Staci's Heart

Happy Bday Landon Ray

2012-01-17T15:58:00.007-06:00

Six Years ago today I gave birth to a BEAUTIFUL blue eyed baby boy Landon Ray.

He has brought immense joy to my life, consistently making me laugh with his inquisitive looks and odd questions,

he keeps me on my toes if i try to pull one past him or talk about magical things, always interrogating me to assure my stories are true. He is SO intelligent and soft spoken around most, but SUCH a bogger at home when he doesnt get his way.

He is incredibly coordinated like his dad and I am positive that one day we will be fighting the girls off with a stick because he also has his dadas smile and charm. I am truly blessed to have this precious boy in my life......Happy Birthday Landon Ray.....

Girls weekend with BS!!

2012-01-10T20:09:00.002-06:00

This weekend i had the pleasure of packin up my goods and headin to see my Stacie in the woodlands!! Here are a few pics of us eatin and being silly!

After eating dinner we headed to the house of blues to see "The Molly Ringwalds" an amazing 80's band that dresses up and sings all the 80's hits! WE HAD A BLAST!!

I also got to see my Lindzers we had a low key friday night at Stacie's house and Blake brought her chemical peel products and got to work on poor Lindz. We also watched Bridesmaids which was TOO funny!!

It was soo great to spend the last few days of my break with these sweet girls. Im so blessed to have such amazing friends. Love u girls!!

Chicken Soup for your soul.....

2011-11-21T18:16:00.002-06:00

On this edition of "Jason and Staci Cook Dinner" we have Chicken Soup made in the good ole crock pot. The best thing about this meal is it is SUPER easy and its made with your judgement, meaning you decide what spices to use, of course i can guide you if you'd like....but every one likes to put there own flare on this type of classic meal. :)

First Gather your ingredients like so...

that would be:

15- 20 baby carrots cut up

1 large onion cut up

3 long pieces of celery cut up (im real professional as you can clearly tell by my big vocabulary)

2 jalapeno peppers (we ended up using only one and it still came out ridiculous spicy but use your judgement, the greener the spicier)

1 can of cream of chicken and mushroom (its a combo not two different cans)

Some chicken broth (see im super professional right here :) ) we used reduced sodium and a lil more than half the box.

Some water

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Salts and spices of your choosing (we used real parsley, dried celery leaves, some minced garlic, garlic salt and some pepper)

So first you cut up your celery, onion, jalapenos and carrots (didn't take pic of onions or jalapenos because it was 530 in the am and i could barely hold my arms up :) )

Put the veggies, the three breasts, the water and the reduced sodium (equal parts) and your spices into the crock pot.....
Then....and this is the best part.....set your crock pot on low and walk away :) Come back eight hours later, chop up some avocado to top it off, and you have your self a MEAL like so....

Enjoy!!

Black Bean Turkey Chili, YUM!

2011-11-14T18:00:00.004-06:00

On tonights edition of Jason and Staci cook dinner, only Staci cooked ;) and i decided to make Black Bean Turkey Chili for din!! It is made with 99% lean turkey meat which makes it much healthier and it is just as delicious as if it were cow meat yo....

So first gather all your ingredients like so....

Here is a list just incase you cant see all the goodness in the pic....

Ingredients

1 package Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast

1 cup onion, coarsely chopped (i used a red onion for more flavor)

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (i didnt have this so i did without it, didnt miss it either)

2 cloves garlic, minced (used a tablespoon of ALREADY minced garlic because really who has that kinda time)

2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced, if desired ( i used a cup and a half of sliced pickled jalapenos)

1 tablespoon chili powder (this is a lil much considering you have jalapenos AND crushed red pepper so use discretion...i have a family FULL of people who love spicy so it worked for us but it was SPICY)

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, if desired

2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans of low sodium whole tomatoes, coursely chopped

1 (8 ounce) tomato sauce

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (did without this didnt miss it)

1/4 cup low fat cheddar cheese, shredded

So make sure if you just scrolled through the ingredients that you read through them cause i made a few adjustments that might help you in the way of ingredients....

So i didnt have ground coriander so i had to actually grind it up myself...i have this handy little food processor that attaches to my mixer (amazing i know) and so i threw a bunch of coriander seeds in there and whala....ground coriander...i had to let it grind for about 4 mins before it actually became powder like...

My hubs says I'm a messy cook, and ill admit, i am....he tried to help me by telling me to measure out all my ingredients before hand but that just made it MUCH worse for me.....but heres a pic to show i at least tried :) So now that you have all your ingredients measured out and ready to go combine your extra lean ground turkey breast, onion, red bell pepper, garlic, jalapeño peppers, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, marjoram, and red pepper flakes in a large stock pot and cook until the meat is cooked through... Then add to the mix your tomatoes and your tomato paste....make sure you don't drain your tomatoes leave the juice in the mix, let it begin to boil and then turn down the heat and let simmer for 10 mins.... Then drain and wash off your black beans like so... Add black beans to the pot and stir in, cook for 10 more mins......... After ten mins your chili should be all ready to go add your cheese and extra chopped red onion and you have your self a MEAL!! I was gonna add some avocado to the top as a garnish but our three avocado were all nasty :( if you like cilantro you can add that as well, if you wanna make it fattening you can add some awesome corn chips too!! ENJOY!!

Marmalade Chicken

2011-11-07T18:57:00.003-06:00

So tonight we decided to cook Marmalade Chicken, I found the recipe on a Eating well website and its very low in calories but sounded really tasty, and for a side, since we still have some brussel sprouts left in the four pounds we bought we decided to have sauteed brussels, onions and zucchini for a side.

First gather all the ingredients:

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons orange marmalade (i used just a tad more like 2 and a half tablespoons cause i like sweet :) )
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 pound chicken tenders, (we used two large chicken breasts and cut them into three's)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest (did without this)

Once you have all your ingredients measured out then you combine the broth, vinegar, marmalade, mustard, and cornstarch in a medium bowl like so......and whisk it

Then prepare your chicken, cut it into strips if you have breasts and then salt and pepper each side like so....

Heat 4 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and shallots to the pan and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 30 seconds.
Whisk the broth mixture and add it to the pan. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer; cook until the sauce is slightly reduced and thickened, 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Add the chicken; return to a simmer. Cook, turning once, until the chicken is heated through, about 1 minute.

This is where you would remove from the heat and stir in orange zest, but i didnt add the orange zest and it turned out just as yummy :) we left this on the stove at low heat simmering while we chopped up our brussels onions and zucchini like so .....

we then brought a sauce pan filled with water to a boil and softened the zuchinni and brussels, then we added a lil olive oil to another pan and sauteed the vegtables until they browned and softened a bit more.

AND WHA LA....Marmalade chicken with sauteed vegetables....

ENJOY!!!

First Edition of Jason and Staci Make Dinner

2011-11-03T18:41:00.004-05:00

With Jason's recent diagnoses we have really tried to focus on our health, we've been doing crossfit with some of our close friends and trying to eat healthy as well. Jason is an amazing cook and so i figured I could start sharing some of the things we make.

First up Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa. And on the side "Orange Saucy Brussel sprouts! YUM!!

Here are the ingredients:

Chicken:
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
Salsa:
1 cup chopped plum tomato (about 2) (we used cherry tomatoes and cut them in half)
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 avocado, peeled and finely chopped

First you start with making the salsa, chop up all your ingredients and put them all together in a bowl like so...

Then squeeze in the lime and mix gently so as not to mash up the avocado.

place the salsa in the fridge while you prepare the chicken.

To prepare the chicken preheat the oven to 375, mix all the ingredients and marinate for up to 10 minutes like so...

Then spray your baking pans and place the chicken like so...

Put in the oven till cooked through.

Moving onto the Brussel sprouts. We bought this 2 lb bag at Costco

You will need freshly squeezed juice from one large orange, about a table spoon of butter, a teaspoon of ground ginger, salt and pepper, teaspoon of cornstarch and 12-15 sprouts cut in half, like so.....

Bring some water to a boil and place the sprouts in for about 5 mins or until soft.

once they are soft add butter to pan and then sprouts, let that start simmering then add your juice, your spice, your salt and pepper and your corn starch to thicken the sauce.

cook for about 5 mins and WHA LA you have Orange Saucy brussel sprouts.

Place the chicken on the place and cover with the salsa, add your side of sprouts and you have a FABULOUS meal!! Enjoy!!

Indianapolis Indiana

2011-10-05T18:41:00.003-05:00

Last weekend or rather the weekend before on my sweet 10 year olds bday we got a call from a Doctor that Jason had been talking to, this Doctor is Jason's Uncle mikes oncologist and he has been amazing, calling to put Jason's mind at ease on his own time...were talking hour long convo's, anyway, we got a call from him after Jason sent all his records up for him to take a look, the Doc was concerned about the reports that stated there was a nodule on Jason's left lung and he didn't understand why there hadn't been more tests run. This type of cancer spreads in a particular pattern and the lungs is where it typically metastasizes to, Jason and I were a little put off by that as well and just felt like visiting this Doctor in the great state of Indiana would help Jason make the best decisions, so off we went for a Chest CT and another Abdominal CT. Basically this was jason's first round of surveillance since its been about 2 months.

We had some time to kill before the doc could see us, and i had just finished my 2 quarter of nursing school FROM HELL, so we decided to make it a vacation....besides I had never met uncle mike (jason's dads brother) and Jason hadn't seen him since he was a young boy so off we went last friday. We got an amazing deal at one of the best hotels in IND according to Jay's uncle because we were visiting the Cancer center, I mean to tell u it was a fancy pants kinda place, and since it is so central we were able to walk everywhere which was great excersise...the weather was TO DIE FOR in the 60's and 70's the whole time with clear blue skies....

we even made a trip to the local zoo and it was one of the most amazing places i had ever been...the trees had just started turning and the animals seemed so happy and content.

we even walked along a canal there by the university and the area was just beautiful...

Some more pics of the beautiful animals

and the changing trees....
This was the most wonderful part of the zoo, this tiger came right up to the window and just rubbed its body back and forth like one of my cats...just so amazing...

We had SUCH a blast and it was SO relaxing...we needed that time so badly..and meeting Uncle Mike, Uncle Kevin and adopted uncle Terri was the best part....what a lovely bunch of Uncles ;) (pictures to come of them)

One day we even laid in the grass by the canal and just rested....such a beautiful time.

When it was time for the scan we felt rested and ready for anything....but thankfully Jason's CT was clean! The doc stayed with us for some time answering our questions and putting us at ease with the decision to continue monitoring...because of his teratoma Jason will have to be monitored for AT LEAST 10 years....but we are confidant with the team of Doctors we have and the support of our family and friends if anything should come of it Jason will be taken care of .

I am just so blown away by how strong Jason has remained, and how wonderful of an example he has been. Please continue to pray for him as u think of it. Again, ur support has been amazing...i cant thank u all enough!

My Ranch Chic Cowboy

2011-09-16T15:23:00.003-05:00

So this year on our anniversary we are facing some pretty devastating things, however, God is still good and wonderful things have come from the devastation. One of those things is Jason being given the opportunity to participate in a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society that benefits Cancer survivors as a, get this, male model for The Ranch Chic Fashion Show. :)

Not only was he honored that he was asked to do this but super stoked to show everyone his "blue steel" and "magnum" poses. .....well not really but we will pretend he was....in reality, Jason was really struggling with getting up in front of people and strutin his stuff, but with my encouragement, and a lil liquid courage, i said a little ;) he did a FANTASTIC job!!

Here is a pic of the catwalk pre-show

The very cool thing about this show is that not only was there real models, and local celebrities, but there were several models that were cancer survivors, which is why Jason was asked to participate.

The clothes were amazing, i had such a blast watching all the models.

The guy in the picture below is a cancer survivor and is responsible for starting a bone marrow registry called Marrow Match you can visit his website at www.themarrowmatch.com, please visit his site if you can, VERY inspiring story which is one of the reasons i am SO thankful for last night. We got to meet and visit with several cancer survivors, what a blessing for my husband to be able to connect with people who truly understand what he is going through.

