Have a Blessed and Joyous Christmas!

I just want to wish all of my blogging friends and wonderful and joyous Christmas! It's been hectic around here with shopping (in the snow) at the last minute and gift wrapping after midnight! Hope everybody enjoys their day and those of us in North Texas, enjoy the snow!!! It'll probably be hot tomorrow! lol

Here's a few pics I took today while I was out last minute shopping. This is a rarity in Texas, so take a close look! Be Blessed!

A Christmas Survey

I saw this cool Christmas meme over at Denise's blog at Organized Homemaking for Christ. I love filling stuff like this in....


About the TREE....
1.When do you put up the Christmas tree? Usually, we put it up the Saturday after Thanksgiving..
2. Real or fake? We have an artificial tree(fake sounds so un-glam!)
3. Lights? What color? hundreds of them in white (clear)
4. Garland? They're actually strands of ivory, rose and burgundy beads
5. Theme or no theme? The main tree has burgundy, rose and gold decorations, but not an actual theme. Some of the smaller trees throughout the house have sports or candy themes
6. What kind of topper? A star with white lights
7. What's your favorite ornament? a beautiful little gold and burgundy church
8. What does your tree skirt look like? burgundy velvet with a gold trim
9. Where do you put your tree? In my husband's office, right in front of the window
10. Who decorates the tree? The whole family
11.What's "under" the tree? Nothing yet
12. Do you put candy canes on your tree? Not on the big one, but on one of the smaller ones (little candy canes)

About the FOODS....
1. What's your favorite Christmas cookie? sugar cookies with decorations on them
2. Do you bake cookies and give them away? I bake them, but have never given them away. I might do Denise's jar idea this year.
3. Any "special" foods or candy that you only have at Christmas time? I have a recipe for candy made from almond bark and peanut m&ms, that I only do for Christmas time
4. What do you eat Christmas EVE? a light meal
5. What do you eat on Christmas day? Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, biscuits or pastries and juice; Lunch: really just a snack because dinner is early; Dinner: Ham, turkey, tamales, green beans, dressing with cranberry sauce, mac and cheese abd deserts galore!
6. Do you like Eggnog?? I love eggnog, eggnog ice cream, eggnog lattes from Starbucks....
7. Do you like candy canes? I love peppermint, which was my daddy's favorite
1. Where do you hang your stockings? Fireplace mantel
2. Do you put lights on your house? Not yet; hopefully one day when I can afford to pay someone to hang them (lol)
3. Got any outside lawn decorations? I have a porch tree that I just got at Belk, and small Christmas trees with lights, snowmen path lights and lighted gift boxes
4. Do you put up a nativity (crèche)? Not outside, but I have a small one in the house
5. Do you hang mistletoe over the door? No, but I might do that this year
6. Got a wreath on your front door? Yes, a big, beautiful gold one
7. How long does it take you to decorate? Most of December! The year we moved in, I decorated on Christmas eve (we moved in on the 22nd), because I was determined that the kiddos would have a semi-normal Christmas!

About the movies/show
1 . Favorite Children's Xmas TV show/cartoon? Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
2. Wonderful Life/Miracle on 34th St/A Christmas Carol (Scrooge)..Miracle on 34th St.
Favorite Christmas movie?? A Christmas Story, we watch it as a family ever year and crack up laughing every year!
4. Have you ever seen the Nutcracker Suite Ballet live? No
5. Ever been to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show?? No
6. Ever gone to the movies on Xmas Day? No

