Holidaze....

Most of us walk around in a haze or daze if you will during the holiday season.
Well I've been bombarded with blog posts of how NOT to be stressed during the holidays.
I've seen things that teach you how to unclutter your house and how to help your kids organize their messes and how to start cooking NOW so that you do not have to do it all the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I try to make our holidaze as simple as possible. We don't do elaborate and we try really hard to be satisfied with simple.
I honestly believe that God would not want us to go beyond our means with extravagance for something like a "holiday." We owe it to ourselves to keep it simple.

Take  your time sure...but remember to have fun. Let your little ones help you and make memories. Don't make it about everything looking perfect but about how they will remember these times in years to come.

Battling Depression

When someone famous commits suicide people start  to discuss depression.

We I will admit that I have struggled with depression more than once in my life.
I can remember it a early as age 14, of course then I didn't know exactly what it was.

Such a Good Week!

We have had a good week with our cousin Taylor. Nikirhe has loved having her here to play with and talk to and watch movies with and sing with. The girls love the movie Frozen and have watched it about 5 times this week already.

Taylor goes home tonight but we will get to see her again in about 2 weeks.
Niki is going to be playing Soccer this fall! We are very excited to star this new journey in our family! I'm officially going to be a Soccer Mom!!!! YAY! I can't wait to support my little girl and her team! I know for the first couple of years it will be mostly about learning the fundamentals but it is going to be so much fun taking pictures of her learning and watching her grown and excel at a sport and not just academically. She is going to be good at anything she does and I'm thankful for that but I know God has a plan for this girl!

Yesterday was my grandmothers birthday! I baked her a cake and made some potato salad and we had a cookout at Grandparents house. It was fun and Niki got to swim a bit. Everyone enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Papa. My Aunt is looking forward to Niki playing soccer! I'm excited to see how many of our family members come out to her games to watch her play!

Well we have lots to do today so I'm off to get that done!


May the Lord Bless You and Keep You!
~Gidgit~

Family Time With The Cousins!

This week we have our cousin Taylor staying with us. She is 15 and Nikirhe is having a blast playing with her. Taylor is such a unique young lady and she is going to be a wonderful teacher and mother someday. (She wants to be a teacher)

We are at the library today and I'm taking advantage of some quiet computer time for a bit. Taylor volunteered to take Niki to the children's area and help her find books as well and put together puzzles with her. I think Ernie and I are going to have to reward the girls with a nice dinner tonight!

We found out this weekend that Ernie and I are going to be great Aunt and Uncle! I'm so excited! I'm going to be making our niece Bethany some baby towels and wash cloths and a baby blanket for the new baby! She is due in Feb 2015 and we are all looking forward to having a new member of the family!

Well I guess I better get busy with my other things on my to do list today!

May God Bless you and keep you!

~Gidgit~

Lessons I've learned about being a SAHM

I wanted to share a few things I have learned in the last 16 years of marriage.

1. It really isn't all about me.
I have to put God first and my husband 2nd then my child and myself. I know is a self serving society this is a shocking and archaic concept, but my life runs smoother when I put my life priorities in that order.


2. My husband loves me more that I ever thought possible.
He really does. He comes from a family that didn't express love and feelings well, or at all for that matter. He has become my absolute best friend. I can and do trust him with my life. He has proven to me over the years that his love is truly unconditional.

3. Our child is smarter that we ever imagined!  
I am very pleased with this! She is 4.5 and is in the 1st grade.

4. Even an only child can have self esteem or self confidence issues.
I never thought I would encounter my child being upset because her own stuffed animals don't want to play with her! She wants to be liked and accepted even though she has never experienced much rejection.

5. I have less patients with my daughter whilst teaching homeschool that I had hoped. I love being her teacher, however, there are days she just doesn't want to learn!

6. I am being prepared by God for something I'm still unsure about.
I pray daily and hope that He is going to use me to bring glory to Him and His Kingdom!

Sometimes I Wonder.....

Why it is whenever I feel led to help a friend I end up getting hurt. I wonder what it is about me that makes people want to take advantage of my kindness and my soft heart.
I have spent many years helping others only to be left in a bind because they dont keep their end of the bargain. 

We have decided however that because we have a child to protect we will no longer allow people to live with us.  Visitors are fine but no more having people live in our home and influence our child then move out abruptly and not paying for the expenses they incured, and or hurting my daughters heart. 

Sorry im on a soap box.... end rant.

Schedule Changes and Such

Amy got a job! That is wonderful! I am just going to have to adjust to getting up at 4am to take her to work! LOL 

I know in the long run getting up early will be good for me as Niki and I will be able to get a lot more done and have the chance to spend time alone again for a while until Gabriella is home. 