Below is Kens 5 weatherman Bill Taylor, he had me in stitches every time he walked down the runway...hilarious.
And without further ado, here is MY man, my lil cowboy cassanova...

DANNNG!
Yes, he did....

But the most amazing part of the night was when the cancer survivors got to tell their stories....this is a pic of our friend from church Wendy, who has survived stage four breast cancer, and continues to fight.....if she can get through it.... then we can get through it for sure!

My man did such an amazing job, and such an inspiration, he had SO many people coming up to him after to thank him and or say they were praying for him....he even had several ladies and lil ladies wanting to take pics with him ;)
Over all it was one of the best anniversaries of our 11 year marriage. I am SO grateful for my husbands present health and for his unconditional love. I don't know what i would do with out him and with out all the amazing support HE provides me. Next year, if you can, i encourage you to attend. It was a wonderful/inspirational time and for such an amazing cause.

till next time!!

Decor

2011-09-06T16:47:00.006-05:00

A small update on Jason, we are still waiting for Jason to obtain an appointment with MD Anderson for a second opinion on treatment, we are mainly concerned about the effects chemo will have on Jason's body and we would rather talk to someone else before we make that call. RLNPD is still an option. I will keep you all posted.

Now onto what Jay and I have been doing to keep our mind off of things, we have really grown incredibly close through all of this and have just had soo much fun hanging out together. We decided once and for all it was time to get done all the things we wanted to do to our house done, so we started on our bed room, here is the before:

I could not STAND this color as an accent wall, i wanted a greyish blue color and Jay didnt listen to me when i said this would resemble a fiesta color, and low and behold i was right (which i always am ;) ) it literally took us 5 years to find the time to make our room into THIS masterpiece:
that is the wall our bed used to be on, we added a couch and a TV stand which will eventually have a tv above it, and the bed is turned the opposite way against the wall across from it,

I love the colors!!!
Then we painted the bathroom this beautiful mocha color and added some pictures of the family, and framed the mirror with white crown molding....
another view...
here is what is behind me , the bathtub
And then we redecorated the boys/guest bathroom,painted same mocha color, added a new shower curtain, and some pics....

Next up is the garage.....stay tuned!!

overwhelmed

2011-08-25T20:24:00.002-05:00

So this week has been bitter sweet, with Landon moving from pre k at a school i just adored and trusted with his life, into kinder where i dont know the teacher and a place where landon will be exposed to more than his sheltered little christian school exposed him to....I am SO proud of how well he has adjusted so far. He didnt even look nervous on his first day, just happy to be like his big bubba :) but i didnt handle it so well. I just cant believe how quickly he has grown. Logan has adjusted wonderfully as well, of course he has been at this school for 5 years now so he is pretty comfortable there. I am so proud of him too, such a sweet thoughtful child....God im blessed.

Then there was the test on tuesday that i bombed....ive been giving myself a pass due to all we have gone through lately, but now im starting to consider myself a grade A slacker....I have to make two solid B's to pass this class on my next two tests so im askin for prayers that i will stay focused and not loose sight of the goal.

And then there was Jason's appt today with the oncologist, A. i wasnt able to miss anymore classes due to all i have missed thus far, and so i couldnt go with him which just tore my heart out of my chest. For him to have to sit in a room and listen to the doctor explain such complicated procedures and treatments ALONE just makes me ill....but then to hear how scared and sick it made him feel after he walked into the treatment room, just shoot me in the EYE why dont u.....

After the appointment Jason started to question his predetermined decision to do Chemo, i dont blame him, Chemo is no fun....but i just want him well....I just want him to fight hard so the cancer has no chance...so far no decisions have been made, and rest assured what ever he wants to do i will support...but please pray for guidance. We just dont know what to do.

For those...

2011-08-16T19:59:00.001-05:00

For those who dont already know....sorry it took me so long to post...i sent this email out last thursday:

We received great news today, CT results came back with no abnormalities detected. What does this mean? Well, it means that his cancer is stage one and the next step we take is prevention oriented. It has a 30% return rate so he was given 3 options

1. surveillance, this means we go every few months for a xray and ct and hope and pray it doesn't return, neither Jay nor I think this is a smart option, 30 % chance is still a 30% chance...

2. Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, commonly referred to as RPLND, is a procedure to remove abdominal lymph nodes to treat testicular cancer, as well as help establish its exact stage and type. It is usually performed using an incision that extends from the sternum to several inches below the navel. While laparoscopic methods may be used, they have been considered less effective by some surgeons
Testicular cancer spreads in a well-known pattern, and the lymph nodes in the retroperitoneum are a primary landing site during spread of the disease. Examining the removed lymphatic tissue will determine the extent of spread of any malignant disease and if no malignant tissue is found, the cancer may be more accurately considered as a stage I cancer, limited to the testis.
this would be done to lessen the chance of return but the time he would need to recover would be 2-3 weeks.

or 3. Chemotherapy which will lessen the chance of return to about 10% there will be the normal side effects such as nausea fatigue and his hair would fall out. this would be one round of chemo which is about one month.

We will meet with an oncologist soon to go over all these options and make the decision. we will keep you all posted!

We are SO blessed beyond words at the support and the prayers that were offered up on behalf of Jason and our family, we 100% believe God was walking with us through this whole ordeal, the strength he has given Jason and I has been supernatural. I am feeling like i can just break down and have a good cry now.

Please continue to pray for Jason as he makes these tough decisions in regards to treatments and for the cancer to remain in stage one.

God will take care of you....

2011-08-08T16:37:00.002-05:00

It has been just a crazy time in our lives, my husband has been diagnosed with cancer and everything that once mattered means absolutely nothing. My life has been put into perspective and God, my husband and my children are constantly on my mind. I have prayed for countless hours for God to bring healing, to give us strength.

I dont mean to be so somber, in fact i have been the very opposite as of late....just being as strong and positive as i can for Jason and my children. We are incredibly hopeful, and the support has been overwhelming. Relationships are being strengthened, and it is true, you find out who your true friends are when things go upside down.

We had the CT scan done today and we are praying that the cancer was stopped where it started. We will know results soon and will keep you posted as to the staging. I am asking for prayer. I wholeheartedly believe that God has already gone before us....there are things that have happened thus far that can only be of His hand. As I write this i have received a text from a close friend who works with the owner of the urology group that did the surgery, diagnoses and CT, apparently Jays Doc is a believer and prays for each of his patients specifically. UM GOD MUCH?

Thanks to family and friends who have sent messages of support, brought dinner, prayed. You all are amazing. Please hear me, forgive your loved ones of any wrong doing, pull them close and love them through their faults and misgivings. Be happy even when your mad, be joyful even when your sad. Let the past be the past and start a new. Because one day u may lose someone you hold dear, and you wont get those precious options again.

Love,

Results

2011-08-03T23:02:00.002-05:00

tomorrow, thursday the 4th, we find out the results for my Jason's Biopsy, he had his surgery and came through it fine, in fact he's up and around like nothing even happened, sore but fine. :) Thank God for that! Please pray we hear good news tomorrow. And if we do not, please pray for strength. Thank you all for the emails and comments of support. God has been good even though we have been through an unexplainable and emotional year of highs and VERY VERY lows. All i care about in this moment is my sweet husband.....my thoughts are set on him and my God.

Pray

2011-07-29T23:07:00.002-05:00

If you happen upon my blog today, Please lift my husband up in prayer Saturday morning July 30th at 8:30 as he will be having surgery. Considering how BIG my God is still. thank you all for your love and support.

Considering My God

2011-07-28T14:27:00.003-05:00

In about an hour our lives could change forever, be it good, bad, or just an all around different and difficult addition to our daily lives, if you happen to read this, please pray that God will have mercy on my precious husband. Like a friend suggested, i am going to just CONSIDER MY GOD, during this process, and know that he covers our lives no matter what the out come.

Thank you all ahead of time for your prayers.

BOSTON BABY

2011-06-29T13:03:00.002-05:00

So my boys left this morning to go to Boston :( I got left behind and im a lil emotional that i didn't get to experience the looks on their faces as they took their first flight. I will meet up with them on Friday but still.....makes me sad...and i hate being alone...ugh!

But aren't they cute??

Heres landon watching the planes take off....

Oh yea, and did i mention we got kittens.....cute arent they?

they might be cute but seriously they are such lil punks....ive been scratched about a bujillion times while im sitting on the couch for no reason, they just attack me, or try to climb my legs....

guess thats what i get.....

getting two at the same time was my brilliant idea. And it just so happens that is a true statement....i AM brilliant. :) they NEVER cry because they have each other, and they pretty much entertain one another except for when they are attacking me. Ill have to post some videos....i could watch them for hours they are hilarious!!

if you cant find me this weekend ill be in BOSTON!! trying out a irish pub or two, and takin in a RED SOX game on 4th of July!

NKOTBSB

2011-06-29T12:20:00.004-05:00

Dont be jealous that I got to go see this AMAZING concert

OMG they were seriously amazing, and i am ever so impressed at how well they dance STILL!!

Me and Manderson!

I had an absolute BLAST that was MUCH needed! AND i am flying into the New Kids turf on Friday and get to go to a RED SOX game HOLLA!!

Cant wait till they come again....fantastic show!!!

My Reflective Essay "My Papa"

2011-05-27T13:23:00.007-05:00

Yes, yes, I am alive, barely, but i am alive none the less. I started school on April 21st again and since that day I've barely had time to breath much less blog, and FINALLY, i have a moment.

For my English class i am taking in school, i was asked to write a reflective Essay about something in my life that changed me....a significant moment if you will. This proved to be one of the most challenging things i have ever done.

A. Because I have NO skill when it comes to punctuation, which should be plainly obvious to you :) (see there i go, no period)

and

B. Because i always THOUGHT i was such a good writer....i mean look at me I BLOG!! Come to find out.....not so much.

But after learning about how to insert DETAIL into a story, descriptive information, i realized I had the POTENTIAL to be a great writer.

Anywho, i am posting my reflective essay below.....be forewarned u may need a tissue....I welcome any comments of constructive criticism, I love being challenged to be better, in any situation!! Enjoy!!

My Papa

My Papa was a plump, jovial, whiskey soaked, mischievous man, with an amazing heart and a laugh bordering on evil, which almost always meant he had something up his sleeve, just for you. However, on this dreary spring day in March of 2006, I did not see this animated man. When I walked into the stuffy, antiqued and extremely plain room painted in a deep hunter green, there I saw a frail, weak, and almost lifeless man grasping onto life by a thread. I was astounded at how quickly he had deteriorated, my stomach writhed and I had to turn away for a moment to gather myself. When I was finally able to look at him, I had a very difficult time looking away. What finally grabbed my attention was a familiar sound. It was the sound of the Adams family. The room was full of family. Every single member of Papa’s offspring was present except for his youngest great grandson, my son, Landon. As difficult as this day was for us, there seemed to be a great sense of peace.

I clearly remember tears of joy, falling only after laughing so hard at the memories they couldn’t be contained. Like the time he paid $3,500 dollars to an online dating service because “If I tried going to church, the roof would cave in.” I recall music, “Grandma’s in the cellar, Lordy can’t you smell’er baking biscuits on the derned ole dirty stoo oo oove”, a song we sang at almost every family gathering. And I hold dear those moments, where we were still, as if waiting to hear him say, “Come here, I wanna show you something”, a phrase he commonly used when getting ready to put you to work. You see, our family wasn’t waiting for him to pass; we were delighting in the time we had left.

Amidst all of the commotion; the talking, the singing, the laughter, there was a moment where it felt as if Papa and I were the only two people in the room. I was sitting on the couch between two of my brothers, Shaun, the eldest on my right, and Barret, born 9 years after me to my left, when I heard him begin to moan. It sounded as though he was trying to get someone’s attention, but I seemed to be the only one who noticed. It was haunting and cut right to the core of my soul. I looked around the room and considered maybe it was that everyone was always so used to his griping that they had learned to tune it out. Whatever the reason, I believe that I was meant to hear Papa, because it was me he was calling.

