3.75

That is my GPA for my first semester of college!! I made 3 'A's and 1 'B'. I thought I was going to get a 'C', but it looks like my professor counted some work that I had turned in which made my grade a 'B'. Wooohooo!!! It was alot harder then I thought it was going to be. Not so much the school work, but just managing my time, which I didn't do so well. I have alot to learn before next semester, if I even go. It is such a toss up. I so want to, but there are so many things that make it hard. Home life, school life, I have such a hard time finding a middle. It's either I focus on school, and get all my assignments in, or I take care of my home life and miss out on assignments. I'm really going to do some soul searching these next two weeks and figure out if I can manage it all and complete another semester. Here's to hoping!!!!

Let it Snow!!!

On Sunday, we went to a local community club house that was putting out snow and letting the kiddos meet Santa. It was so much fun. When we arrived, there were two huge piles of snow for the kids to play in. We were meeting some other friends there, and we all started playing in the snow. Kameron and Christian had so much fun having a snow ball fight together. Kaydence was too sure about it. She didn't want to touch it, probably cause it was so cold. But it was fun, and after they played for a while, we stood in line to meet Santa and Mrs. Clause. It was a good day.

Fast forward to tonight, when my sister calls to tell me that it is snowing at her house, about 45 minutes from here. Man, I was so hoping it would actually snow here. As we got ready to leave Lorie's house, Adam hollers out that it was snowing and we all came running outside! Sure enough, it was. It was sticking on the cars and on the porch. We gathered up some and made snow balls to throw at each other. The kiddos loved it.....wait, who am I kidding, I loved it too. It would sure be awesome if it snowed enough and was still here in the morning!!!!

Questions

I got this from a friend's blog so feel free to play. Just bold the things you have done.

If you play, post a comment so I can check it out!!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

History was made...

History was made last night, and I'm not so sure that it was good history. The United States elected the first Black president. I worry so much for our country and the changes that it is going to go through. Not because he is Black, I promise you it isn't because he is Black, but because of what he wants to try to change. He sure had great sounding ideas throughout his campaign, but didn't have ways to pay for it. The money has to come from somewhere, and I can bet you anything it is going to be us.

I will be praying for our country a lot more in the coming months as he starts to take over. Praying for no assassination attempts, for no foul play on Bush's part as he leaves the White House, and for the American people to remain confident in their decision to elect a President with the limited experience he has, who went to a Church for 20 years lead by a Preacher who is anti-American and whose middle name is Hussein. Granted, you can't judge a man by his middle name, but he sure didn't want it talked about.

I prayed during this election that people would chose to vote for him based on his views, but it looks like it didn't happen. This morning watching the news, you see hundreds and hundreds of people being interviewed saying how they were glad that a Black person was President and that is why they voted, because he was Black. What about the issues that are going to impact our country once the "we have the first Black President" wears off? How is the country going to recover from all of the mess that it has been in since the economy crashed? How are we going to handle same sex marriages that go against everything the Bible teaches? Those are things that are important to me. Color shouldn't have been an issue, I thought we were all past that. It just doesn't make sense to me. I don't understand it.

I did vote. I voted for McCain. Not because he is white, but because I could agree with him most on the issues. "If you don't vote, then you can't complain." That is what we told Kameron as we took turns going to go vote. He is still more liberal then I would like, but he wasn't as liberal as Obama.

So the next four years will be a lesson. A time to see if all the promises he made can actually happen. I told Adam that I thought that gas prices were going to rise once he got elected. I hope I'm not right. I think that he isn't going to be able to keep all the promises he made. I think America is in for a tough time. He is inheriting 2 wars and an economy that is doing so horrible. He has very little experience and he is starting out in one of the roughest times in America's history.

Pray for our country as we begin these changes. Pray for our leaders who make the decisions that affect each and every one of us. Pray that they will be guided to do what is best for America and not themselves or some big company. Pray that even though we were divided in the election, that we can come together now and do what is best for America, so that we can all prosper and survive. Just Pray!

I'm sorry if this offends anyone. I just had all these thoughts running through my head and I wanted to get them down on something. Since my blog is my journal, I wanted to write them here.

Halloween Card

So, I decided this afternoon that I was tired of not scrapbooking. So, I decided to work on a Halloween card, even though my house looks like a tornado whipped through it. We just got back from out of town, and I haven't put everything away yet. So anyways, I found a cute fold and idea making a window type hole that I liked for a card and went to town. I had to work with the few Halloween papers that I had, but I think it turned out pretty dang cute. I'm going to make a Christmas one like it for my November Stampin' Up class. They are going to be so dang cute! I can't wait to get the rest of them finished so I can get them mailed out. It is a tri-fold card and I took a picture of each part unfolded.

