It's the holiday season

Well what do you know, its already that time of year. The baking and kitchens gets crazy,shopping gets moved forward on the to-do list and of course; the stress levels elevate. Its the holiday season! Thanksgiving is just a few days away, are you prepared? I have a short list of things to bake this year. Im doing a ham, first one yet; broccoli and cheese and the ever so loved rolls. Short list thankfully! What all are you preparing and what are some of your favorite dishes you look forward to having this thanksgiving? I know I look forward to sweet potato casserole, the turkey of course and desserts! Oh yum, I love pie! And just as soon as its here it will be gone and Christmas is the next big thing. Have you done a lot of shopping yet? What are you planning on getting for your kids, your husband or wife? Ive got my sons stuff all picked out and in lay away! Yay, we draw names on thanksgiving to have gifts easier to do and afford. Pretty great to do when you have a great big ole family. What are some holiday traditions your family does? I cannot wait to hear all of your feed back and I pray that your thanksgiving is wonderful and full of memories and blessings!

Hello Fall

Today is October first and not only has it welcomed Fall but it also is the 1st day of my son being 3! I am looking forward to this weather and all the festivities that come along with it. We plan on taking AJ to the pumpkin patch, make some cool desserts with mommy, and apple cider for the first time. I wanted to try and be "impressive" and make a homemade pumpkin pie last year. HA! until i looked up the recipe lol it was so difficult I gave up before I even finished reading the directions!

Maybe we'll also be able to go on a hayride and a corn maze (which i havnt been to) yea ever, I hear there a lot of fun! AJ would enjoy it of course! What are some of your family traditions for Fall?

The Love of a child

As my son grows physically and emotionally so does his love. I've noticed how each and every time I come to pick him up after a day of work he hugs and kisses me more than ever. He says "I love you mom" and pop kisses me at least 10 times a day. I love it. I love how he always seems to smell like cookies and dirt. (the smell of boys im guessing) He can play with trains quietly or throw soft baseballs at my face and bust out in laughter. He counts to 15, knows his colors, and loves to talk about everything. His 3rd birthday is coming up and I cant believe it. Asking him to go outside is like offering a huge comfortable bed to me when Ive only had 2-3 hrs of sleep. Its an over excited emotion. An obvious yes, always. We played out with the water hose, ate popsicles, played with some left over sparklers, and caught lighting bugs when it got darker. I love this age and I know im going to miss it very soon. In a few years he'll be a pre-schooler, before I know it he'll be driving and graduating college. Just the thought scares me to death. It seems like only yesterday I found out I was going to be a mother, 3 years has come and gone so fast. No matter how big he gets I know I'll always have those special memories of when he was small, a baby opening his eyes for the first time, to when he started to crawl, walk, run, talk, count, to amaze me. I love my son and he loves his mommy.

Update

So not much has changed in the past few months, everything is still great though. We are talking of selling our house and looking for something with a little bit bigger kids rooms. Ajs room and the guest room is a little smaller than we'd hope. But we had initially planned on flipping our first home so it's still up in the air about what we're going to do for sure. Ajs almost 3, which is just crazy. He's so smart, he remembers everything and he's become a little comedian. I just love him more and more each day! Me and Tony have talked about having another so thats exciting! He is of course wanting another boy. (men) lol Ive been ready for a while but it's all about compromise and Gods will. I was sad that I miscarried but God has a plan and im just waiting to see it unfold. Im at a loss now what to write about really, lol so I guess im going to end it here! :)