I got up from the old stale couch and ambled over to his bedside as if there was resistance against me. In my heart I knew what was coming, and although it was the last thing I wanted, something supernatural was directing my feet. I kneeled at his bedside, looked into his dull grey eyes, and placed my hand in his. “Papa, “ I whimpered. “It’s okay Papa, I’m here, we are all here,” I continued. “It’s okay to go, Granny is waiting, and Jesus is waiting for you,” I reminded him. It was then that I felt his cold clammy hand release mine, and I witnessed my beloved Papa pass away. I observed his chest rise while drawing in a deep purposeful breathe and fall as if breathing out all of his 83 years of life, for the last time. I immediately wanted to scream out “Wait!” “Don’t go!” But I was terribly shocked, I had just told him it was okay to go, and he listened.

For a moment I stood paralyzed and stared at the back of my Aunt Paula’s head. Aunt Paula is Papa’s eldest girl and after Granny’s death, back in 1999, has become the matriarch of our family. As such she has become the glue that has held our family together, telling her was the hardest thing I had ever done. I trembled as I reached across the bed to touch her shoulder. She was turned away from the bed engaged in all the story telling and laughter, and as soon as she turned to me the room fell silent.

“He’s not breathing, Aunt Paula” I choked.

“Daddy?” she cried, as she lightly shook his shoulders.

“Daddy?” she said again as she laid her head to his chest.

I moved to the foot of his bed where I joined hands with my own father, who suddenly looked defeated and sorrowful, and all the family gathered around. With out confirmation, we all knew he had surely left us. Tears began to flow as my Uncle Robbie began to play some of our favorite family songs. There was such an evident change in the mood of the room, even the children in the family, not quite old enough to really grasp the reality of the situation seemed to sense the finality. Although devastating, my family handled his passing with grace. That was such a testment to how truly strong they are. There was pain, however there was a peace knowing he was no longer suffering. It was a beautiful, special moment, one I will have engraved on my heart for eternity.

I have often thought about what I would do if I could rewind to the moments just before he let go. If I had that opportunity, I would tell him how very much he meant to me, and how his zest for life, and his dedication to his family has inspired me and propelled me to become the woman I was in that moment and the woman I am today. Since that day, I have made an effort to not take for granted the moments in life where there is opportunity for kindness, love, or compassion. And most importantly I have been deliberate about righting the wrongs between myself, and someone I love.

Had my Papa been able to speak in his last moments, I picture him sitting up in his hospital bed wearing his HM Jr. Auto sales hat on his round bald head, and his Chevy trucks windbreaker on his back saying a phrase he would say as a car salesman to his clients as they left the show room floor, his mantra, that later became his goodbye,

“Tell em where you got it !”

Mohawk

2011-03-22T12:44:00.005-05:00

So maybe since i cut my hair that inspired something within my child to want to cut his beautiful long locks of love but he said to me :

"mama, i want to cut my hair like Bubba and Dada"

I said "Landon, are u sure, u know if you cut it it will take a while to grow back?"

He said "i know mama, but i want a mohawk"

Here is my sweet baby before:

and this is where i start to panic!

Remember the early 90's skater flop? i thought it looked cute so we went with that :)

Just kidding, he wanted a mohawk so here is the final product

PSH yeah right.....no way, i compromised and he got a fauxhawk ;)

Isn't he precious??

And speaking of precious I got to hang out with one of my BEE FRI's on Friday and her lil munchkin is she a doll??

I just lub hers!!

Till next time!!

To be an 80's rocker or not to be....

2011-03-14T17:05:00.003-05:00

So, I got a wild hair when my awesome hair stylist came to my casa to trim my hair, to cut bangs!!! WHAAT??

yea i did it and im not ashamed!!

My girl lindz said i look like Joan Jett

But im thinking more Chrissie Hynde of the pretenders ;)

Either way when i grow up i wanna be an 80's rock band lead singer so it doesnt really matter to me!! what do you think??

Valentines Day

2011-02-17T17:46:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day, Jason and i usually dont go all out, for me its the simple things in life that make me happy, like a dozen beautiful pink roses!! ;)

Dont they look fabulous in my newly decorated dining room??

And here is the plethora of cards my kids made me, and one from the hubby
and my glass of bubbly ;)

We had a really nice time hanging out as a family, there is a long standing tradition in the Loalbo family that we have adopted at our place called a "snack" we buy a ton of snacky type foods and Jay makes his dad's famous fried artichoke hearts and we sit around the TV and stuff our faces!

It was wondermus! (my new word)

It was a very sweet romantic evening with all three of my boys and a lil pre recorded American Idol! Good times! What was yours like??

I Am A Graduate!

2011-02-15T13:18:00.004-06:00

So I am finally a GVN (graduated vocational nurse) now all i need to do is take my NCLEX exam which is the state boards exam and then if i pass I will officially be an LVN!!

I know ive said this a million times but in april i will start RN school and i feel soo blessed to have a husband who supports me like he does, i dont know where i would be without him by my side.

My ceremony was a lil long winded but a wonderful experience!!

Here is me walking the stage, itll be just like you were there!!

Anyway, I had a lot of pictures taken but it was SUCH a bad picture day!! So sorry to all my beautiful family who dont appear in these pics, :(

Thanks to the family and friends who were able to attend,and to everyone who has supported me it has meant alot ! Wish i could have had everyone i love there with me!!!

I cant wait for April!!

(me and one of my oldest friends Manderson)

Zumba

2011-02-11T14:11:00.002-06:00

Play this

That was me this morning at zumba class, yes i love to dance, but i got to the point where i literally did my own thing.....i felt like that, goldie hawn in "The House Sitter" if you havent seen that you really should!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

SNOW!! Well sort of!

2011-02-04T09:51:00.006-06:00

And we will take whatever we can, as i said in the last post its been since 1985 since San Antonio has seen snow and i tell you what our kiddos were up at the CRACK of dawn to see the wonder that was provided!!

Here is lil man makin a snow angel!!
The result

He gathered some snow in a pail so it would be easier to throw

Logan Man

My mom, stepdad and the boys, they live right down the street so they came out to play

All the kids on the street came out to play hence all the foot prints

This pic cracks me up it reminds me of the one on the post below of me and my bro,

the sun is out now, and its gorgeous, however, all the snow is melting :( but we had a blast while it lasted!! We even made a snow man!!

The kids AND daddy got a snow day!!

Thank you Lord for this amazing morning and allowing my children to see snow in San Antonio!!

Oh Please Oh Please

2011-02-03T14:59:00.003-06:00

The last time it snowed in San Antonio, TX i was 5 as u see above, I am now 31!! I pray to GOD it snows tonight so that my children can experience the wonder of snow!!

Ill keep ya posted!!! keep your fingers crossed for us, the weatherman says its VERY possible!! Oh I hope i hope!!!

Finally!!

2011-02-03T12:52:00.003-06:00

So literally for almost the 5 years that Jason and I have lived in this house our dining room has been unfinished and half of the wall painted like so:

We had plans to put a chair railing through the center of the room but just never got around to finding the time to finish it...i mean does it help that we have two boys who take up most of our time?? No? :) Well anyway one day i just turned to him and said,

"for the love lets just paint the entire room the same color and get it done!!!!"

So that we did, Jason did most the room while i concentrated on the ceiling cause he HATES taping, its not fun so i took on that part.

Here is the painted room before the decor!!

And here is the finished product!! Id say its pretty fabulous!!

Here is some of the details!

(family sign with our initials hanging)

(picture frame)

I'm so proud of the finished product, the next room we plan to fix is our bedroom!! stay tuned!

Emmerson/Austin

2011-02-01T08:37:00.004-06:00

So this past week I get a text message from my best friend Linds with this sweet face that says

"guess where i am Aunt tace"

I immediately freak and say "bring that baby over here right now" (she was visiting her mom here in town) although i didn't really expect her to drop everything to bring em to see me, so i met her and AL at babes so i could meet Emmy for the first time!! EEEEEEEE!!! shes soo freakin cute!! Anyway, Lind's tells me they are in town so Al can interview for a position in Austin and its too bad I'm still in school cause i could have come with her for a lil shopping!! I'm like "DUH silly I'm totally done" and so we head to Austin bright and early the next day for a lil shopping and lunch.

This is lil Emmy in our make shift baby sling, we used Lindsay's scarf were so crafty!!

And here are the three of them! Doesn't Lind's look great for just having a baby 2 weeks ago??

Here's me and my lil Syda, I've always thought Syd looks so much like her dad but she looks soo much like her momma here! Ignore the horrible bags under my eyes, ugh that's what school does to you! ;)

Since i had such a great time in Austin in all the great shops they have i decided i might wanna go back with the ole hubs for a day or two!! I convinced Jay that was a good idea and we headed to the Omni and then to my favorite restaurant "Trudy's" for a lil of this:

(stuffed avocado)

And a lil of this:

(Mexican Martini)

These are what they are famous for, lets just say you are only allowed one that should help you understand, they make you act like this:

Ha ha!! We had a blast laughing at each other and talking, oh and stuffing our faces

The next day we woke up and had breakfast at my other favorite restaurant "Magnolias"

OMG their Miga's are almost as good as Andy Rocha's (i know not everyone knows him but those that do will understand)

Then we walked South Congress and looked at all my favorite thrift stores

Like "Uncommon Objects" and "Lucy in Disguise" if you have never been to Austin it is a treat, you should check these stores out online at :

http://www.uncommonobjects.com/

and

http://www.lucyindisguise.com

All in all my time in Austin this past week was so much fun!! I hope to go back again soon!!

Staci in Wonderland

2011-01-25T07:51:00.011-06:00

So this past Friday I am officially finished with classes towards my LVN!! YEEEY ME!!

So, I decided I needed a getaway, and what better place then Chulagua Ranch!! Yes what you see above is the actual ranch I went to get away, isnt it fantastic? Its for sale...anyone? anyone? haha, its owned by friends of my friends and they were gracious enough to invite me along for a weekend of rest and a lil play!!

This is actually a spring coming out of a cave....whaaaa?? yes for real, and I tasted the water....can i just say AMAZING!!!

What a view!!

This is me and Manderson with Fatima the camel, yes i said camel, and no were not in the middle east!! She apparently likes hair as much as she likes hay!

"FATIMA , EAT YOUR HAM YOU FAT LARD!!" that was for all you napoleon fans! :)

This is what we did for most of the time we were there, look at that sky!!! UGH beautiful, and peaceful!!! God I love the hill country!

This place was a little like walking into wonderland, with animals i had NEVER even heard of like:

A Nilgai (pronounce NIL-GUY)

The nilgai, sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls. The nilgai is the biggest Asian antelope.

Here is Diablo, the Nilgai at the ranch, he was a little camera shy but i thought this was an amazing picture of him (shot by manderson after chasing him around on the atv's for at least an hour) in the shadows like a real demon! priceless!! They call him that because the males are the only ones that get dark the females remain a light brown, or tan color. Look at me sounding all smart! ;)

Then there are the Père David's

Père David's Deer, Elaphurus davidianus, also known as the Milu, is a species of deer known only in captivity. It prefers marshland, and is believed to be native to the subtropics of China.

I obviously did not write this information, but what you read below is what the owner of the ranch told me about these guys, and it is amazing that they have these rare deer

This species of deer was first made known to Western science in 1865, by Father Armand David (Père David), a French missionary working in China. At the time, the only surviving herd was in the Imperial Hunting Park near Peking, and belonging to the Chinese emperor. The last herd of Père David's Deer that remained in China were eaten by Western and Japanese troops that were present at the time of the Boxer Rebellion.