Other Christmas things....
1. Favorite Christmas book or story? The story of Jesus' birth
2. Do you stuff your stockings with any types of food? For the kids? We do little toys and candy and jewelry (for the girls)
3. Do you go to church on Christmas or Christmas Eve? Depending on what day it falls on, we usually have a Christmas program and if there's a Wednesday night right before, we usually omit bible study and have a service
4. Have you ever gone Caroling? When I worked at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, we went caroling on base
5. Favorite Christmas Carol? The First Noel
6. Do you believe in Santa? Yes, I'm married to him!
7. Do you leave Santa cookies? No, because Santa is a diabetic (type 2) and doesn't need to be enticed!
8. What about Rudolph...what about him? I can't single him out, without doing for Donner, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, etc.
9. What was your best Christmas gift? My Dooney & Bourke giraffe print "June" bag, that I got last year!
10. What was the worst/most odd gift? Hmmmm...
11. Do you go to a "work" Christmas party? Since we moved to Fort Worth, we haven't. My husband's job usually has a luncheon at Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Restaurant and only I go with him. My job doesn't do one since we're at a store and nobody's ever off at the same time.
12. Do you hate going? No, it's okay
13. Do you send Christmas cards? Haven't in a while, but hopefully we'll get a few out this year
14. Do you make a "list"? Yes
15. Do you check it twice? & thrice & etc...Yes
16.When do you start shopping? When I have money
17.Do you shop on Black Friday? I had to work it this year, but I have before
20. ARE YOU READY FOR CHRISTMAS? I'm always ready for Christmas!!! My favorite holiday ever!

TAG! You're it.
I Tag:
All my blogging friends! I would love to see what you put for your answers!

I'm Thankful!

I find it amazing how we jump from Halloween to Christmas and hardly even acknowledge Thanksgiving. The store that I work in has literally shoved the fall items in a corner, placed them 50% off and prominently displayed the Christmas stuff back in late September! Don't get me wrong, because Christmas is my favorite holiday, but Thanksgiving is next in line and I celebrate it just as much. I know that we should be thankful everyday, but that in itself should be even more reason to make a big deal out of the actual day. God has given me many reasons to be thankful and I have no problem celebrating the holiday! Yeah, turkey is wonderful and being around family is too, but just to think of what God has done in our lives is the reason for the holiday (in my opinion). I'm thankful for my husband, children and extended families (including in-loves and godparents and their family too. I'm thankful for all of my blogging friends and the awards that I've received. I especially want to thank Gloria from Gloria's Blog Viva la Vida, who is so sweet about giving me awards that I don't even feel worthy of receiving! I'm very thankful that God chose me to be one of his children and for watching over and protecting us daily. He is such a good and loving God and He is worthy to be praised!!!

I know I haven't posted much, but I'm still around and reading and enjoying a lot of blogs! I've got a lot to do in the coming week and a half. I have a to do list of things to make ready before Thanksgiving when all the relatives converge on our home! Lack of money will probably cut the list in half, but cleaning and small projects (i.e. hanging curtains and room decor) will definitely keep me busy! Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! I do hope to post some pics of my fall decor this week. Until then, have a blessed week!

Mums the Word!

I know it's been a while since I posted, and I'm so sorry! Life has been extra hectic with having to drop off and pick up kiddos everyday, plus added activities, church and work. Not much time for breathing! My house is a mess (no, really) and my days seem so short with little time to do anything after I get home (to stay) besides cook, help with homework and go to bed.

Anyhow,I've spent the last three evenings shopping for and working on homecoming mums for both of my daughters. I got the wild idea to make them when my daughter brought home a brochure and I thought I could do them myself. The girl that makes them only charged $40 for the smallest (which was still large), but money is tight and hubby didn't get paid until this past Tuesday and the homecoming game was last night (Friday). Too short of a time period to have one made, so I volunteered to make my oldest daughter's since this is her senior year and she never asked for one until now. My shopping time was limited to one hour on Tuesday evening (after spaghetti dinner fundraiser at the boys' school), none on Wednesday (due to flooding rains in the evening---gotta love TX!) and two hours on Thursday evening (had to add an Avon delivery in there too). I stayed up until 4:20 a.m. trying to get them both finished (oh yeah, daughter #2 made her request known at Hobby Lobby!) before they left for school. After the boys left, I had to call my neighbor and ask her to help me with her glue gun to get them both finished. She glued the backing in place and a few ribbons on Deondra's and I glued the backing on Cedraya's. These are the finished products below. I think I did pretty good for a first time effort! I spent a little over $40 each, which was what the girl charged that gave Deondra the brochure, but I wouldn't have had the money in time to get them back before the homecoming game. I think I did a decent job and they seemed happy. That's what counts, right? Anyway, maybe I'll have more time next year. Cedraya wants one for every year now, so maybe I can make some for other people and make some resale shop and garage store money! lol

I learned that senior mums are white with an added accent color. Deondra chose pink for hers.



