thankful that He is patient with us because I have been quite slow in learning the lessons He has for me. If you are going through hard times please know I am praying for you. I may not know your name or the specifics of your situation but He does.

Continued Ramblings

I was originally going to make this an all out Christmas post. I know, it's not even Halloween yet lol. This is definitely been the earliest I have been in the Christmas spirit. I was listening to Christmas music towards the end of July and into August. This morning on my way home I was listening to Way-FM as I always do. The host, Wally, was doing the normal routine and they do something called a blog report. This morning they gave previews of the new Christmas music coming out. They played Francesca Battistelli, Jeremy Camp, Group 1 Crew, and Steven Curtis Chapman. Y'all I am so excited about it all!! The songs they played were REALLY good and ever since I have just been in full force Christmas spirit. I'm not a big Halloween person. I mean I like dressing up and taking Maddy trick-or-treating and all, but the holiday itself I do not like. I have listened to Christmas music on Pandora all day today and I think it will be from here on out Christmas music in my house lol. I don't want to overload this post with thousands of songs I like during the Christmas season,  so I am only going to do a few now and then maybe start back the song of the week posts. There are so many artists and songs to choose from that this is going to be a bit hard for me. I guess I will start with one of my most favorite albums. It's Point of Grace...A Christmas Story. I also really love their second Christmas album they did.

This is called When Love Came Down. It's a REALLY great song.

The next song of choice is Amy Grant's Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. I love this song because it brings that Christmas feel. I envision sitting by the fire, hearing it crackle, sipping hot chocolate, and admiring the Christmas tree or just talking with family.

I will end with Bing Crosby, Santa Clause is Coming to Town. What can I say...I'm a sucker for the older Christmas songs lol. I mean Bing just screams Christmas!!!

I will most definitely be posting a weekly song post again because there are so many Christmas songs I want to share lol. I know you all probably don't care, but it's fun so I'm going with it!

Apart from my Christmas mood, I have had kind of a rough day. It wasn't 100% one of those days where everything I did was wrong, but in a way it felt like every turn I made I was getting a slap in the face. That devil is just never ending. I did receive a wonderful surprise today though. My mom offered to pick up anything I needed at the store today and bring to me. When she got here she came bearing gifts.

They are beautiful! The top one is Jesus Calling. It's a 365 day devotional and it's written as if Jesus Himself were talking to you. I have already read tonight's and it is JUST what I needed to hear. Having it written this way just seems so much more personal and I feel like Jesus is sitting right next to me saying the words to me. It's gonna be a great way to start the day or in some cases end the day. The second book is called My Daily. It's a devotional prayer book. I haven't looked at it yet, but it's kind of like Beth Moore's Praying God's Word.

I curled my hair yesterday for the first time in a long time. The curls had started to relax by this point because I changed shirts a few times and then my hair kept getting pulled on things. My hair hasn't been this long in forever. Here is the pic I took right after I finished curling:

The fact that my hair holds curls at all is amazing. I'm still loving my herstyler flat iron. I would never be able to do this with a curling iron.

We only have one more day until the weekend...THANK GOODNESS!!!! I think this is the last of my random ramblings. I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Midweek Ramblings

I'm finally starting to get back to "normal" after preparing for Maddy's birthday and then having a little time after to try to get everything back in order. My house is still decorated in her decorations. I had every intention of taking them down this past weekend, but I'm having a hard time parting with them lol. My mom and I took a lot of time in placing everything just so. I'm also using them as reminders of how Maddy reacted and how she kept telling me over and over she liked her birthday. I am also wanting them to stay for Maddy's sake because she just loves it. I think I may have to take baby steps and start with the living room and take down the balloons and swirly decorations, then another week take down the birthday banner, and then last the huge wall decal. A lot of love went into planning her party. Ok, I'm done reminiscing lol.

Maddy starts her dance class at school on Friday. I am super excited for her and hope she really enjoys it. I found the facebook page of the company that is teaching it love that it is God centered. The name of the program is Angela's Angels and Athletes. It's not a traditional dance class, but it looks like Maddy will have lots of fun.

