Monday, May 25, 2015

Happy Memorial Day!!

Remembering those who served with this little stinker today.  Had a great day with my son and daughter and husband at Daytona Lagoon.  


Tuesday, May 19, 2015

My little ray of sunshine

My previous post was about my daughter so today has got to be about my son.  This little boy makes me smile bigger than any other kid I've ever seen.  

He loves his momma like it ain't nobody's business.  He opens doors for me, picks flowers for me just an all around helper.  I have learned that he still has a lot of areas that need work but we are getting there.  
He is my little angel, James Michael.  

This is what my son loves to do.  All day if he could.


The sweetest smile!



His new haircut!  And he combed his hair himself.  (He rarely ever styles his hair so this was good)


So true!  We've had to work on some areas to really break James of his thinking on some things.  He would love to just get his way.
Just last night he threw an absolute fit because he wanted to sleep in his mothers bed.  I told him no and he stood and cried for a good 10 minutes in my room.  Yes, he's 10 but he also shares a room with his sister (at his dad's house) so there is that constant companionship.  He's never completely alone at night.  
An area that we are still working on for sure.  
He is such a sweet boy!!  And he is all mine!!!  

He loves his daddy too, that is for sure!

Saturday, May 16, 2015

What are little girls made of...

What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice and all things nice

That’s what little girls are made of.

I love having a journal to share all the good and bad in life....The daily struggles and triumphs!

And today is about daughter Sue, because I don't want my blog to go without a few pics of my girl. I thought I would post a few pics of Sue.  My daughter and I tend to but heads a lot and especially since she has become a teenager it has only gotten worse!
  If I use my voice to correct anything that she does, it is taken badly.  I pray and ask for guidance daily because I do not know what else to do.  Any moms out there that pray, please include us!  God didn't promise us that life would be easy.  We just know it's worth it.  We adopted her when she was 4 and I loved her like my own.  But she was always a little standoffish, totally willing to give out hugs but beyond that, there always seemed like a barrier.  When I would drop her off in the mornings to school, there was never a willing hug or kiss to say goodbye (which always broke my heart).  Everytime I would take a picture of Sue, her smiles always seemed forced.  I know it's because she knew that she was adopted and these were not her "real" parents.  Although many days I feel like I gave birth to her, it is hard to know that she knows I did not.

So where does a blended family go from there?  Well, here we are 10 years later.  It is a relationship that is ongoing.  God Loves us both and wants nothing but the best for us.

Here are some pics of Sue.





We love her and can't wait to see what God has in store for her life.

She is a bubbly, energetic, sassy and fiery little girl. God uses her daily to teach me things about patience, loving guidance and many other things. 

I am glad I have this journal to document everything so later in life, I can look back and know that God's hand has moved in my life.  He is diligent.  God is Love!  And God loves Sue!  :-)

Monday, May 11, 2015

Mother's Day fun!

I had such a great time on Mother's Day!  To be a mom is such an honor.  Such a huge task and blessing to bring up kids and lead them up in not only a Godly way but instructional way too.  I pray that God can help me to show love and lots of guidance.  Lord knows I have had some low points of being a mom and knowing that I have messed up and not as patient as I should be but God is also showing me, I am human and he doesn't expect perfection.


Tulips for days!  Can't wait to plant these in the yard.


My husband also got me a chocolate covered strawberries from edible arrangements. So yummy!  I will say though, my son ate most of the strawberries.  The strawberries were very moist and the chocolate was melt in your mouth.



My daughter wrote a nice poem.  Her thoughts were nicely organized and communicated in such a touching way. Although she did have some spelling errors that really hit an OCD nerve.  I had to let that go and focus on what she wrote.  I am a stickler when it comes to spelling (so hopefully there are no grammatical errors here).  But the time, love and energy she put into it was felt through the letter!  If she focused her creativity on writing, she could definitely go somewhere with it.


James made me a clay type piece of art.  He called it a sun god.  The very though counts that he made it and he is only 10.  I don't care what it is, it is going in the curio.  Although I think the paint colors are very creative.

And then we headed over to Daytona Lagoon and had a great time.






You never know what tomorrow will bring so treasure every day.  And be sure not to lose yourself in the midst of the day.  The enemy looks around to see who he can devour and destroy.  Stand Guard Always!  And pray hard.

On my last note, I had to post this cute pic of a mom and her son. There is just something about a momma and her son.  No question ever at any time of day, any day of the week, He loves his momma.  This picture I thought was cute and makes me sob thinking about it.


So true!

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Hats!

So I have realized hats are just my thing.  Cowboy hats, berets, baseball caps.  Here are some of my favs!


The fedora - very trendy.  Some days I like it some days I don't.  This day I was liking it.  


My husbands cowboy hat with my serious face.  I'd like a cowboy hat that looks a little more girly.  


Military FsU cap - love love this one.  Especially since my honey is a die hard Seminoles fan.  


Last but not least the sun hat.  This is great for those beach days.  


That's about it.  I just love hats!!!  I own more and maybe I'll post more.

Do you like hats?  Do you have a favorite?

Monday, May 4, 2015

Sailing the High Seas - Memories to last a lifetime

One of the first points in trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle is to schedule in some fun time in life!  And what a fun time me and my main squeeze experienced this past weekend.

We took a cruise to the BAHAMAS!!!!


Day 1

We entered the ship and were just wide eyed the whole time.  This being our first cruise, we weren't sure what to expect but our expectations were exceeded for sure!


This is pic of our stateroom.  It was an interior room and a little smaller than I imagined but it worked out well for 3 nights.


My honey had the idea of getting this heart filled with rose petals to wait for us when we got to the room. I loved it!!!!  So thoughtful and really meant a lot.  



He also had this bag of suntan lotion waiting on the bed for me too. 


Pictures around the cruise ship





One of the first things we caught on to, was the amount of food on the ship.  It all tasted so good!



And the drinks were endless, Tom is holding a red bull concoction.  It was a red bull mixed with strawberry puree and maybe Sprite.  It was really tasty.






The cruise ship was 11 decks high.





Day 2


We arrived to the Bahamas!  A cute, young couple took our picture for us.



Walking with the crowd into Nassau



There were 3 boats that pulled into port on Saturday - Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival


We stopped by SeƱor Frog's to take a quick pic






Day 2 was formal night, so for our evening dinner, we got dressed up!




Honey in his tux!


Beautiful picture with the sunset and Carnival cruise lines in the background








Day 3 Our trip to Coco-Cay.  Royal Caribbean has their own private island called Coco Cay.  To say that it felt like we were in paradise was an understatement.  Sitting in hammocks enjoying Pina Colada's.  That is the life!








Bermuda, Bahama, Come on Pretty Mama....

Back to the Boat! 


This boat took us back and forth from the cruise ship to the island.  To say it was a little rocky, was an understatement.  There was at least a 30 minute delay to the island because the seas were a little choppy.  The cruise director said the winds were 25 knots and not safe to transport.  So we waited it out and boy was it worth it!




End of Day 3



What a fun time.  We came home this morning while the kids were in school and napped and unpacked.  We can not wait to go again.

Some definite musts on the next cruise.....

Schedule tours on the island. So we can fully get a glimpse of the area and day to day life and truly make the best use of our time there.
Go snorkeling at Coco Cay!
Get a room with a balcony or just a view in general.

Overall, it was a great experience and we would definitely do again.  I was so impressed by the staff and their willingness to help and accommodate our every need.

Thank you Lord that we were able to take a cruise!  We are definitely doing again and next time bringing our kiddos.  They would have enjoyed a lot of the activities on board too.

With that, I am ending this long post!  Make it a great week!