Here's some little extras



Since Cedraya is a freshman, hers has to be the school colors (black & gold). Yes, there's mum protocol!



The finished products......





The happy campers....



Be Blessed!

What an Awesome Day!

I just wanted to share what an awesome day I had today! It started off in church, and what a time we had!!! My lil' bro (he adopted me), who is our assistant pastor, preached an awesome message titled, "A Yet Praise." While listening to him, I really thought about all the things I've been going through (no, life isn't perfect)and realized that through no matter what, yet will I praise Him! I put aside all my insecurities and wants (not needs) and complaints, and just praised His Holy name! God has been so good, in spite of all that's going on around us. I need to be thankful for my family, my home, my job and stop complaining about the kids not doing what I need them to do, about the house not being big enough, about not having the job that I desire and about the pain that comes with working this present job. I'm just grateful that God has allowed me and my family to see yet another day, and for that I praise Him!

We had our church picnic today after service, and we had a really good time there, too. The kids got soaking wet with water balloons, and they enjoyed playing and hanging out with their friends. I enjoyed just being around the saints. Afterwards, we went to my cousin's house for a dinner to celebrate my aunt's, my cousin's and my birthday. We were all within days of each other. I really had a lot of fun all day and now I'm going to bed!!!

My cousin, Cavon, me and her mom, my aunt Roxie (we are all in September, with the same ending number in our ages - 64,44 & 34!)



Be Blessed!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Today is the 23rd anniversary of my 21st birthday!!! lol Yes, today is my 44th year on Earth, thank the Lord! I'm not ashamed to say how young I am, because it's a blessing to be here in the land of the living! I just wanted to share a few pictures on my day! Hubby and my precious kiddos gave me these beautiful roses and cards.




Sweet hubby says there's more to come, but he's not feeling well today, so my festivities will continue on another day. Keep my honey in your prayers.
There's so much sickness going around. As one of my favorite gospel songs says, "You pray for me, I'll pray for you and watch God change things!"

Show & Tell Friday - Garage Sale Finds

Today I'm joining in Kelli's Show & Tell over at her wonderful blog, There is No Place Like Home. A few weeks ago my neighbor had a moving sale and I found these oil bottles for $2 a piece.



Everywhere I've seen these bottles, they are normally at least $8-$10 each, if not more. Macy's had some for $20!!!! All they needed was a little wiping down and I made a nice little top of the refridgerator display. I got the planter for free from a friend, whose daughter had a garage sale and this was left over. I love FREE Home Interiors items! (Ignore the plastic ring from the juice container that hubby left on top of the fridge! lol)

I also got this cute organizer for the boy's room. I've always wanted one, but they were a bit pricey. Of course this one is a little worn, but what isn't in their room! lol I got it for $8, which wasn't too bad. The family that had the sale was selling everything, trying to get enough money to go home to Hawaii. Things were kinda overpriced, and I know I probably could've gotten them cheaper, but I wanted to help them out.



Garage sales are so much fun!!! You never know what you might end up with!

Be Blessed!

I'm Baaaaack!!!

