Back From 2006....

Look who's back back back, back again 'gan 'gan 'gan....That is right! I have found my blog spot and am going to begin catching it up to speed and continuing my story and also anything else I deem necessary or fun.

Since the last time I posted we have moved into a fantastickly beautiful, brand new home in our home town of Cadillac. Jonathan is working in the oil and gas industry and loving it as am I!

Our two girls are now 4 and 2! CRAZY! Ella (4) is starting Preschool this coming tuesday...so surreal. It will be fun for Reina (2) and I to have some alone time together. I am sure that some days it will prove to be more difficult to keep her entertained as Ella is her primary source of entertainment and fun. Built in buddy.

My husband is...well I was going to say awesome but he just started doing some kind of dance jig, poking think to some 80's song I've never heard before and...well, less awesome for the moment...ha ha But no, really he is so great and our marriage is so rock solid and we have so much fun together. We are perfect for each other.

Ok, pictures and fun to come...=) Stick around for a bit.

***Fam. Time***

This last Friday Jonathan, the Girls and I went to T.C. and spent the day together. It was a lot of fun. We went to the mall, got some great deals, then headed to the Outback. On the way home we stopped along side the road to watch the fireworks being let off at the ball park. Ella loved it.
IT WAS A GREAT DAY. =)

This picture is of Ella playing in the tree at the mall....yes, it's a germ fest, but she loves it!

Then these two pictures were taken at the Outback...both the girls are making funny faces..lol

***More Pictures From Today***

****Make Sure To Read the Post Under These Pictures....****
These are some MORE pictures that I took today:

Reina is just such a happy baby. I always prayed that she would have the joy of the Lord.
I kid you not, this is the most kissable baby in the whole world. Both my girls are!!!
Again, can we say HAPPY?? It was pretty late when I took this picture but she doesn't care.Ok, now this picture was taken about a month ago of Ella, but it is just the sweetest little picture. She loves going over to her Nana and Papa's house and playing outside in the yard, looking at the flowers, watching the butterflies and of course, making Nana chase her around the yard!
AND THIS, This picture was taken on the 4th of July. We were heading home from the Lake City Fireworks. Jon had gotten FRIED the day before and me....well, lets just say I have yet to spend enough time in the sun to actually have it stick...lol I could've been part of the firework show, or at least sold right along with the other glowsticks...lol

***Yet another day***

Today was a pretty uneventful day. Well it was but wasn't all at the same time.
Reina had to get her 4 month shots today. The Dr.'s office called yesterday to remind and confirm so I knew that I had it at 10:30 this morning. What did I do? I slept until 10:00 before it even dawned on me. Luckily Jon's dad called and said he could swing over and pick up Ella. That definitely took off some of the stress. I made it to her appointment on time but I was pretty much a frantic mess. What a way to start your day! lol It was all good though.

After the appointment I went over to Jon's parents to pick up Ella and ended up staying there for quite a few hours. It's always so nice just relaxing with his mom and having enjoyable conversation. I'm so blessed when it comes to wonderful in-laws! Although, by the end of the afternoon I was feeling pretty ill. I headed home where I waited for my mom to come watch the girls so I could get a little nap. I ended up waking up around 9:00...I slept for almost 3 hours! How lovely. So now, here I sit at 1:03 am and I'm just now feeling tired again.

I did get some really cute pictures of Reina though. The ones with me in them aren't so hot, lol but she looks so cute I couldn't NOT post them!! All in all, looking back at my day, I don't have much to show for it, but it sure seemed pretty hectic! Hopefully tomorrow will feel more accomplished! lol

As I mentioned before I hadn't felt well...I feel as though I need to mention it again now that I've looked at the pictures I've posted today...lol I obviously don't look the best in them...but how sweet is Reina in them all?! I had to put them on here so you can all see what a sweet thing she is!! lol alright, enough of that! I really must be going now. I PROMISE I will start to blog on things other than the girls...lol It's just so hard not to! Love you all and God Bless

***FIREWORKS***

This year Reina experienced her very first fourth of July. How exciting!!
It came complete with a cook-out at my parents house, a little relax time and then sitting on the beach watching the fireworks. Well honestly, she pretty much slept through the whole thing.
There she is smiling with her Auntie Amber, wearing the same dress Ella wore for her first 4th.