Square Dancing 101

So, my grandma called and invited Adam and I to her square dancing lessons that she was starting. Adam has been wanting to take dancing lessons, so we said, Why not? We went with her and signed up. It was so much freakin' fun. I didn't think that we would like it, but we sure did. It was great. And, now that we signed up, we are guaranteed a night out every week!!! WOOOHOOOO!!! It was a blast. After the lesson ended, all the professionals that were there danced, and they looked amazing. I can't wait to learn more so everything flows and makes sense. It's gonna be great!!! Also, they lined danced and I was comfortable with that. We used to do it all the time at church dances that we went to, so I was experienced. Adam, on the other hand, needs some more practice at line dancing. Can't wait for next week's lessons!!!

Me survey

So, i received this from a friend of mine, and thought it was pretty cool. Answer the questions in a comment, without looking at others comments, and let's see how well you know me. It's pretty cool. Just respond in the comments with each number and your answer!! Thanks for playing, it'll only take a few minutes!

1. Where did we meet?

2. Take a stab at my middle name?

3. Do I speak a second language?

4. Am I a cat lover or dog lover?

5. Color of my eyes?

6. Do I have any siblings?

7. What's one of my favorite things to do?

8. What's my favorite type of music?

9. Am I taller than you?

10. Am I shy or outgoing?

11. Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules?

12. What is my birth month?

13. Do I want to see a woman or man as next president?

14. I am a member of which political party?

15. Am I Liberal? Moderate? or Conservative?

16. Have you ever heard me sing?

17. How many children do I have?

18. Have we taken photographs together?

19. When is the last time you saw me?

20. When will I see you again?

21. Have we ever had a falling out?

22. If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is one thing that I would bring?

23. Am I right handed or left handed?

24. What type of work do I do?

Fireproof

So, I was watching World News (which I never, ever do) and I saw a clip about a new movie that was released last weekend. It was made with 500,000 dollars and earned 6,500,000 the first weekend. It is a Christian film about saving a marriage. Or, at least that is what the previews show. Me and Adam are gonna try to see it this weekend, if we can get a babysitter. It looks great and we sure need more Christian movies showing along with all of the other trash that is out there. Here is the link for the website where you can view a preview and find out theatres in your area that are playing it.

Fireproof

I'll let you know how it is after this weekend!

Happy Birthday.......to me!

Well, I am 25 years old today!! Crazy, I know! So, here's to 25 years of Beka!!

Long Time, No See

Wow, what a crazy few weeks we have had here at the Marley household. So many things have happened, it will be crazy to even list them all. So, I will only do a few of the major ones. Here goes:

1. Hurricane Ike heads towards Galveston, with landfall projected to be somewhere in the middle of the night.
2. The day before the storm, Kaydence stops breathing, not once, but twice. Called 911 and had her taken to the hospital about 12 hours before Ike was supposed to hit. Doctors decided that she need to be at a better children's hospital, so Memorial Herman Children's, here we come. The first ambulance service that showed up to transport us, no go. Too windy, wouldn't do it. Second one said they would so here we are, with 55 miles per hour winds heading closer to the storm as we head to downtown Houston, with Adam speeding behind us in the truck. Arrive at the hospital and bunker in. We have to get ID bracelets because anyone without one is out of there.
3. Spend the night during a major hurricane locked inside the 10th floor of a hospital. You could hear the wind whipping around. We never lost power, and were able to maintain the power without a generator. Other hospitals weren't so lucky.
4. Talked with families, all were okay, just no power. Not having power sucks, bytheway. Massive cleanup was started and will continue for quite some time.
5. Meanwhile, at the hospital, they start to do every test known to man on my baby girl. A CAT scan, an EEG, a MRI, blood work daily, breathing monitoring equipment at night, and temperature and blood pressure check every 6 dang hours. Wow, what a mouth full. But yep, it all happened. So, after 6 days of testing, meeting with all kind of doctors, and some more testing we should have some answers. Well, it's kinda hard to determine what caused a 14th month old to stop breathing for almost a minute. Was it seizures? Not as far as they can tell? Sleep apnea? Nope, doesn't look like that either. As best as can be determined, she had a viral infection about 10 days before the hospital visit began. It lowered her blood count so critically low that she passed out. She was at a 7 when she should have been at a 11.5. So, we have to watch her diet, give her iron enriched vitamins and overall, pay attention to her showing signs of being weak.
6. Lorie turns 25, omg, that means I'm right behind her. I didn't even get to see her for her birthday and the little present I had wasn't wrapped or anything. I plan on taking her to check out some resale shops about 30 minutes from here. Hey, that's what she wants, so I gotsa give a gal what she wants!!!!
7. Get home to no power with 7 adults and 3 kiddos living in a house with only a generator to keep us going. Thank goodness for city water and gas appliances. We were able to cook and have hot showers. Since I was at the hospital, I didn't experience the grunt of the power outage, but I would have rather dealt with that then be worried about my baby girl like that.
8. Power back on, life is starting to return to normal. Grocery stores sill are trying to catch up, not much food around and defiantly no dang blasted baking soda. One day I will have some again. Some friends of mine still don't have power, so I still worry, but they think it will be on soon.
9. Receive a early birthday present. I'm actually typing on it right now. That's right, I got a new laptop for school. And let me tell you, it's been awesome. When I got out of one class early, I was able to log on to my other online class and complete some of the work for it waiting at the campus for my next class to start. It was brilliant!!! Thank you Adam so dang much, I love you babe!!!
10. Getting ready for a wedding tomorrow. Not much with that going on. Trying to help Adam memorize his speech, since he is the best man and all. So, hopefully everything will go over okay.

