Feel the JOY!

Remember my JOY post just a few days ago. At the bottom of the post, I asked if anyone could help me make a cute button for my sidebar. Well, ask and you shall receive.

Linda, is one of my most favorite bloggy friends. Oh, and the definition of a "bloggy friend" is a person who you LOVE even though you have never actually met them. Linda's blog is so real, very creative and very inspiring. I just know that if we were ever able to meet in real life, we would be friends forever. Want to check her out??? Linda @ Growin With It...she's on my sidebar too!

Anyway...Sweet Linda made me a button and I totally LOVE it! What *JOY* she has brought to me!



Thanks Linda!

Tagged

Kerry tagged me several days ago, and I'm just now getting around to this. Actually, it was 8 days ago, so I was planning this the entire time!

"8 is the magic number, yes it is, it's the magic (cue drums) number" Jack Johnson sings it with "3", but today we are changin things up a bit!


*8 Things I'm looking forward to*

1. Having these April showers turn into a lot of May flowers. It seems like its been raining for a long time here in the Midwest...can't wait to see all the flowers.

2. Getting rid of this darn cold that has settled itself into my chest...looking forward to not coughing ALL the time.

3. Opening the windows in the house again...I love the weather when it's warm but not too hot...I love to have the wind blowing through the house.

4. Getting my blog book done on blub.com....maybe I'll have it done by the 8th month....(August, that gives me 3 more months to work on it!)

5. Going to the beach sometime this summer....Max has been asking to go to the beach...not looking forward to the drive, but the family time will be awesome!

6. Watching my kids grow and become the people God intends them to be.

7. Being here to do number 6

8. Researchers finding a cure for MS, cancer and all the other terrible diseases that cause so people so much pain.


*8 Things I did yesterday*

It wasn't an exciting day here yesterday...just to warn you!

1. Went to the grocery store

2. Did 2 loads of laundry (that means washed, dried, folded and put away...just in case Andy is reading this)

3. Switched the kids winter and summer clothes, although it looks like they will need the winter stuff today (totally my luck....oh and Elizabeth...we'll be sending some clothes your way!)

4. Got Maggie's birthday party invites printed and ready to mail today!

5. Made a "bead thing" with Max..he loves to make these!

6. Took Maggie to get her hair trimmed, she did much better this time...remember this post!

7. Missed a church meeting (sorry Amy!)

8. Took a hot (well very warm...just in case my doctor is reading this) bath and was in bed at 8:30. (again I was thinking ahead to this post and knew the 8 o'clock bedtime would work out well)

Told you...it wasn't exciting around here yesterday at all


*8 Things I wish I could do*

1. Not worry and stress out so much over the little things (I am trying to work on this...but need a lot more practice)

2. Sing or dance, or have some sort of creative talent...oh, I can do a craft project or two, but most of the time, I get the idea from somewhere else.

3. Take a sneak peak into heaven...I'd love to just check the place out for a few minutes...like an open house on Sundays where you get to walk through people's homes for sale.

4. Speak what my mind is thinking. I tend to have great thoughts in my mind, but can never really get them out clearly when speaking to others. See, that doesn't even make sense.

5. I could be more knowledgeable in understanding the bible, politics, and history! I think I need to read and study more

6. Start my own organization business...call it "Tidy Up with Traci" I would totally love to help people get there life organized.

7. Have more patience...although, I'm done praying for that....cause we all know what happens when you pray for patience.

8. Cook something so well, that every time I was going somewhere people would say, "Bring your famous .........!, everyone always loves when you make ...........!"

*8 Shows I love to watch*

1. Jon & Kate plus 8
2. Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives....(Gotta love Guy!)
3. Divine Design with Candice Olson
4. Oprah
5. American Idol
6. CSI
Can't think of any more...I'm usually in bed when all the good shows are on

*Tag 8 others*

I'm just going to leave this up to you...if you want to play along great...if you want to play, let me know and I will post your link at the end of this post!

Have a gr8 day!

Thankful Thursday!

Last night was the last night for our WATCH program at church. WATCH (Wednesdays At The CHurch) is the weekly program that includes a family meal, and then off to the kids program, bible studies, youth events, etc. It's a great thing. Just knowing that its one less night to have to figure out what to make for dinner...is almost the best part. Amy (the director) always has a fun-filled family night on the last night and this year, she had a luau. The food was awesome, the talent show was great and the kids had a lot of fun! Thanks to Lisa, we got a few pictures!




Thinking of last night just reminds me how thankful I am for my family, my friends, my church, my God. I have a lot to be thankful for!

Flip Flop Party!

Linda is having a party today...a flip flop party! Even though I didn't participate, I wanted to share my most favorite pair of flip flops with you.


This very special pair of flip flops were given to me, along with many other Disney related items, from some friends, the day before we left for Disney last May. They are just darling...and even though, I didn't wear them at Disney (I'm more of a wear-really-comfortable-shoes-when-I'm-going-to-be-walking-for-100-miles-a-day kinda girl), but I got them out on Fourth of July, they looked super cute with my red shirt, and have worn them many times since...and you know what...they are the most comfortable pair I have. Cute and Comfy...who would have guessed?!?! (Sorry for the world's largest run-on sentence!) Anyway, aren't they cute...thanks again Princess and Pinky...still lovin them!