I am back from my much needed vacation! I thoroughly enjoyed vacationing ALONE and being pampered and treated like a princess! I went to visit my godparents in Atlanta and when I go there, they treat me like I'm their birth child and I come back more spoiled than I was to begin with! lol

For those of you that haven't been, Atlanta is sooooo pretty! I'm from Texas, and although our surroundings are beautiful too, Georgia has us on the trees and landscaping! The trees were abundant, the grass was soooo green and flowers were everywhere! I mean you could pass a broke down looking automotive shop and they had flowers out in front! No kidding! I enjoyed having doors opened for me, riding in beautiful cars and eating, eating and eating. Oh yeah, and SHOPPING, SHOPPING, SHOPPING! I got to go to America's Mart in downtown ATL, where they have the sample sales from the designers. Then I got to go to Lenox Mall and Belk at Phipps Mall. It was nice to see another Belk, and especially a bigger one, to compare to the one I work at. Labor Day, I got to go to the outlet mall and do some more shopping!

We ate out everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My godfather's church's hospitality department gave us (his sister, her friend and me) fruit baskets that weighed a ton! Aunt Becky said she just knew there was a brick in the bottom of the basket!!! lol I ended up bringing fruit home for the kids to eat! I'm talking about humongous Georgia peaches, oranges that looked like grapefruits, pears, apples and grapes galore! I tried to eat some while at the hotel, but we ate out so much that I didn't get much of a chance. We ate at Spondivits, Tavern on the Green, Landmark Diner, Piccadilly's, Fat Matt's BBQ, just to name a few! I know I'm probably a tad fluffier than I was before I left! hee hee!

Anyway, even if they hadn't spent a dime on me, I would have been just as thrilled. It was a honor and a priviledge just to be among the saints of God! Everyone was so sweet and I had an awesome time at church. My hubby and Cedraya want to move to Atlanta now! Deondra is undecided because she doesn't want to leave her friends or boyfriend, but it was funny how they were suddenly interested in moving when I told them how much I enjoyed myself!

As far as I'm concerned, I have the most amazing godparents! They were good friends of my parents (Bishop and my dad started out in the ministry together),and when I lost my parents (best in the world, I might add), they told me that they were my family now. Not as replacements, but to continue with the love and support where my parents left off. I always appreciated the fact that they are very down to earth people that haven't let money or position affect them. Just truly sweet people!

I really enjoyed myself and look forward to seeing them again. It was wonderful to get much needed rest and have fun at the same time, but I really did miss my family. Glad to be back home with my hubby and kiddos!

Oh and you would think that being the daughter of a professional photographer would mean that I would have pictures galore of my trip......WRONG! I enjoyed myself so much that everytime I left the hotel room, I would accidentally leave my camera in the suitcase!!! As Bugs Bunny used to say, "what a maroon!" I didn't actually think about it until Sunday evening, so I have a few pictures from church that night.

Aunt Becky (my godfather's sister), Mother Owens (my godmother) and me!


Me being cute! hee hee!


Aunt Becky, Regina (our hostess and driver for the week) & Miss Nadine (Aunt Becky's friend)


An awesome painting of the former presiding bishops of the Church of God in Christ, with the pastor of the church where the convocation was held, in the middle. My godfather, Bishop Chandler Owens, is on the bottom right corner.


Since I had my moments in giddyness and forgot to get a picture with my goddaddy, I pulled one from when he preached in Dallas a couple of years ago.

Much Needed Break!

I know I haven't posted a lot lately, but I'm about to take a much needed break from EVERYTHING!!! I am going BY MYSELF to Atlanta to visit my godparents and enjoy their church's jurisdictional state meeting (my godfather is a Church of God in Christ bishop). I'll be leaving in the morning and will be back next Tuesday. They're excited that I'm coming, and I'm excited to be going! Join me in praying that my dear sweet hubby can handle everything (as he says he can) and that my dear sweet children don't give him a hard time! Hubby was sweet enough to give me his free airline ticket built up from his American Airlines awards points. He could've easily used it for himself and flown to Kentucky to see his family, but a few months ago he told me to call and find out when the meeting dates were and see about going. What a guy! Gotta keep him! lol

Anyway, it's after midnight and I still have lots to do before I leave. Stay blessed and I'll be back with you soon! Luv ya lots!

~Chondra

Back in the Swing of Things!