Well, looks like I wrote quite a bit more then I thought I was going to. Once I started writing, it seemed easier to get down. I have been reading everyone's blogs, and it seems like everyone I read up on is doing okay. Please let me know if there is anything that I can do. Have a great weekend!!!

P.S. Sorry it's so long!!!!!

Overwhelmingly Hard....

I wanted to go back to school, I promise, I really did. I just wasn't prepared for the change that it would bring to my life. I didn't understand how hard it was gonna be to be a full time student and a wife and mom. It's not so much that what I'm learning in school is hard, it is that I'm trying to learn to juggle school and my home responsibilities. Not as easy as I thought. But, we kind of seem to be adjusting more and better. I've learned a few things, I've been bored out of my mind. I've written 2 essays already, with another 2 due by Friday. I've been solving math problems the old fashioned way.....by hand!! I've been trying to keep the house cleaned, but haven't been doing too good with that. I'm actually gonna clean for about an hour in just a sec before I head to bed. I'm learning. I"m adjusting. It's been different, it's been exciting. I love walking around campus, even though I'm older then all of the freshly graduated high school kids. Things that they just think are so cool, I find completely stupid. I can tell how 6 years has changed me. I've grown up, matured. It is nice to see how far I've come. Hopefully, I was never as stupid as some of these people though LOL!!!!! Things should maybe slow down a little after this week and I can be better about posting. Hope everything is going great with everyone!!

Man....

This past week has been crazy busy. I mean crazy. We have been prepping our house for a bachelor party for Adam's friend. Total cleanup of the yard and house. It was so much work, but so worth it. The yard looks great, the house is nice and clean and the guys had a blast. It was a day full of music, bbq and paintball. 2000 to be exact. They guys started arriving around 11 a.m. and getting everything ready for a massive paintball game. Around 1 or so, 7 guys charged into the woods. At 3:45, I called them back in for some bbq. They came in and ate a ton of food. What would you expect with 7 grown men? After lunch, they played music and cleaned up to head out for a night on the town. They went to a few pubs, and went to Barneys to play some pool. I'm not sure how everything went, around 2:45, I got the call that they were heading home and I don't remember anything else. It was a great day for Adam, I know he had so much fun hanging out with the guys. We are going to have to plan more games and things for the men to do for some time away.

My first week of school went well. My math class is going to be pretty easy. It's going to basically be a review for me on the algebra that I took my freshman year. English was pretty boring this week because we just reviewed for a grammar test that we have on Wednesday. Pretty basic stuff. I have a paper to write, just a 2-page one about what impacted my life the most. I'm about halfway done and will finish later tonight.

I'm babysitting next week, all week, so I will probably be out of commission. Not that I've been doing a great job of blogging, but just so ya know. Until next time......

Well...

We have been working hard to get things ready for a bachelor party this weekend and for some new bedroom furniture we got. I was so excited to be getting it. We decided to repaint the bedroom and so we picked out some paint, moved everything out of the bedroom and got started. We found new homes for just about everything in there except the headboard...(anybody want a king sized headboard? :) I painted the walls blue and the trim cream. This morning, with the help of Adam's brother, Kort, we moved the furniture into it's new home!!!! YEAH!!! I love it as much as you are allowed to love furniture, which is a ton! It is so dang nice. And it all matches!!!! That is awesome lol. We steamed cleaned the carpets and everything. This morning, the bedroom was wonderfully cleaned and ready to be changed. It feels so great!

