Addison enjoying her new pool!

I used to be a tanning bed fanatic... It started when I was in high school & I tanned religiously throughout college. Then I got a "real job" and didn't have much time to tan & then I gave birth to another "job" and I definitely didn't have time to tan anymore. So for the past two years I have tanned a few times at the beginning of the summer, just to get the white off! So the other day I was at the tanning salon for the last time and EVERY woman that came in there look like a old blonde lizzard! It was scary...scary enough to make me appreciate the fact that I don't have time to tan all the time. I really don't want to look like an old lizzard lady when I am 40...eeek!

Don't get me wrong, I get the appeal of being tan. There's something about being tan that makes you look/feel ten pounds lighter, but after seeing those ladies I think I will just look fat!

Addison LOVES it outside & LOVES swimming, so we both have a pretty good tan already! We are ready for summer and for Daddy to be home!

Duck..duck..goose!

We went to the park today to get a picture for Addi's birthday card. Here are a few that I liked!

I don't like the way pictures look on this site... the real pics aren't blurry like this. Anyway, she was full of herself, as usual. We had to walk down to the lake and look at all the ducks and then half of them walked back into the park with us! She was laughing and in total disbelief that they would let her get so close. I had to promise her we would come back on Friday to feed the ducks or I fear we would still be there. What a toot!

Don't you just love her shirt?!! A custom shirt (to match with her birthday party) made by Megan Weiser @ http://www.sweetpeabling.com/

The Easter Bunny!

I thought I was feeling better today and I knew that Ryan and Addison were getting stir crazy being stuck at home all weekend with a sick Momma. So we went to the mall to see the Easter bunny. Unfortunately, we arrived before the bunny did!

She was soooo excited to see the Easter bunny. At first I think she was confused, fully expecting a real bunny. Even after she saw the giant bunny costume, she still wanted to get close to him (not wanting to wait her turn). It was somewhere between these last two pictures that I really began to question WHY we alway think it's a good idea to take a picture with Santa and The Easter Bunny?!!! Why torture our kids by forcing them to sit on the lap of some creepy fat stranger or a scary giant bunny?!!! I will probably forget all this next year or I will think that it will be different because she is older. Sure we got some funny pictures out of the deal...I'm just hoping we don't have nightmares about giant white bunnies tonight!

Everything Happens for a Reason...

"April showers bring May flowers"... This is my little May flower!

I have always believed that "everything happens for a reason" and I know that God is the reason that everything happens. Over the last few years I have said that so many times. There were a few job opportunities that passed allowing Ryan to get his current job. The job that moved us closer to "home" and allowed him to achieve one of his coaching goals (twice), the move that made me un-employed thus guiding me to another job that has kept me home with my daughter. When Ryan and I talk about everything that has happend to get us where we are, we always conclude that God had a plan for us and everything worked together to accomplish that plan. If God wouldn't have interveined when he did we could be in another town with completely different lives. I only bring this up now, because I think God had another reason for bringing us here. You see I believe that two years ago God knew that I was going to become pregnant with another child and lose that child. I believe that God put my friend Marla in my life because of that. From the very first night I met her I knew she would be my friend and I am grateful for that. When we lost our baby she was among the first to offer kind and understanding words. I am not one to talk about things and she has been very understanding of that. She recently gave me a book "I'll Hold You in Heaven" (one that I swore to her I didn't need...cause I'M FINE!) I think because she has experienced miscarriages she knows that you are never FINE. Anyway, today I am stuck in bed sick and started reading the book and didn't put it down til I was done. I'm not trying to brag, it's a small book with only 113 pages.

I feel like I have dealt with my miscarriage in an appropriate way. I am not a broken and sad person. Somedays I manage to get thru most of the day without thinking about it. Recently, I have been bombarded with pregnant people which seems to make me think about it more. I am supposed to be pregnant right now and I know about 15 other people who are actually pregnant...it makes it hard for me to not be bitter about my situation. I am trying really hard to not be that bitter angry person, but somedays I lose that fight. I think that's why I needed to read this book today.

Anyway, there were some really beautiful scriptures from the book that make my heart smile.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you."

- Jeremiah 1:5

-- Our baby had a purpose and he/she wasn't a waste of time.

"Their angels always see the face of My Father" - Matthew 18:10

-- Our baby was innocent and sinless therefore is in Heaven right now. Not because God took him/her to be an angel, but because the world is full of sickness and death. It's not God's fault and we shouldn't blame him for the death and destruction of the world.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose" -Romans 8:28

-- I just love everything about this verse and what it means. It makes whatever struggle you are going through seem okay.

So today I am thankful for the direction God has given us and the people he has put in our lives along the way.

Addison's Momma

Strawberry Pickin'

Today we went to Marble Falls to Sweetberry Farms to pick strawberries! The weather was warm, but we had a nice breeze. We all had a fun time picking berries, eating homemade strawberry ice cream, feeding goats, and Ryan and Addison rode the "hillbilly choo choo train". Of course she screamed and cried when we left, but she was exhausted too. We went thru six cups of goat feed... but if she had it her way, she would have fed them all day long! Poor Dada had to squeeze in the kiddy train to ride with Addi, but he said the whole ride she kept saying "Addi ride choo choo... addi ride choo choo... woohoo" She had lots of fun!