Today school started and I'm so happy! Oops, I'm not supposed to show such emotion. (smile) Anyhoo, the kiddos were excited and very happy. Everybody got where they were supposed to be without any mishaps, thank the Lord! Deondra is a senior this year and her cosmetology class is in the afternoon this year. Cedraya is a freshman this year and very excited about being in choir. DJ is in his last year in elementary, so he refers to everything now as the "big" kids and the "little" kids! lol Darian and Davon are now third graders and very quick to tell little brother, Christian what to expect in second grade! They don't notice that he ignores them while they are talking!

Well, I'll be heading back to work tomorrow. Thank God for the day off to get everybody situated! I'm looking forward to a blessed school year! Here's a couple of pics of the kiddos. Deondra told me to wait until tomorrow to take her pic because she wanted one in tomorrow's outfit! Too funny!

Happy campers!


She's a freshman now!

Hectic Life!

My life has been so hectic lately, it's been really hard to slow down to even enjoy looking at a computer! Trying to be supermom, superwife and superemployee is not working well at all. I. AM. TIRED. There never seems to be enough time in the day, or enough hands to handle everything. I have yet to figure out how to handle the behavioral outbursts/verbal attacks/undermining and manipulations of a behavior-challenged child, while trying to pacify the other five siblings (two who are highly annoyed with said child) and husband, who travels frequently and needs attention too when he's home. This isn't exactly the life I imagined when we signed up for foster care & adoption classes. The best thing I've figured so far, is to PRAY.

Now school is about to start (whoo hoo!), so I'm pushing all the drama aside to buy school clothes, school supplies and pick up schedules, meet teachers and so forth. Perfect wife, mother, employee, and blogger, I am not. A woman who loves God, her family and friends, I am. While there may be gaps in my blogging, know that I'm here trying to keep afloat in the sea of life, and being uplifted by my blogging friends posts during the few minutes of computer time that I may get each day!

Love you guys! Be Blessed!

Short Break

I'm back from taking a small blogging break that I didn't mention before taking. Sorry! My cousin passed away in Houston last Tuesday, and we decided that I would go and the girls rode with me. God blessed us to have a really good trip, despite the circumstances of our going. I was able to see relatives that I hadn't seen in years and some for the first time. That was really great. I'm going to miss my cousin's over the phone speeches about life that he would give whenever I talked to him. I always got off the phone with a big smile on my face, because he was humorous and really sweet and meant well, even if his speeches didn't make a whole lot of sense! lol Since I'm an only child and was born late into my parents lives, my first cousins are all a lot older than me. Wayne was more like a big brother than a cousin, so he will really be missed. Please keep his son and daughter in prayer, and all the grandchildren (12, plus 2 great-grands), and the entire Smith clan.

I Love Shoes!!!

Ok, what diva doesn't love shoes???? Nancy over at Southern Lady had a shoe show on Thursday, and my laptop was having issues in retardation, so I didn't get to participate on time. Hopefully, Nancy doesn't mind me be a late add-on. She's a sweet southern belle, so I'm sure she'll cut another southerner some slack! lol Well, I counted my stash and I have around 75 pairs of shoes. I might have missed a few that my daughter probably has in her room, so I might be a little under. I narrowed my favorites down to three (in the name of brevity), with a little write up on each.

Here I am at age 7 weeks! My shoe obsession started early! lol This is the only baby picture I have with black patent leather shoes on, because my mom didn't like them for babies and since these were a gift, she had my dad take a picture of me in them! I had pastel or white shoes only!!! She "made" me buy the same for my girls and quickly turned her nose up when I neared a pair of black shoes! Needless to say, they never got any either until they were pre-school age!


These are my all-time favorites! I call these my "livin' life like it's golden" shoes! These shoes were $86.00 at Foley's (now Macy's) and I drooled over them for several months. They finally went on sale for $59.99. I still drooled until my pastor gave me a $25 gift certificate for helping out at a women's conference. I quickly made my way to the mall! When I got to the counter, the sales lady told me that if I waited two days there would be an additional 15% off coupon that I could apply! Two days later, I went back to pick up my shoes and plunked down a whopping total of $28.13!!!!!! Yay me! Oh, yes the pantyhose are gold too!


