Christmas Thrills

Here are a few photos of my family enjoying ourselves Christmas morning. It was a joyous morning which started out with our oldest son reading a scripture and then my hubby leading us in prayer. Then it was time to rip open the paper that I so carefully wrapped (I keep telling myself it was worth the effort), and have a screaming fit over what they got! I can't say anything about screaming, because I broke a few decibels when I opened mine and discovered that after almost 18 yrs of marriage, my hubby FINALLY bought me a Dooney & Bourke bag!!! I've bought all the others myself, although he "claims" that he was going to buy one of them a few years ago, but I beat him to it! He's so funny! He even got his toy that he's been hinting to for a while....his prized GPS system. Working my little dept. store job paid off bigtime!!!

Before the attack

The aftermath

Me and my newest addition to my Dooney family!

Hubby and his toys!

Davon showing off his Leapster and prize-winning smile!

Christian and his Cars laptop (wanted a laptop like Daddy!)

Darian and his favorite action figure!

DJ and the LeapFrog Didj that he's bugged us about for months! Is the smile priceless or what?


DeeDee & CeeCee with the much talked about phones and their Daddy who reluctantly has to pay the extra bill! At least he's still smiling! LOL



Hope everybody had a blessed day filled with family and fun!

Christmas Blessing!

Just wanted to wish everyone a joyous and blessed Christmas! I hope everyone got what they wanted (or at least close!)! I got my Dooney (I'll include pics later), hallelujah!!!!! It's been very hectic with me working part-time and trying to shop (at the last minute) and then wrap everything. My girls were a big help in wrapping their brothers' presents and helping keep the house looking presentable. Before everything is over, I will post pics of my decorations and the kids attack of the presents! LOL Right now, I'm just going to chill from eating way too much good food!!!

Be Blessed and remember, JESUS is the reason for the season!!!

Show and Tell Friday - Snowman Pillows

Hey there ladies! My tootsies are killing me from working today, but I couldn't go to bed without posting! Earlier this week my oldest daughter had to help out at her Cosmetology class' late night class and I had to kill an hour waiting for her since driving back home and coming back was pointless. I stopped at Texas Thrift Store which was down the street from her school. I had just planned on looking around, but of course something had to catch my eye! These snowmen pillows were so cute and the price was unbelievable......$0.95 each !!! Then to top it off, everything except for green ticket items were 50% off! So that's a little less than fifty cents each! I brought them home and febreezed them to death and they reside on the couch now!

I'm Still Around!

Just wanted to say hi to everybody and let you know that I'm still around. I've been working a part-time job at a department store to help with Christmas, and I'm totally worn out when I get home. Keep me in your prayers that I don't have to do this long, because I'm tired of hurting! LOL Hopefully, later in the week I can post some pictures of my decorations. I'm still putting them up, since I'm too tired to do them all at once! Have a great Monday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Life's been a little hectic, so I haven't had a chance to post in a while. I didn't get to participate in Kelli's Giving Thanks post, like I wanted to, but I'll put a few pics on here of my decorations before I take them down. Today was filled with a lot of family and food (we stuffed ourselves!). We ate at my cousin's house and I think everyone really enjoyed themselves a lot! Christian's (my baby boy) birthday was yesterday, and one of my little cousins was this past Saturday, so they got to enjoy singing in their honor and a cake too! I'm so thankful for my family and God allowing us to enjoy each other's company today! Hope everyone had a great day also!

Giving Thanks - My Blessings

These are my greatest blessings and I thank God for them everyday! Not only were we blessed to have two lovely daughters by birth, but then we received four more blessings by adoption. There is never a dull moment in our household! We might not get invited to many houses because of our size, and people in restaurants and stores may stare trying to "figure" us out, but that's okay, because this was God's plan! I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!

Not The Brightest Idea!

Being the only day that was feasible, I decided to have a yard sale this morning. Why did I pick the only day in North Texas that it decides to be 43 degrees with hideous winds???? I pulled out all my daughter's stuff (she moved in a room with her sister because of new little bro), and proceeded to sit outside wrapped up in a blanket (with my orange creme cappucino) and sell, sell, sell! I sold $2 worth of stuff, which caused me to break even for the $0.97 signs I bought at Wal-Mart, that blew off into the sunset. Hence, only one sale, because my advertisement is somewhere in the prairie fields of North Texas by now!!! Anyhoo, now I know to only have garage sales when the whole subdivision has one. You live and learn! :)

Show & Tell Friday: Fab Fall Find!

I went to the mall last Saturday and I couldn't resist going in one of my fav stores, Kirkland's. Much to my surprise, they had Halloween/Fall decorations on sale for 75% off! This wreath was regularly $29.99 and I got it for $7.50!!! Made me want to cut a step!:) My door is ready for Thanksgiving now!!! If you have a Kirkland's nearby, check them out for decorations! They had some awesome Christmas goodies too!

Did You Vote? I Did!!!!