On the Radio

As I was driving somewhere the other day, the location unimportant really I was listening to my favorite radio station (J103).There was a pastor on one of the infomercials and he asked a very good question that has stuck with me the past few days. He asked "Are you a Christian or are you a disciple? God only mentions the word "christian" in the Bible 3x but the word "disciple" is mentioned 259x. God doesnt want you to just be christian to look and act that way but to be a disciple for Christ." As I sat and pondered over what he said it made me sit and think. He made a very good point. There's a lot of "Christians" in the world, but I bet if all the Christians were video taped for a month straight maybe half or less than half would be "christ-like" for that month. Would they read their Bibles? go to church? Tell others about God? Give to the poor? Say positive things to co workers and family? Would they pray? There's many days I dont do these things but I know im a christian right? Well we're striving to be the wrong thing, we need to reach out our hands to higher goals and a higher calling. Be a disciple. What is a disciple though? Disciple means a 'follower' of Jesus helping to spread the good news of Christ; an active follower and believer! Not only do we need to proclaim to be Christian, thats a good thing but we need to show that we are disciples. Spreading Gods love, His laws, His promises, His life story, and most importantly salvation! So have you been striving to just get religion? To be on someone's calling list or prayer list but you have no idea who this God is? Well the Bible can tell you! Get it out, read it, and study study study! If you have trouble doing it reach out, join a study group, have someone check on you daily to hold you accountable to make sure you do read whether it be your spouse, mom or dad, sister or brother or a friend. Our days get so 'busy' with tv and computers and cell phones how ever will we find the time to fit in God? Well I think if we can sacrifice a few hours, i mean minutes a day to use Facebook I think we can manage to read our Bible for at least an hour! Im talking to me here to ya know. I am guilty of this one! So now let try to stand up tall, get rid of this fear to throw a life preserve to the lost and drowning in the world and pull them in for Christ, I mean thats why He made us. He's waiting for you and me to make that move to bring in another. You remember how sweet it was, how wonderful and beautiful it was to meet God for the first time when u prayed Him into your heart. Don't you want that joy for others? For that friend you work with or that uncle who cusses like a sailor? Or maybe its your mom or dad? Even if they reject you or I a seed is planted (Gods promise) and let ne tell you God promises to work on their hearts. They WILL NOT forget your words! And dont forget to pray for them either! Prayer is still working ya'll. I've seen it in action and praise God He still listens! So dont give up, take up your cross with Jesus and keep going! He did for you!

For sure

So not much has happened in the Vecchio house. My moms been sick off and on lately and she's had a catscan and MRI but she wont get her results in til the 4th of April. They'v mentioned it to might be multiple sclerosis but they cant be sure. AJs getting smarter by the minute. He now says "duh" after every funny remark he makes. I said to him jokingly one day last week and he says it to me ALL the time! His 3rd birthdays coming up in 6 months! wow! Cant believe that. My bdays coming up in may. Ill be 23. That doesnt seem real either. Times going by so fast! I've also made a new best friend. Im glad Gods brought us together. I think she needed me just as badly as I needed her. It's nice to have a gf to talk to about anything without being judged or questioned. We get each other even though we are completely different! We are hoping to be able to take a family vacation this summer but we will have to see what God brings til then. We've def been blessed and He takes care of us daily. Ive been trying to do a study each day and that helps me and keeps me right minded. When im out of the word a few people know it. lol Thats what God says though, to stay timid and patient and right minded it's good to be in the word. It renews our mind, patience and intentions each day! And it def does. Tony and me are doing good as well. I think I love him a little more each day. And yeah we fight but its always over something dumb like dirty clothes in the floor or me singing too loud while he's watching tv! lol But we make it through and come out stronger through each one! Im just waiting and watching for Gods next move for my life. And i'll gladly take each step with His hands guiding me on. Sometimes not willingly but He always gently pushes me like a child making sure I know He's there!

Something new

So here I am sitting on my couch under my bright green blanket with my laptop in my lap..wondering what to blog about. Milly is right beside me watching my fingers fly across the keys in amazement wondering if she should pounce any moment and bite me. I hope she doesnt. Ajs napping so I've got an hour or so of some quiet "me" time and im taking a break from laundry to just sit and be lazy. After watching the movie "Julie & Julia" I have been wanting to try new recipe's and im even considering buying Julia Childs cook book. But there's a problem, I have a picky husband. He likes his burgers ketchup only, he only eats the vegetables: green beans, potatoes, and okra. Yea. Plus he's not into trying new things. Im just trying to figure out if I do try to cook all this new food he's gonna hate it and most will be wasted. I cook maybe 9 or 10 diff meals and I wanna explore something new. Maybe within the next few days, months, and years he will try new things and I can get him to enjoy new foods as well. We'll see :)

Spring time come

February is almost over and the month of March will be starting soon! 2011 is flying by already but I am ready for spring time. This warmer weather we've had is a nice change from the 30-45 degree weather we've been stuck with, oh and the snow. Eeek. We've been able to work out in the yard and Lord knows it needs some attention. I am hoping I have a green thumb when it comes to gardening, if not then I might just get some people over to help lol I want lots of flowers to liven the place up a bit. Lots of color is a great thing. Plus they smell nice too. There's a lot of things I envision for our house and yard but of course it takes time and the mighty dollar. Time is the one of the two we have. lol So we can do little by little and watch the change grow and happen at its own rate. Thats def something I cant wait to see is the finished product. :)

Shoo Flu!