Last, but not least, are my Fergalicious Easter shoes!!! Have you ever walked by a pair of shoes that stopped you in your tracks??!! These stopped me! I looked at them several times, and then set out to find the perfect outfit to go with them. They debuted on JCPenney shelves in early spring, so I quickly named them my Easter shoes. Finding the outfit was the next thing! They started off at $59.99, but finally went down to $34.99 around easter time. They were worth the wait!




Thanks for letting me share my shoes!!! Be Blessed!

Show & Tell Friday - Awesome Comforter Set!!!

Wow! I'm on a roll today! I've done two posts in one day! Yay me! I wanted to participate in Kelli's Show & Tell Friday, but have let time slip away from me so many times. Well, I made a point to find something today to show off. Last year, when we decided to combine the girls in one room and split up the boys two to a room, a friend told me her neighbor had bunkbeds for sale. When she contacted her, the neighbor told her that if someone would be willing to come and get them that they were free! Well, of course we quickly cleaned out our van (at the time) and headed over to load them up. First, she wanted me to come see them and make sure they were what I needed (like I was going to say no?). So, I went to check them out and lo and behold, I got more goodies! She was trying to get rid of as much stuff as possible before moving, so she offered me two boxes of movies for the kids and two small containers of army men and action figures. But, the best was this comforter set and five extra decorative pillows to match (I had the purple ones already)!!!!! She said they were downsizing to a full size bed, so it had to go. The only thing wrong with it, was the dust ruffle was torn. My aunt fixed it for me, and it's good as new! Not to mention, it's a Croscill comforter, which are well made and really expensive! What a blessing!


When the boys' room looks decent enough to take pictures of, I will post them so I can show off the solid wood bunkbeds that we got for free!!!!

Feminine Friday - July 17, 2009

Once again, I'm thrileed to participate in Valencia's Feminine Friday post over at Buildeth Her House . This has been really fun and I love the compliments I get from my children and the people at my job. This skirt was purchased from Belk (where I work---orig. $40, but paid $16 after coupon and discount!), and I paired it with a sweater that I've had forever (and never worn)and a camisole. I think it's rather cute, if I do say so myself! lol



Keep up the good work, Valencia! I'm having fun!

Feminine Friday

I finally got to participate again in Valencia's Feminine Friday post over at Buildeth Her House. I love wearing dresses and skirts and I'm having fun wearing them to work. I get lots of compliments and I feel so classy! I'm glad Valencia is doing this and hopefully more will join in!

Happy 4th!!!

Hope everybody had a blessed fourth of July! We went over to my cousin's new house (out in the boondocks!) and enjoyed family, friends and BBQ! We had ribs, chicken, beans, potatoes, and pineapple & 7up cakes! Plus, plenty of sodas to keep the kids wired! They also enjoyed a wet bounce house, and were sent straight to the shower when they got home after sliding around in muddy water! Eeeewwwww!!!!

I forgot all about taking pictures (too busy keeping up with kids and what hubby was not supposed to be eating), so I'm sharing some from last year that I forgot to post! By the way, I've been posting for a year now! Yay me! My first post was July 2, 2008!!! Time sure does fly! Hope everybody enjoys their weekend!
Be Blessed!

These aren't in order, and I'm too tired to change them around! lol

Deondra & her best friend, D'Najwa (and Darian)


Me & My All-American man!



Ced & Cedraya (the twins!)


I wore the same outfit today! lol


The boys having fun!


Pretty fireworks!

Shout Out!