Little miss Maggie has a birthday coming up real soon and this year is a big event. We are having our first birthday party with friends. We have always just had a family party, which is still great, but this year she is inviting the girls from her class and a few neighborhood friends to a little party. Guess what else....we are going to make these cute little flip flops for their craft. It's easy, mess-free (cause you know I'm all about that!) and I'm hoping it will kill a LOT of time. I bought 11 pairs of "girlie" flip-flops at the dollar store and we all know I have a little spare ribbon to use! I hope it turns out well...stay tuned for more birthday party particulars coming in the next few weeks.


Go on over and check out all the cutie flip-flops the girls are sharing at Growin' With It!

Baby got back....

Splash...

Nope this isn't another controversial Burger King commercial with the Sir Mix-A-Lot song...

Andy and his dad spent the weekend getting our kitchen back splash up! It looks great!

FYI, when they do a kitchen back splash on those HGTV shows in about 3 hours...I'm sure that it all falls down by the next day. It took these two very intelligent, it has to be perfect, without any mistakes, guys the entire weekend. I'm sure it didn't help that I wanted the tile placed on the diagonal. But it looks awesome! Glad it wasn't super nice outside! We still have to grout, seal and get the microwave back up...but I can see the end of this kitchen redo in sight people...it is a wonderful thing I tell ya...absolutely wonderful!

A great big "thank you" goes out to our Papa! We couldn't have done it without you! Thanks!

I need your help!

On Sunday, September 13, 2009 @ 1:00 in the afternoon, I will be participating in my first MS WALK. I would LOVE to get a team together, and I need your help to do that! It's in the Peoria area and it's only 3 miles, come on you can do it! Support this cause, support me!


If you would be willing to walk with me, help me raise money, donate your time and/or your money to help in the research of MS. I would be so grateful. Please consider participating with me. I would love to have you on my team. We might even get some fun "prize" stuff involved...you know t-shirts, bracelets, etc...you just never know! There is plenty of time to think about it, pray about it, and support a great cause. This is only the beginning...this won't be the last time you hear from me!

Thanks in advance for your support! I couldn't do it without YOU!

J*O*Y

I got a thank you note in the mail the other day, it was a thank you note from one of my mother-in-laws dearest friends. Back in January, in honor of my wonderful MIL, I sent out a very special "JOY" bracelet to several special people in her life. I sent the bracelets as a reminder of her, to honor her, and to remember that she is always with us!

I asked everyone with a bracelet to wear them on Joy's birthday back on January 19th. Remember this post!

Anyway, back to the thank you note. Included with the super sweet note from Joy's dear friend, was a newspaper clipping. It was an article all about JOY. Now, it wasn't about "our Joy" as a person, but about how JOY is all around us, if we would just be open and acknowledge it.

The very best part of the article is when it talks about how the word "JOY" should be used. I'm sure you have heard this before, as I had, but it is a great reminder and I wanted to make sure and share it with you.

"If you put Jesus first, then Others, then Yourself, you will live a life of JOY. It has been a motto and a way of life for many. No matter your faith or religion, when you take the focus off yourself and do a small kindness for someone else, a little seed of joy is planted. Let the seed grow and plant another one!"

What a great reminder of "our Joy!"

J * Jesus
O * Others
Y * Yourself



I would love to have a sidebar button of "JOY", anyone know how to make one?

Crazy Kid

Maggie was so excited with all the "p" words yesterday, that she thought we should do a different letter today!

This was her conversation with me this morning, "So what letter should we do today mom? How about we do the letter "c"...cause we can have cereal for breakfast, cookies for lunch and cake for dinner, oh and we can do crafts all day....doesn't that sound like fun!"

That's when I had to break it to her....no cookies and cake and NO CEREAL for breakfast... cause we were totally out of milk! Instead of the fun "c" day we were off to get a haircut for this mama and some much needed groceries! Doesn't that sound like way more fun! NOT!

The kiddos were so good at the store and only bugged me for a few things, and I only gave into one of those things...I'm so strong. We ended up stopping at the movie store (it's still cold and cruddy around here) and picked up "Bedtime Stories"...a very cute movie!

We are finishing our evening with Taco Tuesday, American Idol, and a very warm bath for mama.

Positively Perfect!

On the first day of spring break my true love gave to me...oh, wrong song and my singing is so horrible I will spare you from listening...instead we are going with a "P" theme for this positively perfect stay-home-all-day-long-day!

It was a poor, pitiful, rainy spring day, the perfect day for a pile of pancakes at breakfast. That was Maggie's request and since we wouldn't normally have time to make a pan full of pancakes on a school day, today was her day to pick!