I am working up a daytime schedule to match these new sleeping hours. 
It may be a challenge but it will work in the long run. 

well I don't have much time left today I have to be picking up Amy from work very soon. 


Blessings

~G~

Week Two of Living in Durant and So Much is Going On!

Well we have been here for two weeks. We are planning some big things as well as g doing a lot of things.

Amy and I are attending a weekly parenting class in Ada each Saturday for the next 6 weeks. That is an hour and twenty minute drive away every Saturday morning. Thankfully doing this will get Amy her daughter back!

We have to go to court next month and we are showing the court that we are all committed to making this living situation work!

We are a family! We love each other and are going to raise our daughters as sisters and we will be happy and healthy and nothing will stop us!

Tomorrow Is The Big Day!!!

We are preparing to move and have a bit of packing left to do which hubby and I will do tonight and of course tomorrow when we are loading the truck.

We are using this as an opportunity to get a fresh start!

Amy is putting moving some of her things today and we are all preparing to move into the new house tomorrow.
I know we are all looking forward to getting settled and learning to build a family that is supportive and works together as a until to have peace and harmony.

God is going to bless us with finances to raise our girls and home school them so they don't ever have to experience what Amy and I did growing up.

I can't wait until tomorrow! This is going to be so awesome!!!


I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Philipians 4:13

Preparing for the BIG Move!

As May 2nd gets closer we are seeing more and more boxes getting filled and placed in the office of our current house. We are preparing to move to Durant, OK. and transition our family into a new town, lifestyle, home, and career. Our little family is growing and changing.

My amazing BFF is going to be bringing her beautiful daughter to live with us and we are going to help her raise her special little girl. She is part of our extended family and always has been and now that we are the only family she has left we will be her family 100%.

Nikirhe has already claimed Gabriella as her sister and we will raise the girls as sisters. Niki is excited to be a big sister and she will be an excellent one.

We will continue with homeschooling and we will work to have harmony in our little family! So very excited to have my BFF, My S-I-L (sister in love), Brother in law all with us in Durant!

Well time to get some more packing done!

TTFN

~G~

Preparing to Move

our lives are about to change once again. hubby has been given a job opportunity in my home town. we will be moving to Durant OK in about two weeks. I am looking forward to being back with my oldest & dearest friend. She and I have been through a LOT together and are ready to face the next 30 years together. Nikirhe is looking forward to moving and once we are moved we will be able to get back into routine!          Well i will get back to regular blogging after the move! God Bless!

Life In The Crazy Lane

So much has happened in the last 9 months and I didn't even realize that it had been that long since I last posted.
We have adjusted quite well to living as a multi-generational family.
Our little family lost two of our beloved pets this year. My 13 year old Lilly Mae & Nikirhe's little puppy Tank. He was her first dog that was all hers. She loved him very much and we had to teach her about the rainbow bridge way too son.
 My mom and step dad had their own struggles this year as well. His health began failing more and more over the summer and into the fall. We managed to be able to take him to one last family reunion in August before he got Sick and had a heart attack in September. After that he was between the nursing home and the hospital until December. On December 30th Grandpa Larry (as we called him) went to be with Jesus. The grandkids got to have one last Christmas with Grandpa. Mom is hanging in there as it has almost been one month since his passing. However his mother Mada passed away just last Thursday evening and mom has had a bit of a set back having had to face two deaths in as little as 3 weeks.



Grandpa Larry with the Grandbabies, Johnathan, Jaydon, Nikirhe, Kendell, & Jordan
At Grace living Center Dec 16,2013
Grandpa's last Christmas



Lilly and Tank Our beloved fur babies who went to heaven way too soon.
Niki had to learn way too much about death this year. She misses her pets & her Grandpa very much.

We Celebrated our 15th Wedding anniversary this past October. October 3rd Marked 15 years, on the 4th We renewed our vows to each other with a more formal version of our first wedding! lol My family was all there and unfortunately Ernie's family couldn't come. It was good to recommit ourselves to our God and our marriage and having our family & friends promise to support us and lift us up in prayer.

Still in love after all this time! <3 p="">

 

We also promised to be Godly parents to Nikirhe and to raise according to God's Word.

 

Our happy little family of 3! We are so very blessed to have this little girl in our lives and nothing on earth can compare to the gift God has given us! :)

After our Vow Renewal I became an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay!
I LOVE my business! It is helping me to grow and improve our quality of life! God is blessing my business as long as I work it and I know that we will be making some changes for the better in the near future!

I am excited about the prizes I've earned with my Mary Kay business! I have my personal website as well as my facebook page. I Love getting to help women enrich their lives!
I was even blessed with the ability to purchase inventory so that my most of my customers don't have to wait for product orders!

Well It's time to do a few things around the house. we have officially began homeschooling and things are a bit crazy right now! :) But I LOVE IT!!!