I just want to give a quick shout out to my blogging friend DeNeice from Organized Homemaking for Christ. She is doing a summer giveaway and I just wanted to share her blog, because she is a sweetie! She is a beautiful lady who loves the Lord and her family. I am inspired daily by her, Valencia at Buildeth Her House, and Hadias at The Proverbs Wife & The Wife at Home, because they are awesome women with large families, who show what it means to have the love of the Lord in your heart and how to love and take care of your families and homes. I still haven't figured out how to link names and blogs on my posts, but you can check my sidebar for links to their blogs. There are others on there too that are truly awesome women too! I was just giving some love to my "big family" girls! If I've left out any great women, who daily chase many children, charge it to my head and not my heart! I love all my blogging friends and have learned so much from all of you! Go forth and blog well! (Smile)

Be Blessed!
~Chondra

Memories

This past week has left many mourning the losses of television pitchman and sidekick to the late Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, actress Farrah Fawcett and pop icon Michael Jackson. I've heard tributes and memorials to all three, which were in order, but I was really annoyed by people complaining about who should be honored the most. At work on Friday, I listened to a new co-worker complain to a customer about how Michael Jackson was being talked about "too much" and more than Farrah and even Ed. She was mostly concerned about how he was overshadowing Farrah. In my opinion, that's like comparing Elvis and Anna Nicole Smith, but that's just me. There's always going to be someone more popular than someone else, but why should there be comparisons about posthumous remembrances anyway? They all held different titles and added contributions to society in totally separate ways. I'm not one to get misty eyed over people that I never knew, but I will miss seeing them, being that I grew up watching all three. I enjoyed Ed McMahon on the Tonight Show, especially when he assisted the amazing Carmac! They were quite funny together. I'll miss Farrah Fawcett from her role on Charlie's Angels, which was one of my favorite shows. Yes, I tried to feather my hair like her! Didn't work too well because I put too much curl in it, but I tried! lol Although I wasn't that big of a fan of Michael Jackson as a person (my loyalty was to his little brother Randy, who I thought was much cuter!), I did love his music. Yes, I knew the moves to Thriller, but danced in the den in the back of the house, when Momma and Daddy weren't awake! Hee Hee! My heart goes out to all of the children of each one, young and older, who have lost a parent and to the other family members as well. Also, as I was typing this, I just learned of the death of TV salesman, Billy Mays. He sold me on OxyClean, Kaboom and Orange Glo cleaners. I always enjoyed his excitement about the products he pitched. God blessed each one to touch lots of lives in many ways and I pray that each one knew Him as their personal saviour.

Happy Fathers Day!

Just wanted to say Happy Fathers Day (before it's over)to all the wonderful men out there that are being role models and setting examples for their children. Anyone can be a father, but only special men can be real dads! I was blessed with the true example of a great father! My dad was one-of-a-kind! He was the coolest man, but also the most spiritual. He was my ultimate superhero and I love him forever and miss him like crazy. It's been 17 years since he went home to be with the Lord, but his legacy lives on. Happy Fathers Day Daddy! I'll forever be your little girl!

I married a special man that is a truly extrodinary dad. Not only did he want to be a dad biologically, but has taken on the task of being a great adoptive dad to our four sons. I love him for that and pray that God continues to add many years onto his life so that we all can enjoy him! Happy Fathers Day Honey!

Here's a few pictures of my hubby with his troop! lol

The men in my life


Daddy & his little princesses (ages 3yrs & 7 months - 1996)


Me and my daddy (I was 9 months old!)

Feminine Friday

I'm so glad I read this post on Valencia's blog at Buildeth Her House. I was raised to only wear dresses, and when I got older and married I started wearing pants, but still wore dresses too. After ending up with psoraisis on my legs and dealing with the not-so-fun comments people would make, I started to wear more and more pants and jeans (during the week) and kinda got away from the dresses. After reading her post, I started to feel differently about hiding behind pants and felt so pretty and feminine wearing a dress. The psoraisis is barely noticeable now, and the scars left behind are beginning to fade. God sent this post at the right time. Now I need to add more dresses and skirts to my wardrobe for weekly wear since I have plenty for church! I actually had on one today and took a picture in it, but my phone is in mental retardation mode and won't let me download it. I should've used my camera, but whatever.