Before:

After:

On another note, tomorrow I start school. College...me, a college student, wow. I am so nervous. I don't even know why. I've had my bag packed since Friday, I have a copy of my schedule sitting on the desk and I'm all ready. What is there to be nervous about, probably the change. I am starting something new, something that is going to change who I am and how my life will be. It won't be as easy to do the things that I need to do, I will have to have more time to myself, putting more responsibility with Adam. I will have to discipline myself to study and do my homework. Changes, that I am hopefully ready for. This will be such a fun experience once I get there and get going. I am going to be there early so I can find my classrooms and be ready. Wish me luck!!!

Not to Toot my Own Horn, But.....

Man, yesterday I felt so dang good. I went up to the college (what???) to find about about testing for college level placement for some classes I am gong to take. I stood in about 4 lines before I found the one that I needed to actually be in. I went upstairs to test after I paid them my money so I could take a test. Doesn't that suck, I had to pay to take a test. Depressing almost. Anyways, I finished the answer portion and only had my essay left. I took a break, since they offered me one and came back to start the essay. The topic was over one that I could actually relate to and so that made it so much better. I finished up and headed over to get my results. Yeah, they print out as soon as I hit submit, so they were with the front desk before I made it up there. There were multiple people watching the students and one walks over to me with my scores. I asked her if I passed and she said, "Honey, you did awesome, I've never seen an 8 on an essay." She pats me on the back and both of the ladies are standing there smiling at me. Kinda weird, but she proceeds to tell me that I need to go down stairs to meet with an advisor. So, back down stairs for another line. This one took like 30 minutes. It's my turn so I show the lady my test results and ask her what, "This score is out of range, Please check with your advisor" means. She looks at it for a while and says, that is really good, I've never even seen an 8. Apparently, 8 is the highest you can get and it was a high enough level 8 that it was putting me out of the range of actually having an 8, Make sense??? We start trying to register me for some classes and she shows someone else. A loud someone else. He says, "Where is this genius, I want to meet them?" I'm beet red now, with all of these other people in the stupid office looking at me. He comes over, shakes my hand and asked if I really got an 8 in 26 minutes. I tell him yes sir and he said, "Amazing. Did you show Tom?" No, she hadn't showed Tom, but she sure would. Off she runs to find this Tom guy and show him my results. He proceeds to tell me that I should frame them and maybe play the lottery. Really now, frame some results from a test. I hurried up and got out of there because I was embarrassed. When I was in the car, it hit me, man they made me feel good. I felt like I was on cloud nine, it was great. Okay, enough with my story, I was just so proud of myself and wanted to share my experience.

So, I registered for 4 classes for this semester. What was I thinking right? Well, I have been wanting to go back for a while, but the timing just hasn't been right. Now that Kaydence is a year old, Adam will manage just fine for the hours that I need to be in class. Which isn't that many. I'm taking two on campus and two hybrid classes. So a full schedule, but only part time away from the family. I am so excited. I am a college student again!!! Crazy, I know. I am so nervous, I mean, what if I can't keep up with everything? It's going to be an adjustment, I'll have to have some alone time for studying and homework, but I can't wait to start. I start a week from today. OMG, one week from today, at this time, I will be coming home from my first day at college!!!!!!!! Wish me luck!

Hopson Family Reunion

So today was our family reunion on my mother's side of the family. It was family from my Great-Grandma's siblings. We had a big variety of family there, about 50 people came. It was nice. So pretty. I didn't realize how beautiful Lake Livingston actually is. The pavilion overlooked the lake and it was just beautiful. I can't wait to camp there...hint hint!!! We played games, swam, ate some seriously good food and walked along Lake Livingston. It was a great trip! I really enjoyed myself. We were running late and got there shortly before it was time to eat. Everybody had brought different items. Like a dinner meal and a dessert. I made a chicken casserole from the cook-book from my great-grandma. There was so much food. Everybody got to take some home if they wanted it. Then, the younger generation put on their swimsuits and headed over to the pool. I decided not to swim because Kaydence was with us and I knew that it would just be easier to not. We stayed inside and played games and visited with relatives. Kameron decided that he wanted to jump of the diving board. When he started walking along it, I totally thought he wouldn't do it. But, he did, just jumped right off and wanted to keep doing it!!! It was great seeing everyone and getting to spend some time together. Next years will be great!!! WoooHooo!!