The past week has been awful. Not only has my 2 year old been sick with the flu, yes the flu, my husband also has it. Somehow I have managed to escape it. I havnt had the slightest bit of sickness! Boy am I glad. Today is marking the 1 week that AJs been sick and he's finally starting to act "normal" and is eating a little more as well. I am doubting he'll see 30 lbs soon. LOL I am just glad the tamiflu (meds) seems to be helping him. Although now Tony has it. He hasnt been as bad as AJ I am guessing the age difference has a lot to do with it. Even though most men are complete babies when they are sick Tonys not been to bad, but I dont mind taking care of my guys. But I am glad there's light at the end of this sick tunnel and Im so close to being in the sunshine again. Ajs also slept pretty good since he's in our bed and I've been able to rest well amongst it all. I just continue to pray that I do not get the flu and that it passes over them quickly. Thanks for all the prayers ya'll.

Full Garage!

As the days move forward and we become more "settled" into our home I see a lot of stuff in our garage that we dont use! When we sort through it all I am thinking of doing our first garage sale. Hopefully we can get rid of most of the clutter that is filling our garage and make use of the extra space for our cars! Mine wont fit in there with the door closed (sucks yes) but I drive a boat if u havnt seen it.But at least if it's raining I can pull in and unload myself, groceries, AJ too of course without getting drenched. I am starting to really love my home. Don't get me wrong I loved it the moment we moved in but that was a newness type love. A change. Now it's like a need. Coming home, seeing a clean home, a place that we are staying in to make memories. Its a good feeling. It's mine. The money we are paying actually goes towards it not to a landlord and out the window like renting. It's a good feeling. Being home, its more than a place, it's our sanctuary.

Cure for sleeplessness

Well as some of you know AJ has been an awful sleeper since he was about 11 mths old. I dont know what brought it on or why it started but it did. So from 11 mths til now (he's 27 mths) I have had 6-7 hrs of sleep or less every night! And not continual. Say I go to bed at 10pm. AJ would wake up at 12am and i'd go back to sleep around 1. Ok so there's 2.5 hrs of sleep. He wakes up again at 4 and is up 30-45 min back asleep by 5. Then is up at 7am for good. For me a grand total of 7.5 hours. But by the time im up I feel exhausted because I truly did not rest well. This was an on going thing every night. It didnt matter what I tried: Tylenol, warm milk, melatonin,a fan, a radio, keeping him up late, not letting him take a nap which was prob the worst idea ever! So as a mom I was just totally frustrated and felt overwhelmed and sad that my child just wouldn't sleep. What else could I do? Would he always be a bad sleeper and this would follow him throughout his childhood? All I know is im tired and I need sleep. Not that I just want it, I NEED IT. I cant nap during the day so dont suggest it (:P) because I wont even when I can. Working now 4 days a week I have 2 days to clean the house. So I do.

After my grandma passed his sleeplessness seemed to only get worse. He'd wake up 2 hours after he'd gone to sleep and cry and whine and wouldn't go back to sleep in his room. So I slept in the guest bed with him. He sleeps all night. Now for a moment im happy because I got some sleep but all my hard work isn't paying off because im going backwards now. AJ has NEVER had to sleep in our bed, so the next few nights i try and get im to sleep in his room. Or once he's asleep in my bed I move him to his room and same thing happens... he's up 10-15 min later and is screaming crying. But I am happy to say I grew a back bone after 14 mths of suffering and just let him cry... I told him I loved him in his room, sang to him til he was almost asleep and closed his door behind me and closed my bedroom door. He cried for about 30 long minutes and was out. He slept til 9am the next morning. And last night he didnt even wake up I didnt hear him if he did. 9:30pm-8am!! Thats almost 12 hours! woohoo! I of course didnt go to bed til 11:30 (lol) but still that was so nice to not have to get out of bed and deal with something that shouldn't of been anyway! So I am hoping this continues and that tonight he will sleep well and that I can start being a better momma and hopefully have more energy to do things I love <3

Oh no, more snow?!

Well the weatherman called it, as much as I really didnt think it would happen it did. We got about 8-9 inches of snow! As beautiful as it is it has caused me and Tony to miss work this week! We missed 3 days last week because of my grandmother's funeral and burial. So we were already behind with bills and money! Well then wouldn't ya know here came snow! So now we are officially 2 weeks behind :( Im not really worried though thankfully our 1st house payment isnt until Feb. So we have all the small bills to pay in 2 weeks time. Hopefully we are busy at my work and I make enough tips to suffice a few bills. God's in control and He always comes through somehow every time! I have faith we can do it because we've seen worse times! But we stayed with my aunt 2 nights and we really had a good time. Played a lot, watched movies, and napped a few times. I got to catch up on my missed sleep ive had. (That was prob the best part) So pray for us that we can meet our bill quota this month lol Something tells me we will... I'm pretty confident! :P