Teen Mom is really starting to come to a close now. I don't know a lot of people who watch it, but oh well.

My schedule is really starting to fill up fast. I feel like I barely have time to grab on to the chair to hold on before it just takes off. I am officially back in our church orchestra. We are having a Christmas program on December 2. We got our Christmas music last week. Our normal rehearsal time is 5:30-7. Some of us have to stay till 8 anyways because we have kids in Awana's, so we are having Christmas music rehearsal after our normal rehearsal. We have a Saturday practice on November 3 and then the dress rehearsal is December 1. We have crunch week the week of November 26. I love the end of the year because it's so close to Christmas. I started watching some Christmas movies this week on Netflix and really starting to feel that Christmas spirit. It will be fun decorating our home this year for Christmas. I will find ways to include Maddy in the decorating :)

I seem to have made 1:00 a.m. my new bed time throughout the week. Why I do this to myself I have yet to figure out.

I ordered me not one but TWO mom planners lol. One I can take with me wherever I go and the other hangs on the fridge. I also downloaded a free app called mom's planet or something like that. It will kinda do for now until my real ones get here. I really hope they help get me on track lol. I failed miserably as a friend. One of my friend's birthday is two days after Maddy's. I thought I had time the Saturday before to get him a card in the mail, but no. Can you believe I am JUST NOW getting the card in the mail??? I am hoping this little shout out on here will help make up for my losing my mind in Maddy's party :)

Apparently even dogs love Elmo lol. Never really noticed how much Manny blends in with the couch. Poor buddy needs to go to the vet :(

This video is how I am ending things tonight. I feel so attacked by the devil, but with Jesus' help I'm gonna fight another day :)

Maddy Turns 3!

Maddy turned three this past Sunday. I seriously cannot believe how fast she is growing. It was a crazy week last week, but everything got accomplished and her party turned out pretty good. I decided to decorate the night before, Saturday, because I didn't want her to have to watch as we decorated...I wanted to be a more magical moment for her. My mom came over after she went to bed and helped me accomplish this mission. The decorations couldn't have been any more perfect. We hung balloons and little swirly things on the ceiling in the living room and kitchen. On the kitchen wall was a 6 foot decal of all the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters. I think Maddy was a little overwhelmed when she saw all the decorations. I did film her on my phone because I wanted my mom to be able to see her reaction since she worked so hard to help me. On the video there isn't a lot of reaction...she was processing. As soon as I turned the camera off she got excited and kept telling me she liked her birthday. I don't think she knew what to think of the wall decal at first lol.

After she soaked in all the decorations it was time for church. She was just so excited it was finally her birthday. She kept asking me if it was her birthday yet, which really meant...is it time for my party. After church we ran home to finish tidying up the last few things. The party started at two and from there it was a whirlwind.

 singing happy birthday...despite her shy look all week she kept asking if people were going to sing happy birthday to her...i think it made her feel good :)

 This was the first year that SHE actually blew out her candles. She really surprised me when she blew lol.

While everybody was eating cake and ice cream I had a slide show of Maddy's journey to three. I plan on making one for every year, I just may choose not to share it with at parties in the future. I'm just so proud of who Maddy is and what she is becoming and of coarse all of our accomplishments throughout the year that I want to show everybody. Once the slideshow was done it was present time.

 In the box was a picture of her swing set and playhouse in her back yard. She didn't understand and I knew she wouldn't so I tried to help her piece it together. I asked her what it was and she said, "Slide." She then tried looking for more presents, but I asked her where she thinks a slide would be. She said, "My house." I asked her if she thought we should go look outside to try to find it and buddy she was up ready to go lol. I had my mom run around back so she could capture the moment.

I've learned that Maddy is a lot like me and it takes her some time to really process what is happening. After she lets it soak for a little bit then her reaction starts to come out. She was beyond excited to have a slide at her house. I think she would stay out there forever if I'd let her. It was a great third birthday for her and a great first party at our new house :) Sorry for all the pictures in this post ;)