Garner State Park

Wheew, what a trip. We left Wednesday morning and stayed until Saturday afternoon. It was so much fun. We went with some friends of ours, so in total there were 7 of us and two infants. It was so beautiful. The Park is located on the Frio River, which is a river fed by three natural springs, making the river cold, hence the name Frio. The first times we went, the water was perfect. The last morning we were there though, we went earlier in the morning and it was cold!!!!!!!! Once we got used to it, it was great though. We made smores, played games, went hiking, cooked over a campfire, made friends with about 4 skunks, saw huge deer, played putt-putt golf, rocked the babies to sleep while sitting in the river, went crawling through a cave, had two different people get stung by a bee and many other things. Here are some pictures from the trip:

Procrastination

That is me, to a fault. Here is is 9p.m and I still don't have our bags packed for camping. I don't have the food gathered, I don't even have all our camping stuff gathered under the carport. I accomplished nothing today for this camping trip tomorrow. I left it all for tonight, when the kiddos went to sleep, why, I'm not too sure. But, as soon as this gets typed, I'm going to be moving fast and efficiently. Then, in the morning, we are heading out on a four day camping trip with some friends of ours. I am so excited. Kameron is too, we've been talking about it today and he keeps begging to go tonight. We are going to be fishing, hiking, floating down the Frio River, dancing, going on a hayride, and tent camping. It is going to be a blast, I can't wait. I will be sure to take tons of pictures and share them when we get back. Until Saturday...........

Coming Up

We have a lot on the schedule for the next week. Lots to do. We are going to Splashtown tomorrow with some friends. Then, tomorrow night, I am meeting a group of fellow Twilight junkies to go to the release party of Breaking Dawn. OMG, I'm so excited. I've got to finish the books again before tomorrow so I am fully ready and pumped. We are going out to some late dinner and then heading over to the party so we can be there at midnight when the book is released. Saturday, I believe my parents are coming over to celebrate my dad's b-day and to spend some time together. Sunday I am going to church. I was supposed to go last Sunday, but I was sick. I don't know what is wrong with me. Monday is shopping day for our camping trip starting Wednesday. Adam has to get a tooth pulled Tuesday, so I am praying that he won't be too bad off and we will still be able to go. So, I am making the plans like nothing is going to go wrong and we can still go. On Wednesday morning, we are getting up bright and early and heading out to Garner State Park. It is supposed to be the best state park in Texas, so we will see. Going to be doing some hiking, fishing and floating down the river!!! Lots of fun, can't wait. Well, I gotta get off and get the rest of the laundry washed so we are ready for the trip. Until next time.......

P.S. Mugglemom, have you seen this?????? We can split it and keep it at your house for a month and then mine a month!!!!! ;)

New Blog

I started a new blog, for me, about me and something I struggle with. If you would like to read it, just let me know. It will be private, but if you read my blog, I don't mind if you want to subscribe to the new one. I just don't want anyone and everyone out in cyber space to read it. Just e-mail me or leave me a comment with your email addy and I'll add you. Thanks!

Wal-Mart

I always find myself there, regardless of what other errands I had to run. I always end up spending some time there. It's almost like an addiction, one that I feed by walking around, trying to find a good deal. The thing about Wal-Mart, they want it to be one stop shopping. Why go anywhere else, when everything you need is there. I will find myself at other stores, comparing Wal-Mart prices to theirs. I hate it, I wish I could just buy the product and support someone other then Wal-Mart. They paid our bills for a while, then just put us out on the curb. It is a love hate relationship I have with them. When we get a few more bills paid off and down, I have a goal to start shopping elsewhere. Regardless if it is a few more cents or even a dollar or two, I want to be able to say that I hardly shop at Wal-Mart. But I know that will be a long time coming. I am always on the hunt for good deals, like the one I found today. I couldn't pass it up, I couldn't justify not getting them. And I didn't even need to go to Wal-Mart. I was supposed to be going to the bank and meeting my Brother-in-Law. No where in my agenda today was Wal-Mart. But, there I was, in the toy section, looking around with Kameron. We walked by the Leapster section, I was checking out the games ( I have to replace a game that got broken that Kameron is so upset about). Looking down, what do I see, 2 different games clearanced. Not for 15 or even 10.....5 BUCKS!!! They were 25 dollar games marked down to 5 bucks each. How do you walk away from that?? You don't I guess, you get them and add them to the Christmas stash in the bedroom. But see, when you find something like that, you can't help but stop next time you are close, hoping for another awesome deal like that......Addiction, what a horrible thing!! :)