Here's a picture of me in one of my favorite outfits for church. I know it wasn't taken on a Friday, but I desperately wanted to join this post! Gotta luv me!!! lol

Beware - Google Fraud

I was recently online and whatever site I was on had a pop up about people that were making money part-time working for Google. Thinking that it was actually about Google, which I figure to be a reputable site, I read the whole thing. They were offering a book that "helps" you learn how to make the money for only $1.95. I figured it wasn't much to lose if it didn't pan out. WRONG!!!!! After a month or so, I never received the book and just chalked it up as a loss of $2.00. The other day I called my bank to check my credit card info and I was informed of a charge that was denied (not enough on the card). The CS rep made it seem as though it were no big deal, but I politely explained to him that even though it wasn't his account, he should at least act concerned that I was denying the charge. He finally told me that he'd transfer me to the fraud dept. They cancelled the card and said they'd issue me another. Anyhoo, to make a long story a tad shorter, I went online and looked up the charging company, and it brought up a chat discussion about the fraudulent charges!!!! It turned out to be a $72.21 charge for a subscription, which started if you didn't cancel the original charge. I messed up, but God blocked it!!! He is so awesome!!! I just wanted to warn anybody about this supposed "great" deal!

Be Blessed!

Rudy's Story

Here's the video about Rudy's recovery, that I mentioned in the previous post. Next time I have a video to post, I'll do the video first, then write the blog on the same post. I'm still a diva blogger in training! lol

Video On Demand: Latest News Video | WFAA.com

Cosmetology Photo Shoot

Saturday, we spent most of the day at Deondra's much anticipated photo shoot. Her cosmetology class worked with make-up artist to the stars, Rudy Sotomayor, to create a fashion show and photo shoot that was prepared by the students with his help. It was really amazing and the students got to see the behind-the-scenes work for a fashion show. The students were put into groups (before school was out) and selected a themes for the models. My daughter's group had two students that modeled and one that did make-up and helped the photographer. They also had five models from an agency, plus one little girl from our church. Their group picked themes that included a child model who was dressed to mimick the older model. Trust me when I say, we had a time trying to find someone that looked liked Deondra as a child! One little girl that we know really well, would've been perfect, but she is too unpredictable to rely on (tantrum diva). Last minute we remembered that Mi'Kenzy had hair that was a tad darker than Deondra's and skin tone that wasn't much darker than her. She did a really good job for never having modeled before or being around us other than at church. Only problem we had was mom didn't send her shoes as promised, so I had to make a quick run to Kohls to get a pair (took them back afterwards). My store manager at Belk, let us borrow clothes and accessories for our group. I was in charge of keeping up with them, which was a job and a half, but I tackled it! lol
Here's Deondra and Mi'Kenzy strutting their stuff! So pretty!

She was so thrilled to follow Deondra around!

Finishing touches on Deondra's makeup

Mi'Kenzy getting her big girl look! Such a professional 5 year old!

Robyn doing her thing!



Rudy was pretty much there to oversee what they did and help where necessary. He has really been a huge blessing to their class. He was in a car accident in New York a couple of years ago that almost took his life. Doctors had to remove part of his skull, which left him in a coma for two months. He was brought home to Fort Worth, where he has been in therapy and recovering quickly. He is amazingly regaining his skills and decided to use this second chance at life to help others by volunteering at the school. This is an amazing opportunity for the girls that they probably wouldn't have had otherwise. He loves the girls like little sisters and I have to say Deondra is one of his favorites. She made him a mousepad in her Communications class that has his picture on it, and he proudly tells everybody about it! God has truly blessed this young man, and I hope he continues to use his gift to help others. Of course, being caught up in the moment, means I forgot to take a picture of him, but I found one on his website. I couldn't figure out how to link the video to this post, so I have a separate post that shows the video about his recovery.
Rudy Sotomayor