After Father David publicized their existence, a few animals were illegally transported to European countries for exhibitional purpose, and bred there. After the remaining population in China was extirpated, the Duke of Bedford was instrumental in saving the deer, which was already extinct by 1900 in its native China. He acquired the few remaining deer from European zoos and nurtured a herd at Woburn Abbey. Threatened again by both World Wars, the milu were saved largely because of the Duke's determination to keep them alive. The current population stems from this herd. These deer are now found in zoos around the world. Two herds of Père David's Deer were reintroduced to Nanhaizi Milu Park, Beijing, and Dafeng Reserve, Jiangsu Province, China, in the late 1980s. From the latter one, a third herd was established at the Tian'ezhou Wetland Reserve, Hebei Province in 1996. In spite of the small population size, the animals do not appear to suffer genetic problems from a genetic bottleneck, suggesting that a previous bottleneck had already removed harmful recessive alleles.

When they were assessed for the IUCN Red List (1996), they were classified as "critically endangered" in the wild, under criterion D: "[wild] population estimated to number less than 50 mature individuals". As of the latest assessment in October 2008, they are now listed as extinct in the wild.

wow right??

Then there were the Barasingha

The Barasingha and the Pere Davids may look like regular ole deer, but i kid you not these things stood 2 or 3 times bigger than a lil white tail....insane!

And the Aoudad

These guys also gave us the run around, i laughed at mandy as she raced towards them on her ATV trying to catch a pic of them and they ran up into the hills, one of them thankfully stopped to give us the "what the hell" look as you see above!

Then there were the Addax and the Arabian Oryx

These guys scared the poop outta me, everytime we got close they would turn around and give us the look of death, and with those big ole swords on their heads wouldnt you be scared too?? Seriously like some bipolar unicorns right there!!

And just to prove I wasnt such a girly girl this weekend here is a pic of me on the ATV! YEEEAH look at me go! (i was seriously tired of mandy takin pics of me so i purposely turned my head, as if that would hide me)

All In all it was a great time, lots of relaxing and playing and i am so thankful for the invite!! If by chance your a millionare and are interested in buying said place i can hook ya up!! ;)

For You....i love u

2011-01-24T21:55:00.001-06:00

Oh these times are hard, they are making us crazy dont give up on me baby!

Not so incredible pizza!!

2011-01-19T17:41:00.003-06:00

So Monday was lil mans birthday and since we didn't have the kind of shindig that his big bubba had for his bday back in September we promised to take him to "incredible pizza" where the pizza is NOT so incredible, but unfortunately BOTH the boys came down with the flu this weekend, Logan's began to taper off by Sunday and by Sunday evening Landon came down with the fever, so we had to put off the pizza craziness until Tuesday evening....so Monday on his bday daddy made a steak and potato dinner!! Here is the lil man posing next to the set table. He may look well but trust me that was after much coaching!!

So then Tuesday evening after the poor lil guy laid in bed all day we told him we would take him as long as he didn't have a fever.....his fever was down most of the day so by evening time he was ready, truth be told he didn't feel so incredible but we had a good time none the less!

Jay and Landon on the go carts!

Me and Jay

Me and the boys!

We had a great time, landon was out in 2.5 seconds once we started driving! All in all he had a great birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

2011-01-17T09:48:00.012-06:00

I still remember the day I found out we were going to have you, oh sure i wanted a girl, but I KNEW you would be a boy, I knew your rambunctious personality before you even showed your face, you never stopped moving!!! Your big brother NEVER stopped talking about how excited he was to meet you!! And when you arrived we all just instantly fell in love! You have brought such GREAT joy to all of our lives.....completing us.

Happy Birthday to my sweet lil Landon!!!

Busy Busy

2011-01-17T09:11:00.006-06:00
It has been very busy lately, along with trying to pass all my finals and get through the last few weeks of school i have helped plan a baby shower and have a bday party....UGH...and lets not forget to mention i finally got glasses!!! Yes i did it, probably could have used them alot sooner but oh well!!! The world is a whole new place to me now!! I know i look super happy in this pic but i always feel so stupid smiling when im takin a pic of myself.....ugh my forhead looks big!

moving on.....

The cake for Andreas shower, Andrea and I have known one another since fifth grade, she has Addi whos about to be 3 and just had Wyatt!! Wyatt was born at 29 weeks so the lil guy is still in the NICU but he is breathing on his own now and just has some growing to do! Praise God that he is doing well!!

And since we are talking about Babies I must announce the birth of lil Emmerson Grace born on the 14th of January weighing in at 5 lbs 11 oz's!!! This is my bee fri Lindsays second lil girl!! And they could literally be twins. Her daughter Sydney Rayne was born on Logans birthday 4 years ago and we were pushing for Emmy to be born today on Landons bday, but it didnt work out that way ;) they would have had the same bdays and be born the same distance apart!! Crazy huh? Here she is in all her glory!! beautiful!!!

And then there was lil man landons bday party yesterday! Mommy was waaay too tired to have the whole neighborhood over so we just had a small get together with the family, he raked it in as usual and LOVED his "skelly" cake (thats what he calls skeletons) I cannot believe he is five!!!

Well thats it for now!! Arent you amazed i was able to give you two blogs in one day!!!?? Till next time!

Yeeey me!!

2011-01-13T17:17:00.003-06:00

Well I did it! well....almost, but I'm quite certain unless i bomb my med surg final next week, i have gotten through my first year of nursing school and will hopefully earn my LVN licence in a few weeks and begin working as a nurse!!! YEEEY ME!!

I'm not sure how i got through it since the majority of the time I was exhausted outta my mind like so....

but i did! And I couldn't be happier. Now, all i have to do is test for the NCLEX and then i can work, and then i will start back up in April for my RN!!
It has DEFINITELY been an amazing journey and I have made such great friends, I certainly am looking forward to a few months off of school to regroup, but i cant wait to start my journey to earning my RN. I know I've been MIA but i hope to have a lil more time in the coming months to update the blogosphere on my family as well!!

that i would be good.....

2010-10-15T15:18:00.000-05:00
That I would be good
Even if I did nothing
That I would be good
Even if I got a thumbs-down
That I would be good
If I got and stayed sick
That I would be good
Even if I gained ten pounds

That I would be fine
Even if I went bankrupt
That I would be good
If I lost my hair and my youth
That I would be great
If I was no longer queen
That I would be grand
If I was not all-knowing

That I would be loved
Even when I numb myself
That I would be good
Even when I'm overwhelmed
That I would be loved
Even when I was fuming
That I would be good
Even if I was clingy

That I would be good
Even if I lost sanity
That I would be good
With or without you

Scavenger Hunt!!

2010-09-07T08:36:00.006-05:00

So yesterday good ole Kristin (one of my girlfriends that ive known since my middle school dayz) put together a scavenger hunt for the kiddos for our other friend Misty's bday!!

U will see the group above from the left Tristian, Leigh-Ann, Misty, Rob, Me, my boys Landon and Logan, Auntie Kristin, and Kara (Misty's daughter)

So first we had to find our green index card clue in starbux and once we found that the next clue was

"This is a place you go to learn your ABC's (misty Kristin and Kara went to school here) Find your clue on the swings and take a silly picture"

So off we headed to Braun Station where they all went to elementary and here is the pic we took
silly, no? :)

The next clue said

"Head on over to my old stomping grounds where I worked as a car hop for years, find your next clue in the last stall, and take a pic with one of the car hops"

Well, we all know Kristin did her thing at Sonic for years so we headed there to find our next clue and took a pic with this lady

She apparently took pics with ALL of our participants!! haha

Next clue said

"Go visit a lil "buddy" Clue: this is the house of one of our players, no need to go inside just look in a bush or two"

Well the boys figured this one out real quick since Kara has a new pup named Buddy, and off we headed to Misty and Kara's house for our next clue

And this one said

"Go where "tag" runs free which is another place someone playing lies go inside and find your next clue and take a pic with tag!"

Tag is Kristin's spazmastic dog (i love ur dog i swear ;) ) and he would just have NOTHING to do with the boys, so i had to get a treat make him sit and have the boys stand juuuuust far enough away from him to fit in the pic....anytime they would move he would freak. :)

next clue said
"your almost done, 1 more place to go. This place has a name of a boat in it the 2nd word rhymes with "pub" kids can go play and fun for adults too, 1st one there is a winner"
So i admit i had a lil trouble with this one and had to call Kris for the answer, but only cause i had never been to the "yacht club" before.
And Im sad to say we were the LAST ones there but i TOTALLY blame it on TAG!! darn u! :) It's cool though, Kris bought all the kiddos prizes which was super sweet of her....the boys got Ghost Busters and watched it as soon as they got home!
Unfortunately we didn't take a pic at the "yacht club", we must have all been too excited about margaritas and playgrounds to remember!!
But just so your not disappointed, here's a nice picture for u instead...
Was i a product of the 80's or WHAT?? MOM! Vince neil wants his hair back!!

2010-08-30T21:55:00.001-05:00

2010-08-25T16:45:00.000-05:00

Im in love....

2010-08-16T20:15:00.002-05:00
Im in LOVE with this song right now!!!!

and since were on the topic....Someone once asked me in a comment on my blog

"Why do you have such odd taste in music ;)"

This is a great question which requires a fairly simple, okay maybe a tad bit complicated answer.....

music inspires me....all kinds. I will spend hours trying to find a song i heard on a tv show or just simply listening to new bands or not so popular music to find that perfect song....

I find that the most inspirational music is usually very emotional. I guess I have the gift of feeling emotion come from music. I grew up around music, my mother and father both played in several different bands and my dad still does actually. I too sing.....

I have memories of my parents band practicing in our living room at ungodly hours and of my mom blaring the radio with the windows rolled down when we were in the car...its in my blood.

But most importantly it is the way it helps me express my emotion....if I can find a song i relate to either through the lyrics or just the emotion behind the notes then my soul dances......and sometimes i do to...which, if you know me is my greatest passion!!

So dont hate....if you listen close you might understand what im going through :)

Blah week, snoodle do will do the trick

2010-08-15T21:12:00.007-05:00
So the past week ive just felt BLAH.....

BLAH
BLAH
BLEH
BLAH!!

Just going through some things and have just an overall yucky feeling.....hence the BLAHness :)

in all honesty, i know the biggest problem is disconnection....and i feel it in more than one relationship.....but most importantly with God. I have felt dissappointed in myself, and i have let a situation that was very minor with someone I love deeply, just beat me down this week....along with other things.....and I just wanna cry like a weenie!! Has anyone else felt that way lately??

Anyway, a few years ago i went to hear a fellow blogger from San Antonio speak at a church, and she introduced us to a veggie tales episode that seriously touched me. I thought this week i would remind myself that how others see me and/or the situations im in....are not what define me.....

If your feeling down....down on yourself, regardless of whether you caused those feelings or someone else did.... then check out this post from a few years back...i promise you wont regret it!! made me feel so much better.

_______________________________________________________

I was DEEPLY moved when I heard Big Momma talk. She began with talking about her blog and the doors that it had opened for her. She talked about how God called her to quit her job when there could be no way they would make it with out her income. And then she talked about the "snoodle do".

Oh yes folks good ole Veggie Tales.....Now unlike Big Momma I have a "thing" for the veggie tales, and it is because when i was prego I wanted to find the best "baby" for my baby.....

a "baby" is a stuffed animal or doll that your child can sleep with to feel comfortable, or take with him or her when he/she will be away from Mommy and Daddy for comfort. Anyway I came upon a Jr. Asparagus Doll at Target one day and I could NOT pass it up....it was the cutest darn thing this side of the Pecos and I am SO not kidding....it resembled a glow worm in that it had the glowing eyes, and when you pressed its tummy it sings "God is bigger than the boogie man" and to THIS DAY Logan sleeps with it.

Anyway, The snoodle do story is truly, in her words "the most profound cartoon she has ever seen" And ladies and gentlemen it is JUST THAT. I am BEGGING you to watch it, because it is the FIRST thing i did when i arrived home from listening to her speak....and i was JUST as moved as she......so i am posting it below.....after you watch the two parts then read
on

You see, that is what tends to happen to alot of people in this world....I LOVE how Big Momma described children as being sooo confident .....think about it when you see a small child how they always shout out "LOOK AT ME" she went on to say she believes its because we are sooo fresh from heaven that we just cant help but be confident.....because we have not been sooo beat down by the world and told how worthless we are!!!!!