This Past Weekend

Wow, what a weekend. Friday was Lisa's Birthday and Saturday was Adam's Birthday. On Friday, me and the kiddos baked Adam a cake and took it up to his station along with some balloons! We had dinner with him and all the guys and then headed back to my mother's house to spend the night. Saturday went good, with Adam coming over in the afternoon to hang out for a while before he had to go back to work to help out another guy. Lisa, Marc and the baby came over to celebrate birthdays. We cooked a huge dinner and played some games. Saturday night, I started feeling bad and it just seemed to get worse. I was pucking and miserable and laying out on the couch. Luckily I was at mom's and she was able to help with the kiddos. Sunday found me feeling better and I was excited about it because it was finally Amber's baby shower!! We were getting ready and got a phone call. One of my friends from high school, his wife died. They don't even know what happened yet. They are running reports and will know more details in a few days. So, that was hard. I went to the shower and got to spend some time with Amber, I was so excited to give her the gifts that I made for her. I think she really liked them. I don't think I got a picture of the blanket, but I took some photos of the scrapbook pages I made for her.

It was great and she got a ton of stuff, she should be pretty close to set!! Then, I headed over to my friend's mom's house to try to be of some comfort, but how do you comfort someone who just lost their wife??? I hate seeing a man cry and it just tore at my heart strings :( We ended up leaving really late so I just spent the night again at my mom's. Today, nothing much is going on. Adam was up all night, so he is still snoozing and Kaydence is napping too. Kameron is tired, so I turned him on some cartoons in our room so he could relax and probably fall asleep. This week we are going to go to the beach and going to do a few other things as a family since Adam has the full week off, so excited!!!

Simplicity

Simplicity...a good word to ponder. So many things can be complicated or they can be simple. I can't decide what I thrive on better. Some things I do if they are complicated, but others I won't. I like simple, but then wonder if I'm not doing it right or it doesn't look good. I've been making pages lately that have been simple. Not too elaborate, just simple pages that share memories. Our memories. I put those pages into the album I bought and so very much love it. I have memories, I didn't work for hours on 1 page, I have several that I did in a hour. I'm loving it, I really am. As I look back through my pages, I see stages that I went through, fades even. I started off really basic, not really knowing what I was doing, but wanting to scrapbook. Then, I learned and improved. My pages became elaborate and time-consuming. I didn't finish as many, they took me longer and so I was only finishing one here and there. I organized my pictures and that sure made a difference. Anytime I feel like scrapbooking, I can grab a box and go at it. Now, I feel like I've resorted back to my earlier days of scrapbooking. I'm not trying to impress anybody, I'm doing this for my family. My kids aren't going to hate the album because I didn't use 3 different techniques and have 4 different embellishments on a page. They are going to love that they can look through the album and have their memories there for them. They will see the pictures, read the words and love it. I have a bad habit of comparing my work to others, why? So other people have different pages, does that make theirs any better? No, our pages, in essence, are accomplishing the same thing, the getting there is just a little different. I've been thinking about this a lot lately because I haven't felt too inspired to just whip out pages. But, I decided that having pages was better then sitting there trying to feel creative. Where is the fun in that? I'm loving my time scrapbooking, and I'm loving the refound simplicity of it!

Snapfish.com

So, a fellow blogger, April, posted a coupon code for Snapfish. I decided to check it out since I need some more pictures. Since I just joined, I got 20 free prints. I also had found a coupon for 25 free prints. (I think it came in a movie around Christmas time, Shrek 3rd if I'm not mistaken) So, I spent the afternoon alternating between cleaning and uploading pictures. I could only upload 20 at a time so it took a while. By the end of it, I had ordered 121 pictures!! I'm so excited to get them. But the awesome part was, for 121 pictures, I spent 8.33 and they are going to ship em to my house. Thanks April, for posting about the great deal you got. The code is: JUL4PENNY08 and expires on the 12th. So not much time left if you wanna get in on it. Can't wait for the pictures, I'm excited, I feel inspired to scrap now. It made me feel good to go through all my pictures!! I am loving that I have them all organized on my computer. It's great!!

3 Posts Deep

I did it again, I posted several entries, so check em all out. Exciting times in the life of the Marley Family lol :)

Training Wheels....

WHO NEEDS EM??? Not Kameron, not anymore. He told Adam that he wanted em off, and Adam told him that if he took them off, that he wouldn't put them back on. Kameron still insisted that he didn't want them on anymore. So, low and behold, after two attempts, here he is, riding his bike without training wheels!!! Go Kameron Go!!!!! He is getting to be such a big boy. Time is sure flying around here.