I also tried to get a picture of the people still in their pajamas at a quarter to four this afternoon, but one particular boy was having a problem with it. Maybe it was all the posing for pictures during the picking of eggs yesterday that did him in. Sorry, no picture of the people in their pajamas...maybe next time!

We made popcorn for lunch! Our pantry is in great need of being replenished and I should have piled the people into the van and ventured out to the store today, however...it was much more fun to stay in our cozy jammies and in our warm house and not get out in the rain today! Popcorn and a movie...what could make lunchtime more fun???

Maggie and I also played a new game of "sight word" poker. We laid out all the flash cards and she picked out the words she knew for sure...we then practiced the ones she didn't know as well. Practice makes perfect! She makes this parent so proud!

The plan for dinner turned out to be homemade pizza...we had to have something with a "P" since we had pancakes for breakfast, popcorn for lunch...we just HAD to have pizza for dinner! I guess we could have had, pork chops, potatoes & peas...but pizza, well do I really need to say more?!?

It was a great end to our positively perfect day!

Egg-cellent Easter!

We had a wonderful day, the weather was sunny, but chilly....dry, but muddy...the perfect you-better-buy-a-sweater-to-go-with-that-sleeveless-dress day.

The kiddos got up early to find eggs....wanna see them? Sure you do! I apologize for my shaky hand...if you get dizzy, you may not want to watch! It's long and boring, so you won't hurt my feelings if you don't watch!



Of course, my camera stopped as soon as we were getting to the good stuff...I asked the kids what the "real" meaning of Easter is. Reminding them that it isn't just about finding eggs and getting baskets. Maggie responded, "Jesus got out from that big rock and went to heaven...it was a miracle!" Max said, "he died on the cross"...."nope, that was Friday...buddy, but good try!"

Church was beautiful, all the Easter lilies totally get me in "spring mode!" I love seeing them all and reading who donated them and who they are honoring. Maggie and Max always get one in honor of their Nana. Oh how we miss her, especially on these special days. We had a little egg hunt during Sunday School and by little I mean 1700 eggs....(yes, 1700...not all 1700 are in this picture, obviously!) That's a lot of eggs! Since it was muddy...the "guys" just put them out in the driveway. The kids totally didn't care...they just wanted all the candy inside!


We came home to rest for a bit before we headed out for our traditional Easter dinner at Fairview Farms. It's always great to see everyone, eat some great food and get totally stuffed.... and the kids always have so much fun when we are together.



We are on spring break this week, so I hope to be able to do some fun things with the kids this week. We are doing a "staycation"...love that word! So stayed tuned for some exciting pictures of blanket forts, pancake breakfasts, and wearing jammies all day!

Oh, by the way, anyone have any great ideas for 18 (I mean 17 ...I forgot the Easter bunny ate one!) hard-boiled eggs? They are totally stinkin up my fridge!

What's your Easter tradition?

So sorry about the boring blog this week. I could win the "boring blog" award for sure! I've had several of you, check in to make sure that I'm okay...and I am, it's just been a pretty boring week and I'm tired.

We just returned from a beautiful Maunday Thursday service at church. I love the Easter holiday! My Easter has always been spent at church, then out to dinner at a place that serves "family style!" They bring out fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, corn fritters, slaw, salad & rolls...and they just keep bringin' it....until you are popping the buttons off your new Easter sweater! It's so yummy! I have spent every single Easter that way. (and this is my 36th Easter!)

I have also recruited Andy's side of the family to join us...it's kinda like our new tradition too! This year we have a reservation for 34 people plus a highchair for Sloany! Thirty-five people...see why we go out to eat! Can you imagine how much ham we would need to serve 35 people!

What do you do to celebrate Easter?

April show showers...

Gotta bring something better than this!

I guess I forgot to pack up all the Arizona warmth and bring it back to Illinois with us.....at least the sun is shining now!

Happy Monday!

Today I celebrate...

* my sweet little babies whispering as they tiptoe into my bedroom this morning to bring me their handmade cards, singing their version of the happy birthday song!

* my handsome and adoring hubby, who loves me, even when I'm hard to love...and I still totally love him even when he comes home sick on my birthday!

* my family who is so supportive, and always there when I need them.

* my wonderful, card giving, phone calling, text messaging, friends, wishing me lots of birthday wishes...oh, and the card playing friends tonight...can't wait to hang with you...although, my hubby will be staying home. :( Celebrating all my facebook friends, too! Thanks for your messages!

* the beautiful sunshine today...who wouldn't be happy to celebrate that!

* the new life challenges I've been given. I truly feel that God has a greater purpose for me. Looking forward to learning more, growing more and maybe even some day, helping others with their MS.

* the start of my 36th year, I can't wait to begin this new adventure!

Happy to be Home!

We are home. It was a very early morning, and we are all tired. Okay, I'm speaking for myself.

Vacations are always great. It's great to get away from it all, relax, do things you wouldn't normally do, but it ALWAYS feels good to get home.

A great big "Thank You!" to Grandma & Paca! We really had a awesome time and we hope that you both enjoy your last few days in peace and quiet. Feed the ducks for us! We love you!