I love when His creator takes the pictures out of his pack and says "Dear Boy, these look nothing like you" and then paints a beautiful picture of how HE sees him......Cant you relate to the little snoodle saying "But Sir, Are you saying that's ME?" "Id like to believe it but sir I'm afraid to!!" And Gods answer "But I know who you are for i made you" I have gooseys

Think about ALL the times you have fallen and others have been faithful to remind you, Gods answer : "Ive seen you fall down in the muck and the goo, I seen ALL you've done and ALL you will do....I gave you your pack and your paints and your wings, I chose them for you, they are YOUR special things."

And for those who don't understand why God doesn't just save everyone, it is because he gave you the gift of free will....and i love how they point that out when the little snoodle asks "But sir, if you made this incredible land, cant you make snoodles obey your command" And God answers to the small "A gift that's demanded is NO gift at all."

BUT, my most favorite part of this entire cartoon is this it completely spoke for itself:

Here's what YOU look like, here's how I see you,
Put this in your pack and you'll find it will free you,
From ALL of the pictures and ALL of the lies,
that others made up just to cut down your size

And lastly, your wings
you know what they're for
They're not just to fly son
I WANT YOU TO SOAR!!!!

Always remember that YOU were fearfully and WONDERFULLY made by God for a purpose. He LOVES you, and wants you to SOAR.

Now go hug your children, and tell them how special they are like i did when i got home!!! :)

Love yall

Summer summer summer tiiime....

2010-08-07T17:33:00.006-05:00
Cousins camp the last week in july. We usually get all the kiddos in the family together at the Adams family Bar seven ranch for a week of fun in the sun!! this year also included a obstacle course which i sadly missed cause i was in VEGAS!!

Speaking of Vegas Check out the food my husband piled on his plate at the buffet of champions.....well thats not really what its called but thats what i called it. He literally has every piece of meat that he could get on his plate....

the ceiling at the ballagio was AMAZING....these glass flowers blew me away....isnt it gorgeous??

We had fun walkin the streets and checkin things out....but Vegas just really isnt my cup of tea....i dont know if ill go back....the time i spent with Jay was great.....and I got to relax which i needed more than u know!!!
Heres some pics from cousins camp!!
And I shall call him Mini me :) my lilest and his uncle Jake (my youngest bro)

Logan Landon and Cuzzie Cierra

i know this may seem a lil morbid, but this is where i will be buried someday, my late grannie and papa lay rest here amongst the beautiful hills.....

they call it the hill country, i call it home :)

Dad in the medina river.....it was super clear and beautiful !!

Lil man and his pop fixin the dam

Lil lizzer bug ready to go fwimmin :)

My sweet handsome Logan

The weekend before that we threw a big party for my friend Kristin for her dirty 30th bday!! We had a rasta party and it was great to see everyone. Ive known some of these peeps since i was 11 years old.....it was a blast and Kris enjoyed every minute!! Heres me the other hostesses with the mostesses and Kristin!!

I cant believe summer is coming to an end soo quick!!! I feel like it wasnt long enough!!! But ive sure had a lot on my plate!! Just started the third quarter of school and not much longer till i graduate with my LVN then on to RN sheesh this is flyin by!!!

le sigh

2010-08-04T14:58:00.002-05:00

crazy lovely life.....

2010-07-16T13:35:00.007-05:00
So my life has pretty much been consumed with school, school and um.......school. :) Although i have managed to squeeze in sooome semblance of a life.... I feel like i have had NO rest at all, if I'm not studying, or attending classes I'm

buying new bed spreads and trying to make them look good

or organizing my closet, which was WAAAY overdue

going to Logan's scout meetings, this is where he got to become a wolf scout....i think....sheesh i don't know....my mind is fried

and dance recitals for the studio I've worked for since 99....i had say my goodbyes this summer since i am in school and its waaay too hard to put a hundred percent into anything else.....but these were a few of my assistants and one of my first students whose now a teacher!! UGH I'm old!!

these are some of my lil babies!!! My petite ballerinas!!

and going to watch uncle Jake rock out!!
or swimming at fiesta tx......

Or celebrating my 20-11th birthday :) (I refuse to be outta my twenties) which literally went on for a week!! dinner with parents and grandparents, dinner with girls Kris and Mist, and dinner and karaoke with a bunch of friends!!

And this weekend we have a wedding AND this and i cannot wait!!! Especially since my lindsers will be here!!

and this isn't even the half of it.....what a great summer so far....how is everyone???

my silly boy

2010-06-30T15:56:00.000-05:00
just had a good laugh when after watching La Roux perform on Ellen Landon (my youngest turns to me and says "momma, is that lady REEEAAALLY dressed like that?" haha thank God he knows what appropriate to wear, that will help him in the future when choosing a girl to date! :)

Lead me....

2010-06-16T20:58:00.000-05:00

SYTYCD again....

2010-06-14T22:13:00.002-05:00
yea yea its been years i know.....

Just wanted to post my favs from so you think u can dance so far this season, cause it wouldnt be normal if i didnt AT LEAST do that....right?

mmmmmm im lovin it!!!

Happy Mothers Day to me!!

2010-05-09T17:25:00.002-05:00
Today i didn't get flowers, i didn't get diamonds, i didn't get anything material at all......but it was the best day!!

My husband made me my favorite breakfast, FRENCH TOAST!! It was amazing.....

We soon realized however that our oldest, Logan, wasn't feeling very well....I'm concerned he may have strep again, sheesh, BUT that made it easier to have a snuggle fest because he wasn't much into playing or moving around....so i feel asleep with my babies on the couch while my wonderful hubsters cleaned and organized and shopped ( I HATE GROCERY SHOPPING) and even washed and vacuumed my car!! what a man!!

I got some good rest, and then my youngest asked for some cookie dough!

Nothing. beats. cookie dough. PERIOD....

so we made cookie dough....for no good reason. It was awesome!! Now I'm watching scooby doo with my lil men while my man makes me dinner.

They may think they have it good but i have it BETTER!

Happy Mothers Day to me!! And to you!

I love....

2010-04-15T19:57:00.002-05:00
I love....

How my lil one cant keep from giggling when mommy washes his feet in the bathtub..... even when i am having one of those "not so happy mommy moments" or im exhausted from the million "mommy I wants" i cant help but giggle along :)

How sweet Logan is to his baby brother....how he always gives him a kiss on he forehead in the morning before leaving for school and how he runs to his side when he is hurt.

chocolate :) mmmmmmm, sometimes a lil too much

talking and having my mind stimulated with good conversation......and i love those people who challenge my thoughts.

Jason.

my flowers in the front yard.....and the freshly stained table and chairs that sit on my porch.....they make me happy :)

my friends, new and old :)

that im nearing the end of the first quarter of school, HOLLA!

even though it is sooo wrong, i love how Landon crosses his eyes when im scolding him for wrong doing.....i have nearly wet my pants holding in laughter when he does that.... "stay strong lil root" :)

my pink blankie ive had since birth that my mimaw made, even though its been washed a million times it seems to hold up and has a certain smell to it......LOVE IT.

my family.

my ipod.....its an ocean of songs that stimulate memories and happiness.....

u for reading this!

the end. :)

I had forgotten....

2010-04-08T17:38:00.003-05:00
Periodically I remember things that I had forgotten and get a lil chuckle. If you know me i have the absolute WORST short term memory, but have the BEST long term memory.....i mean i can recall what happened several years back down to what i was freakin wearing....but if you asked me what happened 5 mins ago, id tell you "i have no clue, but give me a few years and ill remember" LOL

ANYHOO

So im not sure how we got on the subject of children dialing 911.... WAIT!! Now i do!!!! (see it only took me a few hours to remember that!!) anyway, we were talking about teaching your child important safety information in class today and i remembered something that happened when Logan was like 3 or 4

So at around this age kids are able to remember a host of information, so its best for safety reasons to begin teaching them their last name, their address, their home number etc so that incase of an emergency they can recall the proper info to the authorities. You also want to teach them that if something were to happen to mommy or daddy or their care taker to call 911 for help.....i had been stressing this information for a few weeks, going over our address and making him repeat 1#3@2 Filly Valley "f " as in frog (cause most people think i say "silly valley") and going over how to call 911 if mommy wasn't talking or responding......so, we were at my mimaws one day for a visit and Logan was in the back room playing as usual and me and mimaw visiting in the front and we get a knock at the door.....

I think you know where this is going....

I open the door and there stands a san antonio police officer......OH CRAP

"Hi can i help you officer" I say

"yes um we received a call from this home but didn't get a response, we came to check and make sure everything was okay"

Here is where I prove to you i have a horrible short term memory......

"yes sir everything is fiiiiine, u might go check the house next door cause it wasn't us"

DURRRR cue light bulb

"OOOOOHHHHH"

police officer returns

"nope ship shape, everything is fine at the neighbors" he says

me red faced and all

"loooooogaaaaan" I say

"yes momma"

"Logan, this is officer so and so" "remember when mommy talked to you about dialing 911" I ask

"mmmhmm" he says

"Well, when are you supposed to dial 911" I ask

"when mommy or daddy is hurt" He says

"Logan, is anyone here hurt" I ask

"Noooooo" he says

"Logan, did you dial 911?" I ask

shakes head no

"looogan" i say in a more firm tone...

head drops and shakes yes with his lil lip quivering.....

at this point officer so and so pulls out a huge sticker that's made to look like a badge and he thanks Logan for knowing what to do in an emergency, but to be careful not to call unless he needs them because he could be taking away from someone who really needs help!! He called Logan a hero for knowing what to do, it made his DAY!!

I apologized repeatedly and thanked him for being so kind.

It was pretty precious!!

I remembered....and it made me chuckle!!!

Today was bitter sweet

2010-04-06T19:54:00.002-05:00
So today was bitter sweet,

I have been attending clinicals for the last 9 weeks or so at a wonderful nursing home and today came time to say goodbye because we are moving on to quarter two of nursing school..... :(

I must admit at first i loathed going. Not because of the people, just because of the situation as a whole.... These once vibrant, beautiful souls are now trapped in bodies that do not work, and many of them cant perform most activities of daily living, soo they loose their pride somewhere between the diaper change at 0 800 and the shower at 1100 while multiple student nurses observe for the sake of learning.....all the while the family they have left sit on their asses at home, work or what have you and try to forget......its just the worst feeling in the world to witness such precious souls waste away with noone to love on them.

I just wanted to scoop em all up and show them they are loved. :(

Today I watched as a woman took some of her last breaths....when noone was around I made sure to tell her "it was okay to go" and that " Jesus loved her" I just wanted to sit there all day and hold her hand......so she wasnt alone. UGH!!

I also made sure to give my favorite patient a big hug and let him know I would surely be back to visit soon.....

although i am super duper excited about next quarter and med surg....im super duper sad to be leaving my clinical site.......

today was bitter sweet.

I should be studying.....

2010-04-05T19:46:00.005-05:00
I should be studying since im outta the house and in a fairly quiet place, however i get distracted easily and felt like blogging so....i hope everyone had a great easter!! We had a pretty busy weekend as im sure most of you did. Got to chill with some of my girls on Friday night and then Saturday I decided to go to church since I have had NO time lately to go (i know slacker staci) I was sooo hoping for a good time of worship and I was only slightly satisfied.....dont get me wrong our church has some of the best worship leaders EVER, i just wanted more......but all of that doesnt matter much because i saw the most amazing thing that made all my oppinions fall to the way side....as im sitting there singin my lil heart out i happened to glance down and to my left and saw an elderly man who was wheelchair bound being LITERALLY held up in the standing position by another man so that he could worship the Lord. It was just the most beautiful thing i had ever seen......and it just reminded me of how Jesus does the same for me.....when i am weak....what a wonderful reminder on the day we give thanks for his sacrifice. I surely wont be forgetting that example of love anytime soon.