Kaydence!!!!

Kaydence, what a mess you made. Oh my goodness. I didn't realize one little kiddo could get so messy. But, I guess that is what 1st birthday cakes are all about!! I hope you had a great birthday. I can't believe that you are already 1. What am I going to do with you? Your mommy and daddy love you so much. Kameron is so proud of you, he can't wait til you start walking!! Happy Birthday baby girl!!!

Stampin UP

Since I started selling Stampin up, I have fallen in love with making cards. I really enjoy it and love using my new stamp sets to create a card. For June, we made a card to celebrate the 4th of July. I thought they turned out so cute. I mailed my card to my cousin before I took a picture, so I made another one so I could post it. Whatcha think???

Freedom

Freedom is something that I take for granted. I drive my car whenever I want, go where I want and have to ability to say what I want without worry. I might offend someone, but I won't be arrested or shot. I can worship how I choose, I can listen to what I want and not be questioned. I can vote in elections to change the things that I feel are wrong. I can vote for the leader of this country. I can pray for them and for leaders of this state and this city. Freedom is a pretty amazing thing with you think about it. I am so thankful to be living in America. I know that they country is so torn up and divided right now, with the election looming around the corner, but, there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be. I'm blessed with a beautiful family, a loving husband, two wonderful children, parents who would do anything for me, sisters who I would do anything for, brothers who I've always wanted, two beautiful nieces who help compete my life, a wonderful home that isn't always cleaned and maintained right, land to let my kids play on, neighbors who actually care, friends who I couldn't live without, the soldiers who are fighting to help keep me free. I take for granted all the precious things that so many others have to live without. I am so blessed. There is no other land better then America, even with all of her faults. I want this next year to be better spent being more thankful for the freedom we have and for the lives that are put on the line to protect it. I want to show my patriotism more and be prouder to be an American. I want to teach my children the importance of our flag, what it stands for and how it will always be a symbol of freedom. I want them to respect it and know the Pledge of Allegiance. Not just be able to recite it, but to understand what it is telling them. We are putting up a flag in our yard to symbolise our freedom and to show our appreciation for our troops, our president and our founding fathers. I am proud to be an American, I wouldn't want it any other way. Celebrate this day and remember what it is about...Freedom!!!!!

Happy Birthday

Today is Kaydence's first birthday. She is now out of the months and into years. I can't believe that it has already been a year since we were blessed with her. We are having a birthday party on Saturday for her. It is going to be a water theme. We are having water balloons, a sprinkler, games and hot dogs and hopefully some watermelon. I wish strawberries were on sale again, I wanted to make a cake with them, but I'll see when I head to the store. Happy Birthday, my beautiful baby girl!!!!

Scrapbooks

I found a scrapbook that I really like. I have a few from Creative Memories, but they are so expensive to buy more. I am really liking this one. I am on the hunt for more of them. So far, I've searched Dogpile and Amazon, with no results. I can't believe that Amazon let me down. I shop there weekly and have never not been able to find something. It was awful to not be able to find them. I'm going to keep searching though. I actually bought it from Wal-Mart, but they only had boy colors, so I thought for sure I would be able to find girly colors online. I will keep up my hunt and let you know how it goes. I'm also going to post some pictures from our trip to Nanny's house. It was so much fun, and so dang relaxing!!! More to come............

Catch Up

It seems like every time I do good with blogging, I fall off again and don't do so good. I'm going to get better. Well after next week because I'm going to be gone this weekend! We have been busy enjoying our summer. We've been blueberry picking, hung a tire swing for Kameron, visited my family in Onalaska, I finished a baby-shower present for a friend, taught Kameron how to use my camera, kinda, Kaydence learned to stand up on her own, and had to return our Wii Fit :(

More details:

We went blueberry picking, not once, but twice. We will be going again to get some more for family. We gave some to my grandma and she was so excited about getting them. She mentioned that if we were going back, that she would love some more, so it looks like we will be heading back out.

We hung a tire swing for Kameron. We were going to hang it close to the house, but Adam said the higher we hang it, the higher Kam would go. So, the tire swing is tied way up high in a tree. Kam sure loved it though. He was going so high. I thought I picked out a tire that he would be able to see over, but not quite yet. Soon he should be able to!

We went up to Onalaska for the weekend. We got to visit with a lot of my family from my dad's side. It was great! I really miss them and don't quite realize it until I get to see them again. We visited and played games and just spent time together. My parents were up there so we got to spend Father's Day with my dad, it was nice.