I'm so proud of myself and my hubby! Today was our first time ever voting! Yeah, I know, we are sheltered "kids" who don't get out much! Hee Hee! On a serious note, though, my parents didn't vote for religious reasons (as my mom put it), so I was never interested. My hubby felt like it didn't matter if he did or not, so he never did. Well after 43 and 44 years, respectively, we both got out there this morning and did it! Of course it had to be a comical undertaking for us, or it just wouldn't have been right! After dropping our oldest off at Cosmetology class, we passed a fire station where they were voting. Hubby forgot his medicine that I was going to have to go home and get after dropping him off, so he said we could come back to that one. Well, when I came back to pick him up (an hour later), I passed another fire station right across the street from his job and he said we could just go there. We parked, got out and were greeted by the sweetest little old ladies! We told one that it was our first time and she was so happy and told us it was her first time working there! After searching for our names, which were not there, we were told that we were supposed to go to a different location closer to our house! Hence, the journey to find the unknown, never heard of elementary school where we were supposed to be! After following directions on my iPhone and making a few wrong turns, we made it!!! It was a painless process, in which I learned to color in the boxes instead of checking them off as I initially started to do!!! Wow, if the candidates only knew the trauma involved in filling their offices! (Smile)

Sorry my picture is blurry! My camera kept giving me an image with a hideous ghostly glare (Halloween is over, ok), and this was the best one I could get with my phone.

Show and Tell Friday - Fall Festival Finds

Last weekend, our church had a fall festival and I racked up some beautiful suits that my pastor's wife donated. Each year when we have it, she donates suits and I usually help set up the night before, so I get first pick! She helps me stay divafied!!! These were $100+ suits and I got them for $10 each! Can I get an amen?!!

Cute Things Kids Say!

I just had to share these with someone!!!! We were getting ready to go to a wedding a couple of weeks ago, and as I was getting the boys' clothes together, they were asking where we were going. I told them we were going to Rhonda's wedding, and my youngest asked if we were going to her house or to our church to get wet!!! Rhonda's wetting!!! Hee Hee!

This week the boys' school had a mock election where the kids could vote. My three older boys were excitedly telling me and each other that they voted for Barack Obama. My youngest was quiet, so I asked him several minutes later (so I would get the real answer and not swayed by his brothers)who he voted for. He thought for a second, and then said, very proudly, "Back Omama"!!!!

Today, Darian told me in the car that he needed cans for his school's Canned Drive Food Thru!!! I assume he thought it was a drive thru for canned goods!

Help a Diva Out Please!!!

Would somebody let me know how they get the beautiful backgrounds on their blogs? Hadias (she's awesome!) had told me to go to Love's School blog and follow her directions, but for some reason I couldn't get it to work right. Any suggestions? I'm so tired of this standard pink one! Argggggh!

Show and Tell Friday: My New Best Friend!

Today I'm showing off what I was blessed with last week! Our previous vacuum cleaner, which is parked behind the door in our bedroom, stopped picking up dirt the normal way. I say normal, because it's supposed to collect the dirt and I'm supposed to empty it. It had another understanding of it's operation apparently, because it was collecting dirt and spitting it out the back (ouch), while I was vacuuming! It was also leaving little clumps of dirt behind. Well, much to my chagrin, it was put on the backburner due to finances, and I was going around scraping dirt up with my fingers! Not a pleasant task, to say the least! Since my daughter was supposed to have her sleepover last weekend, hubby decided it was time to get something. After conferring with his co-workers about which brand was best (a man thing), we decided to check out the local Oreck store. After a lengthy demonstration by a very sweet saleslady, we forked over the credit card, and I walked away a truly happy camper!!! It's a homemakers dream come true! It makes our three-year old cheap builder's choice carpet look brand new! It comes with a canister vacuum that has a shoulder strap (every diva should have one!), which makes it easy to carry up the stairs as I'm vacuuming. The upright is very lightweight and has two settings (one for carpet and one for hardwood, ceramic tile or linoleum). This particular model came with a 10 yr. warranty and was cheaper than the online models because they are phasing these out. I hope I don't sound vain, but I'm so excited after going weeks without a functional vacuum cleaner and crawling on my knees to get the job done!!!

Birthday Girl

I'm so proud that my oldest daughter turned 16 today! We celebrated all weekend starting Friday evening. I chauffered her and her friends to one of her friend's homecoming game and then out to eat at IHop. The game was on the other side of town, so to save gas, I visited with my pastor and wife, who live close to the stadium. Saturday, she had planned to go to the mall, but her friends flaked on her. I was less than thrilled because I knew she wasn't happy, so I asked if she and her sister would like to tag along to the bridal shower I was going to while they would've been at the mall. They agreed and ended up having a good time. Sunday we had a family dinner for her at my cousin's house. I think that made up for missing the mall too, because she was treated like a true princess!

Movie Night

Normally, Mondays aren't a date night, but our assistant pastor (my lil' bro) sent me an email, inviting the couples at our church to go see "Fireproof" with Kirk Cameron. It was an amazing movie and I highly recommend it to everyone. Go to www.fireproofthemovie.com and check out the trailer. You know how we women are........had us in tears at the end!!!