Onto the rest of my weekend, Sat my bee fri came in and we had AH cocktail and watched "why did i get married too" pretty good although we both agreed the ending kinda stunk......should seen clash of the titains. I just LOVE seeing Lindsay, she and I have a bond like no other and i truly feel blessed to have her in my life. I needed a visit thats for sure. :)

Onto Sunday, I was a slacker for some reason this year, didnt feel like getting all dozied up for pics or anything like that but i did take a few. Here are some of the boys and a few of my lil bros. We went a lil crazy with the confetti eggs or excuse me *ahem* cascarones....the boys LOVE that, and im just glad it wasnt at my house cause i would go all ocd on everyones arse, that stuff gets EVERY WHERE.

Log (logan)

Nin's (landon)
yes my child is being gentle with his father, for some reason he was much harder on my head.....must have told him one too many times that he couldnt have anymore candy or he would go into a diabetic coma :) its the nurse in me coming out.

Bug (aka brother barret)

Jakey Joe Bobaribus (Jacob lilest bro) yes i have nicknames for all my family, its a long standing tradition in our family, i cant help it. I still get called "slop bucket" nice huh?

Me and J

My boys are so gangsta!

Anyway, we had a super time on Easter morn with my mom, stepdad and inlaws stuffing our faces with breakfast tacos and then at dads, i think we have enough candy to last until next easter...im sure ill consume the majority of it since i freakin LOVE chocolate....its fantastic!! Hope you all have a great week, now im gonna go bury my face in the books!! till next time!

Really?? For Real??????

2010-03-31T08:06:00.002-05:00
is this for real? I mean REALLY?? For real??

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/30/westboro.baptist.snyder/index.html?hpt=T2

i think what upset me most about the whole thing was this quote here:

"The protest was confined to a public area under supervision and regulation of local law enforcement and did not disrupt the church service,"

Are you freaking joking me?? DID NOT DISRUPT!!! I'M SORRY, but I'm fairly certain that if someone was holding a sign that said "your going to hell", or "God hates you" or "thank God for dead soldiers" at my SONS funeral, i would consider it a disruption.....a SERIOUS one.

They must not be speaking of my God.....I am completely appalled that these FREAKS call themselves children of God. MY GOD loves his children, EACH and EVERY one of them.

Romans 8:1-2, 35, and 38-39
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

TAKE THAT u sick freaks!!! Dont even know the content within the thing you preach!

2010-03-03T13:47:00.004-06:00

and

what the....

2010-02-27T06:43:00.002-06:00

what the eff??

there really just isnt time to discuss, i mean i could go on all day. but dude....the fact is, rat tails are supposed to go on the BACK of your head. im just sayin.....

sheesh

2010-02-26T13:37:00.002-06:00
This last month has been so crazy, i havent blogged in forev, and im not even sure anyone even reads it anyway, but alas i feel its nice to update those 1.5 people who actually do....

I started nursing school on Feb 2nd....man its ALOT of info to absorb, information overload for sure, and although i am exhausted i feel i have gained a considerable amount of knowledge in just a few short weeks. Im sure my husband finds it annoying when i scream out "i know that word" while were watching Greys Anatomy or Private Practice (my two favorite shows on TV), and im sure people think im a tad too into myself when i announce ive made two A's on the first two exams in my A & P class, but i cant help it!! Im soo happy. I am finally doing something I have wanted to do for some time and it feels like it fits. Such a good feeling.

I have been so overwhelmed I have had no time for anything but studying, but its soo worth it.

Not much else on my mind....but we (me and Landon) are still adjusting to day care....no fun...no fun at all, especially when he tells me "mommy, i cry because i miss you sooo much" UGH i feel the same, its just not normal to not have him at my hip all day..... :( love my lil mans.

1-17-10

2010-01-18T10:59:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was my sweet baby Landon's birthday. Landon is no longer a baby, but he is MY baby. He turned 4, and as the years have passed this feeling in the pit of my stomach has grown bigger, and bigger and bigger....my babies are no longer babies.....i wont be a "stay at home mom" anymore. In two weeks, my "baby" will be going to school for the first time. For the first time he will be without me for 8 hours a day....and i cannot handle it. :(

These last few weeks have been so emotional for me, not only am I about to have to leave my child in a strangers hands at 6:45 Tuesday and Thursday mornings, but two friends that I have known since middle school have gone to be with the Lord....and some heart breaking things have been going on with in my family. I am trying so hard to cling to my faith and to not allow bitterness to encompass my heart but it is difficult to understand why these terrible things are happening.

Lindsey had just gotten married less than two years ago and had a sweet baby boy 10 days before she passed. And although i hadn't seen her in years her passing affected me in ways i cannot explain. Maybe its because i know a mother has many fears when it comes to her children, but none greater than losing or leaving her child behind.

And Brandon was such a great guy, we didn't get to see each other often but when i did see him he always made me laugh and was always so happy. Last time I saw him was at my 30th bday party, even though he hardly knew anyone there, he made sure to come and wish me a happy birthday and give me a big hug. He was soo worried he wouldn't be able to come because he didn't have on "close toed shoes"( he had on flip flops) so he made a pit stop at his house which was outta the way just so he could be there. And on new years i had posted that i was having a get together on facebook and he made sure to call and say he would have loved to come but he would have to work until at least ten and so he probably wouldn't make it. Its things like that that made Brandon such a good guy, he was always more interested in making others happy then himself, and he always made sure you knew, even if you weren't close, that he cared. I now wish i would have gone to the restaurant that he worked at when he invited me. He will be missed.

Having had all of this happen it was hard to be excited about my "baby's" birthday because this just means that he's growing up and that soon i will not be able to hold him as closely (protect) as i once was able to. He will be more independent and wont need me as much, and that scares me to death.

I am praying for the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and for the husband and friends who have lost these precious people. I am praying that the will not loose faith, that they will believe that Lindsey and Brandon are in a beautiful place where they are comforted and without pain. I am praying that I will hold on loosely to my children so the can LIVE. And i am committing to loving my friends and family and appreciating "time"more than before.....

It is a go....

2010-01-07T08:41:00.002-06:00
So yesterday i got the results from my TB (tuberculosis test) and they were negative. Getting the results to the test was the final addition to my file for nursing school and on Sat I have my orientation!! In December Jason and I finalized the financial aid and everything is a go!! I start February 1st and I could not be more thrilled!! I am super nervous but i am so excited to start this new chapter in my life. Please pray with me as I make this HUGE transition in my life....it has been years since I have been in school or had an 8-5 type of job. Ive stayed home for the last 6 years!!!

Thanks for all the support from my family and friends!!

2009 in Blogs

2010-01-05T19:05:00.009-06:00

Well its a new year, and along with a new year comes a new start, a clean slate if you will :) Im not good at the whole new years resolution thing but im really gonna try this year to

A. not be so stressed all the time cause i think its making me a lard ass.

and

B. work out consistantly because i always do well until the holidays start and then i fail miserably by consistantly stuffing my face which in turn is making me a lard ass :)

Since those are really the only two resolutions i have i thought i would take you on a walk down blog memory lane circa 2009 by month. So here goes:

In JANUARY,

we rang in the new year with the Samudios and several of our other close friends

We had such a great time and im sure i said a bajillion times "im gonna work out like a mad woman in 2009" psh yeah RIGHT!!

What came next in January shocked and devastated me, I had returned home from a mini vaca with a girlfriend and noticed my Best Friend Amy had called several times, when i finally got ahold of her she informed me a good friend from High school, her ex-boyfriend Rufus had been shot and killed by some random person he didnt even know. It made me realize just how short life truly is....Rufus was a wonderful person who will be missed by many. He had JUST graduated from A&M and looked forward to starting his new career. Read more HERE

I then decided to give a lil lesson on RIGHTEOUSNESS you can read about that HERE...i think ill be reading about that too ;)

Then i got a new do tennis shoe

Landon turned 3

Then i spilled my guts about what was on my heart HERE ive updated it so you can see how things have changed....that should keep you busy for a moment.....

In FEBRUARY

My Bloggy friend over at Learning to Love Every Moment asked for prayer for her sweet niece who developed a staph infection or MRSA as an infant, so i asked for prayer on this here blog and the next day we recieved news that the infection was gone....NOT the norm....but when two or more are gathered in his name for prayer....there HE IS, amen?? Pretty cool!!!

Then I went to visit my BFF Lindz we had a BLAST and i am ashamed to admit i have not been back to Houston since......its the most AWFUL feeling being away from her....i will stop talking and post pics.....otherwise i might cry :(

Then i decided to try my hand at flash, which i then promptly decided is the devil and shall only be worked with if a client REEEEALLY wants it. :)

And then MARCH came

...and it became clear to me that my son needed to know about Jesus, So we had a convo about that, and you can read it HERE. its pretty darn cute!!

Then i finished the HOW I MET MY HUSBAND story which was a BIG accomplishment people, you can read that HERE.

Then in APRIL

BRCC had its easter services at the Freeman Coliseum it was AMAZING and sooo many people .Our Church partnered with the San Antonio food bank in hopes to restock it during these hard economical times where they are running really low, and when i left they had already filled 5 big moving trucks FULL of food and they were still loading. Pretty cool!! And that was pretty much the only thing that happened in April.

In MAY

Blogalicious Designs celebrated its ONE YEAR anniversary!! YEEY us

I celebrated mothers day and my newly planted bushes bloomed. So did my relationship with God READ MORE HERE

I also almost lost my life changing a light bulb READ HERE

In JUNE

I lost myself

Went to a wedding

And mourned the death of the king of pop. :(

In JULY

I celebrated turning twenty ten ;)

And Landon went into the hospital :(

Then i had some random thoughts, which is normal for me ;)

Then in AUGUST

I decided i was selfish :)

and well thats about it for august

In SEPTEMBER

We went to the zoo

Celebrated 9 years of marriage

Decided to take a HUGE step

and

Logan turned 8!!!!

In OCTOBER

we went camping!

and Halloween sucked cause i had the WORST stomach pains ever,
which in NOVEMBER

turned out to be my gallbladder!!

and luckily it didnt hurt my thanksgiving!!

And DECEMBER,

Well December went by too fast for me to blog!! And it was VERY bitter sweet, while i enjoyed my kid home on winter break, and had a lovely Christmas, i found out a friend from middle school had passed away just DAYS after her beautiful baby boy was born. :( Although i hadnt seen Lindsey or her husband in years, it affected me in ways i cannot explain, as im sure it did many others. If you knew her or would like to simply read about what an amazing girl she was or donate to her precious son, you can go HERE.

My 2009 was eventful, sad, happy, beautiful, fun, frustrating and a million other things all tied into one...but i wouldnt trade the memories for anything!!

Happy 2010!!

Got The Itch to switch??

2009-12-16T17:03:00.004-06:00
To Wordpress, that is!

If you know me im sure you know by now that i am one half of BLOGALICIOUS DESIGNS, and right now it's all the buzz in the blogging world, it seems. Is Blogger better? Should I switch to Wordpress? All my friends are doing it. Will I lose all of my information?

HELP!!!!

No worries! If you've got the itch to switch, contact us! We can discuss your options and if you decide to make the switch, we can take care of it for you!! If you would like to see an example of one of our clients wordpress sites CLICK HERE and check out Jen's super fabulous ideas on LIVIN THE SIMPLE LIFE!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T16:19:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time full of family, laughter, and LOTS of eating!! I sure ate my weight in mimaws home cooking and i am SURE i gained back the few pounds i lost when my gallbladder went bye bye!!

Three of my Four Uncles on my moms side were in town from Colorado, Georgia, and Austin, and their kids Amy, and her hubby Ben from London, Meg from Georgia, and Annabel and her man Dustin from Colorado....It was a FULL house i tell ya and lots of fun!! Missed sisser alot this year!! :(

Then on to my dads side of the fam on Saturday, i wont even try and tell you how many people were at THAT shindig..... But my dad has two bros and two sisters and they all have kids and some of their kids have kids.....so....it was big....REAL BIG. But again lots of fun!!