Woohoo, I finished a present that I am making for Amber. I would love to post a picture, but she reads this and I don't want to ruin the surprise. It's great though. I was so happy to see how well it turned out!! You're gonna love it, I promise!!!! lol

I was taking some pictures of Kaydence, trying to capture the new thing that she learned and Kameron wanted so bad to take some pictures. I showed him what button to push and how to make sure that he could see what he wanted to take a picture with. He got a good one of me and Kaydence and then I took one of the three of us. Happy memories!!

Kaydence learned to stand up on her own. When we were at my grandma's house, I thought that I saw her standing up, but when I said something, she fell back down. Then, yesterday, she was doing it again and I quickly grabbed my camera for a Kodak moment! She is gonna be walking soon.

And last but not least, we had to return our Wii Fit. The stupid thing would play sometimes and then not play other times. I am hoping that it was a problem with the disk, and not the console. It is going to be so depressing if we have to reset the system. We will loose everything. Not good. But, I returned it and of course they didn't have another one, so now I'm on another mission to find another one. I let you know how it goes.

Wii Fit

Well, we got our wii fit yesterday. We basically set it up and added all of us to the Fit Plaza. It weighs you, measures your BMI and tracks your progress. It wants you to set goals and talks to you each time you log in on making progress towards your goal. It seems pretty cool. It kinda sucked seeing my reality out there, on the TV. But, in a way, it inspired me to try to work harder at losing this weight and eating healthier. Adam and I have been doing so much better on healthier eating. Now, if I could just get in more exercising it would really help. Anyways, I'm going to be a hula hoop master!!! I can spin 5 hoops at a time and keep em going strong! I am loving our wii fit and recommend it to everybody that has a wii. I know a few of you guys do, and I actually think you have wii fit, but I know of some that don't have the wii fit, It's Awesome!!!! Hopefully it will help me stay accountable because it weighs me daily and tracks my BMI. We will see.

I'm Hooked

So, I wasn't going to read them, who wanted to read a book about vampires right? Well, it turns out that I did!! Several times to be exact. Who would have thought that the Twilight Series would have captured my attention like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. I just didn't see it coming. A friend of mine, Nicole, was talking about it on her blog, so I ordered the 1st book from Amazon. I started it at11:30 the night it came in and finished it the next morning at 3:45. I read nonstop for 4 hours. It was awesome. I messaged her at 3:45 and told her I was going to be needing the next one in the series. I overnighted the 3rd one to me from Amazon. I finished all three of them in 2 days. They are crazy good. It's so hard to describe them to someone, talking about vampires and werewolves, people decide they don't want to start. If they only knew what they were missing. They were so good and I can't wait until August 2 for the 4th one to come out, Breaking Dawn. WOOOHOOO!! Thanks Nicole, for introducing them to me.

They are making a movie for the first book, Twilight. This is a preview for the movie. Looks Good!!

Time

It has been a lot of time since I posted last. I was doing so good at keeping it up and poof, 2 weeks and I'm so behind. Not too much has been going on though. My kiddos have been sick. Coughing, running noses, watery eyes, that sorta thing. On top of that, Kaydence is getting her two top teeth. Hasn't been the easiest time. I helped my mom a few different days at her school. Man, there really hasn't been much going on. I've got the house clean. Tomorrow, I'm going to see Lisa for a few hours while Adam tests. Good grief, this is a pathetic post. LOL!!

In My Arms

When I was pregnant with Kaydence, I was babysitting while Adam was finishing school. The little boy that I babysat went to sleep on his own. No rocking, no holding, just lay him in is crib and he goes to sleep. Kameron is so not like that. So I decided that I wanted to try to have Kaydence be like that. I didn't know that it would come with such a high price. I never get to cuddle her. She hates with a passion for me to hold her in my arms. The only time I hold her, is when I'm feeding her, which is only for like 10 minutes a few times a day. I got what I wanted though, she sleeps in her room, every night, without falling asleep with aid. She will just latch onto her blanket, like her life depended on her not letting go, and falls asleep. But, the other night, we were leaving my mom's house. Kaydence had went to bed hours before we were ready to leave, it was like 11 when we decided to head out. She was so out of it asleep. When I picked her up, she snuggled right up to me and kept sleeping. It made my heart melt. It brought tears to my eyes and just gave me warm fuzzies. I sat down with her for a while and Adam came back in looking for me. He went and got the camera and snapped a few pictures. It will be a wonderful memory for me, getting to hold her in my arms.