Jan. 8

Really enjoyed cleaning up our church today. Me and Tony got to cut up and joke around. He helped me out with mopping and sweeping (stuff he doesn't do at home :P) and we had a few good laughs. My church means a lot to me and it should to anyone who attends church. I have been going there for about 11 years. My grandmother loved our church too, she'd always be there to help clean or assist in anyway she could if she was well enough. Many Sundays I have felt loved and appreciated and when I miss church I regret it. We always get blessed and feel the holy spirit on Sundays! There's just something about singing for God that I just love. I have always loved to sing but once I started to sing at my church, that was a completely different emotion. I felt uplifted, like I had a purpose. I was meant to help lead and point others to Christ through music. And what a joy it is! And believe me, not every Sunday do I want to be up in front of the congregation, I don't want to always sing and sing "praises" because believe or not im not always happy! But once the songs are over, people have prayed, and the preacher comes up I feel refreshed! My lifes not perfect, haha, far from it most days. I yell when im frustrated, I throw clothes around when I cant find anything to wear... I whine and complain about stupid things. I mean how can u always go through the day happy and without a bad thought? Hmmm u cant, so no one think I do because your mistaken! lol Very much mistaken. But I dont carry my burdens, I lay them down and give them to God. I have learned over the last few years that nothing is accomplished from being negative and grouchy. God doesn't want you to be miserable He gave His son to die on a cross for you, for ME! When you look at the big picture, well lets switch it back to 1st person, when I look at the big picture I gotta repent cause I have acted so selfish.

There are days now I do admit that I am in a great mood, where it goes perfect and i just smile and forget about all my problems. But is that a bad thing? HA no!!! :) I wish I had weeks at a time like that... God wants us to be happy not just in our life but in spirit!

Psalm 68:3
But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.


Its not all about material things its about family, contentment, salvation, hope, faith, love, forgiveness, and many more things! God is good, all the time!

Talking it out

Its been a long and stressful first week of the year. I am planning on getting as much info for school in the coming week as I can and being sure I make the best decision possible. Im still contemplating being a teacher but something in the medical field is in the back of my mind as well. We have just about everything done inside the house except hanging a few blinds, decorations, and re-vamping the bathrooms. Hopefully around tax time we will be able to paint them and try to get them looking nice. I still keep a clean house, the apartment was a lot smaller and it takes a little longer to clean a 3 bedroom 2 bath house, lol but I manage to do it, work 4 days a week, as well and still keep myself sane. It was hard adjusting the first few weeks because there was a lot of "new" things going on. I am hoping to get AJ potty trained before summer but we will see how well that goes! He sometimes is interested and other times, hes not.Im really excited about summer time here at the new house. I plan on starting a garden and planting flowers! :) Something that our yard needs is some color and I am in love with the idea of flower beds!! Hopefully I have a green thumb like my parents did! Our yard always looked wonderful. Might just have to make them come help us too :P Our dog Jessie has done well here too, she hasnt run off (she's an outside dog now) but we need to get some fencing in the back yard so we can keep her pinned up. She likes to chew on stuff and bring it all over the yard. (Annoying) Our yard looks bad enough already we dont need her bringing trash onto it.. lol But all in all I am hoping this year brings new joys and some happy memories for my family. We will all greatly miss my momaw and will always think of her and how wonderful she was!

In Memory

As of 5:25 pm Jan 1st 2011 I lost someone very important to me. Betty Elaine Vinyard my grandmother (momaw) passed away. She died in her sleep at her home. She has been through many things the past 30 years of her life. She had cancer which caused her kidneys to fail which cause her renal failure and she was on dialysis for 25 years. She also had congestive heart failure, heart disease, kidney disease, low and high blood pressure, arthritis and asthma. But I am happy to say she is no longer in pain, no longer suffering or taking 20 pills a day. She is rejoicing and praising our Lord in heaven. It's weird really, I have a peace about it all. I am so sad to not have her here with us anymore but I know she was so tired. God knew when it was right for her and that she was ready to go home. So right now I tell all of you, cherish life. Live it and have a purpose. Our new year began very gloomy with her passing but it also reminds us of Gods promise that we will see her again. She was my mentor, my hero, a wonderful grandmother, mom, sister, wife, friend, and teacher. Each word she said was wise and she was usually right about everything. I miss her already. The sound of her voice, the way she would sit and laugh with me, playing with my son AJ and reminding me to do something she had told me a 100 times already.
This year will soon go by and the sting of death will fade but still leave a scar. I cannot ever know why it had to be today. I was regretful because I was going to go visit her yesterday after her surgery but time escaped me and I had to go today. but it was too late. I got a call from my dad and was told she was being took to the hospital and they couldnt find her pulse. I wanted to scream. Not only did I want to see her I had promised I would. But I never got to say goodbye. This year she left us all a message louder than any words could speak. I hope everyone was listening. RIP Momaw. I love you so very very much..