Good times, Good memories. Already cant wait till Christmas!! How was yours??

This seems vaguely familiar!!

2009-11-15T17:38:00.001-06:00
This seems vaguely familiar!!

Let me set this up...Lois, the mom, goes into her room, exhausted from her day...looking for a lil down time.....too funny not to share...and SO like my life...thanks mandy!

My Gallbladder Hates Me

2009-11-08T19:38:00.003-06:00
My gallbladder hates me.

Why you ask?? Well number one because it decided to go all postal on me and get all "inflamed" regardless of the fact that I am a healthy weight and non diabetic.

And number two, it hates me because its probably sitting in a pathology lab right now waiting to be analyzed when it could be all warm and snugly in my fatty tissue inside the ole body.....

No need to get all testy on me gallbladder!! I really don't appreciate the pain that you have put me in over the past couple of months, not to mention the pain that I am currently in from having you ripped from my body!!

YOU deserved to be poked prodded and ripped from my body, but I did NOT!!

I did not deserve to feel sooo full that i felt like i had just eaten a flippin HORSE, and i did NOT deserve to feel like i was gonna explode.

NO gallbladder i did not like the fact that I couldn't burp or flatulate, (sorry mom) and DAMMIT i did not deserve to have to sit in the hospital from Wednesday to Saturday with out so much as an ice chip in my tummy.

Gallbladder, i kept you all warm and fuzzy for 30 years.....why would you betray me so???

I guess its time to let go gallbladder, and move on to gallbladder heaven where you can pass gall stones and sludge without harming anyone.....

Good bye my sweet gallbladder, i wont miss you all that much since you weren't really an important part of my digestive system anyway.

Just in case you have NO idea what im talking about, i went into the hospital on wed only to leave on Saturday without a gallbladder.....i don't suggest upsetting yours anytime soon, its no fun!! :)

Dont wrestle WORSHIP

2009-11-04T10:26:00.006-06:00
Do NOT wrestle.....WORSHIP

Oh goodness, if only i took that advice all the time id be a lot better off and a lot less stressed......

This morning i decided to look back over my journals for inspiration from the time I've spent with God....how wonderful it is to be renewed by something you learned months or even years ago.....to be reminded of what God once said or taught is a blessing.....

I'm often frustrated with myself because i feel like my walk or my character is constantly on this roller coaster of ups and downs and twists and turns. I'm consistently wrestling with myself....my thoughts....my desires when really all i need to do is lay it all at the feet of my provider, protector, comforter, and ask him to carry me through.....i need to WORSHIP.....there are lots of ways, my worship way of choice is through song, and prayer.....and meditation on his words.....

There was this time in my life where i was really struggling, and i was sooo frustrated, because i felt like i was really giving it my all, really worshiping but still in so much pain....I cried out to God "WHY, God....give me a word" I began to read his word and I was amazed at how what i was reading seemed to match up with my situation.....I began to feel COMFORT, PROTECTED and a HOPE that i hadn't felt in a while.....

in Romans 8:6, 8:9 and 8:14 God reassured me that I was controlled by the spirit, and the decisions i made were the right decisions no matter what, because (8:14) those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.....

It goes on to reassure me that I should not be afraid or frustrated with my decisions (8:15) for i did not receive a spirit that makes me a slave again to fear but i received the spirit of son ship.....

And then it helped me to understand (8:17) that because i am a child of God i am i share in his SUFFERINGS in order that I may ALSO share in his Glory.....

As i read all this i began to feel uplifted and then when i continued i was FLOORED at how clearly He spoke to me......

Remember the feeling of FRUSTRATION... well it just so happened in this version i was reading.....

(8:20) For the creation (me) was subjected to FRUSTRATION not by its own choice but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation (me) itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

WOW.

I have been dealing for years with a spirit of rebellion....what i mean by that is I am consistently doing things that are not honoring to me, my children, my husband, and most importantly MY GOD. I become overwhelmingly frustrated with myself and repetitively try to accomplish change on my own......

I wrestle.....

Do NOT wrestle, WORSHIP.....for we are not wrestling with flesh and blood.....

I have to remember to lean completely on God to get me through these times, i can totally relate to the story of the Israelites.....they have gone through the same struggles, ups and downs if you will, since their exodus from Egypt.. When they were fully worshipping the Lord....always leaning on Him he would help them.....when they became self sufficient, disobedient, REBELLIOUS, they would once again have pain and suffering.

When they trusted God they defeated their enemies, when they didn't their enemies defeated them..... (Joyce Meyer)

Around this time I had read a book by Joyce Meyer and it really helped to encourage me....that I will one day overcome the things in my life that weigh me down....insecurities, rebelliousness, frustrations...etc etc. It really helped me to have a list of things to focus on.....maybe it will help you as well.

The amount of time the changes in your heart require are dependent on:

1. How long it takes us to get into agreement with God that we DO have the problem he says we have.

2. How long it takes us to stop making excuses and blaming it on someone else ( i am reeeal good at this one) :)

3. How long we spin our wheels so to speak trying to change ourselves....

4. How much time we spend studying His word waiting and worshiping Him, truly believing that He is working in us all the while we seek Him.

So, I am going to make that my saying today.....Don't Wrestle, WORSHIP.....

i am going to try to remember that I cannot win the battles on my own, but only through Christ who strengthens me..... (Philippians 4:13)

The Loalbo's Go Camping

2009-10-25T16:21:00.012-05:00
When i was a youngin i spent most of my summer weekends at a place in Concan, Texas called "Garner State Park"

I cannot tell you how many memories i have of coming here and swimming in the crystal clear Frio river, and roasting marsh mellows....even making new friends!! Some of my FAVORITE memories are of my time spent here and so i figured the boys needed the experience.

When we arrived we immediately got to work helping daddy with the tent.

Here's Logan
And lil Landon

Here's the finished product....they were good lil helpers!

After setting up camp we had to get the fire going....Here are the boys in front of it.

Landon was soo amazed by it....
After setting up we decided to take a walk down to the river which was literally a hop skip and a jump from our site.
Here's a pic of me and the boys and the beautiful hill country

And Daddy and the boys

Us.

Jason bought the boys head lamps so they could explore in the dark.

They were REALLY excited to conquer this big rock!!

After our walk we headed back for some dinner....we had hot dogs (which the boys roasted themselves on sticks, and steaks.

When we (me and my bro) would go camping with mimaw and pipaw as kids my pipaw would always make bow and arrows for us outta sticks and string...i made sure to tell jay that he should do the same for the boys and boy did he!! They came out AWESOME and were a hit with the kids at the campground.

Landon was soo impressed with his fire he decided he needed to make one of his own, i can not tell you how cute it was watching him put it all together by himself...here he is with his creation!

And with the flash light to make it look like its burning real fire....he even pretended to roast a marsh mellow. isn't he a doll??

And what would camping be WITHOUT roasted marsh mellows!!

We woke up, cooked eggs bacon and sausage on the camp fire, and headed out for a hike.....we had a wonderful time and will be doing that more often for sure!!!

Lets Get Down to BIDNESS!!!

2009-10-23T09:23:00.008-05:00
We have been busy girls and we wanted to share a few things with you today!!

First, please remember that not only do we offer web and blog design, we also do graphic design!! This is GREAT news for you because with the holidays right around the corner, you're gonna want to get a head start on your holiday cards for friends and family!!

Here are some examples of our work:

If you'd like more information about ordering your own Holiday Cards (or any type of Photo Card), click HERE to get started!

We also wanted you to know that we also do Custom comp cards!! A comp card (composite card) is essentially a models’ business card. By using Blogalicious Designs to design your card, you will no doubt make a great first impression! Here is an example of a comp card that we just did for an on-going client:

And finally here are a few sites we've completed over the past few weeks...

Here's What's Cooking: This is a site we did for one of our great friends from church. Steph and I have known Carolyn for years and have ALWAYS LOVED her food. It's about time she started a site sharing her menus! I'll be going every Monday to her site for dinner ideas for sure!!!

CupCake FabuLous: This was a re-design for a previous client. Meleah came to us a while back for a blog with navigation and recently changed up her logo so she needed her site to reflect that change. We got to work and voila!!

The Purple Pug: This is an awesome website where you can order party supplies, invites, decor, etc.Kristy decided she needed a blog to talk about all the cute stuff she creates. If you're in the market for party themed creations, this is the place to go!!

And then there's my site! Whatcha think?

Frankly, this is halarious!!

2009-10-22T14:23:00.001-05:00
I have read ALOT of funny things in my time...

But THIS. IS. AWWWWESOME (said like scene in the Chris Farley movie "Tommy Boy")

I could go on and on....but honestly, the story speaks for itself....please, partake......

http://www.tmz.com/2009/10/22/man-gets-dui-on-lazy-boy-mobile/

Youve Been Dying to Know

2009-10-21T08:33:00.004-05:00
Wanna know about me??

001. What is Your Name? Stacers

002. How old are you? twenty ten :)

003. What is the link to your website, blog, or myspace? uh your on it so id guess you know that info

004. Birthplace? In a hospital

005. Current Location? on my couch

006. Eye Color? blueish grey

007. Hair Color? currently poop brown

008. Height? short

009. Heritage? heck if i know

010. Piercing? yes

011. Tattoos? yes

012. Singer? occasionally, at weddings and bars karaoke style :)

013. Song? i LOVE "sometime around midnight" by airborne toxic event

014. Movie? too many to list

015. Disney Movie? nemo

016. T.V. Show? Greys, vampire diaries, private practice, rrrw challenge

017. Color? Navy, burnt orange

018. Food? hate it, its responsible for my hips

019. Pizza Topping? cheese, green peppers , pepperoni

020. Ice-Cream Flavor? rocky road

021. Drink( Alcoholic)? margaritas!

022. Soda? nope

023. Store? target

024. Clothing Brand? who gives a rats

025. Shoe Brand? '' ''

026. Season? fall fo sho

027. Month? October

028. Holiday? Christmas

029. Flower? Rose

030. Board Game? trivial pursuit...get to learn a bunch of meaningless information

031. Sunny or Rainy? Sunny

032. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate....ive been known to consume massive amounts of it in one sitting

033. Fruit or Vegetable? Fruit

034. Night or Day? Night

035. Sour or Sweet? sweet AND sour

036. Love or Money? Love

037. Phone or In Person? in person

038. Looks or Personility? Personality unless hes ugly ;)

039. Coffee or Tea? Coffee

040. Hot or Cold? Hot

041. Goals for this Year? Nursing

042. Most Missed Memory? the beach, the traveling with mimaw and peeps, the trees, dancing.....i have lots

043. Best Physical Feature? eyes, or so ive been told

044. Hypothetical Personality Disorder? what the??

045. Preferred Type of Plastic Surgery? where do i begin......

Now its ur turn!!

New Blog Design and Update!!

2009-10-20T17:54:00.003-05:00
So as you can see I decided it was time i mix it up a bit!! I wanted something fun and a lil more colorful!! The pink really makes me happy.....man those Blogalicious Design girls are awesome aren't they?? ;) I will still be making adjustments here and there but so far so good. Me likey. :)

I wanted to give yall an update as well about nursing school, I had posted about it HERE and i was tied in knots about an entrance exam that i had to take in order to get into the program. Well, I PASSED!!! And will be beginning school in February.

Originally i wanted to start in November but unfortunately the November class was full. I was super bummed :( but I believe everything happens for a reason and I was thinking it through and realized ill be able to enjoy the holidays without stressing about school and extra money going towards child care. So it was a blessing in disguise....seems the man upstairs has got my back!!

Thank you to all who prayed and supported me!! I cant wait to begin this new chapter in my life!

Bear with me....

2009-10-20T13:46:00.000-05:00
Please bear with me while i change out the design on my blog. It was time for an update!!

happy bday logan cole!

2009-09-25T21:50:00.003-05:00
Today you are 8. It seems like just yesterday I was holding you in my arms for the first time, and hearing everyone in the room say how absolutely perfect you are. This word to describe you still remains true, you are the most wonderful child, pure and sweet and the most wonderful big brother ever. Happy birthday my sweet boy. May all your dreams come true.