Show and Tell Friday

This is my first show and tell post, and I wanted to show off something very dear to me. These were earrings that belonged to my mother, and I used to love going in her jewelry box and trying them on! She had many pretty ones, but these were always my favorites. Now that she's gone to be with the Lord, I've acquired her collection and wear them occasionally on Sundays. I've gotten many compliments on them, which brings a smile to my face because they remind me of her. Thanks for letting me join the show and tell post, Kelli!

Good Start

I made a delicious strawberry-pineapple-banana smoothie this morning to jump start my day. Hopefully, it will help me be more productive! I've got some projects to tackle, so I'm praying that I get something accomplished today!

I turned 21 today! plus 22! (hee hee!)

Happy Birthday to me!!! I had a great birthday!!! My wonderful hubby took me to dinner yesterday at Pappadeaux's, which is my second favorite restaurant (Olive Garden is #1) and where I have my must-have dessert of creme brulee every year! After dinner (stuffed shrimp was awesome!), we went to see Tyler Perry's new movie, "The Family that Preys", which was really good. This morning I was served breakfast by my hubby and kiddos, after a wonderful introduction by my hubby as I was coming down the hallway! Too cute! I got lots of great cards (homemade are the best!) and gifts, which mostly consisted of used toys! LOL! I got a brand new tambourine, which was a thrill since my old one has lost most of it's jingles! I enjoyed playing it at church today! At church, my birthday was mentioned during the announcements and I got clapping and cheering and some friends that sang to me also, after church was out. After church, between services, we went to the Cotton Patch Cafe, where the crew sang Happy Birthday to me backwards! They were standing with their backs to me, while singing!!! Too funny! Then we went back to church for our Sunday evening IMPACT service, and then to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream! I had a great day and I thank God for my sweet hubby and precious kiddos!!!

Thanking God!

We have so much to be thankful for! I thank God for my family and my life and all the wonderful blessings He's bestowed upon us daily! I'm very thankful that we only got rain and a little wind on last weekend, with no property damage. I praise Him for my family members in Houston who were only midly affected by the storm. I thank Him for the rainbow after the storm! God is an awesome God and truly amazing!!!

I love nails!

Being unemployed for the moment (long moment....over a yr!), I've learned to do some things myself. My daughters are always wanting to get their nails done (DD#2 settles for glue-on nails), but we don't have the extra funds for them. A former co-worker told me that she did her own nails, which looked like she went to the salon. She told me to buy the french manicure set with the nail strips and do it myself. Well, after much trial and error, the end results are shown in the pics! I'm so proud of myself! I used my Avon nail corrector pen to clean up the lines, as the guides don't get them completely straight when you pull them off. Now I'm going to attempt my older daughters nails, if she lets me!!! Wanted my nails to look cute today for our Pastor & First Lady's Anniversary service!!

One Week Down!!!

Today completes the first week of school and by the grace of God, I'm stilll sane!!! WooHoo! Everybody has gotten to school on time and remembered to take nearly everything. Of course, DD#2 forgot her schedule the first day and couldn't find her gym shorts on the third day, and FS forgot his lunch one day, but overall we did good. DD#1 likes her cosmetology class (thank God!) and I hope I make it through the rest of the year having to take her every morning. After spending almost $1K for this class, you'd think the school district could at least provide bus transportation to and from the school, which is in another district. But, that would be too easy. The kids have to be dropped off and then the bus transports them back to their home campus. Oh well, at least I have free hairdos for me and DD#2 to look forward to in the future!!!

Pre-Adoption Drama

We are in the midst of trying to adopt our foster son, who is the biological brother to our oldest son. Our other three sons are adopted also, and their journeys to becoming ours weren't near as long and arduous as this one! We were called in January 2007 and asked if we would be interested in fostering and possibly adopting DS#1's younger brother. We prayed and talked it over and decided that it would be best to keep them together, since FS was aware of his big brother and wanted to live with him. Being that he was only 6 years old at the time, he didn't really understand the concept. I think he just thought he was going to visit his brother that his birth mom told him about, but didn't realize that this meant she wasn't going to be around anymore. Several months went by with little to no contact from DFPS, when finally we got a call in June 2007 that his mother was missing. Relatives were "claiming" that they were unaware of her whereabouts, but the caseworkers felt that she deliberately dropped out of the picture once she knew that he would be going to be with his brother. Her rights were finally terminated in December of 2007 (dad could never be found, so his rights were terminated automatically) and FS became available for adoption. The case has dragged on and on due to the fact that he came from The River City, where we previously lived and adopted the others, and we live in Cowtown now, which is in another region of DFPS. In a perfect world, departments under the same agency in the same state would work together to get things done. But, as we all know, this is not a perfect world, and none of that has happened yet! None of the workers "know" anything and don't try to find out until I start making phone calls and bugging people to do their jobs. I just pray that this will all be over soon (they claim by the end of July) and in time for him to begin school on August 25th with a new last name!

My first post!!!

Hey Y'all! I've always wanted to do this, so here goes!!! I'm just starting out, so it'll be under construction for a while, but all good things take time!