We were pretty amazed at Ella and how well she handled the fireworks. Although she thought that most of them looked like "bushes". The noise didn't bother her, she actually found it rather amusing to try and mimic the sounds they made with very enthusiastic BOOMS and BANGS with the occational "They're crackin' up". lol She made the whole thing worth while. It was 11:00 pm by the time we were loaded up and headed home. Ella fell asleep in 2 minutes grasping her 4th of July glow-in-the-dark necklaces. So sweet!

My sister Amber and I had our first "day at the beach" experience with Reina and Ella...not to be done again! lol When we first got there Ella didn't want to get dirty by playing in the sand and she didn't want to get close to the water. By the time our day at the beach was coming to an end she was filthy with sand but would only stick her feet in the water. Oh well, it wasn't a total loss. Amber and I did have a good time together and actually made ourselves go out in public with our bathing suits on! lol Which reminds me...definitely need a new one...you know what I mean Amber...lol

So, what did we learn today? Fireworks - good, beach - bad...

Oh yes, Jon and I really enjoyed the day as well. Once we had ate and the girls were happy, Jonathan and I headed downtown in search of a sweatshirt for Ella because I thought, THOUGHT, I didn't have one for her to wear to the fireworks. It was so nice being able to spend some time with just one another. My time is usually pretty consumed with Reina seeing as how she's still nursing, so it was so nice to just spend time together. It was just an all around great day!
I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!!

***My Vacation from Blogging***

Isn't it crazy how quickly you can forget that there was something very important to you that you've begun to ignore? For instance...MY BLOG...all you poor people have probably thought I'd fallen off the face of the Earth. In a way I have, it's called being a mother of 2. lol You pretty much fall off the social map for a while. At least until you can become completely adjusted and have gotten enough rest to actually feel like doing something productive.

Well, I am proud to announce that I AM BACK! Ella has begun the process of cutting her 2 year molars...yay...last night was full of interupted sleep due to her needing medicine ever 4 hours due to the pain. Poor baby. Although I am extremely proud to say that little miss Reina slept soundly until 6:00 before needing to be fed. Which brings me to my next point. SHE'S GETTING SO BIG!!! I can't believe how sweet little Reina is. Talk about having the joy of the Lord...that baby is happy 97% of the time. The other 3% is reserved for when she's cranky due to being hungry, tired or just needing to be held and talked to.

Ok, so I've now announced my return and will work like crazy to stay committed! Thanks for not forgetting about me! lol

Oh and Happy Father's Day to all you daddy-o's out there!

***Life***

Sometimes the stresses of every day life really begin to wear on me. I think a big part of this is that I never really vent out any stresses that I may have. I'm great at going about every day life without flinching, but then as soon as the girls are sleeping and I finally have a second to myself, I'm caught in a whirl-wind of stress. Sometimes I really have no need to be stressed, but I still find something to freak out about...other times, I have a totally legit reason to be stressed.

I wish I were one of those people who just never stressed out about anything. I think there was a time when I was that person but I've long since displaced her somewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a "compulsive stresser", my non-stress days do outweight my stress days, however, it just seems like I stress more because I tend to remember all the days that I've been stressed out and they cancel out most of my good days....I hate that.

The lack of sleep is catching up to me I think...=) I guess now all that is left to say is, "thanks for letting me vent to you."

***A decrease in time***

Well, I've learned that moving from one to two is pretty wild!! lol Don't get me wrong, it has been a VERY smooth transition and everything is going so well, BUT I've been finding it very difficult to break away long enough to keep my blog updated let alone keep up with e-mailing and everything else. SO - I've finally got a chance to update quickly.

Reina is beginning to show a little bit of personality. Today she really smiled at me for the first time while I was talking to her. That was a great moment. Her very first smile ever and I was the only one to see it, it was directed to me...awesome. Today Ella realized that she could finally reach the light switch in her bedroom, after I had put her to bed. Yeah, not so much fun, I hope that the infatuation with it fizzles out quickly with her.

Jonathan and I are doing well. He loves the fact that he's surrounded by girls...lol He's been such an amazing help.

PRAISE THE LORD IT'S SPRING!!!! I have been waiting for this for quite some time. Finally I can get Ella outside to burn some energy and also for me to get out there and get some sun...I've turned in to quite the little glow stick.

Well this will have to be all for now, I've got some things I need to get done before I can go to bed. I will try to get on here more often but I make no promises! God Bless