Big Step

2009-09-21T17:00:00.003-05:00

So for the past few months i have been preparing for a BIG life change, for the first time in about 10 years i will be going BACK to school. Yes ladies and gentleMAN i will be attempting nursing school and I am sooo excited yet TERRIFIED at the same time.

On Saturday I will be taking the PAX exam and I feel like ralphing because this means i will have to solve math problems, something i haven't done since i was like 18 and trust me i didn't do it all that great back then.

IF i pass this exam i will then begin the process of financial aid....OH JOY!!!

I hope that you will join me in prayer for this big step in my life....I am soo nervous about the test on Saturday and perplexed about the financial strain this will put on my sweet husband. Please pray that I was able to retain at least SOME of the knowledge from the years i spent in school, and pray that I will remain strong during these 2 1/2 years that it takes for me to complete the program. This will also be a HUGE step in Landons life, he will begin daycare when i start school, something he has never had to do....be away from his momma. Please pray for his sweet heart as well.

I am super excited about this new chapter in my life and I thank you in advance for your positive thoughts and prayers......ill keep you all posted!!!!

Happy Anniversary

2009-09-15T07:54:00.005-05:00
Today it has been 9 years since i married my husband Jason. And this year made 15 years that we have been together. So in honor of our anniversary I am resurrecting the story of our meeting that you all love to follow, and a few pics of our big day!!

Happy Anniversary Jason!!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

MTV Video Music Awards

2009-09-14T07:33:00.008-05:00

Clearly I am just a bandwagon jumper because I choose to talk about what every one else is talking about THE VMA's. But I cant help it. There was waaay too much going on last night.

Never mind Kayne's antics That should be expected people, i mean really....did you ever expect anything more from someone as self involved as he?? And SHOCKER this isn't the first time he has done such a thing. He once got up on stage to make sure everyone knew HE deserved the award for his video that "cost a million dollars to make AND had Pamela Anderson in it" What hasn't she......

ill stop myself there....it cant be good.

And never mind pink hung UPSIDE down from the rafters while she performed. AMAZING. and YES she was singing, i give her MAD props for being able to pull that off and belt it out as well. SHE ROCKS!!
But forget all that for a moment cause what i REALLLLLLY want to talk about is Lady freakin GAGA.

HAWHAT THE EFF??

First let me introduce you to Lady Jester/Lady Phantom of the Opera/ Lady black bird....

but seriously folks that wasn't nearly as out there as her performance where she let the paparazzi know that she hates them

Seriously whats with the dude to the left with the thong underwear on his face.....I couldn't pay attention to the performance because i kept saying to myself :

"is that"

"no that's not"

"wait, it is"

"yep its a freaking thong"

RIDICULOUS......but wait it gets worse........you think I'm kidding.

I'M NOT

No....noo....im not talking about how she smeared blood allover herself to let the paparazzi know they are killing her....

I'm talking about this, yet again i say HAWHAT THE EFF??

However NOTHING compared to her final outfit with which the birds in my front yard would have been happy to make a home.......

yes i am speaking of the birds nest. SHEESH!
In the past if not for her the VMA's might have been pretty unentertaining, but i have to admit this year was by far the BEST VMA's I've seen in a looong time. I LOVED the MJ Tribute and Madonna's speech made me a lil weepy....and Janet ROCKED the stage for her big bro. It was definitely an interesting night!!
If you missed it I'm sure you can catch it again on MTV as they will surely play it over and over again rather than playing....oh i don't know MUSIC.
Till next time!!

Here I am.....

2009-09-02T08:26:00.009-05:00
I know, it seems like years since I graced the pages of my blog.

It has been over 100 degrees in San Antonio this summer for more than 60 days, so you can imagine how hard it has been to get out doors to do anything that doesn't involve water.....but we managed a few times.

Logan started back to school and is a BIG 2nd grader, Landon and I are settling back into our school year routine but are both a tad grumpy in the morning since we have to wake up 2 hours earlier than normal, but we will adjust!! haha

Because you have missed me so here's a look at some of our summer activities.

Ive missed you all. Enjoy the pics!!!

The Bear

Brothers

Logan Cole at the zoo

Landon Ray at the zoo
Doing a science project

excited about science project night

When is this thing gonna do something?

Landon enjoying his BIIIG polar express train he got for being a big boy in the hospital.

Cousins camp with bubba

Throwin up my version of the duece with Uncle Jake

Handsome boy

2nd day of 2nd grade

I hope you all had a fun relaxing summer!! The kiddos got to visit Disney world this summer so i will get pics up soon!!!

Selfish Staci.

2009-08-05T13:50:00.005-05:00
The definition of "Selflessness" is simple......"having no concern for self " but by golly it is not as easy to live it out as it is to say it.

And I'll tell you something else, I have been just the opposite....SELFISH.....

Such an ugly word.

Selfish selfish me.

There really isnt any particular moment that i would say i was MORE focused on me than anyone else....cause its been kinda all the time over the past few months, and it just has been my attitude lately. Ive been all about figuring out shifty ways to fulfill my desires, my need for Independence, which i must explain comes from somewhere authentic but the more i let it take over the more twisted the authenticity becomes..... But either way, no excuse will suffice. No excuse makes any difference when you are staring into the tear filled eyes of someone you love who wants to know WHY hes being pushed away.

none. of. it. matters.

"what is your point Staci?" "what are you trying to say?"

I don't know really, "I'm sorry" maybe.....to all of those people who see me acting selfishly.....to all those people who prob want to smack me upside my dome and remind me of my blessings.....but i think mainly its me "talking out" things with myself....with my God....letting him know i acknowledge his presence and protection in my life.....

Man, when I think about perfect love one word comes to mind, Sacrifice.....

And what is amazing to me are some of the synonyms for that word "sacrifice" like for instance:

give up,
let go
endure
forfeit
Part with
offer up
renounce
resign oneself too
yield

sheesh....those are action words right? Those are TOUGH action words......so in order for me to truly love i must TAKE ACTION, i must FIGHT, i must ENDURE through all the hard times.... and frankly, I've been a weakling.

For me, i believe the ultimate sacrifice was given when Jesus Christ died on the cross. He was not only paying the price for our sins he was living out the example of true love....he was trying to make us see that when you truly love, you "have no concern for self"

WOW.

As i reflect on all of this I am reminded that even though he wanted us to see that, some of his last words were "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Still in pain HE was thinking of us.

SO, in turn i will begin my journey to be less selfish. And TRUST me, i know i will never reach perfection.....but i will try my darnedest to think less of me and more of those i love.

***just wanted to make sure u see the word LESS selfish, i want people to know that at some point and in alot of situations you MUST think of you....however, lately i have made choices and acted selfishly....and i am trying to work through that. thanks for the honesty in my comments and emails....i love you all!

Silly Goose

2009-07-22T18:47:00.000-05:00
This is my three year old. He obviously takes after his father.....
:)

Random Thoughts....

2009-07-20T16:19:00.002-05:00
My heart sorta aches today.....i cant explain it....but it does. wha im a baby i know....cry me a river.

I had an interesting weekend. Hung out with some great friends on Friday night....people I've known for a really long time and just reconnected with. Had a blast.....stayed out way too late. Man I'm old.

Saturday I went to Houston for the NKOTB concert....wow what a show.....I'm amazed at how talented they still are after all these years.....i seriously time warped back into my prepubescent 10 year old girl days.....i screamed, i jumped up and down, i considered crying but i remained strong after i remembered i am now thirty, not ten. But man was it hard when Joey came out singing PLEEEASE DON'T GOO GIIIIIRL. I thought i was going to turn into a puddle of mush. It was good times for sure.....but lots of driving....i felt sorry for my good friend G that accompanied me on the trip....she came as a friend, left as a therapist right G??? ;)

Yesterday i was pretty much a zombie....i was runnin on a few hours of rest over two days and so i moped around in my pjs pretty much....but something really cool made me snap outta it for a few......

See a few weeks back i noticed this bird (the same bird) flying in and out of our anorexic tree in the front yard, i noticed she always had a twig of some sort so i figured she was building a nest....i figured right and within a few days there were lil chirping babies.....i called them that actually "our babies" EVERYDAY i would check on them and make sure one hadn't fallen out or died from the redonkulous weather we have here in good ole tejas. And EVERYDAY they morphed into something more beautiful than the day before. WELL, yesterday when i got home from Houston i looked up in the tree and ALL four of them were perched on their own individual branches....with mom not far away (she would sit on the stop sign at the corner of our street, ready to take action if i moved ever so slightly in the wrong direction, i think i saw her glare at me once) Anyway, i started to get sad cause i knew this would be the day they would learn to fly....i came out side several times during the day....and i swear on my life each time i would startle one of them and they would take their first lift off into the sky....MAN it was awesome to be apart of witnessing the awe of Gods creation..... just a few days ago they barely had wings....now they are flying high.....

Maybe that's why I'm so glum today....:)

Makes me think about what a gift it is that our human babies grow so much slower...thanks Lord for the time you give me to raise up my boys. They are my heart.

Anyway, thats it....carry on

Busy Busy

2009-07-19T20:03:00.002-05:00
We've been busy girls over here, just designing away.

Wanna see?

Well of course you do!

First of all, remember that contest we had a few weeks back? Well here is our winner:

Next we have a previous client who wanted a fresh look, and also recently added a new addition to their family. We've recently added a new addition to our blog line - Rotating Headers - so this option was a perfect addition to her blog package.

Click on the picture to see the live site.

(With rotating headers, each time someone visits your blog or refreshes the page, a new header is shown.)

And finally, a Twitter background for a recent blog client.

What? You didn't know we could dress up your boring Twitter background? Of course we can!!

Hope u all had a great weekend!

2009-07-15T09:08:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we had to take lil man in to the hospital for cellulitis. Cellulitis is a diffuse infection of connective tissue with severe inflammation of dermal and subcutaneous layers of the skin. Cellulitis can be caused by normal skin flora or by exogenous bacteria, and often occurs where the skin has previously been broken: cracks in the skin, cuts, blisters, burns, insect bites, surgical wounds, or sites of intravenous catheter insertion. Skin on the face or lower legs are most commonly affected by this infection, though cellulitis can occur on any part of the body.

Landon got into an ant pile on friday night and got about 10 ant bites in one area. He is VERY allergic to bites of any kind and so they almost ALWAYS swell, well this was horrible. By Sunday morning his ankle looked broken. I immediately called my good friend Kara to make sure she was working at the ER and took him in. Thank GOD for Kara, we have been to the hospital with Landon before and getting an iv in him was TORTURE, so much so that Jason had to leave the room this time, but Kara was a pro, and Landon hardly flinched.

Being at the hospital, it was NO FUN. However he acted as though nothing was wrong, talking about how he wanted a new train.....and would NOT sit still even though mommy kept telling him he had to keep his leg elevated. But thats what makes Landon so wonderful, even when he is sick he is happy!!

The Docs put him on some IV antibiotics and we were able to come home with oral antibiotics yesterday. His leg looks wonderful and i am praising God for his protection! Cellulitis can be VERY dangerous. Thank you to all who prayed and wished us well.

A conversation with my boys....

2009-07-11T07:42:00.003-05:00
Me: AAAAAAAAAA CHOOO, sniffle, sniffle, snort.

Landon: Momma, when we get home can i play with my money's ( i got him fake money at target)

Me: No, when we get home we are gonna take a bath and go to bed......A CHOO, its late.

Landon: HUH?

Me:( a lil louder this time) No, when we get home we are gonna take a bath and go to bed......

Landon: HUH??

Me: Seriously??

Logan: (raised voice) WHEN WE GET HOME WE ARE TAKING A BATH LANNNNDON!!!

Landon: noooooooooooooooooo

Me: Logan dont get frustrated at him, you do the SAME thing when i talk....

Logan: HUH????

Jason: (as i look at him with shock) AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Me: They get this from you ya know........

This is what i deal with........